Author: Mark Linton

<a href="http://www.theonion.com/4001/top_story.html" title="The Onion | Spaghetti-Os Discontinued As Franco-American Relations Break Down">Spaghetti-Os Discontinued As Franco-American Relations Break Down</a>: &ldquo;The international dispute casts a pall over the proud and storied history of Spaghetti-Os. A symbol of trans-Atlantic friendship dating back to 1965, the canned lunchtime staple began as a cooperative effort between U.S. president Lyndon Johnson and French president Charles de Gaulle, who shared the conviction that the convenient pasta meal was a delicious and nutritious way to maintain good Franco-American relations.



&ldquo;From 1965 to 1968, a panel of top U.S. food engineers painstakingly developed the four sizes of Os while France&rsquo;s most esteemed chefs developed the distinctive tomato-and-cheese sauce. When finally unveiled at a White House dinner, Johnson hailed Spaghetti-Os as &lsquo;the zesty, flavorful glue that holds our two nations together in peace.&rsquo; Subsequent development of meatball and sliced-frank varieties of the product only added to its enduring mythos.



&ldquo;After years of mutual amity, however, the Age Of Spaghetti-Os may have finally come to an end. More fuel was added to the fire earlier this month, when U.N. Secretary Of Quick-Heating Prepared Foods Stefan Fredriksen openly questioned the Franco-American venture in the November issue of <em>Bon Appetit</em>.&rdquo;

Breakfast this morning was a few dried apricots and dates. I weighed in at 159 pounds. Lunch was an orange. No walk today — it is cold, my legs are sore from my walk yesterday, and I have a meeting at 1:00.



<ins datetime="2004-01-07T12:19:00-05:00">I had a <a href="http://www.naturevalley.com/Products2.htm" title="Welcome to Nature Valley: Products">Nature Valley Oats &rsquo;N Honey Crunchy Granola Bar</a> this afternoon.</ins>



<ins datetime="2004-01-08T16:49:00-05:00">Dinner was the last of the butternut squash and vegetable gratin, a small green salad, a slice of Gretchen&rsquo;s Italian bread, and two <a href="http://www.godiva.com/welcome.asp" title="Chocolate Gifts from Godiva">Godiva</a> chocolates.</ins>

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/07/dining/07MINI.html" title="The Minimalist: Spanish for Clams">The Minimalist: Spanish for Clams</a>: &ldquo;Sherry comes from the area around Jerez (pronounced he-RETH, which is supposed to sound something like sherry), a town in southern Spain. It starts its life as white wine made from the palomino grape but for some mysterious reason produces a yeasty substance called flor, which gives it its unusual character. It is then &lsquo;fortified&rsquo; &mdash; its fermentation stopped by the addition of extra alcohol &mdash; so it is a little more potent than normal table wine.



&ldquo;You can spend a fortune on sherry, but since each bottle is a product of several different vintages it is consistent from year to year, and the fact that it is stabilized by alcohol enhances its shelf life. (Refrigerated, an opened bottle retains good flavor for several days.) In short, all real sherry is good (you should stay away from the fake, supermarket variety), and bottles costing $10 or so are more than acceptable. Fino is probably best for drinking, but the slightly sweeter, nuttier amontillado and oloroso are perhaps a little better for cooking.&rdquo;

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41339-2003Dec30.html" title="The Basics of Bubbly (washingtonpost.com)">The Basics of Bubbly</a>: If you are a once-a-year bubbly consumer, here are five crucial points to consider: 

1. Get the temperature right: Champagne should be just a little colder than still white wines, but a prolonged ice bath will get it too cold and obscure its complexity. From room temperature, a full hour in the refrigerator or about 25 minutes in the freezer will be about right.
2. As Hippocrates said: First, do not poke your eye out. Keep constant downward pressure on the cork, even when unwinding the wire cage. Ease the cork from the bottle by grasping it firmly as you twist the base of the bottle from side to side. A very faint release of air pressure (phonetically, ‘pfffft’) is all you should hear.
3. Spring for a few decent glasses. The broad, shallow coupe-style should be pitched into the fireplace in favor of tall, slim, flute- or tulip-style glasses, in clear (i.e., uncut) crystal.
4. No soap, ever! A flat beer is a drag, but a flat Cuvee de Prestige is a catastrophe. You can remove fingerprints and lipstick from the outside of glasses when perfectly inverted with a lightly soapy sponge, but never let any soap into the interior, which should only be rinsed with very hot water. Dishtowels can retain soap residues, so air-dry the glasses or use paper towels.
5. If tonight’s festivities will be crowded and noisy, Cuvee de Prestige Champagnes would obviously be prohibitively expensive, and though ‘pearls before swine’ would be too harsh, it makes no sense to serve wines deserving contemplation under raucous circumstances.

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41345-2003Dec30.html" title="You Can Grind Your Own (washingtonpost.com)">You Can Grind Your Own</a>: &ldquo;One way for a consumer to keep some control over the content of hamburger meat is to buy a preferred cut, either organic or traditional, and grind the beef at home. In so doing, you can choose a cut that is not near a bone or the spinal cord and you can ensure that your grinding equipment is not contaminated with those parts of another animal. Also, not incidentally, you can make a delicious burger with just a small investment in a meat grinder and about 10 minutes time to grind a few pounds of meat. 

The Cut

“To grind beef at home, start with the right cut. The best ground beef and, at this point, the one that might be safest, is typically made from a boneless cut, preferably a relatively high-fat cut such as chuck steak. (The fat lends juiciness to the burger.) The intensely flavorful but somewhat leaner sirloin steak, or a combination of chuck and sirloin, may also be used. 



“If available, select choice-grade beef, which tends to contain more marbled fat and, hence, more moisture. 

The Grind

“Once you select a cut of beef, you can grind it at home (see below) or you can ask the staff at a local meat counter to grind it for you. (Some stores may not indulge this request, especially during exceptionally heavy shopping hours or late at night after the equipment has been cleaned.) 



“To grind a cut of beef at home, there are several options. For the most consistent and best results, use a grinder. An inexpensive old-fashioned meat grinder or chopper can be clamped to the edge of a counter and hand-cranked (typically from about $30). A meat-grinding attachment may be purchased for a standing mixer (from about $65). And there are dozens of free-standing countertop grinders available in all shapes and sizes and prices. If using a grinder, grind the meat twice. 



“A food processor fitted with a steel blade may also be used to ‘grind’ beef, although it will result in a slightly mushier, less coarse consistency. Process the meat in small batches, pulsing briefly (1 to 2 seconds) just until the desired consistency is attained; do not overprocess. 



“Before grinding, cut the beef into chunks or thick strips and freeze partially (about 25 minutes) to prevent the beef from becoming too warm and mushy during grinding.”

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41247-2003Dec30.html" title="The American Burger:  How Safe Is It? (washingtonpost.com)">The American Burger:  How Safe Is It?</a>: &ldquo;In October of 2002 the U.S. Department of Agriculture instituted an organic labeling system so consumers choosing organic products could know that the food had been produced without pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, irradiation or bioengineering. These standards apply to U.S.-grown food as well as imported food. 



&ldquo;The strict certification process and ongoing inspections of organic farms could make it less likely that meat products from such farms are contaminated by mad cow disease, though all of the ways the disease spreads are not fully understood&hellip;



&ldquo;To be certified organic, cattle must be given a vegetarian diet of primarily foraged grass. Grains such as corn, barley and soy beans are fed for a short time at the feed lot to produce added fat that contributes needed flavor components. Growth hormones and antibiotics are not added to feed. 



&ldquo;&lsquo;Under USDA regulations all byproduct feeding is prohibited [on organic farms]. That&rsquo;s a huge difference right there,&rsquo; says James A. Riddle, organic policy specialist for NewFarm.org, a project of the nonprofit Rodale Institute. The Food and Drug Administration allows conventional cattle feed and supplements to include cattle blood, gelatin, tallow and milk protein. 



&ldquo;Knowing when and from where an animal came to a ranch or farm is essential in time of crisis. On organic farms, the tracking of each animal from birth or the source of purchase is mandatory. There must be records of all organic practices, health care and any treatments the animal received. Annual verified inspections are made of feed mills, farms and slaughterhouses. 



&ldquo;Small farming operations that produce pasture-raised, grass-fed beef and all-natural beef farms that do not use growth hormones and antibiotics also follow strict guidelines for feed and animal tracking. 



&ldquo;Organic beef comes with a hefty price. Organic ground beef sells for more than twice the price of traditional beef.&rdquo;

Make It Fit: “A Gallup poll conducted last year said that 24 percent of U.S. adults were seriously trying to lose weight — about the same as in 1953.”

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57453-2004Jan5.html" title="The Lean Plate Club: No Ephedra? No Loss (washingtonpost.com)">No Ephedra? No Loss</a>: &ldquo;&lsquo;Good nutrition and regular physical activity are still the only proven nonprescription approaches to weight management,&rsquo; [notes Paul Coates, director of the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health]. 



&ldquo;Of course, human nature being what it is, some people will look beyond the dangers of ephedra and seek ways to jump-start their weight loss program. Here's what experts say is generally safe: 



&ldquo;<strong>Sip a cup of green tea.</strong> &lsquo;It looks really interesting for weight loss,&rsquo; notes Adriane Fugh-Berman, associate professor of physiology and biophysics at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Studies suggest that beyond the caffeine in green tea (which boosts metabolism slightly), there appears to be a thermogenic effect from the tea itself. Drinking four to six cups of green tea per day seems to burn about 80 calories, says Heber, who cautions that doing so can also raise heart rate and blood pressure &mdash; the very same effects that make ephedra dangerous, especially when combined with caffeine. But experts also say there have been no adverse effects reported from drinking green tea. 



&ldquo;<strong>Try a meal replacement bar or shake.</strong> Research suggests that eating one of these with fruit or vegetables for breakfast or lunch can help reduce calories and thus aid in weight loss. At UCLA, studies found that meal replacements could produce a 5 percent body weight loss. Of course, if you add a meal replacement bar or shake on top of a regular meal, you&rsquo;ll undermine your efforts. 



&ldquo;<strong>Consider psyllium.</strong> This well-known botanical, an ingredient in Metamucil, is a soluble fiber. Oat bran and guar gum are others that, like psyllium, also help reduce blood cholesterol and can help make you feel full on fewer calories. &lsquo;There is also some evidence of mild weight loss with psyllium over placebo,&rsquo; notes Fugh-Berman. 



&ldquo;<strong>When in doubt, check it out.</strong> The Office of Dietary Supplements offers a free online database to search ingredients. Known as the <a href="http://ods.od.nih.gov/showpage.aspx?pageid=48" title="Office of Dietary Supplements IBIDS Database">International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements</a> (IBIDS), the database culls information and provides abstracts from a couple thousand scientific journals.&rdquo;

Tea brews good news on lowering cholesterol: “The benefits of a cup of tea continue to be studied. And while there may be positive effects, beware of the advertising claims. Some are overblown, based on kernels of information.

“Here are some of the latest findings about tea:

• The December issue of the Johns Hopkins Medical Letter: Health After 50 reports that for the first time, there is concrete evidence that certain extracts from black, green or red tea may help lower bad cholesterol.

“In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 240 people with elevated cholesterol, all of whom were on low-fat diets, took either a daily capsule containing tea extracts (equivalent to drinking seven cups of high-quality black tea a day) or a placebo. After 12 weeks, those taking the tea capsule lowered their LDL cholesterol by 16 percent, compared with no changes in those taking the placebo.

“The Johns Hopkins letter noted that there is little evidence that drinking tea lowers cholesterol, but that there may be something in tea that could be isolated to help lower cholesterol.”

Cholesterol meds in the spice cabinet?: “A pinch of cinnamon may prevent and control blood sugar and cholesterol levels for patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study done in Peshawar, Pakistan, and reported in the December issue of Diabetes Care magazine. ‘These effects are very substantial, very significant,’ said Richard Anderson, lead scientist at the US Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Md., which worked on the study with the Pakistani Department of Human Nutrition. The study, which involved 60 patients who were not on insulin therapy, found that both blood sugar and cholesterol levels decreased if subjects consumed 1, 3 or 6 grams of cinnamon per day for 40 days. Blood sugar and cholesterol levels in the placebo group did not change. Doctors probably will wait for a larger, more-conclusive study before recommending cinnamon-flavored treats to their patients. ‘The results are interesting,’ said Dr. Om Ganda, director of the lipid clinic at Joslin Diabetes Center. ‘We have to study these herbal and indigenous food products in more detail.’ Anderson said the lab plans a more complete study, focused on isolating the active component in cinnamon.”