Nutrition is confusing.

Exhibit A: Why Saturated Fats Are Good For You.

Is soy good for you?

Ever-thoughtful and super smart Cynthia Lair (author of a very good whole foods cookbook and faculty member at Bastyr University in Seattle) offers a really balanced take on this very important question.  Not surprisingly, she comes out strongly in favor of moderation.  Also: think tofu or tempeh, not Boca burger.  Check it out right here.

Stock/broth basics

I mention broth on here all the time, but I’ve never really posted the how-to.  The good news:  it’s really easy.  The great news:  it adds immeasurable flavor and nutrition to everything you make.  I’ve adapted this very basic recipe from Nourishing Traditions:
Basic Stock
1 chicken or turkey carcass, or 1-2 lbs of beef soup bones
Water [...]

Dog bone broth

So, Adam was chattin’ it up with one of the meat department employees at the co-op tonight, and he asked whether they sold soup bones. The guy said, “Yeah, we do… it’s just that we don’t label them as soup bones.” It’s a sign of the times:

Adam got 1 1/2 lbs of soup [...]

Garden update: November edition

Who’d have thought I would have a garden update for the month of November?  Despite numerous freezes and a couple of snowfalls, we still have a couple of things going on outside.  First, some kale that I planted in July or so.  It never got above micro-size but it was enough to make a little [...]

Different fermentation method

We’re making a new batch of sauerkraut right now, and it’s our biggest batch ever: 5.5 quarts.  My normal method, while the kraut is fermenting, is to keep the jar tightly sealed, and open it about twice a day and let out the built-up gas and push down on the cabbage a bit.  If you [...]

Sauerrüben

Continuing down the path towards becoming a total fermentation maniac, I tried a new one this week: sauerrüben.  It’s just like sauerkraut, except it’s made with turnips instead of cabbage.
I think I finally realized the whole purpose and meaning of turnips.  I’ve cooked with them occasionally before, and was uninspired until now.  But something magical [...]

Book review: Nourishing Traditions

Nourishing Traditions
The cookbook the challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats
By Sally Fallon, with Mary Enig, Ph.D.
I’ve been putting this off for a couple months now.  How do you review a book like this?  This all started with a post I did for this blog back in April.  A comment on another blog led [...]

“Smart Choices” labels: misleading at best

I am not shocked by this (via kottke.org), but still disappointed.  I have to believe that somewhere in the FDA is someone who really, truly, actually cares about trying to help Americans choose healthy foods.  But programs like “Smart Choices” really make me wonder.
From William Neuman’s NY Times article:
Mr. Jacobson objected to some of the [...]

Is the local food movement making a difference?

I read this story in the paper yesterday. (How quaint!)  Star Tribune had one of their “let’s print two differing opinions side-by-side” opinion features.
Local foods make a difference vs. Local foods don’t really make a difference.
Greg Breining, the “anti-local foods” guy, makes all the usual arguments, including the one about how the transport of food [...]