Food For the Rest of Us

Thoughts on Nutrition in our Modern Argicultural World

According to the October 10th Economist, part of the global nutritional crisis is “soluble.”

Approximately one third of the world’s people suffer from a lack of micronutrients. Micronutrients are “any substance, such as a vitamin or trace element, essential for healthy growth and development but required only in minute amounts”  More specifically, micronutrients in food include essential things such as: folic acid, iron, vitamin D and iodine. Although they are consumed in minute amounts, the have profound implications on our health and wellbeing.

According to the World Health Organization, “these substances are the “magic wands” that enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances essential for proper growth and development. As tiny as the amounts are, however, the consequences of their absence are severe. Iodine, vitamin A and iron are most important in global public health terms; their lack represents a major threat to the health and development of populations the world over, particularly children and pregnant women in low-income countries.”

The proposal to address this problem is to enrich food staples and salts with micronutrients. It is true that enriching food staples such as adding iodine to salt and vitamin D to milk has been practiced in the US for a long time and is a primary cause in the elimination of nutrition based diseases such as rickets. Also, the article correctly notes that the cost of fortifying food stables with micronutrients is extremely cost efficient.

But, doesn’t this seem a bit like treating symptoms instead of treating problems?

The problem is not exclusively a lack of access to foods containing micronutrients. In all reality, the problem is a lack of access to an entire diet capable of meeting the current nutritional needs of people.

In a sense, fortifying food staples is the somewhat the nutritional equivalent of robbing Peter to pay Paul. The situation is akin to switching from regular to diet drinks as a way to regulate sugar and calorie consumption. The switch comes with the trade off of increased caffeine consumption as well as increased exposure to artificial sweeteners. At the end of the day, all you are doing is playing a game of nutritional three card monty by trading one bad thing for another.

It is critically important to ask what food staples that will be fortified. If fortified food products in the US serve as an example, they will be highly refined or processed, bearing little-to-no resemblance to their traditional form or place in a person’s regional or ancestral diet.

Considering:

“[When we eat refined foods] … we limit the opportunity to bolster our immune system, keep our blood sugar and emotions balanced, keep our blood sugar and emotions balanced, protect against degenerative diseases, maintain a trim and fit body, and in general, keep our integrated experience of life harmonious.”

“Our desire to overeat can stem from eating foods that are refined and therefore missing ingredients; these deficient foods can foster addiction as we are instinctively driven to over consume them in our endeavor to obtain the missing nutrients that are never there.”

Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford (2002 edition) pgs 16 -18

And, according to Harriet V. Kuhnlein, Professor of Human Nutrition and Founding Director of the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE) at McGill University in Montreal, Canada:

The development, health and scientific communities do not usually understand the food resources that indigenous people know and use. Scientific identifications and laboratory data for nutrients and other phytochemicals for a food system may be unknown for many species.

A possibly better solution to this issue might be re-examining and then reintroducing traditional dietary and agricultural practices “upgraded” for current daily life instead relying upon artificially fortifying foods derived from highly refined and processed foods frequently from foreign sources and diets.

Tastes Like Straw

A few weeks ago I chatted briefly with another spouse about eating gluten free foods by choice instead of by necessity. Both our spouses follow gluten free diets and to support their dietary choices, both of use choose diets similar to our spouse’s diets.

So, at first impression it seems this spouse deserves a gold star for supporting the partner and understanding the challenges of following an unconventional diet with many possible restrictions.

Then the spouse laments for the days of gluten foods and half jokingly says gluten free foods taste “like straw”. Now, it seems that re-evaluating those gold stars might be a god idea.

Since this is “FOOD for the rest of us” and not “MARRIAGE counseling, guidance, and judgement for the rest of us”, I lets focus on the food.

This spouse is not the only person in the world to consider gluten free foods to be unpleasant.  In fact, I have previously blogged about a NYT article where celiacs’ laments for gluten foods such as pasta and breads were followed with praises to the food industry for coming up with increasingly “better” imitation foods as substitutes.

In fact, while making a birthday cake with two layers of genoise brushed with sherry and iced with mocha butter-cream and chocolate icing using regular all purpose flour, I found myself thankful for not having to counter balance any of the garbanzo bean flavor sometimes found in many gluten free flour mixes. I was also glad to focus on the cake and not if the amount of xyntham gum added was sufficient or too much.

So, while I wasn’t saying it tasted like straw, I was viewing it as something inferior to a gluten based product. Then I realized this was probably due to the fact that I was automatically assessing the possible tastes and textures of something made with out gluten against something made using gluten.

Just as substituting beef or chicken with some sort of soy based product, using vitamin pills instead of eating fruits and vegetables, or eating farm raised vs wild or “free range” fish, fowl, or beef leads to all kinds of dietary issues and doesn’t taste all that good; forcing an over processed, chemically stabilized, and artificial-in-nearly-all-aspects-of-its-existence food item to replace is not exactly a good idea.

Instead of looking for substitute food products or items that can be swapped in and out of your eating habits as if they computer parts or brake pads, maybe it is better to consider it time to undertake a food odyssey, searching for new to you foods that are fun to eat and do not conflict with your dietary choices.

After all, just because a meal or a specific dish or food item is made to be gluten free does not mean the food should not be good.

For example, the other weekend I cooked great meal.

The salad included fresh cherry tomatoes, sweetened red onions, basil, sheep’s milk feta, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

For the main course, I roasted beef sirloin with a rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, Grana Padano cheese and garlic crust. The beef was accompanied by roasted apples, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and turnips, a pan sauce, and rustic mashed potatoes.

For dessert, I used Giffords’ double chocolate ice cream with warmed “Last of the Season” peaches and a ruby reduction.

Although I added toasted bread croutons with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, parsley, and basil to the salad, and the salad would have been equally good without them, the meal was essentially gluten free.

Nothing came out of a box, was almost entirely gluten free and it did not taste like straw. In fact, I was later told the meal was “Kick A** Good.”

Hunger in a time of Bounty

Now is probably one of, if not my favorite time of year. The days are just long and warm enough to enjoy as if still a long lazy day of summer and the nights are just cold enough to hint at fall’s full onset, offering just enough of everything. Similarly, this time of year is overflowing with an amazing bounty of food; fresh succulent summer peaches and plums can be found alongside crisp apples, multitudes of pumpkins and squashes.

It is easy to look around at the bounty of fruits, vegetables, and other foods being reaped during this time of harvest and believe the cornucopia is endless and offers limitless healthy food to all.

But, the cornucopia is neither endless nor offering limitless healthy food to all.

Instead, 36 million Americans, including 13 million children, struggle with hunger every day.

You may ask how is it possible for our American society to be plagued by such a horrible problem while our American society is also considered to be plagued by an obesity pandemic. Similarly, how is hunger among so many possible when so many fast food restaurants offer $1 menus?

The answer is not that food is not available. Neither is the answer that hunger equates to lacking of access to food.

Instead, it is better to consider the hunger crisis in terms of access to information about nutrition and foods offering dense nutritional value.

A body’s energy comes from three sources: Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats. Proteins and Carbohydrates offer about 4 calories per gram while fats offer about 9 calories per gram.

Considering our instinct is to seek out those foods offering the most energy and not necessarily the most nutrition, and the foods offering most energy happen to be fats, is there any real wonder why we would choose to eat an order of chicken nuggets dipped in a BBQ sauce with high fructose corn syrup as the primary ingredient, over a salad of fresh tomatoes with salad greens, thinly sliced steaks and a sauce of basil, garlic, parsley, olive oil and balsamic vinegar?

Similarly, when you walk into a coffee shop, what catches your eye longest? The lovely looking cracked bulgar salad with green onions, parsley, and tomatoes or those plump cinnamon, spice and rum soaked raison scones with the crunchy sugar sprinkles twinkling like stars and just enough to be seen? Since I just made myself hungary by typing the second description, I suspect the scone is the correct answer.

If you are tempted, what about everyone else? What about someone who might not be as interested in food as you and I, or someone who might not have the time, money or other resources to shop and cook the same as you?

So, during this time of amazing bounty, transition and the beginning of the fall and winter holidays ultimately leading us into 2011, it is important to remember the bounty offered to us can only be for all of us if each of us takes action to spread change and help those how ever possible.

Blame it on the Environment

Apparently we are in the midst of a massive obesity crisis.

Yes, I had head this claim before, and had always written it off as media pandering. But, a bit of recent news has changed my mind.

According Hal Arkowith and Scott Lilienfeld in the Sept/Oct 2009 Scientific American Mind:

“Two thirds of American adults and one third of school-age children are either overweight or obese (defined as extremely overweight).”

But this sounds a bit abstract, right?

They go on to state:

“From 1960 to 2002 the population of overweight and obese adults increased by roughly 50 percent, and the corresponding increase for children was 300 percent.”

So, in less than 50 years our society has gone from “thin” to “fat.”

This is our entire society, not just a handful of indulgent adults or spineless parents allowing children to overeat junk food. Also, if you want to blame genetics,while it is true genetics plays heavily into our weight, metabolism and how we process stress, sleep and other environmental factors affecting our weight, genetics are personal not societal and can not evolve quickly enough to account for these changes throughout our entire society.

Want to blame the “Industry” – Restaurants, Food Manufacturing Companies, the Government, our Schools, etc.? Well, while it is true that they must shoulder a responsibility for providing clear, easily understood and comparable information about ingredients, calories and other such things ….

“… the root of the obesity problem ‘must lie in the powerful social and cultural forces that promote energy-rich diet and a sedentary lifestyle’” (Scientific American Mind Sept/Oct 2009)

Before you go off to round up the pitchfork and torch brigade and head off to your closest MacDonalds or 7-11, consider what Gavin Fitzsimmons, Professor of Marketing and Psychology at Duke, has to say:

“There is a notion that if we all just had the full nutritional information on menu or food items, we’d choose rationally … [b]ut that isn’t so. There are too many unconscious environmental cues that prove too strong.” (Psychology Today, Sept/Oct 2009)

Additionally, we fool ourselves:

“[Brian Wansink, Dir of the Food and Brand Lab, Cornell Univeristy]… has demonstrated we consume more food when it is served on a larger plate, in a bigger bowl, or in bulk packaging. And if it’s labeled low-fat, we chow down even more – consuming, on average, 20 percent more caloriesthan we would were it not so labeled.” (Psychology Today, Sept/Oct 2009)

So, should we tax things that make us fat?

According to Yale Psychologist Kelly D. Brownell and Thomas Freiden, at the CDC, social policies such as taxes on “one of the biggest contributors to obesity: sugar-sweetened beverages.” (Scientific American Mind Sept/Oct 2009)

This cry is also supported by Dr Barry Popkin, one of the first researchers to identify a link between high frutcose corn syrup and obesity in his well known study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2004.  As quoted in Food Navigator’s recent article, Fructose in the firing line:

“The idea is very simple, that essentially in America – and the rest of the world – when you consume any caloric beverage, particularly sugar-sweetened beverage, [including corn-based sugar] you don’t reduce your food intake.”

“We know that if you increase the price of sugar-sweetened beverages, you will reduce their impact,” he said. “Much like cigarette taxes have worked grandly in the US and elsewhere to reduce smoking…These are one of the only foods and beverages with no health benefits and clearly defined health cost.”

But, much like prohibition on alcohol in the 1920’s, wouldn’t a tax on bad foods result in them possibly becoming even more attractive by being “bad”?

“A recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that the mere presence of health offerings on a menu or on display in a restaurant or even in a vending machine can often be enough to vicariously satisfy our long term health and nutrition goals-and trick our brains into allowing su to make more indulgent food selections, ones we would not otherwise make. (Psychology Today, Sept/Oct 2009)

So, basically, even if we know something isn’t good for us, by having  a healthy alternative is available we can placate our selves with the thought or intention of having that food while actually eating the “bad” food.

To me, this all boils down to changing your lifestyle since I don’t think taxes, government labels or other top down solutions will really do all that much good.

Simply put, say what you do, do what you say and find ways to give yourself success.

Interestingly,

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Fructose-in-the-firing-line?utm_source=exclusive_interview&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Exclusive%2BInterview

Beer and BBQ

Summertime, Beer and BBQ is somewhat of a holy trinity. After all, something magical happens when good beer, good friends, and good food can be found and enjoyed in the same place.

Over the weekend, I happily and thankfully enjoyed some beers produced by a neighbor and friend. Although I could easily write this entire piece about those beers (and I will very soon), today’s focus is on how beer can be used in a marinade/BBQ sauce.

Interestingly, despite its popularity as a beverage of choice for BBQ, most of the recipes for marinades and BBQ sauces do not use beer and instead use wine, spirits or a fortified wine such as port or madera.

As most beer drinkers know, especially those whom have tasted “skunked” beer, beer frequently has a bitter element to its taste. Although this bitter element is not necessarily a bad thing, results from many potential causes, and is frequently used as a tool to bring out other flavors in a beer, the bitter element becomes increasingly strong as the liquid is reduced while making a marinade, sauce base, or the grilling.

Just as a little salt brings out a recipe’s sweet flavors, a beer’s bitter flavors can bring out many other great flavors. But, if the bitter flavors become too strong they will overpower everything.

The “trick” to using beer is not using it alone. If the beer is “cut” by another flavorful liquid such as chicken stock, orange juice or similar. Cutting the beer with this other liquid allows the beer to be reduced without becoming overwhelmingly better.

So, in order to have BBQ pork with a sauce/marinade complimenting my friend’s home brewed and excellent beer, I used a bottle of Old Dominion’s October Fest and cut it with some chicken stock, juice from two oranges and two diced peaches. The marinade also included toasted cumin, all spice, caraway seed, coriander, and fennel seed in addition to cayenne and chili pepper flakes.

The basic recipe is the same as the one used for my earlier blog “Sometimes Simpler is better” with an addition of two – three small peeled and diced carrots slightly browned before adding the onions.

Peach Cobbler – Sequels can be better

Peach Cobbler No 2

With very few exceptions, sequels and/or copies, imitations or duplications are usually less entertaining, engaging or good as the premier version. I suspect the cause is some sort of motivation to “out-do” the original by some completely arbitrary and ultimately important-for-only-a-fleeting-moment form of measurement.

But, sequels are also second chances, opportunities to learn from previous experience and seek out additional information to improve upon the previous product.

Or, somewhat more appropriately, sometimes the only way to learn the difference between good and bad wine is to drink both, tasting is the only way to experience the difference for yourself.

The gluten free peach and blueberry cobbler I made earlier this month was good and well liked. Although the earlier peach cobbler was good, the crust did not have the crisp, almost cookie or scone texture I wanted. And, I was not all that happy with the taste of the crust.

But, purchasing half a bushel of peaches (in other words many, many pounds of fresh peaches) and a visit by a cousin participating in a GW master’s program provided me with a chance to make a sequel, as if I really needed the excuse.

Without blue or blackberries to go with the peaches and since some were less ripe than others, macerating them in sugar with a splash of vanilla extract for a few hours heightened their sweetness, making them even richer in flavor. Maceration, similar in concept to marinating, adds or heightens foods’ flavors by immersing the food in sugar, spices, salt, vinegar or other substances.

For the crust, I wanted something with a bit of a crust, not a thick distracting crust but enough of a crust to have its own flavor and contrast-to-compliment the peaches. Somehow shortcake came to mind. Using the “Fluffy Biscuits or Shortcake Dough” from Joy of Cooking as a base; I substituted Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free All-Purpose flour for regular AP flour, 6-7 tablespoons chilled butter, a bit extra sugar, and some cinnamon for extra flavor.

The resulting dough was thick, perfect for baked or pan fried drop biscuits. After spreading the dough over the peaches sitting in nearly all of the maceration “juice”, remembering to spread it evenly and leave space around the edge, I baked it It was baked at 450 for about one hour.

The results were great! The high heat browned the dough, caramelizing some of the sugar in the dough and making a firm but crumbly crust covering. Served with freshly made goat milk ice cream, the cobbler was a perfect end to a hot summer’s day.

Ice-cream doesn’t just come from cows, ya know?

ice-cream cone

Goat’s milk is a great substitute for cow’s milk.  Not only does goat’s milk offer more protein than cow’s milk, goat’s milk does not normally irritate the stomachs of people with celiacs or with other digestive issues such as lactose intolerance.

Fortunately, Wife and I both really like ice creams. So, when I found fresh, local and excellent goat milk from J-Wen Farms & Dairy at the Columbia Pike Farmers Market I had a great opportunity to put the ice cream maker to good use give making goat’s milk ice cream a try.

It turned out to be some of the BEST ice cream I have ever eaten.

Only with further testing (batches) I will be able to conclusively determine if the stellar quality of the ice cream was due to the excellent quality goat’s milk, the recipe used, or something else. I know it will be a tough job, but … somebody has to do it.

In case you want to give it a try, the following is the recipe used for this batch:

2 2/3 cups goat’s milk

2+ teaspoons vanilla extract

4 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

*adopted from the Ambrose Ice cream recipe listed at Meyenberg Goat Milk Products website: http://meyenberg.com/

Sometimes simpler is better.

BBQ - August 30 2009

Although you can buy exotic or seasonal fruits on nearly any giving day of the year, this is does not necessarily mean you should go out and buy or use them every day. Similarly, just because it is possible to use passion fruit in marinades or BBQ sauce, doesn’t mean you should.

The other day, I made a batch of BBQ sauce for grilling some ribs, steak and chicken. Although the ingredients sound simple, like baking soda and vinegar, their combination results in a great surprise.

Here is a rough recipe:

2 – 3 cps chicken stock

2 – 3 cps old vine Zinfandel

I large can – crushed tomato

1 large or equivalent onion chopped very fine

1 head garlic – approximately

4 + tablespoons sugar

3 – 4 tablespoons cider vinegar

cinnamon to taste

cayenne powder to taste

paprika to taste

salt to taste

4 tablespoons buckwheat honey*

A very important point about making this or other similar sauces:

• Reduce the sauce SLOWLY. Using a high boil – when large bubbles constantly and frequently burst at the surface – may result in the sauce’s sugars burning before the sauce reduces to a correct consistency.

*The buckwheat honey, from Virginia Pure Beeswax, is a recent find at the Columbia Pike Farmer’s Market. It has a wonderful dark, nearly chocolate color and a rich smooth dark caramel flavor, making it a superb substitute for molasses.

Like molasses, the buckwheat honey added a touch of dark caramel flavor to the sauce as well as gave it a big boost in the “sticky” factor.  At the same time,  unlike molasses, the buckwheat honey’s subtle flower flavors are just strong enough to bring out some surprising flavors to the sauce.

Peach and Blueberry Cobbler First Attempt

Although the summer has been gloriously free of hot and humid days here in Washington, DC, the recent days have left both Wife and I craving childhood favorites such as cobbler pie. Well, actually, I think it is more honest to say that my near constant droning of day dream memories of summer cobblers and fresh ice cream (as in “your arm nearly falls off from cranking the ice cream maker and that is how your parent’s kept you from pestering them all evening” ice cream) were either highly persuasive or in enough quantity to convince Wife of the critical necessity of a summer peach cobbler.

Peach and Blueberry Gluten Free Cobbler

Thanks to a visit by some well loved in-laws, I decided it was time to take the risk of trying to live up to those day-dream quality cobblers and attempt one myself.

Cobblers are supposed to be a simple-enough affair. As the name “Cobbler” implies, this traditional American dessert is made from bringing different fruits or berries together and combining them to make an entire dish. Personally, I think the name comes from two sources. First, much like a cobble stone street, these pie – like desserts are usually filled with large, nearly mismatched, pieces of fruit or berries and nearly always it is a combination of two or more fruits or berries. Second, a review of multiple recipes as well as assorted conversations with others, indicates these desserts probably evolved from a need to use up all the assorted bits and pieces left over from assembling more traditional pies, other desserts, or even the preparation of preserves.

At any rate, the point is cobblers are supposed to be rather unstructured or even informal in their preparation, final product and even how they are served, simply put: they should be like a summer evening – fun, for family, and filling.

For the cobbler in the picture above, I followed the Peach Raspberry Cobbler recipe listed in the Joy of Cooking but substituted Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free All-Purpose flower for the required all purpose flower. In order to offset any potential “bean” flavor from the GF AP flour, I added a pinch or two of extra sugar when covering the cut fruit as well as in the batter mix.

For a first attempt, it turned out very well and proved to be a very tasty and relatively easy gluten free dessert to make.

But, after some review, I would like to investigate a different style of GF topping or even using an entirely different GF flour. As it turned out, the flour does have a slightly strong but not un-pleasant chick pea taste. Alternatively, including cinnamon, allspice or even a touch of nutmeg – when appropriate – or even a splash of brandy, cognac, Cointreau or something similar would introduce some great flavors and help offset any potential flavors resulting from the GF flour.

Green and not Slimy

Pan Roasted Venison, Roasted Finglering Potatoes with Green Sauce of Cilantro, Galic, Lime juice, and seasoning

Growing up in Oregon, I knew people – friends in school or friends of friends – who hunted deer each fall. I knew they also ate the deer successfully hunted but called it venison. Although I was never really one to associate Bambi with a food item, the concept of eating venison was foreign to me and foreign enough to many more that it was not exactly something seen on every menu.

Fortunately, times and tastes have changed.

It seems the unique flavoring and the healthier-than-beef-if-not-raised-like-beef traits of venison have helped bring it to many menus. At the same time, since moving to the East from the West I have had the pleasure of cooking and eating amazing venison many times with each better than the last.

Last Monday, January 12, 2009, I threw together the venison dish pictured and described on the right.  Normally I try to complete most, if not all, of the main preparations or cooking for the week by Sunday or, if time allows, Monday afternoon or evening. On this particular Monday I had cooked the meals for the week and so was faced with trying to cook food for the week and dinner, at the same time and to be completed with the cooking before 10:00 p.m.

So, once I put a chicken in the oven to roast (more on this particular chicken in another blog entry), I focused on the venison.

Broken down, the venison dish has three components: venison, roasted potatoes, and sauce.

Here are the guidelines I followed for each:

Venison- although last to be put on the stove or to put into an oven, the seasoning and cooking of this meat was probably the most important part of the dish.  I seared each side in a cast-ion saute pan and then placed it in an approximately 400 degree oven to finish (about 12 – 14 min total.  The venison steaks were seasoned with salt, pepper, just enough to coat olive oil, and freshly grated or cut lime zest. The lime zest was a great addition and really added a lot to the flavor of the meet.

Roasted Fingerlings-a variation on my standby – olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper: instead of putting them to roast in the oven after either starting on the stove or at least warming (or more accurately heating) the pan in a 450 – 500 degree oven, the potatoes were put into a pan with some grape seed oil and the heat at high. Once they started to brown, the heat was dropped and freshly chopped garlic was added. Keeping the pan on the stove top instead of the oven was a challenge because I had to stir the potatoes and garlic to prevent everything from burning.

Green Sauce: Basically – a cilantro version of a more traditional parsley green sauce.  I loosely or hash chopped the cilantro and garlic, added them to a blender with a touch of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Blend just enough to mix all the flavors with the oil. As you can see in the picture, this is a rough or “country style” sauce, it should be bold and not look like it was just pureed.

Wrapping up as I fall asleep, the sauce a normally good meal and elevated it to excellent, we even used it for salad dressing the next night.