Food for Thought (A Forward from my Mom)

Truth IS stranger than fiction...Who says truth isn't stranger than fiction, but the following does make sense. I hope you enjoy the information, it's accurate. Sounds just like something a higher power would do.

Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.

* A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots great ly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

* A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

* Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape look S like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

* A Walnut looks like a little brain (come on be honest, you were thinking something else!), a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

* Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

* Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

* Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

* Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the number of Sperm, a way to overcome male sterility.

* Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

* Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

* Grapefruits, Oranges , and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

* Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Orthorexia?

Jaime sent me this awesome article about food obsession (and not in a good way)!

Lentil Soup (Sort of)

This lentil soup looks delicious, right? The recipe was simple and ideal as I had most of the ingredients on hand and my monthly grocery budget was maxed.

I'm not sure how to explain the mess below since I followed the recipe for the most part. My only deviation was using regular lentils, but as you can see that wasn't the issue. My lentils held their shape. My version tasted okay, but it did not look okay and certainly didn't have the soup-y texture I expected.

It is going to be a while before I try this again, if ever.

Busy Day Cake

I love sweets. The Busy Day Cake recipe on Orangette with its cute story was irresistible.

It seemed so simple and really it was, except for my inspired hand creaming the butter and sugar idea. (I think the butter wasn't quite soft enough leading to blisters from my attempt to cream it by hand.) In spite of that mishap, this took maybe 20 minutes to pull together.

The cake isn't overly sweet and for once I managed to not over mix it, so it rose nicely. My only complaint is the cake is a little dry and crumbly. In fact, it resembles slightly sweet, dry cornbread without the corn flavor.

I'll probably make this again eventually. No rush.

Tomato Sauce

I've been taunted by the 28-ounce can of peeled, whole plum tomatoes on my shelf for almost a year. I purchased a few after reading Superfoods last year (good book!) and made soup with most of them, but none of the recipes I have selected since required non-diced canned tomatoes.

Hungover and tired, I decided I really wanted spaghetti and somehow my fuzzy thought process remembered seeing this recipe for Tomato Sauce on one of my favorite food blogs. It was an excellent rediscovery that made for a tasty, easy dinner.

It wasn't so good that I will stop buying pre-made spaghetti sauce, but I will make it again one day I'm sure.

P.S. Save the onions and eat them. Yum. They were almost better than the sauce.

Broiled Salmon with Spinach and Feta Saute

My arugula and feta were dying a slow, painful death. I felt an urge to eat fish. I have a never ending supply of pine nuts (thanks, Mom!). I wanted something nice to eat for Valentine's Day. Conveniently I had Everyday Food's March 2008 issue with the page folded down to a recipe for Broiled Salmon with Spinach and Feta Saute.

With a substitution of arugula for spinach, I was on my way. This was done in fifteen minutes, it looked classy, and while a little bitter tasted great overall. I can't even complain about the bitterness as it was likely caused by using aging arugula in place of the suggested spinach. I will definitely make this again with the proper ingredients and more greens.

Bon Chon Chicken i.e. KoFC

For months now Deb and I have been discussing Korean Fried Chicken (i.e. KoFC due to her cleverness not mine). She was going soon after our last dinner outing and I was intrigued. I've never loved American Fried Chicken - so greasy, crusty and slimy, and for a long time horrifyingly fattening -- but KoFC seemed different, especially after this New York Times Article. Last night we visited Bon Chon, which Gothamist has some great pictures of here.

Without help it would be hard to find as it looks closed from the outside, if you even realize it is on the second floor. While waiting for Deb to arrive, I was weighing our other options just in case. It turns out Bon Chon was very open; it just is dressed as a nightclub with dim lighting, not-so-attentive staff, loud music, and uncomfortable bottle service style tables.

We ordered a large platter, 9 drumsticks, half Soy Garlic and half Hot Spicy. It is accompanied by some sort of pickled white vegetable and a cabbage salad with a flavorless dressing. I'm pretty sure the purpose of these accompaniments is to tone down the Hot Spicy. Both sauces had a great flavor and the texture is unique - kind of like crispy rotisserie chicken. Don't come here if you want a quick meal; we had to wait for a table and it took a good 30 minutes for the chicken to come out.

I enjoyed it, but I think it will be a while before the urge to go again strikes me. Pio Pio trumps it in my book.

Vika, I hope my next visit will be with you... You love fried chicken and they serve a beverage called Soju. Apparently, it comes by the carafe and in Lychee flavor that doesn't even taste like alcohol. I didn't try as that would have been a recipe for a disastrous Wednesday night.

Location: 314 Fifth Avenue, 2nd Floor (closer to 32nd Street)
Hours: Sun-Thurs 4:00p-2:00a, Fri-Sat 4:00p-4:00a
Cost: $$

Black and White Rice Krispie Treats

Ever since spotting this recipe for Black and White Rice Krisipie Treats, I knew I had to make them. While they aren't exactly thematically correct for Valentine's Day it seemed like a good opportunity. I also am secretly celebrating my almost one-month anniversary at the new job where I have co-workers to share treats with!

I went to three CVS's to find cinnamon hearts to add in for a festive effect; unfortunately, we barely had bowls big enough to mix the marshmallows, Rice Krispies, etc. so I had to skip it. My application on top after the fact didn't stick too well either. Oh well! I've enjoyed eating them on the side. ;)

I had forgotten how easy Rice Krisipie Treats are to make. My two batches took around 45 minutes. I think I'll revisit this again when I have more than one cupcake tin... That slowed the process down as I had to be creative with the shaping of the other set. It appears that the original ones are thicker too. I'm starting to think my silicone tin is shallow and that a new tin MIGHT fix all these squat comments about muffins, cupcakes, etc. made in it.