…is one that has been dunked in coffee or tea! Famous British chef Heston Blumenthal set up an experiment to see whether cookies taste better after dipping in a beverage and the answer is yes they do! The science behind it is here.
Tag Archives: food fun
What’s in a Potato?
Have you ever asked yourself that question? We see different kinds of potatoes at the store or farmers’ markets: brown, red, gold, fingerlings, purple but that is just a surface difference, right? Actually there is much more to it than that and I learnt about it from this delightful post at The Botanist in the Kitchen, on making potato and leek soup. I loved the way an everyday ingredient was explained in a scientific way so that we see it with fresh eyes…and can also choose the right potato for soup next time!
Posted in Food Choices, food fun, Living, Nutrition
Tagged food decisions, food fun, Living, nutrition
Turkey Time!!
It’s that time of the year when thoughts turn to turkeys, cranberries and travel arrangements. While you prepare to enjoy a day of feasting and fun with the family , please remember to give thanks for the farmers and workers who make it possible to load up our tables with such an abundant meal. Also, a thought for how we grow our food, and a heartfelt wish for those who are still stranded and without power from Hurricane Sandy.
It’s not all about the food, though. There are other traditions, like the recounting of past turkey day disasters, the nosy relative wanting to know about relationship updates, or the walk after gorging on the meal. Whether your Thanksgiving is an intimate one or a fancy gathering at a hotel, have a wonderful, fulfilling Thanksgiving!
And in case you were wondering, this is why your turkey is cheaper at this time than the rest of the year!
Eating Smart
How did we humans get to be the ones to control the world? By being smarter than other species, yes, but how did we get smarter? The answer, according to a Brazilian study, is because we learned to cook our food. Food became easier to chew and digest and , in some cases, contributed more calories. So ancient humans now needed to spend less time looking for food and could , instead, ponder other important questions like who made the universe, is the earth flat, could I work even less than now if I conquered another country and made those people work for me etc.
Cooking our food instead of eating it raw brought a new ritual to human lives: the camaraderie in the kitchen of those who prepared the meal, the gathering around the table to enjoy nourishment and appreciate the food and also those who prepared it were all special moments. Perhaps that is why sometimes our strongest memories relate to food: the smell of herbs fresh from the garden, the crunch of the apple just picked from the tree, the aroma of meals on festive days. The act of cooking gives a deeper meaning to what would otherwise be, merely, fuel.
Posted in Food Choices, food fun, Living, Nutrition, Uncategorized
Tagged food decisions, food fun, Living, nutrition
Coffee By Any Other Name…
It feels like Fall; a little nip in the air in the mornings, wisps of mist, kids jumping in small piles of leaves, pumpkin displays at the grocery store. There is also another marker of Fall, a relatively new one: Starbucks starts offering the Pumpkin Spice Latte! And apparently, some people are so devoted to it that a shortage has created much misery and this news made it to the front page of The Wall Street Journal.Some might wonder what all the fuss is about, it’s only a drink, just coffee with a different sounding name.
Also, the fact that this celebration of a seasonal flavor basically comes from a prepared syrup added to the drink in the store (there is also an instant version) made me think how complex is our relationship to food: we get all worked up about a flavor of syrup while many of us would most likely feel lost if faced with an actual pumpkin. Most of our dealings with that big orange vegetable are limited to carving out a monster face and, perhaps, toasting the seeds. Yet it comforts us to think that somewhere there is a patch of earth awash in very orange pumpkins glowing in the autumn sun….and we want to capture that feeling in our morning drink. So, no, a coffee by any other name would not be just as good!
Food News
It feels like Fall, the kids are back at school and local apples are showing up at grocery store. All of a sudden, after a mellow summer, life has revved up and there has been less time to write. But routines are now in place which will carry us through, albeit in a crazy roller coaster way, at least till the holidays!
There were some food headlines that I wanted to share with you while working on a more detailed piece on the organic food debate:
America is sending out chefs as emissaries to the world. Perhaps American food will no longer be synonymous with fast food!
While we wait for Downton Abbey to be aired here, we can cook (and eat!) Downton Abbey style, as detailed in this charming blog.
And, the importance of lemons.
Posted in Food Choices, food fun, Living, Nutrition
Tagged food decisions, food fun, Living, nutrition
Food: Election Special
It’s that time of the election cycle when every detail of the candidates’ lives is discussed. So, the spotlight is now on Mormon food. There are very specific directions about food in Mormon culture: no alcohol or caffeine, a diet based on grains and produce with less meat. It sounds like the basis for a healthy life. There is also an emphasis on canning and preserving which is also an important part of the current effort to eat locally and in season. But it’s not only the healthy stuff, there are desserts involving jello and cool whip! Sounds like a lot of good rules leavened with some fun, perhaps a food platform we could live with….and in case you were thinking about canning, these pointers might prove useful.
Posted in Food Choices, food fun, Living, Nutrition, Uncategorized
Tagged food decisions, food fun, Living, nutrition
The Truth About Cooking
Finally, someone came out and said it: cooking is not fun! In fact, cooking meals everyday is a tedious chore. It is not the fun cooking of the television shows in a designer kitchen. It involves peeling and chopping, cleaning and doing dishes and much time spent around a hot stove or oven. And even after all this, the dish may not quite turn out the way you envisaged or picky kids might turn up their noses and unleash a dinner time tantrum. But to even start cooking, we need to know how to cook. For a whole generation which has grown up used to eating out or pushing buttons on the microwave a simple pasta dish with vegetables is challenging.
So, why bother with cooking? Here are some reasons to think about : it is good for you as you can control the ingredients (particularly the amounts of salt and fat), it is good for your budget as you save money and hopefully, reusing leftovers means there is less food waste.
Two things to note: cooking requires effort, so, do appreciate the cook, and, if you happen to be the exhausted cook, here is some inspiration from Julia Child herself: “…no one is born a good cook,one learns by doing”. So, let’s go get out some pots and pans and start the cooking!
Posted in Food Choices, food fun, Hunger, Living, Nutrition
Tagged food decisions, food fun, Hunger, Living, nutrition
More Watermelon Controversy!
Sometime ago I was unsure how exactly to categorize a seedless watermelon. I was absolutely sure though, of how I like to eat it: cubed and chilled with a sprig of basil from the pot on my deck. at that time, I had no idea that this was a question which is on the minds of many and strong views are held on the “right” way to eat a watermelon. That was till I read the post at Slate.com recommending feta as an accompaniment and a flood of responses came back: not feta but salt; never chilled but at room temperature; cubed? no way! only sliced; as a smoothie with mint or better in a caipirinha……..the possibilities are endless. One thing most people seemed to agree on was this: the happiest watermelon memories involved biting of a big , juicy chunk and the spitting out the seeds, preferably at a sibling!
Posted in Food Choices, food fun, Hunger, Living, Nutrition, Uncategorized
Tagged food decisions, food fun, Hunger, Living, nutrition
Thought + Food 