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Plums packed with health - Goshen News
Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:12:00 GMT
There’s fruit, and then there’s superfruit. What’s the difference? A superfruit has unique phytochemicals not found in other fruits — and that translates to unique health ...
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Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:07:14 EDT
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Wed, 19 Mar 2008 05:07:07 EDT
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Goji berry is a special shrub belonging to a member of Plantae Kingdom, the Solanceae family which grows upto three meters of height, and is generally found in the temperate regions of subtropical bel...
Welch's Touts Concord Grape as 'Superfruit' - Adweek
Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:28:25 GMT
Welch's Touts Concord Grape as 'Superfruit' Adweek, NY - While there is no exact definition as to what a Superfruit is, the category includes pomegranates, goji berry, noni, mangosteen and Oprah Winfrey's ... |
health benefits of goji berriesInterview with Valerie Hart, Author of "The Bounty of Central Florida"
Irene Watson, Publishing Editor of Reader Views, is pleased to have as our guest, Valerie Hart, author of "The Bounty of Central Florida."
Hi Valerie, thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview.
Irene: Valerie, why do you feel "The Bounty of Central Florida" was an important book for you to write? What objectives did you have?
Valerie: Regional cookbooks have flooded the market. Southwestern, Northwestern, Cuban, Caribbean, Cajun and combinations of these including America's innovation called Fusion that incorporates Asian with any of the others highlight regions and the new creative chefs who are incorporating the fresh ingredients of the areas.
When we moved from Miami to Central Florida 15 years ago, the cuisine changed drastically. Aside from local Italian eateries that featured heavy tomato-based Sicilian cookery, and a smattering of Mexican catering to the migrant workers in this citrus area, mama-papa restaurants north of Orlando served up a unique cuisine of their very own. This was based on their roots of southern America with a rustic edge of accessible fish and game simply grilled or fried and accompanied by fruits and vegetables freshly plucked from the trees and earth.
Every spring-fed lake yields bass. The larger lakes are inundated with alligators and tilapia. The St. John's brackish river is rich with blue crab and shrimp, and its tributaries are filled with redfish, bass and snook. The wood ducks seem to exist solely for the pleasure of the pan, and, just a bit south in Osceola County, wild turkeys and venison breed bundantly for the happy hunters. And, as in the rest of the south, barbecue reigns supreme with Central Florida's own renditions of sweet, spicy and mustard based sauces slathered over slow smoked gigantic pork ribs.
My objective, as food writer for The Daily Commercial, was to make people aware of the bounty of the area.
Irene: What challenges did you have while writing this book and how did you overcome them?
Valerie: The challenges were delightful. My many trips up the St. John's River with the antique boaters brought me into direct contact with the people who live and derive their livelihood from the creeks of the intercostals waterways. My membership and association with the NWTF (National Wild Turkey Federation) not only taught me how to fry a whole turkey, but instilled respect for this dedicated group of conservationists who teach women survival in the wilderness as responsible gun control to children.
The most difficult challenge, however, was writing the book while being faced with Monday's deadline of writing my Thursday's newspaper column and teaching cooking at the shelter for the homeless. There just wasn't time to do it all, and I was spending more and more hours creating recipes late at night and opening my computer to record them before the sun came up.
Irene: Are the recipes your own creation? Have some of them been passed down through the family to you?
Valerie: The recipes are my own, derived from my sense of taste and smell and desire to create. My background of education in France, (later, Cordon Bleu courses after I had begun to teach cooking in Miami), and our 30 year business in Italy, where we had an apartment in Florence and traveled extensively through northern Italy, brought me into contact with a multitude of country chefs and "nonnas" (Italian grandmothers) in home kitchens who shared "secrets" passed down through the generations.
Irene: How did you get into cooking? Did you cook as a child? Where did you learn to cook? Do you have any funny stories while learning to cook that you can relate to?
Valerie: I would love to say that I learned to cook from my Mother and Grandmother but, fortunately, this is not true. My Mother and Grandmother had absolutely no talent in the kitchen, probably because they always cook to do it for them. The only foods my Mother knew how to cook were roast beef, turkey and broiled lamb chops. Those were the days when all the fat was left on to singe into a crust. We not only ate the top fat on the beef and between the bones of the chops; we relished it. And, the trick was to eat the turkey and beef before the gravy poured over it congealed into a hard, white mass.
We had a German cook for many years. My parents traveled extensively, leaving me in her care. The kitchen was a sensual wonderland of chocolate and pastry cream and veal that she delicately dipped into beaten eggs and then into homemade bread crumbs before frying to a golden brown delicacy she called Wiener Schnitzel that she served with fried potatoes and buttery noodles. Elizabeth never used an electric mixer, but beat butter and sugar and egg whites by hand to make her 6 layer German Doboschtorte, rich chocolate Viennese Sachartorte and Hungarian Caramel Cake. She was my first culinary mentor, and her recipes appear in my first cookbook, The New Tradition Cookbook.
Irene: I note in your bio you aspired to be an opera singer but ended up in the food writing career and then in a cooking career. Are there times that you would like to turn back the pages and pursue a career as a singer?
Valerie: Sometimes, although my life would have been very different. I shall forever remember studying under the great Andr� Bog� on the stage of the Paris Grand Op�ra. I obviously did not have enough ambition, or perhaps realized I did not have the voice destined for greatness.
Irene: Do you have a favorite recipe from this book? Why?
Valerie: Guests and family who dine with us usually request that I prepare the Key Lime Cheesecake or Flourless Individual Chocolate Souffl�s for dessert. My duckling is the children's favorite and I will offer 2-3 sauce variations for their pleasure. I really love the Butternut Squash Soup and refreshing Strawberry Salad. I make dozens of Mushroom Roll hors d'oeuvre and dessert Profiteroles to freeze for unexpected company and, because our lime trees are so prolific, you will always find a frozen Lime Pie.
Irene: This is a second cookbook for you. Your first was The New Tradition Cookbook which was published in 1988. What did you learn after writing the first one that you changed in your second book, The Bounty of Central Florida?
Valerie: My first cookbook was written as a result of my years as the food writer for the newspaper on Miami Beach and the luncheon restaurant I had for 15 years at my husband's wholesale furniture showroom, Imports for the Trade. The restaurant was my test kitchen. We did not sell the food but, rather, offered it to designers and their clients as one would in one's home. The buffet that changed daily became so popular that people lined up around the block. We served over 100 people each day in the restaurant we built within the showroom with bricks from the old Union Station in Chicago that had been torn down.
Although most of the format of the first book was based on American cooking and my rendition of French and Italian cooking, the marvelous ethnicity of Miami Beach allowed me to discover recipes for Matzo Balls, Gef�lte Fish, Stuffed Cabbage, Brisket of Beef and Potato Pancakes that I featured in the newspaper during the Jewish holidays. I would go down to what has become the "in" area now known as "SoBe" which, during the late '60s and '70s was still populated solely by the elderly Jewish. I would approach the ladies who were shopping. Each one had a different recipe for the same dish, and each thought hers was the best. I would then go home and experiment and test and test again until the combination of ingredients was to my liking. Then I would write my food column.
The common denominator of the two books is my belief that people like to read about exquisite cuisine but want to cook and eat basic food.
Irene: What are you hoping comes out of this cookbook experience for you? Are you planning on writing another one?
Valerie: I do not know if I will ever write another cookbook, but I have so many recipes that do not appear in the first two that I am tempted. Anyone who cooks knows that there is always a new and different method of preparation to please the palate. There is never a last chapter to cooking.
Irene: Thank you Valerie. Is there anything else that you would like to add about your cookbook or your experience?
Valerie: I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to express myself. This is the first time I have been asked these questions and the interview has been most enjoyable.
Irene Watson is the Publishing Editor of Reader Views, an online book review service. http://www.readerviews.com She is also the author of her memoir, "The Sitting Swing."
Thai Herb - Chili, Coriander, Cumin and Galangal in Thai Food
Chili
The popular species of chili used for cooking are hot chili, red, green and yellow chili, sweet pepper, etc. which are different in the levels of its spicy tastes. Chili can be used both fresh and dried or pickling in vinegar and to every dish that requires hot and spicy tastes. Some are used for smelling and reducing savory and as well to color the decoration.
Benefit
- Digestive
- To protect cancer
- Carminative
- Expectorant
- Relief pain
- Relief sickness
Chili Use in Thai Food
- Tom Yum Kung
- Tom Kha Kai
- Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai
- Beef Masaman
- Kaeng Liang
- Kai Phad Phed
- Phanaeng Kai
- Som Tum
- Phad Thai
- Khao Phad Kra Prao
- Nam Ya Pla
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Coriander
This plant can be used by every part; plant, root, leaves and fruits. Normally, the coriander leaves are sprinkled to season the food, while the coriander fruits are mixed in the soup and curry for good smell and its root is used together with garlic in soup and some kind of snacks and desserts.
Benefit
- Carminative
- Diuretic
Coriander Use in Thai Food
- Tom Kha Kai
- Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai
- Kai Phad Phed
- Phanaeng Kai
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Cumin
Cumin is roasted and pounded to make chili paste in some curries, Kaeng Phed and Kaeng Khiao Wan.
Benefit
- Carminative
- Expectorant
Use in Thai Food Cumin
- Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai
- Beef Masaman
- Phanaeng Kai
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Galangal
Galangal is used both its flowers as vegetables and fresh and hard rhizomes. The hard rhizome is very spicy and good to season many recipes of chili pastes; the fresh rhizome is found good in Tom Kha Kai.
Benefit
- Carminative
- Stops the growth of cancer
- Antifungal, bacterial and yeast
Galangal Use in Thai Food
- Tom Yum Kung
- Tom Kha Kai
- Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai
- Beef Masaman
- Kai Phad Phed
- Phanaeng Kai
- Khao Phad Kra Prao
- Nam Ya Pla
Thai Food
Magnetic Resonance Water
Wevangti
Affect of Food on our Relationships
Did you know that how certain food we choose could have adverse impact on our relationships with the people around us?
We make many choices in our lives without ever questioning "why?" A choice like what we eat is one of them. Perhaps we simply continue to eat in the way we were raised; perhaps we automatically adopt our parents' choices. Or, perhaps we go against how we were raised: our parents made one choice, so we will make the opposite. In either case, we rarely take the time to truly see why we are eating what we eat.
We already know what we eat affects our physical health. If we continue to eat a healthy, balanced, low-fat, low-sugar diet, we will have leaner bodies, less disease, and longer life as a general rule. Likewise if we continue to eat a diet high in fat, sugar and chemical additives, we will have overweight bodies, more disease, more visits to doctor, shorter life so on and so forth. This is not true for all people, but on the average it is common knowledge. But what I am going to talk about is an indirect connection between our food habits and relationships with people around us.
The connection is:
Our food choices can affect our emotional state;
Our emotional state influences our actions;
Our actions affect our relationship;
Our relationships affect our physical and emotional state;
Our emotional state and physical health can affect our food choices.
Our Food Choices Affect Our Emotional State
Many factors play a role in our emotional state. Our family history, health history, job status, and relationships all affect our emotional state. But one factor we generally overlook is the food that can affect our emotional state, our moods. My own experience demonstrates that when I eat certain foods, various emotional states tend to follow on a consistent basis. While this may not be the case for you, it's worth considering.
Let's look at depression as an example. Many people who suffer from depression do so because of a chemical imbalance or because of specific circumstances in their lives. But let's say continuous poor food choices have led to weight gain or illnesses that result in isolation or irritability. And that, in turn, has perhaps contributed to a poor self-image. It is very possible, then, that these factors may make a person depressed. When talking about personal experience, ice creams and chocolates has always been great elevated mood of my wife and mine. The reverse may also be true. People who make healthy food choices and have a strong self-image will most likely be more joyful. This may even be true if they have a tendency toward depression. Foods high in fat, sugar, and chemical additives may contribute to a host of negative emotions, while foods rich in nutrients-fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, and lean meats-may contribute to positive emotions. Studies of shown the emotional state of herbivores and carnivores animals and their eating habits.
Our Emotional State influence Our Actions
Perhaps this next step in the connection is as obvious to you as it was to me. What we don't know is that food had contributed to those emotions.
These emotions drive our thoughts and eventually our actions. Thoughts and emotions are so mixed that they drive our actions, by instinct, and in an unconscious way. If I am in a confused state, my thinking would be affected and I would think and act differently.
So our emotions can provide us with information about ourselves, and about our behavior and about the behavior of others If we are generally ruled by joy, peace, patience, and a positive attitude, our actions would be benevolent, friendly, helpful and understanding. On the other hand, if we harbor negative emotions, bad temper, depression, then we exhibit uncontrolled anger, pessimism, anxiety, or bad moods on a regular basis.
Again, this information is probably not surprising. What is a surprise is that the foods you eat may indirectly be affecting the way think and act.
Our Actions Affects Our Relationships
Obviously the behaviors driven by negative emotion are bound to make adverse affect on their relationships. People with these emotional traits will be more likely to have conflicts with their spouses, children, and even coworkers. Similarly, people with positive emotional state don't have to try harder for keeping the relation stronger.
Again, this information is probably not surprising. What is a surprise is that the foods you eat may indirectly be affecting the way you get along with the people you love.
Our Relationships Affect Our Physical Health and Emotional state
Numerous studies released in the past few years prove that people with poor and/or limited relationships and social connections are more likely to have poor physical health. Similarly, people with strong and/or numerous relationships and social connections are more likely to have good physical health.
How does this relate to the connection between food and love? It works like this: Foods affect our emotions, emotions affect our actions, actions affect our relationships, and relationships affect our physical health and emotions. Therefore, the food choices we make-whether good or bad-may very well play a role in our relationships, as well as our physical health and emotional state.
Our Emotional and Physical Health Affect Our Food Choices
That brings us to concluding piece of the connection. Our emotion and physical health affect our food choices. Let me give you a picture of how this looks.
So food choices affect our emotions; our emotions affect our actions; our actions affect our relationships; our relationships affect our physical health and emotions; and our emotions and physical health affect our food choices.
When people suffer from poor emotional and physical health, they don't love themselves nor love their body. Most people find other ways to recuperate. They often turn to quick-and-easy substitutes. But Food and Love are one of them.
If we choose healthy foods, we are in the best possible position to have healthy bodies and healthy relationships. If we choose unhealthy foods, we make ourselves vulnerable to having unhealthy bodies and unhealthy relationships, which can lead us to even more unhealthy food choices.
Most people want to make healthy choices, but as I said earlier we simply continue to live in the way we were raised.
For more article on http://www.dinewithdate.com
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