The Food Desert Project - Masala Curry Crab Souffle

One of my early recipes in the Food Desert Project on LTHForum.com was this soufflé. At the time, I didn't understand why it didn't rise above the casserole like they were supposed to. There are a couple of reasons: one, the first one used only 3 eggs, and just didn't have sufficient volume. Second, this recipe uses the same number of whites and yolks (I can't stand waste) and therefore doesn't have the lift other recipes do. In this version, I use 4 eggs - it still didn't rise up over the top of the dish, but it looked fine.

Curried softshell crab is a favorite dish of mine in Thai restaurants; converting it to a food-desert friendly recipe presented several problems. I adapted the Masala Curry sauce from an Indian recipe which I'd link, but the original site has disappeared. Even so, it took a bit of guesswork and google-translating: if you find an Indian recipe in English, translate curd as yogurt, and jeera are cumin seeds. The resulting sauce is flavorful and spicy, and worked quite well with the mild-flavored soufflé - but we found we LOVE it as a sauce for meatloaf.

Crab Soufflé:
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp breadcrumbs - canned or fresh, if fresh, allow to dry out before use
1 cup milk
1 tbsp sherry
2 cans crabmeat, drained – reserving liquid for masala sauce
¼ cup of minced canned red peppers, well drained
1 tsp dried parsley
4 eggs, separated
½ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 325.

Thoroughly butter a soufflé dish and coat in breadcrumbs.

Make a thick béchamel: melt the butter over low heat and add the flour, increasing heat to medium-high. When flour begins to bubble and smell nutty, add the milk and whisk thoroughly. Flavor with a teaspoon of sherry and turn off the heat.

Fold in the crabmeat, peppers, parsley, salt, paprika, and mustard. Allow to cool. Mix the 3 egg yolks well, and then add them to the cooled mixture.

In a clean bowl or your stand mixer, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.

Add ¼ of the egg whites to the crab mixture and mix it in to lighten it.

Add crab mixture to the egg whites and fold in gently, keeping as much air as possible in your mixture.

Pour gently into soufflé dish and smooth the top. Bake for 45 minutes without opening the door; check – soufflé is done when a skewer comes out clean.

While soufflé is baking, make Masala Curry Sauce

Masala Curry Sauce:

¼ cup of rehydrated dried onions (about 2 ½ tbsp dried onion flakes, soaked in ¼ cup white wine overnight)
2 tsp canned garlic
2 tsp powdered ginger, rehydrated in 2 tsp white wine overnight
½ cup tomato puree
2 tsp whole cumin, or 1 tsp ground
4 bay leaves
2 tsp food desert garam masala
2 tsp chili flakes
½ cup plain yogurt mixed with 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 cup of reserved crab liquid (add water to make up cup)
¼ cup oil

Put the rehydrated onions, garlic, and ginger in a blender and blend thoroughly into a paste. Heat oil in a frying pan; add cumin, bay leaves, chili flakes and garam masala; fry until fragrant. Reduce heat, and add onion mixture, fry a few minutes and add tomato puree, fry for a few minutes, then add the crab liquid and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. If using whole spices, remove bay leaves, pour into a blender and puree, or blend with a stick blender. Cool slightly; stir in yogurt.  Serve over warm scoops of the souffle.

Nutrition Information

Policy Point Wednesday - Fried fish and stroke risk

A recent study showed that one commonality of people in the "stroke belt" is that they eat fried fish two or more times a week, and less non-fried fish than other Americans. While this study only confirms a direct link between the community and this particular eating habit, it does not explain why this might be the case.

The American Heart Association suggests that Americans increase their consumption of fish high in omega-3 fatty acids to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.  However, it specifically states:

• Enjoy fish baked or grilled, not fried. 
• Choose low-sodium, low-fat seasonings such as spices, herbs, lemon juice and other flavorings in cooking and at the table.

While it is clear that there is a correlation between frying fish and negative health outcomes, it is not clear why.  Some sources suggest that the omega-3 fatty acids degrade when fried, while others suggest that the types of fish typically used in frying are not high in these fats.  It may simply be that the omega-3s in fish can't compensate for the negative effect of the added fat and salt in deep frying.

The Mayo Clinic includes a page on healthy cooking techniques: it lists almost every way under the sun to cook food - except frying.

Sundays with Sparky - Our Signature Salad

This delicious and simple salad graces the table at every holiday gathering; its peppery and sweet-tart bite is a perfect foil for all the rich dishes of the holidays.  The recipe is simple: one or two bunches of clean watercress, large stems removed, one or two starfruits, sliced, 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds (sometimes called pips or drupes, which are conveniently available seeded at our local market!) and a simple vinaigrette.  Small effort, big payoff...especially when the boys do all the work.

First, Sparky and his Uncle carefully sliced the starfruit into sections, taking out any seeds along the way and being careful not to squash the points.

Then, Sparky went over to where his Dad was busy de-stemming the watercress and stole some pomegranate pips.

Next, we made a simple vinaigrette:

A heavy pinch of salt and pepper, and a squirt of dijon mustard into our bottle (no, you don't really need to measure.) to which Sparky added a good slug of vinegar, enough to bury the mustard.





Then the bottle was filled almost to the top with EVOO.










Then it's covered carefully and shaken until well blended.

The watercress leaves are lightly dressed with vinaigrette, the pomegranate seeds are sprinkled over, and then Sparky and his Dad carefully arranged the starfruit around the edges.

Done and done! 

The Food Desert Project - Mini Cranberry Panettone and the story of Tony's Bread

We are carried to the end of December by our noses, led by the rich smells of yeast and spices from the warm oven. Of all these aromatic holiday delights, perhaps the most famous is the cupola-shaped Panettone, a tradition that originated in 15th- Century Milan.  As with so many other holiday traditions, along with the yeast, a fanciful tale rose around this bread:

Once upon a time, the Duke's falconer, named Ughetto, fell in love with a baker's beautiful daughter - but of course, his noble family forbade him from courting a working-class girl. He could not keep himself away, and so visited her in secret.  Thus he learned that the bakery had fallen upon hard times; his love Adalgisa told him that the baker, her father, was unable to work because of a sick child at home. 


The honorable Ughetto immediately began to help in the bakery - but things went from bad to worse: another bakery opened up nearby and business suffered. The falconer decided better bread would bring better business; he sold his hawks to buy butter, eggs, and citron.  These he made into an irresistible bread, which he named after the baker:  Tony's bread, or Pan de Toni.   Eventually, the delicious breads became so popular that Ughetto's secret was revealed, and he and Adalgisa were able to overcome their family's prejudice.  They were married in a ceremony presided over by the Duke himself.

I found this version on Cooking Light; it needed some tweaking to adapt to the food desert, but worked quite well in this project.  This is not, however, a quick recipe: there are three separate rises, but it gives you an etherially-textured bread that is well worth the time.  I also love the nearly-individual serving sizes. they make it easy to pack up as gifts.

Ingredients
2 packages dry yeast (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup orange juice
5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup sugar
7 tablespoons butter
orange marmalade, heated and strained - 1 tablespoon of solids
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries and other small or chopped dried fruits as desired (I used golden raisins)
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond, lemon, or orange extract (real extract only - avoid bottles labeled "flavor" or "flavored")
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Preparation

Dissolve yeast in water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes, and add orange juice.  Add 1 1/4 cups flour and whisk until thoroughly combined.  Allow to rise for 1 hour.

Combine sugar, butter, marmalade solids, ginger, flavorings and salt in your mixer; whip with the whisk attachment until fluffy.  Add eggs, beating until combined and then beat in the yeast mixture.

Turn your mixer to a slow speed, and slowly add 4 cups of flour one at a time.  Continue beating until the dough begins to come together and has a silky texture; it will clump in the whisk, but is easy to remove.

Turn out on a board and knead with your hands, adding remaining flour in small amounts until you have a smooth dough. Knead in the dried fruit, folding the dough over itself until the fruit is incorporated thoroughly.

Place dough in a large covered bowl and allow to rise until doubled in size, about an hour. (If you poke it and the indentation remains, your dough is ready.)

Coat 12 muffin tray with cooking spray. Cut 5" strips of parchment paper and create 3" tall tubes (I folded the top and bottom edge down and tucked one end inside the other; make sure you have plenty of excess for tucking.) line muffin tray with the paper and spray with cooking spray.

Divide dough among the lined muffin cups; it's easiest if you make a long, skinny tube of dough and then squash it into place. Sprinkle each bread evenly with nuts. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

After half the rise time is done, preheat the oven to 375°.

Bake the breads at 375° for 25 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.

I wish all of you peace and joy this holiday season - and may the delectable warmth of your kitchen bring that same peace and joy to everyone you hold most dear.  Take care!

Policy Point Wednesday - Holiday Food Safety

The USDA recently released a reminder of the importance of food safety during the holidays.  Holiday parties, gatherings, and meals all offer opportunities for food to spend too long in the "temperature danger zone" of 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit.

There are three basic rules to follow to keep your holiday buffet safe: keep hot foods hot, cold foods cold, and avoid cross-contamination, especially between cooked and raw foods.  Any perishable foods that don't follow the first two rules should be discarded after two hours.  Replace or wash your serving trays between uses; it's better to have two or three small trays you can rotate out of the fridge or oven as needed than to have one large one that sits out for the entire event.  Keep in mind that your serving utensils need to be attended to, as well: they should be replaced or washed often, or stored with the service end inside the food, and the handle well out of the food.

Cold food should be iced; you can create custom ice "dishes" by putting a ziploc bag into a container larger than your serving plate, (like a cake pan) filling it with water, resting the serving plate on top and freezing it all together so the ice molds to the bottom of your dish.  You can hide the cake pan/ice pack with a pretty napkin when it's on your buffet.

Keep safe, happy and healthy this holiday season!

Sundays with Sparky - Cocoa Spice Pear Chips

We are fortunate to live in a diverse town; Sparky attends school with a rainbow of children from all walks of life, beliefs, abilities, cultures and languages.  This rich mélange of humanity sometimes challenges us when it comes to simple things - in this case, classroom snacks.

This year, we don't need to worry about food allergies (a subject I don't feel qualified to address in a blog post, anyway.)  However, two of Sparky's classmates are vegan...not a challenge on a regular snack day: (at least not for a Wellness Committee member working to bring better food to the school) as I simply offer whole fruits or vegetables.

Party foods, on the other hand, are a bit of a challenge.  In my opinion, food for sharing should be accessible - and vegan foods have the additional advantage of being friendly to many food traditions (for instance, vegan foods are usually acceptable to vegetarians, Hindus and Muslims and may also be kosher.)  I wanted to bring a winter-friendly baked treat that everyone could eat, but I didn't want to sacrifice flavor for accessibility.  I've found in these situations it's best not to use analog products (e.g. egg substitutes, dairy-free margarine) but to think entirely outside the box.

When I spied this recipe on Food52 last week, I knew I had found what I needed - and, as an added bonus, Sparky would get to work with a dangerously sharp kitchen tool just before bedtime!  I pulled out the mandoline, and the cut-resistant gloves, and took a deep breath.

The great news is that this is a fairly simple recipe, and the only pertinent change  I made to the linked recipe was to use vegan sugar (refined white sugar isn't vegan, and most brown sugars contain refined white sugar - make sure to use sugar labeled "raw" or "natural."  You might also be able to use pure maple syrup, but I haven't tested it.)  We used my favorite pears, bosc - which can be hard as rocks or soft as melting butter and are delicious either way (I found the sweeter, softer pears to work best in this recipe but be careful when slicing them.)

I started by teaching Sparky to use the mandoline with the hand guard; you poke the grippers into the pear and then slide both gently over the blade (which I'd set to 1/8 of an inch)  If the pear resists you, you can twist  the guard slightly as you slide over the blade.  In this manner, we quickly had three pears cut into neat windowpane-thin slices.

Sparky then used a coffee spoon to take out the heart of each pear (I later discovered it was easier to scoop the core out in its entirety as soon as it was revealed by the slicer.) and laid it on a parchment-covered baking sheet.

When the sheet was covered in pears, we sprinkled them with a mixture of raw sugar, cocoa, ginger and cinnamon, and popped them into a 275 degree oven for half an hour, after which they were flipped over and baked for another half-hour or until crispy (the softer pears needed a bit more time, but came out more like candy.)  I can't tell you how incredible my kitchen smelled!

The chips turned out to be both delicious and beautiful*   Of course, many kids in the classroom party didn't try them, despite the delectable smell - but Sparky, the two vegan kids, and the adults nearly finished all five pears' worth.  They also have the advantage of being light but still really flavorful; they will work well with the assortment of heavy holiday foods, and give the dieters in your family something to feel good about eating.

* Those of you who know me well also know that I'm mentally working on a strategy to get a tiny edible partridge to sit in the little hole, but that's for another Sunday.

The Food Desert Project - A Pasta Chi Sardi (Simple Pasta with Sardines)

I tend to trip lightly throughout the internet, trolling recipes to convert for this project as I go...but I feel I should shout-out some of the places where I find my best idea.  In this case, I'd like to bring your attention to two:  I originally found this recipe on Mark Bittman's Minimalist Chef blog in the New York Times, but as usual, when I researched further, it also appeared on the Wednesday Chef (featuring one of my husband's very favorite actors!)  These two blogs are well worth the visit!

While I knew the anchovy version of this dish, I was delighted to find another way to work sardines into this project.  Turns out, the sardine version of this dish is famous all over Sicily, while the anchovy version is usually reserved for emergencies, when fishing boats can't get good, fresh sardines.  Often this dish is associated with the lenten feast of St. Joseph - in which case the breadcrumbs represent the sawdust in Joseph's carpentry shop - simultaneously celebrating modest pleasure and hard work.  Of course, in the food desert, we must use canned sardines instead of fresh - but I think this delicious, quick dish works quite well with them.

A Pasta Chi Sardi

Ingredients

1 tin of sardines, drained
2 tbsp dried minced onion

2 tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp dry oregano

1/4 cup wine
2 slices stale bread 

1 tablespoon capers, drained

1 tsp caper brine

2 tbsp EVOO

spaghetti noodles 

If you remember to do this ahead of time, put the onion, parsley, oregano and wine together in a bowl and allow them to soak overnight in the refrigerator.  If you forget (like I always do) combine the three in a microwave-safe container and microwave on high for 30 seconds, then allow to rest for 10 minutes until the onions and herbs are fully hydrated.  In this case, I used red wine, which does discolor the onions a bit but still tastes good.

Begin preparing 2 portions of the spaghetti as directed on the package (If you make a tube shape with your dry spaghetti, a dinner portion should have about the same diameter as a quarter.)  You should be able to make the sauce in the time the pasta cooks - make sure to reserve a bit of the cooking water.

Crumble the stale bread into large chunks and process in the blender or food processor until you have coarse crumbs.  Pour a tablespoon of EVOO into a hot skillet, and add the breadcrumbs, stirring until they are toasted and crispy.  Remove and set aside.  Drain the onions and herbs and add them to the pan with the additional tablespoon of EVOO.  Saute until fragrant, then add the capers and carefully add the sardines (try to keep them as whole as possible) and gently heat until it is warmed through.  Add the remaining wine, caper brine, and enough pasta cooking water to bring the whole mixture together in a sauce.

Mix the cooked spaghetti and the sauce together onto plates.  Top with a generous portion of the breadcrumbs and serve.

Policy Point Wednesday - Weight, Habituation and the Think System

Carnegie-Mellon University has discovered that our diet is all in our heads:  the recent paper "Thought for Food: Imagined Consumption Reduces Actual Consumption"  showed that students who first imagined eating a food ate less when it was offered to them.  Students participating in the study who successfully ate less had to imagine eating a fair amount of the food (in this case, 30 M&Ms) before they became habituated to the food - that is, the instinctive response to eat the food was reduced.

A 2007 study by the University at Buffalo showed that overweight children habituate to food more slowly than those of a normal weight.  In this study, children were allowed to "earn" 100 calorie portions of a cheeseburger or fries by pressing buttons on a computer.  They were told that at any time, if they no longer wanted to work towards a food reward, they could go to another table and play age-appropriate games.  Obese children stayed to earn more calories than children who were of normal weight...unless the food stimulus was french fries, in which case the results were about the same.

Habituation to food stimuli is clearly a critical part of the process when it comes to our food choices.  Much of the purpose of marketing and advertising is to reduce our ability to habituate by presenting the product in ways that engage us.  I'll be curious to see if the Carnegie-Mellon continues this line of research, and publishes a dietary version of Professor Harold Hill's musical Think System.

Sundays with Sparky - An Easy Bake Christmas

Sparky's cousin is an independent young woman who will shortly be turning a year older, just in time for the holidays.  For her birthday (if you know her, dear readers, please keep the secret) we have purchased an Easy-Bake oven - which was, understandably, my own favorite toy as a child.

Unfortunately, the oven comes with one difficulty: the mixes are expensive (for what they are) and annoyingly difficult to purchase.  As a child, my own oven wound up being a special-occasions-only toy because I rarely had anything to bake in it (although I got a lot of mileage out of my potato-chip-maker, which didn't need a mix - any potato flakes would do.  Would that I had a recipe for those!)

Fortunately, these days we have the internet and two pairs of hands that like to be kept busy, so Sparky and I set about creating a series of mixes to package into individual servings for a Christmas present.  In addition, I created a small Easy-Bake cookbook of both sweet and savory recipes I've adapted from a number of different places, and so should keep my niece raiding her mother's pantry for quite some time.

A few tips on Easy-Baking: the cake pans are quite small, designed to hold just 1/4 cup of liquid...but to allow for expansion, make sure they are never filled more than 3/4 of the way - to be sure you don't have any spillage, it's best to measure 1/8 cup of batter into the pan.  Always follow all the directions that come with your oven; be sure to preheat as directed (at least 15 minutes) and BE CAREFUL.  Believe it or not, the oven actually reaches 375 degrees!

We decided that chocolate cake was the most important, so we made the following recipe, adapted from here, which will make 10 individual cakes.  The mixes contain no liquid, just shortening and powdered ingredients, and will keep safely in a cool pantry for about 6 months.

Easy-Bake Chocolate Cake Mix
(makes about 10 cakes)

1 cup vanilla sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered dry egg white
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
 
We mixed all these ingredients thoroughly and divided it into zip-top bags containing 1/3 of a cup of mix each.  To make the cake (we tested one in our toaster oven) mix 1 bag of cake mix with 4 teaspoons of water.  Pour into a greased and floured Easy-Bake pan and bake in a preheated Easy-Bake oven for 15 minutes.
 
Since we weren't certain how well this mix would work, we baked up an experimental cake using a wide-mouth jar lid as a baking mold (they are about the same size, although they are slightly less deep.  Sparky pronounced it a good cake.
 

Easy-Bake Cornbread Mix
(makes 4)
 
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornmeal
2 tablespoons white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
heavy pinch of salt
heavy pinch of sugar
1/2 teaspoon powdered egg whites
1 tablespoon shortening
 
To prepare:
4 tablespoons milk or cream, divided
 
Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly combined, divide evenly between 4 zip-top bags.  For one cornbread, grease an Easy-Bake pan thoroughly.  Mix one bag of cornbread mix with 1 tablespoon of milk or cream.  Pour into pan and bake in a preheated Easy-Bake oven for 15 minutes.
 
Apple Oatmeal Bar Mix
(pictured above, adapted from this recipe, makes 4)
 
2 tablespoons shortening
4 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons milk, divided
8 teaspoons applesauce or jam, divided
 
Mix the first 6 ingredients together until thoroughly blended.  Divide recipe evenly into four zip-top bags.  To bake one bar, blend one bag of mix with 3 teaspoons of milk.  Press this mixture into the bottom of a greased Easy-Bake pan.  Top with 2 teaspoons of applesauce or jam. 

We decided that this small cake was our favorite recipe of all.
 
Pastel Rainbow Cakes
(based on this recipe, makes 4)
 
2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered dried egg white
3 tablespoons shortening

2 1/2 teaspoons red sugar crystals (or color of your choice)
2 1/2 teaspoons green sugar crystals
2 1/2 teaspoons violet sugar crystals
2 1/2 teaspoons orange sugar crystals


4 teaspoons milk per cake (a total of 16 teaspoons for all 4 cakes)

Mix the first five ingredients together and blend thoroughly.  Divide evenly into 4 zip-top bags.  To each bag, add one color of sugar crystals and store.  To make cakes, mix one bag of mix with 4 teaspoons of milk.  Pour into a greased and floured Easy-Bake pan and bake in a preheated Easy-Bake oven for 15 minutes.

Easy-Bake Irish Soda Bread
(makes 2)

1 teaspoon confectioners sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of baking soda
pinch of salt
8-10 raisins (currants will be easier to mix in)
pinch of caraway seed
2 teaspoons eggbeaters (or beaten egg,)
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

Whisk the egg thoroughly. Mix all the ingredients until they come together in a thick batter. Grease an Easy-Bake pan well. Press your dough into the pan, until it is LESS THAN HALF the depth of the pan, keeping in mind that it will rise in the oven—you can sprinkle the top with regular sugar and caraway seeds if you like. Bake for 12 minutes in a preheated Easy-Bake oven. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

The Food Desert Project - Tortilla Paisana (Spanish Country-style Omelette)

During the holidays, it's a good idea to have food around - you never know when hungry people will stop by.  For these occasions, it's handy to have a Tortilla Española around.  This country version, a tortilla paisana, is a country-style Spanish omelette - a thick cake of eggs and potatoes flavored with onions and garlic - and whatever else you find appealing in your pantry. The terrific part about a Spanish Tortilla is that it can be served as an appetizer or a full meal, and it can be served hot or cold.

Boxed dried potatoes work even better here than their fresh counterparts: they have the same nutrition, and save you the trouble of making thin, even slices.  Just be sure to throw out the "flavor packet;" goodness knows what's in there.

Food Desert Tortilla Paisana

Ingredients:

1 4.9 oz box scalloped or au gratin potatoes, "flavor packet" discarded, prepared with water only as directed (my box used 2 1/4 cups of boiling water for the bag of potatoes, which I simmered for 20 min)
1 tsp salt (for potatoes)

EVOO
2 tsp canned garlic
2 tbsp dried onion, rehydrated overnight in 6 tbsp wine, drained
1/4 cup diced canned pimiento or roasted red pepper
1/3 cup peas (canned or frozen)
4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
3 eggs
2 tubs of egg substitute (4 eggs' worth)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

I originally tested this recipe using a nonstick skillet - but I like finishing tortillas in the oven, so I decided to use Bessie, my faithful cast-iron skillet.  For a bit of insurance against sticking, I not only oiled the skillet well, but I also quickly lined the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper, cut by folding a square into eighths and measuring the radius of the pan's bottom.




Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Add salt and boiling water to potatoes in a saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes until tender. Drain and taste for seasoning, set aside.
In the same saucepan, saute half the garlic and rehydrated onion with the red pepper in EVOO until fragrant. Add peas and saute until warmed through and coated.  Spread evenly over the parchment paper.


Saute the remaining garlic and onion with the cooked bacon pieces and fold in the potatoes.  Spread these in an even layer over the peas.  Whip the eggs and egg substitute in a blender, and add salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp. each) and pour over the potatoes, pressing with a spatula and shaking the pan so that the eggs settle to the bottom.

Turn on the stove, and cook on medium-high heat on the stovetop for about 5 minutes or until you see the edges start to thicken, then place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the whole tortilla is set and is slightly brown on the top.  NOTE: make sure you use a good potholder when moving the cast iron skillet!

Now comes the scary part: run a knife around the outside edge of the tortilla to make sure it is loose.  Cover the pan with a large plate and flip the entire thing upside down, so that the tortilla falls (hopefully) in one piece onto the plate, ready for serving.  Remove the parchment from the top and, using a serrated knife, carefully cut into squares.  Serve warm or chill in the fridge where it will keep for a few days.

Policy Point Wednesday - Food Marketing Oversight

A recent report by the Dieticians of Canada suggests that internal controls by the food industry designed to regulate marketing to children are insufficient.  The paper, entitled Advertising of Food and Beverages to Children, aggregates data from a number of studies to illustrate the connection between marketing, advertising, and poor dietary health, and offers specific recommendations to the Canadian Minister of Health.  The paper discusses the measurable negative effect food advertising has had on children's health in Canada, and recommends the following:

•Even though food companies voluntarily self-regulate their ads, this may not be enough to reduce the negative impact on children’s food choices.


•Science-based standards for 'healthy' and 'less healthy' foods and beverages should be established. This work should be led by the federal government with input from other parties.


•TV ads are not the only ads that children see. Restrictions should apply to all advertising in all settings where children normally gather. These include product placements, sponsorships, advergaming, cartoon characters and marketing in schools.


•Ads for 'healthy' foods and beverages should be encouraged. Some research has shown that this may have positive effects on preferences for these products.

This paper looks to a US study on voluntary marketing standards by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.  The study looked at the nutrition of foods advertised by businesses participating in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) which had taken a pledge to market healthier products to children.  According to the CSPI, "Products that companies identify as appropriate to market to children (approved products) met each company's own standards. However, the majority (59%) of approved products did not meet a single, third‐party nutrition standard."  An additional study, entitled The Impact of Industry Self-Regulation on the Nutritional Quality of Foods Marketed to Children by Children Now noted that "nearly three out of four (72.5%) of the foods advertised on television to children are for products in the poorest nutritional category. Known as “Whoa” foods, these products should be consumed only on “special occasions, such as your birthday,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Advertising for truly healthy foods, such as vegetables and fruits, known as “Go” products, is virtually invisible. Commercials for such foods account for only 1% of all food advertising to children."

Interestingly, in Denmark, stringent standards on marketing to children are enforced by the Consumer Ombudsman.  Marketers are sent a very clear message that the natural credulity of Danish children may not be used to their advantage, and that any practices, covert or overt, are regulated.  Food for thought: Denmark's obesity rate is half that of the United States.

Sundays with Sparky - Cranberry Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

This week, Sparky's buddy Zuko came over for the afternoon...and when they asked for a snack, I decided to make them work for it.  I'd seen this lovely-looking recipe over at the altogether lovely blog, Korean-American Mommy and couldn't resist the siren call of leftover fresh Thanksgiving cranberries and dark chocolate chips.

Lisa, who writes the blog, was kind enough to allow me to reprint her recipe here:

Cranberry Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
1-1/4 Sticks of Butter, room temperature
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 tbsp Flax Seed
1 Cup Old Fashion Quaker Oats
1-1/4 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips (you can use your favorite chocolate)
1 Cup Coarsely Chopped Fresh Organic Cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Prepare two lined baking sheets. Cream together the butter, and sugars. Add the egg then add the vanilla extract using your stand alone mixer, electric mixer or by hand.

Sparky and Zuko are finally at an age where I was able to set out all the ingredients and all the equipment, and set them to work.  Here they are reading my printout:





2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and flax seeds and add to the butter mixture. Add the oatmeal, blend well. Stir in the dark chocolate chips and cranberries* and blend well.




3. Using a cookie scoop, place a scoopful 2 inches apart and bake for 16 minutes.
(Look at them, for all the world like a couple of busy kitchen elves...)



The resultant cookies may well be my favorites of all time: they hit all the right marks - chocolate and cranberries offer a bitter-sweet-sour combination and the hint of cinnamon in the background is like a whiff of Christmas; the texture is at once crisp and chewy.

Much as I loved the cookies themselves, I was struck most by the bittersweet contrast between Lisa's sweetly chubby toddler and my own now-lanky beloved boy who insists he is a tween:

We went through two full batches of these cookies in less than a week, happily eating and sharing along the way.  Of course, being me, we had a few happy mishaps and tweaks along the way: first, I mismeasured the butter and inadvertently added two more tablespoons...resulting in a cookie that was crispier, spread more, but where the chocolate chips were less distinct.  I'm ambivalent about this change, but if you prefer a crisper cookie, more butter is the way to go.

*After seeing the delicious red-speckled result, I thought a bit of green would make them more festive, and I added about 1/3 cup of chopped hulled pistachios to my second batch  (When I get around to joining one, I plan to send my gym membership fees directly to Lisa.  )  The pistachios are a keeper - they were a definite hit with the family.