Andrea the Gastronaut

• I’m a little late on this because I was lagging behind in my news feeds: “Rumor has it that Mike Taylor, currently a professor at George Washington University but better known for his work as Monsanto’s Vice President for Public Policy, will start on Monday at the FDA in a position coordinating food safety.” Food Inc. touched on this very concept. The book Food Politics touches on this as well. [Ethicurean]

• But wait… Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics, agrees with the choice?? (And acknowledges that readers will think she’s nuts for it.)

• Red Ink: A Canadian View of Food Inc. [Wayne Roberts] Interesting.

• Why Parents are Helpless Against Junk Food [Fooducate]

• U.S. outlines new food safety rules [CBC]

• I’ve learned that grating garlic on a microplane is not such a good idea. Thank you, Serious Eats (though really one of its readers).

• This is why you’re fat: A one third pound of sirloin topped with two slices of white American cheese, four strips of bacon, peanut butter, between two Krispy Kreme donuts. Check it out.  To me this is real food pr0n: Nothing I’d want to experience but impressive to look at. Do people actually eat this?

links food ethics, food politics, food pr0n, Food safety, food science, Marion Nestle, Monsanto

• Staying sober a challenge in the alchol-heavy hospitality industry. [New York Times] I found the personal stories in this article very interesting.

• Treehugger proposes a weekday vegetarian diet [Treehugger]

• Ever wonder why lemon makes milk curdle? It involves protein, negative charge and bondage (er, bonding). [The Kitchn]

• Also from The Kitchn: Tip: Use Cinnamon Sticks As Skewers when grilling fruit. Now I want a barbecue just for that purpose.

• Creating satisfying food is central to home cooks and chefs — as well as to companies that have produced foods that have helped lead to the obesity epidemic. Mark Bittman on Making Food Satisfying. [New York Times]

• In his article Bittman links the article “How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains“. It’s fascinating. Quote: “[Kessler] offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named ‘bliss point.’”

• New Web Search Tool Shows What Pesticides are on Your Food

• According to this newsletter, the average child gets 5+ servings of pesticides in their food and water each day and the pesticide Atrazine is so toxic it is banned in Europe, but it is used so widely in the U.S., that it is found in 71% of the U.S. drinking water. (Thanks to my mother for forwarding me the newsletter. I went to the online archive so that I could share it with you.)

• One woman’s changing relationship with food and what she’s learned in the process of doing so while getting healthier. [In The Raw] There’s some great tips in there. The theme of conscious eating comes up (in my life) again and again I forget to exercise it, in part because I eat while doing other things. She touches on multitasking while eating.

• “Flapjack Fiasco” [This is Why You're Fat]

• Food porn: Grilled Cheese with Fresh Cherries [The Kitchn & Rachel Ray]

• Torontist on Toronto’s a la Carte food cart program. Not all good news.

• Meghan weighs in on milk and advises you not to drink conventional milk. [Making Love in the Kitchen] Milk bad. I know this and yet I can’t seem to give up cheese even though avoiding cheese would fit the reason I rarely eat meat.

• Food industry propaganda: New Organic Logo Will Provide More Opportunities For Organic Producers. [Canadian Food Inspection Agency] “Canada’s Organic Products Regulations (OPR)…set out rigourous standards for the certification of products as organic by accredited certification bodies. Products that meet the production requirements and contain at least 95 per cent organic content may be labelled as “organic” and feature the new Biologique Canada Organic Logo.

No links for tomorrow likely because I’ll be away from a computer all day. However, I do need to write a post about Food Share’s open house from last weekend. I’d forgotten.

Uncategorized, links food pr0n, food science, health, links, local, Mark Bittman, New York Times, nutrition, vegetarianism

Funny:

• Most Jewish Delis Named in One Minute on Blip TV (found via Serious Eats) Centre Street Deli, Yitz’s and Caplansky’s are in there representing Toronto and I heard some Montreal delis in there. Sax is from Toronto so he’d have to represent.

• Topless Coffee Shop In Maine Burns Down [Serious Eats] I don’t know where to start with the jokes.

In health:

• Increased intakes of vitamins C and E and beta-carotene may reduce the risk of uterine cancer [Decision News Media]

• Vitamin K2 may boost bone health in adolescents [Decision News Media]

• Not that we’re surprised, but new research reveals that diets low in fat and red meat and rich in fruits and vegetables helps prevent and treat prostate cancer. [Disease Proof]

• Low Vitamin D Makes it Hard to Think! [Disease Proof] My doctor once told me that north Americans tend to be deficient in Vitamin D because we’re afraid of the sun and slather on the sunblock. Good for protecting cancer, yes, but we need vitamin D. So, get out there and get some sunshine! (P.S. Chose your sunscreen wisely because some are toxic.)

• Absorption of calcium from ice cream is no different than from low-fat milk. [All Decision News Media] While I like to THINK that ice cream is good for me, I harbor no illusions. When my doctor told me to increase my calcium intake a couple of years ago I kept joking that it was a prescription to eat ice cream.

• Spirulina extract may reverse pain sensitivity [Decision News Media] I take spirulina almost daily, as part of my green smoothie. It’s also an ingredient in Josh’s Incredible Hulk Quinoa Bread. I don’t know Josh.

• Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia [BBC]

In food pr0n:

• This lemon mint granita recipe from Smitten Kitchen looks awesome and as I was reading I was silently crying about the small size of the freezer in my new, bigger apartment. [Smitten Kitchen]

• My face lit up as soon as I saw this: Photo of the Day: Orange & Grapefruit Slices [Serious Eats]

Local:

• Management of local restaurant The Black Hoof is opening a second location across the street and calling it “Hoof Café”. Toronto Life calls The Black Hoof a “temple of charcuterie.

• BlogTO interviews local writer Alissa Hamilton about her new book Squeezed: What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice. I am so looking forward to reading this book and expect it to be along the lines of Twinkie Deconstructed.

Other:

• Following up on yesterday’s post about the new Hellmann’s Eat Real, Eat Local campaign…  Grist.org tells Hellmann’s to GET real.  Read it.

• Great read: Food critic Gael Greene writes a wonderful response to a 10 year old wannabe food critic who is a food prodigy. I read every word, and I rarely do that. The sign off made me groan.  [Huffington Post] (Tempted to post this under “funny”.)

• Anthony Bourdain’s 13 Places to Eat Before You Die. Not surprising that elBulli (Spain), Per Se (New York) are on the list. I think I’ve heard of Le Bernardin (New York). I like that he includes a sandwich shop in Seattle. It’s a little more accessible to those of us who will never make it to elBulli (although I think that one is more likely to vacation in Spain than Seattle, which just isn’t as exotic). Bourdain describes it at “a sandwich shop with a couple of tables and a true mom-and-pop — even if they’re the mom and pop of Mario Batali.”
  Katz’s Deli in New York made the cut (no pun intended).  What would you add to the list? [Slashfood]

• Tobacco candy? The headline made me exclaim out loud, “That is SO wrong!” [Treehugger] Tobacco candy is just what it sounds like – fine-ground tobacco mixed with sweeteners and flavorings.

Uncategorized food pr0n, food science, Huffington Post, links, Serious Eats, Slashfood

Lost a bunch of links yesterday when I was playing catch up. Need to cull my feeds again. Also, sometimes when I’m composing a post I’m navigated away to a page with a 404 error (presumably when it’s auto-saving) so occasionally I lose stuff that way.

• Master’s thesis in food porn? Makes me miss school. [Canada.com]

• Decaffeinated Coffee: What Are You Really Drinking?  [City News] I knew that there’s some caffeine in caffeinated coffee but I don’t remember if I knew how much.

• ‘Unacceptable’ Fat, Salt Content In Kids’ Meals [City News] Are we surprised? East Side Mario’s answer- that is, it’s the customer’s responsibility – is such a cop out even though I agree a small amount. Good for Laura DiBattista to be doing these segments.

• Low blood levels of vitamin D may increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, says a new hypothesis based on existing risk factors.  [Nutraingredients.com/All Decision News Media]

• More Vitamin K benefits in the news: Study strengthens Vitamin K1′s heart benefits [NutraIngredients.com]

• Multivitamins linked to younger ‘biological age’ [NutraIngredients.com]

• No conclusive link between diet and ADHD. [Nutraingredients.com] This one angers me. I KNOW there’s a link. I’ve experienced that link. At least they admit that diet-based theories could still be right. Why not wait until the link is conclusive before publishing something. Ah, right, that’s how the academic world works. My initial reaction was “Harvard Medical School can “STFU” or “kiss my ADHD-inflicted ass” but then I made myself read the entire thing (you know, focus on it) and felt slightly assuaged.

• New FDA bottled water rules to combat E. coli [Food Production Daily]

• More on Germany’s Red Bull ban, as I posted yesterday (er, today, or Thursday – whenever I post this).  Food Politics, Fooducate, Disease Proof. That’s only from my RSS feeds. I’m sure that a Google search would yield more. (In Ontario we only ban pit bulls – I’d rather see Red Bull banned, but the only pit bull I know is a super affectionate one named Princess.)

• Beer’s functional potential: A fruity conundrum [All Decision News Network podcast- under 4 minutes]

• Is “housemade” the new “homemade”? [Serious Eats]

• Dana McCauley is getting ready for doughnut day (June 1). Are you?

• She also discovered the June 1 is World Milk Day

• Meghan milks a post about milk and calcium, and even if she hadn’t used a similar pun as her post title I would have. [Making Love in the Kitchen] – Yep, sometimes I like to have an actual flow to how I list links. Segues. Rational structure.

• It’s nice to see mainstream newspapers review kosher restaurants. In the Globe and Mail, Joanne Kates reviews two.

• Due to an increase in noise complaints from residents, the city (Toronto) has put a year-long moratorium on restaurant and bar licences being issued to spots on the Ossington strip. As the National Post says, “Ossington Avenue just became a victim of its own popularity.” [National Post]

• This is hilarious: ToFLU: Next Pandemic to Hit Vegetarians [Treehugger]

links Dana McCauley, food holidays, food porn, food pr0n, food science, jewish, links, local, local media, National Post, Red Bull

Food science (and related):

• Food Production Daily: BPA levels in soft drinks are low, claim researchers

• Food Production Daily: Mercury labelling of fish products is needed now, says NGOs.

• CBC: Granola bar may contain contaminated peanuts.

• Carly Weeks from the Globe and Mail on marketing junk food as health food. Is chocolate good for you or not?

• In the words of The Who, we won’t be fooled again. Fat free? Yes. Good for you? Not so much. That song is in your head now, isn’t it? It’s in mine.

• MedlinePlus: Mediterranean diet may protect the brain.

• Health Asssist: A look at ten health paradoxes from food cultures around the world.

• The Nibble: O.J. Has Bigger Carbon Footprint Than Water.

• Similarly, looking at life cycle key to product sustainability.

• AdAge:  NCAA Backpedals on Banned Substances in Vitaminwater.

Food policy

• Food Production Daily: Maryland eyes artificial food color ban

• Globe and Mail: Ottawa urged to regulate trans fat levels

• Food Production Daily: The president of the Peanut Corporation of America refused to testify at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, at which he was accused of caring more about profits than food safety. Story.

• More on that: Peanut plant owner becomes recluse.

Raindrops on roses?

• Two of my favourite things: New media and food. Frito-Lay Puts Cheetos Brand in Bloggers’ Hands.

• Another two of my favourite things: Pairing Wine And Chocolate- NPR podcast (7 minutes, 7 seconds)

…On Port:

Now this is a very intense wine. It’s a little sweeter and it also has a very high alcohol content so I say you need to be where you’re gonna be when you start sipping port and having chocolate because sometimes the alcohol content can be up to 20%.

Cheers to that! I like the way she sound when she says, “you need to be where you’re gonna be.”

Local:

• Toronto Life reports that Gordon Ramsay is opening a restaurant in Toronto. Interesting.

• CityNews interviewed Ramsay. I like what he has to say in the video (5 min, 36 sec.): “

And remember, the better the ingredient, the little that needs doing to it.” Rock (I mean, cook) on, Gordon Ramsay.

Wierd:

• From AdAge: The Newest Soft-Drink Ingredient: Cow Urine.

• A restaurant in New York is serving fugu. The title reminded of the Simpsons episode later referenced in the post.

Misc.

• The Internet Food Association: The origins of coffee, part 1.

• From Macleans: Eating well on $50 a week.

• Barely SFW (or a different type of “food porn”): Colgate Uses Toothbrush-Shaped Popsicle Sticks to Remind Consumers to Brush.

Food porn:

Brownie Lava Dessert

• From This is Why You’re Fat (aka the food website that’s sweeping the nation): Deep Fried S’more On A Stick. That somewhat sounds like an obscenity, an alternative to “shit!”  Imagine it. Say it.  “Deep Fried S’more On A Stick!” It’s the new “frak!” except that it’s six words instead of one.

• Brownie Lava Dessert.  Here’s the story with the recipe.

Have a great weekend everyone. It’s a long weekend here. It will be enjoyed.

Uncategorized food pr0n, food science, Gordon Ramsay, links, The Globe and Mail

I’m trying to increase frequency but I don’t really want to post @ work…

• Food Navigator report: Beer and red wine marinade may cut cancer risk from beef.

• News from Israel that does not involve the war: High fat diets upset our biological clock.

• Serious “Drinks”: Top 11 Compounds in U.S. Drinking Water.

• I once learned from my grandmother that laying a piece of plastic wrap on top of ice cream before putting the lid back on prevents crystallization. It works.  New research shows that dietary fibres such at oat, apple and wheat may control crystallisation and recrystallisation in ice creams.

• Antibiotics in veggies? I give up.

• Tip: Creamier (and Lighter!) Sauce With Pasta Water. This sounds familiar, as if I’ve read it before or saw it on a cooking show once.

• Feeling gelty after the holidays (get it? gelty?)? Post-Chanukah suggestions for using up less-than-amazing chocolate.

• Tired of raccoons being a pain in the ass? Eat them. Not that I’m advocating this, but hey.

• TV Squad asks, “At which of the Top Chefs’ restaurants would YOU eat?”. I wonder if these restaurants would live up to expectation.

• The power of Oprah: Advertising Age asks,  Will Oprah Bring Down Blue Corn Chips? I can’t believe I still remember David Letterman’s “Uma… Oprah” bit from the Oscars 14 years ago. It was neither good nor funny, but it was memorable. Of course it’s got a section on Wikipedia (I wanted to check the year to see how far back the memory went).

• Taste T.O. wants to help you get the most value out of prix fixe menus.

• For you food enthusiasts (and you are reading my blog), today Slashfood announced the launch of an online cooking community called Mixing Bowl.

• Around the world  there’s talk about what Barack Obama eats and whether or not he’ll replace the current White House chef. The Globe and Mail’s headline is “Chowbama”. The Toronto Sun has two stories. Chicago Sun Times on White House chefs. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis asks, “Will Obama be a foodies’ president?” …and so on. Blogs are abuzz as well.

Photo links:

Pretty clementine granita (Click photo for more info.)

Is this cool or what? (Click photo for more info.)

Happy eating.

Post script: I’ve just added the tag “food pr0n”. Will be interesting to see if I’m denied access to posts tagged as such while at work. It won’t let me view mightygodking’s award-winning blog (mightygodking.com) or certain posts at other food blogs.

Uncategorized Barack Obama, Food Navigator, food pr0n, food science, Globe and Mail, links, Obama-nation, Serious Eats, Slashfood, Taste T.O.