Brush Valley Brewer

Do I have a habit (or habits) that are a threat to my well-being (physically, emotionally, and spiritually)?

If I find one… I will work out how much it costs me (in both time and money.)

I will consider another habit to take its place that will benefit my well being (physically, emotionally, and spiritually.)

I will work out what savings there may be between these two habits.

I will commit these savings to a cause that, if funded, would reduce global injustice (as I might see it.)

I will consistently give those “savings” to that cause for a minimum three year period (giving one year’s notice of cancellation.)

As a result I will receive a “Double Benefit.” My own health, etc. improved “well-being” and my contribution to Global justice. [Graham Kerr]

2RSS.com offers a free conversion service where they will convert your Atom feed to RSS, so if you have an Atom feed, you can also offer an RSS feed. Here is my RSS feed.

Breakfast this morning was two slices of toasted pound cake, half of a white grapefruit, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee.

No real lunch today, though I did have a couple hands full of peanuts. Dinner was Gretchen’s sausage and brown rice casserole and two glasses of Bolla Pinot Grigio and tin roof ice cream.

Just because two events follow each other does not mean that the second event was caused by the first. This is the fallacy that can occur when trying to deduce the cause of historical events by correlating that event with other historical events. I find it interesting that a newspaper would print two articles on the same day that both attempt to imply that the nations obesity resulted from a specific change: in one case the use of high fructose corn syrup and in the other the reduction in the use of fat.

First for the sweet:

An overweight America may be fixated on fat and obsessed with carbs, but nutritionists say the real problem is much sweeter — we’re awash in sugar.

Not just any sugar, but high fructose corn syrup.

The country eats more sweetener made from corn than from sugarcane or beets, gulping it down in drinks as well as in frozen food and baked goods. Even ketchup is laced with it.

Almost all nutritionists finger high fructose corn syrup consumption as a major culprit in the nation’s obesity crisis. The inexpensive sweetener flooded the American food supply in the early 1980s, just about the time the nation’s obesity rate started its unprecedented climb. [SFGate]

Next the fat:

Many dietitians now admit their one-size-fits-all approach to fat consumption is outdated, even going so far as to endorse such former pariahs as highly saturated coconut and other tropical oils.

The shift is driven as much by changing social attitudes as by stark epidemiological evidence: Despite a 30-year low-fat frenzy, Americans are fatter than ever, more than 65 percent classified as overweight or obese.

The nation’s obesity rate began to skyrocket in the mid-’80s — about the same time national low-fat public health campaigns were in full swing. In one year alone — 1998-99 — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures show that the nation’s obesity rate rose an astonishing 6 percent. [SFGate]

While I am not saying that I know, specifically, why Americans are fat. I am not saying even that there is a single simple explanation. I believe that there may be some truth to both of these arguments. In fact, both arguments sound highly plausible, perhaps even more so when taken together. What I am trying to say is perhaps explained by this quotation:

We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it — and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit on a hot stove lid again — and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore. — Mark Twain

My recommendation is simple: Do More; Eat Less. Eat a balanced, varied diet — nothing to excess — and match your diet to your activity level — or your activity level to your diet — your choice.

Not to be outdone by the soi-disant culinary experts at the Baltimore Sun and the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe strikes back with a tour de force trio of Ham Hocks, Baked Beans, and Brown Bread.

Homely baked beans are Boston’s signature, identified with the city since Colonial days. A traditional Saturday night supper for Puritan families, especially paired with brown bread, this dish, both sweet and savory, continues to provide a hearty meal — especially in the cold winds of winter.

Ham Hocks

• 1 pound Smoked Ham Hocks
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 3 tablespoons Cider Vinegar
• ½ cup fresh Parsley Stems
• 2 sprigs fresh Thyme
• 6 cloves Garlic, peeled
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 3 teaspoons Salt
• 8 cups Water

1. In a large stockpot, combine the ham hocks, onion, vinegar, parsley, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and water. Bring to a boil.
2. Turn the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook for 1 hour.
3. Remove the hocks from the liquid. Strain the cooking water into a bowl. Measure 6 cups and set them aside.
4. Pull the meat off the bones, discarding the fat. Dice the meat. Measure ½ cup and set it aside.

Baked Beans

• 1 pound Dried Navy Beans
• 6 cups of Ham Hock Stock
• ½ cup diced Ham Hock
• ¼ pound Bacon, cut into strips
• 2 Onions, chopped
• 1 cup Diced Canned Tomatoes
• 6 tablespoons Molasses
• ¼ cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup Cider Vinegar
• 6 tablespoons prepared Mustard
• 1½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Ginger
• 1½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• ½ cup Ketchup
• 5 Bacon strips (for garnish)

1. Set the oven at 300°F.
2. Rinse the beans, drain, and discard any bad ones. In a large stockpot, bring the beans and ham hock stock to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cover the pot. Simmer the beans for 15 minutes.
3. In a large, oven-proof casserole, combine the ham hock, bacon, onions, beans and their liquid, tomatoes, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, salt, ginger, cayenne, and ketchup. Stir well. Lay the the bacon strips on top.
4. Cover and bake for 4½ to 5 hours, stirring the beans every hour, or until they are very tender. Uncover and bake for 1 hour more.
5. Remove the beans from the oven and let them cool slightly before serving.

Brown Bread

• Butter (for the pan)
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 cup Rye Flour
• 1 cup Cornmeal
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 2/3 cup Molasses
• 1 cup Raisins

1. Set the oven at 300°F. Generously butter an 8½-by-4½-by-2½-inch loaf pan. Tear off a piece of foil that will cover the top of the pan and leave a 1-inch border. Butter one side. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat, rye, and cornmeal. Add the milk, molasses, and raisins. Blend well.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place the foil, buttered-side down, over the top. Firmly seal the edges of the foil around the top of the loaf pan. Place the sealed pan in the middle of a roasting pan large enough to hold the dish comfortably. Pour enough boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides.
4. Bake the bread for 3 hours or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
5. Remove the foil and cool the loaf on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the pan and turn the bread out to cool slightly. Slice and serve warm.

I would just like to thank Wena for adding me to her blog list over at : : mum-mum : : eat-eat : :. Thanks, Wena!

Breakfast this morning was half of a white grapefruit, half of a glass of orange juice, and several cups of coffee. I weighed 156 pounds.

We made up a batch of frijoles refritos (refried beans) this morning. Lunch was a quesadilla that we made with the refried beans, green chilies, and hot sauce.

Gretchen’s sister’s birthday is coming up in a few days and we are going to celebrate it tonight. We made a pound cake and will accompany it with vanilla ice cream and our glazed apples.

While we were doing all this cooking and eating our quesadilas, we had two glasses of [yellow tail] Shiraz.

We did not think we wanted any dinner apart from our dessert, so we just had a hand full of peanuts and a glass of Bolla Pinot Grigio.

We had coffee with our dessert and, after we got back, another glass of Bolla Pinot Grigio.

Breakfast this morning was half of a white grapefruit, a piece of toasted Italian bread with strawberry jam, and a cup of coffee. I weighed 156 pounds.

At work this morning I had two cups of green tea with a cinnamon stick. Lunch was the Panda Express kung pao chicken with mixed vegetables on chow mein noodles with hot and sour soup, a small sierra mist and a fortune cookie.

You make people realize that there exist other beauties in the world.

Lucky Numbers 11, 14, 19, 34, 37, 39

As I said the other day, Gretchen and I both decided we wanted to try out the recipe for West Lake Fish Soup from The Minimalist’s column in the New York Times the other day. I also said I would let you all know how it turned out.

In general we liked it, though I think my expectations were too high for a first try with a new recipe. I guess I was expecting ambrosia. However, it did grow on us, and in the end we thought it was a nice way to use a piece of flounder.

After making it, I believe there may be at least one typo in the recipe, though I do not know where it is. The recipe calls for six cups of stock, one cup of peas, the fish, the eggs, and the other ingredients. This ends up with about eight cups of soup, though the recipe says it only serves four. Now quite a while ago I did a little investigation to decide how big a serving of soup should be. For the purposes of determining the nutritional information, a serving is one cup. In fact, even though we have several styles of soup bowls they all hold just about one cup. Gretchen likes to think she is getting her money’s worth, so she manages to squeeze about a cup and a third into them. Working with one and a third cups as a serving in our house would result in six servings — not four. Though The Minimalist may have big bowls.

Given this question about how much soup we are supposed to end up with I also had to question the amount of corn starch to use to thicken the soup. The recipe calls for two tablespoons and I do not believe that is near enough to thicken that much liquid — and it did not. Again, I may have been expecting too much when I was thinking it might end up as thick as, say, crab corn soup, which is almost as thick as a chowder but whose thickness comes from the use of creamed corn as an ingredient. Though I would have been happy if it were just as thick as, say, hot and sour soup. In the end, I really could not tell it had been thickened at all even though we did bring the soup to a vigorous boil after adding the corn starch.

I am also curious about the use of just the egg whites. I would have expected the whole egg. I do not know whether this is just an attempt to make the recipe more “healthy” by reducing the cholesterol, or whether this is actually an authentic technique. I think in the future I will use the whole egg.

We used homemade stock. We do not add any salt to our stock. We also use a low-sodium soy sauce. In the end, the soup needed additional seasoning. The Minimalist says to “and salt if necessary.” We thought it was necessary. If you use regular soy, or canned stock, you probably will not need additional seasoning.

I felt the need to add more pepper at the table, though I always add more pepper to my hot and sour soup as well. Gretchen was fine with the recipe amount and in fact said her mouth was already on fire. We both added more soy sauce at the table as well. Though I think that is a nice garnish. Soy added during cooking just darkens the soup overall, but soy added at the table gives a nice marbled coloration to the soup, adding to its visual appeal.

Overall we were happy with our first attempt. We already have plans to try it again and will play with the ingredient amounts to suit it to our tastes.

We also tried a new wine — Casella Wines [yellow tail] Shiraz. We liked it. The spicy richness of the wine paired well with the soup.

So, dinner was three bowls of West Lake Fish Soup (yes, we ate all six servings between us, but hey, we had to figure out the right seasoning levels ), and two glasses of [yellow tail] Shiraz.

Our cat, Minby, likes to lay on her back and watch us while we work in the kitchen. Strange cat…

A farm I pass on the way to work has a few Toulouse geese.