Batch of links

- The first gluten-free hotel in the US has opened, in Monroe, Louisiana! 

- Here is the best way to peel a hard-boiled egg. 

- The Atlantic had an article about the best free bread in America. While I appreciate the reporting, and love that they made it out to Lambert’s, the fact that it did not win is a travesty! 

- A 62-year-old Texan started branching out and trying new foods. I love this content!

- A great article about knife-sharpening, by Matthew Amster-Burton.

 - I had my first colonoscopy in May. I don’t think anything I write could top what Molly Wizenberg, Catherine Newman, and Anne Helen Petersen said on the subject. 

- I listened to older seasons of a podcast called Family Ghosts, in which every episode examines specific people that loom large in someone’s family history. I particularly liked the season finale of season 2, which was in the form of a musical! It was really good, so if you are looking for something to listen to on your next drive, I highly recommend it. (Each episode is a stand-alone story, so you don’t need to listen to the entire season.) Part 1 is here and then part 2 is here.

- From there, I also listened to two limited series podcasts that are narrative non-fiction. First, Pack One Bag is the story of a Jewish Italian family split by WWII, when some of them managed to escape Italy and others did not. It was so interesting – and, bonus, Stanley Tucci does one of the voices. Then, there was The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra, the story, as recalled by Barry Keenan, of how he kidnapped Frank Sinatra Junior in 1963. This one is wonderfully narrated by John Stamos.

Batch of links

- Cassava flour contains high levels of lead and, well, there go those chips I like.

- Is protein powder safe for teens? Not necessarily. And many brands contain too much lead.

- Did you know that Americans tend to eat more sugar as the weather gets hotter?

- Skin injuries could bring on food allergies, which would explain why people with eczema report more allergies.

- Also, good news, food allergies in children have plummeted.

- Lactose intolerance – and food restrictions in general – are linked to nightmares, though it looks like it only affects you if you consume the food that triggers you.

- One cool tip if you are ordering pizza for a kids’ party: get it double cutso that the pieces are smaller. Frankly, even as an adult, I think that would be helpful if you want to taste different flavors of pizza!

- Using ChatGPT isn’t as bad for the environment as we think.

- Two vaccines are associated with a lower risk of dementia (it’s shingles and RSV). This was a big study, and they compared to people getting a flu shot.

Batch of links

- I was surprised to find out that some ground spices, like cloves and star anise, can dissolve plastic and should therefore be stored in glass containers.

- Do you know where pasta carbonara was invented?

- Did I link to the The Official Seinfeld Cookbook yet? Pretty cool how a show about nothing managed to produce 60 recipes!

- I really enjoyed Julia Turshen’s essay about what counts as cooking.

- I’m pretty sure this at-home salad bar wouldn’t work for my lifestyle, but I love the way it looks!

- Some people are genetically predisposed to being vegetarians.

- I am sick and tired of being given a QR code instead of a menu, and thankfully, Anne Thériault feels the same way.

- Have you heard about the breakthrough study using Xolair to treat food allergies?

- In somewhat related news, food sensitivity tests can be dangerous for kids.

- Glad I’m posting this in time for the Olympics – an episode of The Burnt Toast Podcast about how we have only recently acknowledged that female athletes need to eat, and it turns out that the keto diet and intermittent fasting are not as effective for women as for men (but those diets are still recommended to women so often!).

Grilled Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Here’s a recipe that’s a bit more summery… This grilled chicken with avocado salsa was great! I really liked the lime and cilantro in the marinade, and avocado always hits the spot. It was easy to prepare (though I confess I roasted the chicken instead of grilling it) and tasted great. Bonus – it’s low in carbs, too!

1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 4 chicken breasts

For the marinade
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. salt, or to taste
¼ tsp. black pepper

For the avocado salsa
2 avocados, diced
2 small (or 1 large tomato), chopped
¼ cup red onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, de-seeded and chopped (optional, I did not use it)
¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste

In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the marinade and set aside.

Pound the breasts to even thickness or slice in half horizontally to get evenly sized breasts and add to the bowl of marinade. Mix through until the chicken is fully coated in the marinade. Use right away if needed or marinate for 30-minutes or up to 12 hours (obviously, marinating is better).

Grill chicken over medium-high heat or in a large heavy-duty skillet on the stovetop for 5-6 minutes per side or until the inside is cooked through and the outside is charred.

While the chicken is grilling, combine all the ingredients for the salsa in a small bowl.

Top the grilled chicken with fresh avocado salsa and serve immediately.

Liens de la semaine

- Pour vous réconcilier avec l’hiver au Québec (ou même si vous vous en ennuyez!), regardez cet épisode d’Échappées Belles, ça vaut vraiment la peine! 

- Saviez-vous qu’il y a des agrumes locaux à Laval? 

- Il y a aussi une Lavalloise qui fait pousser des plantes tropicales dans son jardin. 

- Il paraît que le ménage canadien moyen gaspille pour 3 000 $ de nourriture chaque année. 

- Avez-vous entendu parler du lait A2? Son contenu en protéines est différent du lait habituellement vendu en Amérique du Nord et il peut être plus facile à digérer pour certains (mais il contient quand même du lactose). 

- Bon, ça date, hein, mais voici Omar Sy et Bradley Cooper en train de cuisiner à Paris. 

- Une travailleuse autonome tente de marcher 10 000 pas par jour. 

- J’ai aimé le balado Marguerite : la traversée. Tout part de l’histoire de Marguerite Duplessis, la première esclave et première Autochtone à avoir lutté juridiquement pour obtenir sa liberté (en 1740). 

- Je suis encore linguiste dans l’âme, alors j’ai aimé cet article intitulé L’accent québécois n’est pas archaïque.

Batch of Bon Appétit links

 

Here’s Part 2 of the Bon Appétit links (Part 1 is here). 

- Why is Cream Soda Called “Cream” Anyway? This doesn’t give a definitive answer, but it’s informative! 

- Smoothie Tips. 

- Everything About Eggs. 

- Why I’ve Never Learned How to Cook, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Even though I clearly do cook, I enjoyed this article! 

- What You Need to Know About the Tipping Debate. Did you know that waiters in Texas make an abysmal $2.13 an hour before tips? 

- Here’s a day in the life of Nana Wilmot, a line cook at Le Coucou in NYC. (There’s also a video if you prefer, though it’s not as complete.) It raises the question of whether it’s possible for a woman to be a chef and have a family, or whether anyone can really afford to be a line cook in a big city. 

- Related: I Was Searching for a Cook Who Looked Like Me – Then I Found Edna Lewis, by Mashama Bailey, who opened The Grey in Savannah. 

- Buc-ee’s Is the Best Rest Stop in America. I’m biased because I live in Texas, and surprisingly enough there’s very rarely a Buc-ee’s on our road trips, but when we do stop there… it is pretty amazing! 

- An article about Frankie & Jo’s vegan ice creams. One of these days, I will plunk down the money and have a sample of everything shipped here. Unless I travel to Seattle first! 

- Speaking of which, Stop Telling Me to Travel Like a Local! I can’t get behind this article enough – really, I *want* to travel like a tourist! “That urgent tourist energy to see and do all sorts of things is far superior to the apathy of knowing something will always be there. Maybe it’s best not just to travel like a tourist, but to live like one too.” 

- What to Eat in Montreal in the Depths of Winter. Not sure if I’d be a local or a tourist, or something in between, but I’d be happy at all those places, that’s for sure!

Batch of Bon Appétit links

 I’ve decided not to renew my subscription to Bon Appétit. I still enjoy reading it, but the price has gone up outrageously in recent years. It used to be $12 a year, then it went up to $15, which was still a great deal. But now it’s $50 a year, yet what I get from it hasn’t suddenly tripled in value, so I’m just going to drop it and maybe give money to someone’s substack or podcast instead. Anyway, this prompted me to look through my bookmarks to print out recipes to which I would lose access, as well as round up articles that had seemed interesting. I’m going to break this up into a few posts, but here are some links to Bon Appétit articles. 

- There’s this thing called ground vanilla that I really want to try. It is exactly what it sounds like – vanilla beans that are ground to a dry powder. Sort of like vanilla bean paste, but without the additives. The thing is that with my personality, I’m not likely to deviate from a recipe that calls for vanilla extract, even though it would be really simple, and presumably really delicious. I think I’ll wait until I come across a recipe that calls for it specifically before deciding that I can’t live without tasting it! 

- I talked about aquafaba before, but had not posted this link, which has tips such as using 1 tablespoon of aquafaba instead of 1 egg yolk, 2 tablespoons instead of 1 egg white, and 3 tablespoons instead of 1 egg. 

- How to Develop a Recipe Like a Test Kitchen Editor. 

- Yes, I Bring My Children to Restaurants (this is possibly more aimed at non-parents than parents, though?). The Commandments of Going Out to Restaurants with Kids has tips for parents, though I feel like anyone who’s actually taken their kids to a restaurant would have figured these out already. 

- How Chefs Teach Their Kids to Cook (and Eat Their Vegetables), How To Teach Your Kids to Cook, and How to Convince Your Kids to Eat “Scary” Foods are on similar topics. 

- Why Restaurants Now Pay Attention to Kids’ Menus. Obviously this isn’t every restaurant, and I do feel like the vast majority oversimplify the kids’ menu, but I’m always pleasantly surprised when one treats them like little adults. 

- What Do Chefs Pack For Their Kids’ Lunch? 

- I can’t help but think that I’ve shared this already, but even so, it’s worth repeating: 50 Things Jenny Rosenstrach and Andy Ward have Learned About Feeding Kids. 

- Why Do Millennials Spend So Much Money on Food? There’s more to it than just inflation. 

- Some restaurants put so much effort into uniforms that diners want to buy them and, honestly, I can’t blame them. 

- What It’s Like to Be Pen Pals with Julia Child, and Julia Child, Like You’ve Never Seen Her Before.

- Here’s an interview with chef Marcus Wareing on training Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller for “Burnt”.

- How “Feed the Beast” Made an Entire Fake Restaurant for TV.

Batch of links

- I read two articles recently about a new study showing that early Europeans had not yet developed lactase persistence when they started raising animals for their milk (or, at least, not in the overwhelming proportions that we know today). There’s an article in the New York Times titled Early Europeans Could Not Tolerate Milk But Drank It Anyway, and one published by McGill University called Putting Up With Farts: A Story of Our Ancestors and the Animal Milk They Loved in which the information is popularized quite well. Essentially, it now looks as though people without lactase persistence were quicker to die in times of famine, which is why lactase persistence is now so prevalent in populations with European ancestry. 

- My friend Jen shared this article titled Stop telling busy parents to meal plan, though interestingly the URL says “meal prep” instead of “plan.” The gist of it is that when you have kids, especially small kids, you can’t spend as much time cooking as before, and that’s absolutely true. However, I am someone who does a lot of meal planning and almost no meal prepping ahead of time. The planning part, even though it’s long and sucks, actually helps me manage anxiety and free up brain space for the rest of the week. This isn’t to say that I’ll plan anything elaborate, just that I know what I’ll be eating for the week and will have the ingredients on hand. It also minimizes waste because I’ll plan to use up leftover ingredients before they go bad. And I always plan around my schedule so that I stay realistic in what I can accomplish on any given night. So all this to say that while I agree with the uncomplicated cooking advocated in the article, to me that’s an entirely separate thing from meal planning. 

- There was this really cool article in Bon Appétit, written by a woman who goes hunting for the first time. I found it well written, nuanced, showing pros and cons and all sides of the issue, and going in depth with facts and statistics as well as feelings. It’s a good article and I do recommend it. However, as I was looking it up online to link to it (Bon Appétit doesn’t put everything up right away upon print publication), it turns out that the author, Rachel Levin, is a fixture of the niche social media subculture of female hunters. She wrote about going bow-hunting years earlier (with some of the same players as in her recent firearm hunt in Bon Appétit, who presumably at this point are not experts she meets for the first time but are in her circle of friends already), and she was interviewed in 2020 about how unusual it is for Jews to hunt, given that hunted meat is not kosher. So all this left a bad taste in my mouth because she’s not the inexperienced layperson she made herself out to be, even though I’m sure she was at one point. 

- Molly Wizenberg wrote about Mollie Katzen’s cookbook Still Life With Menu. 

- Here’s an interesting article about why Italians avoided eating tomatoes for centuries. 

- I learned that the color of a hen’s eggs is correlated with the color of her earlobes. Hens with white earlobes lay white eggs, hens with red or dark earlobes lay brown eggs, and hens with blue earlobes lay blue eggs. 

- If your chocolate cake is dry, it could be due to the type of cocoa powder you’re using (hint: you want at least 1 g of fat per 5 g of cocoa).

- A study found that there’s a type of starch that can reduce cancer risk by more than half. It’s present in underripe bananas as well as beans, pasta, and rice. 

- Eating grapes can improve brain function and health in those with high-fat diets (in mice). 

- On the other hand, ultra-processed foods are linked to cognitive decline. 

- This article explains how the color of cheddar correlates with its taste, and there’s a really cool map showing regional preferences in the U.S.! 

- It’s PCOS Awareness Month! I enjoyed listening to these podcasts about the best diet for PCOS and snacking for PCOS (TL; DL: protein+produce or fiber+fat). 

- A new study showed that women with PCOS are at higher risk of having ADHD symptoms, and are more likely to have children diagnosed with ADHD. 

- And I really liked this video explaining what it’s like to have face blindness.

Houston

On our way up this year (our first time driving back to Canada since the onset of the pandemic), we made a first stop in Houston. I’ve always wanted to visit, but it still hadn’t happened after over 10 years in Texas! I kept thinking that we could just go on a long weekend, but this year I was forced to admit that the Engineer’s long weekends somehow never coincided with the kids’ long weekends, so if we wanted to visit, we had to make it happen in the summer. 

Our first stop, immediately following a nice lunch at nearby London Cafe, was Seismique, an immersive experience with light and sound. (To be honest, we also considered Candytopia, but decided that only one of the two was in our budget. Luckily, the Engineer had the brilliant idea to look up detailed YouTube videos of both visits, and Seismique was more up our alley.) Let’s get the downsides out of the way: first, it’s expensive. Second, it isn’t built with a logical path in mind, meaning that in order to see the whole thing, you’ll have to pay attention, double back, and follow along on a map. Except they don’t give you a map, they instead rely on you to download their app and use their cartoon map – the app is also necessary to interact with some displays, but others can be activated physically. Third, no backpacks or large bags are allowed, so plan accordingly. 

That being said, we really enjoyed our visit! The kids AND grownups enjoyed interacting with the lights and various exhibits. We loved the huge crocheted play structure, even though only the kids could use its full potential (and the Fox predictably got stuck at the top at some point, but we managed to coax him down). Really, apart from a few exhibits that were either hard to operate or not working well, everything was fun! 

We then ended the day by walking around Discovery Green, a large park downtown. There are green spaces, a pond, a playground, a splash pad, small cafés, sculptures, etc. It was a really pleasant way to unwind! Note that if budget had allowed, we would have booked a room at the adjacent Mariott Marquis Houston, which has a rooftop lazy river shaped like Texas! We then had dinner at nearby The Rustic. The openness and fans made us comfortable, and given that we had reached our noise quota for the day, we were glad there were no live performances that night. The food was good, albeit spicy. 

We started off the next day killing some time at the McGovern Centennial Gardens, which were really beautiful, especially the knoll with the spiral path! We then walked to the Children’s Museum Houston when it opened. The Engineer had suggested it the day before, so it wasn’t part of our original plan, but it’s a really nice museum, and I’m glad we went! We also had lunch there before walking back to the car. There were many other museums in the area that looked interesting and inviting! 

We then made a pit stop at the Rothko Chapel, a non-denominational place of worship and contemplation. The grounds are beautiful, and the inside of the chapel was more like a room in a modern art museum than any church I’ve been to. There is a skylight, and benches are arranged in concentric circles in an octagonal room. The white walls are decorated with what, at first glance, look like large rectangular canvasses painted black, but when you look more closely, you realize that one of them is actually purplish and has lighter brushstrokes, one is actually a burgundy rectangle on a dark grey background, etc. We walked around outside, but sadly, the adjacent Menil Collection was closed that day. 

Finally, we drove to the main event: the Space Center. I’m not a NASA buff, more of a casual fan, but this was really interesting to me. You can visit Space Shuttle Independence, a high-fidelity replica of shuttles used by NASA in previous programs. You’ll learn a lot about previous missions as well as current conditions on the International Space Station, about space and the NASA in general… You can even touch a rock from the Moon! We didn’t take the tours of the grounds because by then, we were all tired (especially the kids), so we went back to the hotel for a swim before dinner. I really liked Houston!

Batch of links

- Here are 10 things a restaurant critic learned the hard way when she opened her own restaurant. 

- The Your Last Meal podcast recently had an episode with Taylor Hanson, in which he discusses realizing at age 15 (while on tour in Italy) that a tomato can taste really good. I must have been in my twenties when I found out! I love food awakenings. You can listen here. 

- Great Bon Appétit article on the future of sushi. 

- The same issue talked about this sustainable kelp burger that I actually want to try! 

- I enjoyed this short TED-Ed video: Myths and misconceptions about evolution. It clears up some concepts that aren’t always well relayed to laypeople. 

- While we’re at it: public schools that teach creationism. I mean, even Pope Francis got with the program, so why is this still a thing?

Batch of links

 - There’s a local company called Kiolbassa Smoked Meats that makes good sausages (among other things). I just found out that they donate a lot of food to communities, both through food banks and disaster relief efforts. During the 2020-2021 year, they donated 50 tons of food in 26 cities in the U.S., serving a total of approximately 589,000 people! I’ll be sure to look for their products next time I want sausage. 

- Three restaurants that are revolutionizing the kids’ menu. I wish more would follow suit! 

- Here’s a great essay about how oatmeal saved the author’s father during the Great Migration. 

- 9 ways the pandemic changed American kitchen design. 

- So, they have finally invented meal cubes. I have questions (like, does it provide a feeling of satiety?) and I have to admit I’m not uninterested… I mean, I can totally picture us on a long road trip just eating cubes for lunch instead of junk food! 

- You’ll like this profile about Dr. Glaucomflecken, whom I follow on Twitter. 

- I loved this essay titled What My Toddler’s Nom-Noms Taught Me, in which Jessi Klein discusses motherhood and the hero’s journey. 

- Speaking of which, you might enjoy Inconceivable, a documentary about a couple undergoing IVF treatments. (Spoiler alert: this one ends well.)

Batch of links

- I admit I often peel cloves of garlic before mincing them by hand (or grating them on a microplane), but it certainly is faster to use a garlic press, especially since you don’t need to peel the cloves first. Just be sure to rinse the press clean promptly! 

- Speaking of garlic, you can use grated apple or potato to remove the smell from a cutting board. I can confirm that this works with onion smells as well, and it works better than baking soda! However, I just don’t use this tip because it would feel like wasting food on a regular basis to me. (Like, if I happen to be making latkes, I might let some of the potato rest oxidize on the cutting board, but I’m not going to do that every week!) 

- Did you know that plant-based isn’t synonymous with vegan? In a nutshell, plant-based diets are primarily, but not exclusively, made up of plants – they *can* include animal products. As someone who avoids lactose, I know how important it is to check the label, even if the front of the package says “plant-based”! That being said, I’m not sure it’s actually a generic-specific relationship (vegan being a specific kind of plant-based). After all, an Oreo cookie is vegan, but is it really plant-based? 

- Did you know there’s a fix for “fishy” seafood? Apparently, you should soak it in milk. (I don’t like seafood in the first place, so this doesn’t make me want to salvage anything…) 

- An unexpected tip for buying soft cheeses, depending on your texture preference. 

- The top 10 baking questions people ask Claire Saffitz, answered. 

- I don’t know why I never got around to posting this – Dave Grohl is hooked on barbecuing! 

- Six facts about U.S. mothers. 

- Another pre-pandemic article… When paternity leave was introduced in Spain, men who took advantage of it were just as likely as before to remain in the workforce, but they also remained more engaged with childcare after returning to work. A surprising result, though, was that they then desired fewer children than before. Researchers think that spending more time with their kids “may have made men more acutely aware of the efforts and costs associated with childrearing.” 

- I saved the best for last! I’ve discovered a new-to-me podcast called Strange and Unexplained with Daisy Eagan. As the name suggests, it’s about events that are strange and have not been explained, even though they’re not necessarily paranormal. Episodes are roughly 30 minutes long and I’m so into them that I can use this podcast to bribe myself (as in, “Finish filing your taxes and then you can listen to one more episode”). It even had an episode about one of my favorite mysteries, the case of the Dyatlov Pass. (Warning: the subject matter and language are not appropriate for young listeners.)

Another batch of links

- OK, despite the topic of my past batch of links, I’m not all about weight, health, and diets! Here’s something fun: look at this great cake-decorating technique! 

- Did you know they make biodegradable straws out of pasta? They’re gluten-free, too! 

- There’s a book called Fictitious Dishes, where the author created and photographed meals from famous passages in literature. 

- A bride spent 9 months knitting her own wedding dress (and hand-beading her stockings), and it looks beautiful! 

- Alright, so I finally caught up with the rest of America and listened to Serial, Season One, in which we learn all about how Adnan Syed was convicted for the murder of Hae Min Lee in 1999. I came away from that podcast feeling that the poor man never got a fair trial. Then, at Dear Sister’s recommendation, I listened to Undisclosed, Season One, which did a much more thorough job of getting to the bottom of things. It’s hosted by lawyers, whereas Serial was hosted by a reporter. It’s now clear to me that Adnan Syed is an innocent man and that Hae Min Lee’s killer is still out there, mostly because the Baltimore Police Department was more concerned with officially closing a case than with actually solving it. (I think that if the police had done their job properly, for example by actually testing the DNA found at the crime scene, the fact that Mr. Syed got ineffective assistance from his lawyer would be irrelevant.) I’m not going to go on about this, because I would just write pages and pages and get really upset, but I really hope that some higher court will set things right. I mean, as right as they can be, considering that he’s been in prison for over 20 years already for a crime he did not commit. And obviously, there’s no way he's the only person who got thrown under the bus by the justice system like this. Anyway, if you have like 60 hours or so (!), these are your new podcasts.

Batch of links

- I really enjoyed this article by Alex Beggs in Bon Appétit about diet foods (and fads) in America. “Americans continue to expect that food will make us healthier, more virtuous, and thinner.” But it hasn’t worked out that way, and as a matter of fact, obesity has risen since the popularization of diets. 

- I enjoy Virginia Sole-Smith’s articles on our relationship with food, and I particularly liked this one titled The Fallacy of Eating the Way Your Great-Grandmother Ate. Let’s just say that when Michael Pollan popularized this concept, he didn’t say anything about privilege or the unpaid labor of women. 

- While we’re at it, I also *loved* her article about Noom, which is pretty much what I experienced when I tried it for several months. 

- I try to keep my PCOS in mind when I eat, and I liked this recent podcast episode of Hormonally Yours with the Hormone Dietician, about nutrition and PCOS. I especially like how this dietician uses DATA instead of hearsay, so I trust her more than many others out there. In my experience, eating the right foods for PCOS has allowed me to lose weight without being hungry, a first for me, though it’s still a work in progress. 

- I was fascinated by this article by Gary Taubes about obesity science. You see, the central premise of modern obesity science is that obesity is a matter of energy imbalance (i.e., more calories are consumed than are expended). But there’s not-so-new evidence that follows a different model, based on carbohydrates and insulin. Back in 1930, scientists were on to this. “The medical profession in general believes that there are two kinds of obese persons [:] those who have become fat because they over-eat or under-exercise; and those composing a second group whose adiposity is not closely related to diet, but is caused by an endocrine or constitutional disorder.” In essence, some people become overweight not because of how much they eat, and in fact can become overweight even if they under-eat. “To attribute obesity to ‘overeating’ is as meaningful as to account for alcoholism by ascribing it to ‘overdrinking’.” It’s easy to see how, if the central premise of research is flawed, many explanations for and mechanisms of fat metabolism will be completely overlooked!

- I’ve been paying more attention to my health lately, and I’m aware that a lack of sleep affects me negatively in many ways. As tempting as it is, I avoid revenge bedtime procrastination, because it leaves me too tired the next morning. It turns out, though, that the answer isn’t just going to bed early – bedtimes that are either too early or too late have negative effects. For heart health specifically, it looks like the sweet spot is between 10 and 11 pm, so I’m doing fine in that regard!

Batch of links

 - I *finally* got around to watching The Search for General Tso, a documentary by Jennifer 8 Lee. General Tso’s chicken is the most popular Chinese dish in the United States, and yet if you go to mainland China, very few people have ever heard of it. So where does it come from? Who was General Tso and what does he have to do with this dish? This film gets to the bottom of it (like, I was really pleasantly surprised by these answers), and it also explains much of the context (immigration, racism, adaptation, fusion cuisine, etc.). I don’t want to give too much away, but if you don’t mind spoilers, you can read reviews in Slate and The Kitchn. As for me, I really enjoyed this film and strongly recommend it! 

- I don’t think I’ve talked about it before, but I’m really enjoying lokokitchen and Julie_jonesuk, Instagram accounts with gorgeous pies. 

- I keep meaning to share this great interview with Jamie Lee Curtis. Did you know that she can’t stand to watch horror movies? I can’t say enough good things about that iconic photo shoot she did almost 20 years ago! Also, and I know this goes back to pre-pandemic times, but if you haven’t seen Knives Out, it was really good! 

- I recently read Enough by Shauna Ahern (formerly known as Gluten-Free Girl). It’s a memoir in the form of a series of essays, which she wrote after suffering a stroke. Her traumatic childhood left her with thought patterns of not feeling like she was enough, and she chose to find joy in her life until she finally felt like enough. I really enjoyed it! 

Here’s an excerpt titled Online, no one knows you’re poor, from when the author was working in a grocery store. I remember reading about this job on her blog, and thinking about both how unexpected and how oddly fitting it was that a James-Beard-winning cookbook author was now working in a grocery store to support her family (it should be said that this store paid living wages and provided health insurance). 

It also touched on something else I’m experiencing with my PCOS, namely the link between weight and health. While it’s true that being obese is correlated with negative health outcomes, the data tends to show that both the morbidly obese AND the hard-core athletes are at risk of an early death, but the correlation is less clear for those between the two extremes. And that losing weight does not actually predict better health. There are better predictors of an early death than weight: “smoking, high blood pressure, not exercising, drinking too much alcohol, living under the stress of not enough money, and social isolation are better predictors of early death than being overweight.”

We tend to think of the BMI (body mass index) as a measure of health, and that’s certainly how it’s been applied to me. But it turns out that it was originally meant as a tool to measure data on the scale of a population and it was not intended to be applied to individuals. It doesn’t take into consideration age, gender, ethnicity, or muscle mass. I listened to a very informative podcast on the subject that I recommend. 

The Engineer insisted that I present the “other” side of the fatphobia argument, i.e. the science that shows that fat is bad. He wants me to add two links: this one from the CDC, which essentially repeats things that were said on the podcast, and this one from Harvard, which at least does explain that there is a correlation on average between high BMIs and certain health conditions and negative outcomes, though it gives the same cautions as the podcast I referred to. 

TL;DR: Being overweight, especially being severely overweight, is correlated to negative health outcomes, but weight in and of itself is not a good measure or predictor of health.

Batch of links

- I loved this article in Parents magazine about how to get your kids excited about space. It contains lots of fun, doable activities, including viewing the Perseid meteor shower, which will peak August 12th. 

- If the kids are really bored during the day, here are some paper airplane folding instructions. 

- Human culture has been found to evolve just as slowly as biological evolution, which I found both surprising and depressing. 

- The case for using chocolate discs, wafers, pistoles, and fèves instead of chips.

 

- I loved this essay about the Boomer generation, diet culture, and fat phobia. I particularly liked this line: “The thing about diet culture is that whenever we replace one diet with another, there are a lot of people who never quite let go of the previous food fear.” 

- Here’s an article by Dr. Jen Guter about menopause. I *really* enjoyed her latest book, The Menopause Manifesto, and strongly recommend it! (While I’m at it, here’s her TED Talk, Why can’t we talk about periods?) 

- An interesting article titled Scheele’s Green, The Color of Fake Foliage and Death. 

- And a Modern Love essay worth your time: Let’s Meet Again In Five Years.

PCOS and stuff

[This is another rambling, personal post about health and, while it may seem specific to me, enough women suffer from PCOS (anywhere between 1 in 10 and 1 in 4, depending on the source) that it could be relevant to others as well. As always, feel free to skip it and wait for the next recipe!] 

In late 2020 and early 2021, it seemed like I was suffering from a few very minor health issues here and there, and my complaints were split between a few health practitioners with their own specialties. Then, right before the new year, I got some lab work that showed an increase in my cholesterol and my blood sugar (the latter was all the more out of left field considering that I never even had any signs of gestational diabetes); plus, there’s 20 pounds I never lost from my last pregnancy and I’m carrying it in my midsection instead of the pear shape I’m used to. I started wondering whether all my minor ailments and these new lab results were connected, and perhaps I needed a doctor who had an overview of the whole thing. So, I connected some dots on my own (unregulated PCOS? potential hypothyroidism? they are correlated, after all) and brought my concerns to my gynecologist at my annual visit; he agreed with some of my hypotheses and added some questions of his own (potential Hashimoto’s disease?). He wrote me a prescription for birth control to handle some of my symptoms and recommended I see an endocrinologist to rule out other stuff. 

So, I found an endocrinologist specialized in diabetes, metabolism, and thyroid disorders. He ordered more tests and concluded that my numbers are “borderline” (hypothyroidism, maybe Hashimoto), but at this point, they do no warrant such a diagnosis and do not require treatment beyond a diet change. He also brushed off my PCOS since I’m on birth control. Essentially, his diagnosis was that I’m getting older and my metabolism is slowing down, both of which are admittedly true. The nurse practitioner told me I need a low-carb diet, and I should eat more protein to feel full. This is already more helpful that simply being told “Try to lose weight” or “Just eat less” when, really, I’m hungry. It’s still a big adjustment! I was turning to whole grains to keep me full, but now I’m told that scrambled eggs would be better for me than oatmeal. Except I’m not going to cook eggs every morning, and besides, what should I eat as a side to the eggs if toast is off the table – yeah, I still have a lot of questions. 

Then, just a few days after that appointment, the Engineer forwarded me an article on CNN stating that women with PCOS are more at risk of complications from COVID-19 than the average patient, and… it wasn’t that fact so much as ALL THE COMORBIDITIES mentioned in that article that really got my attention. The PCOS itself puts me at risk for insulin resistance and Type II diabetes, obesity, inflammation, endometrial cancer, and a whole bunch of other things (like high LDL and low HDL, according to the Office on Women’s Health). This is in addition to possible symptoms like menstrual irregularities, obesity, hirsutism and male-pattern baldness (because of excess androgen hormones) that I already knew about. 

It turns out that PCOS is typically treated as a reproductive disorder, but it’s actually a metabolic disorder and the anovulation is just a symptom. It should really be renamed, because PCOS makes it sound like it’s strictly a reproductive disorder, and even the endocrinologist specialized in metabolism didn’t seem aware of its ramifications! 

As you know, I do my best to use reputable sources, but there’s still a lot more scientists can learn from this disease, even though PCOS was first reported 300 years ago this year and is “the most common hormonal condition for women of reproductive age” (Cleveland Clinic). It turns out that simple calorie restriction is not a good solution for patients with PCOS (or for those with insulin resistance in general), and I really should focus specifically on a low-carb diet. There are also symptoms like being hungry a few hours after eating and craving carbs that are more specific to those patients than to the general population (hence my sweet tooth?). At this point, this all makes sense to me, because I tried Noom for several months two years ago and even though I was consuming the amount of calories that should have had me going down to my goal weight, I was still stalled at more than 10 pounds over it for months and I eventually quit the program (which was overwhelming anyway). 

There are more symptoms and risks that no healthcare professional had discussed with me (some of these check out for me, some don’t): sleep apnea, depression, anxiety, inflammation, metabolic syndrome (Mayo Clinic); boils (Cleveland Clinic); acne, dark skin patches, skin tags, pelvic pain, fatigue, heart attacks and cardiovascular disease in general (PCOS Awareness Association); plus deficiency in vitamin D, magnesium, and iron (though these are also common in the general population). 

Here’s something that really stood out, given my lab results: according to the Office on Women’s Health, more than half of women with PCOS will develop Type II diabetes or prediabetes (insulin resistance) by age 40, and they will often have high levels of LDL and low levels of HDL cholesterol (whereas the opposite would be desirable). The CNN article I linked to above also quoted a doctor as saying that if two women both weigh 100 kg (roughly 212 lbs.), and one has PCOS but the other doesn’t, the one with PCOS is more likely to develop Type II diabetes – proving that the issue isn’t simply linked to her being overweight, but to the underlying condition. 

All this to say that I’m reading up on low-carb diets and have joined mailing lists of/bought cookbooks by registered dieticians specialized in nutrition for PCOS. (I’m avoiding some of the ones who are Instagram influencers and seem to me to be trying to make money through sensationalist means rather than consultations or online classes.) This is all still new to me, but I’m trying to navigate it as best as I can. In parallel, I’m reading The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter and also learning a lot from that (because admittedly, the risks of some of these conditions just increases with age and/or menopause, regardless of a PCOS diagnosis).

Batch of links

- The Engineer brought these gorgeous bell peppers home the other day and I just had to share. They are called Aloha peppers and I just love them! 

- I love the idea of s’mores, but hate when the chocolate isn’t melty. Which is why I’m delighted by Stuffed Puffs, marshmallows that are stuffed with melty chocolate. They look great for microwave s’mores, too! 

- The latest issue of Bon Appétit had a great article about food waste. On a side note, I am getting more and more serious about trying home composting. (The city of San Antonio actually started a food waste collection program, but we live just outside city limits, in a place where they don’t even recycle glass anymore, so I don’t see it extending here anytime soon.) 

- There’s a new online retailer of Asian groceries called Umamicart! They don’t deliver everywhere just yet, but are still expanding. 

 - You know how sometimes, you buy a new-to-you condiment thinking that you’re going to use it on everything and it’s going to change your life, but then you just don’t use it? You’re not alone. 

- There’s a reason why women often get cold faster than men in air-conditioned office buildings. 

- Did you know that 4th graders can get an annual family pass to all national parks – for free? See here for details. I hope this is still active when the Little Prince is in 4th grade! You could hit all 47 continental national parks in one epic road trip (the article was written before the pandemic, though).

Chocolate Truffle Pie with Strawberries

 

The Engineer and I decided to have a seder this year for the first time, and it went really well. To me, this meal is particularly fun because it’s not just about traditional foods, there are a whole lot of traditional activities as well (examples here for newbies); we also took some liberties with the Haggadah, mostly adapting (and greatly shortening) from this one, though I was partial to this 10-minute virtual version as well. 

Making a meal that is Kosher for Passover can be intimidating if it’s your first time, but I knew which dessert I wanted to make. I had torn out this chocolate truffle pie recipe from Bon Appétit what I thought was 4 or 5 years ago, but it turned out to be exactly 10 years ago. Well. I had to make it for dessert now that we wanted an “official” Passover meal! 

(We haven’t nailed down our go-to menu yet. The Engineer made a plate of smoked salmon and crudités as well as chicken schnitzel crusted with matzo meal. I made a simple apple cinnamon charoset, and we had the mandatory matzo. But it feels like there should be a matzo ball soup in there somewhere! I might reread this for inspiration next year. We served white grape juice – juice because I like it better than wine and we have kids; white because I’m the one laundering linens and children’s clothing in this house.) 

The original recipe was also served with orange-champagne sabayon, but I didn’t bother making it. I mean, if the truffle pie had called for a bunch of whipped egg whites, thereby leaving me stuck with a bunch of egg yolks, I would totally have gone for it, but that just wasn’t the case. Strawberries were plenty as an accompaniment. I’m not sure that “pie” is the right term for this dessert; even though it’s baked in a pie dish, it’s more like a cake to me. And despite what the original recipe said, serve this at room temperature, not chilled! 

While this was very good, I think that nobody truly loved it. Maybe next year I’ll make my poppy seed cake or my flourless chocolate cake, both of which are pareve as well. There are more dessert ideas here. Puddings are also typically a good choice for Passover, like this peanut butter pudding. 

For the truffle pie 

¼ cup almond meal (or very finely ground almonds) 

¼ cup matzo cake meal 

¼ tsp. salt 

1 lb. + 1 oz bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped 

6 Tbsp. (¾ stick) + 1 Tbsp. pareve stick margarine 

3 large eggs 

¾ cup sugar 

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 

1 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest 

sliced almonds, lightly toasted 

For the strawberries 

¼ lb. strawberries, hulled, sliced 

2 Tbsp. sugar 

1 tsp. finely grated orange zest 

For the truffle pie 

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease a 9-inch glass pie dish with margarine (I think mine is 10 inches). 

Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Combine 1 pound chocolate and 6 tablespoons margarine in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20- to 30-second intervals until smooth, stirring often. Set aside to cool. (I did this in a double boiler.) 

Beat eggs in large bowl 1 minute. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat until thick and pale yellow, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in orange peel, then chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low; beat in dry ingredients. Transfer batter to pie dish; place on rimmed baking sheet. 

Place baking sheet with pie in oven. Bake pie until cracked on top and tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes (mine was more like 37-40 minutes). Cool to room temperature (center will fall). 

Combine 1 ounce chopped chocolate and 1 tablespoon margarine in microwave- safe bowl. Microwave in 15-second intervals until glaze is smooth, stirring often. 

Drizzle glaze over pie. Sprinkle with almonds. 

For the strawberries 

Toss berries, sugar, and orange peel in medium bowl to blend. Chill until ready to serve, up to 4 hours. 

Cut pie into wedges; place on plates. Serve with strawberries.

Batch of links

- How 1971 changed the way we eat forever – Bon Appétit really found a lot of things that started that year! 

- Did you know you can make butter candles that double as sauce? 

- Tips for veganizing baking recipes. 

- I enjoyed this newsletter about trusting your child to eat (and navigating food allergies within a family). 

- Waffles + Mochi is out! I really like this kids’ show produced by Michelle Obama, about where our food comes from. It’s a little advanced for the attention span of the Fox, but hopefully we can get back to it next year. 

- Someone made garum at home. Garum is basically the ancient Roman recipe for fish sauce, and it reminded me of this episode of Spilled Milk. 

- I found The Ghosts of Brooks Brothers both interesting and disheartening. It’s about how small service providers are left dealing with the consequences of large corporations filing for bankruptcy. 

- My last link is a personal recommendation: I bought a butterfly garden with live caterpillars from Insect Lore last month. We got a little cup containing five tiny caterpillars, along with a pop-up mesh “cage” and detailed (but simple) instructions. We watched the caterpillars grow over the course of a week and a half, then they turned into chrysalises. We waited patiently, and one morning, we had painted lady butterflies! We observed them for a few days, then released them outdoors. It was a really fun experience, and not just for the kids! The caterpillars ship to the continental U.S., and Insect Lore also has ladybug larvae.