food is love/seattle local food

Upcoming Events: King County Farm Tours, Eat Local Now, Local Food Hero Award

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:19:34 -0700

There’s more coming in the Autism, Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 MK-4 series, but I’ve been traveling and busy. Stay tuned for the rest, as well as some new recipes. In the meantime, here are some local foods-oriented news items:

This Saturday, September 26th, 2009 is the King County Farm Tour. It’s a free event, featuring dozens of farms in King County. I’ve gone on this and really enjoy it. There’s more information here, and a list of participating farms here. You can download the pdf of the full farm guide here -- it’s also in the September 16th issue of the Seattle Weekly.

Coming up on October 11th, 2009, there’s the 6th Annual Eat Local Now! dinner event at the West Seattle Masonic Hall. Eat Local Now! is a collaboration to promote the importance of and strengthen the local food systems and economies in Cascadia. More information is here.

At this event, the annual Jeff Fairhall Local Food Hero Award will be announced. This award is in memory of Jeff Fairhall, who was significantly active in the local foods movement in and around Seattle, and who passed away two years ago this month. Consider nominating one of the amazing folks out there -- farmers, food systems coordinators, organization staff, activists, restauranteurs etc -- who help make our region one of the best places to eat local in the country. More information and a nomination form are here.

Thanks to photofarmer for the wonderful flickr CC photo!

Autism, Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 MK-4 Part II: Introduction to Autism Trends and Diet

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:08:56 -0700

Part 2 in the series based on a paper I wrote this past spring.
Previously: Autism, Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 MK-4 Part I:
Does nutrition play a role in environmental health?

Autism is a broad term used to classify “autism spectrum disorders,” a category referring to a spectrum of neurodegenerative/neurodevelopmental disorders beginning in early childhood and marked by physiological and behavioral effects on brain function, social behavior, and communication.

While children and adults with autism have a wide range of functionality and unique ways to contribute to society, the disorders pose challenges for those experiencing autism. Some challenges are internal, such as impaired function, and some are external, such as social biases against those with developmental or behavioral differences. Both such challenges can be difficult for children and their families and caregivers. Diagnosis raises questions about who is getting autism, why it is occurring, and whether it may be treated at present and prevented in the future.

As discussed in part 1, I’m interested specifically in the potential relationship between certain fat-soluble vitamins and prevalence of autism spectrum disorders.

In recent decades, the scope of autism diagnosis has risen astronomically, with recorded cases among ages 6-22 increasing nine-fold in eleven years (1992 - 2003; www.fightingautism.org) and the majority of the increase beginning in the 1980s and 1990s (Figure 1).

While autism appears across all populations, prevalence is higher in boys than in girls, in people with darker skin than those with lighter skin, and, some data suggests, in some recent immigrant populations to northern regions.

As discussed in the last post, autism is often linked to methylmercury exposure. However, other factors may contribute to autism’s rapidly-increasing prevalence, perhaps exacerbating effects of methylmercury exposure. It seems, as with many areas of children’s environmental health, autism may not be caused by only one factor, but by a combination of elements. A simultaneous increase in detrimental variables and reduction in protective ones may cause a significant rise in incidence while confounding the process of isolating exposure factors and how they interact.

The timing of the recent autism increase (Figure 1) has aligned interestingly with the recent increase in childhood obesity, which started to rise significantly in the mid 1980s and has continued to climb dramatically (NHANES) (Figure 2) raising risks of chronic disease, metabolic syndrome, and earlier morbidity.

While, of course, correlation does not imply causation, it is worth examining whether some of the same factors that are correlated with the recent obesity epidemic may also be contributing to a rise in autism and related illnesses linked to variables of environmental health.

This brings us back to the decrease in certain protective fat-soluble vitamins, due to changes in sunlight exposure, metabolism, and in diet, and an increase in detrimental foods, such as fructose and omega-6 fatty acids. As I mentioned in the last post, vitamins D3 and K2 MK-4 (menaquinone-4) protect against effects of the depletion of glutathione, an important tripeptide in the brain. Glutathione protects the brain from effects of methylmercury associated with autism, and glutathione is found in diminished levels in children with autism. Fructose, omega-6 fatty acids and other ingredients which promote obesity interfere with glutathione development and affect levels of leptin in a way that limits metabolism of fat-soluble vitamins.

Other explanations for the increase in autism prevalence have been suggested. One hypothesis is that the rate of reporting has increased as awareness of the disease has risen. This may account for some of the change in incidence, but not all, due to the extent of change; overviews of data have established the increase exists independently of awareness and diagnostic biases. Another argument, as this paper pointed out and thoughtfully debunked, is that autism is strictly genetic. While environmental factors may change how genes are expressed, genes themselves have not spontaneously generated in the population in the last several decades and so this factor cannot serve as an explanation strictly on its own.

This is a relatively new topic, one which merits rigorous investigation due to the importance of addressing childhood autism and the critical role fat-soluble vitamins play in health. The possible relationship between vitamin D deficiency and autism has been addressed in a number of places, although it is still considered controversial. The only mention of a relationship to vitamin K I could find, other than what I’ve written, is here and not yet in any formal research.

The question of fat soluble vitamin deficiency is not yet part of public health and public policy intervention and prevention systems for autism. Recommended intakes of vitamin D and K do not take into account factors like autism prevention or potential interaction with detrimental environmental factors, although vitamin D deficiency, and a push for a higher recommended daily dose, is starting to appear in media and on the public’s radar, in connection to health concerns like cardiovascular disease. I hope public exploration of a connection to environmental health and neurodegenerative diseases will also increase.

The next post will be an exposure assessment, aka a discussion of what we’re being exposed to -- or not exposed to-- that may be contributing to the rise of autism prevalence.

Thanks to Norma Desmond for the flickr CC photo

Autism, Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 MK-4 Part I: Does nutrition play a role in environmental health?

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 14:12:24 -0700

A class I took this spring got me thinking about the multiple ways environmental health and nutrition interconnect and overlap. In some cases, nutrition issues are environmental health issues. In other cases, our nutrition may affect how we respond to contaminants in our environment.

Our food is a source of daily exposure to both protective and detrimental components, and we’re shifting more and more from protective to detrimental. We’ve moved meat production from grass-feeding to fattening in feedlots. We’ve replaced natural fats like butter, beef tallow or lard with highly processed vegetable oils, changing the fatty acid profile of our diet. We’ve shifted the source of our sweeteners, upped our corn and wheat intake, and invented new additives and preservatives. Through a shift to factory farming mixed with fast/packaged food, vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, and other delicacies of the modern age, our menus have changed significantly.

As the professor of that course frequently pointed out, “environmental health” itself is an extremely broad term, going far beyond contamination and pollution of land, air and water. Food, particularly our exposure to more detrimental and fewer protective substances via food, is as much of an environmental health issue as, say the effects of methylmercury exposure via seafood and other sources. And, curiously, these two kinds of environmental health -- poor nutrition and effects of contaminant exposure -- may be interrelated.

This brings me to a less intuitive, but extremely compelling way nutrition may have an impact on environmental health. Research suggests that our diet may affect the way our bodies respond to contaminants like methylmercury. Poor nutrition may make us more vulnerable to toxic exposure while adequate nutrition may actually mediate some of the effects.

While exposure to toxic heavy metals and other contaminants is a problem whether we’re eating well or not, it’s worth noticing if a poor diet is compounding the problem. A double whammy of an increase in detrimental foods and a decrease in critical vitamin-rich foods may be increasing our vulnerability. As usual, I’m concerned with the animal-form fat-soluble vitamins, particularly vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 MK-4 (aka vitamin K2 menaquinone-4).

Some of this connection is still speculation, but intriguing speculation nonetheless. Here’s an example: our class looked at two classically cited studies of childhood effects of prenatal methylmercury exposure via seafood, one in the Seychelle Islands, and one from the Faroe Islands, two regions with incidents of significant methylmercury contamination. In the Faroe study, children exposed to methylmercury prenatally (measured through hair and umbilical cord levels) showed developmental effects such as cognitive and linguistic delays and social impairment. Follow-up studies showed that effects persisted over time.

In the Seychelle Islands, the results were different; effects from methylmercury exposure, which were lesser, seemed to decrease as children grew older. While some sources have blamed the whale meat more popular in Faroe, allegedly absolving the fish eaten in the Seychelle Islands, I’m intrigued by the fact that the Faroe Islands are far north, near Iceland, whereas the Seychelles are close to the equator, off the coast of Kenya. Vitamin D exposure might be a key difference, since people in northern latitudes can’t generate cutaneous vitamin D for a large part of the year. (If you feel like geeking out, I wrote a paper on my recommendations for seafood consumption in light of methylmercury exposure; you can download it here.)

What if vitamin D and other fat-soluble vitamins counteract some of the effects of methylmercury and other toxins? Evidence suggests they might.

The case about childhood autism is particularly compelling. Autism is often linked to methylmercury exposure -- the level of methylmercury correlates significantly with prevalence of autism. Methylmercury seems to deplete an important peptide called glutathione. Glutathione protects the developing brain from effects of methylmercury associated with autism. Glutathione is found in diminished levels in children with autism (full text) (more information here).

So, what’s the connection to vitamins? Vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 MK-4 counter the depletion of glutathione. Vitamin D3 plays a protective role in glutathione metabolism, specifically by increasing and protecting glutathione and blocking neurotoxic agents. Vitamin K2 plays a protective role in the developing brain from the effects of loss of glutathione, specifically preventing oxidative cell death as a result of glutathione depletion.

So, having adequate levels of both vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 MK-4 is doubly protective: vitamin D3 is proactive, increasing the brain’s resistance to glutathione depletion and aids in creating more glutathione, while vitamin K2 MK-4 is responsive, mediating the effects glutathione depletion would otherwise have on the brain and on child development.

For the record, I don’t tend to think there’s generally only one root of any problem, nutritional or otherwise. I’m not saying vitamin D3 and K2 MK-4 deficiencies are the sole cause of autism, just that there’s a compelling case that the vitamins might mediate the effects of methylmercury, and that deficiency in them might enhance the likelihood, and might do so significantly.

In the next few posts, we’ll explore this subject in much more detail, looking at how our changes in diet, including an increase in fast food and poor quality ingredients, may be relevant -- and not just because they’re lower in important vitamins. We’ll look at statistics about autism incidence, biomarkers and effects of exposure to methylmercury and adequate/inadequate diets, the connection to nutrition, fast foods, and obesity, what’s going on in the field of public health, and what needs to be studied further.

Thanks to smithereen11 for the flickr CC photo.

The Seattle Times Covers Our Vehicular Cookery! (and more pictures)

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:35:56 -0700

After Wednesday’s success cooking eggs in my friend Amanda’s car, a group of us decided yesterday to make a full brunch using only car dashboards for our cooking. The Seattle Times checked us out (click on picture 2 and scroll down in the article).

It was a delightful way to spend the afternoon. We basked on a blanket in the shade under a tree by the lake, swam in the perfect-temperature water, and checked on the food in the car. Our brunch consisted of: fried eggs, quesadillas, black beans, sour cream, gluten-free almond poppy seed cookies, warmed fruit with cream, strawberry lemonade, limeade, a casserole (pre-cooked and warmed with cheese melted in the car), and probably some other things I’m forgetting. I think there were about twelve or thirteen of us.

Here are a few more pictures:

Fennel Cherry Tomato Salad, Eggs Cooked in a Hot Car, Cucumbers with Smoked Salmon and Ricotta, and Other Ideas for Heat Wave Eating

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:46:50 -0700

It’s HOT. For those of you outside the Pacific Northwest, those of us here are bragging that yesterday, July 29th 2009, set new records for hottest temperature recorded ever -- not just on that date but ever -- in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver.

A lot of people are miserable. For one thing, most houses and buildings around here have no air conditioning. For another, people seem to get used to the weather wherever they are, so that 105°F feels hotter somewhere it doesn’t happen too often than it does in places where it’s the norm. Plus, Seattleites love to kvetch, and the hot weather is a perfect reason.

I’ve been enjoying it immensely. The upside of not finding summer work in a down economy is that I’ve been spending my days either working on my writing somewhere pleasant or enjoying the outdoors. These 100°ish days are perfect days for basking in the shade, running into cold Puget Sound and various warmer lakes, and sleeping outdoors.

What it’s not perfect weather for is cooking. I put the oven on the other day long enough to bake a small dish of potatoes, onion and cream, and the whole house felt like it could be used for baking. So, what to eat during hot weather?

Eating out is an option if you can afford it, and the Thai food my friends and I enjoyed in an air conditioned restaurant the other night was a welcome break. But here are several other ideas for eating without turning on your stove.

Click here if you’re viewing this in an RSS feed and want to be able to see the pictures.

Eight Heat Wave Food Ideas

Fennel Cherry Tomato Salad

The fresh taste of fennel and sweet acidity of tomatoes perfectly balance each other in this light-flavored, easy salad.

2 bulbs fresh fennel
1 pint very sweet cherry tomatoes
juice of 1 meyer lemon
olive oil (about 1/2 cup)
1-2 tablespoons dijon mustard
black pepper to taste

Slice fennel into thin strips about an inch or less long. Slice cherry tomatoes in half
In a bowl, beat together olive oil and mustard until mustard emulsifies. Add lemon juice and black pepper and stir.
Mix in fennel and tomatoes and serve.

Alternative: use apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice. Rockridge Orchards makes a particularly nice local apple cider vinegar.

Eggs (or other foods) cooked in/on a car

Hot enough to fry an egg? I had to find out. We took a lightweight frying pan, a lid, two eggs, a spatula, and some butter down to Carkeek Park yesterday.

First, we put the pan on the hood, covered it, and left the eggs while we went to swim in the frigid waters of Puget Sound. But when we came back, the eggs were still uncooked. I had heard that mirrors and magnifying glasses can help but I left mine at home.

Amanda pointed out that her car gets really hot inside, so we stuck the pan on the dashboard, covered it, and went back to swim. When we returned, after probably half an hour, we had perfectly cooked eggs, somewhere halfway between baked and fried. Even the yolks were firm.

There’s apparently an entire book about cooking on a car, called Manifold Destiny: The One! the Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine! If anyone out there owns the book, I’d love to know what you think of it (and what you’ve cooked in/on your car!). I think it’s hilarious and wonderful that such a book exists.

Oh, and for the record, we tried putting the pan on hot asphalt. The butter melted, but I don’t think it would have worked for cooking. Maybe if we’d had mirrors and magnifying glasses, but it was much nicer to spend our time in the water and let the car do the work for us.

Solar Oven Cooking
I’m getting tempted by this weather to build a simple solar oven. The internet is full of plans for them. Check out this ultra-simple one made primarily from cardboard boxes and aluminum foil and this neat one made of cob. Cooking in a solar oven generally takes much longer than cooking in a regular oven but, of course, it uses no electricity and can be done outside your house without heating things up.

Cucumbers with Smoked Salmon and Ricotta
Simplicity is key in hot weather and this dish is very simple and cooling.

Cucumbers
Ricotta (or you can use goat cheese)
Smoked Salmon
Optional: fresh dill or fennel leaves, lemon juice, black pepper

Slice cucumbers. Add dabs of ricotta on each slice. Crumble smoked salmon on each slice. Add dill or fennel, lemon juice and/or black pepper if you so choose. Eat, preferably on a blanket in the shade.

Raspberry Lemonade
My roommate brought home from California a bag of gorgeous, deeply-flavored lemons

Three things I’ve learned about lemonade: 1. It doesn’t need a lot of sweetener to be delicious; it’s better when it tastes like lemons than sugar. 2. Adding another element to it, usually another fruit or an herb, makes it wonderful. 3. Adding a pinch of salt to it also improves the flavor and helps you get electrolytes.

Other variation favorites of mine are: blackberry lemonade, rosemary lemonade, basil lemonade, lemon balm lemonade, and cherry lemonade. But raspberry is my favorite this summer.

1 quart jar
Juice of 2 meyer lemons
Large handful of raspberries
Dollop of honey or maple syrup
Large pinch of salt
Water

Mix the above ingredients. Beat with a fork or immersion blender. Add ice if you like.

Berries, Peaches and Cream or Yogurt

Few things make me happier in the summer than a bowl of yogurt and raspberries. Unless, of course, it’s a bowl of raspberries, blueberries, peaches and yogurt. The same concept works beautifully with cream, too.

If you don’t know what to eat and you’re too hot and tired to think about it, a bowl of yogurt and berries is a pretty instant and cheap meal with good fats and sweet flavors.

Homemade Pickles (and other fermented foods)
Food ferments faster in summer, so it’s a good time to make those favorites like pickles and sauerkraut. Don’t forget to add a little more salt than usual in hot weather, and make sure you use filtered water, since chlorine can interfere with fermentation.

Summertime Tomato Salad
This is another old favorite. It’s my mother’s recipe. I remember eating this on a hot summer night in New York when we were in Central Park on the Great Lawn for a nighttime concert of the New York Philharmonic. Lying on a blanket in warm air with my favorite summertime salad; it’s a memory the flavor still brings back today.

I’ve previously posted the recipe; you can find it here.

Seattle Fruit Mapping/Sharing, a Natural-Powered CSA Delivery, and Other Resources

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:44:29 -0700

The Seattle area is full of great local-foods-related resources, and two more just came to my attention.

The first is an entirely human/nature powered CSA (community supported agriculture) delivery program for farm-fresh food. Powered entirely by sailboat and bicycle, these folks bring fresh food from the Kitsap Peninsula to a few different drop-off places, including one in Ballard. More information is here and a Seattle Times article is here.

The other is City Fruit, a community group encouraging fruit tree owners and fruit picking enthusiasts to harvest extra fruit for local residents in need of fresh food and who have limited money to buy it. The group is also working on a fruit mapping project, which is still in its infancy; they need you to help map public fruit trees in the Seattle area.

Speaking of public fruit, I was traveling back from a swim in Lake Washington with friends yesterday when we decided to stop and pick some blackberries at my old favorite blackberry patch in an alley in Madison Valley. My friend noticed, however, that the leaves were looking suspiciously yellow. A keen observation; a few minutes later a guy who had noticed us from his backyard ran over to say that his neighbor, too lazy to trim the bushes and annoyed by their presence, had gone and sprayed all the blackberries with Roundup, a really toxic herbicide (produced by Monsanto).

It makes me feel a little better about having moved out of that block; the berry patch was one thing I was unhappy about leaving. But, although blackberries are invasive, Roundup is a poor solution. It hits other plants in the area and, needless to say, coats berries that unsuspecting fruit-lovers gather for their pies.

So choose your fallen fruit carefully! And, if you can help out the City Fruit folks linked above, please share what you find.

Farm background image from hockadilly - fruit/veggie mobile addition is a Photoshop mashup I made.

Tonight! Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere Dinner & Fair

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:39:38 -0700

If you’re in Seattle, don’t miss tonight’s Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere Dinner & Fair, put on by Community Alliance for Global Justice! The event is a fundraiser for CAGJ.

It’s at St. Demetrios Church, 2100 Boyer Avenue E, in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle. There’s a free fair from 3-6, dinner of delicious local foods from 6-9, and dancing to live music from Portage Bay Big Band from 9-11. Admission is $35, or $12 for students/low-income/seniors, and $65 if you want to sponsor a farmer or food worker as an honored guest. There is also a silent auction at the event.

The event highlights local food and local economy. Workshops include bee keeping, meal planning, and understanding coffee certification. Keynote speaker is Steve Williamson from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21 on food workers’ rights in the global food economy.

I’ll be volunteering for part of the night. Come say hi and, if you’re a dancer, grab me for a dance! Hope to see you there.

Cream Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake (Gluten-Free)

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:49:49 -0700

I seem to be in a desserts-with-berries mood lately, arguably a side effect of berry season, or of being on vacation with friends who like food. I’m not going to complain.

My friends Ted and Matthew have been talking up the merits of strawberry shortcake with cream biscuits. I wondered how the recipe would be in a gluten-free rendition. Armed with a bag of gluten-free flour, Ted and I decided to test this. We were pretty impressed with the results, especially given that the batter tasted pretty terrible before it was baked. These came out golden and crumbly, with a not-sweet tang that balanced nicely the vanilla whipped cream and ripe berries.

While there are still ripe strawberries in the farmers’ markets, it’s the perfect time to make this treat. Here is Ted’s recipe.

Cream Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake (Gluten-Free) - Ted’s recipe

For the biscuits:
2 cups gluten free flour (I used the Bob’s Red Mill general baking flour)
2.5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt
1.5-2c heavy cream (depending on the flour, should drip off the spoon in big globs when consistency is right)

For the topping
About 1 cup cream
vanilla to taste
sweetener to taste (I like maple syrup)
2+ pints strawberries, sliced

Preheat oven to 450.

1. In a bowl, fluff together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in cream until it’s the consistency of biscuit or cookie dough.

2. Drop spoonfuls on a buttered tray. Size varies depending what size you want; anywhere from walnut size to ladle size can work, although cooking time will vary. Bumpy is fine; it’s nice to have bits sticking up to get golden-brown.

3. Bake 10-12 minutes, then watch if not done. They should be golden all around and baked through when broken open to test.

4. While they’re baking, whip your cream and add vanilla and any sweetener.

Serve biscuits warm with whipped cream and strawberries.

Saskatoon Berry Vanilla Cake (Gluten-Free)

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:57:48 -0700

It’s hard to resist simply eating all the berries you pick in the wild at the moment you pull them off the bush. Sometimes I don’t resist, and just revel in finger-staining, tongue-dying berry feasting, while at other times I delight in the pile accumulating in my carefully-balanced container. There’s a primal tug-of-war at work. On one side, my evolutionary gatherer instincts are telling me to collect and preserve berries for future needs (and in my own personal evolutionary template “future needs” typically means “pie tonight”). On the other side, my animalistic instincts want berries now.

The prospect of creating delicious baked goods or sauces for savory dinners often helps keep the desire to eat all the berries now at bay, especially if there’s a chance to share the tasty items with people I care about. I do less baking now than I used to, because I avoid gluten and limit my sugar intake. But I’ve experimented more and more lately with gluten-free baking, also limiting the amount of sweetener I use, and have come up with some delicious items.

This recipe is a pretty good example. It’s a simple vanilla cake with berries baked into it. If you only have a handful of berries, as I did, the berries are nice surprises in a simple cake. If you have several cups of berries, they form a delicious fruity layer within the cake.

I used saskatoon berries, but you can also make this recipe with huckleberries, blueberries, raspberries, salal, black raspberries or thimbleberries. You can combine berries as well. I don’t think it would taste quite as good baked with strawberries or blackberries (milder flavor, higher water content) but you can try. A few tiny wild strawberries would be nice mixed with other berries.

By the way, the saskatoon berries sank to the bottom when I made this. Other berries, like raspberries or thimbleberries, are less prone to sinking, or sinking fully.

Saskatoon Berry Vanilla Cake (Gluten-Free)

This makes one 8-inch square pan. Recipe can be doubled for a large baking pan.

1 1/3 cup gluten-free flour (I used the Bob’s Red Mill general baking flour)
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/3 cup sweetener (If you’re using sugar, you may want to add a little more milk if the batter is too thick. I combined sugar and honey, because the crystal structure of sugar is useful for cakes, but I don’t like to use a lot of it.)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon or orange
2 eggs, separated
Berries - saskatoon, blueberry, raspberry, thimbleberry or black raspberry; minimum 1/2 cup, or up to 1.5 or 2 cups.
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8x8 baking pan, or a larger one if you’re doubling the recipe. Consider using parchment paper on the bottom, since fruit may sink and cause stickiness even if you’ve buttered.

Beat butter. When soft, add sweetener and continue to beat until creamed. If you’re combining sugar and honey or sugar and maple syrup, start with the sugar and let that become fully mixed with the butter before adding the other sweeteners.
Add vanilla, zest, and egg yolks (one at a time) while beating.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and stir by hand until just barely incorporated.
Add cream and milk and stir gently.
Beat egg whites until they form peaks. Gently fold the whites into the rest of the batter.
Pour batter into pan and sprinkle berries on top (they will sink a little bit or to the bottom). Sprinkle on some cinnamon.
Bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes or until golden

Here are a few more pictures...

Foraging In the City: Saskatoon Berries

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 21:42:01 -0700

It’s summertime, when a young food enthusiast’s fancy turns to.... berries. We’ve discussed berries before in detail, but each variety of berry deserves special attention, particularly ones you can find close to home.

I admit, I didn’t find these in the city. They were spotted among the native plantings in a complex where my friend was renting a condo in Montana. But saskatoon berries can be found in some urban parks, such as Discovery Park in Seattle.

Saskatoon berries look and taste like they might be a relative of blueberry, but they’re not. The leaves are similarly shaped to those of blueberry species, and the flavor of a ripe saskatoon berry is a little reminiscent of salal, which is in the same family (Ericacae) as blueberries. However, saskatoon berries, like raspberries and blackberries, are actually in the Rosacae, the rose family. They’re found all over the west, both in coastal and inland areas, and at lowland and mountain elevations. They’re also known as Juneberries because they ripen in June in warmer regions.

Saskatoon berries are versatile, delicious raw or cooked. Like blueberries, they are reported to work well in jams and pies, sauces, vinegars and wines. Of course, to make such items, you need to find a fairly significant haul of berries. (Edited to add: Thanks to reader Noah for finding this wonderful-looking tart recipe over at Chocolate & Zucchini!) If you don’t find so many, my next post contains a recipe that works well whether you just have a handful left after devouring them raw, or if you have several cups -- not quite enough for a pie, but enough that you want to make something.

Portland Farmers’ Market Visit

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:03:15 -0700

The Portland farmers’ market is one of my favorites, and I try my best to make sure visits to Portland include a Saturday morning so I can stop in. I drove down this past weekend for the annual Waterfront Blues Festival and stopped in at the market.

There was much deliciousness to behold. As usual, the market had a large array of produce, dairy, meats, baked goods and ready-to-eat items. But what set me over the edge of my market-willpower threshold was the fact that a lot of produce in Oregon ripens earlier than it does in Washington, and there were somethings I’ve been missing since last summer. This is a benefit of traveling to markets; you get surprised by early treats or different treats than yo find at home. I found favorites like romano beans, artichokes, and pickling cucumbers that, as of last week, we hadn’t yet seen at Seattle markets. There are sour pickles in my future, as well as Provonçal-style romano beans with tomatoes.

My happiest find was the cheese labeled Buche in the picture above. From Juniper Grove Farm, it’s a soft-ripened goat cheese in a log shape with a straw or piece of wheat sticking through from end to end. I’ve been craving this cheese for something like two years, when someone I knew found it at Beecher’s in Seattle. Since then, Beecher’s stopped carrying it and the staff have generally looked at me like I’m nuts when I try to describe it.

I also found gluten-free bread that actually tastes like bread and has a good crust, from New Cascadia Traditional. I was impressed.

The market also overflowed with delicacies like blueberries, black raspberries, and smoked fish of various sorts. All of the above were delicious, although I was disappointed with the red raspberries compared to Washington ones. The raspberries I’ve found in Washington, particularly the high-season ones from the north (Ernie’s Berries in Lynden are my favorite) or Puyallup are incomparable; deeply flavorful and so soft they fall apart on the tongue.

This coming week I’ll be in Montana and, if hiking and market schedules align, will check out a few markets in the area and report back. Meanwhile, here are a few more pictures from the Portland market.

What a good idea!

This honey was dark and delicious:

“~YAK IS BACK!~” How could you resist? There was a lot of pasture-raised meat and poultry to be had. Aside from this vendor’s yak, elk, and chicken, I saw lots of beef and lamb.

First romano beans I’ve seen this season:

Beautiful baby squash with blossoms, ten cents a piece:
 
Rainbow of carrots:

Artichokes! And pretty flowers.

Mmm, berries...

Gluten-free sourdough bread!

And this bakery had one gluten-free cookie, a chocolate-almond macaroon.

People strolling by the prepared-food booths:

Fermented pickles!

Good price for nice-looking wild, local smoked salmon!

If you like East Coast style/appetizing smoked fish, these guys have an amazing sable:

Pastured lamb prices aren’t bad compared to Seattle’s:

Oregon hazelnuts:

The picture came out a bit dark, but I liked how she was walking around with lavender sticking out of her backpack and a tray of delicious berries in her hands:

Inch by Inch: Moving the garden (how far would you go?)

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:51:52 -0700

One of the things that’s been keeping me busy lately, aside from finishing up a remarkably busy quarter of grad school (first year now done!), is the process of finding a new place to live and beginning the move.

After my roommate and I had planted an extensive garden this year, which involved building a large raised bed and buying lots of bulk soil, seeds, and vegetable starts, our landlord announced that he was moving back to Seattle and... into our house. It turned out he’d known for a while, even, but hadn’t bothered to tell us, so he could get extra rent money. Argh.

After much exhaustive and exhausting searching, we found a little brick house in Ballard, a lovely Seattle neighborhood with a fantastic farmers’ market and other fine features. The house has a large, well-lit yard.

So, a few days ago, we began moving the garden. We gently extracted the plants, potted them, hauled the soil, hauled the raised bed, and reassembled all of it. We’re still in the process of placing another bed, buying a little more soil, and moving some of the last plants.

Some of our friends thought we were, well, insane for attempting this. But we’d already spent a lot of time and money on the garden and we didn’t want to leave anything for a landlord about whom we weren’t feeling particularly fond. Besides, we like having a garden and wanted to keep it, even if it meant a logistical nightmare involving a hatchback full of garden soil and a sedan packed to the gills with wobbly plants, driving through Seattle.

The vegetables seem to be doing okay, at last check (we have a watering system on a timer during the move). I’m holding my breath a little bit, but the experiment may have worked. And yes, maybe we were insane, but how could we have done anything else?

Going to extremes for gardening isn’t anything new. There are people who build gardens on rooftops and balconies, in abandoned plots and traffic circles. We have a yen to make things grow, to work with our hands, to connect with soil and plants and life and food, and we make do with what we have.

What’s the most extreme thing you’ve done for the sake of gardening? And, in our shoes, would you have done the same thing?

Morels!

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 14:01:57 -0700

My roommate Liz and I took a break two weekends ago to go hunt for morels. I’d never successfully found one, although I’d gone morel hunting with someone who found three little dried up ones.

Liz and I lucked out. We hit I-90 out of Seattle, spontaneously pulled off at an exit for a state park, and picked a camp site in the campground at random. While no other camp site there had morels, this one yielded about a pound and a half or two pounds of fresh, large, perfect ones.

Morels are my favorite wild mushroom. The flavor is somehow both complex and subtle, meaty and earthy. It’s not exactly like truffles, but it’s not exactly unlike truffles either. That’s Perhaps because the cap has so much surface area in all those wrinkles, the flavor keeps coming through.

We brought them home and had a spontaneous feast: barbecued fish and chicken, salad, sautéed morels, and rhubarb crisp. Sautéed morels go wonderfully with springtime food: in salads, tossed with pasta, next to salmon, or just eaten, simply, on their own.

Sautéed morels with cream, spring onions, and thyme

Morels (however many you get get your hands on)
A handful of small spring onions, including green parts
Butter
White wine or sake
Fresh thyme
Cream to taste
Salt to taste
A few good friends

Brush morels clean or wipe with damp rag. Chop spring onions. Sautée in butter and add morels and a lot more butter. Cook, stirring occasionally and covering for a few moments if the morels are thick. Add white wine and let it simmer. Add salt to taste, cream, and thyme, and turn off heat. Serve.

Photos from our morel hunting (click here if you’re viewing it in an RSS feed):

Sourdough Waffles: First Attempt

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:11:14 -0700

I’ve been experimenting with sourdough starter. A few months ago (as I wrote about here and here) I looked at some research that suggests sourdough fermentation, coupled with enzyme activity, has the potential to break down gluten pretty significant. In controlled experiments, using specific, strong strains of lactobacillus and specific enzymes enabled scientists to reduce gluten from 100% wheat bread to a level where even someone with celiac disease could handle it (12 ppm).

I don’t have celiac disease, but I seem to be somewhat gluten intolerant. I also subscribe to the idea that unfermented wheat, coupled with other staples of the modern diet (sugar, high omega-6 vegetable oil, corn syrup) is detrimental for most people, gluten intolerant or otherwise.

Sourdough is also delicious. Fermentation gives foods a complex, tangy, interesting flavor.

There are all sorts of ways to use sourdough starter beyond baking sourdough bread. Pancakes, waffles, pizzas, pie dough... anywhere you might ordinarily just use white flour.

This week’s experiment: waffles. I looked at the basic buttermilk waffle recipe in Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything for some general proportions (I wasn’t using buttermilk) and improvised from there. I used half sourdough starter and half rice flour. The rice flour gave the waffles a crispness. They were light, golden and airy. I’d like them to be a little tangier, so I may change the proportions next time. I’ll keep experimenting with this recipe and let you know if I land on anything new and exciting in this or other sourdough recipes.

Sourdough Waffles (first attempt)

1 cup rice flour (or other gluten free flour)
1 cup sourdough starter
1/2 tsp salt
1 T honey
1/4 cup milk or buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
2 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
high oleic sunflower oil or other neutral, low-polyunsaturate oil (see cooking oil 101 for more info)

Lightly apply oil to waffle iron and heat it up
Mix rice flour, salt, and sourdough starter. Set aside.
Mix honey, milk or buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt, vanilla and egg yolks, reserving egg whites in another bowl.
Fold the wet ingredients into dough
Beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks.
Gently fold the egg whites in
Make waffles one at a time, taking care not to let the batter overflow. Keep waffles warm in the oven while you’re preparing them.

Quick Thought on Passover and Meaningful Food

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 08:23:03 -0700

Passover starts tonight. It’s the holiday where Jews and their families and friends share food to celebrate being rescued from oppression. While that description pretty much fits the majority of Jewish holidays, Passover is special. We read the story of the Exodus from Egypt, eat foods representative of the Exodus, share an enormous dinner, and drink a little too much wine.

The ceremonial foods are deeply symbolic. There are fresh spring greens -- I use watercress -- to represent renewal, freedom, and the arrival of spring and the new chances it brings. There is salt water in which to dip those greens, representative of the tears our ancestors shed when they were slaves. There is the charoset, which I make as a mixture of grated apples, cinnamon, ground walnuts, wine, and golden raisins, allowed to marinate together overnight. It represents the morter we used in slavery while building the temples and cities of Egypt, but it is sweet to remind us that even in miserable times, there is sweetness. There is the afikomen, the hidden piece of matzah the children must look for, so they always remember to look for hidden and unresolved solutions. There are the scallions with which we beat each other senseless (it’s a Sephardic tradition! Fun!) There is an egg for renewal (we’re big on that), horseradish for bitterness (we’re into that too), wine drops to represent the Egyptians’ suffering during the Ten Plagues... Everything means something.

Celebrating Passover is about the imperative that we remember and never forget the slavery and subsequent freedom, and that we learn to apply it to modern contexts, to challenge oppression wherever we see it and to celebrate freedom.

But there’s another message to take away from the idea of foods as symbols, beyond the specific meaning of each food itself. The message is simply that food can be symbolic, that there is meaning in what you eat, and in how you choose it and when you eat it. A leaf of watercress holds a lesson. Eggs eaten in springtime are significant. An apple mixture is not always what it seems. Food should be eaten with mindfulness.

This message can be applied to the idea of sustainable eating. When we choose foods mindfully, it means considering what will be good for our bodies, for our friends and families, for the soil in the region we live, for the air. What will sustain us. What is the right thing to eat at this time of year, the butter or meat benefiting from a spring flush of grass, the new plants emerging, the root vegetables saved over the winter. When we eat with intention, we respect food and one another, and we shun the modern notion that food is something to eat without conscience, or consciousness, the fast food meal to grab at the drive-through window on our way somewhere else.

This isn’t to say that a Zen-style awareness of the food, or political awareness of how many miles it came from or whether it was raised sustainably, are the only important parts of food awareness. Food awareness is also about sharing with other people, commenting on food together, making each other well through delicious food and good company. A Passover seder would be useless with one person; with one there can be no shared awareness. It is only through discussion and acknowledgment of meaning, through communal eating, and through the subconscious, unspoken warmth of sharing food together do we complete the cycle and understand the full meaning of our food and its many layers of symbolism. Only then does a seder meal, or any meal, become participatory, fully engaged, and delicious.

Happy Passover to all who celebrate! I’m busy preparing a seder for 25, with plenty of local, healthy foods and a few that, I admit, fit neither category perfectly (almond macaroons with, gasp, sugar). More posts to come in the days ahead -- recipes, local foods, more science about fat soluble vitamins...

thanks to Paurian for the Flickr CC photo

USDA Approves New Low-Fat Cow for Meat and Dairy

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 23:53:30 -0700

NOTE: As it is now after April 1st, I can gently point out that this was actually an April Fool’s post (note the date, the link at the bottom, and some other aspects of silliness). Sorry to those in the comments section who didn’t realize...

News reports released today indicate a that we’re facing another significant setback in the uphill battle to ensure Americans, particularly children, are getting enough fat-soluble vitamins from natural animal fats.

The new challenge comes in the form of Bos anorexus, the so-called “low-fat cow.” Bred by scientists at Monsanto, this animal stores natural fat only in its nose, brain, and ears.

It eats a diet of specially-patented grains. However, according to Monsanto spokeswoman Dr. Sue T. Tallow, if a low-fat cow is fed a diet of corn or soybean oil, a high-linoleic fat may be skimmed from the animal’s milk and churned directly into margarine. Future studies will explore whether cows fed fermented foods will produce non-fat yogurt, or those fed marbles will produce marbled beef.

Because the animals are too skinny to breed, new calves will have to be bought each year from Monsanto, raising objections from many farmers.

However, low-fat diet enthusiasts have already hailed the technology. New York Times health reporter Tara Parker-Pope said, “This is a great and easy new way to get low-fat milk and lean meat into schools. Now, there’s no risk that kids will accidentally drink whole milk with their cookies. That’s great news, since we know whole milk makes them fat.”

Indeed, the cow is being explored as a messaging tool by some in the movement to combat obesity with low-fat foods. With a grant from the Department of Health, Monsanto is working with local public health departments around the country to hang posters of the skinny cows with the caption “Be Skinny -- Like Me!” in classrooms, in the hopes that this will convince children not to be obese. An unnamed official said that attempts to encourage Alice Waters to bring low-fat cows into school gardens had not yet been successful.

There are, of course, critics. One strong objection comes from the raw milk movement. Milk from low-fat cows actually comes out of the cow already pasteurized. Because the animals are so svelte, the cows must be kept extremely warm, lest they become hypothermic. Kept at an optimal body temperature of 145 degrees F (63 C), much higher than that of a regular cow, the cows’ bodies pasteurize the milk in vivo.

Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Foundation decried the move. “This is unnatural. Not a single culture Dr. Price studied raised low-fat cows. Just look at that poor creature; would someone please give it something to eat?”

Organic farmers and their allies are also raising strong concerns. “This is just another attempt by Monsanto to control what we do. You can’t put those low-fat cows on pasture, so this would be the death of the grass-fed movement. What’s next, chickens that lay eggs without yolks?” Indeed, Monsanto officials confirmed that the yolk-free egg project is underway.

While it’s likely too late to stop the introduction of the low-fat cow into American farmland, the USDA agreed to a one-day-only comment period. If you’re concerned that this will simply add to the loss of important, natural fats and fat-soluble vitamins in the American diet, please contact the USDA, as well as your senators and representatives, today, April 1, 2009 only. Tell them you say NO to the idea of the low-fat cow.

For more information on this subject, please see this article.

Other headlines in the news today:

Researchers Tie Increase in Obesity Epidemic to Internet Cookies
Graphs show strong correlation between rise of Internet and prevalence of obesity

Farmed Salmon Being Added to Endangered Species List
Consumer distaste for farmed fish leads to declining populations of Salmo confinus.

And last year on this date:
Mystery of Colony Collapse Disorder Solved

Thanks to kandyjaxx for the flickr CC photo

Mâche Salad with Mutton, Walnuts, and Parmesan

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:09:07 -0700

Mâche, also known as corn salad or lamb’s lettuce, is a wild green native to Europe. You may have seen it; it’s grown increasingly popular among salad enthusiasts in the U.S. in the last few years. In the Seattle area, it’s been available at farmers’ markets from Willie Green’s Organic Farm all winter. Mâche is an ideal salad green. With mild, delicate flavor, small leaves, and a smooth texture, it’s a taste of spring even before spring weather arrives. It’s also full of vitamins and nutrients.

I’ll use mâche in anything that requires a delicate green, like dishes calling for spinach, but salad is where it truly shines. Mâche holds up equally well in a complex salad as a simple one. For a simple salad, just add your favorite mild homemade dressing and maybe crumble in a bit of fresh goat cheese. I can easily eat a large bowl of mâche with a simple dressing and not be tired of it.

This salad recipe (if you can really call a salad description a “recipe”) falls somewhere in between complex and simple. I wanted just a few complementary flavors that would let the fresh, local ingredients shine. I also wanted a variety of textures and some good proteins and fats. I combined the mâche with cold mutton, some walnuts from the Ballad farmers’ market I’ve been slowly savoring since late fall, some shaved parmesan, and a simple lemon-butter dressing. This salad was worth savoring slowly, but I admit “inhaled” might be a more fitting verb to describe how I ate it. It was satisfying.

I used cold, grass-fed mutton, leftover from a small Sea Breeze Farm cut I’d cooked and stretched for many, many meals (it was roasted in the oven with thyme, garlic, pepper, salt and olive oil). But you could use any good quality red meat (or leave it out, if you’re vegetarian). Leftover lamb or beef would be delicious. So would quick-sautéed beef stir-fry meat (Skagit River Ranch sells this cut) cut into small pieces and left rare on the inside -- add it to the salad hot or cold. A salad of mâche would also work well with bits of smoked salmon or gravlax. Experiment, and let us know how you like to use mâche best.

Mâche Salad with Mutton, Walnuts and Parmesan

Mâche
Leftover mutton or other meat (see note above)
Walnuts, raw or toasted
Parmesan, shaved (other mild/nutty or fresh/springy cheese would work nicely as well)
Homemade buttery lemon-herb dressing (#2 in this post)
Fresh black pepper

I’m not giving you measurements, because the idea of measuring anything with salad is ridiculous. Put in as much of each ingredient as you’d like. Start with the mâche. Fold in the dressing shortly before serving. With the dressing weighing the leaves down slightly, you’ll have a better idea of how much you really have in the bowl, and can adjust quantity accordingly. Add in small pieces of meat, walnuts, and shaved parmesan in the ratio you’d like best. Add a little fresh black pepper and serve.

This Weekend: Seattle Green Festival & Film: Food Fight. With Alice Waters!

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:57:15 -0700

There are some fantastic events happening this weekend! First, there’s Seattle’s Green Festival, an event full of workshops, information, innovation, and demonstrations, related too many aspects of sustainable community. I’m less interested in the “green products” side of it, and more interested in all the really interesting speakers and workshops on sustainability, including Alice Waters! I’ll be attending the event and will be volunteering for a shift at the table for CAGJ, the Community Alliance for Global Justice.

Also, Saturday night, Alice Waters will be at a reception before a showing of the film Food Fight, a really interesting sounding documentary about the history of food policy and agribusiness, and the movement against some of the changes that grew in the twentieth century. The film is FREE with an RSVP. Here’s the skinny:

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The Emerald City's Eco-Community Film Festival
Celebrating Local Organic!
FEATURING RECEPTION AND INTRODUCTION BY ALICE WATERS

Date: Saturday, March 28, 7:00PM
DOORS OPEN 6 PM FOR RECEPTION WITH ALICE WATERS AND FILMMAKERS

Location: Town Hall Seattle (1119 Eighth Ave, Seattle), First Hill
Event is FREE with an RSVP by phone at 310.204.2140 or by email at EmeraldCityFilmFest@gmail.com

Food Fight is a fascinating look at how American agricultural policy and food culture developed in the 20th century and how the California food movement rebelled against big agribusiness to launch the local, organic food movement.
The journey continues with present day AS WE MOVE TOWARDS EDIBLE EDUCATION FOR ALL!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Hope to see you out this weekend!

Thanks to Milliron Photography for the flickr CC photo.

Arroz con Pollo: A Classic Comfort Food

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:13:17 -0700

It’s such comfort food. Rice and chicken allowed to cook together with broth and spices and flavors until everything seeps into everything else. Many cultures have a version of this, or even multiple versions. It’s hearty and filling, and it’s delicious hot or cold.

This is my mother’s version of Craig Claibourne’s take (New York Times Cookbook) on arroz con pollo. This recipe’s strongest flavors come from tomatoes, paprika (I used pimenton, smoked paprika), saffron, a lot of basil, and flavorful pasture-raised chicken.

Most of my childhood, my mother alternated this with her roast chicken recipe on Sundays. In the way families name things, it became Chicken Deborah’s Favorite Way, long after I’d decided I might be slightly more partial to the roast chicken. Although my attraction to this dish was really all about the rice -- flavored with basil, tomatoes and saffron, some of my favorite flavors to this day. I also liked swiping chopped tomatoes from the cutting board, where they’d absorbed the flavor of the raw garlic chopped just before. My mother would pretend not to notice.

Last night I had two family friends over for dinner and made a comfort food meal including this dish. For dessert, I took peach slices I’d frozen this summer and baked them with a simple wheat-free crumble topping (oats, cinnamon, local walnuts, maple syrup, butter). There was a lot of food. I still have plenty of leftovers for a few meals. Make this dish for a dinner party, or for when you want to have something to eat all week.

With a little advance planning, this dish was easy to make out of primarily local ingredients. In addition to those peaches, I still had frozen tomatoes from the summer stored away, as well as a frozen local chicken and some broth I’d made and saved. You can get frozen local peas at Madison Market. There isn’t local basil this time of year, sadly.

Esther’s Arroz con Pollo (adapted from New York Times Cookbook)

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 small to medium sized chicken cut up (or your favorite chicken parts)
3-6 peeled* ripe plum tomatoes or 2-3 regular tomatoes
1 medium onion
3-5 cloves garlic
basil (lots, usually ½ bunch)
Italian parsley (generous handful)
Olives, preferably Nicoise (optional)
Chicken broth or mushroom broth, about 1 quart
Paprika or pimentón
Black pepper
Salt
1-2 pinches of Saffron, crushed just before use
Fresh peas, shelled (Frozen are OK too)
1-3 cups of rice, depending on how much you’d like for leftovers. (I’ve used arborio and bombé so far. My mother uses white rice. I’d be interested to try it with brown, although I’m concerned it wouldn’t soak up the broth as nicely.)
1 skillet for sautéing ingredients
1 large Dutch oven or casserole with a lid

Soak your rice in advance, if you think of it, and rinse it well if you don’t.

Preheat oven to 375° F.

1.Rinse and pat dry chicken pieces. Sprinkle with paprika or pimentón, freshly ground black pepper, and a little salt (optional) on both sides.

2.Dice onion and (peeled) tomato. Chop garlic. Chop together basil and parsley and set aside; there is no such thing as too much basil. The ratio of basil leaves to parsley is about 3:1.

3.Add a thin coat of olive oil to the skillet and heat until an onion piece sizzles when used to test. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides. You can add them in the order legs, breasts, thighs, wings (the thickest first). Remove pieces when nicely browned and place in the Dutch oven.

4. Add olive oil to skillet. Sauté onion in the skillet used for the chicken over moderate heat until translucent. Add garlic, and continue cooking until onion and garlic start to brown.

5. Add tomatoes, and using a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape up any brown particles from the chicken sauté and mash the tomatoes to blend with onions/garlic. Let it cook and thicken a little, especially if you’re using more watery tomatoes rather than plum tomatoes. Add about 2/3 of the chopped basil and parsley; the remainder is reserved for sprinkling on the chicken and rice when serving.

6. Add rice to the mixture, stir until the rice is nicely coated with oil. If you are using olives put them in now.

7. Add approximately an equal volume of chicken broth as rice plus ½ cup of broth. The broth should be added slowly, starting with about ½ cup of broth to liquefy the ingredients. Dilute the saffron in some broth and pour into the skillet. Use additional broth to rinse the cup where the saffron was mixed and pour into the skillet; this way every bit of saffron is used. Bring to the boil, stirring the ingredients.

8. Pour the liquid with rice, alliums, tomatoes etc. over the chicken in the Dutch oven, cover and place in the 375° F preheated oven for 25-30 minutes depending on how large the chicken is and whether you will be using fresh or frozen peas.

9. Remove the casserole from the oven, stir in peas and turn over the chicken pieces. The rice on top tends to be drier than the rice further down. If all of the liquid is absorbed, add some additional broth (probably no more than ½ cup of broth as the chicken exudes some liquid as it cooks). If using frozen peas break them apart but do not defrost (they are already partially cooked).

10. Return the pot to the oven for another 5-10 minutes; total cooking time approximately 35 minutes. If there remains some liquid in the bottom of the pan, stir the rice around to help it absorb. You can put it back in the oven for another 2-3 minutes if there is too much liquid, but do not overcook it.

Serve with reserved leaves of basil and parsley, plus plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

The dish goes well with strong red wine and with simple salads of slightly bitter greens.

* TIP: Want an easy way to peel tomatoes? Boil a small pot of water. Dunk the tomato in for about 20 seconds, using a pair of tongs or slotted spoon. Take it out, and the peel will come right off. Works great for peaches too. But not, you know, for bananas or anything. Or vipers.

Viper Soup - Don’t Try This at Home.

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:06:02 -0700

I used to think I was a fairly adventurous cook. I’m willing to try new things, especially if they’re nutritious and wholesome... you know, the kinds of things people used to eat. But I’ve found a recipe I really couldn’t do.

The above text is real. It’s from a cookbook published in London in 1732 called The Country Houſewife and LADY’S DIRECTOR in the Management of a HOUSE and the Delights and Profits of a FARM. I found it while writing a research paper on how language in cookbooks mirrors development of the English language. The book has a lot of simple, wholesome and basic recipes. And then there are a few like this that made me do a double-take.

Sure, it’s a wholesome recipe. I bet wild snake meat’s good for you, and the rest is just vegetables. If you live in, er, viper territory, you could make this a foraged and local meal. What’s not to like? (she asked, as she backed carefully out of the kitchen.)

But somehow --- and maybe this is just me --- the idea of eight live hissing vipers staring up at me from the cutting board just doesn’t appeal. Nor does the idea of skinning a snake alive; I actually like snakes. I also really don’t like giving them motivation to bite me, and if I were a viper in this situation, I’d feel pretty motivated. Plus, as Wikipedia helpfully tells us about vipers, “All have relatively long hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom.”

I think I’ll pass.

So... what’s the oddest recipe you’ve ever seen? And would you make it at home?

And here, for the curious, is the full recipe. The letter ſ (not an f) is actually an early version of s. I love the line about “if they are pretty large.” I would have started that sentence with “Rethink your decision to make this soup...”

Viper-Soup, 1732
TAKE Vipers, alive, and skin them, and cut off their Heads ; then cut them in pieces, about two Inches in length, and boil them, with their Hearts, in about a Gallon of Water to eight Vipers, if they are pretty large. Put into the Liquor a little Pepper and Salt, and a Quart of White Wine to a Gallon of Liquor ; then put in ſome Spice, to your mind, and chop the following Herbs, and put into it: Take ſome Chervill, ſome white Beet-Cards or Leaves, ſome Hearts of Cabbage-Lettuce, a Shallot, ſome Spinach-Leaves, and ſome Succory. Boil theſe, and let them be tender ; then ſerve it up hot, with a French Roll in the middle, and garniſh with the raſpings of Bread ſifted, and ſlices of Lemon.

-

CSAs, Cascade Harvest Coalition’s 2009 CSA Brochure, and Happy Spring!

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:32:44 -0700

Spring starts in two days! Now is the time for many new beginnings in the world of growing and eating. Wild greens are starting to grow, animals are giving birth, pasture is getting greener. It’s time to plant and plan some of your garden, or get some seeds started indoors. It’s a good month to look in the freezer at any produce you might still have from the summer and want to use up before warm weather returns (I still have lots of tomatoes!). Also, if you’d like to join a CSA this year, it’s a good time to start thinking about which one.

CSA stands for community-supported agriculture. It’s basically a weekly delivery or pick-up of fresh, in-season produce (or meat or dairy or flowers...) from a local farm. You pay the money upfront, so the farm has more with which to start out their season, and then you get a share of what’s produced.

For those of you here in the Puget Sound area: Cascade Harvest Coalition has just released a brochure of farms offering CSAs in 2009!

For those elsewhere, Local Harvest has a limited directory of CSAs here.

Overwhelmed by the options? Ask around. If the farms you’re interested in are at the farmers’ market (yet), check out their stall. See what each specializes in, how much it costs, if their delivery/pick-up options work for you, etc. Feel free to post comments or recommendations here, although, of course, if you’re recommending your own farm, please be upfront about that!

For the record, don’t confuse companies that do organic delivery services with CSAs. Although some of them include or prioritize local produce, it’s not the same thing as a CSA. Part of the point of a CSA is to eliminate the middleman, part is to avoid buying organic produce from far away, and part is to give a farm money upfront. Organic produce delivery companies do none of these. I think they have a place, if they encourage people to eat more good, organic produce and if they support local farms to some extent. But you should know the distinction so you can make an informed choice.

Of course, CSAs aren’t for everyone. I like picking out my own produce, personally. But CSAs work well for many. If you’re feeding a large household or community, you may be able to rely on a CSA for basics and supplement it each week with food you pick out yourself.

More reading: A little known history of a 1912 pre-CSA

Thanks to justinhenry for the flickr CC photo.

Vitamin K2 MK-4 (menaquinone-4) in Eggs

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:22:42 -0700

We’ve talked before about vitamin K2 MK-4 (also called menaquinone-4), an important vitamin for bone strength, brain development, and a whole host of measures of health we’re still discovering. This particular form, menaquinone-4 (the name refers to the length of the molecule chain) seems to be especially important for human health. It’s the primary form of vitamin K found in brain fats. It’s the vitamin Weston Price first identified as “Activator-X,” observing its presence in the most sought-out and prized foods in the various cultures he studied.

Other animals like rats and ruminants can synthesize MK-4 from the plant form of vitamin K, known as vitamin K1 or phylloquinone. Human beings can’t convert the plant form to MK-4, with one notable exception: women can, to some extent, convert phylloquinone to menaquinone-4 in breast milk, which is a sign that MK-4 is especially crucial for infant development. Otherwise, we seem designed to get this vitamin from animal sources, just as our ancestors have been doing for millenia.

Vitamin K2 MK-4 is found in foods like grass-fed butter, organ meats, marrow and beef fat, as well as fish eggs, and the organs (and possibly the extracted fats) of some fatty fishes.

It turns out there’s another good, inexpensive dietary source that will appeal more to some vegetarians (although not vegans, sorry): pasture-raised chicken eggs.

I started researching the vitamin K2 MK-4 content of eggs today after eating some remarkably orange-yolked eggs I bought at the farmers’ market from Woodring Orchards. The eggs were from chickens which the owner’s eleven year-old daughter Caity raises on pasture -- the carton says Caity’s Fresh Eggs and features Caity’s hand-drawn label. These eggs were hands-down the best and darkest-yolked eggs I’ve had all season. It’s always a treat to crack open an egg and be delighted by how dark orange the yolk is, signaling a wealth of vitamins, creamy texture and deep flavor.

I started thinking about how Weston Price correlated the deep yellow color in springtime butter with increased MK-4 content. It was probably literally a sign of increased vitamin A (a strong correlation with increased vitamin K2 in this case), but it got me thinking how the color of egg yolks is also a sign of how nutritious they are (the darker the better). We know from this study in Mother Earth News that eggs from pasture-raised chickens, which are the eggs that tend to have much darker yolks, have far more nutrients (fat soluble vitamins A and E, and DHA omega-3 fatty acids) than conventional supermarket eggs. Chickens on pasture enjoy fresh greenery and nutritious bugs and worms. The chickens get more nutrients, and pack their eggs with the converted forms we need.

Eggs from chickens on pasture also seem to be a good source of vitamin K2 MK-4. It turns out that chicks and chickens can convert phylloquinone and menadione (the usually synthetic K3) into MK-4. So it should be no surprise that MK-4 is, in fact, found in egg yolks. And it seems eggs from chickens raised on pasture and taking in greater phylloquinone levels have more MK-4 in the yolks.

Chris Masterjohn sums this up nicely in this chart which groups data on vitamin K2 in egg yolks and other K2-rich foods. He compares measures of MK-4 in egg yolks from this study in the U.S. and this study in the Netherlands. The egg yolks from the Netherlands have twice the MK-4 content of their U.S. counterparts, presumably a result of diet.

If vitamin K2 MK-4 is in pasture-raised eggs, take this as another reminder eat real food grown and raised the way our ancestors did. It’s also a reminder of both the value and the limitations of scientific research to date. On one hand, we’re able to track down the specific nutrients that our ancestors have garnered from foods, analyze what these nutrients do in our body, and determine where we can find them. On the other hand, there is a great deal we still don’t know. If we’re only now discovering the value of menaquinone-4, what else have we not yet discovered? We risk messing up the fine balance of our health when we change our diets (or other aspects of healthy living) too far from what our ancestors identified as the sustenance of healthy lives.

In addition to good science and traditional diets, we also have our instincts and taste buds to guide us. The most orange egg yolks, the yellowest butter, the ripest berries... these foods are all better than their poor-quality counterparts, and it doesn’t take research much further than your mouth to figure that out.

The bottom line: eat delicious food that’s been produced in traditional and sustainable ways. Eat this way both for the reasons we’re constantly figuring out, and for the reasons we don’t yet understand.

A Public Health Campaign Reminds Me Why We’re Not Healthy

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:34:11 -0700

Sometime last month on a Metro bus in Seattle, I looked up and saw the advertisement you see on this page (minus my commentary in red of course). For an optimistic moment, I thought the poster was telling us that fast food is unhealthy and we should be informed so we can make healthy choices. But, of course, that’s not what it’s saying at all. The poster’s message, intended or not, is that health is all about calories; as long as you get the smaller serving of fries and the diet coke with your burger, you’ll be healthy and informed.

This kind of misinformation frustrates me. The poster is part of a new King County public health campaign about healthier eating, designed to encourage people to look at nutrition and calorie labeling in restaurants and fast food establishments. Even if unintended, the message here visually equates a lower-calorie fast food meal with the words “healthy” and “informed” which is plainly inaccurate. Even though public health offices, with limited budgets, are genuinely trying to solve the problem of epidemic-level chronic ill health, ads like this can actually contribute to the problem, and can mean spending money doing so that could be spent elsewhere.

The problem is that the message in this poster is all about calories, not about what kind of food you put in your body. The whole calories-in/calories out mantra is a myth. Our bodies don’t follow simple rules of thermodynamics, as this article nicely explains. Additionally, other ways of eating, such as the paleolithic diet, are much more effective at weight reduction and insulin and appetite control. There are a number of factors that contribute to metabolic syndrome and weight gain, such as compounds in poor quality food that mess with things like insulin level regulation and the body’s mechanisms for regulating weight and satiety.

However, even if you agree with the notion that weight gain is simply about the number of calories consumed and burned, the poster is still misleading because it implies that excessive weight gain from calorie intake is the only potential detriment of eating a poor diet. There isn’t a simple correlation between being lighter weight and being healthier. A bad diet also means missing out on important nutrients in the right (natural) combinations, and it means ingesting substances that are going to damage your body.

Eating a smaller meal of the same bad food is still unhealthy. In the meal pictured above, even the smaller portions contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids in the refined vegetable oil in which presumably the french fries have been deep fried, a cheap white flour bun, poor quality grain-fed and possibly hormone-laden meat, and a big cup of diet soda. Diet soda has been associated with metabolic syndrome. It’s one of the worst fake-foods you can put in your body.

On the King County Public Health website for this ad campaign, you can download information sheets and games, including a set of quiz cards about how many calories are in a lot of cheap popular foods. There’s also a fast food game board, an empty plate and a challenge to pick out a fast food meal for your children based on calories. The message in all these materials, intentional or otherwise, sounds the same: that you can go ahead and eat fast food; simply count the calories and you’ll be just fine. Especially if you consider heart disease and diabetes markers of being just fine.

There’s a reason simplified messages like this don’t work. First, they’re based on poor information. Second, when one wave of messaging doesn’t work, there’s an assumption that it’s because people ignored the message, so the message gets dumbed down more and more in the future. But I don’t think people ignore the message. I think they try out the mainstream ideas: reduce calories, reduce fat, buy products labeled “lite.” Then, they don’t lose weight, they’re still really hungry, they still have diabetes. They give up, and why shouldn’t they? If you’ve tried what nutritionists tell you to do and it doesn’t work, why continue? And so the cycle continues, of putting out the same information over and over, in increasingly dumbed down ways. What’s the purported definition of insanity again? I thought so.

You can make the argument that people are going to eat fast food for every meal no matter what, and at least Public Health can try to reduce the amount of calories people eat at each meal. I don’t think that’s helpful. First of all, it doesn’t tend to work, and second of all, if you’re giving up on getting people to reduce the frequency with which they eat fast food, why spend money on a campaign at all? To me it sounds like buying ads that say, “Go ahead. Eat Fast Food. We Give Up.” Although, of course, I disagree with King County Public Health as to whether calorie counting is significant.

I see the economic argument: we’re living in very difficult times financially, and people are struggling to feed themselves and their families on a tight schedule. Fast food is cheap, quick, and widely available. People aren’t going to listen to us if we tell them what’s really healthy, so we might as well “meet them where they’re at” as the jargon goes. But this is a weak argument for several reasons. First, encouraging people to eat poor quality food now is going to cost public health systems more money down the line when the same people (without insurance, thanks to the lovely economy) need to get treated for metabolic syndrome. Second, it is possible to eat reasonably healthful and quick-to-prepare food for very little money (scrambled eggs, anyone?). Third, I’d rather see local (and federal) government spend money to help people who can’t afford healthy food get greater access to it, not spend money encouraging people to eat bad food.

There’s also the argument that people respond most to immediate threats (danger now as opposed to long-term consequences) and to things that have detrimental effects on their children, and that for this reason, people aren’t going to give up fast food just because it’ll be bad for them in the long run. This, the argument goes, is why anti-smoking campaigns were less effective when they talked about lung cancer and more effective when they talked about bad breath and harming kids with secondhand smoke. So, why not approach fast food the same way? If people know that what they’re feeding their kids will have long term consequences on their kids’ metabolism, brain function and longevity, will people be more motivated to make a change in diet?

I’ve learned more about this current ad campaign, and it seems this calorie focus is the first of several stages; later ones will focus on saturated fat, sodium, and carbohydrates. I think focusing subsequent phases on polyunsaturated fat/vegetable oil, badly processed grains, and sugar might be more useful, rather than going back to the same tired, misleading information about sodium and saturated fat. However, I don’t think we’re going to win that battle anytime soon.

I could also see other more effective uses of a small grant, such as a community lesson on cooking cheap, healthy and quick food, and perhaps an offer of $25 grocery store vouchers to those who attend. Or maybe a grant to start a new farmers’ market or subsidize food at an existing one.

A question for readers:

If you were running a $50,000 public health advertising or awareness campaign targeted to low-income, busy families who eat predominantly fast food, what messages and methods would you choose?

Especially: what would you put on a bus ad or a game or a brochure?

How would you spend the money? Something other than an ad campaign?

Please share ideas in the comments section, and I’m happy to pass any really good ones along to the Office of Public Health (or, of course, you can do so yourself).

My Grandmother’s Perfect Hamantaschen Recipe on Bitten

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 12:00:15 -0700

My grandmother’s hamantaschen recipe gets the attention it deserves in today’s New York Times food blog, Bitten.

The recipe isn’t exactly in keeping with my views on healthy eating, but at least it contains very little sugar or oil, and more prune than anything else. Besides, delicious and traditional treats are worth making an exception now and then. Someday I’ll try a gluten-free version and I’ll test my grandmother’s insistence that butter won’t work for the dough. Just don’t tell her; she’d kill me.

A quick update on this site: I’ve been taking a break from it, but things will be back up and rolling again soon. Thanks to the readers who have emailed me kind thoughts and concerns. More recipes, nutrition information, and thoughts on local, seasonal food for springtime coming soon...

My Pear Soup Piece on Bitten

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:17:20 -0800

Check out my latest piece on Bitten, the New York Times food blog. It’s about giving pears their due appreciation, and it includes a recipe for a pear soup with mushrooms and gorgonzola. If you try making this soup, let me know how it goes!

For locals, Jones Creek, the farm that grows the delicious pears I mentioned, hasn’t at the market in Seattle lately. I wrote that piece a few weeks ago, before the snows and floods happened. I called them to check in, and it sounds like they got some flooding this time around, like most of Western Washington, but they’re hanging in there.

Oolichan Grease and ‘My Big, Fat Diet’

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 08:14:15 -0800

I recently saw the award-winning documentary My Big Fat Diet. It’s a film focusing on the work of Dr. Jay Wortman, a Canadian physician studying the impact of traditional, low-carbohydrate diets on the health of First Nations communities, with a particular focus on diabetes and overweight. The film is by Mary Bissel, co-produced with Barb Cranmer of the Namgis First Nation and Christian Bruyere of Mystique Films in association with CBC Newsworld. It documents Dr. Wortman’s study in which members of the Namgis community of Alert Bay, British Columbia spent a year eating a low-carbohydrate diet somewhat similar to a traditional diet of that region. The project was a resounding success, with significant weight reductions. (You can read more here about Dr. Wortman’s personal and professional journey that led to the creation of this film. It’s a great read.)

Oolichan grease was an important component of the diet used in this study. Oolichan grease is a traditional food of First Nations communities in the Northwest, particularly coastal British Columbia. Through a large-scale process of boiling and fermentation, the grease is traditionally extracted from Thaleichthys pacificus, the small oolichan or eulachon fish (also: ooligan, hooligan, candle fish, candlefish, or t’lina).

One line in the film struck me in particular. A participant in the study reflects, “My grandfather used to tell me that the yellow color in the grease is our sunshine in the wintertime when there’s hardly any sunlight.”

I was watching the film with a friend, and we looked at each other, jaws dropped. Haven’t you heard something like this before? First, doesn’t it sound an awful lot like taking cod liver oil in the winter for vitamin D3, a vitamin which comes from sunshine and which we can’t get in the winter? The other thing that struck me was prizing the yellow color; this reminded me of how spring and autumn butter, as Weston Price observed, was valued for its yellow color -- and, although people didn’t know it, its high vitamin K2 (menaquinone-4) content. The yellow in both the butter and the grease is from vitamin A, but high vitamin A is often found in the same foods as other fat soluble vitamins.

So, does oolichan grease contain these important nutrients? I set out to learn more about the nutritional content of oolichan grease and the role a return to a traditional diet can play in health and wellness.

First of all, I’m not at all surprised that a traditional-ish diet that included a traditional food like oolichan grease was so beneficial. Weston Price, in his classic work Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, demonstrated that cultures around the world have carefully over time selected and created traditional diets with an optimal intake of protective foods. Historically, in culture after culture, traditional diets have been replaced with a modern diet of refined foods like flour, sugar, and vegetable oil. Traditional cooking and eating have declined. As Weston Price showed in his dental and health studies, and as we see today with high rates of diabetes, obesity, cancer, and other diseases of civilization, this shift in diet, coupled with other circumstantial changes, has been disastrous. We’ve all lost foods our ancestors knew were important, and gained poor substitutes in their place.

Price also demonstrated that a carefully chosen regimen of wholesome foods, particularly those with animal/fish fats and fat-soluble vitamins like A (retinol), D3 and K2 (menaquinone-4), could halt and even reverse declines in dental health and other degeneration. Traditional diets are healthful not only because they cut out detrimental modern foods, but because they incorporate the carefully selected and developed protective foods people long ago realized were important.

Other studies have also shown the positive nutritional impact when indigenous communities choose to revert to a more traditional diet. Dr. Harriet Kuhnlein, who, incidentally, is responsible for a good portion of the research available on the nutritional profile of oolichan grease, also published a paper (full text available here) on an intervention program that improved vitamin A and iron status via a traditional diet.

In choosing traditional foods, it’s key to look at what foods people valued highly. These foods often turn out to be the most nutrient-rich components of a diet. Oolichan grease fits the bill. Historically, oolichan grease was highly revered and prized, sparking complex trading routes, still referred to as grease trails, several hundred miles inland from the B.C. coast. Whatever was in this strong-smelling, yellow fat, people knew it was an important component of diet. In some regions, oolichan grease comprised up to half of the calories in the diet.

In her research during the 1980s and 1990s, Dr. Kuhnlein began analyzing the nutritional makeup of oolichan grease. In her 1982 and 1996 studies (she has another study from 1998 that I haven’t yet been able to access), Kuhnlein demonstrated that oolichan grease is extremely rich in vitamins A and E. She identified significant vitamin K, although her research noted it as K1, phyllaquinone, which is a form found in plants as well as some fish, rather than the optimal K2, menaquinone-4, the typical animal form. However, I wonder if further examination would reveal meanquinone-4 as well. In this initial research, she also found high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

Dr. Kuhnlein has some other interesting papers on traditional diets, including this one about the relationship between vitamin A levels and consumption of traditional foods among Canadian Inuit. In a 2004 paper, she shows that a number of traditional foods of Arctic communities provided adequate vitamins A, D, and E, but that reduced consumption of those foods to present day levels leaves the same communities deficient in these vitamins.

Dr. Wortman, featured in My Big Fat Diet, also recently published this very interesting paper about oolichan grease. He analyzed the fatty acid profile of both fresh (frozen) oolichan fish and of oolichan grease. A few highlights of his paper stood out to me:

The fatty acid profile of oolichan grease is very similar to human fat (adipose tissue): about 30% saturated fat and 55% monounsaturated fat, with very low omega-6 fatty acids. Dr. Kuhnlein found about 32% and 65% respectively in her earlier research.
The process of fermenting and rendering oolichan grease from oolichan fish decreased the omega-3 content.
The omega-3 content isn’t particularly high, compared to omega-3 rich foods like salmon, but given that oolichan grease once made up such a large proportion of a traditional diet, this makes sense. Eating it in high quantity would yield a much safer level of omega-3 fatty acids than if it were richer in these. While his finding in omega-3 content departs from that of Dr. Kuhnlein, who found higher levels, he demonstrates that the fermentation process reduces this type of fatty acid, and he uses thin-layer chromatography to break down the specific fats in great detail.
Oolichan grease contains significant quantities of squalene, a substance found in human skin
Oolichan grease was developed to optimize both nutrition and use. The fermentation and boiling process made the oil last longer, so it could be kept throughout the year and traded far and wide.

I contacted Dr. Wortman to ask if he’s aware of anyone yet looking into the vitamin D3 and K2 status of eulachon grease. He doesn’t believe analysis has yet been done, but the question is on his radar and Dr. Kuhnlein’s.

I’d hypothesize that oolichan grease has both K2 (menaquinone-4) and D3, and that probably, like the EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, both are at low enough levels where a high traditional intake would have provided adequate amounts of these vitamins. This is just a guess on my part, but there are reasons other than the line from the film that struck me. A number of other fatty fish have vitamin K2 menaquinone=4 as well as D3 in their organs. In the case of oolichan grease, fermentation might also enhance the extraction of the vitamins into the oil. On the other hand, oolichan grease may have been valuable even without these vitamins since fatty fish also have other benefits, like increasing bioavailability of nutrients in foods. Also, as Dr. Kuhnlein demonstrated, albeit in a study of people living further north, vitamin D and other fat-soluble vitamins were available in a number of other traditional foods, like marine and land mammals, animal fats, fish flesh and eggs, and liver.

No food is a panacea. Even the foods that cultures have prized the most, like butter, organ meats, fish, fish eggs, and oolichan grease, are eaten in concert with other foods to make up a wholesome and delicious diet. Although one food doesn’t necessarily have to have all the fat-soluble vitamins to be beneficial, it’s important to keep in mind that we tend to use vitamins, fats, and minerals most effectively when they’re eaten in traditional combinations. Historically, our cultures have sought out optimal foods, preparations, and combinations. When a culture prizes a food to the extent that cultures have prized oolichan grease, it’s a good bet to pay attention and find out why.

So, is there more to learn about oolichan grease? That line about “sunshine in winter” is sticking with me. I’m very curious to find out more.

Note:
If you’re in the Seattle area, a few of us are interested in asking one of the local, independent movie theaters to show My Big Fat Diet. If you’d like to add your voice or organization or community to that request, please email me or leave a comment here.

Additional resources:
This piece on ooligan grease from the Weston A. Price Foundation website is pretty comprehensive and very interesting.
One of the film’s collaborators, Barb Cranmer, also directed an interesting-looking film about oolichan grease which I haven’t seen yet called T’Lina: The Rendering of Wealth.
You can read more about traditional uses of oolichan (with pictures) here, see pictures of the process here.
Jude Isabella’s article on some of the history of fishing in British Columbia, including a focus on oolichan grease.
More on eulachon fishery and decline in this article.

NOTE 2/3/09: If you are another blogger and you would like to use some otherwise hard-to-find information or ideas sourced from this or other entries, such as the research about vitamin K2 menaquinone 4 in fish organs, please credit your source in your post. I am happy to share and spread information, especially when it is credited appropriately. Thank you!

Thanks to samantha lundin thom for the flickr CC photo.

NYT Op-Ed on Soil Degradation and Sustainability

Mon, 5 Jan 2009 11:33:25 -0800

One more thing to check out today: this op-ed piece in the New York Times by Wes Jackson and Wendall Berry. The piece focuses on the problem of soil degradation, enhanced by our unsustainable systems of large-scale agriculture. Here’s a section that stood out to me:

For 50 or 60 years, we have let ourselves believe that as long as we have money we will have food. That is a mistake. If we continue our offenses against the land and the labor by which we are fed, the food supply will decline, and we will have a problem far more complex than the failure of our paper economy. The government will bring forth no food by providing hundreds of billions of dollars to the agribusiness corporations.

The authors talk about a few solutions, like rotating land use, including periods of pasture and grazing, and more radical solutions like perennialization of grain crops. But they don’t focus on a significant reduction of grain crops, which strikes me as something that could serendipitously have a major impact on both soil quality and diet.

We’re extremely reliant on grain, especially wheat, corn and soy. We feed it to our livestock, we use it as fillers in poor-quality prepared foods, we create processed oils and sweeteners out of it. Our consumption of these products is reducing the nutrients in our food and the quality of our food by acting as a substitute for wholesome, more nutritive foods like grass-fed meats and dairy, unprocessed foods, or wholesome fats. Our consumption is also increasing our intake of detrimental things like high levels of omega-6 fatty acids and antinutrients.

It’s true, there are a lot of people to feed in this country and beyond, and grains are a fast and cheap way to create food. Properly prepared (soaked, sprouted, fermented), they can even be part of a healthy diet, in combination with foods like fish, fats, eggs, and organ meats. I’m not advocating the elimination of grains.

But given the significant amount of grain produced for oil, for animal feed, for biofuels, for sweeteners, and for other purposes which don’t contribute to optimal health or land use, I would guess that a lot of land used for grain production could be repurposed for pasture or vegetable production. This could mean enhanced soil, better and more diverse foods, and increased sustainability. I wouldn’t miss the high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil, personally.

Of course, politics and money make this kind of a radical change less likely, as does the cultural assumption that grains should constitute the lion’s share of diet. We produce food in a way that maximizes profit and convenience rather than nutrition or sustainability. It’s a costly mistake.

Local Food Resource: Seasonal Cornucopia

Mon, 5 Jan 2009 10:48:57 -0800

Some food enthusiasts at chowhound.com alerted me to a fantastic Seattle-area website called Seasonal Cornucopia. The site lists what locally-produced ingredients are available in any given time period, and offers recipes, links, and sources for ingredients. It’s a nice resource for planning ahead and getting ideas for a meal of local ingredients any time during the year. The Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance website also has a nice list of what’s available each week and each month here.

Keep in mind that sites like these by definition can’t be perfectly comprehensive, and the disclaimer on Seasonal Cornucopia is pretty upfront about that. Unexpected weather can change what’s available, as we learned a few weeks ago during the giant snowstorm, when potatoes were literally the only vegetable available at the University District farmers market. There are also always new vendors, growers introducing new items, and items that are no longer produced.

I like these websites for getting ideas, but my favorite way to discover what’s available is to go out and see for myself. I checked out the Ballard market yesterday for the first time in a few weeks and saw, in addition to a lot of familiar merchants, a fish vendor I hadn’t noticed previously, someone selling pasture-raised veal and other meats, some hand-shelled walnuts, and some nice-looking apples. The discovery process, even when the weather is cold and wet, is part of the fun.

I’m curious for those of you beyond Washington State or outside the U.S.: do you have websites that list local food availability specific to your region? I know about some of the good nationwide ones, like Local Harvest, but I’m interested in other small, regional projects too.

Thanks to carmyarmyofme for the flickr CC photo.

Cooking Oil 101

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:05:53 -0800

“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”
- Julia Child

To much of America, refined vegetable oil is a ubiquitous, neutral ingredient, one we simply don’t think about very much. Most people just think figure that it’s clear, comes from vegetables, and cheaper than olive oil. It’s familiar, and therefore accepted as food.

We shouldn’t eat a lot of it, we’re told, because it’s an oil, but it’s better than those artery-clogging saturated animal fats our ancestors ate, especially when it says “lite” on the bottle. Although, we’re also told, it’s not as good as olive oil, which is, of course, the only fat they use in the Mediterranean (some country between Sardinia and Souvlakia where the healthy, tanned population basks all day on beaches).

It turns out that much of what we’ve been told about oil is wrong. Processed, refined vegetable oils, which aren’t exactly squeezed out of vegetables, are far from harmless foods, if you can even call them foods. For the most part, they’re extremely detrimental, particularly due to high levels of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. They’re also highly processed. Olive oil is fine, but a) it’s not the only fat used around the Mediterranean and b) using it at the exclusion of saturated animal fats can mean missing out on some important fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin-rich saturated fats are an important part of a healthy diet. 
What’s true for most foods is true for fats too: The best fats in your food are simple, naturally-occurring fats that cultures have prized for thousands of years. This includes mostly animal fats, like butter, beef tallow, lard, and schmaltz, and vegetarian fats like unrefined coconut oil, unrefined red palm oil, and olive oil. These fats, like Julia Child implies in the quote above, are nothing to fear. But their loss from our diet is indeed something to fear.

Here, then, is a beginning guide to cooking oils and fats. I’ll go over a few rudimentary concepts. At the bottom, you’ll find a chart with some basic information about certain fats and oils you can use in your kitchen.

These Are Not Vegetables

“Vegetable oil” is such an innocuous term. Didn’t Mom tell you to eat your vegetables? However, so-called vegetable oils are made out of seeds and grains, like soy or corn. In some cases, like cottonseed oil, the oils are made from sources that aren’t even considered foods at all.

Vegetable oil is fairly new and, with the exception of olive oil, its place in society as a prized ingredient is very new. Cultures have previously tried to extract oils from grains and seeds, although the process has always been difficult. The nineteenth century saw the start of using chemical solvents to produce refined vegetable oils and margarines. They gained popularity during the poverty of the Great Depression and rationing of World War II, although people still knew enough to value butter and animal fats. In the ensuing decades, their consumption has been increasing every year, much to the detriment of our health.

Saturated, Monounsaturated, & Polyunsaturated

You’ve probably heard fats or fatty acids described as saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated. But what does that mean?

The backbone/chain of a fat molecule is made up of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms on either side. This chain is the center of a saturated fat molecule:

It’s called saturated because all the carbon atoms are saturated with hydrogen atoms on either side. Saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature; picture these structures as building blocks which stack easily on top of each other.

A monounsaturated fat has one spot in the chain where two hydrogens are missing on the same side of the chain, causing their adjoining carbon atoms to form a double bond:

A polyunsaturated fat has multiple places where hydrogens are missing:

A trans fat has missing hydrogens on opposite sides of the carbon chain:

This is often a side effect of the hydrogenation process, which is used to solidify oils by adding hydrogen, for making margarine and similar products. Trans fats are associated with cardiovascular disease, although it’s unclear whether that’s caused by their change in molecular structure, associated with it due to one of many other problems with the fats, like omega-6 fatty acid content, or a little of each.

Fats that are highly saturated are the best of the above, with monounsaturated fats coming in second. Most fats contain a combination of different kinds of fatty acids. Avoid oils with high polyunsaturated content, or those that have been hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated.

Saturated fats have gained an unfair negative reputation. Much of this reputation comes from the fact that saturated animal fats contain cholesterol, although dietary saturated fat intake does not result in high LDL cholesterol (the so-called “bad cholesterol”) in the body. Well-performed intervention trials that reduce saturated fat don’t decrease heart disease or mortality. As we’ve pushed natural saturated fats further off our plates, we’ve lost out. (Check out this database for changes in cholesterol and other fat component intake over the last few decades; we’re eating less cholesterol than we were forty years ago, and obesity and heart disease are still skyrocketing.)

Saturated fats are important for neurological function and energy, and provide important, protective fat-soluble vitamins. Our bodies cannot produce certain saturated fats on their own. We need saturated fat to form tissues in the brain and maintain brain function. Cultures have traditionally sought out saturated fats, especially those from animal sources, and used them liberally. A few common fats with high saturated content are: butter, beef tallow, lard, schmaltz/chicken fat, coconut oil, and unrefined red palm oil. Note that margarines DO NOT count as healthy saturated fats.

After years of trying to promote polyunsaturated fats as a substitute for saturated fats, the health industry is now all about touting monounsaturated fats, which make up about 70% of olive oil’s fat profile. However, a lot of the benefit attributed to largely monounsaturated fats may specifically be about their lower content of omega-6 fatty acids than polyunsaturated fats.

High levels of omega-6 fatty acids, we’re learning, are associated with a striking number of health problems. It’s not surprising; most of them appear in our diet from “foods” that didn’t exist a few generations ago, like highly refined vegetable oil. In omega-6 fatty acids, the first missing hydrogen on the chain is on the sixth carbon atom, which is how they and the other omega-# fats get their names.

Omega-6 fatty acids are associated with problems like impaired thyroid function, obesity, diminished mental health, higher rates of Alzheimer’s, and impaired cognitive development in infants and children. Linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid found in high levels in vegetable oils like sesame, peanut, corn, sunflower (other than high-oleic sunflower), cottonseed, safflower, and walnut, detrimentally affects metabolism, organ function, thyroid and hormone regulation, and is associated with higher rates of certain cancers.

You’ve probably heard more about omega-3 fatty acids than omega-6. (There are also omega-9 fatty acids, the monounsaturated fats found in olive oil, as oleic acid, and canola oil, as erucic acid. Our bodies can produce omega-9 from other fats.) We need very small amounts of omega-6, but it’s pretty near impossible to be deficient in modern society. Omega-3 fatty acids, on the other hand, are extremely protective in a wide range of areas including heart health, cognitive function, mental health, memory, and possibly cancer prevention. We only need a small amount of them, but having the right kind is important.

The most important omega-3 fatty acid is DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), the one found in fish oil. It is not found in plant sources, including vegetable oils or flax seed oil (so please don’t be fooled by the bottles of flaxseed oil for sale next to the cod liver oil and fish oil in the health food store!). Our bodies cannot convert other omega-3s into DHA the way other animals can. However, because of chickens’ ability to do this, we can get DHA from eggs laid by chickens fed flaxseed. Strict vegetarians should be eating these eggs. Vegans cannot get DHA from food.

The body stores omega-6 fatty acids longer than omega-3. They are stored in fats, including the fats in our brains. Maintaining a balanced ratio (high 3, low 6) between the two is important. Because we store omega-6 for longer, higher intake of omega-6 over time builds up. Even more of a reason to bring your omega-6 content down to a bare minimum in order to maintain this ratio.

The bottom line: Avoid oils with high levels of polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids. That includes most refined vegetable oils. Prioritize saturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Banish margarine from your life.

Refined and Unrefined

We hear the term “refined” a lot when it comes to modern ingredients. Refined sugar, refined oil, refined palette (oh wait). What does it mean when oil is refined?

Literally, to refine something is to clear out other substances and extract something in its purest form. That in and of itself isn’t a bad concept. Refining generally raises the smoke point of an oil, and therefore makes it better for high heat cooking. The problem is that a few bad things happen during the refining process. For one, the process generally involves some pretty nasty toxins. For another, it can change the molecular structure of the fats, especially when the process involves exposure to high heat that breaks down the fats into detrimental forms.

Refining is also relied on to get oil out of sources that don’t have high oil content. Unlike, say, olives or coconuts, most sources of so-called vegetable oil are not particularly oily. When’s the last time a raw kernel of corn fell on your shirt and left an oil stain? I didn’t think so. But these substances are cheap to produce, and so there’s a financial incentive for making them into oil.

The problem is, that requires some serious processing. The process varies a little from oil to oil, but it looks something like this:

First, the seeds are cleaned to remove trace metals and so forth. Then, they are heated and pressed (this is skipped with some oils). Next, they are treated with chemical solvents like hexane, a cheap and toxic substance which is considered a hazardous air pollutant by the EPA, and is produced by petroleum refineries (getting hungry yet?). Then, the hexane is removed via processes like boiling and evaporation. More high heat exposure, yum.

Next, the oil is refined for flavor and odor, including covering over any nasty taste from the process so far. (I’d just like to stop and ask: why would you want to eat something whose taste had to be masked because it would naturally be too foul to consume?) This is often done by heating the oil and mixing it with substances like lye. Finally, the oil is deodorized at high temperatures and bleached, just in case there’s any bad flavor left over.

Not all refined oils use a high-heat or chemical process. You may have heard of expeller-pressed oil, which uses a mechanical rather than chemical process. Cold-pressing, which is typical for olive oil, avoids exposure to high heat. These are both better than high heat chemical refining processes.

The bottom line: Prioritize simple, natural fats and oils that require little to no refining. Use cold-pressed/expeller pressed oils when their smoke point is suitable. Use refined oils sparingly when needed.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins and Animal Sources

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve probably heard me mention the importance of fat-soluble vitamins. These are vitamins A, D, K and E. These vitamins are absorbed when ingested with fat, so vitamin A & D enriched skim milk is probably not doing you any good.

Some of these vitamins occur in fats, which is ideal for their absorption. All vitamins occur in various forms, some of which appear in vegetable sources and some in animal sources. Generally, the animal forms are more important for us, and more likely to be missing from our diets.

For example, vitamin K occurs in one form in plants, as vitamin K1 (phylloquinone). Another form, vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7 or MK-7), is found in some fermented foods like natto, among other sources. But the most essential form of vitamin K2, menaquinone 4, is found only in animal fats like grass-fed butter, grass-fed beef tallow, organ meats, and fish organs. We’re still learning about vitamin K2 menaquinone-4, but it’s the substance Weston Price called “Activator X” in his studies, and is essential for brain development, bone health, vitamin absorption, and protective body processes including kidney stone prevention.

Vitamin A as beta carotene is found in a lot of vegetable sources, and is abundant in high-carotene unrefined red palm oil. The form retinol is available in animal sources. If I understand correctly, it seems we can convert carotene to retinol to some extent, but that this depends on our digestive health, and even when healthy we don’t convert all of it.

Vitamin D3 is found in some organ meats and fish organs, in leaf lard, and in cod liver oil, although I don’t recommend cooking with the latter.

Vitamin E deficiency is pretty rare. Olive oil and schmaltz are good sources.

Unlike herbivorous animals, we cannot convert many plant forms of vitamins, including vitamin K, into animal forms. Because of this, I think the consumption of good quality animal fats from animals fed what they’re supposed to eat, is essential. They also happen to make a lot of food taste delicious. A danger of the so-called Mediterranean diet (aside from the fact that it picks and chooses from what people living around the Mediterranean Sea eat), is that relying on olive oil as your only fat means missing out on important fat-soluble vitamins and protective saturated fats.

If you’re vegetarian, your diet should include a lot of butter. If you’re vegan, which I don’t recommend from a nutritional standpoint (although I do understand some of the ethical components), supplement with vitamins D3, K2 menaquinone-4, A retinol. I believe you can find synthetic versions of these, although I’m somewhat skeptical about synthetic vitamins. Take them with plenty of fat, and cook with simple oils like unrefined coconut oil.

The bottom line: It’s ideal to eat unrefined, saturated animal fats from animals raised organically and on pasture.

Smoke Points
The smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which it starts producing smoke. You want to avoid letting oil reach this point for several reasons. On the lesser side, you’ll set off the smoke detectors, make your kitchen smell terrible, and make your pans hard to clean. But more importantly, when an oil crosses its smoke point, the fats begin to break down and oxidize, changing the molecular structure and producing detrimental free radicals. In the chart at the end of this post, you’ll see smoke points for many common cooking fats and oils.

Flavor
We eat because food tastes good, right? The flavor of the oil or fat you use matters. You want it to balance, enhance, or take a back seat to the flavors in your food. Certain oils simply taste wrong with certain foods. Olive oil doesn’t go with Thai food. Red palm oil tastes terrible with eggs. Refined vegetable oil doesn’t give any flavor to baked goods, and leaves them tasting dull. Beef tallow would overpower sautéed fruit.

People often turn to vegetable oils because their flavor is neutral, thanks to all that bleaching and deodorizing. That’s a benefit in some cases, but you can often find another oil or fat that works well for the dish you’re making. My favorite example: I like using unrefined coconut oil in Thai food, whereas vegetable oils are commonly used. Coconut is a flavor found throughout Thai cooking, so it goes fairly well. Check out this recipe for basil chicken and basil chicken fried rice as an example.

Pesticides
As with most foods, organic oils are a safer bet than non-organic ones. Pesticides have been found in vegetable oils, like soybean, peanut, and sesame.

However, the worst culprit is cottonseed oil. A large fraction of the pesticides sprayed in the United States are used on the cotton crop, including some pretty toxic chemicals. Cotton is not grown primarily as a food crop. I’m finding older reports that suggest none of the regulations that apply to pesticide use on food crops apply to cotton, and I’ve yet to find anything more recent that contradicts this information. As usual, please send me any updates you have.

But even aside from horrific pesticide residue, cottonseed oil is one to avoid, with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content and significant refining. It’s cheap to produce, so you see it in a lot of processed food and baked goods. But don’t you want to eat food that’s made of... food?

The bottom line: Buy organic oils and never buy cottonseed oil.

Basic Charts of Oils and Fats

You can find some of the sources I compiled for my chart below here, here, here and here.

I’ve highlighted some of my favorites in green, mediocre oils in yellow, pretty bad oils in orange, and ones to avoid completely in red. I included omega 6:3 ratio in order to illustrate extent of omega-6 content, not because you should seek out omega-3s in vegetable oils.

If you can’t see this chart in your RSS feed, click here. (If you can’t see it on the web page, send me an email. I’ll try to fix it.)

A few notes about the chart:
Leaf lard and beef suet both have even better omega 6:3 ratios (i.e.: lower 6) when the animals are raised on pasture.
All the figures above vary to some degree, but these numbers give you a general sense

Further reading

Modern Forager on fats and oils
Jennifer McLagan’s book Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes

Thanks to churl for the flickr CC photo

Latke Dilemma: Which Oil To Use?

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:17:02 -0800

As I was preparing to fry my latkes a few days ago, the annual question came up: What kind of oil to use? Latkes, potato pancakes fried in large amounts of oil, are traditional Hanukkah fare. The holiday is actually a celebration of oil, so there’s no escaping its use. That’s fine with me; I like fat. But I don’t like refined vegetable oil, the typical fat used for latkes. I felt stuck.

I wanted an oil with these qualities:

High smoke point (discounts olive oil)
Low omega-6 fatty acids (discounts most vegetable oil)
Low in polyunsaturated fatty acids (more saturated or monounsaturated)
Unrefined if possible (discounts pretty much any vegetarian oil with a high smoke point)
A flavor that goes well with latkes (discounts coconut oil, red palm oil)
Affordable in larger quantities (see above)
Not containing large amounts of pesticides (discounts cottonseed oil. ugh.)
A vegetarian option, for those who didn’t eat meat or who kept kosher and couldn’t mix latkes fried in animal fat with sour cream.

You see my problem? It’s hard to find the right oil. And what kind of a mitzvah would it be to fill my guests up with omega-6 fatty acids if I could find something better?

For the animal fat eaters, I chose schmaltz, which is rendered chicken fat. Judaism, as I recently told a friend, is built on two basic principles: 1) Treat other people the way you’d like to be treated, and 2) Onions and potatoes taste really good cooked in chicken fat. The rest, as Rabbi Hillel sort of said, is commentary.

For everyone else, I chose organic high-oleic sunflower oil. Regular sunflower oil is pretty high in omega-6 fatty acids/polyunsaturates. But the high oleic stuff isn’t. It’s refined, unfortunately, but it seemed like the best option.

The sunflower oil worked well, as did the schmaltz, although cooking in schmaltz was very, very slow. In the end, both fats produced crispy, brown latkes, which my guests devoured until they could no longer move.

Stay tuned for the next post, where I’ll go over some basics of cooking oil more broadly.

Crispy Gluten-Free Latkes

Approximate ratio:
5 russet potatoes
3 eggs
1 yellow onion
salt
pepper
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
schmaltz or high oleic sunflower oil

1. Grate potatoes. You can use the top grating attachment of a food processor for ease. If you like latkes a little soft in the middle, pulse the grated potatoes in the food processor for two seconds, but don’t make the mistake of pureeing your potatoes in the food processor. Add salt and let them sit a minute. Grate onions.

2. Press the water from the potatoes and onions. Mix together. Add egg, salt, pepper, and buckwheat flour.

3. Heat oil, about 1/8” deep, in a heavy skillet. When it’s hot, drop handfuls of batter into the oil and gently press down with the spatula. When the latke is brown on the bottom, flip. Keep an eye on the oil to make sure it doesn’t smoke. When the latke is brown on the other side, remove it to a plate covered with a paper towel.

You’ll probably need to keep draining water out of your batter as you go along; the salt pulls liquid out of the potatoes and onions.

Serve latkes with sour cream and applesauce.

Thanks to yann.co.nz for the flickr CC photo.

Real Hot Chocolate (In a Snowstorm!)

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:42:01 -0800

My household consumed a lot of hot chocolate this past week.

In case you’ve missed the news or don’t live in the area, our normally mild, damp Northwest region has been facing frigid temperatures and snow accumulation unseen since the 1970s. Living near the base of a steep hill on an icy, unplowed street, we’ve taken to activities like snowman-making, climbing up the hill for groceries, and making latkes, soup and hot chocolate for the twenty or so people who managed to trek to the house for the first night of Hanukkah.

The hot chocolate is key. Warming, fatty, indulgent... it’s what I want when I come back indoors from frolicking in the snow, or when I’m sitting cozily indoors watching the snow.

A few visitors to the house have commented that getting used to real, homemade hot chocolate makes it hard to go back to the stuff from the mix. That’s a good thing. Check out the ingredients from Nestle Rich Chocolate Hot Cocoa:

Ingredients: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Vegetable Oil (Partially Hydrogenated Coconut or Palm Kernel and Canola, Hydrogenated Palm, Soybean, Cottonseed, and/or Safflower), Dairy Product Solids, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Salt, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Caseinate (From Milk), Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Aluminosilicate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Artificial Flavors, Sucralose.

Mmm. Would you like some more cottonseed oil with your corn syrup? I didn’t think so. If you retain a childhood fondness for that stuff, now is a good time to get over it. Not only because it’s terrible for you, but also because real hot chocolate is so delicious and easy to make. Here is a basic formula:

Real Hot Chocolate

Per person:
1 mug of whole milk, preferably raw and grass-fed
1 rounded spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder
A few squares of very dark chocolate
Cream, whipped or plain
Vanilla, rum, Grand Marnier, or almond extract (optional)
Snowstorm

1. Come in from snowstorm. Remove boots, etc.

2. Heat milk in a heavy pot. It should get warm, not very hot; I test it with my finger.

3. Melt chocolate in a medium sized bowl or Pyrex pitcher. Add cocoa powder to melted chocolate. Stir in a few spoonfuls of warm milk to dissolve cocoa. Add more and more warm milk, beating it to mix fully. Add vanilla.

4. Pour chocolatey mixture back into the pot of the rest of the milk. Stir, then pour into mugs.

5. Top with a dollop of cream or with whipped cream. Need I say that you should make your own whipped cream? It’s simple; beat cream until it becomes whipped cream. Add a little vanilla and a dash of maple syrup or honey if you want, but the sweetener isn’t necessary.

6. Drink, while watching the snow. Repeat as necessary.

VARIATION: Try adding spices to your hot chocolate, although please keep it simple. Start with cinnamon and cayenne. Mmm, spicy and warming.

OTHER VARIATION: I like both the cocoa powder and the melted chocolate. But I’ve also made hot chocolate just with cocoa powder, hot milk, and a little maple syrup (or without, if I’m the only one drinking it, since I like bitterness). I’ve also made it with just melted chocolate and milk. But the way described above is my favorite.

By the way, I safely made it out of Seattle down to see my grandmother near Los Angeles. But, just for fun, here are some pictures of the snow.

Thanks to SteveHarris for the flickr CC photo.

USDA Considers Expanding Organic Milk to Require Grass-Fed (Give Input by Dec. 23)

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:14:07 -0800

I learned from this NPR piece that the USDA is considering expanding its definition of organic milk to specify that cows must be kept on pasture during grazing season, and that at least 30% of their diet should come from grass.

The proposed requirement could be more stringent in terms of grass-feeding and grain-avoidance, but it’s a start. As the NPR piece points out, this would eliminate feedlot “organic” milk, from cows fed organic grains in enclosed, polluting, and sometimes concrete settings.

Please give input to the USDA about this proposal by December 23rd! It only takes a moment.  
Why does grass-fed matter? We’ve talked about milk quality and grass-fed butter before. While milk obviously doesn’t have as much in the way of grass-derived, vitamin-rich fat as butter, grass-fed milk -- especially raw milk -- is nutritious, containing vitamins that are sparse or absent in its grain-based cousin, most notably the essential vitamin K2 (menaquinone-4). Also, cows raised on pasture are in more humane and ecologically sustainable conditions than their feedlot cousins.

By the way, if you’ve ever wondered which supermarket organic dairy brands are better or worse than the others, check out this interesting chart rating brands based on measures like time spent on pasture. Although, notably, a lot of the worst-rated brands are so rated because of their refusal to participate in the study.

Thanks to Håkan Dahlström for the flickr CC photo.

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Adas Polow (Persian ground lamb, lentils and rice)

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:33:56 -0800

Ground lamb has become one of my staples. It’s not terribly expensive, it’s fatty, and it’s... lamb. Not everyone likes lamb, but I can’t get enough of it. In the Seattle area, PCC carries a 100% grass-fed lamb from Oregon.

I’ve been cooking my whole life, but I have less experience cooking meats than other ingredients. I was a vegetarian and was then a pescatarian/flexitarian for many years, so cooking with meat is less reflexive for me than, say, cooking with onions. And ground meat requires some creativity. I’ve made plenty of tasty things out of ground lamb, like a ragoût with tomatoes and flageolet beans or spiced patties with potatoes and yogurt, but this week I went looking for something new.

No surprise that the cuisine of Iran yielded an intriguing answer. Persian food is known for melding harmonious, subtle flavors, and for doing wonderful things to lamb. I browsed a couple of recipes for a dish called adas polow, which combines ground lamb, lentils, rice, dried fruit, and spices. I chose what I wanted from each recipe.

The result was delicious. The dish tastes both complex and simple. The bits of meat, grains of rice, and lentils are all about the same size, and the spices blend together beautifully.

Adas Polow (Persian ground lamb, lentils and rice)

1 cup small black lentils, green lentils, or brown lentils -- I used black
1 cup basmati rice
1 lb ground lamb
butter
olive oil
1 onion, chopped into small pieces or thin strips
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup dried fruit -- I used a combination of cherries, raisins and currants. Dates are traditional too.
cinnamon
turmeric
cardamom (ground)
cumin (ground)
saffron: 3/4 t dissolved in 1 cup hot water, plus 1 pinch dry
water
salt
pepper
yogurt (optional)
flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Serves 4.

1. Soak rice and lentils separately in advance of cooking, preferably overnight.

2. Cook lentils and rice separately until just barely done, about 15-20 minutes. Do not overcook.

3. In a heavy-bottomed pot, preferably one that doesn’t stick terribly much, heat butter or oil. Add onion, lemon zest and a pinch of saffron. Cook until onion is clear and a little browned, adding some salt as you stir.

4. Add lamb, salt and pepper, and stir to break up chunks and mix the lamb with the onions well. Add some of the cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric. Let lamb brown, and then add a cup of water. Let the lamb and water cook together until the water has nearly evaporated. Remove lamb mixture and set aside.

5. Mix about half a cup of the cooked rice with a tablespoon of the saffron water, a tablespoon of olive oil, and 3 tablespoons of yogurt. Spread this mixture on the bottom of the heavy bottomed pot. Add the other ingredients in layers: a layer of lentils, then of dried fruit, then of lamb, and so forth. While adding lentil- and lamb-layers, sprinkle in more salt, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and cardamom. Your top layer should be rice. When you have reached this layer, pour the remainder of the saffron water over the rice.

6. Cook the contents of this pot together for about 15 minutes. You can avoid stirring and intentionally get a browned layer on the bottom, and try to leave the dish in layers, or you can do what I did: let it cook in layers for a few minutes and then stir it all together. If you stir it together, add in more salt or spices if needed. I also stirred in a few tablespoons of butter and a few spoonfuls of yogurt.

Serve with yogurt and chopped parsley.

(For those who keep kosher, this dish still tastes great without the dairy products. Use a little extra olive oil, and skip the yogurt.)

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Real, Homemade Nutella (Hazelnut-Chocolate Spread)

Mon, 8 Dec 2008 15:21:07 -0800

Okay, admit it. You like Nutella. You know what I mean: that rich, chocolatey, hazelnutty spread that sticks to your fingers and seduces you when paired with bananas in a crèpe. Perhaps you have fond Nutella associations. For me, it’s a memory of being fifteen years old, newly in love, and discovering, amidst many sleep-deprived giggles, that nutella tastes good on matzah. Although, for anything paired with matzah, “good” is relative.

Time marches on. I grew up and realized that some of my ideas about food were wrong. First, matzah lost its reputation as something somewhat healthful. Called the “bread of affliction” in the Passover tradition, matzah turned out to earn this monker thrice over. Not only did it represent the suffering of the Israelites in slavery (affliction #1), and not only did it taste like burnt cardboard (affliction #2), but the wheat it was made out of, with no fermentation allowed, turned out to be a cause of health problems for many Jews, a population significantly prone to Celiac disease (affliction #3 - oy!).

Worse, the Nutella lost its puppy love sheen, once I realized what was in it. Check out these ingredients, in order of quantity: sugar, peanut oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey, partially hydrogenated peanut oil, soy lecithin, vanillin. The only ingredients in there that are good for you are hazelnuts and cocoa. Even the vanilla is fake.

Yes, it turns out that Nutella is yet another fake food substitute passing as the real thing. How can something so delicious, something based on the premise of hazelnuts, chocolate and fat, turn out to be so bad? I decided not to waste time grappling with this existential question, and just make my own version. Turns out it’s pretty easy, and in Washington State, we can even get local hazelnuts and hazelnut oil from Holmquist Hazelnuts. You can experiment with the recipe and adjust the proportions to suit your own taste.

Homemade, Real Nutella (Hazelnut-chocolate spread)
1 cup hazelnuts
3 oz dark chocolate -- more if you’d like your spread more chocolatey and less nutty
1 T butter
3 T hazelnut oil
3 T honey
1 t vanilla (and/or dash of Grand Marnier or other flavor)
pinch of salt

Note: you can also add cream to your mixture, but it will not keep as long. Especially because you’ll eat it.

Toast the hazelnuts for a few minutes in a 350 degree F oven, even if they’re pre-roasted. Warming them will help with the skin removal and with turning them into nut butter. Pour the hazelnuts into a dish towel or cloth, and rub until most of the peels are removed.

Then, shake out the bits of peel. A tip: pour the hazelnuts into a strainer with big holes. The nuts will stay in, the bits of peel will fall down:

On the stove, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. (Take only blurry pictures of it, so you don’t have any for your blog.) While it’s melting, place the hazelnuts in the food processor and run it until they form a paste, the stage after grinding. Add oil, butter, vanilla, salt and honey (tip: use the same measuring spoon for the honey that you used for the oil. The sheen of oil will help the honey avoid sticking to the spoon.)

When the chocolate is melted, pour it into the food processor and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust flavors as needed.

Pour into jars. The consistency at this point will be fairly liquidy, like a chocolate sauce. It’s nice poured over fruit.

The proper consistency forms after about 30-45 minutes in the fridge. After longer in the fridge, you’ll want to let it sit out at room temperature for a little while to achieve the proper consistency. This spread is less smooth, less sweet, and more nutty than store-bought Nutella. Adjust the recipe to suit your tastes, and enjoy!

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/12/8_Homemade_Nutella_(Hazelnut-Chocolate_Spread).html

Confronting the Food Crisis (Seattle, this weekend)

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 10:49:19 -0800

For those of you in the Seattle area, don’t miss this weekend’s free teach-in/conference, Confronting the Food Crisis. It’s organized by Community Alliance for Global Justice (CAGJ), a local volunteer-based organization which addresses issues of economic justice, both locally and globally. This event is part of the Food Justice Project. Here is the basic schedule, and check out the CAGJ website for more details.

FRIDAY December 5, 2008, 6 – 9pm, refreshments served
Garfield Community Center, 2323 E Cherry St, Seattle - Multipurpose Room
Panel & Community Dialogue: “Confronting the Food Crisis”

ALL DAY TEACH-IN: December 6, 2008, 9 - 5:30pm, lunch served
Seattle Central Community College - 1701 Broadway, Seattle 98122 (In Science and Math building, just North of main building)
Plenary & workshops

If you read yesterday’s post, you know I think we have a right to know what we’re ingesting, and to have access to wholesome and nutritious food. The issue of food and justice is as personal as it is global. It’s about our individual, community-based and global choices.

Advocating for food justice means promoting the right of everyone to have access to nourishing, delicious food, just as it means making careful choices in our own communities and households. It means changing food systems from models based on centralized, large-scale production and corporate profit to smaller, sustainable and local models. It means acknowledging and addressing the ways institutional inequality affects our food and our health. The Food Justice Project cites the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute’s definition of food justice, which says it well:

"Food justice is everyone having enough to eat; healthy food for our children; food that doesn’t contain harmful things that we don’t know about; freedom to grow our own food; ability to buy food directly from farmers; fair wages for those who grow, cook and work with food.”

Want to learn more? Come to this weekend’s event. Workshops focus on topics like local food, buying food co-operatively, sustainable meat and vegetarian choices, local hunger and food security issues, and the Farm Bill.

See you there!

Image from CAGJ website.

Your Body, Your Decisions (You want to put WHAT inside me??)

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 14:09:27 -0800

(Ha, God only knows what kinds of Google searches will pull up that title. Hi, new readers! This is a food blog. Sorry.)

I’ve been talking lately with friends about food marketing and making informed choices about what goes into our bodies. In one conversation, a friend was saying a packaged snack was good for her, because it was labeled organic. Later, I was talking to a friend about why I avoid processed vegetable oil. He lamented that it’s hard to keep track of everything bad for you. It’s true; there is a vast amount of complex information available about nutrition, and a lot of mainstream messages are simply wrong. (“Avoid saturated fat!” “Oprah’s favorite exotic berry is a miracle ingredient!” etc.)

But it’s your body. You get to choose what goes in it, right?

By far, I think the makers and markers of processed foods are the worst culprit when it comes to getting us to ingest things that are bad for us, and leading us to lose control over what we put in our bodies. The pervasiveness of processed foods is fed by a societal attitude that we can’t make food for ourselves, and buoyed by an unhealthy dose of convenience and marketing.

Take the Men’s Pocky in this picture. First of all, I have two confessions. The first is that, although I no longer eat it, I love Pocky -- a chocolate-dipped cookie stick, which I first found as a student in Thailand (along with Collon, an aptly-named small tube-shaped snack filled with dark chocolate). The second confession is that I think the idea of men’s Pocky is hilarious. Maybe your cultural messages also tell you that the idea of male-specific Pocky is ironic and funny. If so, try adding “Men’s” before any food name that’s trying to manipulate you into a purchase (Men’s Organic Spirulina Acai Juice!) and the added laughter might take the magic out of the marketing.

As funny as the name is, Men’s Pocky is a reminder that all marketing, whether or not it works on you, is ridiculous. That also goes for most most packaged, processed so-called health foods, often made by large corporations pretending to be small companies. Such products often highlight one alleged benefit: they’re organic, or they’re wheat-free, or they’re whole grain (which, if the grains haven’t been fermented/soaked/sprouted, brings a whole host of other nutritional problems). And so, health-conscious people buy snacks that they’re convinced are good for them. Often, these same products are full of refined vegetable oils, sugars, preservatives, improperly treated grains, or simply ingredients that you would be more likely to find in a chemistry lab than a home kitchen.

Sometimes the nutritive marketing information on a package is correct (e.g. unrefined coconut oil is a healthful saturated fat, which my coconut oil jar tells me). But a package should not be trusted as your primary source of information.

As we outsource our food production further and further from our own kitchens, and more into the profit-oriented corporate realm, we have less knowledge of what really ends up in our food. If that sounds paranoid, think of contamination scandals, like the recent appearance of melamine in infant formula in China and, yes, the United States. Oh, and know what else had traces of melamine significantly above the legal limit? The cream coffee flavor of Men’s Pocky. I don’t know about you, but that’s enough to make me stop laughing.

The best way to avoid detrimental ingredients is to be in control of your food production. Make your own food from simple ingredients that you recognize, preferably ones you buy from a farmer and not a corporation. If you use a pre-made ingredient (e.g. store-bought butter or oil), know how it’s produced. It’s easy to slip something unwholesome into a box of packaged crackers. It’s pretty hard to slip it into soup I make from scratch out of simple ingredients I bought at the farmers market.

Yes, I’d like detrimental ingredients out of the food supply to begin with. Abolish cottonseed oil. Send high fructose corn syrup to its watery grave. But I know my standards for what I want to put in my body are more stringent than many people’s, and I do believe in choice. However, I also believe most people are making unformed choices, through little to no fault of their own. I mean, if the box of crackers says things like “Whole grain!” “0g Trans Fat!” “Heart Healthy Choice!” that means it’s good for you, right? Right? Not really, no.

There is a great deal of politics and corporate interest tied up in the marketing of processed foods, and our bodies suffer as a consequence. That bothers me individually and politically. Healthful food should be a right, not a privilege, and that involves both increasing access to nutritive food and restricting manipulative marketing so we can make meaningful choices. Not only do I believe we have the right to make our own choices about our bodies (in nutrition and every other realm), but I believe we have the right to accurate, non-misleading information.

Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen any time soon. Most packaged foods are non-optimal, if not downright detrimental. So, when considering whether you want to eat them and which ones you want to eat, I see two fairly healthy choices:

Choice 1. Don’t eat most -- or any -- packaged, processed, or pre-prepared foods. It sounds difficult to some, but I find this the easiest and healthiest approach. Shop at a farmers market, buy directly from small farms, and stick the outermost sections of the supermarket where the simpler ingredients live. Avoid most pre-made food from stores or restaurants, which has the added benefit of saving you money. If you’re overwhelmed with the amount of nutrition information out there, avoiding packaged and processed foods will, in one stroke, cut out a lot of what you want to avoid.

Choice 2. Eat some packaged foods, and learn about ingredients. Okay, so you really like Veggie Booty and, damnit, there’s that frozen dish at Trader Joe’s you can’t live without. Well, I hope you like learning about nutrition as much as I do because it’s time to do some serious reading. Learn as much as you can about untreated grains, sugars, preservatives, processed oils, fatty acids, fillers, and phytochemicals, and other things of which processed foods are full. Then, figure out your own threshold of what you do and don’t want to eat. This may start off as a frustrating and slow process, but soon it may not take you long to read a list of ingredients. At least you’ll be aware, and be choosing, what you put inside your body.

A third choice, I suppose, is to eat processed, packaged foods fairly indiscriminately. I hope you won’t choose that, but if you do, at least know that what you’re eating is probably not good for you, no matter how much marketing jargon is on the box. If you’re going to put unhealthy things in your body, make it your own decision. Be conscious of marketing and try not to let it manipulate you.

And finally, whatever you choose, speak up about insidious marketing of unwholesome foods, or manipulative marketing to increase our addiction to processed foods. The next time you see cookies that claim to be healthful but are full of cottonseed oil, or cereal that’s marketed to kids but full of ingredients that will make them sick, or snacks that promise to bring you fulfillment in life... look at the ingredient list and say, “You want to put WHAT inside me?” Even if you choose to eat it, at least you’ll know what you’re getting into.

Postscript:
Confused about a packaged, processed food, but don’t want to give it up just yet? Want to know what’s in it, and what to be worried about? Post it in the comments, and I’ll do what I can to help, or find somewhere to point you for information. Include the ingredient list if you can, or include the product’s full name (including any scary qualifiers like “lite” or “spicy wombat flavor”) and I’ll look it up.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/12/2_Your_Body%2C_Your_Decisions_(You_want_to_put_WHAT_inside_me).html

Sourdough and Gluten II

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:27:46 -0800

Last weekend, I wrote a post about the capacity of sourdough fermentation to remove all significant traces of gluten contamination from gluten-free bread. I asked if any readers had seen studies exploring whether sourdough fermentation might also reduce gluten in bread made from gluten grains, like wheat.

Reader Max sent me a link to this study, suggesting it looked promising. He was right; it’s fascinating.

The team of scientists created a sourdough fermented bread using 30% wheat flour, and 70% flour made from grains determined to be safe for people with celiac disease (oat, millet, buckwheat). They fermented the wheat-containing portion of the dough for 24 hours, using select strains of lactobacillus that are especially good at breaking down gluten. After 24 hours, they added more non-wheat flour, fermented it for another two hours, and baked it. As a control, they made a second dough with the same ratio of flours, using yeast as a rising agent.

The result: tested on 17 celiac patients, 13 had no reaction to the sourdough fermented bread that included 30% wheat flour. The other four apparently had no reaction to either the sourdough bread or the yeast-risen bread (which confused me).

This team produced a wheat-containing bread that people with gluten intolerance could eat. This is striking. Currently, those with celiac disease and other serious gluten intolerance must avoid all gluten-containing products. While there are other reasons to reduce or avoid eating significant amount of grains, the ability to treat gluten grains in a way that those with gluten intolerance could tolerate is remarkable. The phrase “have your cake and eat it too” comes to mind. Best, the method used is based on an ancient, traditional practice.

This wasn’t the team’s only study on the sourdough fermentation and gluten. The 30% wheat study was a follow-up to the team’s previous study where, mimicking the typical process used for a wheat bread in Italy, they’d looked at gluten reduction in a 100% wheat bread that fermented four to eight hours. This process reduced the gluten, but did not eliminate it.

A few years after the success of the 30% wheat study, the team decided to approach the 100% wheat bread idea again with another study. This time, they fermented the bread for 24 hours. They also introduced three new variables. The 30% wheat study had a particular mix of lactobacilli; this study used that mix again, and called it S1. Then, they introduced another group of six strains of Lactobacilli sanfranceiscensis (yes, the kind original to San Francisco sourdough) which are particularly good at breaking down the relevant peptides. This was designated S2. On top of that, they experimented with fungal protease enzymes, from two different kinds of Aspergilllus. One, from A. oryzae is traditionally used to ferment miso in Japan. They called this E1. The second was from A. niger (E2). They baked sourdough fermented bread using a combination of these four variables. They analyzed gluten content of bread made six different ways:
A yeast-risen control dough
Sourdough made with S1
Sourdough made with S2
Sourdough made with S2 and E1
Sourdough made with S2 and E2
Sourdough made with S2, E1 and E2.

All fermentation batches (that is, everything but the yeast bread) reduced the gluten significantly. The second through fifth batches reduced the gluten by 73%, 83%, 93%, and 98% respectively. However, the final group, using the L. sanfranciscensis and both enzymes, reduced the gluten drastically -- from the yeast bread’s nearly 75,000 parts per million (ppm) to a miniscule 12 ppm, well below the threshold making it safe for those with celiac disease. With carefully-selected lactic acid bacteria and two enzymes, the team created a 100% wheat bread safe for people with celiac disease to eat.

I’m amazed. Maybe I shouldn’t be. I mean, fermentation has been around for pretty much as long as we’ve had foods that could be fermented. Cultures are smart and tend to figure out how to make foods digestible and nutrients available. Unfortunately, we’ve lost or nearly lost a lot of that traditional knowledge. But it’s always gratifying when research validates ancient cultural practices.

By the way, if the bread research wasn’t tantalizing enough, bread isn’t the only wheat-based food this group has looked at (see also this summary of sourdough and celiac). Leave it to a team of Italians to research ways to make pasta more accessible. It seems sourdough fermentation might reduce gluten in pasta too. I sense a new cooking project in my future.

Three final thoughts of caution before we all go swimming in vats of sourdough starter. First, make sure there’s a lifeguard at all tim--- Ahem. First, these studies were done with carefully selected strains of bacteria. I can’t promise you that sourdough projects at home will reduce gluten to the same degree. If you have celiac disease and want to experiment with this, consider testing your final product for gluten levels (you can buy testing kits here; I’ve never tried them).

Second, scientists are still learning about celiac disease and gluten intolerance. There may be some detrimental aspect of wheat that is not broken down through sourdough fermentation, but which hasn’t yet been recognized. This is just a speculation, but it’s the kind of thing that’s always worth keeping in mind.

Third, while I do think properly treated (soaked, sprouted, sourdough fermented), a moderate amount of grains can included in a good diet, I don’t consider them among the best foods for anyone. For some people they may not really work as part of an optimal diet at all, perhaps those with severe metabolic syndrome. Grains are also full of antinutrients and proteins that interfere with nutrient absorption and metabolism regulation, like feelings of satiety (being full). Aside from breaking down gluten, processes like fermentation break these down. But can fermentation (or soaking or sprouting) break down all of the nasties for all grains? Probably not.

I prioritize eating fresh, local, and sustainably produced meats, vegetables, fats, fish, fruit, nuts, dairy (especially fermented dairy), chocolate (yes, it’s a food group), and things like that. Still, grains, including gluten grains, have their advantages. They’re inexpensive, widely produced, and serve as a tasty base for all sorts of sauces and proteins, fats and vegetables.

I don’t have celiac disease, but based on digestive experiences, I do think I’m at least somewhat gluten intolerant. I’ve reduced wheat to almost nothing in my diet, and have been surprised that I miss wheat bread and pasta much less than I would have thought. Still, sometimes a piece of crusty bread with butter is, well, crusty bread with butter. For those with gluten intolerance, an occasional piece may not be so far out of reach.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/28_Sourdough_and_Gluten_II.html

Thanks to Ibán for the flickr CC photo.

Wild Rice with Chanterelles, Onions, Carrots and Sage

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:07:25 -0800

My family has always eaten wild rice at Thanksgiving. Commonly cultivated now, Northern wild rice is a cereal native to North America. In some places it’s still harvested wild, and the softer, wild version cooks faster than the commonly cultivated variety. The most local wild rice I’ve found in the Pacific Northwest is grown in Oregon.

Wild rice has a mild, nutty flavor. Cooked fully, it retains some crunchy texture mixed with chewy softness as the grains burst and reveal their insides. The extra surface area from the burst grain makes wild rice a perfect palate for other flavors, like gravy, sautéed onions or soup, but wild rice is also delicious cooked simply on its own.

Like other rices, wild rice is gluten-free. Also like other rices and grains, wild rice should be rinsed and soaked before eating, preferably at least eight to twelve hours, to reduce antinutrients like lectins that can interfere with nutrient absorption and regulation of metabolism.

My recipe is based on my father’s; he simply cooks the rice with sautéed onions and broth. I’ve added carrots, saffron, sage and chanterelles.

Wild rice with chanterelles, onions, carrots and sage
1 cup wild rice
3 cups broth (I use mushroom, chicken, or turkey broth)
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium carrot or 2 small carrots
butter
pinch of saffron
1/3 cup of white wine
salt
a few leaves of sage, chopped finely
a handful of chanterelle mushrooms

Rinse wild rice well and soak 8-24 hours or overnight. Cut 3/4 of your onion into small pieces. Dice your carrot.

In the bottom of a heavy pot, sauté onion in butter. When it’s almost cooked, add a crushed pinch of saffron and stir. Add carrots, a little more butter, half your sage, half your white wine, and salt. Stir again and let it cook a few minutes more.

Add the rice and the broth. Stir, and let it cook, mixing occasionally. The rice will take about 45-60 minutes to cook, and is done when the grains start popping their insides. If you need more liquid close to the end, add it.

When the rice is about 15 minutes from being done, chop the remaining 1/4 onion (finely) and your chanterelles (coarsely). In a small pan, heat more butter and add onions. When onions are clear, add salt, a little more butter, sage and chanterelles. Stir another two minutes and add the rest of your wine. Cook for 2-3 minutes, turn off heat, and add the mushroom mixture into the wild rice mixture. If your rice cooks quicker than you expect, you may also add the mushroom mixture at the end.

Delicious hot or cold. Also goes well with roast chicken.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/27_Wild_Rice_with_Chanterelles%2C_Onions%2C_Carrots_and_Sage.html

Quinoa Pilaf with Currants, Pine Nuts and Local Vegetables

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:16:50 -0800

The rainbow chard in the farmers markets is lovely right now, with crisp, bright stems and perky, dark green leaves. Chard, apart from being gorgeous and versatile, is chock full of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone). Vitamin K1, while less essential than animal-sourced vitamin K2 (menaquinone), is still important. It’s essential for helping the liver make proteins necessary for clotting. Like K2, vitamin K1 may also play a role in bone health. They both need to be eaten with fat to be absorbed properly.

A beautiful bunch of rainbow chard inspired me to make this quinoa pilaf. I used pine nuts and currants, not terribly local in these parts, but you could use other dried fruits, like chopped apricots, and nuts like hazelnuts instead.

The pilaf is sweeter than I usually like a pilaf, due to the currents, sautéed onions, and chard stems. Sometimes, though, a sweet pilaf is just right -- especially with something savory, like slow-cooked lamb.

(To give credit where credit is due, this recipe is inspired by a delicious version my friend Shawn made years ago, which I think was inspired by something her partner, my friend Shira, brought home from the store.)

Quinoa pilaf with currants, pine nuts and local vegetables
1 cup quinoa
1/3 cup currants
1/8 cup pine nuts
3 stems rainbow chard, with leaves
1 small/medium yellow onion
small handful chanterelle mushrooms
olive oil or butter
salt to taste

Soak quinoa eight hours or overnight. Rinse well. Cook covered in water until done, when grains are full and tails release from grain. Set aside.

Chop onion, chard stems and chard leaves into very small pieces. Chop chanterelles coarsely.

In a thick pan, heat butter or oil. Add onion and cook until brown and limp, adding salt halfway through. Add more oil or butter and mushrooms. Cook another minute or two and add chard stems. Cook a few minutes, stirring, and add finely-chopped chard leaves. Stir until wilted.

Add the quinoa and stir mixture together. Remove from pan into a bowl and return pan to heat.

Add extra oil or butter if there isn’t a residue of fat from the dish, and add pine nuts. Stir a few minutes until toasted and add to pilaf. Serve hot or cold.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/24_Quinoa_Pilaf_with_Currants%2C_Pine_Nuts_and_Local_Vegetables.html

Sourdough, Gluten and Weston Price

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:30:44 -0800

In the 1920s and 30s, a dentist and researcher named Dr. Weston A. Price traveled the world, visiting traditionally-living populations. He observed dietary habits and physical and dental health, comparing communities eating exclusively traditional foods with those exposed to modern, Western foods like white flour, sugar, and refined vegetable oils.

In case after case, he found the communities that ate exclusively traditional foods were in excellent health, with virtually no tooth decay or other signs of physical degeneration, while those eating modern foods had significant dental problems and other signs of poor nutrition. He compared the traditional diets that promoted such optimal health, and noticed recurring elements. Communities went out of their way to obtain seafood, including fish eggs and shellfish. Societies valued animal foods rich in fat-soluble vitamins (especially A, D, and K2 MK-4), such as organ meats and bone marrow, in some cases reserving surpluses of these foods for childbearing couples and in other cases making sure certain organs were divided up among every member of a community.

Among the communities Price studied, there was only one that consumed gluten grains, an isolated village of Swiss living high in the Alps. They ate sourdough fermented rye bread, topped with vast amounts of grass-fed butter. Price, and many whose nutritional philosophies he has influenced over the years (like Sally Fallon) have surmised that sourdough fermentation is critical for healthy consumption of gluten grains.

You probably know that people living with celiac disease are sensitive to gluten, but there is some indication that a significant number of us have some level of gluten sensitivity as well. One study showed that four out of five people had an immune system response to gliadin (a protein involved in the formation of gluten), the same kind of response the body has when it’s invaded by a pathogen. Could sourdough fermentation break down gluten found in grains?

A paper I recently found adds weight to the theory that it can, at least to some extent. This study mimicked contamination of gluten-free bread dough with small amounts of gluten, as might happen in a bakery that produces both gluten-free and typical bread. One batch of dough was sourdough fermented, while the other was given a typical yeast-rising treatment of non-sourdough bread. The researchers compared the gluten levels, and also the taste and quality, of the final baked breads.

The results were striking. The sourdough fermented breads lost about ninety percent of the added gluten, placing the contaminant level low enough to be safe even for those with celiac disease (below 20 ppm). The gluten levels in the yeast-risen bread remained virtually unchanged. The sourdough version was, subjectively of course, found to have better consistency and flavor. Again, to clarify, this was gluten-free bread contaminated with small amounts of gluten, not bread originally made from gluten grains.

Those with celiac disease and other extreme gluten sensitivity should be especially aware of this result. If you’re purchasing gluten-free bread, go for the sourdough, and request bakeries start making it if they make a non-sourdough gluten-free bread. Sourdough fermentation not only breaks down gluten, it also degrades antinutrients that block absorption of nutrients, meaning it’s a good idea for the non-gluten-sensitive as well.

The cultures Weston Price studied were, as usual, on to something. Grains, even non-gluten grains should be properly treated: soaked and fermented when possible. The more I read, the more I learn about cultures’ creative ways to do this. Here’s some information on grain fermentation practices in Asia; who knew those khanom jeen soft rice noodles I loved in Thailand were fermented?!

Even if you eat gluten-containing bread, sourdough is a better choice for all the reasons I’ve mentioned here. One thing to be aware of, though: a lot of commercially-produced, packaged bread labeled “sourdough” isn’t really slow-fermented sourdough. It often has sour flavoring agents added in. Get sourdough bread from a baker who uses a proper sourdough starter (that stuff in the picture above) and lets the dough ferment.

I’d love to see a study on the extent to which sourdough fermentation breaks down gluten in bread made from gluten grains, but to my knowledge one hasn’t been done. We know there is some breakdown, and reduction of antinutrients, but I don’t think we know the extent.

Sourdough and Gluten II (next post on this subject)

Further reading:
Nutritional and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price.
The book’s full text is online at that link, thanks to Project Gutenberg!

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/22_Sourdough%2C_Gluten_and_Weston_Price.html

Ikura Bowl with Seaweed, Salmon Skin and Poached Egg

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:26:33 -0800

I’ve been enjoying local ikura (salmon roe) from Loki Fish for a while now, but this week I’ve found my favorite way to use it. I put some ikura into a bowl of Japanese rice with a poached egg, nori (seaweed), and thin ribbons of smoked salmon skin from Wilson Fish. So simple and good. The salmon roe and egg yolk both break down and coat the rice with their salty, fatty flavors, while the sliced salmon skin and nori provide some contrasting texture. You could add in some cucumber slices too, and maybe some avocado.

With the exception of the nori, the toppings I used are all high in fat-soluble vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids. Fish eggs are a source of vitamin K2 (menatetrenone).

Ikura Bowl with Seaweed, Salmon Skin and Poached Egg
Per person:
1/2 cup Japanese rice
2 T ikura (salmon roe)
1 egg
1/4 sheet nori
about 6 square inches smoked salmon skin

Soak the rice and rinse well, until the water runs clear. Cook in a pot or rice cooker. Scoop it into individual serving bowls. Heat a small pot of water. When boiling, add the egg, and spoon the white over the yolk. When it’s cooked, drain and place on top of the rice. Add ikura to rice. Using a scissors, cut thin ribbons of nori and salmon skin onto rice. Serve.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/18_Ikura_Bowl_with_Seaweed%2C_Salmon_Skin_and_Poached_Egg.html

Spaghetti Squash with Sauteed Mushrooms

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:57:00 -0800

This dish is perfect for your leftover spaghetti squash. With just a few minutes to sauté the onions, garlic, mushrooms and greens, you have a flavorful dish that’s quickly and easily prepared.

Spaghetti Squash with Sautéed Mushrooms

per person:
1 cup leftover cooked spaghetti squash
5 button mushrooms
2 chanterelle mushrooms
1/8 yellow onion
2-3 cloves garlic
butter
olive oil
dash of cream
1-2 leaves dinosaur kale or handful of spinach/other green
herbs (one or two of the following: thyme, Italian parsley, basil)
parmesan

Chop garlic and onion into small pieces. Heat a combination of butter and olive oil in a small pan. Add garlic and onion (garlic first if you like it browned, second or together if you don’t).

Slice mushrooms. When onions are clear, add a small dollop of cream and let the onions absorb it fully. Add the mushrooms and more butter and olive oil. Stir and add salt.

When the mushrooms release their liquid, add finely-chopped greens and herbs. Stir for another minute until the greens are soft.

Mix with spaghetti squash mixture, in the pan if you have room, in a bowl if you don’t.

Serve with parmesan.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/14_Spaghetti_Squash_with_Sauteed_Mushrooms.html

Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:20:49 -0800

I promised more in-depth description of some of the winter squash meal ideas, so here’s the first recipe.

Part of the appeal of this dish is its bright, contrasting red and yellow colors, especially when you serve it with broccoli, kale or another green vegetable. Another part of the appeal is that it’s delicious.

Spaghetti squash does not taste like spaghetti. It is not the consistency of spaghetti. As with most dishes that involve substituting an alternative ingredient for a traditional one, spaghetti squash and meatballs shouldn’t try to taste like spaghetti and meatballs. It’s its own dish.

Spaghetti squash fibers are thin, delicate and slightly sweet. They go well with firm foods, tart sauces, and umami-tasting ingredients like parmesan cheese. No surprise, then, that the squash works so well in this dish.

Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs
1 medium spaghetti squash
3/4 lb ground beef (or mix ground beef with another meat)
3/4 cup baked potato, mashed
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 eggs, or 1 if very large
handful of fresh herbs: basil, oregano, parsley, chopped fine
salt and pepper
olive oil or butter for spaghetti squash
frying fat (I used beef fat. You could use olive oil.)
your favorite simple tomato sauce, preferably homemade
parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F. Slice spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place face down in a baking dish and bake until soft, about 45 minutes. Let it cool slightly. Scoop the squash into a bowl and mix with olive oil or butter.

While the squash is baking, heat or prepare your favorite tomato sauce. Mix meatballs: By hand, mix together meat, potato, garlic, eggs, herbs, salt and pepper. Roll mixture into balls. In a nonstick pan, heat fat and brown meatballs on all sides. Set aside on a plate as you go.

Add browned meatballs to your sauce and let it cook on medium or medium-low, at least an hour. When the flavor of sauce is permeating the meatballs, you can serve. You can also let the leftovers continue to simmer for hours to make your next-day sauce even better.

Serve with parmesan and a dark green vegetable.

ps. In reflection, maybe my Halloween costume as the Flying Spaghetti Monster was an inspiration for cooking this:

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/14_Spaghetti_Squash_with_Meatballs.html

Sushi Sustainability and Local Options

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:28:07 -0800

Maybe you’re a fan of sushi. But you’re not sure what to eat. A few years after you discovered the utter deliciousness of bluefin tuna, you found out that the species is being overfished to the point of near-extinction, and that bluefin and other species of sushi tuna are full of mercury. What to do?

If you want continue enjoying sushi, but would rather avoid eating fish species that are endangered, overfished, unsustainably farmed or contaminated with high levels of mercury and other toxins, check out this page from the Blue Ocean Institute. It ranks typical species of fish used in sushi in terms of sustainability, and notes which ones are sustainably farmed and which have especially high levels of toxic contaminants. You can also download their pocket guide with a condensed version of the same information here.

Of course, it’s not easy to find out whether the yellowtail/hamachi you’re eating was farmed in the U.S. (okay) or Japan (really bad), but politely asking a few questions at sushi restaurants may yield the information you want. It also has the added benefit of showing customers care about this stuff.

Another alternative is to make your own sushi. Here in Seattle, we can buy sustainably-fished, low-contaminant sushi-quality salmon and tuna from Loki and St. Jude respectively. It’s been suggested that you should freeze and thaw fish before eating it raw, to limit risk of parasites. I asked the nice guys at Loki what they thought about this, and they agreed it seems wise.

You can also make homemade sushi with locally-produced ingredients like, here in the Northwest: smoked fish, shellfish, squash, sweet potato, shiitake or wild mushrooms, egg, greens, beets, or carrots. Loki also sells salmon roe, which are delicious in sushi or just served over some sushi rice and seaweed. Fish eggs are also rich in essential fat-soluble vitamins K2, A and D, as well as omega-3 fatty acids.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/13_Sushi_Sustainability_and_Local_Options.html

Thanks to inskor for the Flickr CC photo

Ingredient Highlight: Winter Squash

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:41:43 -0800

The majority of what I eat is locally-produced, even in winter. In the summer and fall, the ease of eating local in Western Washington is pretty obvious: the market is full of fruits, vegetables, and animal products in all forms of tasty goodness. But in winter? Eating local in winter isn’t as hard as you might think. In addition to what I’ve stocked in the freezer or preserved in other ways, my winter is full of soups and stews, beans, meats, fish, nuts, fruits, dark green leafy vegetables, roots, fats, dairy, fermented foods, and that hearty winter favorite, squash.

I love winter squash. The varieties differ in their nutrients, but many of them are very rich in vitamin A/beta carotene, and good sources of vitamin C, potassium, and manganese. Squash has a low glycemic load, and is filling. It holds sauce well and complements meats and vegetables alike. It mashes, it mixes, it stands alone. Spaghetti squash, kabocha, crookneck, butternut, acorn, red kuri, delicata, hubbard... I can’t get enough of it. I eat it all winter, and I don’t get sick of it.

How? Here’s a tip: vary it up. Squash is one of the most versatile foods, and it also shines when it’s kept ultra simple. Roasted squash, maybe with a little butter and salt is delicious, and needs else nothing done to it. But you might not want to eat it every day.

Luckily, there are many, many other delicious things you can do. This fall and winter, we’ll sporadically highlight some varied recipes for winter squash. Some of these will follow as more complete recipes in the future, but for those of you just looking for concepts, here are a few ideas to get you started:

Squash Lasagna
With or without noodles, layers of baked winter squash mix beautifully with greens, sautéed mushrooms and onions, tomato sauce, cheese, and whatever else you like in lasagna. It bakes into a warm, hearty and comforting meal.

Squash Mash
Mash squash with celeriac, cauliflower, or potatoes. Add sautéed onions, fresh herbs, salt, black pepper, and cream. Eat as a side dish or main course.

Puréed Squash Soup
It’s not just for butternuts anymore. Puréed squash soup is one of the easiest and most comforting winter meals. Keep it as simple as possible, with sautéed onions and maybe one fresh herb to complement the flavor of the squash. Try adding some apple or pumpkin in as well for a very autumnal flavor.

Thai Squash Soup with Coconut Milk
I featured a recipe for this recently. Squash goes beautifully -- and traditionally -- with the warm, fatty goodness of a coconut milk soup.

Squash Desserts
Did you miss the pumpkin-hazelnut-chocolate bars? Don’t. Squash and pumpkin can also be used in pies, tarts, cookies, muffins, quick breads, spreads, or whatever else you like. For those limiting wheat/grain intake, squash is a great binder and pairs well with non-wheat or non-grain flours.

Squash Appetizers
Challenge: what appetizers or party finger food can you enhance by adding in a dab of roasted squash? Squash fritters, bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, squash spreads and dips for vegetables, sushi... where can’t you use squash? Wait, don’t answer that.

Squash Gnocchi
The Italian favorite, gnocchi, can be made with squash instead of potato. Serve with butter and parmesan or a tomato sauce or gorgonzola.

Squash Ravioli
I don’t eat a lot of pasta these days, but I admit, squash ravioli is delicious. Add a little sheep cheese and black pepper in the filling and eat it with butter and sage... Wow. Points to anyone who makes a non-grain squash ravioli recipe before I do...

Roasted Squash with Root Vegetables
In the middle of a dreary, wet winter, picture a platter of roasted colorful-contrast vegetables like beets, squash, carrots, potatoes, and turnips. Add some cheese and a fork.

Roasted Squash with Chicken
Squash goes well with many meats, but with roast chicken it’s superb. Cut it into pieces and roast it right in the pan with the chicken. Let it soak in juices.

Stuffed Squash
You scrape the seeds out of a squash and, well, there’s this big, empty space. You want to put something there, right? Chopped vegetables, dried fruits, rice, nuts... there are all sorts of creative ways to stuff a squash.

Squash and Beans
These foods grow together well and go together well. Your favorite bean dish is likely delicious with a side of squash or some squash mixed in.

Spaghetti Squash with Sauce
Okay, it’s not spaghetti. But spaghetti squash is arguably more delicious and definitely better for you. Try it with olive oil, butter and parmesan, with tomato sauce and meatballs, or with sautéed mushrooms. Miss the noodles too much? Mix some in. Spinach egg noodles are particularly good mixed with spaghetti squash.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/11_Ingredient_Highlight%3A_Winter_Squash.html

What are some of your other favorite ways to use winter squash?

Spiced Ground Lamb with Potatoes and Yogurt

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 21:58:12 -0800

I’ve been enjoying Middle Eastern food lately, especially the lamb I ate in restaurants in Chicago and New York earlier this fall. This simple locavore-friendly dish was inspired by those flavors, especially the combination of lamb, fat, spices and yogurt. It was also inspired by the fact that I had all the ingredients in the house.

Spiced Ground Lamb with Potatoes and Yogurt
3/4 - 1 pound ground lamb
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 onion minced
1 large egg
handful of mint, minced
handful of Italian parsley, minced
cumin
turmeric
pepper
salt
3 medium potatoes
olive oil
plain yogurt, preferably sheep milk for the tangy flavor

Preheat oven to a high temperature, about 450 F. Cut potatoes into wedges and coat with salt, cumin, pepper and olive oil. Bake until soft inside and crispy on the outside.

In a bowl, combine lamb, egg, minced garlic and onion, mint, parsley, lots of cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a pan. Drop individual walnut-sized dollops of the meat mixture into the oil, keeping them from touching one another, and cooking on both sides. Remove to a plate when they’re slightly browned.

Lamb fat will continue accumulating in the pan as you cook. I was using a small pan and had to do several batches, by the end of which there was a lot of flavorful fat and bits of garlic. When you’re done cooking the lamb, save the fat, with all the flavorful bits scraped into it, and pour it over the potatoes or the lamb.

Serve the lamb and potatoes together with lots of yogurt and chopped Italian parsley.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/6_Spiced_Ground_Lamb_with_Potatoes_and_Yogurt.html

More Reasons to be Glad Obama Won

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 20:10:40 -0800

There are thousands of reasons the country and the world are euphoric over the election of soon-to-be President Barack Obama. But here are a few food-related ones.

First, Obama actually read Michael Pollan’s recent New York Times Magazine piece, an open letter to the next president about food, sustainability, energy and the agricultural sector. Obama even referred to it in a speech.

Second, the New York Times described the closing days of the McCain campaign: “During the day he gets almost no exercise, eats the candy and junk food strewn all over his bus, and naps slumped in his seat in the curtained-off front section of his plane.” I wish John McCain well, but this isn’t a great way to take care of your health at age 72, or any age. I didn’t want McCain elected, and I definitely didn’t want him keeling over from excessive candy intake and leaving us with President Pitbull. It’s nice not to have to worry about that anymore.

In contrast, Obama’s not much of a fan of sweets.

Congratulations to Mr. Obama and I’m looking forward to the next four (hopefully eight!) years. Eat well, be well, and follow through on food policy that supports local, sustainable economies and accessible, healthful food for all.

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/6_More_Reasons_to_be_Glad_Obama_Won.html

Pumpkin Hazelnut Bars Drizzled with Chocolate

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:48:02 -0700

This morning, I noticed a post about eating pumpkins, on Tara Parker-Pope’s New York Times health blog Well. I’m a fan of pumpkins and other squash-like things, so I clicked on it and read an enjoyable interview with chef Dan Barber about the delicious things he likes to make out of pumpkins.

And then I read the recipe Ms. Parker-Pope included as the answer to the post’s title: the “Search for the Great Pumpkin (Recipe)” and was surprised. The recipe was for a pumpkin seed brittle that had more sugar/corn syrup than any other ingredient. This on a health blog, especially one I’ve never seen include a recipe before? In the food section, I wouldn’t give it a second thought.

There are even plenty of sweet pumpkin treats that wouldn’t be out of place on a health blog. In honor of Halloween, I feel compelled to offer my own. These pumpkin hazelnut chocolate bars have very little sweetener, no grains, and are totally indulgent. I baked them for my roommates and friends who happen to come by before they’re gone.

My roommates might start hoping I get mad at health columnists more often.

Enjoy, and happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Hazelnut Bars Drizzled with Chocolate
For one 8” x 11” baking pan. May be doubled.

CRUST
1/2 cup hazelnut flour (or other nut flour)
1/2 cup coconut flour
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons cold water

FILLING
1 cup cooked pumpkin or other orange squash
1/4 cup cream
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
1 large egg
1 tablespoon coconut flour
spices to taste: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice

TOPPING
melted dark chocolate
cream

(If you’re viewing this in an RSS feed or other third party source, click here for a version with more pictures.)

Roast pumpkin or squash in the oven until soft. Scoop from shell. Set aside.

In a food processor, mix together flours and butter. With the food processor running, pour cold water slowly in the top until the flour forms a ball. (This is a tasty, nutty dough, especially when you use the hazelnut flour, and can be used as a base for a variety of drier desserts, although it’s a bit too delicate for fruit pies.) Refrigerate dough at least 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 F. Roll out dough the best you can (it breaks easily) and lift it gently into a greased 8” x 11” baking pan. You may need to press it in place to get it to extend the full size of the pan. You can form edges on the sides up about an inch or so.

Bake bottom crust for about 10-15 minutes until slightly golden.

In the meantime, beat together pumpkin, cream, egg, honey or maple syrup, and spices.

Take crust out of oven. Pour in pumpkin mixture.
Bake in the oven until set, about 25 minutes. If the top edges of the crust start getting too brown, cover them with strips of foil.

Allow dessert to cool. Melt together chocolate and cream, stirring until mixture becomes smooth. Drizzle on top of bars.

9. Cut and serve

Permalink: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/10/31_Pumpkin_Hazelnut_Bars_Drizzled_with_Chocolate.html

Pacific Northwest Food Memories: Guest Post from Aaron Kagan

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:05:16 -0700

Aaron Kagan of the awesome food blog Tea and Food shares a guest post about his memories of Pacific Northwest eating. - DG

It's been years since I first visited the Pacific Northwest, but my food memories of the region have not faded. Perhaps that's because I was dating a girl from there at the time, and eventually my feelings about the relationship became synonymous with the taste of my first satsuma, humbow, salmonberry, or Mix Ice Cream, which of course is now probably a Coldstone.

The Seattle I visited was a magical place, partly because I was giddy with puppy love much of the time I was there, but also because of the very real and unique charms the city had to offer. I won't bother going into the ponderous quality of the mist, the succulence of the blackberries or the majesty of the Cascades. That's all been covered by others who have logged way more drizzly Seattle hours than I, but suffice to say that you can easily see why they made a movie about being sleepless there.

Seattle also struck me as a place that had somehow hung onto its character despite the best efforts of forces like Walmart and, ironic though it may be given the context, Starbucks. In fact it was while driving to Seattle from Boston that I first realized just how eerily uniform our national landscape had become. After so many miles of corn and strip malls, my first trip to Pike Place felt like bellying up to an oasis.

I can only guess that the local foods movement that has exploded since then has been kind to Seattle, and that, unlike my former relationship, the food culture there has only grown stronger. If it hasn't, I'd be disappointed. In terms of regionally distinct foods, Seattle was head and shoulders above most of the country (at least post-industrialization) at the time of my final visit.

I remember my girlfriend's stepmother caramelizing Walla Walla sweet onions and the regional pride for Yakima Valley wines and Pyramid. I remember steamed apples over oatmeal for breakfast at a B&B in the San Juan Islands and luscious fried oysters, still the best I've ever had. And I'll never forget the hearty, sautéed mushrooms and warm chèvre I had on one of those characteristically gray days that I said I wouldn't talk about.

While I miss having an excuse to visit Seattle, it turned out that the relationship wasn't all satsumas and humbows, and I'm glad things didn't work out between us. I've come to a much better place, both emotionally and physically. I now live with my girlfriend of two and half years and am starting to feel rooted back in New England, where I've learned that there are just as many great things to eat and where I'm now busy making future food memories.

Also, it doesn't rain as much here.

–– Aaron Kagan

Thanks to ratsinis for the flickr CC photo

Kidney Stones Increase in Kids: A Matter of Diet?

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:37:43 -0700

Want another nutrition-related reason to keep eating wholesome, traditional foods you’d typically find in the farmers market? How about avoiding painful kidney stones?

An article in today’s New York Times health section notes that, based on doctors’ anecdotal observations, kids today have a much higher incidence of kidney stones than kids had a few decades ago. Kidney stones used to be primarily a concern for older adults, so the rise in childhood incidence is eyebrow-raising. The article goes on to blame salt and dehydration. In addition to cutting down on salt and chugging more water, the article suggests, kids should cut down on fat too.

I started to get skeptical, like I often do when mainstream health information sources automatically cite a low-fat diet as a panacea, or roll out old standby scapegoats like salt. Whether salt plays a role in kidney stones or not, if salt were the primary culprit in a rise in childhood kidney stones, then salt intake would presumably be on the rise, but according to these USDA data (excel spreadsheet), sodium intake in the United States has been virtually unchanged over the last fifty years. I also don’t think we’ve dramatically decreased our fluid consumption in the last few decades, and the article doesn’t try to justify a link to general fat consumption.

So what could be causing the increase in kidney stones? The sharp increase over the last few decades reminded me of another childhood problem that has skyrocketed: obesity. What if the roots are the same?

Obesity, like most nutrition-related health problems, is strongly tied to recent dietary trends in which we see two themes: an increase in detrimental ingredients and a decrease in protective ones. By detrimental ingredients, I mean foods typically found on the supermarket shelves rather than farmers market stalls: processed combinations of corn, wheat, soy, vegetable oil, sugars –– especially fructose –– preservatives, flavors, and so forth. Protective ingredients look more like what your great-great-great grandmother might have eaten: grass-fed meats, fermented dairy and other fermented food, seafood, eggs, organ meats, vegetables, cod liver oil, and unrefined saturated fats like butter. Protective foods from animal sources are often high in essential fat-soluble vitamins, especially A, D and K2, or in omega-3 fatty acids. Clear out the fat-soluble vitamins and pump a kid full of high-fructose corn syrup, and you’ve got a few good building blocks for obesity.

It turns out an increase in incidence of kidney stones might have similar roots in these dietary trends. Researchers looking at data from the Nurses Health Study (I and II) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study found that kidney stone risk is independently associated with high fructose consumption, and with insulin resistance. The authors explain,

Fructose intake may also increase insulin resistance, which is associated with low urinary pH, a major risk factor for uric acid kidney stones. In addition, fructose is the only carbohydrate known to increase the production of uric acid...

Incidentally, fructose consumption has skyrocketed in the last few decades while the kidney stone trend has also been on the rise. That’s only an association, but the study’s data show a strong link to fructose. Increase in detrimental ingredients? Check.

So what about that second trend, a lack of protective ingredients? Research suggests that presence of kidney stones is associated with deficiency in the ultra-important activator vitamin K2 (menaquinone 4), the vitamin Weston Price called Activator X. Intake of this vitamin is on the decline, because it’s found in the kinds of once-common and prized foods we don’t eat as much anymore: organ meats, fish eggs, and grass-fed animal fat like butter, tallow and lard.

You need the full trio of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, and K2 menaquinone-4) to absorb the vitamins and calcium correctly, as well as to secrete proteins that protect against kidney stone formation. Kidney stones are crystalized minerals, often made up of calcium, particularly when calcium absorption and use isn’t functioning correctly. Lack of protective ingredients? Check.

For other nutrition geeks, it seems there’s a debate over whether fatty acids play a role in kidney stones, if omega-3s are protective and if omega-6s might be detrimental. One study (full pdf) found that fish oil (omega-3) supplementation lowered kidney stone incidence whereas high omega-6 levels were detrimental. The study also mentions that traditionally-living Eskimo cultures (they might have meant Inuit or been using the term more broadly; it’s unclear from the citation), eating a diet high in fish and saturated fat, lack kidney stones. Finally, this article looks at some other potential dietary factors in kidney stone formation, although there’s very little detail about fat soluble vitamins.

I’m still sorting through this information, and don’t claim to be a kidney expert, but it looks like my usual standards of nutrition apply here. If you want to avoid the diet-related health problems we see growing at an alarming rate, avoid the trends in eating habits we’ve seen over the last few decades, and make sure your kids eat well too. Eat a diet of traditional, simple, locally-produced animal and vegetable foods, including vitamin-rich saturated fats. Include some of the too-often-forgotten ingredients like organ meats and fish eggs. And walk away from the vegetable oil and processed food aisles, or the aisles of sugared cereals marketed insidiously to kids.

Luckily, those aisles don’t exist at the farmers market.

Some reading:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3489657 (Vitamin K and the urogenital tract. Abstract only.)

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0306987706007171 (Chris Masterjohn’s piece on vitamin D toxicity redefined in terms of its relationship with vitamins A and K2)

http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/vitamin-k2.html (Also by Chris Masterjohn, some basic information about vitamin K2 menaquinone 4)

http://jasn.asnjournals.org/cgi/reprint/7/4/613.pdf (piece on n-3 and n-6: Anomalous Phospholipid n-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Composition in Idiopathic Calcium Nephrolithiasis)

Here’s another link, thanks to Stephanie:
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/gf/gf081025halloween_history_me
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gKnKSn2RJcwce1BbdtdWmhkaBTnQD943FC0O0