Mouth Feel

In most cultures, people ingest a variety of astringent foods and beverages during meals, but the reasons for this practice are unclear. Many popular beliefs and heuristics exist, such as high tannin wines should be balanced with fatty foods, for example “red wine with red meat”.

Finally, science tells us why.  This week, a look at the principle underlying the international practice of palate cleansing.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "A good conscience is a continual Christmas." - Benjamin Franklin (US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer, 1706 - 1790)

Mouth Feel

Parched in the West but Shipping Water to China

In 2012, the drought-stricken Western United States will ship more than 50 billion gallons of water to China. This water will leave the country embedded in alfalfa – most of it grown in California – and is destined to feed Chinese cows. The strange situation illustrates what is wrong about how we think, or rather don't think, about water policy in the U.S.

This week, a look at shipping water to China in the form of alfalfa.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: " 'Maybe Christmas', he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!' " - Theodor Seuss Geisel (American writer and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, 1904 - 1991)

Parched in the West but Shipping Water to China

New Dreams, When the Old Ones Don't Fit

"Whatever it is you want to do, if you can do it, do it now."

As I get older, I am reminded these are words to live by.  As Ringo so eloquently put it, tomorrow never knows.

This week, a reminder not to put off to tomorrow what is important to do today.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - Hunter S. Thompson (US journalist and author, 1939 - 2005)

New Dreams, When the Old Ones Don't Fit

Getting The Blues

The world over, the myths surrounding blue cheeses' origins have a similar ring.  A careless shepherd forgets his fresh cheese sandwich in a cave.  Or a distracted cheesemaker leaves in a hurry to meet his lover, neglecting an uncovered vat for too long.  All come back to find their folly transformed into something surprising and delicious, so doe sit matter how it happened?

This week a handy primer on what are widely considered the classic four blue cheeses.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "

Getting the Blues

7 Deadly Sins of Business Meetings

The majority of people dread meetings. Meetings tend to be boring, always go on too long, and in the end, sometimes not much is accomplished. 

You can fight meeting malaise!  Send those boring non-functional hours packing and get the group moving in the right direction.

This week, seven deadly sins of business meetings and how to avoid them.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy." - Guillaume Apollinaire (French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic, 1880 - 1918)

7 Deadly Sins of Business Meetings

Tomato Helps Cut the Risk of a Stroke.docx

A new study shows that men who had the highest levels of lycopene – an antioxidant found in tomatoes – had fewer strokes than men who had the lowest level of lycopene in their blood. Overall, the risk of strokes was reduced by 55%.

This week, a look at lycopene.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." - Pablo Picasso (Spanish Cubist painter, 1881 - 1973)

Tomato Helps Cut the Risk of a Stroke

Buttermilk

Many home cooks keep buttermilk on hand for pancakes, ranch dressing or corn bread. They might know that it makes more tender cakes (because it softens the gluten in flour), loftier biscuits (its acid boosts leaveners like baking soda and baking powder) and thicker dressings (lactic acid in buttermilk gently curdles proteins into a smooth mass). 

But what few cooks know is that commercial buttermilk isn’t really buttermilk. It is made from regular low-fat or skim milk, usually low-grade rejects from cheese and butter companies. The milk is inoculated with cultures to make it acidic, and thickened with additives like locust bean gum and carrageenan. The result is a flattened facsimile of the real thing, as a ring tone is to a song. 

This week. a look a buttermilk.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible." - Arthur C. Clarke (British science fiction author, inventor and futurist,1917 -  2008)

Buttermilk