Aug 02

Okra on the Menu

Okra gets a bad rap. It’s usually cooked beyond dead, and the result is a mucilaginous mess. When I lived in Texas and North Carolina, I developed a taste for okra in its many forms: Fried, pickled, in gumbos, and stir-fried. The latter is what I did for dinner tonight, as a Cajun dish called maque choux.

Okra pods are hard to find in the northwest because the growing season is often too short to get fruit to set. Luckily, our friends east of the Cascades have the climate that allows okra to thrive. So I picked up some good-looking pods yesterday at the Yakima Fruit Market, along with the apricots immortalized in the previous post. I had most of the other ingredients on hand for the recipe, including corn, onions, peppers (off my plants), and tomatoes. I started by sizzling the corn kernels in a little butter until they started to get caramelized. I scraped them into a bowl, then started sautéing the onions and peppers. I added in the okra pods, cut into 1-inch lengths, as the onion pieces were beginning to get translucent. I let everything cook for 5-10 minutes until the okra pieces got tender. I added some Cajun seasoning during this time. Finally I added the corn kernels back into the pan along with some red and yellow tomatoes, halved. Once everything was heated through, it was time to eat. I’d also made some country-style ribs on the grill. The maque choux was minimally slimy, and the dish complimented the barbecue sauce on the ribs. We drank unsweetened iced tea with the meal, although beer would also be an acceptable beverage.

Should you want to try this dish, pick okra pods that are bright green and unblemished. Size isn’t critical, since you’re going to cut them up anyway. If you live in the northern US, chances are the vegetable was shipped from far away and may not be particularly fresh. If you’re anti-slime, you should choose small pods and keep them whole; however, you’ll want to trim off the stem end. I used frozen corn because I am dubious of any corn on the cob that I haven’t picked myself. If you’re unencumbered by farm girl genes, go ahead and buy corn on the cob and cut the kernels off before or after grilling. Go ahead and use any tomatoes you have handy, even a small can of whole or diced ones. If you don’t have chile wimps in your household, you can even use a can of Rotel tomatoes with chiles. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/08/02/okra-on-the-menu/

Aug 01

Yakima Apricots

Not only does the Yakima area grow good peaches, its apricots are awesome. Alas, the season is coming to an end. I bought a bunch of them today at the fruit stand for our regular potluck with friends. I poached them in sweet white wine, and received rave reviews.
This is what I did: Open a bottle of inexpensive (but drinkable) sweet white wine and pour it into a large skillet. I used Moscato, but you could use Riesling or Gewürztraminer. Add 1/2 cup sugar, three long pieces of lemon zest, and a vanilla bean, split open. Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile, halve and pit 10 ripe apricots. I didn’t peel them because I wanted the halves to keep their shape. When the poaching mixture comes to a boil, slip in the apricot halves so they fit in one layer. Turn the heat down to simmer. Place a piece of parchment paper on the surface of the apricots, then cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Scoop the apricots out with a slotted spoon, then turn the heat up and boil the poaching liquid until it’s the consistency of a medium to heavy syrup. Let the syrup cool slightly, then pour over the apricots and refrigerate until ready to serve. Put one or two apricot halves in a dessert dish, scoop in ice cream, and top with some fresh raspberries or blackberries. You can drizzle a little syrup over.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/08/01/yakima-apricots/

Aug 01

The Annual Question

tomato

When will you ripen, little one?

It has been the hottest June and July on record in western Washington, and among the driest. Yet the same annual lament arises from gardeners from Longview to Lynden: “When are my *^#$ing tomatoes going to ripen?!?”
When we lived in Seattle, only a patch of the front yard got much direct sunlight. Most of that was occupied by a huge rosemary bush. I tried growing tomatoes once in the front yard and failed miserably. Our current home has two south-facing decks. The upper one gets scorched by the Sun all day year-round. Finally, I thought, I can have an edible garden!
Two years ago I grew bumper crops of basil and other herbs. Last year I supplemented the herbs with a banana pepper plant that provided plenty of fruit. This year I got Cubanelle and Padron pepper plants. In addition, in the ultimate leap of faith, I got two tomato plants. The peppers are very prolific. So are the tomatoes, but I have yet to see so much as a blush of pink on any of them.
I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. The plants get watered nearly every day. I doubled down on the watering on the 90°-plus days. Today I rearranged the deck so the tomatoes are on the brightest corner, where the herbs were. If this doesn’t work, I’ll think about making my mother’s green tomato pie with what’s currently on the plants.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/08/01/the-annual-question/

Jul 30

Applying the Ideal Gas-Bag Law

Friends, the first Republican debate/rugby scrum is next week. This is a perfect opportunity to test the Ideal Gas-Bag Law in action. In case you’ve forgotten, here’s the equation:
PV = NRT.

P stands for pressure, to increase puny poll numbers or get attention.

V stands for venue.

N stands for number of cameras and microphones at the venue.

R stands for the need to raise money.

T stands for timing.

Since V, N, and T will be the same for the participants in the big debate (and for those attending the also-ran wrestling match), the Ideal Gas-Bag Law can be boiled down to a simple equation, P = R. Is this beautiful or what?
Under normal conditions, the higher P or R is, the more wacky a candidate’s statements become. Every region in the country has its group of perennial also-rans who run just for the sake of airing their issue in the voters’ guide. They have a snowball’s chance in Hades of getting elected, but that’s irrelevant. This year could be different. I’m predicting a J-shaped curve between P and R, and the wildness of the candidates’ statements in the debates. So grab a pen and a piece of graph paper for next week. Rate each candidate on P = R on the horizontal axis, and put the wildness of his/her statements on the vertical axis. This means you’ll have to give up the buzzword bingo drinking game to be sober enough to draw a graph, but the shape of the eventual line should be interesting. Enjoy!

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/30/applications-of-the-ideal-gas-bag-law/

Jul 29

The Ideal Gas-Bag Law

Some of you may remember the Ideal Gas Law equation from your days in general chemistry. Then again, maybe you slept through that class. I’ll refresh your memory:

PV = NRT.

Research at the Edible Thoughts Laboratory has developed a parallel equation, The Ideal Gas-Bag Law. This explains the state of a gas-bag at any given time. The variables are a little different, but the equation is the same.

P stands for pressure, just as with the original equation. Here pressure can be taken as pressure to increase puny poll numbers or get attention.

V stands for venue. A town hall meeting in Keokuk, Iowa or Cheraw, South Carolina is a nice thing to do, but maximum exposure is critical. A large rally at a big city auditorium is much better.

N stands for number of cameras and microphones at the venue. Remember the old adage about the tree falling in the forest. This falling tree is going viral on YouTube!

R stands for the need to raise money. This can be considered a constant, similar to the original equation.

T stands for timing. The Sunday morning talk shows are perfect timing; failing that, make news by mid-day Monday through Friday so all of the media outlets can lead with it on the evening news. NEVER make news after 7 pm Pacific Time on a Friday night. Folks on the East Coast are sleeping, and those on the West Coast are out on the town and not paying attention.

The beauty of this equation is its scalability from local to national elections. I’ll leave it to you to do the math.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/29/the-ideal-gas-bag-law/

Jul 26

The Kirkland Classic Car Show

Today’s trip was to this car show. Julian was a motor head in his youth; my brother was a connoisseur of American muscle cars. Kirkland is the town next door, but has a much different feel than Bothell. I don’t understand how the town can support all of the beauty salons, gyms, and plastic surgeons located therein.
While Julian was waxing nostalgic at the sight of cars similar to the one he learned to drive in and his beloved Corvair (I know that should be an oxymoron, but not for him), I ran across this sight. Friends don’t let friends drive I-405…dont drive 405

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/26/the-kirkland-classic-car-show/

Jul 25

An Aside on Adherence

In my previous post I used the term adherence for sticking to a diet. Why not compliance, you ask? Adherence is a more positive term than compliance, as shown by these examples of two typical seven-year-olds:

Compliance: Mom asked me to try the broccoli. I choked one piece down and gave the rest to the dog when she wasn’t looking.

Adherence: Mom asked me to try the broccoli. I didn’t think I’d like it, but it was good. I even had seconds.

Attitude is everything. If you go into a new behavior begrudgingly, you won’t succeed. However, if you put a positive spin on the reasons for the change (I’m quitting smoking because I want to be able to dance at my son’s wedding), your chances of success will increase.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/25/an-aside-on-adherence/

Jul 25

Diets to Live By

Every so often I’m asked by people who know my nutrition background, “What diet should I be on?” Some are fishing for validation of how they’re currently eating; others want to pick a fight about the virtues of gluten-free, Paleo or Atkins diets. Then there are folks who’ve been told they have to clean up their acts after a lifetime of indulgence and need help. Here are four questions you should ask yourself before you start a new regime:

Is it a deprivation diet? If you’re giving up a large number of your usual foods to be on a diet, you will fail.

Does the diet practice portion control? This is the concept of assez (enough) that I outlined in my previous post on the French Paradox. Portion control does not mean fasting or very-low-calorie diets. You may be eating meat more as a garnish than as the main event, for example.

Does the diet require you to buy special products or supplements that are often conveniently sold by the person pushing said diet? A sustainable diet needs to be based on real food that you can get at any grocery store and should not break your budget.

Can you go to a restaurant occasionally or to Thanksgiving dinner and not blow your diet? You need to have some flexibility, even if it’s to mollify your mother-in-law by eating her green bean casserole once a year.

I’ve trimmed my list to three diets that fit these criteria. They’ve been shown to work through rigorous research published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. While they’re not all weight loss diets per se, adhering to them long-term can help with controlling pounds. Here they are:

The Mediterranean Diet. This does not mean gorging yourself on pasta and breadsticks at Olive Garden. Rather, you’re eating modest amounts of meat, nuts, and fish, and lots of vegetables. The preferred fat is liquid oil, usually olive. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet is associated with reduced risk of heart disease.

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). The DASH diet has been shown to reduce blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease. The diet involves eating 9 or so servings of vegetables and fruits per day, reasonable amounts of protein, and includes low-fat dairy products and nuts.

Volumetrics. This diet is based on the research of Dr. Barbara Rolls at Penn State. According to Volumetrics, you’re in control of what you eat in terms of the energy density of food. Candy and high-fat foods are very energy dense, so 100 calories of them look pretty puny next to 100 calories of a salad. Eating that amount of salad will promote satiety more than that puny bit of candy.

I should warn you that following any of these diets will require you to (gasp!) cook. This may be the most important component of any good program. Cooking puts you in control of what you eat, not restaurants or food manufacturers. Being mindful of what goes into the food you eat can motivate you to moderate your intake, and thus promote your success.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/25/diets-to-live-by/

Jul 25

Disclosure Time

Edible Thoughts is not a money-making proposition for me, as you can tell from the lack of ads on the site. From time to time, I may mention and provide links to businesses, products, or books in my posts. I am not being paid for such placements. You can be assured that AAA-Aardvark Self Storage in Azle, Texas did not pay me to mention it in my post, News Item. I will now return to my usual programming.

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Jul 18

An American’s Take on the French Paradox

We ate and drank very well while we were in France. Yet neither of us gained any weight while we were on the trip. How’d we manage that? We did do a lot of walking around Paris and southern France, sure. However, I think a bigger reason was the concept of assez (enough); in other words, portion control.

You will not find all-you-can-eat buffets in France. Nor will you find cookies or macarons the size of dinner plates. Portion sizes are moderate, especially of sweets and drinks. There were a couple of restaurants that served large portions, but these places catered to tourists. Most of our meals, even the three-course menus, were assez.

So how can you duplicate the French concept of assez in the US? The ideas below aren’t original, but they may spur you to move toward controlling your calories:

  • Use smaller plates and bowls for your meals. This fools your eye into thinking you’re eating more than you are.
  • Fill the small plate/bowl and don’t go back for seconds.
  • Crowd the plate with non-starchy vegetables or salad. These items are less calorie-dense and full of fiber.
  • Limit your meat portion (if you eat meat). We may buy two strip steaks and grill them both; however, we split one at the first meal. The second one gets turned into a Thai beef salad the next night, or goes into sandwiches.
  • If you need a snack, go for a small portion of something you crave and savor it. For example, take a small piece of very good chocolate and take the time to appreciate it rather than downing it in one swallow.
  • Visit farmers’ markets and produce stands where you can find fruits that are of reasonable size. Most grocery stores sell apples and peaches the size of softballs, thinking that’s what their customers want. Unfortunately, some of these varieties (for example: Red Delicious apples) are bred solely for their travel or storage characteristics and are devoid of taste. These oversize fruits not only wreak havoc on calorie control, but complicate carbohydrate counting for people with diabetes.
Capucins, from our lunch near the Viaduct Millau.

Capucins, from our lunch near the Viaduct Millau.

This is a good example of an assez lunch. The capucins were the size of a US ice cream cone, not a foot-long sandwich. The gazpacho was maybe 12 ounces of soup. And notice that the pear juice on the right is not of “Big Gulp” size.

Eating assez rather than beaucoup is one step in solving the French Paradox, along with incorporating more activity into every day and reducing heavy snack and sweetened beverage consumption. Manger bien, mais assez. (Eat well, but enough.)

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/18/an-americans-take-on-the-french-paradox/

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