garyskitchen.net

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Coconut Oil? No Thanks

Clinical trials don’t support the public’s positive perception of coconut oil, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis suggests. The study, published in Circulation, found that compared with other vegetable oils, coconut oil increases low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)—the “bad” kind that ups cardiovascular disease risk—while offering no improvements to weight, blood glucose, or inflammation markers.

From the authors: “Despite the rising popularity of coconut oil because of its purported health benefits, our results raise concerns about high coconut oil consumption. Coconut oil should not be viewed as healthy oil for cardiovascular disease risk reduction and limiting coconut oil consumption because of its high saturated fat content is warranted.”

Read the full article at the link below.

Coconut Oil’s Health Halo a Mirage

April 26, 2020April 26, 2020

The Pandemic Pantry – Shopping Day 04.26.20

In case you missed last week’s Pandemic Pantry post I have copied over the household Executive Order:

“You can go to the store and shop with the old people. You will wear a mask and keep your distance from everyone else in the store. You will not wander up and down the aisles like you usually do. You will not shower before going. When you come back you will wash your hands for 20 seconds then put the groceries away. Disinfect the items you think need disinfecting. The plastic bags will not be recycled. They will go into the garbage. You will then go into the laundry room where you will strip down and put your clothes into the washing machine. Then and only then you go to our bathroom to decontaminate.”

So I guess you could say I was surprised this morning when The Boss said,

“You can go to two stores today.”

Two stores! I was pretty excited! This modern day scavenger hunt had a greater chance of success. Two stores! I was so excited I forgot my mask. No worries though. I used the disposable mask in the car and disposed of it after my trip. I remembered my list, wallet, phone, keys, and disinfectant wipes. It was time to start the hunt.

My first stop was the big box drugstore on the corner where I found both toilet paper and paper towels. I hadn’t purchased either of these paper goods in over a month. The drugstore had a few packages remaining on the shelves. I asked one of the employees if there was a purchase limit. Two she said. So in addition to vitamins, allergy meds and a nail buffer I scored two giant packages of TP and PT. If I found nothing at my second stop the shopping trip/hunt would have been a success.

Store #2 was the grocery store. My list was a short list but this was a scavenger hunt. What could I find that I might have use for later? The broccoli crowns were not the freshest but I bought some anyway. Green beans, a few apples, strawberries, new potatoes and a head of green leaf lettuce, one Roma tomato, one green pepper. No mushrooms. I bought the best two in the bulk mushroom bin and left around six for other shoppers. Tortillas, check. Whole wheat buns and two loaves of garlic bread, check. A bag of frozen spinach and ricotta raviolis. A dozen eggs for $0.99 (the last dozen cost $3.33). Some cheese. A back up jar of salsa, a back up jar of fruit spread.

I was about to call the hunt over and a success when I found frozen turkeys for $0.49 a pound (it’s the item under bananas). For under five bucks I got a 10 pound turkey.

So tonight’s dinner was meatloaf, mashed and fresh wilted spinach. I also picked up some ground beef since many of the remaining meat items didn’t appeal to me.

Two stores! Paper towels AND toilet paper! A whole turkey for less than five dollars! And I didn’t have to shop with the old people.

April 19, 2020April 19, 2020

The Pandemic Pantry -Basic Corn and Bean Salad – 04.18.20

The look on my face must have revealed my aching soul. Maybe it was the numerous trips to the pantry or the multiple freezer checks. We had plenty of food to survive on but nothing I really wanted or cared to eat. The truth was I needed to cook. I needed some fresh foods to cook with. Ultimately she relented.

“You can go to the store and shop with the old people. You will wear a mask and keep your distance from everyone else in the store. You will not wander up and down the aisles like you usually do. You will not shower before going. When you come back you will wash your hands for 20 seconds then put the groceries away. Disinfect the items you think need disinfecting. The plastic bags will not be recycled. They will go into the garbage. You will then go into the laundry room where you will strip down and put your clothes into the washing machine. Then and only then you go to our bathroom to decontaminate.”

Senior Time at the grocery store is 7-8:00 AM. There were not many shoppers. The customers were all wearing masks, some had both masks and gloves on. But most of the employees were not wearing any masks or gloves. We know the mask wearing thing is more about not spreading virus if you’re infected and less effective for personal protection (though the latest scientific guidance is that masks do offer some level of personal protection). So is setting a specific time for a high risk group to shop at the same time and NOT have employees wear masks smart? It would take just one infected worker and s(he) could take out a number of the oldies. Just a thought. But everyone in the store respected each other’s space and kept their appropriate physical distance.

We began sheltering in place behavior one week before our state formally declared a shutdown. Minus two days in Owasso, Oklahoma (the trip was taken with the expectation a lock down would be ordered) we have been home for a month. Welcome to The Pandemic Greater Depression. At our home we are fortunate to both have jobs. Many, many others are not as fortunate and the road ahead will be hard. Despite the fact we have a roof over our heads and food on the table the new era Depression mentality has set in. I call the new mindset Forced Frugality. The grocery store trip was interesting. Some of the supply chain issues are resolved and the shelves look better. Still no paper products and some of the shortages (like frozen pizza) are just plain strange. There were arrows on the floor in an attempt to direct traffic. I learned that some people don’t know how to follow arrows. And despite clear instructions not to wander the aisles I pretty much went down every aisle because you never know what you’re going to find (or not find). I found this:

$0.59 for organic dark red kidney beans and $0.84 for organic corn!

Today’s lunch side was a simple corn and bean salad. Here it is.

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 celery rib, tiny dice
1/4 cup red onion, tiny dice
garlic powder
pinch or two dried basil
a splash of fresh lemon juice
1 can organic dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can organic corn, drained and rinsed
1 to 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Whisk olive oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic powder and basil in a medium sized mixing bowl.
Adjust your seasonings. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste.
Add your vegetables and beans. Stir and mix thoroughly.
Add a splash of fresh lemon juice.
Serve as a side dish or over some fresh greens. This size recipe makes around four servings.

Tips

Sugar is only needed to counteract the acidity in the dressing. You might not need nor want any sugar at all. I wanted to put some red bell pepper into this dish but there were none to be found at the store.

Here’s a list of pantry items. Hopefully you have many if not all on hand as we shelter in place.

Pandemic Pantry Items – Updated 04.18.20

Canned tomatoes in 14.5 and 28 ounce cans. Diced, crushed, diced with green chilies and stewed
Extra virgin olive oil
Brown and white sugar
Dried oregano, basil, and parsley
Onion and garlic powders
Bay leaves
Parmesan cheese
Dried pastas
Dried beans such as brown and green lentils, pinto, black, adzuki, mayocabo, yellow and green split peas, black eye peas and cranberry
Canned beans such as garbanzos, black, black eye peas, pinto, great northern, navy
Broth, vegetable, beef, chicken
Rice – multiple varieties like basmati, brown, Texmati, arborio and plain long grain white
Flour tortillas and corn tortillas

Stay safe, stay well, stay home.

And if you do venture out of the house wear a mask.

April 7, 2020April 7, 2020

The Pandemic Pantry -Lentil Soup

She Who Must Be Obeyed reminded me again this morning of her Executive Order. Last night’s dinner was a UFO (unidentified frozen object) that thankfully turned out to be chili. And with some leftover cornbread from the freezer I was once again in compliance with the order to “clean out the freezer”. A part of her Executive Order limits me to one grocery trip a week (with a mask, disinfectant wipes, and one store only). This week’s trip was a calculated gamble on one of those tiny grocery sections housed within a burger/ice cream joint whose name will not be divulged for fear of possible legal action after they hear about this post.

Bad gamble. I managed to find just five of the nearly 20 items on my list. I did find some fresh spinach that wasn’t on the list. A tiny win but I’ll take it. This is going to be a tough week. Less fresh foods and a heavier reliance upon pantry items and any remaining UFO’s.

I sauntered into my pantry multiple times and opened the freezer multiple times before I figured out what to make for lunch. My flash of inspiration came from the jars of beans on the kitchen counter. I had completely forgotten about the lentils.

Until today. Here’s my Lentil Soup recipe:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 celery rib, diced
1 very large carrot, diced
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
garlic powder
pinch dried thyme
1 large bay leaf
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
2 cups water and 2 cups low sodium chicken broth (approximate)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, lower the heat to medium and saute the carrot, onion and celery until translucent.
Sprinkle thyme and garlic powder over the vegetables in the pan and saute briefly.
Add lentils and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
Drop the heat down to low and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the lentils need more liquid. Add one cup water and continue to simmer.
Check and stir frequently. Add either more water or broth to suit your taste.
Adjust your seasonings. Salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for a total time of around one hour and 10 minutes.
Serves four.
Or two if you eat half, save the rest for another meal and eat sandwiches/tacos using leftover fillings from the freezer

Tips

Over time I’ve learned how important technique can be for turning out tasty food. Note the chicken broth is used first, then water. For a cup of dried lentils you will need about a quart of liquid. I start with chicken broth (you can sub vegetable broth) and allow the lentils to absorb the broth, then add one cup of water. The amount of additional liquid will depend upon your personal preferences. My approach is to add additional broth slowly after the 2 cups broth, one cup water. Most times I never approach a full quart of liquid. I like my lentil soup thick.

That half of a fresh onion didn’t sit around long because I made Pete’s Fried Rice without any broccoli. Instead of broccoli I used half of a green cabbage sliced into strips. The fried rice turned out just fine. You have to be flexible nowadays and don’t waste anything.

Here’s my updated list of pantry items.

Pandemic Pantry Items – Updated 04.06.20

Canned tomatoes in 14.5 and 28 ounce cans. Diced, crushed, diced with green chilies and stewed
Extra virgin olive oil
Brown and white sugar
Dried oregano, basil, and parsley
Onion and garlic powders
Bay leaves
Parmesan cheese
Dried pastas
Dried beans such as brown and green lentils, pinto, black, adzuki, mayocabo, yellow and green split peas, black eye peas and cranberry
Broth, vegetable, beef, chicken
Rice – multiple varieties like basmati, brown, Texmati, arborio and plain long grain white
Flour tortillas

Stay safe, stay well.

I think I bought too many bay leaves though.

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April 5, 2020April 5, 2020

The Pandemic Pantry – Basic Quick Tomato Sauce

“We’re cleaning out the freezer. We have plenty of leftovers to eat up.”

…said She Who Must Be Obeyed. Since this Executive Order was issued the frozen stockpile of meals has been gradually dwindling. Last night’s dinner was a mash up meal that used some leftover frozen ricotta/chicken/spinach filling and a freshly made Alfredo sauce. The leftover ricotta filling was the result of making far too much for cannelloni a few weeks ago. Then last night I made too much Farfalle and now I’m staring at the reality of having leftover leftovers for lunch today.

So I thought to myself, Self…wouldn’t this be good with some tomato sauce? Of course I answered to myself and went to an old favorite cookbook for inspiration. My quick tomato sauce is inspired by a recipe from:

Cooking from an Italian Garden Paperback –
by Paola Scaravelli and Jon Cohen

Paperback: 372 pages
Publisher: Harvest Books (November 15, 1985)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0156225921
ISBN-13: 978-0156225922

But as I have discovered over the years I’ve accidentally created my own recipe. Here it is.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 celery rib, tiny dice
1 small carrot, tiny dice
garlic powder
onion powder
pinch dried oregano
pinch dried basil
pinch dried parsley
a splash of white wine
1 (14.5-ounce) can organic stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, lower the heat to medium and saute the carrot and celery until translucent.
Sprinkle the herbs and vegetable powders in the pan and saute briefly.
Add a splash of wine to de-glaze the pan.
Add the tin of tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Drop the heat down to low.
When the tomatoes start to soften begin crushing them with the flat side of a wooden spoon.
Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Adjust your seasonings. Add sugar. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over leftover leftovers (freshly made pasta works too).

Tips

Sugar is only needed to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes. You might not need any sugar at all. I wanted to use as many pantry items as possible. If you feel you can spare a fresh onion or fresh clove of garlic, use them. The wine is a luxury but can probably be eliminated if you don’t have an open bottle in the fridge. Taste as you go because stewed tomatoes are sweeter than plain canned tomatoes and come already seasoned.

Here’s a list of pantry items. Hopefully you have many if not all on hand as we shelter in place.

Pandemic Pantry Items

Canned tomatoes in 14.5 and 28 ounce cans. Diced, crushed, diced with green chilies and stewed
Extra virgin olive oil
Brown and white sugar
Dried oregano, basil, and parsley
Onion and garlic powders
Parmesan cheese
Dried pastas

Stay safe, stay well.

March 30, 2020March 30, 2020

Love in the Time of Ourselves: Reflections From a Memoir Teacher — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

By Joelle Fraser The other morning, like tens of thousands of parents, I woke to a message: our children would not be returning to school after spring break. It almost felt like old news. The threat of change had been in the air itself, as real and invisible as the virus that caused it…

As a reader of others’ memories, I have little advice for mothers, for parents, just this: you will be remembered in ways you cannot imagine. Whole books could be written about how much you mattered, and how deeply you were loved

via Love in the Time of Ourselves: Reflections From a Memoir Teacher — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

Read this entire wonderful piece of writing.

My next post will be about food. Promise.

March 1, 2020March 1, 2020

Insect Butter

According to the researchers, consumers notice no difference when a quarter of the milk butter in a cake is replaced with larva fat. However, they report an unusual taste when it gets to fifty-fifty and say they would not want to buy the cake.

Read the Reuters article here.

Entomophagy is the word for eating bugs.

Not coming to the US anytime soon.

January 18, 2020January 18, 2020

Walnuts may be good for the gut and help promote heart health

In a randomized, controlled trial, researchers found that eating walnuts daily as part of a healthy diet was associated with increases in certain bacteria that can help promote health. Additionally, those changes in gut bacteria were associated with improvements in some risk factors for heart disease.

Journal Reference: Alyssa M Tindall, Christopher J McLimans, Kristina S Petersen, Penny M Kris-Etherton, Regina Lamendella. Walnuts and Vegetable Oils Containing Oleic Acid Differentially Affect the Gut Microbiota and Associations with Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Follow-up of a Randomized, Controlled, Feeding Trial in Adults at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease. The Journal of Nutrition, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxz289

RCT but only 42 participants.

January 1, 2020September 22, 2020

Badass Black Eyed Peas

chili madness

I make black eyed peas once a year for New Year’s Day. For good luck and good leftovers. Every year I always say to myself,

“Self. You need to write the recipe down.”

And each and every year I forget. This year however is different. A friend asked for the recipe. So I actually sat my butt down into my chair and started writing. I think my 2020 version of this recipe is better than in years gone by. But I can’t be absolutely certain because I never wrote down any other versions of this annual bean concoction. What I am certain of is the 2020 version is Badass.

Before we get to the recipe there’s a few odd tips and tricks you need to know.

The beans needs to simmer for several hours.
The beans get an overnight soak in filtered water and you will change the water several times.
Everyone in the pool. I don’t cook the beans separately for this dish.
Unlike other chili recipes this recipe has hints of chili. Don’t try to make this a chili because it’s not chili.

So now that you know not to call these beans a chili here’s how to make it Badass.

4 slices center cut bacon
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each smoked paprika, chili powder
1 T Mexican oregano
1 T cumin
1 qt low sodium chicken broth
3 T tomato paste
1 lb black eyed peas
1 lb ground turkey 85/15
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight.
In the morning drain then add fresh water to the beans. Change the soaking water at least twice.
In a large stock pot fry the bacon in the olive oil until the strips are crisp and the fat is rendered.
Saute the onion, celery, and green pepper until softened about five minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute.
Add the turkey and brown, breaking up the clumps as you go.
Toss everything else into the pool. Spices, tomato paste, broth, and beans.
The black eyed peas should be drained and the chicken broth needs to barely cover all of the ingredients.
Bring to a boil then simmer for several hours with the pot partially covered.
Check the pot and stir occasionally. Add more broth as the peas cook and the dish thickens.
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
Yum. Makes about 10-12 servings.

More odd tips

Don’t add salt until the beans are cooked through and soft. There is plenty of salt in the chili powder and broth so salt last. As you adjust the seasonings you may want to add more chili powder and/or oregano. I tend to use garlic powder (my less than top secret favorite flavor enhancer).

This dish tastes better on day two.

Texas Corn Bread of course.

This recipe is not in the book pictured above. But I like the cover and I’m hoping the author gets the hint.

For my vegan and vegetarian readers this dish is neither vegan nor vegetarian. Feel free to make your own veggie version with a nice organic vegetable or mushroom broth.

December 21, 2019December 21, 2019