News-Record.com

Processed meats linked to stomach cancer

"STOCKHOLM, Sweden (UPI) -- A Swedish-led study suggests the more processed meat a person consumes, the greater the likelihood of developing stomach cancer.

"However, the researchers said there`s not enough evidence to call processed meats a cause of stomach cancer, WebMD.com reported.

"Led by Susanna Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, researchers reviewed 15 studies on stomach cancer and processed meats -- bacon, sausage, hot dogs, salami, ham, and smoked or cured meat."

I have a ton of pecans from my aunt's house, so I want to get a pecan cracker to make shelling them a lot easier. I don't want to pay a ton for it, either. The lowest price I can find online, with shipping, is $21, although I've found them for $10-$12 before shipping. Anyone got any ideas?

Excerpt from my next Mel's Kitchen column:

"So my friend Kim and I arrived bright and early to learn how to create a Greek meal, which we were very excited about. And we more than got our money’s worth -- $25 covered the cost of the class and the food, which was excellent. Not to mention, even happily married women could appreciate the scenery.

"The class was taught by Ben Sullivan, a graduate of Johnson & Wales who became the executive chef of Ganache about seven months ago. He once worked as an archaeologist in Greece before turning to cooking full-time.

"He started out by showing us how to make a Cucumber and Watermelon Salad with Fennel Salt -- ingredients that I never would have thought to put together, but which turned out quite good. He followed it with souvlaki, tomato and onion orzo, and fried cauliflower. Kim put it best at the end of the lesson: "I think I could actually make this at home!"

The fried cauliflower recipe follows. For recipes for the other great menu items, check out Mel's Kitchen on Wednesdays in the Savor section, or check back here on Thursday.

(Pictured below: Fried cauliflower with souvlaki and orzo made with tomato and onions.)

So I was doing some research for a post on National Smores Day, and darn if I didn't come across the Wikimedia Cookbook! How did I not notice, in all my explorations of Wikipedia, the cookbook section? I can already tell I'll be spending hours exploring all the "See alsos".

Here are some different S'mores recipes, including S'mores bars and cold weather s'mores for indoors. Here's a funny s'mores post at one of my favorite blogs.

CandyAddict has put together a list of the top 10 grossest candies they've come across. Not gross in an "I hate licorice" sort of way, but gross in a "chocolate poop" sort of way.

Personally, I would have put their No. 10 at No.1, but that's because I have what can only be called a pathological aversion to maggots.

I received this in an e-mail the other day from Melissa Turner, a copy editor and former features reporter who recently moved into a new place.

Panzanella (aka Italian bread-and-tomato salad)

Tomatoes (super yummy ones, I got mine super cheap, too, at the farmers market)
Red peppers for roasting (or a jar if you’re pressed for time!)
Fresh mozzarella
Sourdough bread
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Garlic for roasting (could use it raw if you don’t mind the bite)
Sea salt (I used the Maine stuff here – I think it actually makes a difference in something raw like this)
pepper

Tear the bread into chunks and toast it in the oven. Sprinkle it when you take it out with some fresh chopped basil. Set it aside to cool.
Roast, peel and slice the peppers and put into a bowl. Roast some garlic in a little olive oil while you’re at it. Cut tomatoes into bite-sized chunks and add to bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss –- they’ll start oozing juice. Chop mozzarella and add to salad and stir in the roasted garlic (after chopping, of course). Slice basil into chiffonade and sprinkle on top, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and test the salt.

At the last second before serving, stir in the bread chunks. I had this as a main course with a side of roasted potatoes.

***

And, for dessert, I had zero time, so I bought a pound cake, cut it in half and filled it with peaches (after they sat a while in sugar and cinnamon) and almond whipped cream (almond extract, sugar, whipping cream) and topped it with more of both.

Anyway, I was just so proud I wanted to share with people who could appreciate a meal you can throw together in zero time with half your kitchen still in boxes :-)

Today, Eric J.S. Townsend tried to eat his way into burrito immortality. And win a custom motorcycle and burritos for life at Moe's along the way.

But before he could taste glory, he had to taste (and finish) four burritos faster than his two opponents, who also qualified in prelim rounds. And we aren't just talking about any old burrito -- we're talking four Joey Bag Of Donuts burritos, filled with rice, beans, cheese, salsa and ground beef, each roughly the size of a 20 ounce soda and weighing in at 29 grams of fat and 1,121 calories per burrito. (Quick math: Four burritos = 116 grams of fat and 4,484 calories. Daily recommended intake: 50-80 grams of fat and 2,500 calories.)

The Competitors

Name: James Gaillard
Vital stats: 22, from Asheville and attending UNCG
How he got here: He ate three burritos in 4 minutes, 19 seconds.
Strategy: "Eat fast. That's pretty much it. And make use of water."

Name: Julian Shores
Vital stats: 32, from Winston-Salem
How he got here: He ate three burritos in six and a half minutes.
Strategy: "Just eat as fast as I can and chew as fast as I can, and drink as much water as I can, I guess."

Name: Eric J.S. Townsend
Vital stats: Intrepid News & Record reporter
How he got here: He ate three burritos in less than six minutes.
Advantages: Eric has genetics going for him -- his cousin won a chicken-eating contest a couple weeks ago. Eric also boasts that he once ate 63 chicken nuggets in an hour.
Strategy: Eric had yogurt and a breakfast bar for breakfast and went to the gym before the competition. "I didn't train hard enough," he said, saying he read online that he should have been drinking a gallon of water in 2 minutes to stretch out his stomach. "I'm not gonna think about what I'm throwing down my throat."

Check it out.

The quality is awful, but it lets you see what was going on, at least for the first minute (or as long as my camera can record a decent video). Here's the post recounting the recent burrito-eating contest at Moe's.

So the other night we had a going-away party at my place after work for the copy desk intern. It was potluck, and the most-requested recipe was designer Andrea Martin's spinach dip. She left out the artichokes, she said, but the following is a very yummy recipe for a great party dip. (And as one other designer put it, you can almost fool yourself into believing it's good for you, what with all the no/low-fat ingredients and vegetables!)

Low-fat spinach and artichoke dip

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella
cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese,
divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and
chopped*
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed,
drained and squeezed dry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan and next 6 ingredients (2 tablespoons Parmesan through spinach) in a large bowl, and stir until well-blended.

Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Yields 5 1/2 cups. Serving size: 1/4 cup

Calories: 148 (30% from fat)
Fat: 5g (sat 2.9g, mono 1.5g, poly 0.5g)
Protein: 7.7g
Cholesterol: 17mg
Calcium: 164mg
Sodium: 318mg
Fiber: 1.5g
Iron: 0.6mg
Carbohydrate: 18.3g

All the classes at Earth Fare are free and range from afternoon to evening classes. You don't even need to sign up -- just show up whenever it's convenient for you. Directions.

Aug 23 (Wed): 4:30pm-6:30pm
ON FLOOR DEMONSTRATION. TBD

Aug 25 (Fri): 7:00pm-8:00pm
SAUCE IT UP! Simple and quick sauces with just a few ingredients.

Aug 26 (Sat): 2:00pm-3:00pm
KIDS CLASS: GO STUFF A TOMATO! Learn the history of this fruit and why it's a nutritional powerhouse. We'll provide the tomato, you do the stuffing. *Kids must be accompanied by an adult*

Aug 29 (Tues): 12:00pm-1:00pm
CORN-OFF-THE-COB. Fresh summer corn salad with homemade buttermilk-herb dressing.

Aug 30 (Wed): 6:30pm-7:30pm
MONKEY BUSINESS. Recipes, tips and uses for the whole banana.

Aug 31 (Thurs): 12:00pm-1:00pm
SAUCE IT UP! Simple and quick sauces with just a few ingredients.

Sept 1 (Fri): 7:00pm-8:00pm
CORN-OFF-THE-COB. Fresh summer corn salad with homemade buttermilk-herb dressing.

For more information, contact Meggan Hammerschmidt at 336-369-0190 or by e-mail.

From a Tampa Tribune article about chef Michael Chiarello:

"You can always make great food from great ingredients," he says. "You can never make great food from bad ingredients."

and

"Rule No. 1: Don't cook for someone you don't like," he says. "And don't ever cook something for the first time for someone you're not sleeping with."

The Diet Detective's Fat Clock is keeping track of how much weight Americans are gaining each second. If it's at all accurate, it's alarming to watch it keep gaining pounds.

"This data indicated that men and women had a combined average weight of 167.2 lbs by 1994, and this average grew to 176.4 pounds by 2002. Assuming a steady linear trend of weight gain over time, Americans appeared to have gained an average of 1.15 pounds per year from 1994 to 2002."

Culled from recipe books from the 40s, 50s and 60s, The Gallery of Regrettable Food is a veritable cornucopia of bad food photography and recipes.

Here is one of my favorites, a recipe for Meat Porcupines.