Oprah can have an impact on this health issue

I've been writing on the HIV/AIDS issue for some time. My interest has been to get Bill Gates to come forward with enough funding to run a study to show the effectiveness of four simple and inexpensive supplements that may stop the progression of HIV to AIDS.

I've posed this because Gates is caught up in the vaccine folly and so far has been unwilling to consider that there may be a much more effective and useful approach to this major manufactured global health concern.

Surely this effort can be assisted by Ms. Winfrey. Her interest may not be so constrained by formality and status quo pressures as Mr. Gates.

Isn't this one of those "Just Do It" moments?

HIV increase most among young black men, June 30, 2008

ATLANTA, June 30 (UPI) -- The number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses from 2001 to 2006 among men who have sex with men increased 8.6 percent, U.S. health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta conducted an analysis of trends in diagnoses of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men in the 33 states that have had confidential, name-based HIV case reporting since at least 2001.

From 2001-06, an estimated 214,379 people had HIV/AIDS diagnosed in the 33 states. Of these diagnoses, 46 percent were in men who have sex with men and 4 percent were in men who have sex with men who engaged in illicit injection-drug use, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said.

Among males, men who have sex with men accounted for 97,577, or 63 percent of cases. Men ages 25 to 44 years accounted for 64 percent of cases among men who have sex with men. From 2001-06, a 12.40percent increase in the number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses among all black men who have sex with men was observed; however, an increase of 93.1 percent was observed among black men who have sex with men ages 13 to 24 years.

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Now that Bill's retired, here's something good he can spend money on

Top Economists List Vitamins for Children as World's Top Priority
Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Copenhagen Consensus Conference, a gathering of some of the world’s top economists, ranked supplying millions of malnourished children with vitamin A and zinc the number one world priority, beating out issues related to global warming, terrorism, AIDS and others.

It was estimated that supplying the world’s 140 million undernourished children with vitamin A and zinc would cost just $60 million, but would create benefits of $1 billion through better health, fewer deaths and increased future earnings.

The Copenhagen Consensus Conference, which meets every fourth year, is a gathering of 55 of the world’s top economists and specialists in the ten key challenges. A roundtable analysis of the issues is followed by a ranking of these issues by priority. The list is designed “to be an eye-opener for policy-makers all over the world, and to act as a vehicle for improving decision-making on spending on global issues.”

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You Say it’s Your Blogday: CHG's Top Ten Recipes

WOO! We made it! A year ago today, CHG launched with a smile, a strategy, and a semi-sensical mission statement. While world wide web domination is probably a couple of years in coming, we've carved out a neat little niche in the highly competitive arena of health-and-frugality-oriented food blogging.

So, thank you to everyone – all 158,126 of you – who’ve popped in over the last 12 months. I’ve really enjoyed writing for and learning from you. Y’all are aces.

And! Thank you to the 1,551 websites, blogs, and people who’ve sent traffic this way, especially MSN Smart Spending, Get Rich Slowly, Paid Twice, Frugal Hacks, A Good American Wife, Money Saving Mom, English Major Money, Serious Eats, and Frugal Upstate. Three cheers.

Also! Thanks to Jaime and Leigh for joining up, and Rachel for subbing in while I was on vacation. I'm way grateful for your viewpoints, limeades, and kale chips, ladies.

And finally! Thanks to The Boyfriend, for eating lots of crap in between the good stuff.

Which brings us to today’s food. In celebration of the whole one-year shebang, I went back and picked out my top ten favorite meals/snacks/whatever. While each of the 105 recipes on this site has been Boyfriend-Leigh-or-Jaime-tested and Me-approved, these guys I remember as being particularly tasty. Behold their wonder! (In convenient alphabetical order.)

Baked Apples
Source: The Cook's Bible by Christopher Kimball

Essentially a crustless apple pie, this warm, Autumn-y dessert makes me yearn for colder weather.

Cheesy Eggplant Bake
Source: AllRecipes.com

Bad name. Good food.

Chicken Provencal
Source: Cook's Illustrated's Best 30-Minute Recipe

Possibly my absolute favorite, and it really only takes a half-hour. Yay, olives!

Falafel with Tahini Sauce
Source: Epicurious.com (Falafel) and EatingWell.com (Tahini Sauce)

The Boyfriend's best-loved dish. You don't miss the deep-frying one bit.

Gazpacho Pasta Salad
Source: Cook's Country Magazine

Dude. I make this ALL THE TIME. For every occasion. Even when it's not appropriate, like a pasta haters convention.

Marcella Hazan’s Lemon Roasted Chicken
Source: WCHSTV.com via Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

To make this even better (as if), chop thick-cut carrots and Yukon gold potatoes into 1-inch pieces, drop 'em in the bottom, and roast along with the chicken. You won't know what hit you.

Potato Gnocchi
Source: Gnocchi cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education

Best of all? They freeze like the dickens.

Roasted Asparagus with Poached Egg and Parmesan
Source: TheKitchn.com

This could be the classiest thing I've ever eaten. Besides Shea Stadium hot dogs, I mean.

Sweet Lassi
Source: WholeFoods.com

Who needs a friggin' milkshake?

White Bean and Kale Soup with Turkey Sausage
Source: ClosetCooking.blogspot.com

This made me like kale.

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Posted in: About Cheap Healthy Good

Submit to Coercion or Else

It is a sad state of affairs when the day comes that parents who have every right to question their child's pediatrician, as well as their own chosen health care provider, are being subjected to a philosophy and culture of coercion, just because they are exercising that right.

In case the AAP forgot, their position on vaccines is blatantly in violation of informed consent rules.

AAP Leadership Fights Informed Vaccine Choices
by Barbara Loe Fisher (NVIC)
www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com
www.NVIC.org
www.Stand UpBeCounted.org

In another fit of pique aimed at the growing number of vaccine-educated parents questioning pediatricians about the safety of vaccines, the largest private medical organization representing medical doctors treating children - the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) - recently announced to its membership that it will fight doubting parents in their offices, in the media, on the internet and through a partnership with other wealthy and powerful organizations funded by a pharmaceutical industry committed to doing the same thing.

On May 30, the AAP leadership reports that it met with the leaders of 15 allied organizations in Elk Grove, Illinois to discuss the growing refusal of parents to vaccinate their children according to recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and AAP. A recent letter to AAP members stated:

"The group agreed that recent attacks on vaccines have left parents confused. The rates of exemptions are climbing, and the protection of communities from vaccine preventable diseases is in jeopardy. Participants identified several factors that promote anti-vaccine information:

· Parent-to-parent spread of myths,
· A public that does not understand the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases,
· Internet and media exposure that is not balanced,
· Decreased trust in the government and health care providers,
· Slow response to negative news coverage, and · Increasing calls for philosophical exemptions.

The group recognized strategies that have worked in the past to address these drivers, agreed to jointly promote the positive value of vaccines, and will come together again in July to develop a cohesive message for dissemination. This message will be disseminated in mainstream media, through professional organizations, and via Internet tools. Materials are expected to be available by fall 2008. The group will formally be known as the Immunization Alliance."

Information on the AAP website gives pediatricians instructions about what to do with parents who refuse to obey the doctor's orders, including a sample letter that states:

"By not vaccinating your child you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that your child will contract one of these diseases. We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable. We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We recognize that the choice may be a very emotional one for some parents. We will do everything we can to convince you that vaccinating according to the schedule is the right thing to do.

However, should you have doubts, please discuss these with your health care provider in advance of your visit. In some cases, we may alter the schedule to accommodate parental concerns or reservations. Please be advised, however, that delaying or "breaking up the vaccines" to give one or two at a time over two or more visits goes against expert recommendations, and can put your child at risk for serious illness (or even death) and goes against our medical advice as providers....such additional visits will require additional co-pays on your part. Furthermore, please realize that you will be required to sign a "Refusal to Vaccinate" acknowledgement in the event of lengthy delays.

Finally, if you should absolutely refuse to vaccinate your child despite all our efforts, we will ask you to find another health care provider who shares your views. We do not keep a list of such providers nor would we recommend any such physician."

Educated parents of America attempting to make informed, voluntary vaccination decisions for your children be warned: your pediatrician is out to change your mind about vaccination or teach you a lesson you will never forget.

Hang on to your child because the doctor you have trusted with your child's life might just try to make you out to be a bad parent and not only throw you out of the office but notify state officials to charge you with child medical abuse if you don't agree to give your child every one of those 69 doses of 16 vaccines that doctors working for the Centers for Disease Control say all children from birth to age 18 must get.

Be prepared that the doctor, who you pay to keep your child well, may dutifully obey recent orders given by the AAP leadership to implement one-size- fits-all government vaccine policies: no questions asked. The next time you visit your pediatrician and attempt to ask a question about vaccine reactions or suggest your child get fewer or no vaccines (especially if your child has already suffered serious vaccine reactions your doctor refuses to recognize) be prepared to be humiliated, harassed, threatened and thrown out of the office.

The message from the AAP leadership to vaccine-educated parents is: you WILL give your children every vaccine that industry produces even it brain damages or kills them. You DO NOT have the human right to protect your child from vaccine injury and death because you MUST sacrifice your child for what AAP and government officials have decided is the "greater good." Your child does NOT belong to you and if you don't agree to do exactly what we say, we will make sure your family is denied medical care.

Sounds like a smart plan to me, pediatricians of America, if you want to fatally compromise the last remaining shred of trust that mothers and fathers have in your knowledge about vaccine risks and how to minimize them for the children they love more than anyone in the world.

In the words of Jim Carrey: "How stupid do you think we are?"

Twenty-six years ago, the co-founders of the National Vaccine Information Center came to the table with the AAP leadership to talk about compensating children injured by mandated vaccines because the AAP said it was a matter of "simple justice for children." We believed the AAP leadership really cared about minimizing vaccine risks for the individual child rather than just wanting to pass the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 for the purpose of protecting drug companies and pediatricians from liability for vaccine injuries and deaths so they could continue to implement one-size-fits-all vaccine policies. Time and time again over the past quarter century, the AAP leadership has demonstrated that they betrayed the trust of parents then and now by refusing to work with parents to minimize vaccine risks.

In 1982, it was far easier to sweep vaccine injured children under the carpet because 1 in 6 American child was not becoming learning disabled and 1 in 150 child was not regressing into autism. Today, there are so many highly vaccinated children who are sick and disabled that there is no place to run and no place to hide.

The vaccine safety and informed consent movement has been led by educated middle class mothers and fathers who DO know how to tell a bad scientific study from a good one; who DO know how to calculate the amount of mercury or aluminum in a vaccine; and who DO know the difference between being told a lie and being told the truth about vaccine risks.

AAP: we are not stupid. We will not stand by and watch our children and grandchildren become vaccine damaged because you are obsessed with forcing every child to use every vaccine that Pharma produces with no concern for protecting the children who cannot use every vaccine safely. You can deny us medical care and try to take away our human right to voluntary, informed consent to vaccination but you will never win the war you have declared on millions of vaccine-educated parents in America.

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Big Pharma Spends Big for Favors From Congress

Pharmaceutical Lobby Spent Big in 2007
Overall, 374 out of 435 members of the House and 91 out of 100 senators received donations from the pharmaceutical and health products industry.

By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
June 25, 2008

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- The pharmaceutical lobby, Washington's largest, increased its spending by almost a third -- to $168 million -- from 2006 to 2007, an analysis showed.

Pharmaceutical companies and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) have spent more than $1 billion over the past decade on lobbying activity, according to an analysis conducted by the Center for Public Integrity.

Add on another $21.1 million from medical device and other health product companies and their associations -- the Biotechnology Organization and the Advanced Medical Technology Association -- and the total came to $189.1 million on lobbying last year, up from $146.1 million in 2006.

The jump in spending most likely reflects the shift in political leadership as Democrats took control of both houses of Congress following the 2006 mid-term elections.

"Clearly our companies were faced with a lot of challenges on a lot of different fronts," said Ken Johnson, senior vice president of PhRMA. "That happens any time there's a change in the leadership in Washington."

He said that when new people with new goals take over leadership positions, "it takes time to educate them about a lot of our issues."

PhRMA was the single biggest spender in the big-spending group, pumping $22.7 million into that educational effort. Amgen was second at $16.3 million.

The additional spending appeared to be effective, according to the report, because congressional efforts to restrict direct-to-consumer advertising failed and the Prescription Drug User Fee Act and the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act -- both favored by the drug industry -- were reauthorized in the FDA Amendment Act of 2007.

The Prescription Drug User Fee Act "allows the FDA to collect funds -- so-called 'user fees' -- from the industry to employ additional drug reviewers and bring medicines faster to the market," the report said.

According to Johnson, "the increased fees under [the act] will allow the agency to expand drug safety monitoring, hire additional staff for post-marketing surveillance, and to generally modernize its information technology systems."

The Center for Public Integrity report stated that, according to a 2009 budget request, the FDA will collect $628 million in user fees, an increase of $79 million from this year.

Johnson denied that such a system creates a conflict of interest for the FDA.

"[The act] has allowed for the timely review of new medicines without compromising the FDA's strict and objective review process," he said.

"There are people that I like to refer to as professional critics," he continued, "but when those people find themselves ill they're glad that there's a medicine out there to help save their lives."

Overall, $6.8 million went to members of three committees responsible for regulating the industry, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

The pharmaceutical and health products industry is also pumping money into the presidential campaigns. And this year, for the first time ever, they're giving more money to Democrats than Republicans.

Information from the Federal Election Commission showed that the industry donated $7.4 million to Democrats and $7 million to Republicans through April 28.

The presumptive presidential nominees Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) received $639,124 and $168,300, respectively, from the pharmaceuticals and health products industry through April 28.

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), ($136,986), chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, received $136,986 from the industry and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Committee on Ways on Means, got $134,250.

Overall, 374 out of 435 members of the House and 91 out of 100 senators received donations from the pharmaceutical and health products industry.

The CPI report was funded by the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

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Zucchini Mushroom Crumble: a Day in the Life

I love food blogs. Oh, the actual meals are nice, but beyond that, I really dig learning about folks’ day-to-day experiences making them. It’s a neat little window into lives totally different from mine, and truly, kind of awe-inspiring. (Note: I would have said “amazing,” but am actively trying to abolish it, since it’s the most overused word in the English language. Gandhi? Amazing. Cat socks? Not amazing. Seriously, folks.)

Take the fancier food blogs. They make something as mundane as dinner prep seem so idyllic, like there’s art in the air and deliciousness hovering over every well-tended garden. Really, some’re like reading an E.M. Forster novel:

I took care to place the heavier, robin’s-egg-blue crockery upon a trivet made entirely of gossamer wisps and the shattered dreams of former suitors. I did SO want to set the dish atop Signora’s silk-screened napkins depicting Queen Victoria, but alas – the airy soufflé would far from compliment the grandiosity of her majesty’s jowls.

The mom food blogs are pretty sweet, too, because I don’t know how these women do it all:

SIL and MIL popped over for din-din Tuesday night, so I had to breastfeed, hit the treadmill, open a Roth IRA, and whip up four 11x13’s of Tex-Mex casserole all before 6. Faboo. And let’s not even talk about Lil’ Miss Poopyhead, who decided to invite 14 homeless cats in for a tea party. I’m allergic to kitties, as is DH, so there was a lot of sneezing.

They make my days look like Dazed and Confused, y’know? Like, if I wrote about what happened last Thursday, it’d read more like a slacker police blotter than an actual narrative:

Came home. Worked out. Didn’t die. Ate peach. Farted. Threw pasta in pot. Ate pasta. Typed about it. Pet dog. Farted again. Examined ceiling leak. Smooched Boyfriend. Slept. Dreamed of Godzilla again. Is he dinosaur? No one knows, still.

One of my favorite blogs for day-to-day descriptions is Chocolate and Zucchini. Clotilde’s writing is laid-back but still engrossing, and her entry for today’s dish, Zucchini and Mushroom Crumble (Crumble de Courgette aux Champignons), is particularly good. Besides the mouth-watering details she rattles off with great affection, it makes you want to watch her cook. And that, I think, is the point.

If you decide to make the crumble itself (which you should, because it’s tasty), a few suggestions:

1) The herbs are totally up to you. I went with a ½ teaspoon basil, ½ teaspoon oregano, and a ¼ teaspoon of thyme for the mushrooms (crushed in my hand before adding to the pan to release the flavor), ½ teaspoon thyme for the zucchini, and a sprinkle each of oregano, basil, and thyme for the topping. It worked well.

2) If I whipped this up again, I’d only make two changes: adding a clove or two of garlic, along with two more ounces of mushrooms. (Also, maybe better background music.)

3) Clotilde’s original recipe was for twice the amount, cooked in ramekins, and written for metric system users (um … meaning everybody but us Yanks). I halved it, used an 8x8 pyrex dish, and converted everything to U.S. customary units. It worked.

Happy weekend, y’all.

Zucchini Mushroom Crumble
Makes 3 full servings or 4-5 sides.
Adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini.


1-1/2 tablespoons oatmeal
1-1/2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1-1/2 tablespoons butter, diced
1-1/2 tablespoons grated cheese (parmesan, comté...)
1 T olive oil, divided
1/8th of an onion, diced
8oz mixed mushrooms, big ones chopped in half
3 medium zucchinis, cut in small pieces (preferably julienned)
½ teaspoon flour
Thyme and dried herbs of your choice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black peppe

1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Get out 8x8 baking dish.

2) In a medium bowl, combine oatmeal, bread crumbs, butter, and cheese with your fingers. It should look like "coarse sand" when finished. Add herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside.

3)  In a large skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add onion. Cook about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add mushrooms and some dried herbs. Cook until mushrooms "have released their water," about 10 minutes. Add flour. Stir until slightly thickened. (I forgot the flour entirely, and it still came out fine. – Kris.)

4) While mushrooms are cooking, in a different large skillet, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Add zucchini. Stir. Add thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Drop heat to medium low. Cover. Cook until zucchini is crisp-tender, between 15 and 20 minutes.

5) Place zucchini in baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Top with mushrooms and spread them out, as well. Sprinkle crumb mixture over everything. Roast until crust is golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes to cool, or a burned tongue may be in your future. (NOTE: I discovered the last part the hard way.  – Kris)

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
Main Course: 179 calories, 11.9 g fat, $1.13
Side Dish: 107.6 calories, 7.1 g fat, $0.68

Calculations
3 medium zucchinis: 94 calories, 1.1 g fat, $1.28
8oz mixed mushrooms: 50 calories, 0.8 g fat, $1.49
1/8th of an onion: 6 calories, 0 g fat, $0.03
½ teaspoon flour: 16 calories, 0 g fat, $0.01
1 T olive oil, separated: 119 calories, 13.5 g fat, $0.12
1-1/2 tablespoons oatmeal: 12 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.02
1-1/2 tablespoons breadcrumbs: 51 calories, 0.7 g fat, $0.06
1-1/2 tablespoons butter, diced: 153 calories, 17.3 g fat, $0.09
1-1/2 tablespoons grated cheese (parmesan, comté...): 32 calories, 2.1 g fat, $0.21
thyme and dried herbs of your choice: 5 calories, 0 g fat, $0.05
salt, pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.02
TOTAL: 538 calories, 35.7 g fat, $3.38
PER SERVING MAIN (TOTAL/3): 179 calories, 11.9 g fat, $1.13
PER SERVING SIDE (TOTAL/5): 107.6 calories, 7.1 g fat, $0.68

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Posted in: Mains,Sides,Vegetarian

Veggie Might: Pasta with Nettles, Sorrel, and Lemon (Stinging Nettles - Ouch! Mmm!)

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.

Interjections (Hey!) show excitement (Yow!) or emotion (Ouch!).They’re generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point, or by a comma when the feeling’s not as strong.

My first trip to the CSA meeting place had me buzzing with feelings: curiosity (How does this thing work exactly? Will I meet the farmers?!), excitement (Sorrel, dandelion greens, and grape leaves! Oh my!), and anxiety (Ugh! My nemesis [Yes, even I, dear reader, have a nemesis.] might be there.).

I fastened the basket to my handlebars and zipped down to the designated street on my bike. About halfway down the block, I saw a truck with a “Support Your Local Farmer” banner draped across the open back. Several tents on the sidewalk protected vendors and their goods from the midmorning sun. My nemesis was nowhere to be seen.

The coordinator, Erica, greeted me and, as I signed the register, I scanned the roll for the evil one’s name. Not there! A season of delicious, drama-free veggies are mine!

Erica explained that I could choose four items, plus one extra, from the six or seven available this week, and good thing I brought my own bag because her helper was “evil and didn’t bring any.” She has a nemesis, too, it seems. She also directed me to recipes for the more unusual vegetables.

After being reassured that the take gets more bountiful later in the season, I began to fill my bag with dandelion greens, grape leaves, sorrel, a bouquet of wildflowers, and stinging nettles. While I gathered, Erica reminded me three more times to take The Recipes, though I took them the first time.

Stinging nettles were the “extra” item of which we could have as much as we wanted. There were two boxes: one of fresh nettles and one of nettles starting to wilt and dry. Erica explained that the dried version makes a great tea for sinus problems and allergies. Sign me up.

I took some of both, reaching in to discover that stinging nettles…sting. The stems are covered with tiny hairs that prick and emit venom. Erica then pointed to the tongs and shared an anecdote about medieval torturers lashing prisoners with stinging nettles. Delightful! I was pulling little prickers out of my fingers for the rest of the day.

Home with my bounty I wondered what in the world I would do with sorrel and stinging nettles. The nettles hurt my fingers and I was only given an ounce of sorrel. At the bottom of the bag lay my savior: The Recipes. There were also instructions on how to handle the stinging nettles.

Pasta with Nettles, Sorrel, and Lemon from The Reluctant Gourmet had it all. Erica had pulled it off the Web and the accompanying blog post gave a brief history of the plant. Once I inspected the ingredients list versus my pantry, I made several modifications (1/2 cup of olive oil? Yeesh!), but the spirit of the recipe remains intact. In essence, it’s nettle pesto with sorrel as garnish.

Because I only took small bunch of fresh nettles, I started to half the recipe—it called for 1/4 pound of nettles and I only had 1/8—but once I’d made the sauce, I found it plenty to cover 8 ounces of pasta. The original recipe also called for ricotta cheese and walnuts for which I subbed parmesan and pine nuts.

It turned out to be quite delicious, though I’m at a loss as to describe the flavors. Is green a flavor? It is now! The lemon zest really came through, and the mint and parsley gave it a fresh flavor. If you ever come across stinging nettles or sorrel, don’t be shy. And let me know; I’ll send you The Recipes.

Pasta with Nettles, Sorrel, and Lemon
Approximately 4 servings
Adapted from The Reluctant Gourmet.

1/8 pound fresh stinging nettles, stems and all
8 ounces pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp parmesan
1/2 lemon for zest and juice
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parley, chopped
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 oz. fresh sorrel leaves, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1 oz toasted pine nuts

1) Get out two large pots of water. Fill them with water. Add salt. Bring to a boil.

2) Carefully add nettles to Pot #1. Stir. Cook for 5 minutes. Very carefully, use tongs to place them in a colander. Drain. [I suggest using tongs when handling the nettles. I wore vinyl gloves surgical gloves (which I keep around for cleaning and chopping hot peppers) and then little stingers still poked through. - Leigh] Dirt should be gone/all left in the water.

3) In Pot #2, cook pasta until al dente. Drain, making sure to reserve a cup of pasta water. Set pasta and water aside.

4) While pasta is boiling, "press most of the water out of the nettles and remove the leaves from the stems." Place in food processor. Puree. (At this stage, the sting will have mostly dissipated, so gloves will suffice for leaf removal. - Leigh) Slowly add olive oil while this is happening. Once smooth, stop processor and add parmesan, zest, juice, and herbs. Pulse until blended. Salt and pepper to taste.

5) Put pasta back in its pot. Add nettle pesto. Stir. Add sorrel and a little pasta water, until sauce reaches the consistency you like.

7) Top with or stir in pine nuts. Serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price per Serving
292 calories, 10.4g fat, $1.43 per serving

Calculations
1/8 pound fresh stinging nettles: 6 calories, .1g fat, $2.30*
8 ounces whole wheat pasta: 720 calories, 8g fat, $1.00
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil: 240 calories, 28g fat, $0.16
1 tbsp parmesan: 21 calories, 1.4g fat, $0.37
1/2 lemon for zest and juice: 4 calories, 0g fat, $0.02
1 tablespoon fresh mint: 5 calories, 0g fat, $.07
1 tablespoon fresh parsley: 5 calories, 0g fat, $.07
1 tablespoon chives: 5 calories, 0g fat, $.07
1 oz. fresh sorrel leaves: 2.5 calories, .1g fat, $1.25*
1 oz toasted pine nuts: 60 calories, 6g fat, $0.37
1 tsp salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.02
1 tsp pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.02
TOTALS: 1168.5 calories, 41.6g fat, $5.72
PER SERVING: 292 calories, 10.4g fat, $1.43 per serving

*Approximate cost based on size of portion divided by number of items in week’s share divided by total cost of week’s share. These will get much cheaper as the summer goes on.

Author’s note: Rest in peace, sweet Dody Goodman, fellow central Ohioan, and funny, funny lady. I’ll never misspell your name again.

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Posted in: Mains,Pasta,Sides,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

WI-FI and WI-MAX Risk Your Health

A number of years ago, at least four, I presented a program to health care professionals on the risk of EMF to health. My topic was more about the inability to diagnos many health problems because the mainstream medical field had not inkling that EMF would be a cause.

I developed my presentation from a proven fact that doctor's cell phone were transitting infection and interfering with medical equipment. Interference with medical equipment also came from Cellular and Digital antennae, some located on hospital and health care buildings.

Personal cell phone, Blue Tooth, WI-FI, hot spots and other EMF (microwave ovens) uses are a major contributor in this discussion.

Now more science comes to my rescue.

"Even the most seductive technology will interact in the tightly-coupled healthcare world in ways physicians and other members of the healthcare team had better understand, or they and their patients may pay a dear price."
Dr Donald Berwick, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Lifesaving equipment in hospitals may be switched off by radio-frequency devices used to track people and machines, Dutch scientists claim.

Radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) are on the rise in healthcare, helping identify patients, and reveal the location of equipment.

The Journal of the American Medical Association study found they could interfere with machines.

But NHS computer specialists said RFIDs could eventually make patients safer.

There are two types of RFID, one which transmits information, and another, "passive", device which can be "read" by a powered machine when it is held nearby.

They are small and cheap enough to be in everyday use in society, in everything from security and travel cards - such as London Transport's Oystercard, to anti-theft devices on goods in shops, and hospitals are starting to become aware of their potential.

At Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, patients heading for the operating theatre wear an RFID wristband, so that even when anaesthetised, their full identity, including a picture, can be downloaded into a PDA held nearby.

Turned off

The latest research, conducted at Vrije University in Amsterdam, tested the effect of holding both "passive" and powered RFIDs close to 41 medical devices, including ventilators, syringe pumps, dialysis machines and pacemakers.

A total of 123 tests, three on each machine, were carried out, and 34 produced an "incident" in which the RFID appeared to have an effect - 24 of which were deemed either "significant" or "hazardous".

In some tests, RFIDs either switched off or changed the settings on mechanical ventilators, completely stopped the working of syringe pumps, caused external pacemakers to malfunction, and halted dialysis machines.

The device did not have to be held right up to the machine to make this happen - some "hazardous" incidents happened when the RFID was more than 10 inches away.

Patient safety

Dr Donald Berwick, from the Institute of Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said: "Design in isolation is risky - even the most seductive technology will interact in the tightly-coupled healthcare world in ways physicians and other members of the healthcare team had better understand, or they and their patients may pay a dear price."

A spokesman for NHS Connecting for Health, which manages various IT projects across the health service, said that RFIDs had the potential to deliver big improvements in patient safety, reducing mistakes caused by the wrong identification of patients.

She said: "Any product such as this which is for use in a healthcare setting has to meet a standard which means it is very unlikely to interfere with medical equipment.

"This risk is more likely to come from RFID tags from other sources - such as a travel card, a tag on clothing, or on another retail item."

A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said that, as for mobile phone use, individual Trusts needed to make risk assessments about the use of RFIDs.

He said: "Despite much debate in the literature on the subject of electromagnetic interference (EMI) of medical devices by mobile telephones and other sources of radiofrequency transmission, the MHRA has received very few reports of adverse events caused by this problem over the last seven years or so.

"Of those incidents reported, only a very small number have been proven to be as a direct result of EMI."

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Fourteen percent of people admitted to hospital have addiction problems

Taking an extremely in-depth continuing education program some years ago I commented to my mentor that I believed in every case of chemical addiction there is a very serious spiritual issue not being addressed.

I suggested that in every 12 Step program the focus should shift to working Step 12.

Of course this is the toughest one of all and that's why most never get there. Not only are the counselors unable to deal with this but the system petpetuates itself by keeping affected people about Step 4. In reality this is undermining the issue for the sake of keeping a job or a program alive.

I come by my comments honestly. I worked in chemical dependency programs for both children and adults.

The worst was a program for adolescents where the woman in charge of delivering nursing care was complicit in abuse of the patients and in the insurance fraud that was on-going as well as sexually harassing minor children, manufacturing chart data and supporting drug dealing by the staff as examples. Much of her activities were focused on keeping her job. Her actions were protected by the state because whe had an "in" with certain members of the state nurses' association. She now is offering family and marital therapy as an "advanced practice nurse" in the Mt. Vernon-Bellingham area of Washington state.

As far as health, drugs and alcohol deplete many key nutrients that set you up for severe health problems and even more severe durgs that lead to more severe side effects and more nutrient depletions.

Don't you wish someone in your health care system was providing you with this information?

Alcohol, drug abuse impairs treatment - June 26, 2008

Fourteen percent of patients admitted to the hospital have alcohol, drug abuse and addiction disorders, U.S. researchers said. Patricia B. Santora and Heidi E. Hutton of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore analyzed 43,000 patients with alcohol/drug abuse and addiction disorders -- mainly in addition to other medical diagnoses -- who were admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1994 to 2002. About one-half of the patients used a combination of two or more drugs, one-fourth used alcohol only, and the rest used opioids such as heroin or cocaine only.

The number of opioid abusers rose sharply during the period studied, reflecting the recent resurgence of heroin in Baltimore. Patients on Medicaid/Medicare and uninsured patients were more likely to have drug addictions, while patients with private insurance were more likely to abuse alcohol only, the researchers said.

However, the study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, said about 1 percent of patients had an alcohol/drug abuse and addiction disorders as their only diagnosis -- the remaining 99 percent had other medical problems as well. The researchers said healthcare providers should screen for alcohol and drug abuse and provide intervention because it increases the likelihood that patients will not follow their prescribed care.

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CHG Favorites of the Week

Food Blog of the Week
Aapplemint
Sprinkled with beautiful pictures of exotic locales and colorful, tasty-looking dishes, Aaplemint, though infrequently updated, is worth a gander just the same. Kate’s food seems to specialize in out-of-the-ordinary ingredients, like jasmine and (for real) aloe. It’s a lot of baked goods, but there are other treasures here and there, as well.

Food Book of the Week
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
"The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take a tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die." Wow, what a phenomenal book. Essentially, a lost, sick mountaineer wanders into a tiny Pakistani town, is nursed back to health, and pledges to build a school there. One school becomes several dozen, and the Central Asia Institute is born. A must-read.

Food Comedy of the Week
Cookie Monster on Colbert Report
Have you ever realized how much a Peabody Award looks like a cookie? Cookie Monster has.

ETA: This was working this morning, and isn't now. However, it's still hilarious, and still available on Comedy Central's website. - Ed.

Organization of the Week
Central Asia Institute
“CAI’s mission: To promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.” If that doesn't stir one to action, I don't know what will.

Food Quote of the Week
“You know the great irony is that people think you have to have money to enjoy fine food, which is a shame.” – Ted Allen

Untried Cheap, Healthy Recipe of the Week
Savory Mango Soup from Mark Bittman
If you changed the yogurt to low-fat and the coconut milk to no-fat, this would be oodles healthier. In the meantime – MANGO SOUP? Yes, please.

Food Video of the Week
“Orange Sky” by Alexi Murdoch
Such a beautiful song. In this case, it’s bizarrely set to an occasionally bloody fan vid for the CW series Supernatural. But hey – you take it however you can get it, right?



Totally Unrelated Extra Special Bonus of the Week
"Losing You" by Jan Terri
Ladies and gentlemen, the worst/best music video ever made.

(Photo courtesy of Rockford Schools.)

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Posted in: Links

This Puzzles Me

I just wonder how Gardasil can be just fine if you are age 11 to 26, but can't be used if you are 27 to 45.

But then I don't beleive Gardsil is safe or sane for ANY woman, young or old. The risks are just too high and the beenfits are just too low.

Merck's Gardasil not cleared for older women Wed Jun 25, 2008

U.S. regulators have told Merck & Co they cannot yet approve Merck's application to expand marketing of its cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil to an older group of women, the drugmaker said on Wednesday.

Merck had applied for the use of Gardasil in women ages 27 through 45. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a letter regarding the application that it has completed its review and there are "issues" that preclude approval within the expected review time frame, Merck said.

"It's hard to get a feel for if this is a dead issue or if this is delayed," said Linda Bannister, an analyst for Edward Jones. "At the minimum, it's going to be delayed."

Merck said it also failed to win FDA approval to expand Gardasil to protect against more strains of the Human Papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer. The company for now is dropping plans to pursue that expansion, a spokeswoman said.

Shares of the New Jersey-based drug maker, which also reiterated its long-term revenue and earnings targets, fell 1.6 percent.

Gardasil, approved in June 2006 for preventing cervical cancer and genital warts in females ages 9-26, has been one of Merck's most successful newer products and has helped the company recover after the 2004 withdrawal of its Vioxx arthritis treatment.

The Gardasil setbacks could raise concerns about the degree of growth that Merck can hope to achieve with the product, which is the world's first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.

A Merck spokeswoman said the agency has specific questions regarding Gardasil's effectiveness in this older age group.

The company said it had already discussed the questions with the FDA and expects to respond to the agency in July.

"Once we go back to the FDA, we'll have a better sense of what the review timing looks like," spokeswoman Amy Rose said.

The agency's response on the application for the older group does not affect Gardasil's current approval for females ages 9 to 26, Merck said.

Global sales of Gardasil rose 7 percent in the first quarter to $390 million. Cowen and Co has predicted annual sales of the vaccine would reach $1.9 billion in 2008 and jump to $3 billion by 2012.

Edward Jones' Bannister said she had expected Gardasil sales to reach $2.6 billion by 2012, with about one-third to come from that older age group.

Gardasil has benefited from lengthy delays in approval of GlaxoSmithKline's rival Cervarix vaccine. The FDA in December issued a complete response letter for Cervarix, meaning it had completed its review of the product but had further questions about it.

Bannister said the Gardasil delay reflects broader challenges facing drug makers with the U.S. regulatory environment.

"It's not specific to Merck," Bannister said. "This is an industry-wide issue."

Merck shares fell 59 cents to $36.44 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, Ransdell Pierson and Deepa Seetharaman, editing by Maureen Bavdek)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

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Understanding the Childhood Obesity Epidemic Part III: Small-Scale Solutions

Earlier this afternoon, CHG posted the wide-scale solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic. Now it’s time for the personal solutions – stuff you can do everyday to make sure kids are growing up healthy.

Also included are two things you absolutely shouldn’t do, because they need to be mentioned, too.

SOLUTIONS – SMALL-SCALE

1) Walk the walk. Kids learn behavior from their parents. If mom and dad don’t eat healthy or exercise, their children won’t either. Or, as Time Magazine's Lori Oliwenstein puts it, “If your daily diet revolves around bologna, potato chips and Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream eaten straight out of the carton, guess what Junior's going to start craving? And if you can name every celebrity from the past five seasons of Dancing with the Stars, chances are your kid can too.” So get out there. Buy fresh foods. Educate yourself about healthy eating. Cook. Exercise (because, “If your children see that you are physically active and have fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active for the rest of their lives”). Mostly, SET A GOOD EXAMPLE.

2) Unplug the Xbox. One health agency claims that unless they’re sleeping, kids shouldn’t spend anymore than two sedentary hours per day. Between TV and video games, lots of American children surpass that easily, and it’s directly related to their weight gain. To ameliorate the situation, regulate kids’ screen hours. Remove TVs from their bedrooms. Offer them alternatives by planning something fun and physical in place of Halo 3. Speaking of…

3) Get moving. Exercise benefits kids in a ton of ways. Besides the obvious physical perks, Time says they “do better academically, have fewer disciplinary issues, maintain better medical history,” and most of all, “improve [their] overall sense of well-being.” So plan a day in the park, start a street hockey game, or go for a walk after dinner. Or, just read this article, which has ten great suggestions for getting a move on.

4) Eat together at home. This is difficult for most families, especially as kids get older and exponentially busier. But by-and-large, home-prepared meals have less calories and fat than those found at restaurants or snagged from a vending machine. What’s more, family meals are killer opportunities to communicate, connect, and teach (about food … and other stuff). And while we’re on it, lots of articles suggest packing school lunches from home and keeping healthy snacks handy for a grab-n-eat. And when you think about it? Makes sense.

5) Practice portion control. While it could ostensibly be grouped under numbers 1 or 4, portion control is important enough to merit its own special number 5. Why? Well, kids are learning from birth that super-sized servings are totally normal – that they can have a bag of chips or a pint of ice cream with no consequences. Sadly, that’s not the case, and it’s correlated to weight gain. If you’re unsure about correct portions yourself, here’s a great set of guidelines to get started.

6) Get kids involved in their food. When children (or anyone, really) have a stake in what they eat, they’re much more likely to make conscientious decisions about food. So take ‘em grocery shopping. Offer them choices. Teach them to cook. As Washington Post writer Sally Squires puts it, “By learning how to cook cheaply and healthfully, they can help fight the battle of the bulge -- and put great-tasting, healthful food on the table for the rest of their lives.” Or, more encouragingly, as one 15-year-old boy says, “If my mom had made paella, I don't know if I would have eaten it. But since I actually made it, I wanted to try it, and I liked it." That’s the spirit, kid.

7) Put ‘em to bed. Besides general lethargy, a lack of sleep causes children to “crave fatty, high-sugar foods.” For reference, this Web MD article shows how much snoozing time each age group should have per night.

8) Connect on a bigger level. Earlier today, Part II discussed the larger obesity initiatives taken by governmental, business, and philanthropic agencies. The best part about them? Is that YOU (yes, YOU) can influence their policy. One writer even suggests, “We need an uprising of concerned parents and other citizens to call their members of Congress. We need 50 states to mandate physical education in K-8 schools.” If that seems like a lot, engaging on a smaller level is great, too. As one NPR commentor says, “talk to your fellow parents about their ideas for healthy lunches and snacks.” Childhood obesity is a community issue, and your community can help.

9) Take baby steps. Gradual, small changes will most likely be more effective than sweeping, all-encompassing ones. One nutrition expert suggests, “look for ways to introduce more fruits, whole grains and veggies into these diets," while physiologist Shelly Sweeney says, “It's not like 'The Biggest Loser,' where you would lose 60 pounds. It's just, pick up a few of these tips, switch to skim milk and eat more colorful foods, and let's get outside and do a little bit more exercise." Good calls, both.

10) Talk to a doctor. Time Magazine says this best, so I’m going to leave it entirely to them: “The stickiness of the childhood-obesity problem begins with a simple truth: most of us just don't think our kids are fat. It's right there in the stats; one study found that only 36% of parents of overweight or obese children ages 2 to 17 identified them as such.” If you suspect your child might be heavier than he/she should be, it's important to consult a professional who'll set you on the right track.

As mentioned up top, there are two things you should never do to an overweight kid.

1) NEVER put a kid on a medically unsupervised diet. Not only does dieting fail children (“A success rate of 1 percent is the best medical professionals have seen.”), but it’s unsafe: “Children can suffer nutrient deficiencies, immune suppression and dangerous stress levels." If you have an overweight child, consult your doctor before enrolling them in any weight-loss programs.

2) NEVER make a kid feel bad about their weight. Why? Because it’s not the child’s fault. He/she IS A CHILD. And that child is subjected to more judgment and stupid remarks in a given day than anyone should be. Instead, if you want to make a positive impact:

• “Emphasize health behaviors, not the numbers on a scale.”
• “Keep an eye out for what they do right and praise them for it.”
• “Recogniz(e) that at least some cards in the obesity hand are dealt even before a child is born.”
• Don’t “think that kids are simply mini-adults.”
• Don’t broadcast your own physical issues, whether its love handles or the shape of your behind. Kids pick up on that stuff and “may also begin making generalizations about how (they) look.”
• And most of all, “let them know that they are okay whatever their weight.”

And that, fair readers, concludes this very special three-part series on Understanding the Childhood Obesity Epidemic. I would love to read questions, comments, and suggestions (especially in the solutions category), so fire away.

Oh yeah – and here are my sources for Parts II and III:

SOURCES

10 Tips To Get Your Kids Moving (Time, 6/08)
Baby Fat (New York Magazine, 2/04)
Childhood Obesity (USA Today, 1/06)
Facts You Should Know (Washington Post, 5/08)
Fit at Any Size (Time, 6/08)
Healthy Home Ec (Washington Post, 5/08)
Kids: Watching What They Eat (Time, 6/08)
A One-Eyed Invader in the Bedroom (New York Times, 3/08)
The Search for Solutions (Washington Post, 5/08)
The Threat From Within (Newsweek, 1/07)
Two Worlds, One Problem (Washington Post, 5/08)
Weight Problems and Children (NY Times)
Weighty Issues for Parents (Time, 6/08)
Your Questions on Kids and Obesity (NPR, 11/06)

(Photos courtesy of Flickr members Sean dreilinger, novamade, and luluphotography2007.)

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Posted in: Health

Understanding the Childhood Obesity Epidemic Part II: Wide-Scale Solutions

Last week, CHG posted the first of a three-part series on our overweight kids, examining the causes and effects of America’s growing youth. Today, it’s all about the solutions, both on a mass and personal scale. We know some are already working, since according to Time Magazine, “for the first time in decades the increase in U.S. childhood obesity leveled off [in May].” And with more of these ideas implemented, it can only get better.

Right now, we’ll examine the larger-scale solutions. The personal ones are coming later this afternoon. As with Part 1, if anyone has suggestions or comments, please pass ‘em along. I’d love to read/add.

SOLUTIONS – WIDE-SCALE

1) Philanthropic initiatives
Of all the articles I read, the one organization mentioned most often was the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A New Jersey-based agency specializing in health issues, it’s “pledged $500 million over five years to fight the epidemic, with the aim of halting the rise of childhood obesity by 2012.” RWJ has a number of different agendas like the Healthy Schools Program, which are designed to provide support and education at a community and personal level. And it’s not alone, either. Food Trust of Philadelphia and the HSC Foundation in Washington DC are just two more of the myriad organizations aiming to halt the epidemic.

2) Local government and community initiatives
While the feds have pretty much dropped the ball on the obesity issue, local governments are picking up the slack. To wit: governors Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Mitch Daniels of Indiana, and Conan the Barbarian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) of California have all kicked off pro-fitness, anti-junk food campaigns. Municipal governments are creating and funding city and community-based programs by the hundreds. One health advocate even estimates, there are “700 programs targeting obesity and similar healthy lifestyle issues” in the Washington DC area alone. Finally, “from churches and community centers to Scout troops, organizations large and small are trying to again get children moving or to teach them about better eating.” If Obama/McCain/whoever gets on board with nationwide legislation, farm bill revision, and an overhaul of the USDA, we could make even more progress.

3) School initiatives
While schools are generally under the jurisdiction of state and local governments (several of which are banning sales of soda and high-sugar snacks), the districts themselves do exert some power. Schools across the nation are offering healthier choices for lower prices, marketing produce in smarter ways, rejecting funding from junk food companies, retraining their kitchen staffs, upping their physical fitness requirements, teaching kids to cook, and mandating that health reports be sent home to parents. The Arkansas school system has been particularly effective with their health initiatives, as “72 percent of students increased physical activity” and “61% [of schools] have policies prohibiting junk foods in vending machines, up from just 18 percent in 2004.”

4) Industry & advertising initiatives
“Motivated by the triple threat of bad publicity, tougher regulation and costly lawsuits, some of the country's biggest food companies have curtailed child-targeted advertising of certain high-calorie products,” says The Washington Post. This is good news. Since the FTC and FCC generally don’t curb the advertising of junk food to minors, self-regulation by the businesses themselves is responsible and absolutely necessary for kids’ health. Even better, a slew of manufacturers and chain restaurants are revamping their product lines and menus to give children more nutritious choices. Again, as reported by the WP, they're “emphasizing baked versions of old fried favorites.Or reformulating the foodstuffs, reducing sodium in some varieties of Lunchables and lowering sugar and fat in cereals such as Spider-Man 3.” While it’s not exactly fruit and vegetables, it’s a start.

Stay tuned, folks. Part III: Small-Scale Solutions (and a bibliography) is coming this afternoon.

(Photos courtesy of Whitehouse.gov, AQMD, and Overstock.com.)

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Posted in: Health

City Kitchen Chronicles: Kale Chips

City Kitchen Chronicles is a bi-weekly column about living frugally in Manhattan. It's penned by the lovely Jaime.

Last night I got home at 10pm, after a reading of a new play and treating myself to a late dinner of Greek yogurt and raspberries at Whole Foods. (Oh, delicious unfrugal sin.) Once I got home I wanted nothing more (well, nothing that wouldn’t involve feats of teleportation or lottery-winning) than to check my email, read a few blogs (this is what I do without cable) and go the heck to bed. But even in my sleepy stupor, I knew what I had to do. I had few-days-old kale in my fridge, and nothing for lunch the next day. It was now or never.

Of course, what sleepy (and apparently not-reading-my-own-blog-posts) me didn’t think about was the possible downside of running the oven, stovetop, and toaster oven simultaneously this 85-degrees-and-humid evening. Ah well. It made my bedroom feel almost arctic in comparison.

What the hell, you may be asking, was I doing to this kale that required such Herculean effort, so many steps, such copious heat? Why the hell, you may be asking, didn’t I just sautee it in olive oil and garlic? Well, I did. For half of it. (I had a pound and a half of kale, because that giant bunch is the only kind of bunch my supermarket sells.) But the rest of the kale was destined for another, slightly more elaborate fate. Something new and exciting that probably sounds totally weird but was completely awesome:

Kale chips.

Yes, that’s right. Kale salted and oiled and vinegared and baked until crispy and light. Turning one of the healthiest, most virtuous foods in the world into a satly, addictive bowlful of delicious. While keeping it darn healthy and virtuous. (And since this was about 75 cents worth of kale, darn cheap, too.)

I’d read about kale chips last winter, after I’d gone through my seasonal kale phase and subsequent roasted Brussels sprouts and cauliflower addiction, and was thoroughly mired in supermarket collard greens while waiting for the farmers market to return. But I filed it away somewhere in the back of my mind, supplanting more important information like where my Metrocard was this morning (answer: behind my jewelry box). When I brought home this unseasonable supermarket kale to go with the tempeh I’d splurged on the week before, I knew that not all of it would make it to the sauté pan.

I’d read about kale chips on Serious Eats, where they pointed out this recipe, but kale chips are all over the internet. I am happy to continue that tradition.

The recipe for kale chips is a pretty basic unrecipe – oil, vinegar, salt, kale; bake till crispy, try not to finish the entire bowl at once because you have to take pictures for the blog and you should probably save some to see how they keep overnight and also isn’t it time for bed? But in case you want something a little more delineated:

Kale Chips
(serves 2? or yourself? I mean, it’s a bunch of kale and healthy oil, so really, go crazy.)

Large bunch of kale (once in pieces, I had about 6 or 8 cups)
1 T olive oil (I used canola because my olive oil is very strongly fruity)
2 T vinegar (the other internet recipes seem to agree on apple cider vinegar, but I used rice wine vinegar because that’s what I had, and it was delish)
salt (please, for all that’s holy, use Kosher or sea salt – the larger grains make a big difference)

1) Pre-heat oven to 350F.

2) Rinse and dry the kale. Tear it (discarding the big veins) into large chip-sized pieces. (It’ll shrink some in cooking.)

3) Whisk together the olive oil and vinegar with a couple of pinches of salt in a small bowl.

4) Put kale in a big mixing bowl. Slowly add the oil/vinegar mix, until the kale is just coated. (Mixing by hand is good, unless you have a big paper cut on your thumb. The vinegar will sting.)

5) Spread kale in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (You may need to do multiple batches.) If you’re a low-blood-pressured salt-fiend like myself, sprinkle on some more salt.

6) Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping/moving around half-way. After about 10 min, keep an eye on it – you want it dry but not brown.

7) Let cool a bit.

8) Try not to devour.

9) Or, heck, devour.

I made this in two batches, and good thing I did. The first one was way too wet, and browned before it was dry. I finished it off in the toaster oven, and even while not totally chippy, these were delicious. I ran the second batch in my salad spinner before baking to get rid of extra moisture, and this worked brilliantly – the chips were light and dry in 15 minutes, stayed green, and were massively addictive. Kept overnight on the counter in an aluminum foil-covered bowl, they got a tad soggy, but were still devoured with speed. A paper towel covering might be better, or make sure they’re totally cooled before covering.

You can make this in larger or smaller batches if you like – just keep the vinegar-to-oil ratio at 2:1, and make sure not to soak the kale. You can also add seasonings other than salt – cumin and paprika come to mind, or an Italian basil/oregano thing? Go wild. Kale and you – living on the wild side. Just maybe wait for the temperature outside to drop just a bit.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
177 calories, 8.5 g fat, $0.53

Calculations
7 cups kale (in pieces): 234 calories, 3 g fat, $0.75
1 tablespoon oil: 120 calories, 14 g fat, $0.06
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar: 0 calories, 0 fat, $.23
1 teaspoon kosher salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
TOTAL: 354 calories, 17 g fat, $1.05
PER SERVING (TOTAL/2): 177 calories, 8.5 g fat, $0.53

[Also, one serving contains 30% of your daily potassium, 417% of Vitamin A, 469% Vitamin C, 32% Calcium, 22% Iron, 12-32% of the various vitamins B (except for B12), 20% Magnesium, and 34% of your daily recommended intake of Copper. (Copper!) I’m sure baking diminishes that a little, but 417% gives you a lot of room to go down.]

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Posted in: City Kitchen Chronicles,Desserts and Snacks,Vegan,Vegetarian

Tuesday Megalinks: The George Carlin Edition

Oh, man. First Tim Russert, now George Carlin? If Springsteen goes next, I'm moving to Mars. Either way, as tribute to the most important comedian in American history, each of today's links will be followed up by a Carlin quote instead of the usual description.

Broke Grad Student: Festival of Frugality #131 - Summer Savings Edition
"Ever wonder about those people who spend $2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward."

Casual Kitchen: Cooking Like the Stars? Don’t Waste Your Money
“Whenever you see the word cuisine used instead of the word food, be prepared to pay an additional eighty percent.”

Chow: Cooking With Summer Ingredients
“Fussy eater is a euphemism for big pain in the ass."

Consumerist: You Thought The U.S. Was The Most Obese Country? Think Again
“Americans love to eat. They are fatally attracted to the slow death of fast food.”

Culinate: Grain Glossary
“Have you ever been looking through the refrigerator and come across an empty plate? Well, it starts me to wondering. DID SOMETHING EAT SOMETHING ELSE? Maybe the olives ate the peas. Maybe the chicken isn’t really dead.”

Culinate: Market Inspiration
“I guess the worst thing that can happen cleaning out or looking through the refrigerator is to come across something that you can not identify at all. You literally do not know what it is. It could be meat. It could be cake. Usually at a time like that, I’ll bluff: ‘Honey, is this good?”

Dooce: Where is Heather and What Have You Done With Her Body?
“Is a vegetarian permitted to eat animal crackers?”

The Kitchn: Weekend Entertaining – Throwing an Iron Chef Dinner Party
“Two heart attacks has changed my diet, but I still cook bacon for the smell.”

The Kitchn: What Foods Can You Take to Someone Who is Bedridden?
“There's no present. There's only the immediate future and the recent past.”

NYTimes: Bacon a Hard Way - Hog-Tying 400 Pounds of Fury
“If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?”

NYTimes: Food Stamps Buy Less; Families Are Hit Hard
“They (The Reagan Administration) want to put street criminals in jail to make life safer for the business criminals. They're against street crime providing that street isn't Wall Street.”

NYtimes: Yes, We Will Have No Bananas
“There's a lot of things you could use to kill a guy with. You could probably beat a guy to death with the Sunday New York Times!”

Serious Eats: Everyone has a dream of opening a restaurant
“Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.”

Slashfood: Teach your kids healthy eating habits with online games
"Another terrible sounding word: headcheese. AUGH! I can't even look at the sign."

The Simple Dollar: Reader Mailbag #16
(Scroll down to question #4.) “People who pay for inexpensive items with a credit card. … Folks, take my word for this, Raisinettes is NOT a major purchase. … No one should be paying the bank eighteen percent interest on Tic-Tacs.”

The Simple Dollar: Seven Ideas for Preparing Food at Home Cheaply with Minimal Space and Resources
“And, of course, the funniest food: ‘kumquats.’ I don't even bring them home. I sit there laughing and they go to waste.”

Wired: Do Nerds Like Cheese More Than Ordinary People?
“When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?” (Thanks to Serious Eats for the link.)

(Second photo courtesy of Boston.com.)

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts and a Very Barefoot Contessa Weekend

I'm writing this late Sunday night, as Jet Blue has stranded The Boyfriend and I in Virginia. Not that I mind. His mom, brother, sister-in-law, freakishly adorable nearly-two-year-old nephew, and freakishly adorable brand-new nephew are all here, and they're nifty people. We've spent the last three days in a whirlwind of swimming, learning the letter B, and eating our faces off. It's not a bad life, man.

Off the six meals we've cooked so far, a whopping four have come courtesy of Barefoot Contessa. I LOVE INA GARTEN. This has been stated and restated in this blog, but the adoration/near-obsession can not be adequately documented, no matter how long/extensively I babble/type. The woman is a goddess in blue collared shirts. I am gigantically jealous of her husband Jeffrey, not because he's married to her, but because he gets to eat her food. ALL THE TIME.

Jerk.

Anyway, we've so far prepared her stellar Turkey Lasagna, Orzo with Roasted Vegetables, Macaroni and Cheese, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. Of the four, the first three are neither particularly cheap or healthy. The Brussels Sprouts, though ...

Dude. Mmmm.

If you're not a fan of sprouts, I can see how this "mmm" might not be enough to put you over the "ew" edge. (I'm talking to you, Ma.) HOWEVER, if you're even slightly interested in green things in any capacity, I highly suggest giving them a try. Perfectly salted, crunchy on the outside, and soft in the middle, they're delicious little bombs of veggie goodness. Four or five (okay, maybe six) are plenty filling for a side dish, and they can be paired with just about anything. (Her Orzo with Roasted Vegetables, for instance.)

As with almost all BC recipes, you could probably cut the olive oil by at least a third, and still have the dish tasting like a plate of heaven. However, I haven't tried it that way, so this was plenty good for now.

Readers, if you have anymore Barefoot suggestions that might be suitable for this blog, please let me know. She will always find a home here (even if the Hamptons might be a tad more comfortable).

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves 6
Adapted from Ina Garten.
Note: Cell phone picture. Sorry 'bout that.

1-1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, ends cut off and yellow outer leaves removed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1) Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and if you like, spray with cooking spray.

2) In a medium bowl, mix Brussels sprouts, oil, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat. Pour mixture on baking sheet. Roast 35-40 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are browned and beautiful outside, tender and wonderful on the inside. Salt to taste. Serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
108 calories, 7 g fat, $0.56

Calculations
1-1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts: 293 calories, 2 g fat, $2.98
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil: 355 calories, 40.2 g fat, $0.36
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
TOTAL: 648 calories, 42.2 g fat, $3.36
PER SERVING (TOTAL/6): 108 calories, 7 g fat, $0.56

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Posted in: Sides,Vegan,Vegetarian