tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21468246891033823942024-02-18T21:39:45.073-06:00Quips, Travails and Braised Oxtails<br><a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails">We moved!</a><a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails">Don't miss our latest exciting installment!<br> Click here to find us at our new, cozy home</a> <br>or visit www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtailsMichele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-81546680580519403522013-01-30T12:52:00.000-06:002013-02-04T07:34:52.778-06:00Welcome! We've Moved!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails/2013/02/the-wayback-machine-bkt-bacon-kale-chip-and-tomato-sandwiches/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="051 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="051" height="320" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7959155980_d838b07b60_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails/2013/02/the-wayback-machine-bkt-bacon-kale-chip-and-tomato-sandwiches/">Bacon, Kale Chip and Tomato Sandwich (BKT)</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Quips, Travails and Braised Oxtails</span></h4>
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Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-73600766161964881882012-12-12T09:00:00.000-06:002012-12-12T09:00:05.247-06:00Policy Point Wednesday - School Lunch: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1nYL5uecAyqV64j3_I7zYL63XUHAkcCV1xt2p3tuRL1tY_gijSwt6UQyDo6gGXGe9BPRdHv2xOy0UH9OkE2FNFnf_MyIZKvEZ2ZZMcxMVbVaEfibPXNzJq8n0zqQlk9-6JzqGG0kyG8/s1600/P5080030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1nYL5uecAyqV64j3_I7zYL63XUHAkcCV1xt2p3tuRL1tY_gijSwt6UQyDo6gGXGe9BPRdHv2xOy0UH9OkE2FNFnf_MyIZKvEZ2ZZMcxMVbVaEfibPXNzJq8n0zqQlk9-6JzqGG0kyG8/s200/P5080030.JPG" width="72" /></a></div>This Friday, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a<a href="http://www.hagstromreport.com/assets/2012/2012_1207_VilsackHoevenLtr.pdf?"> letter to Congress</a> outlining new changes to the National School Lunch Program. As you may have read, the new lunches have <a href="http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/2012/10/policy-point-wednesday-panic-at.html">come under fire</a> primarily for reductions in meats, meat alternates and grains. Vilsack reports that while the original Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was carefully developed to best meet the needs of the students it serves, the USDA has decided on some changes.<br />
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The blog <a href="http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2012/12/department-of-agriculture-to-allow.html">Obama Foodorama</a> linked a copy of Vilsack's letter, which states:<br />
<ul style="list-style: none;"><li><i>"This flexibility is being provided to allow more time for the development of products that fit within the new standards while granting schools additional weekly menu planning options to help ensure that children receive a wholesome, nutritious meal every day of the week."</i></li>
</ul>In addition to complaints about hungry kids and kids who won't eat vegetables, the USDA has been made aware that school lunchrooms aren't able to find products that allow them to keep grains and proteins within both the minimum and maximum calorie requirements for the program. Essentially, Vilsack has decided to waive the <a href="http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20121001/let-them-eat-veggies-school-lunch-makeover">calorie cap</a> on these products for the time being - how that will translate to students' plates remains to be seen.<br />
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Vilsack does note that the new guidelines still offer twice as many fruits and vegetables and more whole grains than prior school lunches.<br />
<ul style="list-style: none;"><i> "As directed by Congress under the HHFKA, USDA relied on the recommendations of experts like the Institute of Medicine- a gold standard for scientific analysis- as the basis for our standards. The result was updated, science-based standards, in which the portions of school meals are "right-sized" to reflect the age and dietary needs of the students served and the appropriate balance between food groups.They are designed to ensure that children have the energy they need to learn in class and be physically active, while reducing their risk for serious chronic diseases."</i></ul>He also notes that lunches are not intended to provide the full day's calories for any child, so children who are especially active may need to purchase extra food a la carte, or bring food from home, and school booster clubs and PTAs may need to step in to support more active kids. The <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Healthierschoolday/default.htm">Healthier School Day FNS</a> website has more information on how and why school lunch has changed, and how the guidelines were created to support children during the school day.Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-65870116449183685482012-12-05T09:00:00.000-06:002012-12-05T09:00:05.356-06:00The Food Desert Project: Pumpkin Beggar's Purses <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8245772554/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="015 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="015" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8061/8245772554_87ae2b3ab3_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sometimes in <a href="http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/p/about-food-desert-project.html">this project,</a> I'm stymied by really silly things - take Beggar's Purses. We've done crepes before, they aren't that hard, and a Beggar's Purse is just a filled crepe...but it's usually tied with either a chive leaf or a strip of orange or lemon zest. I kept trying to think of ideas on how to tie up these puppies...cooked spaghetti (blech)? String (also blech)? Fruit roll-ups (blech..and melty)?<br />
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Of course, the more I thought about it the more confused I got - until I realized I was waaay over-thinking. In the end, I simply cut one of the crepes into ribbons and used those. Word to the wise - crepes do NOT want to be tied in a knot. Bend one side gently under the other and BACK AWAY SLOWLY. Don't try to pull the knot tight, because they will just break and then you'll have to eat the bits. I gained five pounds just in crepe-bits-eating alone while making this recipe.<br />
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So, first of all, you need about 10 crepes. I have an <a href="http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/2010/10/food-desert-project-crespelle-al-pesto.html">excellent recipe here</a>, so I'm not going to repeat it. If you are wise, you'll make extra crepes and freeze them so you can do things like this in a hurry. You can actually fill these with anything not too watery, but I chose a kind of breakfasty pumpkin filling.<br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
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1 can of plain pumpkin<br />
1/4 cup Greek yogurt<br />
2 tbs brown sugar<br />
2 tbs vanilla sugar (or just plain sugar and a bit of vanilla extract)<br />
1/4 tsp cinnamon<br />
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Whisk all the ingredients together until completely blended and smooth. Spray a cookie sheet thoroughly with cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8244702895/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="007 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="007" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8207/8244702895_d41c5b22ca_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>First, take your ugliest crepe (there's always at least one) and roll it up like a cigar. Cut the end off so you have a series of strips to wrap around your "purse."<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8244703243/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="009 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="009" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8347/8244703243_7b234ded92_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Second, put a crepe flat on your work surface and spoon about 2-4 tablespoons of the filling in the middle.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8245771946/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="011 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="011" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8347/8245771946_c13659b897_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Pick up the outside edge of the crepe, and begin to gather it into pleats going all the way around the filling, until you have it bunched in your hand.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8245772254/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="012 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="012" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8198/8245772254_62200db558_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Gently wrap a crepe strip around the bunch nearest to the filling - do NOT stretch or pull the strip as it will break. Equally gently, flip one end under the other loosely.<br />
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Set the beggar's purse gently on the cookie sheet and spray the outside with cooking spray. Repeat until all your crepes are ready to bake.<br />
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Bake the Beggar's Purses for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a bit crispy and your house smells like pumpkin pie. You can eat these straight-up or drizzle them with some maple syrup. Enjoy!</div>
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<br />Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-9010995366875317052012-12-02T09:00:00.000-06:002012-12-02T09:00:05.845-06:00Sundays With Sparky: Cheez Fish? Gold-Its?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232016623/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="051 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="051" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8202/8232016623_04f36ea687_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
When you bring a group of boys into your house, the chances that you'll find a cooking project to satisfy everyone is...well, slim at best. It needs to be a project easily set aside for multiple rounds of mayhem, to have an element of danger to it, and, most importantly - a tasty end result. By tasty, for most boys, I mean predictable: while they love adventure on the virtual battlefield, adventurous palates are not really the hallmark of the free-range schoolboy.<br />
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Therefore, I had to do some serious research. I knew there were two camps of cheese-cracker kids: the kids who eat the fishy ones, and the kids who eat the square ones. After googling a <a href="http://doitandhow.com/2011/10/08/homemade-goldfish-crackers/">recipe </a>or <a href="http://www.rachelcooks.com/2012/05/07/homemade-cheez-its-cheddar-cheese-crackers/">two</a>, I knew I was on the right track (special thanks to <a href="http://doitandhow.com/">Do It And How </a>for the DIY goldfish cutter!) Then I realized I really ought to look up the ingredients of the actual crackers...and it turns out, there IS a difference! Goldfish are seasoned with garlic powder, and Cheez Its are seasoned with paprika, but other than that they are basically the same. <br />
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Note: while it's a lot of fun to make <a href="http://caloriecount.about.com/cheez-fish-recipe-r1217091">these crackers</a> yourself, they really aren't better for you than the <a href="http://voices.yahoo.com/goldfish-cheddar-cheese-crackers-single-serving-1-1537899.html?cat=51">packaged</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/CHEEZ-IT-Baked-Crackers-1-5-Ounce-Single/dp/B000YTB0N8">kind.</a> While the ingredients lists look scary, they are all basically made with flour, cheese, fat (though theirs is palm oil and ours is butter) and annatto color; most of the scary-sounding ingredients are actually vitamins, some of which are in your flour, too. Basically, once there's enough fat in something not even giant food conglomerates need to manipulate it much for a long shelf-life.<br />
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I decided we'd mimic the two store brand's recipes and then make a wild-card version like the <a href="http://www.rachelcooks.com/">Rachel Cooks</a> recipe, flavored with mustard.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232011595/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="005 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="005" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8483/8232011595_ddfae1f901_z.jpg" width="199" /></a>First, Dr. Lasergonapus and Sparky drank some root beer. As you can see, only the finest for my boys! While this looks like just another opportunity for them to mug for the camera, the soda will become important later in the recipe.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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1 tsp annatto seeds<br />
4 tbsp butter<br />
<br />
8 ounces white extra-sharp cheddar cheese<br />
3/4 tsp salt<br />
1 cup flour (we used Atta or Chapati flour; it's whole-wheat but very finely ground)<br />
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1/4 tsp garlic powder<br />
1/2 tsp sweet paprika<br />
1/2 tsp yellow mustard<br />
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Equipment:<br />
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Kitchen shears<br />
used soda cans<br />
food processor (you can also use a cheese grater and knead by hand.)<br />
parchment-lined cookie sheets<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8233075272/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="007 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="007" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8342/8233075272_ec991fa5f0_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>For the first step, Sparky and his good friend Dr. Lasergonapus measured the annatto seeds into the butter, and we heated it on medium-low heat on the stovetop until the butter fizzled and slowly became shockingly orange. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232012951/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="011 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="011" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8067/8232012951_3650aeb245_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Then we strained it into a ramekin and stuck it in the freezer while the boys played a round of mayhem. This is how most orange-colored foods are dyed, and if you want some color in your Mac and Cheese, it's a good way to go.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8233076458/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="018 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="018" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8342/8233076458_e072a0ea99_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>When the butter was frozen solid and the universe was safe, the boys came back to the kitchen. We cut the cheese (tee hee) into strips, and pulverized it in the food processor with short, quick pulses. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Note me Hitchocking in this photo.)</span><br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8233076876/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="025 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="025" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8060/8233076876_ba23fd410c_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Once the cheese was completely broken up, we added the flour, salt and frozen butter and blended it until it came together in a bright-orange ball.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232111499/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="026 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="026" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8479/8232111499_9883426ed0_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>We wound up with a lump that looked and felt like play dough, which we divided into three parts. Each separate part went back into the food processor for a whirl round with one of the three flavorings, and then each was seperately wrapped and stuck into the fridge while the boys made cookie cutters.<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232013295/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="015 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="015" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8343/8232013295_785fac35f0_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Made cookie cutters? You heard me - thanks to <a href="http://doitandhow.com/2011/10/08/homemade-goldfish-crackers/">Krisgo</a> (where you can get specifics,) this turned out to be incredibly easy and far less dangerous than I'd imagined. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232013611/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="016 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="016" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8344/8232013611_e609d0d655_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>I rinsed out the soda cans and cut them into circles using kitchen shears, and the boys used the strips and tape to shape different tiny cutters (I did make a fishy one just to identify the Goldfish flavor crackers.) Surprisingly, the edges were not dangerously sharp - but cutting through metal with scissors provided that element of suspense and risk that this project desperately needed!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232014827/" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="028 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="028" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8481/8232014827_c83d0719fe_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>If you have smaller children or sensitive fingers you may want to cover the top edge with more tape. <br />
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At this point, we were joined by another of Sparky's buddies, Mr. McAwesome, who helped us to go from dough to crackers.<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232015129/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="034 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="034" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8057/8232015129_7cd66c9132_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>So, we rolled out each type of dough to about 1/8 inch, cut it with the cutters and put it on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8233077802/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="035 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="035" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8207/8233077802_8044885921_z.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
As you can see, we used the fish cutter for our "Goldfish" flavor, and the random shapes for our mustard-flavored crackers.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8233077956/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="039 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="039" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8482/8233077956_8de96368ec_z.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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Cheez-its are just squares cut with a pizza cutter,<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232015803/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="042 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="042" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8344/8232015803_ce69283f00_z.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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and then we used a fork to crimp the sides, and a skewer to poke a hole in the middle (if you have a pastry wheel, you can skip the crimping.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8232016183/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="043 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="043" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8201/8232016183_f5c40c2c64_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>We baked the first two batches at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes...which gives them a kind of <a href="http://italianfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa110301.htm">"frico"</a> flavor and texture. Baking at 300 degrees for 15 minutes produces something more like a packaged cracker.<br />
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After cooling, we munched! Crispy baked cheese...Mmmmm! IMO, the three flavors weren't really substantially different, but it was definitely fun having all the different shapes!<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-30089512544038203192012-11-28T09:00:00.001-06:002012-11-28T09:05:43.275-06:00Policy Point Wednesday: Fresh Food and Access<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrgOCSEwobdkdas8lX5wgjhUifyhmzmOcjj9K6dcgpPp_272ZRY-KXWRaBgHq8LlLLuQVM_6oZKQG41QbN0ED7CQujGnHVFgSR-I0BEVLG_LuW4LflVG8mWtb_pklnx49wqzAsBX_OYo/s1600/P5080039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrgOCSEwobdkdas8lX5wgjhUifyhmzmOcjj9K6dcgpPp_272ZRY-KXWRaBgHq8LlLLuQVM_6oZKQG41QbN0ED7CQujGnHVFgSR-I0BEVLG_LuW4LflVG8mWtb_pklnx49wqzAsBX_OYo/s200/P5080039.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/23339.html#2">Indiana University researchers</a> are studying CSAs and Farmer's Markets. Their small study found, not surprisingly, that these programs tend to attract <a href="https://apha.confex.com/apha/140am/webprogram/Paper260317.html">higher-income customers who</a> usually have access to healthier foods in other venues.<br />
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"Our findings suggest that the majority of FM {Farmer's Markets} participants are part of the privileged class, with smaller than proportionate numbers of minority persons accessing the venue (90.6% Caucasian). Additionally, FM participants had a higher than normal income level (36.6% above $75,000), as well as above normal level for education (62.2% bachelor's)."</blockquote>
Similar statistics hold true for<a href="https://apha.confex.com/apha/140am/webprogram/Paper260312.html"> CSAs</a> (Community-Supported Agriculture, where buyers pay upfront for a share of the farm's produce.) I am sure that no one who reads this blog is shocked by these statistics.<br />
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The presenter of this study, professor James Farmer, suggested that markets accepting government food assistance plans can make a difference, while some CSAs increase accessibility by offering installment plans, work-exchange programs and sliding-scale fees. For example, an increasing number of farmers' markets accept Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children vouchers and other government assistance for food alternatives. Meanwhile, some CSAs have incorporated payment installment plans and work-exchange programs, with a small number providing a sliding payment scale. Farmer also suggests that making farmer's markets physically accessible to minority and low-income neighborhoods is important.<br />
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One issue is sidestepped by this study: farmer's market prices are usually higher than grocery-store prices, in part because they cater to an affluent clientele who will pay more. CSA prices are difficult to determine because the produce is priced by the season and not by the piece - understandably suspicious to people for whom a misstep in food budgeting can mean not eating. <a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_11228.cfm">Organic Consumers</a> notes several variables that make the cost of local fresh produce a challenging sell to low-income buyers:<br />
<ul>
<li>"The cost of vegetables and fruit rose 120% between 1985 and 2000, while the price of junk like sodas and sweets went up less than 50% on average. (source 3)</li>
<li>Fresh food often doesn't provide as many calories per dollar as processed food.</li>
<li>Fresh food doesn't stay fresh as long as processed food. </li>
<li>Fresh food requires more labor to make into appealing, satisfying meals than processed food."</li>
</ul>
Advocates often address these issues via <a href="http://wholesomewave.org/program/">charity</a>, usually with dollar-matching of WIC or SNAP funds. Recently, a <a href="http://www.rogers-park.com/">local business district</a> found a more direct way to connect farmer's market produce and lower-income customers: they <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.295965067172118.52157.194449760656983&type=1">brought the leftover produce from the farmer's market </a>to a small corner store in an underserved area. The store owner was able to sell the produce, local neighbors were able to buy it cheaply without leaving their neighborhood, and the farmers left the market with less waste. Connecting the dots and closing the food gaps can sometimes be as simple as moving food from one place to another.Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-2365069852376864642012-11-21T09:00:00.000-06:002012-11-21T10:04:02.543-06:00The Food Desert Project: Pecan-Date Tassies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's pie season again! Sadly, I am a bit under the weather, so my usual plethora of pies won't be happening this year - so I decided I would make up in quantity what I can't do in variety. Tassies (possibly an Anglicization of the French word for cup, "tasse") are little one-bite pies, and I <a href="http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/nut_date_tassies.html">adapted this recipe</a> for a MUCH healthier pecan version that uses dates to create the custardy filling instead of eggs and Karo syrup (mmm, corn...syrup...) Fortunately, these taste just as rich as their<a href="http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/2010/11/sundays-with-sparky-pies-theyre-not_21.html"> lifesize counterpart.</a><br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<div>
1/4 cup instant oats<br />
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed<br />
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped<br />
1 tablespoon cornstarch<br />
2 tablespoons butter</div>
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4 ounces pitted dates (about 3/4 cup or 24 large dates - if using chopped, reduce the sugar by half)<br />
1/4 cup bourbon</div>
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1/2 cup water<br />
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed<br />
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter<br />
2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese<br />
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
1/2 cup pecans, chopped</div>
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Confectioners’ sugar for dusting or whipped cream for garnish</div>
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Equipment: a blender/grinder/food processor, a mini-muffin tin lined with mini-muffin liners, saucepan, heatproof spatula<br />
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<a href="http://caloriecount.about.com/food-desert-project-date-pecan-recipe-r1210278">Makes 24 tassies or 12 servings.</a></div>
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I used the chopper on my hand blender for this whole recipe, but you can do it in a blender or food processor - just make sure that the hot liquids cool before you add them to your bowl.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8203492671/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="001 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="001" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8483/8203492671_66b09cdc1d_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>First, grind the oatmeal into a powder, then add then next 4 ingredients and grind until they start to clump up into a ball. Scrape down the sides and grind again; it will be lumpy but try to get it as smooth as possible. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8203492785/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="002 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="002" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8065/8203492785_32a8c5b9d5_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Divide this evenly into your lined muffin tin, using a small round object (I used the pestle of my mortar and pestle) to tamp it down and slightly up the sides of the tin.</div>
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Put the dates, bourbon, water, sugar and butter in a saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring and mashing the dates with a heatproof spatula until the liquid is mostly evaporated and you leave a "trail" when you drag a spatula across the bottom. Allow this mixture to cool slightly.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8204584120/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="003 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="003" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8067/8204584120_ecd0b1f31a_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Pour the date mixture into the food processor and blend until you have a smooth dark paste. Add the cream cheese and vanilla extract and blend until it's all one color. Remove the blade or pour your mixture out into a bowl and fold in your pecans. Scoop into your prepared crusts, about a teaspoon of filling (make sure every scoop has nuts in it!) per tassie.</div>
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Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool, and then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.</div>
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Enjoy!<br />
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Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-70474339770197409422012-11-18T09:00:00.000-06:002012-11-18T09:00:04.843-06:00Sundays with Sparky - Pumpkin Cranberry Bread Pudding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8182380366/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="023 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="023" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8342/8182380366_170972f47b_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Everybody needs a good holiday potluck dish, and this one has been my escort to many a party. It works for almost any holiday from Halloween to New Year's, and it is always gratefully gobbled up wherever I take it. I'm frankly glad to finally get the recipe written down, because I originally adapted it on the fly from <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Bread-Pudding-with-Caramel-Sauce-104182">this recipe</a>, and I always miss something, since I never remember exactly what I did or how.<br />
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<b><u>Ingredients</u></b><br />
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1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin (not pie filling)<br />
1 cup packed brown sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice<br />
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
2 tbsp bourbon<br />
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2 cups milk<br />
10 cups sturdy bread, torn into chunks (grocery-store challah is a good choice*)</div>
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1/2 cup chopped walnuts (reserve a sprinkling for the top)</div>
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1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, lightly chopped, drizzled or well-coated with 1-2 tbsp honey, maple syrup, or sugar</div>
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*Note: the type of bread makes a big difference in the finished product. This time, we used fluffy and sweet dinner rolls, which made the whole thing something like a pumpkin mousse (not a bad thing, just different.) I prefer using the sort of bread that bounces back instead of rolling into pills between your fingers; it makes a sturdier, more traditional bread pudding.) You may need to adjust the sugar according to the sweetness of your bread.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8182378202/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="003 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="003" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8347/8182378202_21941ecd65_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Sparky tore up our rolls into bite-sized chunks, and put one layer on the bottom of an 8-cup casserole dish. He then tossed in about half of the cranberries and a heavy sprinkle of walnuts <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8182378680/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="004 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="004" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8478/8182378680_a8973fe69d_z.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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(we forgot to cut the cranberries, which I don't recommend; although they are there to balance the sweetness of the custard, the sourness of whole cranberries can be jarring.) He then repeated the process until the casserole was full, reserving about 2 tablespoons of nuts for the topping.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8182379054/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="006 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="006" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8182379054_1d10cb2dd0_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, spices and vanilla and bourbon were gleefully dumped into a bowl and whisked together, and then milk slowly stirred in until we had a soupy batter. This was carefully poured into the casserole; Sparky made sure to cover each bit of bread. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8182342365/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="011 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="011" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8486/8182342365_54e9bffaaf_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>At this point, you can either refrigerate it for up to a day, or if you're in a hurry, use a spatula to fold the mixture and make sure that all the bread is well-soaked with custard and the nuts and cranberries are evenly distributed. Top with the remaining walnuts.</div>
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Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake your custard for 35-45 minutes, or until it puffs up in the middle and is golden brown on top. It should be slightly jiggly in the center, but poke the middle with a skewer and make sure it's not soupy.</div>
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Serve warm or cold with whipped cream. Enjoy!</div>
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Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-70446693182644804342012-11-14T09:00:00.000-06:002012-11-26T10:44:48.783-06:00Policy Point Wednesday: It's Not All About Weight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcOt9mJf48x0qDt6wun9odpl3Z1oK-ZiAqP3wqr8lsAg9HMSrYA_-2qDrgfMTJOyb1ztyQAo9YoIJDQOOzLCfCXGOjgQiXF4bZPKADT2hyphenhyphenWLTFML58s_FYCHlkLzDpJuUia2G0pszUm0/s1600/P5080038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcOt9mJf48x0qDt6wun9odpl3Z1oK-ZiAqP3wqr8lsAg9HMSrYA_-2qDrgfMTJOyb1ztyQAo9YoIJDQOOzLCfCXGOjgQiXF4bZPKADT2hyphenhyphenWLTFML58s_FYCHlkLzDpJuUia2G0pszUm0/s200/P5080038.JPG" width="148" /></a></div>
If you see me out and about on the internets, you may well find that I've posted many a comment on healthy eating websites, nudging the writers there to drop the phrase "obesity epidemic." Any long-time reader here knows that I'm concerned about the <a href="http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/1/55.full">focus on body type</a> instead of on healthy behavior - <a href="http://www.xojane.com/issues/whats-wrong-fat-shaming">fat-shaming does nothing to promote health.</a><br />
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<a href="http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/2012/03/policy-point-wednesday-do-we-place-too.html">As I've written before,</a> studies have shown that body shape is not necessarily a determining factor in health. Recently, a ew <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001335">study</a> on physical activity and lifespan revealed that people who went for brisk walks for 150 minutes over the course of a week (or an equivalent exercise) added about 4 years to a person's lifespan across all BMI levels. On the other hand, a normal BMI in an inactive person was associated with a lifespan about three years shorter.<br />
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A different study suggests other motives for fat-shaming: weight intolerance may be driven by what we see. <a href="https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/background/index.jsp">Project Implicit</a> explored bias towards fat people and found that the <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/11/09/164789823/how-changing-visual-cues-can-affect-attitudes-about-weight">"visual diet"</a> of observers affected their beliefs about the people they saw. The more participants saw a particular body type, the more apt they were to be tolerant of people with that body type, and the inverse was also true. Unfortunately, this also held true for doctors, who showed bias against heavier people.<br />
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One issue may be that BMI numbers can be a very good tool for assessing <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/18/health/us-obesity/index.html">health trends in populations of people</a>, but is not a very good tool for assessing individual health. Unfortunately, seeing high BMI numbers correlated with high rates of certain diseases could <a href="http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_05_09.html">certainly cause confusion</a>. Clearly, there needs to be more education about the appropriate use of this measure. <br />
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While we don't have definitive answers about obesity, how it works, and how it affects health we do know that everyone, regardless of body type, needs to stay active and eat well. Let's focus on that message.Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-83527902818163752232012-11-07T09:00:00.000-06:002012-11-07T09:00:10.067-06:00The Food Desert Project: Spiced Hot Cider<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8162026245/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="044 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="044" height="400" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/8162026245_d1e9bac9a9_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Fall is the time for gatherings at our house; we usually host a large group who come and go during the course of Halloween, and I like to make sure my guests are warm and fed. Apples are at their peak season now, and nothing makes a better handwarmer than a hot spiced cider.<br />
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Spicing up your apple cider means that you can get away with a lesser-quality pasteurized cider (I'll leave adding the booze to you, bourbon or applejack are good options!) and still have a delicious hot drink. Do try to use apple <i>cider</i> and not apple<i> juice</i> (there is no legal distinction between apple cider and apple juice, but typically cider refers to unfiltered apple juice - it should be opaque.) <br />
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If you live in the Food Desert, you may have to resort to purchasing these spices online - however, whole spices last a very, very long time and these are standards that you'll want in your cupboard during the holiday season.<br />
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1 gallon of apple cider<br />
8 allspice berries<br />
4 whole cloves<br />
4 star anise<br />
(I prefer the flavor, it's subtler - you can sub 1/8 tsp whole anise seed)<br />
4 cinnamon sticks (or 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon)<br />
1 chunk (about a 1" piece or equivalent) candied or crystallized ginger<br />
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Pour the apple cider into a large pot and add the spices. Bring to a simmer, and then turn the heat to low. Allow to steep for at least 1/2 hour before serving. (You can also do this in your slow cooker.)<br />
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Take a deep breath and enjoy the fragrance in your house. Serve with a ladle to avoid putting fiddly spice bits in people's mugs and garnish with a cinnamon stick and anise flower, if desired.<br />
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Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-39046625689938079092012-11-04T09:00:00.000-06:002012-11-04T09:00:00.901-06:00Sundays with Sparky: Green Beans and New Potatoes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you haven't yet discovered that I have a love affair with my pressure cooker, you will today. You see, I often leave things until the last minute - which means the slow-cooked foods I loved felt out of reach until I was gifted with this wonderful appliance. Modern pressure cookers are much less scary than the ones your grandmother might have used, and they cook tough meats to tenderness in almost less time than it can take to prep them. (If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can do most of the same things in a slow cooker, but they'll take all day) My own pressure cooker does double-duty as a pressure canner - and when it met an untimely demise (it leapt - or was pushed - off the top of my refrigerator in the middle of the night,) I immediately went out and bought the exact same one.<br />
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Southern-style Green Beans with New Potatoes are a classic dish that the pressure cooker elevates to something really special - speedily! <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8152173698/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="001 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="001" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8070/8152173698_20e256cfef_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>I like to make mine in a smoked-pork-neck stock, so I had Sparky and his buddy Dr. Lasergonopus help me cover pork necks in water, seal the lid of the pressure cooker, and bring it up to steam. If you have a ham stock (or smoked chicken or turkey stock) already made, you can skip this step (and you are less than 10 minutes from your food being done!)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8152148389/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="006 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="006" height="200" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/8152148389_2024fa92c6_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>After the indicator showed they were up to pressure, the pork necks cooked on low heat (even though this means they were held above the boiling point!) for 20 minutes, and then I turned the heat off and allowed them to cool while we prepped the potatoes and dug up my bag of frozen green beans.<br />
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The amounts in this recipe don't really matter - you need enough stock to cover whatever amount you're making of potatoes and green beans; just follow the directions on your cooker and don't overfill it. For six servings, we used a bag of tiny frozen green beans, about a pound of new red potatoes, well scrubbed, and I sliced one very small onion.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8152147979/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="004 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="004" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8060/8152147979_4bf4e9a2ff_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Sparky and Dr. Lasergonopus cut the smallest potatoes in half, and the larger ones in quarters so it would all cook evenly.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8152174724/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="010 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="010" height="200" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/8152174724_f446d5abe5_z.jpg" width="199" /></a>Once the pressure released, we opened the cooker and carefully added the potatoes, green beans and onion. I then sealed the cooker and brought it up to temperature again, and then set a timer for 4 minutes. You heard me - four. That's all it takes.<br />
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I quick-cooled the pressure cooker by putting it in the sink and running cold water on it, and then we opened it up, fished out the neckbones with tongs and scraped off the meat with forks. We then put the meat back in, tasted to see if we needed salt (it usually doesn't, but YMMV,) and served it up! Delicious!<br />
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Green beans and potatoes cooked this way not only soak up the smoked pork and onion, but develop a velvety texture that is out of this world! <br />
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Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-76523838312039920532012-10-31T09:00:00.000-05:002012-11-26T10:44:48.785-06:00Policy Point Wednesday: Happy Halloween!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The American Dental Association and their new website,</div>
<a href="http://www.stopzombiemouth.com/">stopzombiemouth.com</a> (definitely worth a visit, especially if you have kids) bring us this infographic about Halloween.<br />
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<a href="http://static-www.ec.popcap.com/misc/zombiemouth/images/info_funfacts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="554" src="http://static-www.ec.popcap.com/misc/zombiemouth/images/info_funfacts.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
Also, if you're still planning your non-candy Halloween treats, I created a Tumblr to collect ideas for healthy options: <a href="http://healthyhalloween.tumblr.com/">healthyhalloween.tumblr.com</a>Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-69714126518002578082012-10-24T09:00:00.000-05:002012-10-24T09:26:55.951-05:00The Food Desert Project: Thomas Jefferson's Perloo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8117951588/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="011 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="011" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8117951588_da7f4ea63b_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Pilau, or Perloo (for those of you who love <a href="http://www.pogo-fan-club.org/">Pogo</a> like we do,) is an American Lowcountry rice dish based loosely on the rice pilafs and biryanis of the middle east and India. I don't know if you are aware of the adventurous kitchen of founding father Thomas Jefferson, but he was about as experimental a gourmet as was possible before air travel. This simple dish is purported to be one of his favorites, mostly because the original used both pignoli and pistachios, exotic nuts just being introduced into Europe via Italy. <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=V4CJfHqT6ssC&pg=PT310&lpg=PT310&dq=Thomas+Jefferson+Perloo&source=bl&ots=52gKHeWFz_&sig=tzTE71KpessWuSIqLp2ESITs6-o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kUOHUIu3M8vryAHLl4CIBw&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBA">The Glory of Southern Cooking</a> reports that Jefferson most likely brought back both kinds of trees to cultivate at Monticello, and he might well be responsible for bringing in the cultivars we use in the US today. (Jefferson's garden had an<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-hatch/thomas-jeffersons-legacy-_b_714645.html"> unbelievable impact</a> on American horticulture and agriculture.)<br />
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This is one of those simple dishes that packs a lot of flavor into a small, plain package: I can't wait to see how it goes with the turkey I'm planning to roast tonight! If your food desert doesn't offer unsalted raw nuts, give them a quick soak in warm water and then rinse and drain them before toasting; you may want to eliminate the salt entirely. You may not be able to find pignoli and they are expensive no matter where you find them, so I substituted pepitas, or roasted pumpkin seeds. If you can't find those, use sunflower seeds.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8117942743/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="001 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="001" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8044/8117942743_4cb7f17265_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>2 cups low-sodium chicken stock<br />
2 tbsp butter<br />
1 cup long-grain or converted rice<br />
1/2 cup pistachios<br />
1/4 cup pepitas or pignoli<br />
1 tsp salt (or salt to taste if using rinsed salted nuts)<br />
1/4 tsp nutmeg<br />
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Put the butter, stock and rice in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat to low for about 20-25 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. In the meantime, toast the nuts lightly in a skillet until they are fragrant. When the rice is done, mix in the nutmeg and nuts and season with salt. Enjoy!<br />
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I can't think of Perloo without thinking of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogo_(comic_strip)">Walt Kelly's Pogo cartoons</a> of the 1960s. We are blessed to have inherited a neighbor's collection of Pogo comic books, and in one, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Equal-Time-Pogo-Walt-Kelly/dp/0671200186">Equal Time for Pogo</a>, there is an entire strip dedicated to the 1968 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1968#Republican_Party_nomination">Republican candidates</a> for President...including George W. Romney and Ronald Reagan. I remember first coming across this strip during the Reagan era, and now, here it is again...the timelessness of these pieces is amazing!<br />
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Just a little reminder for all our US readers: history is watching us! Get out there and exercise your right to cast <a href="http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/winter96/jefferson.html">an educated vote</a> for the candidates and issues of your choosing! (P.S. For extra bonus points, I heard a rumor that early voters are removed from political phone-call lists! Yippee!)Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-38851043718598164922012-10-21T09:00:00.000-05:002012-10-21T09:03:42.787-05:00Sundays with Sparky: Save the Apples! Spiced Applesauce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8103857381/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="022 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="022" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8103857381_d4e6a73a29_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8103859313/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="001 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="001" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8183/8103859313_70fba1aeb0_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Keeping ahead of your produce can be a full-time job. It's often cheaper to buy food in bulk, but since Sparky is one of those kids who refuses to eat apples that aren't perfect...a week or so after I've bought them, they wind up abandoned in the fruit bowl looking like this:<br />
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Fortunately for us, apples are cheap, and even those that have become unfashionably bumpy make terrific applesauce.<br />
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There are two schools of thought when it comes to homemade applesauce: the lazy school (my preference) which just cuts apples in half, cooks them until they fall apart, and strains the cooked apples to remove seeds and skins. In addition to being no-peel, this method takes advantage of the natural pectin in the skins and near the seeds, and makes a thick, silky applesauce. The second school of thought prefers velvety chunks in their applesauce. This requires peeling and coring the apples, cooking them in large pieces and letting them slowly fall apart naturally, and makes a juicy applesauce.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8103879792/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="005 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="005" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8045/8103879792_d8d6bb9d89_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>I decided to teach Sparky both methods simultaneously and get the best of both worlds, so after a Fruit-Ninja-style removal of the bad parts, he peeled and cored the apples<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8103873482/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="008 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="008" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8103873482_581e3cb1cf_z.jpg" width="200" /></a> (my favorite coring method: cut the 4 faces off each apple and leave a small rectangle with the core in it.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8103873028/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="011 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="011" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8103873028_1d5e435f40_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>We put the cores and peels into one pot, and the peeled apple chunks into another along with a four allspice berries and a couple of bay leaves (Sparky adds cinnamon to taste when he eats it, you can also add a cinnamon stick during cooking.) We added a slosh of apple cider (water is fine) to each pot to keep the bottom from burning.<br />
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Sparky turned the heat to high until the liquid was boiling, then covered the pots and reduced the heat to medium-low heat for a total of about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. The apple chunks released a lot of juice, so every so often we drained it into the pot with the cores and peels to help them cook faster.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8103858075/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="015 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="015" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8324/8103858075_94e1f2f13b_z.jpg" width="199" /></a>After the apple chunks were fork-tender, we increased the temperature of the cores and peels and allowed them to caramelize slightly (when you do this, you'll see how much better the juice thickens with cores and peels) and then we scraped them through a sieve directly into the pot of apple chunks, discarding the peels and seeds that were left behind.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8103857757/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="021 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="021" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8187/8103857757_280fc03de4_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Sparky then used a spatula to mix the two sauces together, lightly mashing the chunks as it bubbled together until we had a beautiful, silky, chunky applesauce. Mmmm.<br />
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Serve warm or cold, with cinnamon or without; I can't imagine autumn without it! Enjoy!</div>
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<br />Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-89037088493116561602012-10-17T09:00:00.000-05:002012-11-26T10:44:48.796-06:00Policy Point Wednesday: Food Innovations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qv_cUcc7KokrskjGDV9XITTBgiWd8EMvtP-wcpG575UqOJPfovzmnFbZWZax3P0lqh5yyuq0O3xQ_6hGsTD_dOMgWyfnBbgeN8ip8roV83NprMVnJJz1zZg6tKbpKDHBtoElqkG0Cv8/s1600/P5080033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qv_cUcc7KokrskjGDV9XITTBgiWd8EMvtP-wcpG575UqOJPfovzmnFbZWZax3P0lqh5yyuq0O3xQ_6hGsTD_dOMgWyfnBbgeN8ip8roV83NprMVnJJz1zZg6tKbpKDHBtoElqkG0Cv8/s200/P5080033.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://royalsociety.org/news/2012/top-20-food-innovations/">The Royal Society</a>, an independent UK academy of science promoting the natural and applied sciences, recently published a list of the top 20 food innovations. Interestingly, the top three spots were reserved for modern methods of food preservation: refrigeration, pasteurization/ sterilization, and canning.<br />
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Reading the list made me realize how little thought even the food-obsessed like me give our food, as the large majority of these innovations are used before food even reaches the store. For instance, six of the innovations improve food production, e.g. the fishing net, crop rotation, the plow, irrigation, the threshing machine/combine harvester, and selective breeding/strains. Six others have to do with processing and large-capacity or long-term food storage (home canning does happen, it's rare these days) e.g. pasteurization/sterilization, canning, grinding/milling, fermentation, the cork and the barrel. These sometimes simple changes in how we approach our food are a defense against both starvation and food-borne illness.<br />
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Of the remaining nine items on the list: refrigeration, the oven, baking, the pot, the knife, eating utensils, the microwave oven and frying, we don't really think about them as a barrier to pathogens. If you think about it, most of the innovations keep food out of the "temperature danger zone," or otherwise act as a barrier to pathogens. Even a knife can be used to cut "bad" parts of food away, and to make food small enough to be cooked safely.<br />
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We tend to take all of these innovations for granted, but food production and food safety are a major factor in our current prosperity. In particular, Americans never think about cholera or typhoid - but these two diseases are still serious threats in areas where these kinds of technologies are limited. We've also conquered many of the vitamin deficiencies suffered by our forbears, due in part to these sometimes simple technologies for food production and storage. Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-46633896586527425642012-10-10T09:00:00.000-05:002012-10-10T12:41:19.946-05:00The Food Desert Project: Tanzanian Coconut Beans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8069077644/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="016 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="016" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/8069077644_f268716800_z.jpg" width="398" /></a></div>
Most often, when surfing the web for ideas, I suddenly find myself in an entirely different hemisphere. So many cultures depend on preserved foods! I'm not sure exactly how I stumbled across this charming website, but I can't wait to introduce you to <a href="http://kulmansam.com/index.html">Kulmansam</a>. At his site you can learn about Tanzanian culture and food as well as a bit of <a href="http://kulmansam.com/kiswahili/swahili_learnkiswahili.html">kiSwahili</a>. The following recipe is my food-desert version of his recipe for <a href="http://kulmansam.com/recipes/african_recipe_maharageyanazi.html">Maharage ya Nazi</a>, or Tanzanian Coconut Beans.<br />
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I can attest to the fact that this is a really easy recipe. No - I mean REALLY easy. The <i>reason</i> I can attest to this is that I managed to get this dish on the table despite fingers with 2nd-degree burns, an infestation of pantry moths, a mouse who left a wake of devastation in my kitchen last night culminating in the destruction of my pressure cooker, a last-minute, with-food-on-the-stove missing ingredient requiring a run to the store, and an understandably concerned and exasperated husband who had not planned to use his paramedic skills at home. Despite all of those things (none caused by the dish itself, mind you,) <a href="http://kulmansam.com/kiswahili/swahili_proverbs.html">Penye niya, pana njiya,</a> and we ate dinner as planned. The dish came out beautifully - I was amazed at how such simple flavors and textures work together like notes in a chord. So, if you're looking for an easy side dish - or a vegan main course - this is the one, baby! (Just make sure you <i>actually</i> have coconut milk, as opposed to <i>thinking</i> you have it.)<br />
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1 15-oz can dark red kidney beans<br />
Water<br />
1 tbsp dried onion flakes<br />
1 10-oz can of diced tomato with green chili<br />
1 5.6 oz can of coconut milk or 3/4 cup (do NOT use coconut cream or sweetened coconut milk)<br />
Salt to taste<br />
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Cooked rice<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8069078498/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="001 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="001" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/8069078498_2c863fb633_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Drain and rinse the beans well, and then put them in a pot and just cover them with water. Add the onion flakes and bring to a boil. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8069082153/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="002 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="002" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8181/8069082153_948465edba_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>After about 5 minutes, add the can of tomatoes and continue boiling until the liquid is mostly gone and the beans are creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and boil until reduced by half and the juices form a thick, rich sauce, about 10 minutes more. Season to taste and serve over cooked rice. <a href="http://kulmansam.com/kiswahili/swahili_basicwords.html">Nzuri!</a><br />
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Other recipes for this dish indicate that it can be served as a soup, in which case I would add the tomatoes and coconut milk at the beginning, simmer just until the onions are rehydrated, and add water to thin as needed. Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-87420612083474230192012-10-07T09:00:00.000-05:002012-10-07T09:00:00.257-05:00Sundays with Sparky: Bi Bim Bap (Korean Mixed-Up Rice, American Style)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8061230209/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="040 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="040" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8462/8061230209_ef2ae30092_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Every culture has a dish that's all about digging into the bottom of your food stores and making do with what you have. <a href="http://www.insanitytheory.net/kitchenwench/bibimbap-a-korean-favourite/">Korea is no exception</a>. I am guessing that bits of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banchan">Banchan</a>, the small vegetable dishes served with meals, must multiply in Korean fridges just like bits of produce does in mine. Enter <a href="http://kochschlampe.com/2008/12/14/the-amazing-bibimbap/">Bi Bim Bap</a> (Bap means rice, and Bi and Bim are both forms of the verb <i>mix</i>) - in America we might call it Everything But The Kitchen Sink Rice. Basically, leftovers are arranged on hot leftover rice (sometimes twice-cooked until it has a crispy bottom) with maybe a small portion of meat, the whole thing is topped with a lightly fried egg, seasoned with a chili-miso seasoning called <i>gochujang,</i> and vigorously mixed all together so the egg yolk and gochujang make a sauce. Mmmm.<br />
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Even though gochujang is less spicy than some chili pastes, it's a nonstarter for Sparky, so I usually sub hoisin (or <i>doenjang</i>, if I'm shopping at <a href="http://www.hmart.com/">H-Mart</a>) I also don't typically have any banchan in my fridge (I am the only person in my family who loves kimchi. Sniff.) so our version has become a clean-out-the-crisper-drawer thing. Most banchan is either pickled or cooked in some way, but instead we just put raw vegetables over the rice, although it's also a great way to get rid of leftover sauteed greens or the odd cooked green bean. In fact, saute up any greens that are still good but you wouldn't eat raw - salad greens work just as well as spinach. Don't worry about the details - the idea is to use whatever you've got.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8061228005/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="006 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="006" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/8061228005_3e60b524e4_z.jpg" width="199" /></a>So, first, I started out doing the cooking parts of the dish: loosely following <a href="http://www.justhungry.com/how-cook-perfect-rice-in-frying-pan-fast-and-foolproof">this recipe</a> for sushi rice, I dumped well-rinsed and drained rice in my cast-iron skillet with water, tightly covered it, and brought it to a boil. I then turned it down to low, left it for 10 minutes, turned off the heat and let it sit for another 10 - amazing, perfect rice! I'm sold on this technique, so go to the terrific blog <a href="http://www.justhungry.com/how-cook-perfect-rice-in-frying-pan-fast-and-foolproof">Just Hungry</a> and check it out. If you use a nonstick skillet you will have to fuss with the temperature - but cast iron retains heat nicely.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8061228951/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="015 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="015" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8180/8061228951_9ff8a00ccb_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Then I had Sparky scoop the cooked rice into a hot <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/korean-pots-dolsot-and-ddukbae-90104">Dolsot </a>I had seasoned with some sesame oil. It's basically a pot made of pizza stone, and it gives the rice a lovely crispy-fried crust that is out of this world. An extra step, yes, but totally worth it. We covered the rice and left it on high to crisp up as we cut vegetables.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8061228597/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="016 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="016" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/8061228597_25e84abcf5_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Sparky did the heavy lifting: this dish is all about vegetable prep-work, making them small to mix easily into the rice. He sliced snowpeas, cut cucumbers into rounds, and peppers into strips. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8061229479/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="028 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="028" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/8061229479_93618e3fe8_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>He then used a vegetable peeler to make a huge pile of carrot shavings. (We also cheated and used a precut cole slaw mix.) The more veggies, the better.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8061230763/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="029 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="029" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/8061230763_c1ffa3c63c_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>I browned some ground beef in a skillet, and splashed it with a bit of soy sauce and apple juice. As that was cooking, I put some sesame oil in my nonstick skillet and fried an egg for each person.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8061234176/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="033 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="033" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8173/8061234176_92b33d5d0c_z.jpg" width="199" /></a>Sparky mixed the crispy bits into the rice and scooped it onto large plates (Bi bim bap is usually served in large bowls; ours are just too small.) He then arranged all the vegetables and meat carefully over the rice, making a pattern where each topping had a colorful neighbor. <br />
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I slid a fried egg over the top of each serving and then decorated it with some hoisin - and we all dug in. <br />
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A delicious way to get your vegetables for the day! Enjoy!</div>
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<br />Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-82868844714813978962012-10-03T09:00:00.000-05:002012-11-26T10:44:48.787-06:00Policy Point Wednesday - Panic at the Lunchroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you follow food news at all, I'm sure you've read about the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2012/09/17/861601/king-calories-school-lunch/">conservative coalition</a> moving to eliminate calorie caps in school lunches, or the <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/09/28/161941282/some-grumble-about-change-as-school-lunches-get-leaner-and-greener">school groups protesting</a> what they call a one-size-fits-all approach. Previously, school lunches were governed by a <a href="http://www.cspinet.org/2007schoolreport.pdf">mishmash of state policies</a> that seemed more concerned with getting calories into children, whether they need them or not, than with teaching good eating habits. The current policy sets a cap of 850 calories per lunch for high school students - more than a typical fast-food lunch - and 650 for elementary school students; these limits represent 1/3 of the daily recommended calories for kids.<br />
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I am guessing that the problem is not really the calorie caps, but the types of foods that are now required by the new legislation. New school lunches have <a href="http://www.cspinet.org/2007schoolreport.pdf">a focus on fruits and vegetables </a>, and contain fewer calories from "kid-friendly" foods like pizza, french fries, and nachos. "Kid" foods haven't disappeared from school lunch - they are just offered in smaller portions, with a larger proportion of the calories coming from foods like sweet potatoes, re-fried beans, steamed vegetables, salads, and fruit. The real problem with the new school lunch is that many kids suffer from food <a href="http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/2010/08/policy-point-wednesday-unfamiliar.html">neophobia</a>, and just aren't used to these items which comprise (per guidelines from the <a href="http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2009/School-Meals-Building-Blocks-for-Healthy-Children.aspx">Institute of Medicine</a>) a large proportion of the calories for the meal.<br />
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In 2010, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, as<a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/pressreleases/2011/0133.htm"> part of an announcement</a> about the USDA's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, said "Improving the health and nutrition of our kids is a national imperative and by providing schools with fresh fruits and vegetables that expand their healthy options, we are helping our kids to have a brighter, healthier future," ... "Every time our kids eat a piece of fruit or a vegetable, they are learning healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime."<br />
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Neophobia of foods is not uncommon with children, and it can be difficult to address - but our current system of pandering to children's tastes just to get food in them sets up a lifetime of unhealthy behavior. Children learn to eat new foods by repeated, positive exposures - and the school lunch system now offers consistent exposure to a variety of healthy foods. <a href="http://www.ellynsatter.com/ellyn-satters-division-of-responsibility-in-feeding-i-80.html">Offering good, healthy food is the adult's responsibility. Choosing to eat it or not and learning the consequences of that choice is the kids' responsibility.</a><br />
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Creating healthy eating habits is critical to improving nutrition and reducing diet-related disease in our most vulnerable populations. Detractors of the new lunches insist that every child should have access to all the calories they want to ensure that the kids who depend on school lunch get what they need. Rather than taking this blanket, not to mention expensive, approach, I think schools and communities should work to identify families in need and connect them to the wide variety of programs available to ensure their children get three meals a day: <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/">SNAP</a>, <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/">WIC</a>, <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/breakfast/">School breakfast</a>, <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/afterschool/">Afterschool Snacks</a>, and the <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/seamless_summer.htm">Seamless Summer Option</a>, in addition to local community resources like food pantries and soup kitchens. Kids need to eat, but more importantly, they need to learn to eat well.Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-63184623146580790202012-09-26T09:00:00.000-05:002012-09-26T09:00:00.123-05:00The Food Desert Project: Quick Giardiniera Salmon Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, I just wasn't feelin' it. I have a backlog of recipes I want to try for this project, but all of them involved shopping, researching and just plain doing more than I wanted to do right at the moment. Fortunately, it doesn't always take shopping, researching and a lot of doing to get a good meal on the table - so I rummaged through my pantry and came up with a quick lunch.<br />
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This is another one of those recipes that hearkens back to the old Southern "five-can-casserole." I basically opened one can and three jars, and mixed the contents together - the difference being the <a href="http://caloriecount.about.com/giardiniera-salmon-salad-recipe-r1164106">somewhat-healthier ingredients</a> I put together: vegetables and fish, rather than canned cream soup and canned fried noodles.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8023804803/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="001 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="001" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/8023804803_abf268ce52_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>1 14 to 15 oz can of salmon<br />
1/2 jar of giardiniera of your choosing, well-drained<br />
6-7 black olives, chopped or sliced<br />
1/4 cup jarred pesto sauce (look for a short ingredients list, preferably one that starts with "basil." Refrigerated is better, but canned is OK.)<br />
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Put the ingredients together in a bowl. Flake the salmon (don't remove the bones, they're good for you! Take them out, mash them, and put them back in if they bother you) and fold in the remaining ingredients until combined. Serve on whole-grain crackers (we like crispbread-style.) Enjoy!<br />
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Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-51628781584937532252012-09-23T09:00:00.000-05:002012-09-23T09:00:04.648-05:00Sundays with Sparky: Dulce de Leche. Scientific - like, of course<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The sound of metal cans dancing in a water bath is one of my earliest memories. My mother moved from Argentina to the Midwest well ahead of the Latin immigration wave and its concurrent wave of Latin American foods, so any flavors of her childhood were foods she just had to make herself. Dulce de leche was unheard of when I was a little girl. Most of my friends dismissed it as "weird," probably because an unlabeled can in their fridge meant something entirely different to them (I guess some awful mystery vegetable?) Our refrigerator was never without such a can, as my mother had tea and toast with dulce de leche like clockwork every afternoon.<br />
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Dulce de leche is a two-ingredient recipe no matter how you look at it. You can make it from "scratch" by boiling milk and sugar into caramel, whisking for hours, or you can boil unopened cans of sweetened condensed milk - very carefully, because if you boil the water off the tops of the cans, they might overheat and explode (dramatic as this sounds - I have never seen this happen in many, many years of making it this way. Of course, we were always careful with the water level.) These two methods take advantage of the same chemical reaction: the Maillard reaction.<br />
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Even though we are producing something like caramel, the <a href="http://sciencegeist.net/the-maillard-reaction/">Maillard</a> reaction is not the same as caramelization. 100 years ago, physician and scientist Louis-Camille Maillard discovered this reaction in his study of "reducing sugars" - complex sugars that give up charged atoms to other particles in certain situations. Maillard uncovered a specific reaction that happens when a reducing sugar and a protein (proteins contain nitrogen) are exposed to heat around room temperature or slightly higher. Basically, this change gives our food a boost of color, flavor and aroma. Because the condensed milk (a combination of proteins and sugars, right?) remains in a sealed environment and is heated at a temperature near the boiling point, we can conclude that the Maillard reaction causes the change. This same reaction causes everything from bread to steak to fried chicken to become <a href="http://www.acronymfinder.com/Golden,-Brown-and-Delicious-(GBD).html">GBD</a>. It is so beloved, it even has its own <a href="http://www.imars.org/online/">international society.</a><br />
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<a href="http://sciencegeist.net/the-chemistry-of-caramel/">Carmelization,</a> on the other hand, is all about applying heat to sugar, any sugar - it's the reaction that brings us things like toffee and peanut brittle. It happens at a much higher temperature - about 250 to 350° F, and is what distinguishes Dulce de Leche from a <a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/caramel_sauce/">Caramel Sauce</a>, (in which you add cream to a hot and already-caramelized sugar.) I do notice that though the two sauces are similar, they are not identical.<br />
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So, in this experiment, we will be controlling several variables: one, the contents of the can (controlled by the can itself) two, the application of even heat (boiling in a water bath will keep a constant temperature) and we will be manipulating one variable: time. My mother always boiled her Dulce de Leche for several hours, and I always wondered whether that was truly necessary. We are making one change from her recipe, simply for convenience's sake: I am using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/La-Lecherita-6-Mini-Cans-Pack/dp/B000J43N4W">"La Lecherita,"</a> tiny six-packs of 3.5 ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk. Our findings may not apply to a larger can.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8009340540/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="002 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="002" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/8009340540_cda972917e_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Sparky emptied two packages of La Lecherita into our Dutch Oven (an excellent choice for this task on two parts: it has a lid that seals tightly and it is made of a material that retains heat well.) Keep in mind that the most important factor in a cooking vessel right now is depth, and ordinarily this pot would be too shallow - but since we're using tiny cans, it was easy to cover them in double their depth of water, which was the next thing Sparky added to the pot. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8009332053/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="006 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="006" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/8009332053_645d0c5ab4_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>You want to keep the cans covered by water during the entire cooking process, because the water is how we maintain a constant temperature of 212 Farenheit or 100 Centigrade; if it boils away your cans can overheat - and we don't want to find out what happens then, scientific curiosity or no. This means you have to account for water loss via evaporation - more water is better.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8009336381/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="017 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="017" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8449/8009336381_1bfa480d52_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>We brought the water to a rolling boil, covered the pot, and turned down the heat to the lowest point where we could still hear the cans doing their "dance" inside the pot <i>(BONUS SCIENCE QUESTION: Who can explain what causes the cans to "dance" in the comments? Extra points if you are answering for someone in grades K-12) </i>We set a timer for 30 minutes, and went about our business.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/8009335941/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="019 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="019" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/8009335941_18330f4297_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>In 30 minutes, Sparky pulled out two cans, set them aside to cool, checked the water level of the pot, re-covered it, and set the timer for another 30 minutes. We repeated this 6 times for a final cooking time of 3 hours, adding water to the pot as needed. We allowed each can to cool completely, and then opened them to take a look at the results.<br />
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Longtime friend of <i>QTBO</i>, <a href="http://www.cmu.edu/cnast/People/das.html">Professor Subha Ranjan Das</a>, (who will hopefully check that I got this right) sent us some leads on better insight into the Maillard reaction: There are three main stages to this process - <i>condensation, rearrangement, and polymerization.</i> The first two stages don't produce much visual change at all - you can see this in the can that only cooked for 30 minutes - it's barely changed color from the uncooked can. On the molecular level, however, the sugar and an <i>amino</i> (the nitrogen compound in proteins) combine to make an unstable compound called an <i>n-substituted glycosylamine</i>. In a process known as the <a href="http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/class/f&n630/amadori_rearrangement.ppt">Amidori rearrangement</a>, the oxygen and hydrogen atoms rearrange themselves into water molecules; what remains becomes an <i>Amidori compound</i>. These two reactions have little effect on the color of the mixture - but if you open the can and take a whiff at this point, you may begin to smell the effect. The tail end of this reaction produces volatile compounds that give us the the sugary, malty smell we associate with caramel. The unstable compound continues to degrade, until finally the remaining loose molecules recombine into long, stringy polymers, which bring the brown color and some tasty, tasty flavors. Unlike true caramelization, the Maillard reaction doesn't require much heat, which is why milk makes an excellent invisible ink: it will turn brown before paper scorches.<br />
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Interestingly, while the difference between the first can and the last can is marked, the difference in color of the last three cans is pretty much the same. Therefore, our experiment can be said to show that 2 hours is sufficient time to boil a tiny can of condensed milk into golden-delicious Dulce de Leche.<br />
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We made some toast, and the rest is history. Enjoy!</div>
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<br />Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-35477783724023065692012-09-19T09:00:00.000-05:002012-11-26T10:44:48.775-06:00Policy Point Wednesday: Recess - Redundant?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When it comes to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle_disease">lifestyle-related disease</a>, there are three major factors to control for: diet, substance use and physical activity. Many of us remember growing up with a focus on substance abuse; in recent years, our American diet has come under scrutiny. News and studies are now starting to turn towards physical activity.<br />
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Not all physical activity is the same, however. For instance, in school - while P.E. classes play an important role in helping children become healthy adults, studies are showing that P.E. is not a replacement for unstructured playtime. <a href="http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/poptopics/recess.html">Recess, which was available in 90% of schools twenty years ago, is fast becoming a scarce commodity</a>. School districts focused on improving test scores have opted for additional instructional time instead of giving students the chance to get outside and move, disproportionately more so in disadvantaged communities.<br />
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This flies in the face of research showing that kids who play do better academically. <a href="http://edr.sagepub.com/content/34/1/13.abstract">Researchers have linked recess to students who are better-adjusted to school and show better school performance.</a> Recess has been shown to <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/123/2/431.abstract">improve classroom behavior </a>during instructional time. Beyond the benefits in school, recess allows each child to<a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/aahperd/joperd/2008/00000079/00000004/art00012#expand/collapse"> explore physical activities</a> at his or her own pace and find out which ones work best<i> </i>- which can motivate them to become an active adult. <br />
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Some schools and parents have legitimate concerns about recess safety: bullying and accidents are both possible outcomes of unstructured play. It is important to note that unstructured playtime does not mean unsupervised playtime. Training playground staff in <a href="http://www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/playground-supervision-reduces-injuries.htm">proactive supervision</a> is a critical step in preserving the benefits of recess. There are numerous <a href="http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin519.shtml">systems for schools</a> to ensure that their students receive the full benefit of recess while maintaining a sense of school security. While recess is a time for unstructured play, it requires a safe environment both physically and socially for children to thrive: <a href="http://www.playworks.org/files/StateOfPlayFeb2010.pdf">a 2010 study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation</a> found that the single best way to improve recess is to improve recess staffing.<br />
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In short, appropriate recess is a precious commodity and should be supported by parents and educators alike. Not only is it a gateway to a lifetime of physical activity, but it is also a tool for improving the social, developmental, and academic climate at a school.Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-20245471031185686052012-09-12T09:00:00.000-05:002012-09-12T09:00:11.377-05:00The Food Desert Project: Soft-boiled Eggs with Pimento Cheese Soldiers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes, it's simple pleasures, right? Back in the 1970s, everybody had egg-cups expressly for enjoying soft-boiled eggs and toast "soldiers" to dip in them, but somehow this dish fell out of favor. People think, somewhat unfairly, that soft-boiling an egg and cutting toast into strips is too much trouble. (Don't have an egg cup these days? No worries, we found that shot or cordial glasses are a perfect fit.)<br />
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I can't blame them, really: in researching soft-boiled eggs, I found no less than five "experts" claiming that even though it is <i>called </i>a three-minute egg, it should be steeped, boiled, simmered or steamed for <a href="http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/239/Soft-Boiled-Eggs">seven,</a> <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/10/the-food-lab-science-of-how-to-cook-perfect-boiled-eggs.html">six,</a> <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-softboil-an-egg-138819">five-to-seven,</a> or <a href="http://www.spatulatta.com/component/content/article/211-soft-boiled-eggs">four</a> minutes. Vigorous discussion of the pre-cooking egg temperature is also included. No <i>wonder</i> nobody wants to mess with it!<br />
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The problem is that you're working with several variables, but you only have good control of the water temperature and the cooking time. Most people in the real world use refrigerator-temperature large eggs. Add or remove time accordingly if your eggs are warm or an odd size. The other, more important variable is YOU: exactly how "done" do you like soft-boiled eggs? As shown, I prefer to err towards runny, but many people call eggs with a set yolk "soft-boiled." Eggs are cheap: do a few, figure out what works for you.<br />
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So, bring a pot of water, enough to cover the eggs, to a vigorous boil. Turn down the heat until it is a bare simmer (just a few bubbles barely breaking the surface.) Lower the eggs in using a spoon (the less you jostle them, the less likely they will be to crack even if they are right out of the fridge.) Adjust the temperature until you have a few bubbles again, and set a timer for four minutes. Remove the eggs, shock them in some icewater to stop the cooking, and then put them in warm water until your toasts are ready.<br />
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<b>Pimento-cheese Soldiers</b><br />
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Slices of lightly-toasted bread, as desired (about 1 per egg per person)<br />
1 4oz jar of pimientos (will make about 2-3 toasts)<br />
2-3 tablespoons of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (will make about 2-3 toasts)<br />
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"Soft-boiled" eggs, as above (refrigerated eggs placed in simmering water for 4 minutes then "shocked" with icewater)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7974310384/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="001 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="001" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/7974310384_25800e3acf_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>This couldn't be simpler. Drain your pimientos and fry them lightly to remove some of the moisture. Spread them on your toast, top with cheese, and run under your broiler for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese melts and browns slightly. Cut into long, thin sticks. Dip into the yolk of your soft-boiled eggs and enjoy!<br />
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I started this post by trying a version of <a href="http://www.savourytable.com/2012/01/really-good-egg-soft-boiled-eggs-with.html">ham-and-cheese soldiers</a>, same method but with diced ham - and I used a combination of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Delicious.<br />
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<br />Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-74867992365117119132012-09-09T09:00:00.000-05:002012-09-09T09:00:04.553-05:00Sundays With Sparky: BKT (Bacon, Kale Chip and Tomato Sanwich)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes, what we eat is all about Sparky. He invented this sandwich with his Dad one afternoon, while I was out shopping - and it's pure genius if you love crispy/salty things the way all of us do.<br />
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I've mentioned before that I think homemade chips are a gateway vegetable, but I've been remiss in posting our favorite: kale chips. You make them pretty much <a href="http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/2011/07/sundays-with-sparky-rock-your-veg-beet.html">like any other chip</a>, but since I grow kale in my garden (a perfect vegetable if you don't have good sun and live where it snows, it will last well beyond the first frost) we eat them quite often. They are incredibly delicate, and shatter pleasantly in your mouth. <br />
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Because Sparky will someday go to college, I also wanted to try some microwave cooking - nowadays, even the most meager kitchen sports a microwave. This works surprisingly well for anything that is high in fat: kale chips work because they are coated in oil, and bacon works because it is made mostly of lard (delicious, delicious lard...) <br />
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3-4 slices bacon per sandwich<br />
4-5 leaves of kale per sandwich (depending on the size and type)<br />
<a href="http://www.oliveoilpassion.com/what-is-extra-virgin-olive-oil/">EVOO</a><br />
Bread<br />
Tomatoes (about a tomato per sandwich, depending on the size)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7959151226/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="021 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="021" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8306/7959151226_fb9e640b1d_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>So, Sparky started with the bacon - we just spread it in a single layer over a couple thicknesses of paper towel spread over a microwave-safe plate. It takes about 3 minutes on high per slice, so it isn't really a timesaver, but you get delicious crispy, fully-rendered bacon - and there is slightly less washing-up.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7959154890/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="009 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="009" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7959154890_a41d1250b6_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>As for the kale, we wanted pieces as large as possible, so Sparky simply folded it in half, stemmed it and otherwise left it alone. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7959153080/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="015 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="015" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7959153080_82d60ce013_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Often, I use cooking spray to coat the leaves, but this time we just put it in a bowl, drizzled it with olive oil, and then rubbed each leaf until it was thoroughly coated. Again, it was spread on a microwave-safe plate in a single layer.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7959150168/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="025 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="025" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/7959150168_1d371e6c5f_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>We alternated bacon with kale in the microwave, three minutes on high each time. I find that the kale is faster and crispier if you cook it in the microwave until it wilts, and then finish it in your toaster oven, but it works either way. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7959148424/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="027 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="027" height="199" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7959148424_fc7c509103_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>We removed the saturated paper towels from the bacon for the last go-round, when it was dry but not crisp, so it could cook in its own lard...and this is the result.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7959146488/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="036 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="036" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/7959146488_fa44eefab9_z.jpg" width="199" /></a>Then, all you have to do is slice and toast your bread, and thinly slice your tomatoes: we have some beautiful heirloom-style ones today. You can put mayo or avocado on the bread, but it's less necessary than with a BLT because of the oil on the kale chips.<br />
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Humble bread and tomatoes are elevated with the help of their crunchy, salty companions. Enjoy!Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-25842853970957721422012-09-05T09:19:00.000-05:002012-11-26T10:44:48.772-06:00Policy Point Wednesday: When is a Calorie a Calorie?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A recent post on <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/08/27/the-hidden-truths-about-calories/">Scientific American's</a> website sheds some light on the benefits of eating minimally-processed food. It discusses the limitations of our current system of measuring calories. Author Rob Dunn points out that calories as listed on foods are <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-do-food-manufacturers">typically measured in a lab</a>, and are estimates based on a standard generalization: fat has 9 calories per gram, carbohydrates and proteins have four, and fiber has two. <br />
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This measurement method assumes that all calories in a food become available to the body during digestion. <a href="http://proxy.michaelhartog.com/www.ajcn.org/content/96/2/296.full"> One study on almonds and human digestion</a>, however, challenges this assumption by showing how much of the nuts were, shall we say, excreted before they were fully digested.<br />
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Another component of digestion that isn't usually measured in the calories-in, calories-out equation is how much energy is expended while breaking down a food. For instance, it is theorized that protein requires a lot of heat energy to process, and therefore the net caloric intake can be lower than for other types of macronutrients. With this consideration in mind, researchers at Harvard University theorized that the more a food is processed before it is eaten, the more calories will be available without energy lost to digestion. <br />
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To test this theory, they studied the effects of two kinds of food processing on the diets of lab mice. Mice were fed whole raw organic sweet potatoes or organic whole raw lean beef, or those same foods processed by either pounding, cooking or both. The mice were monitored for movement, and care was taken to account for food scraps and "outputs." At the end of the study, the mice fed cooked food gained weight, and the mice fed raw food lost weight (the mice fed pounded food gained slightly less weight.) <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2897733/">Another study</a> supports this hypothesis: it found that people expended more energy digesting whole-grain bread and natural cheese sandwiches than highly-processed white bread and cheese food.<br />
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The article mentions other attributes to digestion that can make caloric availability vary from situation to situation; physiology, digestive flora, and genetic predispositions play a role in how well food is digested - but one important point remains: if you eat food that is highly-processed, you will take in more calories.Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146824689103382394.post-49726168489721867282012-08-29T09:00:00.000-05:002012-08-29T09:00:00.092-05:00The Food Desert Project - Cocoa-Date Bourbon Balls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are dozens of recipes for homemade "energy bars" out there on the internets. I've long been wanting to make <i><a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_de_higo">Pan de Higo</a> </i>for this project - an Arab-Spanish creation not dissimilar to an energy bar, but originally a way to preserve the fig harvest. One problem I have with most of these recipes - even though dried fruit is a very healthy food, it's also calorie-dense, and it's easy to overeat.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7880801664/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="006 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="006" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7880801664_1571c59a3d_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Many of these recipes are cocoa-flavored, and I realized that all I had to do was make little truffles <i>et voilà!</i> instant portion control! As I was playing with the ingredients, I realized Pan de Higo is similar to <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Bourbon-Balls-367849" style="font-style: italic;">Kentucky Bourbon Balls</a><i>, </i>a favorite childhood treat. In both recipes, the ingredients are softened and flavored with alcohol. So, there you have it! These are still an indulgence, and aren't quite same as either of their ancestors, but they are a tasty little pick-me-up that offers <a href="http://caloriecount.about.com/energy-bourbon-balls-recipe-r1138464">sweetness and nutrition without a lot of highly-processed ingredients.</a></div>
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20 pitted dates (about 3/4 cup; keep in mind sugared dates will add calories, so check the label)</div>
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2 tbsp flax seeds (available in drugstores in the supplement aisle)</div>
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3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa, separated</div>
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1/8 tsp salt</div>
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3 tbsp bourbon, separated</div>
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1 tbsp brewed dark coffee</div>
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2 tbsp chopped walnuts</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7880803276/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="001 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="001" height="200" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7880803276_518d375f73_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Put the dates and 1 tbsp bourbon in a microwave-safe container and microwave until the bourbon is mostly absorbed. Pour this mixture into a food processor and process until it is a paste. Add 2 tbsp of cocoa powder, salt, and the flax seeds and blend again until smooth, adding coffee and bourbon as needed until you have a sticky, soft dough. Add the walnuts and process briefly to keep them in chunks.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelehaysdobson/7880802444/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="005 by michelehays, on Flickr"><img alt="005" height="200" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7880802444_fb399af629_z.jpg" width="200" /></a>Divide your dough (it will be really sticky, and, yes - it's not terribly attractive at this stage) into eighths. Put the remaining cocoa powder on a plate. Roll each portion of the dough into a ball and then lightly dust with cocoa powder (you will want to knock off the excess.) Enjoy!<br />
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Michele Hayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126354869695851890noreply@blogger.com2