Eating on the Go / The Easy Path of the Chocolate Challenge

Every once and a while I have a moment (sometimes a whole year) when I cannot come up with a topic for this blog – at least one that really has some oomph.  Well, this week it finally came to me as I sat in my living room with my Christmas tree sitting to my right, my littlest children to my left, and boxes and bins filled to the brim with disarray.  This very same day was the day that Maggie and I decided to get almost all of our Christmas shopping done. That means finding a quick bite to eat while on our mission. Since Maggie and I are both using Weight Watchers (successfully) we are keeping a close count of what we are eating.  This is much easier to do when we are at home and have our carefully selected arsenal of health choices. The problem arises when we are out and about like during our shopping excursion.  There are so many choices for food while running around but nearly all of them are empty calories.  They are high in calories and offer very little in the way of health benefits. It is easy for many of us to fall into the fast food trap with all of the smells and truer-than-life pictures of Colossus-like burgers, and Bourbon chicken (try a sample).  So, the answer to our dilemma was to treat our shopping excursion as if it was a kind of date.  You know the kind; one of those dates with 1000 other strangers.  We decided to make it a sit down diner instead of fast food. We decided on pho and banh mi.

I detailed my emotional connection for pho a few weeks ago but let me describe banh mi.  This is the ultimate in sandwiches and this is coming from a Cuban sandwich aficionado.  Banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that has barbequed pork, cucumbers, pickled daikon and carrot slaw, peanuts and hot peppers on a nice, crusty, airy, loaf of bread.  It is fast and it is heaven.  The combination of the soul-massaging pho and the taste bud kicking of the banh mi was exactly what the doctor ordered.  In addition to being a dream meal it was light and, save for a little fat in the pork and the soup stock, it was incredibly healthy.

We all have to deal with eating on the go at one time or another. What is your killer sandwich of choice?  What is your on-the-go healthy choice? Or, do you just go for the great looking fast food?

I got the opportunity to work with chocolate this weekend. The entire family does something we call chocolate dipping.  We all choose another food to dip and coat in chocolate.  We do not get too weird but that does not mean that we don’t experiment.  This year we chose nuts, raspberries, marshmallows, Oreos, and spicy trail mix. My choice for chocolate dipping was to make chocolate cups filled with Godiva liqueur. This is not as easy as just filling some poured chocolate with a little booze.  There is a lot of chemistry and physics working against you when you try to combine the two treats with out getting them mixed together. The only request that we didn’t grant was my three-year-old’s request to dip pizza.  The only reason we did not do it was, strictly, due to a lack of time. I think I will actually try this over the Christmas break. It might be the perfect combination of savory and sweet.  Consider it added to the challenge.

This year during chocolate dipping I had the opportunity to use a fantastic automated chocolate tempering machine. This made what is usually a somewhat tedious task a really fun time and very easy. If you are not aware of what temering chocolate does here it is in a nutshell; Chocolate (real chocolate) consists of a blend of cocoa particles, cocoa butter, sugar (and milk powder or liquid milk in the case of milk chocolate. The fat portion – the cocoa butter consists of a bunch of molecules that form orderly structures.  In order to form the chocolate into another shape you need to melt the chocolate. This makes the fat become a liquid, which means that the fat molecules are in disarray and all over the place. If you just heat chocolate up to any random temperature there is a very good chance that when it cools off the molecules will form in a very disorderly fashion and that will allow for some of the fat to seep out from between the molecules. This gives the chocolate the appearance of being dull, greasy and soft.  If the chocolate is melted under controlled heat and to a precise temperature then raised to another controlled precise heat those molecules will line up neater than a military drill.  When the chocolate cools the outcome will be a fantastically shiny, crisp and solid piece of chocolate. 

To me, this is an amazing bit of culinary science and the kind of thing that keeps me yearning to learn more and more.  The next thing I will try for the holidays (and report back on) is candy making – sugar work.  Maybe I will try the impossible – making Christmas ribbon candy that actually tastes good.

Until next week,

Keep it tasty my foodie friends and happiest of holiday wishes,

FoodSciGuy

Thanksgiving is Over / Leftover Use / Turkey Day Food Safety

Well you made it - Thanksgiving is over, the nutty shoppers are on the rampage at the stores. (Editorial: Black Friday should NOT start before Friday! Rally the troops and take back our Thanksgiving!) I started prepping our family meal Wednesday at 5pm and then started the cooking at 5am on Thursday. Maggie and I made a pact to keep the holiday a very stress-free one.  We accomplished this by keeping the menu exceptionally simple.  An applewood-smoked turkey anchored bill of fare.  The turkey was supported by basic side dishes such a pureed potatoes (cheesy and garlicky), raspberry Jell-O, shredded carrots marinated in balsamic vinegar and ginger, roasted sweet potatoes, corn and a very basic stuffing with cranberries.

Along with all of that delightful food comes a great deal of leftovers.  It seems that the only thing that the Internet is inundated with more than recipes for the big meal is the cornucopia of leftover recipes. There are turkey potpies (which are on my menu this week), turkey cacciatore and even some seriously decadent sandwiches with toppings like; turkey, cranberries, stuffing, potatoes, and anything else that the dinnertime scavengers left behind.  There are some exceedingly delicious dishes doled out on the web.  However, what I really hope to do is elicit the really unusual and, in turn, memorable creations that you readers have developed, stolen or maybe have only dreamed of.  Who knows maybe I can even find a way to work some of the leftovers into the Chocolate Challenge. So, gather up those patented recipes and send them my way and we can share like the great big happy family I hope we can all be someday.

There is, however, one very big issue when it comes to using up the leftovers – food safety. (You knew it was coming from me, didn’t you?) I know at least a couple of families that eat their Thanksgiving meals in the afternoon and leave the food out for their guests to graze on all day.  This practice is like playing Russian roulette – a practice that screams for a serious outbreak of a food borne pathogen.  How long do you leave out your meal while you are serving it?  The USDA states that leftovers should not sit out for more than two (2) hours at room temperature before being refrigerated. Here is the very useful link from the USDA FSIS that I used to get my info. It not only tells about leaving food out but also things like how freezing and refreezing, microwave cookery of meats as well as the safe way to cool down and store soup. (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/help/faqs_hotline_preparation/index.asp#6).   

Even if you take care of the amount of time that you leave the food out, you still have the issue of how long they sit in the fridge. You see, leftovers only last so long before they become dangerous. Our home has a very strict three-day rule. In fact we have even turned to keeping a Sharpie right in the kitchen so that we can apply dates on containers of leftovers.  I am not saying that we do not have a tendency to “collect” leftovers in the fridge but at least we know the state of each constituent.  This comes in extraordinarily useful when the kids go looking for the leftover hot dogs. 

So that is this week’s entry. Please keep the chocolate challenge ideas coming and do not forget to send me your best ideas for the use of Thanksgiving leftovers.

Keep it tasty, Cyberspace,

FoodSciGuy

Way Beyond Comfort Food / Hello, Again

I know of nothing, material, that evokes greater feelings or fonder memories than food.  We have all heard of comfort food, but the feelings I am talking about go beyond comfort. Sure, comfort might factor into the equation, but the feelings drawn out of you by that one or two certain foods are deeper than that almost visceral.

Have you every eaten some dish that made your heart melt or your knees weak? For me it is sometimes just the smell, or even the thought of certain foods. One of the foods that reaches down to my core and speaks to me is Pho (roughly, pronounced: fuh).

Pho, for those of you that are not in the know, is a Vietnamese soup. It usually a beef (or chicken) based broth that is imbibed with a spice blend that is very unusual for most western soups (star anise, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and coriander).  Yet these spices provide a delicate balance that helps to meld together the flavors of charred onion, burnt ginger and the pungent but compulsory fish sauce into a beguiling medley.   It is this magical marriage of flavors, a combination of which I never knew existed, which gives this ethereal serum its powers. I mean pho reaches deep down into my soul, grasps it, massages it, and instantly makes me feel safe and at peace. This is way beyond the reach that comfort food can obtain.

This feeling that I am trying to describe escapes words. The dilemma that this elusive word creates is very similar to the one I have when I try to find the words to describe my truest feelings I have for my best friend and soul mate. To say “Love” is what I feel for her seems so feeble an attempt, yet this is the word I default to for lack of a better term.  When it comes to the feeling that pho gives me I, again, have produced nothing but feeble attempts.  The feeling is almost Zen. It is like my body and mind know that even one sip of the broth will heal me from the inside and reset my gimbals, evening out the balance within my universe.

I know that it sounds a bit convoluted, but that is how blown away I am at the power of these types of foods. They are on an entirely different plane than “comfort” foods yet they do provide a comfort and so much more.  They reach out to the soul of the Do you see what I mean? What do we call these foods? I just do not know.  I guess I will have to continue on the quest for the elusive word that describes this feeling of food Zen.  It is a tough job but someone has to do it.

So now, dear reader, it is your turn. What is the food or foods that gives you that feeling?  What dish grabs you by the spine and captivates you, sooths you, tells you that you are right with the universe? Comment to this post and share. Maybe you will enlighten someone who has never felt that rare but oh so powerful feeling.

Chocolate Challenge & Food Safety Update:

Well, hello out there.  I know you all may have given up on me but I swear to you, I missed you all more than you can imagine.  I have been very busy with my career and with school not to mention life in general (six children really keep you running in case you were wondering). In that time I was away, not only was I way busy but I was trying to find myself in the blogosphere. What is my niche? Is it chocolate? Is it family cooking?

Is it outdoors cooking?  Is it the food science angle (look out A.B.)? Do I bring my work home and make it a blog about food safety?  The answer to all of these questions is – “Yes”. I figured this out with the help of my soul-mate/best friend/lovely wife, Maggie (check out her blog – Looking Through a Mommy’s Eyes).   While listening to one of my hundreds of, “What was I meant to do?” whining sessions she stopped me mid whine and reminded me that I write best when I write what I want to write about.  She continued to say that the readers that really want to follow me are the ones that want to follow “me” and all of my crazy food tangents. So that is what you will get – ME.  I will keep writing what I feel is the thing.  The way I see it is, if I was meant to do this it will shake out and find itself.

            So, all of my features like the food safety info/stories and chocolate challenge will start up again (hopefully it will fare better than the lasagna – a 4 on a 10 scale) and I will add any other new features that I come up with. That might even include some you readers think up.

Until next posting, (later this week), God’s speed to you all.

Take care and stay hungry my foodie friends.

Flavorfully yours,

Eric – The FoodSciGuy

I would walk 500 miles… / Wash your hands!

I would walk 500 miles…

Once upon a time there was a little girl that grew up in a rural Wisconsin town.  She pursued her dream to become a teacher because her original dream of becoming a princess seemed far-fetched.  She spent 4 years of her late teens and early twenties at an institute of higher learning pursuing that teaching dream.  Well, times were tough out on her own.  There were long nights of studying and the young woman need sustenance so she called a local pizza joint and ordered her favorite cheesy breadsticks.  She ate hundreds of these breadsticks over the years and developed very long lasting and fond memories.  Fast forward to the woman’s thirties…She moved to the big city and became the teacher that she always wanted to be, she married a decent man. They have even created a wonderful family. Her life seems complete, but every once in a while he longs for the taste of those bread sticks and the crazy life of her university years.  Then one day her husband told her some fantastic news – Her favorite pizza place was coming to the big city and that meant that her favorite breadsticks were too.  Her husband then hatched an ingenious plan.  He found out that the pizza place was having a contest in which the first 50 customers to the store would receive free food for a year. What he didn’t count on was that the very first customer would receive a very different type of prize.  So the woman’s husband made all of the arrangements and stood out in front of the pizza place a little more than 24 hours before the grand opening and found himself in that fortuitous first position.  After more than a day of camping out on a city sidewalk with strangers (heavy on the strange) the husband found out that he did not only get the food for the year but he also was crowned the King of that location. So now his wife had two dreams come true.  First, she was able to relive her college years whenever she wanted to – for free.  Secondly, she was royalty. The only catch was that she skipped right over princess and went right to being the queen.

It was a great time overall.  I camped out with complete strangers on the sidewalk in 40 degree weather for a year’s supply of pizza, breadsticks and many other menu options.  Why, you may ask; for my two greatest loves; my wife and my mistress – food.  I may have said in the past that I love food – I mean it.  Also, I was able to do something for my wife that meant the world to her.  I would do anything for her and if it involves food then it is like I am getting away with a little something.

So now I ask you what crazy things have you done in the name of food?  Have you ever been in a contest or pulled an all-nighter to get something cooked to perfection?  Have you ever tried pull off some epic food feat just to have it blow up in your face?  Now is your time to share.

Food Safety Update

I thought I would take on hand washing.  While speaking with my oldest child, whom is in his first year of college, he told me that his roommate does not wash his hands after he uses the restroom.  When my son called him on this disgusting practice his roommate stated that no one ever washes their hands.  This incredible revelation along with my experiences teaching food safety and sanitation practices at work has shown me that there are way too many people that do not wash their hands as often as they should.  So I know that all of you are probably adults and know how to wash your hands but let us review:

1.       Wet your hands with water that is as hot as you can stand – remember that if it is too hot then you run the chance of your skin cells sloughing and causing larger issues with microbes.

2.       Apply soap to your hands. Does it need to be anti-bacterial soap?  No.  Many studies have shown that you may be doing more harm in the long run when anti-bacterial soaps.  The studies show that some microbes may develop a resistance to anti-microbial agents.

3.       Scrub all surfaces including the backs of hands and nail beds.   Do this for a minimum of 20 seconds. How can you keep tract of the 20 seconds? Try singing “Happy Birthday” two times over.  Now this is just to make sure you meet the minimum amount of time – go ahead and wash them longer.

4.       Rinse with that same “hot-as-you-can-stand-it” water.

5.       Dry your hands thoroughly. There are some microbes that will die when dried.  What is the best way to dry them?  Many will say that using one of those hot air dryers is the best bet but again there have been studies lately that suggest that you run the risk of getting more microbes on your hands.  I understand that there are not many of you that have a hot air dryer in your home so let’s move on to the methods that will apply.  Paper towel or hand towel – which is your choice?  Environmentally speaking, re-washable towels are the key but run the risk of spreading microbes if they are misused or over used.  Paper towel use is not a very tree-hugging thing to do but they are disposable and run less of a risk of overuse.  In the end the choice is up to you but be cognizant of your actions and the impact of them (on microbial level).

6.       Lastly, if you choose, apply hand sanitizer.  Yes, according to some studies you can still run the risk the anti-microbial agents in the hand sanitizer losing their effectiveness (see #2 above).  NOTE: hand sanitizer is not an effective replacement for good solid washing, as outlined above. This is because you have two broad categories of “ick” on your hands – microbes, and filth.  Both hand sanitizer and washing both take care of microbes.  However, hand sanitizer will not be very effective on most filth. That calls for well performed hand washing with soap and hot water.

I know that many of you probably use gloves but be warned – gloves do not make you invincible.  But more about that in a later blog.

That is it from me for now.

Take care and stay hungry my foodie friends.

Flavorfully yours,

Eric – The FoodSciGuy

Kids, What’s the Matter With Kids Today? / Choco-challenge / Turning off Allergies

Kids, What’s the Matter With Kids Today? / Choco-challenge / Turning off Allergies

Do you remember when we were kids?  Endless days of playing, nothing to worry about other than math homework – those were the days.  Do you, also, remember when our parents asked us what they should make for dinner?  No? That is because we never really got to make the decision. That was left up to the adults.   You know - the ones that have more than 12 years of life-experience and knew that doughnuts were not the wisest choice for dinner.  That is because they were the ones who were in charge.  I guess the more that things change the more they stay the same. Perhaps it is more accurate to state that, things never, actually, changed since in a lot of families like mine, (unfortunately) the bosses are still in charge.  It is just that now the children are the bosses.   Now children have greater resources of information and communication than most adults did when they were minors. Kids today have a more structured and organized set of activities than most of us did at their age.  Long gone are the days of pick-up games of kick-the-can and baseball in which the bases were the players’ coats or a crushed Jolly-Good soda can.  I still can recall, like an eerie, vivid dream, the sound of my parents’ voices calling me in for some nasty dinner-time dish like stuffed peppers or liver and onions.  In case you haven’t guessed, I now like stuffed peppers.  In fact I make them for my children. They tell me that they want them. Well most of the children tell me they do (more on the perils of cooking to the tastes of 6 children, a wife and me in a latter blog post.)  Now do you see what I am talking about?  They even sneak in the dinner choice by making me think it is my decision by choosing nutrition-rich dishes.  The little darlings don’t always choose something that I have made in the past or some heirloom recipe carried by our ancestors on the Mayflower. Nope, they get some “great” ideas from T.V. or the internet. A perfect example is the one that sparked the inspiration for this blog posting – spaghetti tacos (as seen on Nickelodeon’s “iCarly”). Wow, these are just not right.  Have I lost you on the concept of the spaghetti taco? It is exceptionally intricate so try to keep up with all of the technical jargon. 

·         Step one: make spaghetti with your favorite sauce

·         Step two: put the spaghetti in a taco shell

·         Step three: choke it down

They are not necessarily bad for you or nutrient-deficient in fact if you choose the right ingredients they could be a complete, well balanced meal (whole wheat pasta, meatballs, a sauce that is loaded with veggies, add some cheese) but the combination of the classic Italian spices and flavors that go with even the simplest pasta dish does not meld even remotely well with the (get ready for the geek speak) pyridine flavor note that is a signature of tortillas, especially those used in hard taco shells. 

There have been other ideas that have not been nearly as versatile when it comes to trying to “nutrify” them up.  Take the time we made, based on Duff Goldman’s attempt and my 18 year-old son’s fondness for the NBC comedy, “30 Rock”, Cheesy Blasters.  How do you make Cheesy Blasters?  I am glad you asked:

·         First, you take a hot dog

·         Fill it with some jack cheese

·         Wrap it in a pizza…

·         …you’ve got Cheesy blasters

Now, how can that be an unhealthy addition to the dinner rotation?  Let me tell you, we made these gastronomical marauders once thinking that the kids would like the once-in-a-lifetime treat.  We thought that they would think they are neat but too rich or just plain too much.  When we first made them and surprised the children their eyes nearly popped out of their heads then their faces drooped into weird twisted masks of disbelief.  So, at this point, we figure that we have got them.  They will eat at least part their meal and realize that it was too much.  No way!  Within a few minutes we heard, “Can I have another one?”  We had to let them in on the secret that it was a very limited run because each one of the ‘Blasters was approximately 750 to 800Kcal (calories).   So, problem solved right? Nope.  Child number four is having his tenth birthday at the end of the week and changed his birthday dinner request (a time that a child should actually get a say in the dinner choice) from burgers on the grill to what else?  …Cheesy Blasters.

I by no means feel that children should be excommunicated from the church of the kitchen.  It is a great place to teach math skills, accurate measurements, following directions and a very valuable life skill.   I just call all of you parents to arms.  Pick up those spatulas, embrace those cookbooks, and invite the ankle-bitters into the kitchen and let them have a say. Yes let them have a say as to which of the siblings gets to do the dishes and who gets to dry them!  Ok it is not the worst thing in the world to let our children have a say.  Let’s just teach our children balance and self control when it comes to our meal choices.  Let’s take that meal time, no matter who chose it, to spend the time together and find out how each other’s day went.  Let’s remember that we are blessed because what is most important is that our children, here in America, have enough food to actually have the opportunity make that choice instead of wondering if they will ever get another meal.

The Great Chocolate Challenge – Progress

The lasagna was horrible!  Before you naysayers tell me that you told me so let me explain why I (and my family) thought it was no good. It was not because of the addition of sweet, life-giving chocolate. It was because of the kind of chocolate I used.  100% cocoa chocolate was the weapon of choice and it really should have been something much sweeter like a 60%.  Another issue I ran into was the fact I made a crock-pot-lasagna and my slow-cooker essentially cooked the dish into a big mushy mess. In the end it was my neglect of one of the most basic rules of scientific experimentation: only change one variable at a time.

The family and I have adopted a scoring method for all of my cooking experiments.  Based on a scale of 1 (trash can bound) to 10 (a homerun).  The consensus was that this dish was a 4 or five (somewhere between “put it in the fridge until it molds” and “mom, the dog ate my dinner…can I have dessert”).

The next challenge will be salmon and chocolate. I did not give up on the lasagna but I need time for my loved ones to forgive and, especially, forget.

Food Safety Update

 Do you or anyone you know have food allergies?  If so, there may be some hope for you in the near future. How near and at what cost no one is sure.  Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have been able to turn off the body’s response to allergen proteins in mice.  Going back to my earlier statement; How long? No one can really say because mice are not humans and these types of studies take what seems like eons to become a legitimate medical solution.  That brings me to my other concern; at what cost? I am not talking about money but, rather, repercussions on a much grander scale.  I love the idea of people not dying from the very matter that helps sustain life but are we sure that turning off something that the body uses to defend itself from harm won’t bring on a much worse situation? 

If you are interested in reading the article I am referring to here is the link;

http://www.physorg.com/news205235886.html

As always please chime in let me know what your thoughts are on any of the topics I mentioned or any other topics / challenges that you would like me take on.

Until then…Stay hungry, stay safe, and keep weaving that tapestry with the threads of your favorite foods,

Eric (the FoodSciGuy)

Risk-Based Assessment

Hello all, I am back with a very important topic when it comes to the Food Universe (I really need to start calling it something shorter. The ”foodiverse”?  Maybe not). I am here to talk to you about food safety.  My name is Eric and I am a food safety professional that does not always act like one at home.  What do I mean by that?  Well think of it this way; If you were to go to your favorite bistro and see the chef drop your $50 steak on the ground and within, let’s say, 5 seconds he picks it up and places it back on the plate would you eat it?  Let’s say that you were out for breakfast and ordered your favorite eggs Benedict and a great nice tall, spicy, loaded bloody Mary and during your first sip or first bite you find a hair.  What would you do?

Now replace the bistro and the breakfast joint with your home and your budget and lovely family? Would you eat that steak (your floors are clean right?  Would you just pull out that hair of your wife’s (you know that you two have knoodled and accidently gotten worse things in your mouth and lived)?  So why do you send the food back and complain when you dine out?  Well if you are not the father of a high school friend of mine that liked to complain every time in order to always get a free meal then you probably do it because you do not know where they have been and how the establishment, (and their employees), are cleaned.  You know how well you have cleaned your house and yourself.  Plus you are familiar with your own brand of germs and bacteria. So, what is the thing that makes the decision so different based on the circumstances? – Risk-based assessment.

How long has that fantastic Mongolian beef been in the fridge?  You know that you should follow the “3 and out” rule but it has only been 5 days but it is the best in the city and it was expensive.  Is it worth the risk of a possible pseudomonas infection? Is the risk worth it to you to spend the entire next day trying to figure out which end gets dibs on the porcelain throne for one last bite?   

Now back to my “confession”.  I am big on risk-based decisions. I am a risky guy when it comes to me.  When I am cooking for others, especially children, I am much more conservative when determining the risk.  Children have a much less developed immune system and you never know what the situation with your guests might be. 

So, now it is your turn. What do you do that is a risky move when it comes to the preparation of food?  Do you leave your potato salad or Thanksgiving Day turkey sit out for 2-3 hours before you put it in the refrigerator?  It is ok to tell. It might even be therapeutic.  Admission is the first step to improvement because you never know what you’ve got until you know what you’ve got.

I am going to start adding a little bit of food safety to each of my subsequent blog posts and maybe I can help keep at least 1 of the 76 million Americans that get food borne illnesses from becoming one of the 350 thousand that end up in the hospital or, even worse, one of the 5000 that die from these same little beasts. 

CHALLENGE UPDATE:  The chocolate-laced lasagna is in the crock-pot as I write this.  I will get the FoodSciFamily’s opinion and add to this post when the jury is done deliberating.

Take care all and stay hungry and safe, Foodie Friends,

Eric (the FoodSciGuy)

Not forgotten! / Veggies / "Organic", he spat.

Not forgotten! / Veggies / "Organic", he spat.

Hello out there (echo echo echo....),

I hope that you have not given up on me yet. I am still trying to get my blogger's legs.

On this visit I would like to discuss veggie dishes.  Then perhaps we I will delve into one of my favorite and, at the same time, my most dreaded topics of discussion – Organic. Lastly we will cover my progress on the “Chocolate challenge”  

 Veggies.  Do you love them, hate them or are you indifferent?  I love them with a passion.  In fact there are very few vegetables that I don’t like (sorry radishes). I feel that pizza gets better with the more toppings you can pile on.  I even like vegetables that I used to not care for in the past.  Perfect examples of this are sweet potatoes and squash.  I thought that they were just this big mushy mess of over brown sugared goop.  But I found out later that they are actually vitamin and antioxidant-packed superfoods that when prepared right are something crave nearly nightly. (Take a look at the recipe attached at the end of this post for one of my favorite sweet potato recipes.)

Do not get me wrong, I love meat too and will create at least one blog post dedicated solely to the carnivores of the world but I have discovered the amazing division of the food market – veggie burgers.  Now, I get it that they do not taste even remotely like a hamburger but they have notched out a nice little place in the heart of my stomach.  The flavor and textures that the food companies have developed are amazing (my favorite is the Morningstar black bean burgers).  The one exception to the rule when it comes to mimicking the real animal flesh version would definitely have to be Boca brand Spicy Chick’n Patties.  These things are fantastic.

So let’s talk about vegetable dishes. As of late I have been preparing an awesome angel hair pasta that incorporates the addition of “noodles” of veggies that I have created using the vegetable peeler and fancy knife work to make long thin strips of zucchini, summer squash, leeks, onion and bell pepper that I sauté in olive oil with plenty of garlic. Once this is all married all together it makes for an incredible frenzy of flavor, texture and mouthfeel that is extremely satisfying. What is the best veggie dish you have ever eaten, ever made, ever wanted to try?

Well is it time to go there? Organic? Are you ready? Ok, Vamos a empezar.

Organic is the root of all evil!  No, I do NOT actually feel that way.  However I worry that some people depend on it way too much.  You see organic is not a silver bullet.  There is no silver bullet.  Organic is not any safer than traditionally processed foods because by taking away certain safety measures like non-fecal fertilizers and pesticides can open up a whole new cadre of problems.  Traditionally processed foods are, generally, very carefully scrutinized for food safety especially microbial issues (I know, I know Peanut Corp of America –PCA but they were incompetent, crooked, putzes).   I just want people that buy organic to know that the significantly higher prices that they pay for what some expect to be a food of superior quality and safety may not be all that.  For example take the juxtaposition of organic fields to non-organic fields. If you have a field of organic crops and you are very careful to follow all of the appropriate organic practices, including using only organic fertilizers and not using pesticides, your efforts may be all for naught if the field next to you is practicing conventional farming practices.  This is because the conventional farming practices would be ok with use of both aforementioned techniques and since the fields are close there could be cross contamination.  For example, the fertilizer used on the conventionally processed field could be washed over to the organic field via the ground water or a heavy rain.  Also, the pesticides could very easily be blown over to the organic field from the non-organic field if they were applied carelessly or during a windy day.  For a very interesting editorial from someone that is very anti-organic check out “David Sheffield '11: Organic Food is Bovine Manure” published Monday, March 15, 2010 in the Brown Daily Herald.  It is especially over the top so it makes me laugh.  

The great Chocolate Challenge – Well, it is at kind of a stalled effort due to time constraints but two good things are happening this upcoming week to help. First, I am scheduling specific time just for cooking because it always helps me relax. Second salmon is on sale at my favorite fish market, St. Paul Fish Company!.  I am still starting with the chocolate lasagna entre and should have pictures and a report for you by next week’s post.  That brings me to my last topic: the frequency of my blog posts.

I have added my FoodSciGuy posts to my schedule so I will now post something every Thursday OR Sunday (to allow for emergencies). I will also make some “rogue” postings as the mood strikes me or if something major happens in the food universe.

These are all just things to think about.  Let me know what you think.  Maybe we will revisit the organic topic again in another issue of FoodSciGuy.

Keep it tasty, Cyberspace,

Eric the Food Sci Guy

Sweet Potato Freedom Bakes Recipe

·         3 large sweet potatoes: peeled and sliced into ¼ x ¼ x 1 inch “sticks”

·         4-5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes: washed and sliced into ¼ x ¼ x 1 inch “sticks”

·         1 large sweet onion peeled and sliced into ¼ inch “quarter-moons”

·         2 tablespoons or extra virgin olive oil

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon granulated garlic

·         ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)

Place all ingredients into a large bowl and toss to coat

Place the mixture in one layer onto a baking sheet

Place into a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside.

Add any additional seasoning to taste.

        Try dipping in ketchup or an aioli...Enjoy!

The Ballgame and The First Challenge

Hello again my fellow foodies.


So I had the distinct honor of receiving some really fantastic seats at Miller Park to see Trevor Hoffman pitch his way into the history books. My first row seats gave me a whole new view of the game yet I still had my mind on food. We even missed our Manager, Ken Macha, get tossed from the game because we were looking through the veritable cornucopia of foods offered at the park. It’s not just hot dogs, brats and peanuts anymore. Speaking of peanuts, no sooner did we sit down and I wanted – nay – needed a bag of peanuts. I love the taste, the crunch the smell and even the tactile sensation of the shells and the salty residue that they leave on your fingers. It seems to linger there for hours despite hand washing – usually found out when I rub my eyes. It was also a first for my lovely wife. Maggie had her first Brewers brat with stadium sauce. For those of you not in the know it is the signature food of Miller Park (and formerly of County Stadium). This got me to thinking: What are some of your favorite foods to eat at a ballgame or other sporting events? Also, what are the best food specialties in the different stadiums and arenas around the nation?

Now for the first challenge- At lunch today I had a wonderful discussion with my colleagues about chocolate (aka, my crack). I made a very bold statement to the group saying that I could make chocolate work with any food. I was instantly contradicted by one young lady who said “You couldn’t make it work with eggs”. I immediately said I could make it work. Now keep in mind that I had no formulated idea but it was a dare and I warned you earlier about the relationship between dares and me. So now I challenge you to challenge me! Find a food/dish that you think I can’t use chocolate in to make it better. I don’t think it is possible. I will try as many as I can and report the results/recipes right here on Food Sci Guy.
Let’s do this – tell your friends – the more the merrier.




Tastiest regards,

Eric Putty, the Food Sci Guy

Where to Start?

Sooo... I blog now. I am a blogger.
Am I so stuck on myself that I think that people will be interested in what I have to say? Yes...well no, not really but I do have hope that my love for food and everything else I dabble in. (We will get to those things later). I really hope to inspire and be inspired by you, the reader. I do want to get to the point that I can challenge you to try something new and, yes, I encourage you to challenge me. (Shh, don't tell anybody but I have a very hard time turning down a dare, especially food dares.)
I have a lot of things going on in my life like school, a full time job, a very large family and the rest of my life to live but I will fit this in and shine at it. 
So what are the things I dabble in?

• I brew my own beer
• I enjoy video games
• I geocache
• I want to compete in a triathlon
• I love to bicycle
• I love woodworking
• I plunk around with the guitar and bass guitar
• I am a wannabe chef
• I am a food scientist
• I love to camp
• I love to cook outside
• I want to be able to live off of the land while camping
• I love to feed my family

That is just the very tip of the iceberg and oddly enough food fits into all of it...so let's chip away at it.  What do you say?
Let's see where this takes us.  I will try my absolute best to inform and entertain.

Tastiest regards,
Eric Putty the Foodsciguy