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Cooking with the Sun

They Say: The article "Cooking with the Sun" is a very interesting article about solar cookers. Solar cookers use direct sunlight to cook, heat, and pasteurize food. The first version of the solar cooker was called a burning mirror. It focused the sun's rays on an object, causing it to burst into flames. The military unsuccessfully tried to use these burning mirrors as weapons instead of cookers. Burning mirrors led to the development of the first actual solar cooker in 1767 called a "Solar cooking box." The solar cooker that continues to be used today was created by two American women and it was very inexpensive to produce. Although not all of them are commonly used , there are three types of solar cookers: box solar cooker, panel solar cooker, and parabolic solar cooker. Box solar cookers work by place a black pot or pan into a box with a glass top. Temperatures reach up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Panel solar cookers use reflective panels to focus sunlight on pots or pans and the most commonly produced and used. Parabolic solar cookers concentrate the sun's heat to a specific part of a pot or pan. The advantages of solar cookers include easy availability, inexpensive to buy, and saves money on electricity and gas. The disadvantages, though, are what keep solar cookers from being the go-to in our fast pace world. It takes longer to cook with solar cookers than conventional ovens, the quality of the food is determined by the weather and solar cookers can only be used during the day and not at night at all. I Say: After reading the article, I felt a lot more educated about the idea of solar cookers. I have always heard of them, but I never really gave any thought to actually using them. They seem like a really cheap way to save some money and help out the environment too. Among its advantages, I think solar cookers would also be good to reduce health risks that one could get with regular cooking like cooking on a grill. Solar cookers don't have to burn charcoal like grills, so the health risks associated with smoke could be prevented. It's natural and renewable and personally, even though I've never used a solar cooker, I think the foods cooked with it would taste better compared to the same foods that were cooked in the oven or on a stove top. The disadvantages do make it extremely unreliable in a lot of cases and very time consuming. The weather can be very unpredictable, so what are we supposed to do on those rainy days when the sun is hidden behind the clouds? Not eat? With the speed that our lives are going now, most families don't even sit down together for dinner at the end of a typical work day. They opt for fast food or to cook something quick and easy. Solar cookers would take entirely too long to cook easy things like hotdogs whereas those would take 5 minutes on a stove top. I know that Engineers Australia is trying to bring back solar cookers, but it's the idea of it that sounds good, not actually purchasing it. Citation Australia, Engineers. “Cooking With The Sun.” Teaching Science: The Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association 61.1 (2015): 8-11. Web.

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The Myth of Comfort Food

They Say: Comfort foods, those high-calorie foods people consume when stressed, are believed to relieve negative moods and evoke a state of pleasure. Do comfort foods actually provide us with comfort? The American Psychological Association conducted an experiment to test this hypothesis. They used 100 students from a Midwestern university in exchange for extra credit in their psychology course or $20.00. They were asked to take an online food questionnaire in which they were asked to report the top 3 foods that they believed would make them feel better if they were in a bad mood. The most commonly reported were chocolate, ice cream, cookies, and brownies. They were also asked about equally liked “non-comfort” foods and among those top foods were almonds, cashews, and popcorn. After completing the experiment they found that comfort food was not significantly more effective at improving a negative mood than an equally liked food. Comfort foods led to significant improvements in mood, but no more than other foods or no food at all. It is not the case that participants get comfort only when they eat a food that they believe will comfort them, as there was no correlation between participants’ confidence the food would comfort them and their actual change in mood.

I Say: The experiment, in my opinion, was effective at proving the purpose but took it in the wrong direction. It didn’t explore the more metaphoric purpose of comfort foods which I think is most important anyway. When I think of comfort foods, sugary and fatty things come to mind immediately not because they emotionally make me feel comfort, but because they offer a sort of physical comfort. Comfort foods, according to the experiment done in the article, don’t really make us feel better, but eating foods like chocolate, ice cream, cookies and brownies help us feel like “so what?” It like a symbol of what we really feel. It’s helps us express our feelings towards whatever it is that put us in a bad mood in the first place, whether it be a boyfriend turned ex-boyfriend or a teacher who wouldn’t give you that one extra point on the 69% you got. People are so consumed by being the average size and having to eat right to stay healthy that comfort foods are like the perfect way to symbolize how we would really like to be or what we’d really like to say but at most times cannot. In our world, it’s not okay to express your opinions to someone with authority over you, it’s not okay to eat junk food whenever you want, it’s not okay to wear certain clothing. We are taught to live by the book of rules put in place for us by our society. So no, maybe comfort foods don’t actually change our moods, but the next time your boss makes you mad, go home, grab a Twinkie and say “screw you world!”

Citation:   Wagner, Heather Scherschel, et al. "The Myth Of Comfort Food." Health Psychology 33.12 (2014): 1552-1557. Web.  

(Used citation format for an article in a scholarly journal.)

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Easy Cheese and Roasted Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

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Reasonable Junk Food Choices

They Say: Vibe Vixen Magazine online released an article for women about healthier, but just as delicious, junk food substitutions when we are eating on-the-go. When we are off to work or a social event, we don’t have time to prepare a full meal, or we just opt to grab a snack or eat out-- but opting to eat out or grab a snack is convenient, yet unhealthy. Most packaged snacks lack the nutrition we need to stay energized throughout the day and eating out...... well......you've seen “Super Size Me” right? Among the list are some things that us women just can't resist like coffee, ice cream, french fries, and milk chocolate. I’m sure we all know or have been told at some point in our lives that these 4 things in particular aren't that great for our bodies. In place of coffee, one could drink green tea and still get the same amount of energy without the sugar and heavy cream. In place of ice cream, the article offers up frozen yogurt as a great substitute that's good for your digestive system, versus the saturated fats and refined sugars found in ice cream. Eating yogurt frozen gives it a texture similar to ice cream without all the guilt. Exchange those salty, deliciously deep fried french fries for sweet potato fries sprinkled with cinnamon and be equally as full but in a healthier way. When you feel like satisfying your sweet tooth, pass up that mouthwatering, sugar packed milk chocolate, for some decadent, antioxidant rich dark chocolate. So ladies, It's not a crime to treat yourself to a well deserved bowl of ice cream on a hot summers day or to your favorite chocolate bar, these are just some healthier options for when you want to have long lasting energy without a mid-day crash.

I Say: Vibe is a music and entertainment magazine and although it is only offered online, it still has a good amount of paying readers. The magazine predominantly features R&B and hip-hop artists, actors, and entertainers. This particular article came from Vibe's, Vixen section which is the part of the magazine geared toward women. Vibe Vixen covers fashion, beauty, health, dating, and entertainment for women. The article relates directly to my blog in that its about foods, but it's different because it's for women in particular and not everybody. Women have more trouble losing and maintaining their weight than men so the fact that Vibe Vixen shared this article especially to appeal to the guilty pleasures of women is phenomenal. My blog is for everyone and doesn't serve the purpose of taking the interest of one gender or another, but this article still fits into my blog because I can use it to shed light on some of the healthier options that everybody has to choose from. Women aren't the only people who like coffee, ice cream, french fries, and milk chocolate. They also aren't the only people who struggle to lose and maintain their weight, we just have a harder time doing those things most of the time.

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McDonald’s to stop buying chicken treated with antibiotics

They Say: BREAKING NEWS! McDonald’s is trying to become McHealthy! McDonald’s North American Chain Senior Vice President, Marion Gross, announced that over the next two years McDonald’s will stop buying chickens that have been injected with antibiotics while in the shell and after birth. These antibiotics are also used to treat human infections. The use of antibiotic injections in animals is legal, but is causing resistance in the human body. The rate of human infections from antibiotic-resistant has increased. McDonald’s is working with domestic chicken suppliers like Tyson Foods who say they are supportive of the chains efforts and has already reduced its use of antibiotics by 84% since 2011.

The change will affect 14,000 of McDonald’s US locations compared to their 22,000 international locations. They are doing this in an attempt to win back food savvy customers.

But there’s an exception to the rule.

McDonald’s will continue to buy chicken that has been treated with antibiotics that are solely for animal use and is not administered to humans. Other chains like Chipotle and Panera Bread ban both uses of antibiotics.

McDonalds continues to lose ground to health conscious consumers and sees this as an attempt to win them back.

I Say: McHealthy? Um….I think McNOT.

My opinion on this is going to be bit biased because I don’t eat McDonald’s food. I am one the “food savvy customers” they speak of in the article.

As states, I’m not a fan of McDonald’s but this is a good thing that they are doing. I am one of their food savvy customers that they need to persuade to come back, but this alone won’t do it for me and I’m sure that it won’t for anyone else either.

I think that if McDonald’s is going to abandon antibiotics from their chicken, they should ban them all. I understand that the goal is to make as much money as possible and taking the healthier route is more expensive both for the company and the consumer, but they are a multi-million dollar company. They can afford to splurge a little. As for the consumers, what’s a little for money for quality chicken when most of us are spending $13+ for a burrito at Chipotle?

Don’t get me wrong, I applaud McDonald’s for taking this first step toward a healthier menu. They get an A for effort in my book, but it’s going to take a little more than a sort of.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/03/04/mcdonalds-to-stop-buying-chicken-treated-with-antibiotics/ 

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Slow Cooker Creamy Chipotle Chicken Taquitos

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New York Cheesecake

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They Say: Yahoo.com recentlyreleased an article on 9 foods that are not what we think they are. The article talks about the convenience of restaurants versus purchasing food and how that affects us. It sheds light on the lows of some of my personal favorites. Number one on the list is red velvet cake. It says that the ruby- colored dessert is just artificially colored chocolate cake with about a teaspoon of vanilla extract to masque most of the chocolate taste. Some chefs, in an attempt at natural tinting, use beets to color the cake. Along with red velvet cake, white chocolate and crab meat appear on this list as well. The Valentine’s Day white chocolates in those cute candy bouquets are, in fact, 1 part real chocolate and 2 parts sugar and artificial sweeteners. Manufacturers were using cheaper products like vegetable oil instead of natural cocoa butter until the Food and Drug Administration ruled that to take on the title of “white chocolate,” products had to be at least 20 percent cocoa butter. According to the article, the “crab meat” that they serve in some restaurants does not actually come from the sea crawler. It is processed white fish flesh dyed orange to appear more appetizing.

The article covers some other more unappetizing foods like wasabi.

Authentic Japanese wasabi cost $100 per pound. I can bet that if you have had the green substance you haven’t had to pay more than $2.00 for it and even then you thought that was overpriced. The truth is that 95%-99% of all of our favorite take- out spots (Chipotle, Moe’s, Burrito Boys, etc.) use a mustard, horseradish, and green food coloring combination that offers the same spicy kick for less money.

I Say: I LOVE RED VELVET CAKE! It disappoints me to learn that some restaurants try to trick me into thinking that I am eating something original but it’s really just modified chocolate cake. I hate chocolate cake … or at least I thought I did. Let’s not look at it as a modified version of chocolate cake but instead as a separate cake created out of the modification of chocolate cake. Either way I am still going eat red velvet cake like rabbits eat carrots. The same goes for white chocolate and crab meat. However, I do find it a little surprising what companies will do to take the cheap way out, even if they make millions of dollars a year. If it’s tasty to me, doesn’t make me sick and keeps my pockets from suffering through a drought, I’ll still eat it.

As for wasabi, I do not really have a position because I don’t eat it but, if any of the wasabi-eaters think like me, they aren’t too mad about it. Wasabi is native to Japan and we’re in the US, a gazillion miles from Japan. If anything, they should be happy that the substitution wasabi saves them money but gives the same heat. It’s a win-win for everybody.

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Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

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SKINNY THAI CHICKEN MEATBALLS WITH PEANUT SAUCE

PREP TIME: 15 mins

COOK TIME: 30 mins

TOTAL TIME: 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

For Meatballs

1 lb ground chicken

4 green onions, chopped

¼ cup chopped cilantro

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp red curry paste

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

For Peanut Sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 can (398 ml) coconut milk

1 tbsp red curry paste

2 tbsp peanut butter

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp brown sugar

pinch of chili flakes   

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Place parchment paper over a baking sheet.

2. In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together well. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch balls. Place meatballs on prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until done. 

3. In the mean time you can make the sauce. Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan or skillet. Add the red curry paste and cook for a couple minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, stir and cook for about 5 minutes.

4. Add meatballs to sauce and toss so that the meatballs are fully coated. Garnish with parsley or cilantro.

5. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes or rice.                                                                                  

This will be the first thing I try to make since starting this blog so ... LETS GET COOKING!

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They Say: Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern debuted on the Travel Channel along with other shows like it including Man vs. Food, and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Avid watchers of Bizarre Foods with Andre Zimmern, like myself, collectively enjoy the often weird adventures he takes. Mr. Zimmern travels the globe in search of the world's most unusual delicacies and delights. His fans love how he eats all the things that they would never think twice about eating. Due to his strong curiosity and even stronger digestive system, Andrew Zimmern has traveled to Ecuador, Taiwan, Iceland, Minnesota (because not all "unique" foods are found in exotic locations), Trinidad, and etc. He has eaten things ranging from chicken uterus to worm pretzels. Sounds appetizing right? Most would argue the opposite, saying that his show isn’t appropriate for younger viewers and people with weak stomachs, to which I would have to agree because he eats some pretty gruesome looking things. Some of his critics argue that his show encourages little kids to eat what he eats, insinuating that little kids will feel compelled to eat worms if they see Andrew Zimmern eat worms.

I Say: Andrew Zimmern's show is fantastic for those of us who wonder but don’t have the courage to act on our curiosity. It perfectly displays the concept of the age old phrase: Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover. Almost everything he eats looks like it was ran over and thrown on a plate for dinner. His palate doesn’t discriminate and a lot of the time the road kill food doesn’t fail to surprise his taste buds. I agree that the show isn’t for people with weaker stomachs or for younger kids. However, I don’t think he will have an influence on little kids, I think this because he eats things like rooster balls and bull penis. What child do you know under, at least, the age of 8 years old that even knows what a penis is? As for weaker stomached people, it’s pretty self-explanatory. There’s blood and guts involved and in the worse cases, vomit too. Regardless, I love the show. I don’t have a weak stomach and in a way, I relate to what Mr. Zimmern does. Being from the south, I’ve eaten all kinds of things that the regular population would call “weird”, but what I’ve eaten has nothing on him. Honestly, I would eat some of the stuff he eats. My only restriction is that it has to be coked. Either way it goes, NOBODY would eat everything he eats.

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They Say... BUT I Say

They Say: They say that when you move out on your own, life becomes much harder because all the responsibility lies on you. They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. They say that every good woman can cook a good meal. The idea that a woman can’t be a “good woman” unless one of her abilities is cooking is what inspired me the most. People look really surprised when I tell them I cannot cook. It makes me wonder what it was like growing up in their households because my mother cooked every day for the last 18 years of my life. I have never had to cook for myself, but at the same time I never showed any interest in learning. When people give me the surprised look, I wonder if it makes me a less desirable person. Why does my generation have an urge to been grow up so quickly?

Nevertheless, I figured since everyone else knows how to do it, maybe it is about time I learn as well.

I Say: I say to hell with peer pressure. I say we should all do what we want on our own terms at no one else’s speed. I am not one for fall into peer pressure, but at one point or another, we all fall under the influence of peer pressure. I started to think about all the things I plan to do within the next 2 years, and I came to the realization that a big part of things that I plan to do require to me to at least be able to feed myself.  On the long term side of it, I want to be married and have children of my own one day. Taking care of other people means taking on a lot of responsibility so how do I expect to take care of someone else, if I am not able to fend for myself? One of the most important things for me to do to take the first steps in fending for myself is learning how to feed myself. Learning how to cook is connected to moving forward in a couple ways. I can’t move into my own apartment until I learn how to cook. How would I eat? I can’t have a child until I learn how to cook. How would it eat?

So… Maybe it’s not too bad to do what everybody else is doing especially if it benefits me.

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Greetings!

Bonjour, ladies and gents! Welcome to Tee's Tasty Things-The blog for any and everyone who enjoys all the many tastes, tingles, and treats that foods bring. I started this blog for the opposite of what most might think. I started this blog because I don't know anything about food besides the fact that I eat it and it smells good; I can't cook anything more complex than Ramen noodles, I've never eaten anything from another country more exotic than Chicken Alfredo, and my definition of International cuisine is Japanese candy that I bought on eBay (from a United States seller)... I NEED to broaden my very average view of the food world and I want to take whomever is willing to tagalong, with me!