March 2010 Archives

Interesting:

Seaweed bread could be the answer to the obesity epidemic, say scientists.

Researchers found seaweed fibre could reduce the body's fat uptake by more than 75%.

A fibrous material in Sea Kelp called alginate was better at preventing fat absorption than most over-the-counter slimming treatments, laboratory tests showed.

Dr Iain Brownlee, who co-led the University of Newcastle team, said: "This suggests that if we can add the natural fibre to products commonly eaten daily - such as bread, biscuits and yoghurts - up to three quarters of the fat contained in that meal could simply pass through the body.

I'm a big fan of nori and seaweed salads in Japanese fare, but not sure the American public is ready for green bread.

(Image credit: U.S. Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Justin J. Shemanski)

JB in Chicago sent along the FOXNews link:

Military experts in India have developed the new crowd control grenade packed with ground seeds from the (bhut jolokia) chili -- which is officially recognized as the hottest on the planet by Guinness World Records.

When deployed the grenade showers the targets with a dust so spicy that in trials subjects were blinded for hours and left with breathing problems. Lead scientist R.B. Srivastava, from India's Defense Research and Development Organisation, said: "The chilli grenade is a non-toxic weapon and when used would force a terrorist to come out of his hideout.

"The effect is so pungent that it would literally choke them."

Nasty, but effective, I'll bet.

(Last year's effort, which was unbelievably good.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day, to the Irish and non-Irish alike! I'm making corned beef, of course, this year using the same technique I did last year, but adding Survival Spice® to the mix this time.

I hope you enjoy the day, Spring is showing its face around here for now, so today is doubly (or Dublin-y) great. Slainté!

Hadn't heard of this one:

According to various sources, pine nut mouth is the result of a sensitivity to imported pine nuts, which are actually the seeds found in cones of pine trees. While it's not life-threatening, it can be, in Hennesey's words, "brutal" for the seven to 10 days sufferers experience it. Last year, 53 people reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that they suffered some form of "pine nut mouth." In France, some 800 cases have been reported to the USDA's counterpart since 2001.

But except for a few blog mentions on foodie Web sites and a short 2001 study available on the Internet, very little is known about "pine nut mouth."

They're importing pine nuts from everywhere now, so maybe some varieties might have this issue, or they just might have been rancid. I'm willing to be more selective in what I buy, but I'm not making pesto without them!

This is a technique I've been playing with that's given me excellent results while minimizing effort, which is what I'm all about, anyway.

I use something like this, they're cheap and the work great:

Walmart Bests Whole Foods in Blind Taste Tests

"WE SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS," read a sign at an Austin Walmart. I didn't see any farm names listed in the produce section, but I did find plastic tubs of organic baby spinach and "spring mix" greens with modern labeling that looked like it could be at Whole Foods. My list was simple to the point of stark, for a fair fight. Some ingredients seemed identical to what I'd find at Whole Foods. Organic, free-range brown eggs. Promised Land all-natural, hormone-free milk. A bottle of Watkins Madagascar vanilla for panna cotta. I couldn't find much in the way of the seasonal fruit the restaurant had told me the chef would serve with dessert. But I did find, to my surprise, a huge bin of pomegranates, so I bought those, and some Bosc pears. The sticking points were fresh goat cheese, which flummoxed the nice sales people (we found some Alouette brand, hidden), and chicken breasts. I could find organic meat, but no breasts without "up to 12 percent natural chicken broth" added--an attempt to inject flavor and add weight. I wasn't happy with the suppliers, either: Tyson predominated. I bought Pilgrims Pride, but was suspicious. The bill was $126.02.

At the flagship Whole Foods, in downtown Austin, the produce was much more varied, though the spinach and spring mix looked less vibrant. The chicken was properly dry, a fresh ivory color--and more than twice as expensive as Walmart's. My total bill was $175.04; $20 of the extra $50 was for the meat.

I haven't seen anything like this in our area yet, but I'm hopeful. I sure miss Sprouts, but I'm able to find reasonable good produce at Meijer, though their meat department is not great.