Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Just received this little tidbit of info - very helpful to diabetics:
Turkey has recently been shown to fall into a group of high-protein foods (including tuna and egg whites) that can help keep post-meal insulin levels within a desirable range. The common link found between these foods is protein richness. Four ounces of skinned turkey breast will provide 30-35 grams of protein, with less than 1 gram of total fat. Four ounces of white tuna canned in water (the version used in the research) provide 26 grams of protein and only 2 grams of total fat. Four ounces of egg whites provide 12 grams of protein and 0.2 grams of fat. The rich amount of protein contained in these foods was enough to help stabilize and regulate meal digestion, and in so doing, it helped stabilize insulin levels as well. Given these three foods that were analyzed in the research, we definitely like turkey best. Pasture-raised, organic turkey is a food that we would consider whole and natural, unlike egg whites, which we would only consider to be part of a whole food. As for tuna, while it can clearly qualify as a whole, natural food, we would recommend the fresh versus processed version and we would also caution about consumption of white albacore tuna, which can often be higher in mercury content than other types of tuna. In addition, as the numbers make clear, the most protein-rich of these three foods is skinned turkey breast.
Spouse just baked us a fig cake yesterday oh it was tasty. Our local fresh organic market has dried figs and other delights. You really never know what you're going to find which is part of the joy. It was kind of like an enormous fig Newton with sugar glaze.
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I have been going to other people's birthday parties, and they have mostly been everybody-brings-something affairs, so I have been experimenting with making quiches. The spinach-and-vegetarian-sausage one worked out very nicely, although making the dough was a bit of a hassle.
0
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
If you don't like the extra work the dough takes, then what about making a frittata? It's very similar dish, I think - right?
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I just heard a wonderful Neapolitan woman, describing why she loves to cook. She's a Matriarch - a Mamma in a large, Catholic Italian family...
The British well-known travelling Chef, Rick Stein, asked her,
"What I'd really like to ask you is, why do you love cooking so much?"
She responded, in her wonderful Italian accent -
"I dont know. You can't explain what comes from the inside. It's something you got under your skin, in your blood. It's tradition that goes back to a thousand years ago. It's part of your blood, of which you are made...of..."
Rick stein then said,
"You talk like that, it's sort of like, erm... I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I totally understand it, it's somehow sort of 'sensual'. It's almost like you're talking of making love... you know?"
With a delightful passion, she replied,
"Yes! This IS making love, because love is not always sex, physical, sex...! Love is for everything, for what you see, all around you, for the flowers - this is an orgasm of love, Love for cooking, for flavours, for creating a dish. if you don't feel that, you'll never be a good cook!"
Few days ago i learned to make chapati. You can too. Search on youtube please.
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I've been making chapatis since 1979. I learnt it from our Muslim neighbours who were from Pakistan. In fact, their daughter was my bridesmaid at my very catholic wedding. What wonderful times we had. What wonderful MEALS we had!
I also make Peshwari Naan, and you wouldn't believe my okra with paneer cheese!
I have just discovered gram flour and am using it to make a cross between chapattis and pancakes. I whip up a thin batter with water, salt and pepper and shallow fry. Sort of thick popadoms without the deep frying ...
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Oh, I have a recipe for gram 'diamond' sponges, which is utterly amazing! It takes a little time (all good things do!) but they're really good!
prep time, 5 mins; cook time, 15 mins
serves: 5 to 6
ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml) for batter
1.5 cups besan/gram flour
3 tsp ginger-green chilies paste: (to make:) 1 inch ginger + 1 or 2 green chilies crushed in a mortar-pestle, or whizzed in a food processor.
2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder
a generous pinch of asafoetida
½ to ¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt or as required
1 tsp lime juice
1 cup water or add as required- the amount of water required depends on the quality of gram flour, so add as required to make a thick yet flowing batter.
for tempering:
2 tbsp oil
⅓ cup water
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp white sesame seeds
about 8 to 10 curry leaves
1 green chili, chopped
1 tsp lime juice
2 tsp sugar
for garnish (if you can wait that long!):
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta
2 tbsp grated coconut
grease a steamer pan with ¼ to ½ tsp oil.
put 1.5 cups gram flour in a mixing bowl or pan.
add 2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder, a generous pinch of asafoetida, 1 tsp lime juice and 3 tsp ginger-green chilli paste and salt.
add 1 cup water or as required to make thick yet flowing batter. the amount of water required depends on the quality of flour, so add as required.
stir to a smooth thick batter without any lumps. the batter should be thick yet flowing.
In the meantime, bring to a boil 2 to 3 cups of water in a steamer pan.
the ingredient which we use to leaven the dhokla batter is baking soda. however baking soda gives the soapy aroma if used in excess, so if you can obtain vitamin C powder from a pharmacy, so much the better. Bear in mind that baking soda reacts with turmeric powder and gives a red tinge or red spots in the dhokla. so add little turmeric powder or skip it completely.
stir briskly and quickly. the fruit salt should be mixed evenly with the batter.
the batter will now froth and become bubbly, so you have to be quick.
pour the batter in the greased pan.
steaming khaman dhokla:
place the pan in the steamer. the water should already be boiling or hot when you place the pan with the dhokla batter.
steam for 15 to 20 minutes.
to check the doneness, insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean, the dhokla is done. if the toothpick has the batter on it, then you need to steam for some more time.
Cool in the tin, and when you can handle it, tip the cake onto a flat dish.
Carefully cut into diagonal diamond shapes.
Now prepare the dressing (or tempering):
in a small pan, heat 2 tbsp oil.
add 1 tsp mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.
when the mustard seeds are crackling, add the 1 tsp cumin seeds, 8 to 10 curry leaves and ½ to 1 tsp chopped green chili.
stir and then add 2 tsp sesame seeds.
fry till the sesame seeds change color. don't brown them too much.
then add ⅓ cup water. be careful while adding water as the mixture sizzles.
add 2 tsp sugar.
stir and allow the tempering mixture to come to a boil.
then pour this tempering mixture evenly on the khaman dhokla.
garnish with 2 tbsp chopped coriander seeds and 2 tbsp grated coconut.
I copied this recipe from a pintrest page, but it is the authentic deal and utterly delicious!
I appreciate the recipe. Hope someone will try it. Seems really good. I need simple recipes that I can remember
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
It's actually not that difficult once you've got all the ingredients together...
0
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
How does pasture-raised organic chicken compare to organic chicken?
Pasture raising of chickens (with plenty of time allowed for pecking, foraging, and moving around outdoors) has been recently analyzed, with fascinating results, by a team of researchers at the University of Perugia in Perugia, Italy. In their study, conventional indoor raising of chickens was compared with organic raising (some outdoor access, but mostly higher quality feed) and also with "organic plus"—meaning organic feed with meaningful time spent outdoors. While organic standards—all by themselves—were sufficient to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in breast meat obtained from the chickens, it took more than organic standards to improve the breast meat in two other important respects: increase in total antioxidant nutrients and decrease in risk of oxidative damage to fats in the meat. These additional benefits were not observed in the comparison of conventional to organic breast meat, but only in the comparison of organic-plus (pastured) to organic meat. It's worth noting that in this study, "pastured" not only meant time outdoors foraging, pecking, and moving about but also the presence of outdoor space that averaged 10 square meters per bird. The authors concluded that pasture activities were directly linked to the health quality of the meat. These findings are one key reason for our recommendation that chicken be purchased not only when certified as organic, but also when genuinely pasture-raised.
1
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
Even though apple is not an excellent source of dietary fiber (it ranks as a "good" source in our WHFoods Rating System), the fiber found in apple may combine with other apple nutrients to provide you with the kind of health benefits you would ordinarily only associate with much higher amounts of dietary fiber. These health benefits are particularly important in prevention of heart disease through healthy regulation of blood fat levels. Recent research has shown that intake of apples in their whole food form can significantly lower many of our blood fats. The fat-lowering effects of apple have traditionally been associated with its soluble fiber content, and in particular, with the soluble fiber portion of its polysaccharide component known as pectins. What we now know, however, is that whole apples only contain approximately 2-3 grams of fiber per 3.5 ounces, and that pectins account for less than 50% of this total fiber. Nevertheless, this relatively modest amount of pectins found in whole apples has now been shown to interact with other apple phytonutrients to give us the kind of blood fat lowering effects that would typically be associated with much higher amounts of soluble fiber intake. In recent comparisons with laboratory animals, the blood fat lowering effects of whole apple were shown to be greatly reduced when whole apples were eliminated from the diet and replaced by pectins alone. In summary, it's not fiber alone that explains the cardiovascular benefits of apple, but the interaction of fiber with other phytonutrients in this wonderful fruit. If you want the full cardiovascular benefits of apples, it's the whole food form that you'll want to choose. Only this form can provide you with those unique fiber-plus-phytonutrient combinations.
1
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
Thinking about apples makes me think of autumn and Thanksgiving - even though it's two months away. I feel lucky that my family put on a spread and had a couple of regular guests. My grandma did most of the cooking and work in the kitchen. Most everything from scratch, including the pie crusts! (My favorite was cherry, with pumpkin second.)
Now, for my least favorite Thanksgiving dish was the stuffing. I just never did care for it. She made it from scratch cutting up lots of bread, and you could smell the sage throughout the house. She'd mix it by hand in a giant bowl.
Her cole slaw was the best. And yeah, sometimes she'd put pineapple and/or mini-marshmallows in it. She made the clear kind of gravy - maybe that's why I never took to the good ol' Southern thick gravy - almost makes me gag to think of it. Just give me some butter and I'm good to go. I like the clear jelly kind of cranberry sauce - not the lumpy stuff. Still do!
Oh! The one 'chore' I was assigned to do was to polish the beautiful set of silver candelabras to sit on the table. I enjoyed that and really got into it.
I miss this old fashioned holiday stuff but the memories serve me well. One of the cool things I'll never experience again is that the holiday guests, one of them was an older lady who had a ready smile - even though she had a shaky thing going on with her hands and we'd all watch her as she'd try to drink her tea or coffee without spilling it - and various aunts and family friends giving us kids holiday cards with a lacy handkerchief enclosed as a token gift. Well, I'm sure my brothers didn't get lacy handkerchiefs - I don't know what they got in their cards, tbh.
I hope you don't mind my reminiscing - who knows when I'll get this chance again!
@silver. I do enjoy remembering those special times. Thanksgiving was a time of wonder and joy. You naturally wanted to share with others. In the spirit of happy memories I found Necco wafers available. Much smaller packages. But still the same great taste. Still made by the New England Confectionary Company in Massachusetts.
1
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
This could only matter a jot to Americans. Pumpkins ARE squashes. They're just big, round orange ones. I personally prefer butternut anyway....
0
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
Well, even though it's sort of filler material for aol news or msn, it was amusingly written and it was something I had no clue about! I'd say that's a massive false advertising but it doesn't matter to ME because whatever it is they've been selling us in those pumpkin fillings cans tastes wonderful! And yep, I'm aware pumpkins are squashes so it's not so 'untrue' -
Comments
1/4 cup oat groats, soaked overnight
Blueberries
pomegranate nibs
almonds, pre-soaked
1 tbsp granola cereal mix
milk of choice
1 tsp. maca powder
Additional sweetener like honey, stevia... (optional)
Breakfast.
Glorious, delicious and wholesome.
It can't get better....
Sounds good, @Federica.
Just received this little tidbit of info - very helpful to diabetics:
Turkey has recently been shown to fall into a group of high-protein foods (including tuna and egg whites) that can help keep post-meal insulin levels within a desirable range. The common link found between these foods is protein richness. Four ounces of skinned turkey breast will provide 30-35 grams of protein, with less than 1 gram of total fat. Four ounces of white tuna canned in water (the version used in the research) provide 26 grams of protein and only 2 grams of total fat. Four ounces of egg whites provide 12 grams of protein and 0.2 grams of fat. The rich amount of protein contained in these foods was enough to help stabilize and regulate meal digestion, and in so doing, it helped stabilize insulin levels as well. Given these three foods that were analyzed in the research, we definitely like turkey best. Pasture-raised, organic turkey is a food that we would consider whole and natural, unlike egg whites, which we would only consider to be part of a whole food. As for tuna, while it can clearly qualify as a whole, natural food, we would recommend the fresh versus processed version and we would also caution about consumption of white albacore tuna, which can often be higher in mercury content than other types of tuna. In addition, as the numbers make clear, the most protein-rich of these three foods is skinned turkey breast.
Veganism to be seen as child-abuse in Italy, read all about it!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/italy-law-vegan-diet_us_57ac4664e4b0db3be07d446b
Oh Bravo!!
It might if you add ice-cream.
Spouse just baked us a fig cake yesterday
oh it was tasty. Our local fresh organic market has dried figs and other delights. You really never know what you're going to find which is part of the joy. It was kind of like an enormous fig Newton with sugar glaze. 
I have been going to other people's birthday parties, and they have mostly been everybody-brings-something affairs, so I have been experimenting with making quiches. The spinach-and-vegetarian-sausage one worked out very nicely, although making the dough was a bit of a hassle.
If you don't like the extra work the dough takes, then what about making a frittata? It's very similar dish, I think - right?
I just heard a wonderful Neapolitan woman, describing why she loves to cook. She's a Matriarch - a Mamma in a large, Catholic Italian family...
The British well-known travelling Chef, Rick Stein, asked her,
"What I'd really like to ask you is, why do you love cooking so much?"
She responded, in her wonderful Italian accent -
"I dont know. You can't explain what comes from the inside. It's something you got under your skin, in your blood. It's tradition that goes back to a thousand years ago. It's part of your blood, of which you are made...of..."
Rick stein then said,
"You talk like that, it's sort of like, erm... I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I totally understand it, it's somehow sort of 'sensual'. It's almost like you're talking of making love... you know?"
With a delightful passion, she replied,
"Yes! This IS making love, because love is not always sex, physical, sex...! Love is for everything, for what you see, all around you, for the flowers - this is an orgasm of love, Love for cooking, for flavours, for creating a dish. if you don't feel that, you'll never be a good cook!"
Perfetto.
Few days ago i learned to make chapati. You can too. Search on youtube please.
I've been making chapatis since 1979. I learnt it from our Muslim neighbours who were from Pakistan. In fact, their daughter was my bridesmaid at my very catholic wedding. What wonderful times we had. What wonderful MEALS we had!
I also make Peshwari Naan, and you wouldn't believe my okra with paneer cheese!
I am a believer.
I have just discovered gram flour and am using it to make a cross between chapattis and pancakes. I whip up a thin batter with water, salt and pepper and shallow fry. Sort of thick popadoms without the deep frying ...
Oh, I have a recipe for gram 'diamond' sponges, which is utterly amazing! It takes a little time (all good things do!) but they're really good!
khaman dhokla recipe - a steamed, spiced, savoury gram flour cake.
prep time, 5 mins; cook time, 15 mins
serves: 5 to 6
ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
for batter
1.5 cups besan/gram flour
3 tsp ginger-green chilies paste: (to make:) 1 inch ginger + 1 or 2 green chilies crushed in a mortar-pestle, or whizzed in a food processor.
2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder
a generous pinch of asafoetida
½ to ¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt or as required
1 tsp lime juice
1 cup water or add as required- the amount of water required depends on the quality of gram flour, so add as required to make a thick yet flowing batter.
for tempering:
2 tbsp oil
⅓ cup water
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp white sesame seeds
about 8 to 10 curry leaves
1 green chili, chopped
1 tsp lime juice
2 tsp sugar
for garnish (if you can wait that long!):
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta
2 tbsp grated coconut
grease a steamer pan with ¼ to ½ tsp oil.
put 1.5 cups gram flour in a mixing bowl or pan.
add 2 to 3 pinches of turmeric powder, a generous pinch of asafoetida, 1 tsp lime juice and 3 tsp ginger-green chilli paste and salt.
add 1 cup water or as required to make thick yet flowing batter. the amount of water required depends on the quality of flour, so add as required.
stir to a smooth thick batter without any lumps. the batter should be thick yet flowing.
In the meantime, bring to a boil 2 to 3 cups of water in a steamer pan.
the ingredient which we use to leaven the dhokla batter is baking soda. however baking soda gives the soapy aroma if used in excess, so if you can obtain vitamin C powder from a pharmacy, so much the better. Bear in mind that baking soda reacts with turmeric powder and gives a red tinge or red spots in the dhokla. so add little turmeric powder or skip it completely.
stir briskly and quickly. the fruit salt should be mixed evenly with the batter.
the batter will now froth and become bubbly, so you have to be quick.
pour the batter in the greased pan.
steaming khaman dhokla:
place the pan in the steamer. the water should already be boiling or hot when you place the pan with the dhokla batter.
steam for 15 to 20 minutes.
to check the doneness, insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean, the dhokla is done. if the toothpick has the batter on it, then you need to steam for some more time.
Cool in the tin, and when you can handle it, tip the cake onto a flat dish.
Carefully cut into diagonal diamond shapes.
Now prepare the dressing (or tempering):
in a small pan, heat 2 tbsp oil.
add 1 tsp mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.
when the mustard seeds are crackling, add the 1 tsp cumin seeds, 8 to 10 curry leaves and ½ to 1 tsp chopped green chili.
stir and then add 2 tsp sesame seeds.
fry till the sesame seeds change color. don't brown them too much.
then add ⅓ cup water. be careful while adding water as the mixture sizzles.
add 2 tsp sugar.
stir and allow the tempering mixture to come to a boil.
then pour this tempering mixture evenly on the khaman dhokla.
garnish with 2 tbsp chopped coriander seeds and 2 tbsp grated coconut.
I copied this recipe from a pintrest page, but it is the authentic deal and utterly delicious!
Lobster faints.
I appreciate the recipe. Hope someone will try it. Seems really good. I need simple recipes that I can remember
It's actually not that difficult once you've got all the ingredients together...
How does pasture-raised organic chicken compare to organic chicken?
Pasture raising of chickens (with plenty of time allowed for pecking, foraging, and moving around outdoors) has been recently analyzed, with fascinating results, by a team of researchers at the University of Perugia in Perugia, Italy. In their study, conventional indoor raising of chickens was compared with organic raising (some outdoor access, but mostly higher quality feed) and also with "organic plus"—meaning organic feed with meaningful time spent outdoors. While organic standards—all by themselves—were sufficient to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in breast meat obtained from the chickens, it took more than organic standards to improve the breast meat in two other important respects: increase in total antioxidant nutrients and decrease in risk of oxidative damage to fats in the meat. These additional benefits were not observed in the comparison of conventional to organic breast meat, but only in the comparison of organic-plus (pastured) to organic meat. It's worth noting that in this study, "pastured" not only meant time outdoors foraging, pecking, and moving about but also the presence of outdoor space that averaged 10 square meters per bird. The authors concluded that pasture activities were directly linked to the health quality of the meat. These findings are one key reason for our recommendation that chicken be purchased not only when certified as organic, but also when genuinely pasture-raised.
Even though apple is not an excellent source of dietary fiber (it ranks as a "good" source in our WHFoods Rating System), the fiber found in apple may combine with other apple nutrients to provide you with the kind of health benefits you would ordinarily only associate with much higher amounts of dietary fiber. These health benefits are particularly important in prevention of heart disease through healthy regulation of blood fat levels. Recent research has shown that intake of apples in their whole food form can significantly lower many of our blood fats. The fat-lowering effects of apple have traditionally been associated with its soluble fiber content, and in particular, with the soluble fiber portion of its polysaccharide component known as pectins. What we now know, however, is that whole apples only contain approximately 2-3 grams of fiber per 3.5 ounces, and that pectins account for less than 50% of this total fiber. Nevertheless, this relatively modest amount of pectins found in whole apples has now been shown to interact with other apple phytonutrients to give us the kind of blood fat lowering effects that would typically be associated with much higher amounts of soluble fiber intake. In recent comparisons with laboratory animals, the blood fat lowering effects of whole apple were shown to be greatly reduced when whole apples were eliminated from the diet and replaced by pectins alone. In summary, it's not fiber alone that explains the cardiovascular benefits of apple, but the interaction of fiber with other phytonutrients in this wonderful fruit. If you want the full cardiovascular benefits of apples, it's the whole food form that you'll want to choose. Only this form can provide you with those unique fiber-plus-phytonutrient combinations.
Thinking about apples makes me think of autumn and Thanksgiving - even though it's two months away. I feel lucky that my family put on a spread and had a couple of regular guests. My grandma did most of the cooking and work in the kitchen. Most everything from scratch, including the pie crusts! (My favorite was cherry, with pumpkin second.)
Now, for my least favorite Thanksgiving dish was the stuffing. I just never did care for it. She made it from scratch cutting up lots of bread, and you could smell the sage throughout the house. She'd mix it by hand in a giant bowl.
Her cole slaw was the best. And yeah, sometimes she'd put pineapple and/or mini-marshmallows in it. She made the clear kind of gravy - maybe that's why I never took to the good ol' Southern thick gravy - almost makes me gag to think of it. Just give me some butter and I'm good to go. I like the clear jelly kind of cranberry sauce - not the lumpy stuff. Still do!
Oh! The one 'chore' I was assigned to do was to polish the beautiful set of silver candelabras to sit on the table. I enjoyed that and really got into it.
I miss this old fashioned holiday stuff but the memories serve me well. One of the cool things I'll never experience again is that the holiday guests, one of them was an older lady who had a ready smile - even though she had a shaky thing going on with her hands and we'd all watch her as she'd try to drink her tea or coffee without spilling it - and various aunts and family friends giving us kids holiday cards with a lacy handkerchief enclosed as a token gift. Well, I'm sure my brothers didn't get lacy handkerchiefs - I don't know what they got in their cards, tbh.
I hope you don't mind my reminiscing - who knows when I'll get this chance again!
@silver. I do enjoy remembering those special times. Thanksgiving was a time of wonder and joy. You naturally wanted to share with others. In the spirit of happy memories I found Necco wafers available. Much smaller packages. But still the same great taste. Still made by the New England Confectionary Company in Massachusetts.
Yay!! Now where are those doughnuts ?!
It should make counting the calories a lot easier - just read the package!
OmG - Did you know THIS?!
http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/restaurantsandnews/i-just-found-out-canned-pumpkin-isn’t-pumpkin-at-all-and-my-whole-life-is-basically-a-lie/ar-BBwxMvx?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=SL5CDHP
This could only matter a jot to Americans. Pumpkins ARE squashes. They're just big, round orange ones. I personally prefer butternut anyway....
Well, even though it's sort of filler material for aol news or msn, it was amusingly written and it was something I had no clue about! I'd say that's a massive false advertising but it doesn't matter to ME because whatever it is they've been selling us in those pumpkin fillings cans tastes wonderful! And yep, I'm aware pumpkins are squashes so it's not so 'untrue' -