Anatomy of a Food Label - Part 2

When you look at the Nutrition Facts Table on food labels, do you know what it means when you see calories from fat? What about Percent Daily Value (% Daily Value)? Do you understand that? It's explained in this week's column. Many of us make decisions based on the Health Claim or Nutrient-Content Claim of food labels... what are those? Read this week's column where that and much more is discussed. Does the label on your Canola or Vegetable oil bottle say: Cholesterol Free? If it does, it is a sales gimmick! Read why in the column. This concludes the 2-part series on the Anatomy of a Food Label. The column is full of tons of easy-to-understand information that I am sure you will be copying and saving.

Just one important note - click here to see and read an enlarged version of diagram mentioned in the column. Once there, dependenting on your browser, you may have to click open or download to view the diagram. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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As many of you know, I am not really a breakfast person but for the past few months I've been trying to eat breakfast because I know that it's an important meal of the day. During the week, I eat oat bran and alternate with cornmeal porridge with a sprinkling of cinnamon and then on weekends, when I have a little more time, I prepare a meal-like breakfast such as the one shown after the cornmeal porridge.

CORNMEAL PORRIDGE

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup finely ground cornmeal
• 1/3 cup room temperature water
• 1 cup water
• Sugar and milk to taste
• Dusting of freshly ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Add cornmeal and 1/3 cup water to a bowl and let soak for 5 minutes
2. Heat 1 cup water and bring to a boil on medium heat. When the water comes to a boil, pour in soaked cornmeal (scrape the bowl to get everything)
3. Stir with a whisk immediately to avoid lumps. Reduce heat to low and let cook for 4 - 5 minutes
4. Sweeten with sugar and milk to taste, pour into a bowl, dust with ground cinnamon and eat hot

FRIED PLANTAIN & EGGS

Ingredients

For fried plantain:

• 1 large green plantain
• Oil for shallow frying
• Salt to taste

For scrambled eggs:

• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Sliced green onions (white & green parts)
• Sliced (or minced) chilies to taste
• Salt to taste
• (use a non-stick pan & flat rubber spatula)

Directions

For fried plantain:

1. Remove the top and bottom tips of the of the plantain (about 1/2 - 1 inch both sides), peel the plantain, cut in half (crossway), then slice down the middle (lengthwise) and then cut in half lengthways to create wedges
2. Heat oil in pan on medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry plantains for about 5 - 6 minutes turning once. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels and immediately sprinkle with salt. Set aside in a warm place

For scrambled eggs:

1. Crack eggs in a bowl along with the milk and whisk to mix. Do not over beat the eggs, you just what to break up the yolks and mix the yolks, whites and milk together
2. Add oil to cold pan on medium - low heat; pour eggs into cold pan and let start to cook. You will need to shake the pan and stir and break up the eggs as they cook gently. Tip: I ususally remove the pan from the heat at various intervals and then put it back over the heat, this is to ensure that the eggs do not over cook or get scorched.
3. When eggs are about done, season with salt and then toss in the green onions and chilies. Fold to incorporate
4. Serve hot with fried plantains and a huge cup of tea or coffee

Before I go, I want to thank all the readers of my blog and column for understanding what it is that I do. Thank you very much. Have a good weekend everyone!

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Anatomy of a Food Label - Part 1

Food manufacturers the world over, invest a lot of money in designing and creating labels for their food products. The reason is simple – to attract consumers. However, some studies suggest that many of us find it difficult to interpret the information on labels. And therein lies the rub. Click here to read this week's column which is Part 1 of a 2-Part Series looking at the Anatomy of a Food Label.

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I love the idea of stuffed peppers, but once they are stuffed and cooked, all I want is the stuffing, 90-percent of the time I discard the peppers which work great as cooking vessels :) It was no different with this recipe. Over the holidays there were lots of Cubanelle peppers to be found in the market. I like them simply because they are so darn attractive. As soon as I saw the Cubanelles, I knew exactly what I was going to make: Stuffed Peppers with Black Bean Sauce, and so I did. The recipe did not disappoint. I could not find ground pork (minced pork) and so I used ground beef (minced beef) instead. I was worried about whether or not the beef would be tender when cooked, and I am happy to report that it was; I think the cornstarch in the mixture keeps the meat tender. Head over to Food Mayhem for the recipe.

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And finally, an introduction. My dear friend Tuty has finally started blogging! Yayyyy! Scent of Spice is the name of her blog and some of you may remember me talking about her when she made Yellow Fried Chicken for me when I met her for the first time (in person) in December of 2008. She's a fantastic cook. I've already bookmarked her Roast Chicken with "Bajak" Chili Sauce which I want to make soon! Please head over and give her a big warm welcome to the world of food blogging. Happy blogging Tuty!

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My First Vegan Dinner

WANTED: A Shelter Box. Click here for details

Smack in the middle of Christmas week, a time filled with ham, turkey, lamb and chicken, I hosted my first vegan dinner! A Vegan in the Sun and her husband came to visit and that's how it all came about. Read about the planning, the anxiety and the dinner itself, it in this week's column. For a taste of some Caribbean Vegan food, be sure to check out Tay's blog!

Here's what I made. Oh, there's a challenge issued at the end of the column, check it out and let me know if you are interested. Recipes for the Chickpea Patties & Green Bean Mallum are at the bottom of the column. Click here for the Lemon Rice Recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 large bell peppers (green, red, yellow)
• 1/3 cup dressing (recipe follows)

Dressing

• ½ cup distilled vinegar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt

Equipment

• 1 small saucepot
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 large bowl
• 1 dining fork
• 1 dining spoon

Method

For dressing:

1. Add all ingredients to saucepot and place on medium heat. Stir with wooden spoon to dissolve
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from heat and let cool completely

For pickle:

1. Cut peppers in half and remove the seeds and stem. Slice lengthways into strips
2. Add sliced peppers to bowl, pour 1/3 cup dressing and toss thoroughly using spoon and fork. Set aside tossing a few more times until ready to serve

Notes

• You’ll have more dressing than you need, store the remainder in an airtight container in the fridge for another use

• Pickle can be made days ahead, stored in an airtight container, refrigerated. The dressing can be made as well for use with carrots or cucumbers
  

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The New Year... Need Help for Haiti

Updated: Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010

Haiti needs our help. Please give whatever you can.

Donate to Haiti earthquake victims:

- Save the Children. Donate online or make checks out to “Save the Children” and mail to: Save the Children Income Processing Department, 54 Wilton Road, Westport, Conn. 06880

- UNICEF. Go online to unicefusa.org/haitiquake or call (800) 4UNICEF.

- Direct Relief International. Donate online.

- Mercy Corps. Go online or mail checks to Haiti Earthquake Fund, Dept. NR, PO Box 2669, Portland, Ore. 97208 or call (888) 256-1900

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Hi Everyone,

All the best for the New Year! I hope that 2010 is off to a good start for you and I wish you much success, good health and happines, not just for this year but always.

So, how have you been? And how was your holiday? Mine was really quiet, just the way I like it. I don't know but I find that the older I get, the less fussy I feel about the "bells and whistles" of things. I just want to enjoy them for their significance and to make the time meaningful.

I thoroughly enjoyed my break and though I got around to many blogs, I am sure that there are some I missed... sorry about that. Thank you all for stopping by and for your Christmas and New Year's wishes! Much appreciated.

The past week marked the beginning of the 4th year of my blog and newspaper column... seems like just yesterday I started them... to start the year off, I reflected on the traditional drinks that are made around the holidays to warm the hearts and the bodies. Take your pick - Ponche de Creme, Mulled Wine, Egg Nog, Ginger Beer, Buttered Rum, Sherry, Sorrel. Let me tell you about the Sherry tradition in my home and what a treat coffee was on Christmas morning. Click here to read the column.

Speaking of Sorrel, I saw a new variety for the first time in this year's offerings of sorrel at the market. At first I thought that the vendor had picked the unripened sorrel but when I enquired, she told me that this is white-green sorrel is of a different variety. Find out in this week's column how it measures up to the traditional red sorrel.

I wanted something different this year instead of the traditional macaroni pie and so I made my friend Felix's Corn Pie - love, love, love it! I made the recipe precisely as directed and the only thing I did differntly was to stir in some grated cheese just before adding it to the dish to bake and sprinkling some cheese on top before baking. You've got to try it. Here is his recipe.

Still in the baking mode, I made Gourmet's Walnut Date Bread and it was excellent with tea or you may prefer coffee. As you eat the bread you bite in to chuncks of sweet dates and big nuggets of walnuts! Everyone liked the cake as is, but personally, given that I don't have a big sweet tooth, I'd reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup as the dates provide an adequate amount of sweet for me. The suggested accompaniment was cream cheese. I just served mine as is.

I couldn't find the recipe online, if you have the last edition of the magazine it is on pg.14 the Contents page. For all others, here it is:

WALNUT DATE BREAD

Ingredients

1 cup boiling-hot water
10 oz pitted dried daes, coarsely chopped (2+1/4 cups)
1/2 (2oz) stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1+1/4 cup walnuts (4+1/2 oz)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar (I used Demerara sugar)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Pour boiling-hot water over dates and butter in a bowl and let stand until cool, about 30 mins
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F with rack in middle
3. Lightly butter 9 x 5-inch loaf pan
4. While date mixture cools, toast walnuts in oven until a shade darker, about 10 minutes. Leave one on. Coarsely chop nuts
5. Stir egg and vanilla into date mixture until combined
6. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt
7. Stir in date mixture and nuts until just combined
8. Spread evenly in loaf pan and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1+1/2 hours
9. Cool bread in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely

That's it from me for this week! Hope your weekend is a good one and I'll see you around as I blog hop to see what you're up to.

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