HEALTHY WHITE

Jumat, 19 Februari 2010

Top 10 Links of the Week: 2/12/10 – 2/18/10

Before we get to today’s links, the results are in from Tuesday’s Ask the Internet question. We queried: do you include tax when you tip a restaurant server?

THE READERS HAVE SPOKEN, and between thread comments and Facebook replies, it came down to a single vote. A single vote! No kidding:

Yes, I include tax when I tip: 29 VOTES
No, I don’t include tax when I tip: 30 VOTES

Henceforth, you don’t have to include tax! (Unless you want to.) With that dilemma solved forevermore, let’s go to el linkage.

1) River Front Times: 20 Unholy Recipes – Dishes So Awful We Had to Make Them
Possibly the post of the millennium: St. Louis bloggers attempted 20 different vintage recipes of varying awfulness, from Vienna Sausage Shortcake to Pickle-Stretcher Salad to Asparagus-Macaroni Loaf. The results are the culinary equivalent of Kurtz’s death scene in Apocalypse Now. (Thanks to Neatorama for the link.)

2) The Atlantic: The Great Grocery Smackdown
Great piece on Wal-Mart’s new produce initiatives, which include more organics and locally-grown fruits and veggies. In a blind taste test, the author matches some of the megacorp’s products up against Whole Foods' versions of the same things. The results are surprising and encouraging. A must-read.

3) New York Times: When Children Are Overweight, Changes for the Whole Family
Solid piece on how a family’s lifestyle changes when it's trying to correct a child’s poor eating habits. While you should never put a minor on a medically unsupervised diet, these subtle switches seem to make sense.

4) Wise Bread: 7 Ways to Cut Your Food Bill Without Clipping a Single Coupon
Quick-but-thorough primer on the basics of frugal grocery shopping. Definitely check it if you’re new to the field. (Which I call “grocerologyiatry.”) (I'm still working on the name.)

5) GOOD Magazine: The Emotional Quotient of Soup Shopping
This is super interesting, and probably emblematic of how food graphic designers work nowadays. Campbell’s just redesigned their label to appeal more to shoppers’ emotional reactions. Did you know, neurologically speaking, that we don’t give a crap about spoons? It’s true.

6) New York Post: My Personal Kitchen Confidential
Not Eating Out in New York blogger Cathy Erway saved $7200 over two years by cooking at home, avoiding takeout, and skipping restaurant meals. When you live here, it’s so, so, so super easy to blow all your dough on food. This is a valuable reminder that there's another way.

7) Re-Nest: How to Buy and Store Bulk Foods
As my storage is limited to whatever I can cram in an unplugged toaster, this wonderful post doesn’t apply so much to me. But sweet readers, with your newfangled “pantries” and “shelves,” might find it super helpful.

8) Jezebel: Jared Fogle and the Plight of the Celebrity Dieter
Subway’s weight loss poster boy has gained back 40 of the 200 pounds he lost. In the grand scheme of things, this is still a huge triumph: the guy lost 160 pounds and kept it off. However, advertising-wise, this means big trouble for Subway, much like Kirstie Alley’s gain was bad news for Jenny Craig. It’s a warped, twisted way of looking at dieting, but an interesting media discussion nonetheless.

9) The Simple Dollar: The Minimal Tip
Rounding out our discussion on restaurant tipping: have you ever given nothing? Trent has, and here, he discusses the reasons. (Honestly, it sounds merited.) Followed by a massive comment debate.

10) CNN: Jamie Oliver: 'Eat your chips,' just not every day
Go for details on Jamie’s victorious TED plan for correcting childhood obesity in America. Stay for the accent. Roit!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Dad Cooks Dinner: Weekly Dinner Plans
A different way of attacking menus. I like.

Hillbilly Housewife: 5 Steps To Safely Disinfect Your Wooden Cutting Boards
Non-bleach secrets to purifying your chopping blocks. (Note: not with hellfire.)

The Kitchn:
Quick Reference – A Guide to Herbs and Spices
30 Gold Medal Tips that Pack Some Punch in the Kitchen
What’s the Deal With Reactive and Non-reactive Cookware?
This week’s highlighted posts include an excellent primer on jarred flavors, kitchen hacks galore, and a question that has puzzled pan purchasers since the beginning of time.

Money Saving Mom: What is Your Stock-up Price on Toilet Paper?
If you ever wanted to learn about price discrepancies across the nation, read this comment thread. Mine: $0.66/roll. It don’t get much better in BK.

The Simple Dollar: Optimizing Your Grocery List
There’s efficiency, and then there’s EFFICIENCY. These strategies fall into the latter category.

BLOG CARNIVALS

Hey! We made some blog carnivals this week! Check ‘em out yourselves for a cornucopia of craft and personal finance articles, from every corner of the interweb.

AND ALSO

Esquire: Roger Ebert – The Essential Man
A few years ago, film critic Roger Ebert lost his lower jaw to a series of cancer-related surgeries. Since then, he hasn’t had a bite to eat or a drop to drink. He’s completely lost his ability to speak. Yet, he’s living louder than ever, mostly through his blog, his movie reviews, and his prolific Twitter feed. This moving, revealing article chronicles a day in the life of new Ebert, and if it’s not too cliché, it gets a huge thumbs up.

Chicago Sun-Times: Roger Ebert’s Last Words
Here's Ebert’s response to the Esquire piece. Filled with astute observances, including but not limited to, “Low self-esteem involves imagining the worst that other people can think about you,” and "Resentment is allowing someone to live rent-free in a room in your head.” Win: Ebert.

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Kamis, 18 Februari 2010

Veggie Might: Kasha with Root Veg and Dill Recipe - Bland vs. Subtle

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

In healthy, vegetarian cooking—in any cooking really—there is a shade of difference between bland and subtle. Conventional wisdom holds that if food is good for you it has to taste like a craft project. Well, I like to keep my craft projects and cooking projects separate, unless Amy Sedaris issues a challenge.

That is why I am known to tweak all recipes, especially vegetarian ones, written before 2005. Vegetarian recipes are notoriously bland. I mean, y’all know. We’ve all tried to cook quinoa with spinach, mushrooms, and tofu for unsuspecting carnis, only to have it backfire on occasion.

So this week I was trying to get whittle down the abundance of kasha in my pantry. Kasha, in the U.S. anyway, is buckwheat. In my old Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook, I found what I thought was the perfect recipe to start with: Kasha with Potatoes and Dill.

It uses the classic Eastern European flavors of onion and dill, which are a bit out of my usual comfort zone, i.e., no garlic, parsley, or cilantro, and it will challenge me to follow a recipe. When working with new flavors, I don’t experiment much.

Well. It turned out to be that textbook hippie food that turns people off of healthy cooking: bland, mushy, with the distinct flavor of Aleene’s Tacky Glue. My Charming Dinner Guest was so polite, adding extra salt and telling me that “No, really, it’s good.” But I knew.

And I was determined to make it good.

Back to the recipe, I was ready to up all the seasonings and adjust the kasha:veg ratio by adding a turnip. I did those things, but I also realized something very important. I screwed it up the first time.

Going through the instructions again, I discovered that I had cooked the kasha way too long the first time. I got paste because I overcooked the grain. The recipe was still light on the onion and dill, but my error took away the subtle, nutty flavor of the kasha, which absolutely makes the dish.

The second go-round was delicious—light and fluffy, with a hint of sweetness from the onion and a counterbalance of tang from the dill. This dish makes a lovely alternative to a potato side, and packs in way more nutrition with the high-fiber kasha giving it a boost.

That is not the first time my hubris in the kitchen has resulted in a grain FAIL. But it’s cool. These little experiments are how I learn. But next time, I won’t jump to blame the recipe before I check my work.

Now my pantry is nearly kasha-free, and my fridge is well full. My menu is set for the week.

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If you like this recipe, you might enjoy

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Kasha with Root Vegetables and Dill
Adapted from Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook.
Serves 6

1 medium potato (about 8 oz), chopped (peeled, optional)
1 medium turnip (about 8 oz), peeled and chopped
water to cover

1 cup kasha
2 cups water
1 tsp salt

1 1/2 large onion, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1/4–1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1 tsp salt

1) In a small saucepan, cover chopped potatoes and turnips with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a rolling simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat, drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set root vegetables aside.

2) In a skillet, toast kasha over medium high heat for 7–10 minutes or until you smell the roasted grain fragrance. Stir and toss regularly. Set aside kasha.

3) Bring the 2 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt to boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the kasha, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

4) While your kasha is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet and add the onion. Cook until onion is soft, about 7–10 minutes. Add water as necessary if the onion starts to stick.

5) Once all your components are ready, combine in the skillet over medium heat. Add to the onion the kasha, root vegetables, dill, and salt to taste. Toss to combine.

6) Serve as a side with a hearty entrée and vegetables. This goes great as a potato alternative with Bean Burgers and a vegetable.

7) Marvel at the subtle flavors and your finely tuned palate.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, and Price per Serving
158 calories, 1.6g fat, 6g fiber, $.44

Calculations
1 medium potato: 164 calories, .15g fat, 5g fiber, $.15
1 medium turnip: 39 calories, 0g fat, 2g fiber, $0.37
1 cup kasha: 567 calories, 4g fat, 17g fiber, $.83
1 1/2 large onion: 136.5 calories, .5g fat, 75g fiber, $1.00
1 tsp olive oil: 40 calories, 4.7g fat, 0g fiber, $.03
1/2 cup fresh dill: 2 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, $.25
2 tsp salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and price per serving
Totals: 948.5 calories, 9.35g fat, 24.5g fiber, $2.63
Per serving (totals/6): 158 calories, 1.6g fat, 6g fiber, $.44

Veggie Might: Kasha with Root Veg and Dill Recipe - Bland vs. Subtle

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

~~~

Kasha with Root Vegetables and Dill
Adapted from Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook.
Serves 6