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Rachels Blog

Food blog review: 28cooks.blogspot.com

The other day while searching the internet for hummus recipes, I found a blog entitled “28 cooks.” The name is not to imply a bustling kitchen of 28 cooks, but rather that the blogger is a 28-year-old chef, posting her own recipes and food experiences. The fact that I found this blog while searching “hummus recipe” is not surprising, as at ‘28 cooks” this garbanzo bean spread finds its own recipe category among the more traditional soup, salad, main dish, dessert, etc.

The blog has nice drop-down menus along the left side to easily find recipes. I wish it were as easy to find a link back to the home page or to find a bio for the author. In fact, I was not able to find any biographical information; nowhere does it say what city she lives in. So in terms of overall organization this blog leaves something to be desired, though luckily recipe navigation is easy and useful.

The author is a semi-vegetarian (eats eggs and fish) and is health-conscious, so a lot of the recipes really appeal to me. Warming Ginger Noodle Soup, Chipotle Black Bean Cakes, Weekend Stir-fry, 3-Bean Salad, Cardamom Coconut Macaroons, and of course, Thai Basil Hummus, Moroccan Carrot Hummus, Horseradish Hummus, Sun-dried Tomato Hummus, etc. All are recipes designed to bring a little more real and healthy food into the home but still fitting within a working person’s schedule and budget. The recipes are given with good descriptions and personal anecdotes and accompanied by beautiful pictures. I am very glad I found “28 cooks” and I definitely plan to try many of the recipes.

Warming Ginger Noodle Soup	Thai Basil Hummus	Cardamom Coconut Macaroons

Letter to the Editor

in response to: "Obese kids may face heart risks later" by Stephanie Nano. Associated Press.
found through DesMoinesRegister.com on Dec 5, 2007.

These days we are seeing many negative health effects related to obesity - heart disease, diabetes, etc. One third of US children are overweight, leading to health problems during childhood and throughout adulthood. A huge factor in the rise of obesity is fast food, loaded with sugars and fats. Industrialized processed foods have become the basis of the typical American diet. Through chemistry, the food is artificially enhanced to provide a delicious taste, and bombarded with these sensations, our taste buds lose the sensitivity to appreciate real food. The modern lifestyle often does not allow for real enjoyment of food - Mom brings home KFC for dinner as she rushes home from work; children eat junky snacks while watching television; children eat low quality school lunches. All of these things contribute to poor knowledge of food, and this lack of knowledge leads to poor food choices, resulting in obesity and other health problems. A powerful way to combat this trend of obesity is to educate children about food. Alice Waters in Berkeley, California has established the Edible Schoolyard at a local middle school. This program gives students personal experience with how food is grown and prepared. When children can see and learn about the entire process of how food arrives at the table, and even take part in the process, they become connected with their food and connected with life. The students then bring this knowledge home to their parents and maybe educate them as well. Distancing ourselves from food and its production, through the widespread adoption of industrial agriculture and food processing, has caused major health problems throughout all levels of society. To combat this problem we need to change our attitude towards and increase our connection with the foods that support our life and growth.

Report on The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens

Click here for an excerpt about wheat.

In this day and age of cheap convenience, bread is an easy item to take for granted. Supposedly Americans love their wheat and bread products, but we generally just buy whatever is on the shelf and is cheapest. In recent years there has been new interest in “whole grain” and “organic” bread, but still cost and convenience often have the final word. The Bread Builders begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a typical supermarket bread loaf compared with the characteristics of a naturally leavened hearth loaf. Below I have created a summary table of these characteristics:

I really appreciated how this book went into all the senses involved, because good food is such a holistically sensory experience. Along with the detail of description, the book also gave the reasons why these characteristics manifest. The crust of a supermarket loaf is thin and uniformly brownish tan because added sugar allowed the dough to brown slightly at the low baking temperature. The crumb of the supermarket loaf is gummy because of the high water content. These characteristics are not inherently “bad,” but the author shows that they are there for convenience, efficiency, shelf-life, etc. Naturally leavened hearth breads however, require long fermentations and choose flours and moisture levels for optimum taste and texture, in spite of the extra time and effort involved.

Throughout the book are short case studies of artisan bakers and suppliers. One such story is about Upland Bakers in Marshfield, Vermont. The author describes the business as “an efficient, informal operation somewhere between my home kitchen and a full commercial effort, organized to provide both a sustainable pace of work and an adequate income” (pp. 18). The bakers are Helen and Jules Rabin and they bake 250 loaves, two days a week (500 loaves/week). They have a small bakery building in their backyard with a wood-fired hearth oven, an electric mixer, and no plumbing. They keep their business very low tech and at a manageable level. The demand for their product has risen beyond what they supply, but they recognize that the workload must be sustainable. They have created a lifestyle that works and that they enjoy, and it has sustained them for over twenty-five years.

Another case study is of Giusto’s Specialty Foods in South San Francisco. Giusto’s provides all the bakery supplies you can imagine and always of the finest quality. The business began as a bakery, so they approach the supply business from a baker’s viewpoint. They test all their flours for starch, protein, and mineral levels, working with their customers to provide flours perfect for their specific baking needs. Giusto’s strong commitment to the quality of the products they sell along with their wide variety and attention to detail, makes them unique and keeps the customers coming back.

Many books you find, in whatever field you are investigating, will only give surface level description of the processes involved, or else will be so obscured in technical language the beginner cannot comprehend a word. The Bread Builders is a great synthesis of these two extremes. The book is filled with details about all the aspects involved in bread-making: types of wheat, types of flours, how to use natural leavens, the chemistry of bread and yeasts, dough consistency, and how to construct and use masonry ovens. Some level of experience is needed to fully understand the descriptions of the bread-making process, but all the details are there, providing a great reference when specifics are needed. I really enjoyed reading the scientific descriptions of the interactions of natural yeasts and bacteria with the flour to make bread. These leavening agents react with the flour, releasing nutrients so we can digest them. The kind of bread described in this book is incredibly nutritious, filled with vitamins and minerals for a healthy life. Compare that with your standard supermarket white bread.

From reading this book, I gained a deeper understanding of the mechanics of bread-making, the constituents affecting bread texture and taste, and the nutritional aspects of what I am eating. This book is filled with so many details and descriptions that I cannot remember a lot of the specifics, but it was so good to be exposed to it and I now know exactly where to turn when I have questions in the future.

Field Trip Blog: Farmer's All Natural Creamery, Farmer's Hen House, New Pioneer Coop, Wilson's Orchard

I had a really fun time on the trip. I really enjoyed getting to hear about Kalona Organics. I appreciate that they have all the different labels to distinguish what comes from where, but without an explanation of what those labels mean it can be confusing. So it was really good to get to hear her describe the products. I also really enjoyed hearing about the general mission of Kalona Organics and how they really strive for minimally processed foods, because that is something very important to me. The kind of venture they have with the Creamery is something that is very good for farmers because it allows them to stay small but still compete in today's more centralized economies. Forming the collective allowed the farmer's to double their profit. And then having a company like Kalona Organics that focuses on the marketing aspect. It allows the farmer's to focus on the growing. And since the marketing company really understands the needs of the farmers and cares about the integrity of the product, everyone's needs are met and everyone prospers.

I really enjoyed the lady's talk at New Pi. She had such passion and spoke about all the issues very coherently. I enjoyed hearing the story of how the coop started; it must be so amazing to have seen it in the beginning and then see what success it has grown into today. It was good to hear more about their mission and what they do, because I didn't really know much about it before.

our last stop was out to Wilson's Orchard. The orchard is run by an elderly couple, J----(?) and Chuck. She served us cut apples and popcorn while Chuck spoke to us about how he got into the business and the specifics of his apple orchards. They were both so cute. They kept joking with each other and Chuck would make jokes about being old. They were both very genuine and seemed to have hit great luck in finding a life that they loved.