TastyDesign

A Thanksgiving Poem: "As Yellow as Gold"

I admire poets. I love how they dance with the words: an insatiable and idyllic romance that goes on and on forever. After they are gone, they do not really are: they remain alive in their poems and the dance with words continues. Lets keep dancing. Lets read. Lets write more and better every day.

This beautiful poem I am featuring today was written by Mary E. Knowlton and published in 1904.

As Yellow as Gold

Here is a pumpkin, fluted, golden,
Written o'er with customs olden
Out of bygone days.
Cinderella's ancient glory,
Sung in song and told in story,
Suits its yellow blaze.

Tables at the first Thanksgiving,
When colonial dames where living,
Shewed its golden sheer.
Still it smiles a friendly greeting
At the happy family meeting
On the feast-day dear

Christmas rooms are gay with holly,
Christmas sees the merry folly
of the mistletoe.
Easter lilies, pure and stately,
In the springtime bloom sedately,
When soft breezes blow.

Autumn dressed the woods in splendor;
But their colors, rich and tender,
All have passed away.
Now the pumpkin, ripe and mellow,
Keeps a tint of Autumn's yellow
For Thanksgiving Day.

Tags: poem, poetry, cookingdiva, thanksgiving, panama, pumpkin

Eat MORE Meat!

It’s confusing—not to mention frustrating—that so many “experts” on nutrition pretend that animal food doesn’t exist. Just what do people have against meat? It’s a great source of protein, fat, and cholesterol (which your body needs to survive, no matter what impression the American Heart Association tries to give). Another important but less talked about reason to eat meat is for its folate content.

Meat is the main source of this essential nutrient, also known as folic acid. But if you search the Internet for foods containing folic acid, this is the kind of nonsense you’ll find: Eat more “bulses and legumes…blah, blah, blah…green vegetables and lanth…blah, blah, blah… gingelly seeds… bla, bla, bla…” Then, as an afterthought “…and meat.”   

Sure, vegetables contain folic acid too, but when you boil them you end up pouring most of it down the drain. Folate is a water-soluble vitamin so unless you drink the vegetable-water, you get nothing. Raw spinach is OK, but you get four times as much folate when you eat sautéed chicken livers served pink.

Tags: folate, folic acid, cookingdiva, chef, panama, liver

Just a Feedster Claim

No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster

Did you know Raw Milk is SAFE?

Research has been done at UC Davis where they added pathogens as such as E. Coli, salmonella, camphylobacter and listeria to raw milk and noted that these pathogens could not survive in it. On the other hand, when you add these pathogens to pasteurized milk, they will proliferate. In other words, the pasteurized milk has no "immune system". The lactic acid, lactic acid bacteria, enzymes, lactoperoxidase and lactoferrin in raw milk are all beneficial. In fact, the FDA just approved lactoferrin as a spray to control pathogens in slaughterhouses because antibiotics and antiseptics are not working. Lactoferrin in milk is safe and effective in fighting pathogens.

It is another GREAT reason to drink raw milk, do not you think?

Tags: leche, milk, cookingdiva, health, panama, raw milk

"The Forgotten"

by Arthur W. Peach (December 1913)

Can you remember
In December
How sweet the roses were in June,
Or, in recalling,
Hear, enthralling,
As of old some long loved tune?

Time takes forever
And gives back never
From vales of silence in the past;
Some moments clearer,
Seldom dearer,
Alone she keeps and makes them last.

Some friendships olden,
Love hour golden----
These she holds, but others die;
And when we wonder,
' Tis to ponder
Why others loved must pass us by.

Such is the measure
Of time's pleassure,
To take, and why we never know;
Vain is our seeking
Or bespeaking---
Too far the Land of Long Ago!

Nuts About Coconuts!

Got Coconut Meringue Pie?

In Sanskrit, the coconut palm is known as kalpa vriksha, meaning "tree which gives all that is necessary for living". Nearly all the parts of the coconut tree can be used in some manner or another. The coconut itself has many food uses, including milk, meat, sugar and oil as well as functioning as its own dish and cup! Because ot the moisturizing properties of the oil, and delicious fragrance it is used to make soap and is recommended to keep the hair and skin healthy and beautiful. The husk is used to make brushes, mats, fishing nets, rope and it is also burnt for fuel.

I am very much into cooking healthy and delicious meals. Coconut oil is the best cooking oil available. The only problem is that it is so difficult to find sometimes. The thought have crossed my mind about making my own coconut oil: I do have the coconuts + we need coconut oil, why not trying? I will keep you posted on this project!

Next are two paragraphs on the health benefits of using coconut oil. They were written by Dr. Raymond Peat. The full document could be found at Long Natural Health

"The unsaturated oils in some cooked foods become rancid in just a few hours, even at refrigerator temperatures, and are responsible for the stale taste of left-over foods. (Eating slightly stale food isn't particularly harmful, since the same oils, even when eaten absolutely fresh, will oxidize at a much higher rate once they are in the body, where they are heated and thoroughly mixed with an abundance of oxygen.) Coconut oil that has been kept at room temperature for a year has been tested for rancidity, and showed no evidence of it. Since we would expect the small percentage of unsaturated oils naturally contained in coconut oil to become rancid, it seems that the other (saturated) oils have an antioxidative effect: I suspect that the dilution keeps the unstable unsaturated fat molecules spatially separated from each other, so they can't interact in the destructive chain reactions that occur in other oils. To interrupt chain-reactions of oxidation is one of the functions of antioxidants, and it is possible that a sufficient quantity of coconut oil in the body has this function. It is well established that dietary coconut oil reduces our need for vitamin E, but I think its antioxidant role is more general than that, and that it has both direct and indirect antioxidant activities."

"The anti-obesity effect of coconut oil is clear in all of the animal studies, and in my friends who eat it regularly. It is now hard to get it in health food stores, since Hain stopped selling it. The Spectrum product looks and feels a little different to me, and I suppose the particular type of tree, region, and method of preparation can account for variations in the consistency and composition of the product. The unmodified natural oil is called "76 degree melt," since that is its natural melting temperature. One bottle from a health food store was labeled "natural coconut oil, 92% unsaturated oil," and it had the greasy consistency of old lard. I suspect that someone had confused palm oil (or something worse) with coconut oil, because it should be about 96% saturated fatty acids."

Enjoy your Coconut Meringue Pie! Yum!

Tags: coco, coconut, cookingdiva, pie, panama, personal chef

Hibiscus: more than just a beautiful flower

Nature is so beautiful and great, not only offers us the gift of living in this wonderful place..., but also gives us the remedies to heal our soul and body illnesses. I am a firm believer in natural medicine. Ancient healing techniques, the knowledge hidden in the disappearing rainforest that has been carried generation after generation faces the loss of faith in the mystic world.

A few days ago I wrote an article about Edible Plants: The wonderful Hibiscus, in my other BLOG. It was very interesting to receive feedback from my readers, asking us mostly if "hibiscus is poisonous, toxic to humans and pets", and if "you know of other uses for this plant and flower".

  Oh, ...well, YES! I have been researching a little more about this plant, and I haven't found a sign that points that the hibiscus blooms or the leaves are toxic to man or beast. The exception to this is if you use systemic pesticides, if so, don't eat the blooms.

Further on this, in Central America the flowers and leaves of the specie Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and closely related species are eaten OR made in tea (please refer to my previous article) to help cure excessive bleading in women with menstrual problems. In Asia the leaves are eaten to aid digestion. I have met people in Belize rainforest and the Panamanian countryside that drink a concotion of red hibiscus flowers and fresh grated ginger root to increase energy levels, stamina and help cure impotence.

Hugs,

Melissa

------

Disclaimer: Advice given by TastyDesign is to be considered guiding only. Although trying to be as correct as possible, the author does not accept responsibility for any adverse results caused by following them. Thanks!

------

Photo Credits : The Bud, Thank You Andreas!

Meme: My Cookbooks!

Hace rato he estado queriendo presentarles a Ustedes -parte- de mi coleccion de libros de cocina. Bueno, finalmente...he sacado unos minutos para hacerlo :) Yo los quiero a todos. Todos han sido parte importante de mi vida de Chef. Unos mas vistosos o coloridos que otros...pero, en fin, ellos forman parte de mi querida coleccion.

Aqui pueden encontrar MAS: CookingDiva

Food & Art: Gran Exposicion del Pintor Argentino Ricardo Celma (II Parte)

La exposicion fue todo un exito! Nunca antes vi tantas obras de nuestro pintor favorito juntas. Aun tengo esa vision en mi mente, plasmada, con toda la energia efervescente: un volcan de emociones conjugadas..., contenidas, sin compasion mostrando un realismo exquisito. El romance, la pasion, un tributo a la obra maestra perfecta: el cuerpo humano. Un poema silente en cada una de ellas, el silencio delirante y estremecedor de los grandes maestros de la pintura conjugados en uno solo.

En la foto: Chef Melissa, Quetita Gonzalez Revilla y Maria, la esposa de Ricardo Celma.

Oh Maria, eres tan hermosa como te ha pintado el artista, una musa angelical.

Ha sido un placer compartir esta velada con Uds. Espero que no sea la ultima :)

El siguiente articulo fue publicado en la revista Art Knowledge News y hace referencia al evento.

Abrazos,

Melissa

Protecting Neurons, ETC

I thought you would find it good instruction for a top food lover like yourself! It is an extract from a Health Sciences Institute e-alert. To subscribe to their free service, follow the link at the end of the post.

Hugs,

Melissa

--------------------------------------------
Protecting neurons
--------------------------------------------

"Unsaturated fatty acids are important constituents of neuronal cell membranes and have neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties."

That's how researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, describe the background for their study that appears in a June issue of the journal Neurology. Their objective: determine the possible protection that an intake of unsaturated fatty acids might have on Parkinson's disease risk.

The Erasmus team used data collected from the Rotterdam Study, an ongoing research project in which dietary and medical records for more than 10,000 male and female subjects over the age of 55 are followed to investigate risk factors for chronic diseases. For the Parkinson's study, nearly 5,300 subjects were selected. At the outset of the study, all were free of dementia or Parkinson's, and each subject underwent a complete dietary assessment. Subjects were monitored for an average period of six years.

At the conclusion of the follow up period, 51 subjects had been diagnosed with Parkinson's. The data revealed a significant link between a reduced risk of Parkinson's and the highest intake of total fat, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

One of the primary forms of PUFAs is very familiar to HSI members: omega-3, mostly available through fish, fish oils and grass-fed beef. MUFAs are found in olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.

--------------------------------------------
B cocktail
--------------------------------------------

Without question, a diet that includes a high intake of MUFAs and PUFAs offers a wide range of health benefits. But increasing your intake of these unsaturated fatty acids is not the only way to reduce Parkinson's disease risk.

In the e-Alert "Elevated Homocysteine..." (3/6/02), I told you about research from the National Institute on Aging that found "the first direct evidence" that elevated homocysteine levels increase the risk of Parkinson's.

The same research team found that homocysteine makes human brain cells more susceptible to the deadly affects of toxins like iron and the pesticide rotenone, which are known to cause some cases of Parkinson's disease. In laboratory tests using human tissues, homocysteine "significantly enhanced [cell death] induced by rotenone and iron."

As we've seen in previous e-Alerts, elevated levels of the amino acid homocysteine have been linked with atherosclerosis as well as Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Considerable research has also demonstrated that foods and supplements rich in vitamins B-6, B-12, and folic acid may help reduce homocysteine levels.

Most people who raise their dietary folate intake - by eating asparagus, lentils, chickpeas, cantaloupe, watermelon, wheat germ, most varieties of beans, and especially spinach and other leafy green vegetables - respond with a lower homocysteine reading. But if the diet doesn't do the trick, vitamin supplements often will.

****************************************************
To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit: http://www.hsiealert.com/freecopy.html

****************************************************