Cocina Criolla*

I had lunch yesterday with my friends Gail and Nell, at Schenectady County Community College’s Casola Dining Room.  The Casola is the college’s restaurant “laboratory,” where the culinary students get real life experience cooking and serving in a restaurant.  SCCC is just one of five colleges in New York State that is accredited by the [...]

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The Last of the Summer…

This past Sunday, I spent a very chilly 40 minutes at the Schenectady Greenmarket, filling up my (reusable) bag with the last of the summer fruits and vegetables.   I had yesterday off work, and I planned to spend the entire day (if possible) in the kitchen.  My idea of a vacation.
Here’s the rundown:

Seckel pears.  Beautiful, [...]

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Can’t…Stop…Eating…

And, now I know it’s kinda not my fault.  Kinda.
Findings from a new study suggest that some fats cause our brains to turn off the “I’m full” signal that tells us when to stop eating.
Here’s what they think happens: we eat the fat, it goes to our brains.  Once they get there, the fat [...]

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Better Eating Through Chemistry!

Some cool food science news I found:
Cinnamon has long been known for its antimicrobial properties (used as a corporal preservative in mummification rituals), but now science has finally decided to delve deeper into the knowledge that ancient Egyptians discovered more than 5000 years ago: cinnamon used as an anti-molding agent in food packaging.  [...]

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Disgusting Food Files – Dissecting a Slim Jim

What’s Inside a Slim Jim?
Those things are nasty, and now I know why.

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To Eat (Local) or Not to Eat (Local)? That is the Question.

I just found a very interesting interview about sustainable food on NPR’s Science Friday.  Author James McWilliams has just written a book called Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly.  In the book, McWilliams claims that eating locally is not the “best” way to be a responsible conservator [...]

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Cheap Food, At a Steep Price

I just finished reading a fascinating and scary article on Time Magazine’s website, called “Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food“.
It basically reinforces my commitment to purchasing locally-grown, organic-if-I-can-afford it food.  The article also turned my stomach, reminding me of the horrors of CAFOs (concentrated-animal feeding operations), where a vast majority of the [...]

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Dark Chocolate Does a Heart Good, but Does it Melt?

More good news on the “chocolate as a health food” front: From the Hindustan Times
My favorite dark chocolate is Green & Black’s Organic. The dark chocolate with hazelnuts & currants is outstanding!
In related chocolate news, a Swiss chocolate manufacturer has invented chocolate that won’t melt.  It looks weird, if you ask me.

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Camelicious!

You’ve probably heard of chocolate laced with chiles (and likely even eaten some) — but what about chocolate made form camel’s milk?  Soon, chocolate addicts with adventurous palates will have the opportunity to try the world’s first camel milk chocolate. Reuters reports that Dubai confectioner Al Nassma, which claims to be the first chocolate made with camel milk,  plans [...]

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Food Recalls and Food, Inc.

As a service to my (5) readers, I’m posting a couple food recalls that may be of interest.  Just another horrific entry in my Diary of the Unsafe US Food Supply (informaiton courtesy www.recalls.gov):

Unilever United States, Inc. is voluntarily recalling Knorr® Kosher Soup Mix – Chicken Vegetable Flavor with Pasta imported from Israelbecause it contains undeclared [...]

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