For the love of farmers' markets

There is an almost romantic relationship between a cook and the food markets. It is an idyllic, prolific desire to find the veggies, fish, seafood, meats and other ingredients in their most natural environment. We want to talk to them.

Since having a vegetable garden, or raising a few cows in our backyard is not always a choice, we chose to visit the farmers markets, dairy farms so we can have the freshest produce, milk and meats from animals which have been grass feed and raised humanely.

Farmers markets are a traditional method used by farmers worldwide to sell their produce directly to consumers. By avoiding the increasingly industrialized food production, and the broker fees involved in the process of selling those products in supermarkets, the consumer gets the freshest ingredients at excellent prices.

This time we are sharing some photos we took a few weeks ago, while taking C.J. Schexnayder from Kleph blog (an American food blogger based in Peru) in a tour of Panama City's markets. We had so much fun!

From San Felipe Neri Public Market in Panama City, Panama:

From The Fish Market (Mercado del Marisco) in Panama City, built by the Japanese Government:

Best Fats and Oils for Cooking (Part II) & Coconut Shrimp Cakes

Do not miss our previous related post: Fat Does not Make you Fat - Best Fats and oils for Cooking, and if you are feeling adventurous just try our delicious Coconut Meringue Pie (EN)  / Pie de Coco al Merengue (ES)

I've got a copy of the Eat Fat Lose Fat book since it came out in 2005. It was written by Dr. Mary Enig (international expert on the biochemistry of food and fat) and Sally Fallon (President of the Weston A. Price Foundation). They are also the authors of Nourishing Traditions, The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and Diet Dictocrats, which was quoted in our previous post.

Based on more than two decades of research by world-renowned biochemist and lipids expert Dr. Mary Enig, Eat Fat Lose Fat flouts conventional wisdom by showing how so-called healthy vegetable oils (such as soybean and corn) are in large part responsible for our national obesity and health crises, while the satured fats (such as those found in coconut oil and butter) long considered harmful are, in fact, essential to weight loss and good health.

Trying to get more opinions on the Best Fats and Oils for Cooking subject, we decided to contact Ms. Sally Fallon. She promptly and gracefully replied what follows:

Any polyunsaturated oil is bad for cooking. The worst would be those with a high omega-3 content, such as canola and soy bean oil (and flax oil, obviously)  But the high omega-6 oils are also bad--corn, saffllower, sunflower, etc.  The omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are very fragile and break down into dangerous free radicals when heated, especially in the presence of oxygen, as in cooking.

As for the mono unsaturated oils, the best for cooking is olive oil because of the very high levels of monounsaturates. Next would be peanut and cold-pressed sesame oils.  Sesame oil is better than peanut oil because it contains unique anti-oxidants that are activated by heat.  It needs to be cold pressed or the anti-oxidants will be ruined.

But best for cooking are the stable fats--tallow, suet, lard, butter, ghee, palm oil, etc.  Saturated fats are very stable and don't break down when heated. (Duck and goose fat are also good, these contain a lot of monounsaturated fatty acids.)

Hope that helps--if you look at Nourishing Traditions, the section in the Intro on fats, this is all enumerated there.

Now, hope you are ready for the simply delicious recipe to prepare Coconut-Shrimp Cakes! Just click on the "Read MORE" button to continue!

Fat does not make you fat: Best fats and oils for cooking

There is a great deal of confusion and missinformation related to nutrition out there. Just because you have asked for it (many thanks to the readers who posted comments in previous posts and to the ones who sent me private emails), we write about some of these controversial issues once in a while, just only after doing intensive research and interviewing some of the most credible MDs and Organisations devoted to nutrition worldwide.

Nutrition seems to be very important for us all, but in my case I take it probably a little more seriously because I am a culinary educator and a professional chef who cooks meals for many families, including some following special diets. For more information on our personal chef services in Panama, please visit Panama Gourmet Inc.

There was a dilema that was born at the very nest of my latest "Crispy Fried Whole Fish" recipe. There I recommended the use of coconut, palm and olive oil when possible to cook this dish. One of the reader responses included a comment from a "nutritionist" who suggested the use of canola, sunflower and  corn oil for frying instead. Although I am realistic and I have to admit that sometimes the consumer does not have too many choices due to location, education or budget, I have to challenge her recommendation just because it doesn't fit into the reality of the "best fats and oils for cooking."

The whole argument tickled my interest (and only God knows how much I love that!) so my next step was to send an e-mail to William C. Douglass II, MD, author of more than 20 books on nutrition and The Douglass Report, asking for his opinion on this subject. The following is what he replied:

Dear Chef Melissa:

There are literally dozens of oils used in cooking. Most of them are OK, but some stand out as being excellent and others as being dangerous to your health. The very worst, and this is surprising to most people, are two of the most popular: canola oil and soy oil. Canola is fine as a salad oil but not for frying or baking. Soy oil is a non-food, just like its parent the soy bean, and should not be eaten in any form whatsoever. The best fats and oils for cooking are: coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, and all of the animal fats. Most people find this hard to believe as they have been indoctrinated in the saturated fat/high cholesterol theory of heart disease. This is the government-sponsored, anti-meat thinking of the 60s which was accepted by a gullible public and many gullible, poorly-educated, and self-certified “nutritionists.” Fat does not make you fat – starch (carbohydrates) and sugar make you fat. Cholesterol is an essential nutrient and you cannot eat too much of it in animal food not overcooked. In fact, fruits and vegetables contain no cholesterol at all and, for that reason veganism is a dangerous and self-destructive diet.

Recommended reading:

• Dr. Jonathan V. Wright's Nutrition & Healing. Based on years of experience and research. Healthier News
• The Douglass Report Healthier News
• Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enigh Ph.D. New Trends Pub. Washington DC.

Sincerely,

William Campbell Douglass II, MD

At this point it is worthwhile examining the composition of vegetable oils and other animal fats in order to determine their  usefulness and appropriateness in food preparation.

The following excerpts are from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon, The cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and diet dictocrats:

Canola Oil: contains 5% saturated fat, 57% oleic acid, 23% omega-6 and 10%-15% omega-3. Canola oil was developed from the rape seed, a member of the mustard family. Rape seed is unsuited for human consumption because it contains a very-long-chain fatty acid called erucid acid, which under some circumstances is associated with fibrotic heart lesions...It has a high sulphur content and goes rancid easily. Baked goods made with canola oil develop mold very quickly.

Safflower, Corn, Sunflower, Soybean and Cottonseed Oils: all contain over 50% omega-6 and, except for soybean oil, only minimal amounts of omega-3. Safflower oil contains almost 80% omega-6. Researchers are just beginning to discover the dangers of excess omega-6 oils in the diet, whether rancid or not. Use of these oils should be strictly limited. They should never be consumed after they have been heated, as in cooking, frying or baking.

Olive Oil: contains 75% oleic acid, the stable monosatured fat, along with 13% saturated fat, 10% omega-6 linoleic acid and 2% omega-3 linoleic acid...Extra virgin olive oil is also rich in antioxidants. It should be cloudy, indicating it has not been filtered, and have a golden yellow color, indicating that it is made from fully ripened olives. Olive oil has withstood the test of time; it is the safest vegetable oil you can use, but don't over do.

Tropical Oils: are more saturated than other vegetable oils. Palm oil is about 50% satured, with 41% oleic acid and about 9% linoleic acid. Coconut oil is 92% satured with over two-thirds of the saturated fat in the form of medium-chain fatty acids (often called medium-chain triglycerides). Of particular interest is lauric acid, found in large quantities in both coconut oil and in mother's milk. Coconut oil protects tropical populations from bacteria and fungus so prevalent in their food supply; as third world nations in tropical areas have switched to polyunsaturated vegetable oils, the incidence of intestinal disorders and immune deficiency diseases has increased dramatically.

Our Summary:

Suitable for high-temperature use:

• All animal fats - beef (tallow), pork (lard), lamb, chicken
• Good vegetable oils: coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, peanut oil.
• Avoid: The flower oils (sunflower, saflower), canola (OK for salads but NOT for cooking), corn, soybean, cotton seed oil.

There are dozens of other oils such as linseed, avocado, grape, and many other seed oils. But they are not major contributors in the food chain.

Will follow with some tasty coconut based recipes from the Eat Fat Lose Fat book by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.

Have a tasty Sunday!

Chef Melissa

by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · March 25, 2007 · 01:11 PM
Permalink · Comments (7) · TrackBack (0) · Categories: Food & Drink · Health Food · Nutrition · Tropical Fruit and Vegetables

From the Tropics: Red Hibiscus Tea Pops with Yogurt

Certain flowers are not only for decoration, they could also be in your salad and satiate your thirst with an invigorating, magically sensual brew. Do I have your attention now?

The benefits of cooking with tea seem endless. In many cases, when you cook with tea, it retains many of the essential vitamins as well as the antioxidants. Tea is not only a refreshing and delicious beverage, but also very versatile and exotic ingredient that is hitting the kitchens of the adventurous cooks all over the world. How about cooking with tea today? Here we are sharing a simple, yet fantastic recipe to tickle your creativity. It could be prepared with fresh hibiscus petals, or red hibiscus tea.

Ingredients

• 1 cup boiling water
• 4 tablespoons red hibiscus tea (or the petals only of 4 red hibiscus, washed)*
• 1 cup sugar or honey (or to taste)
• 3 cups original flavor yogurt (regular or low in fat)

Preparation

Pour boiling water over hibiscus tea, or hibiscus petals. Brew 5-10 minutes, or until it has reached a very intense red color. Remove tea bags, OR put the liquid through a very fine sieve to remove solids. Discard solids / used tea bag.

Combine tea with sugar and stir until dissolved. Cool completely and then add the yogurt and stir until the tea has been distributed evenly. You will get a pink beautiful yogurt. So sexy!

Pour mixture into ice pop molds and freeze until firm. To serve, press firmly on bottom and sides of molds to remove. If using paper cups, freeze mixture until almost firm and then insert Popsicle sticks into centers. Freeze until firm.

Recipe yields 6-8 Popsicles.

Important: if you are using fresh hibiscus petals, make sure they have not been exposed to pesticides.

Related posts:

• Cooking with Saril = Jamaica = Roselle, Hibiscus Sabdariffa
• Edible Flowers: The Marvelous Hibiscus
• Edible Flowers: The Red Velvet Rose of Love
• Hibiscus: More than just a Beautiful Flower

This post is my contribution for this week's Kalyn's Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging. Don't forget to visit her blog on Sunday night to check out all the other great posts that always get submitted for this event!

Tags: weekend herb blogging, hibiscus, cookingdiva, cooking, panama

by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · March 04, 2007 · 02:39 PM
Permalink · Comments (13) · TrackBack (0) · Categories: Edible Flowers - Flores Comestibles · Ethnic Cuisine: from Latin America · Food & Drink · Health Food · Sensual Food

Tropical Cooking Frenzy Report & "Nuts about Coconuts"

It has been a very intense work-and-life week. As I always remind my mom "If I do not call you it's because I am cooking up a storm, ...unable to stop, visiting or sending text messages via cellphone. You are free to call, but if I do not answer you know what is going on: I am creating my next masterpiece! (Ha! I know, it sounds sooo obsolete! text messages?, well, yes...that is still very much used here in Panama, but to tell you the truth I would rather call, send an e-mail, AND...if I am really, really, really inspired, I'll pay you a visit and take over your kitchen!) How about that? It sounds like a threat, doesn't IT?

Using some of my mind-reading super powers (and by reading your e-mail requests...of course), I know you have been waiting for the latest event-update and at least ONE luscious recipe. You see what I mean??? Am I right or what? Anyhow, it is good to know that you miss our cooking adventures, AND no! I didn't bake myself. LOL. Well, just a little bit :-) Due to my temporary absence, one of our readers inquired if I have baked myself into an "empanada." Although I WOULD rather prefer to be wrapped in a home-made delicacy and delicious puff pastry, I have to admit that the whole empanada idea is kind of sexy.

To kick UP the spice, this is what we have been cooking recently:

• A great article on International Food Blogs , by Chef Elena, has been published in Revista Mosaico (Mosaico Magazine from LaPrensa newspaper in Panama). The internet edition is available HERE: Food Blogs - Gastronomía en Internet (ES). In her article she makes reference to the following, well known food blogs in English: Jamie´s Diary, Benjamin Christie, The Traveler´s Lunchbox, chez pim, Peru Food, Cooking Diva, Nordljus, Slashfood. In Spanish: Apuntes de Cocina, Mil Sabores, El Amor por la Cocina, Sumito Estévez, Cocinalia, Historia de la Gastronomía
• Sadly enough, I was NOT able to make it to the Panamanian Chefs Club workshop on Coconut. I just got there in time to enjoy what they had all prepared. The first Laboratory was on CORN. The theme this time: COCONUT, one of my very favorite foods. Take a look at the next two videos: the first is on HOW TO HANDLE, OPEN AND GET THE FOOD FROM A COCONUT. The second is Chef Charlie Collins preparing traditional Panamanian Cocada with a twist: Coconut Candy with Banana.

Come on, do not be shy...we KNOW you LOVE coconut! Get the scoop on how to handle it here:

A video on how to prepare Panamanian Coconut Candy with Banana:

If you are nuts about coconuts as much as we are, take a moment to learn about THE FACTS, and  enjoy some of my delectable creations: Coconut Meringue Pie, Cococnut-Chocolate Flan, Orange and Coconut Pudding, Pan de Coco ES (Coconut Bread), Keki de Coco y Miel ES (Coconut-Ginger Cookies), Cake de Zanahoria y Coco ES (Carrot-Coconut Cake), Delicia de Coco ES (Coconut Delight).

Tomorrow I'll report on a fantastic TEAM BUILDING event that took place a few days ago for DELL Panama.

Now, ...back to the kitchen :-)

M

Let's celebrate BlogDay2006! It is going to be a fantastic event, do not miss it. The deadline: August 31, 2006. To participate, read the guidelines HERE, and let's cook up something yummy for that special day...

Do not forget to Visit:

• Tasty Recipes - Chef Melissa's recipe and post index
• Blogs that Cook - A delicious, international food Blog Directory
• Paladares Unidos - Chef Melissa's Cooking blog en Español

Tags: coconuts, food blogs, cookingdiva, cooking, panama, recipes, food & drink, food, video blog

by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · August 20, 2006 · 06:17 PM
Permalink · Comments (10) · TrackBack (0) · Categories: Food & Drink · Food Blog Events · General · Health Food · MeMe · RECETAS - Postres · RECIPES: desserts · Tropical Fruit and Vegetables

Soy Wake Up Call: it is linked to heart disease and infertility!

Despite the overwhelming evidence, the problem is only going to get worse. Right now, it’s estimated that 60 percent of the refined foods on store shelves and foods sold in fast-food restaurants have some kind of harmful soy protein in them.

In the January 2006 Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers at the University of Colorado reported on the devastating effects of soy. When the researchers fed soy-protein-based feed to mice with a swollen heart, the mice developed heart failure and died. But when other afflicted mice were fed raw milk, they made a marked recovery. Dr. Leslie Leinwand, head researcher of the study, made a remarkable statement: “At least in mice, diet can have a more profound effect on heart disease than any drug that we could imagine.” YES!

Back in September, 2005, the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality issued a report saying that much of the research carried out on soy is “inconclusive” and that soy products appear to exert “a small benefit on LDL cholesterol and triglycerides” but that those effects are of “small clinical effect in individuals.”

That is a euphemistic way of saying soy is useless as a nutrient. “Clearly soy is not the solution for people at risk for heart disease,” says Dr. Daniel. “Possible benefits are outweighed by proven risks. People at risk for cardiomyopathy should avoid it altogether.”

Soy keeps (you from) multiplying!

The second study, published in January, showed that a plant estrogen found in soybeans, called genistein, can lead to reproductive problems and infertility. It also showed that the severity of these problems is directly linked to the amount of genistein that a person ingests. Perhaps most alarming is that the adverse effects were found at doses comparable to the amount of genistein found in soy infant formulas given to human infants. (And who knows how many other adverse effects the genistein has, such as feminization of the male pups, heart disease, and cancer.)