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Archive for July, 2010

G-F Chocolate

Jul 27

Posted by admin in gluten-free | No Comments

To indulge but to survive. That’s the G-F battle cry. Well there’s hope on the horizon for the chocolate lovers. You can indulge without a worry as the product line of options continues to grow.

The Think Thin folks have an impressive lineup including chocolate fudge, mudslide, and dark chocolate. They even have mini bars coming in at 100 calories with plenty of protein for fortification. You can easily conquer the sweet tooth craving.

Lara Bars are recognized more for their fruit flavor varieties, but the new dark chocolate bar will please those who shy away from the sweet date-nut taste and prefer a lingering chocolate flavor. The Jocalat line includes my personal combination of tastes: Chocolate Coffee. A win-win G-F taste!Laracoffee_main_large

As more people seek out high protein bars and quick snacks, the G-F marketplace continues to expand and offer possibilities.

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Eating Healthy on the Road

Jul 26

Posted by admin in food universe, healthy eating | No Comments

It’s always a bit of a challenge to eat healthy when traveling. Sure there are plenty of guides pointing out edible food spots at a few airports and train stations, but what about those who take the roads? Plenty of reports indicate that the car vacationer is operating at full speed. No shortage of fast food stops along the Interstates, but what about the healthy options? The vegan, the Gluten-Free, and the basic eater who wants the best of what’s local should start stressing right about now.

Why stop along the road if you are stressing about the options? Roadsides are littered with multiple fast food options with a sprinkling of signs pointing to a diner which at least lets you believe the food is being prepared individually for you. Then, the options stop. This is especially true when you leave the Interstate for the scenic bypass routes. Leaving the road and exploring a small town can often yield little. Traveling into a larger town offers the best little secret: Try the local grocery store. You can at least find something that borders healthy, even if it’s not your favorite market, farm stand, or Whole Foods.

As the Interstates reveal, people are traveling again and judging by the numbers at picnic tables, frugality still dominates many of our dining decisions. Matching our budgets and desire to eat healthy poses numerous challenges which need great will power.

It can be done, but after your first opening of the Coleman, you might need to get creative.coleman

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Manager Mayhem: Restaurants

Jul 25

Posted by admin in dining out, food universe | No Comments

What exactly is the role of a restaurant manager? Is this the person locked in the office doing paperwork or the one walking the room making certain everything is going smoothly? I prefer the latter, the hands-on one. Office work needs to be done, charts need to be filled out but the floor manager, the one on duty, needs to be focused on the room. One can learn a lot by reading faces and listening to guests prior to an explosion of chaos.

When you witness a restaurant stuck in place, when nothing is operating in a timely manner, you wonder who’s in charge. Anyone? Having just barely survived such a situation, I think it’s important to go over what happened and why it all could have been avoided. First, the good news: The restaurant was packed. Now the more critical piece of info: Orders were taken, but then little else happened. It was odd that dinner salads arrived before appetizers which were ordered almost immediately upon being seated.

The waitress performance began at that point. Are the appetizers in process, we asked? A grimace, a murmured “yes,” and a quick exit. Probably been a good time to seek out the manager. The troops were getting restless. Everyone. Should the manager be visible and notice a table’s frustration or should the meal go from bad to worse before a managerial introduction?

Only two people of a party of six ordered meals that had accompanying salads. Tick, tock, more time elapsed. Some sweet water server kept appearing and doing his job, but the slow-mo process had the apps arrive after about an additional 35 minutes. Nothing complicated; nothing that takes time to get off the line. Again, should have tracked down the manager.waterglass

This is where restaurant dining gets confusing. Had the manager stepped out from the bar area and surveyed the dining room, he might have saved a lot of money that evening. Only when our dinners arrived–did I mention they were cold–that we had the table meet and greet. When we finally were able to locate the waitress and tell her that the food was inedible, did she say anything. “I’ll get the manager,” was her response.

We were tired, cranky, and hungry. OK, frustrated, too, but it was now too late to want to put ourselves through another round of ordering. Time to leave. The manager’s visit included the sentence, “You were one of about 70 complaints I received this evening.” Costly, disappointing performance. I believe there were steps that could have been taken to have prevented the complete meltdown.

Comping dinners is an easy solution. The restaurant lost a lot of money the other night and gave guests little reason to consider returning. Talking to the kitchen staff the next day, of course, has some value, but being a visible manager could have saved a lot of confusion.

Let me revisit an important restaurant mantra: It all starts and stops with training. Training at every level. The wait staff was ill-prepared to deal with the disappointed guests, and the restaurant itself was better at pouring water than anything else. Time to start at Square One and make the experience operational.

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Footnote to Safety

Jul 14

Posted by admin in food recalls | No Comments

Wonder how many of these safety blurbs we’ll have to do, but here’s a scary follow-up to my recent post on the FDA and failed legislation.

OK, time to fess up: How many times have you had guacamole and salsa so far this month? I know it’s still early in the month, but I bet your chips were filled with these dippers. Or are you more of a salsa on the side person? Either way, there’s troubling news about these two popular foods, whether we consume them at home, dining out, or carrying in. There’s a major concern. avocadoheader-logo

The Centers for Disease Control, the CDC, reports the less-than-welcome news. The underlying issue is that the ingredients may not be stored properly because they are often made in large batches. Food-borne illnesses like to travel so to prevent this from occurring in our home kitchens, use fresh ingredients and store leftovers promptly. Remember that this has been a wonderful avocado season and East Coast peppers and tomatoes are just beginning to ripen so making homemade salsa should not be an issue. Don’t forget proper handling and washing.

The salsa-guac trend has grown in popularity over the last decade due to taste, familiarity, and growth of many Mexican fast food and midscale casual restaurants. The incidence, a 4% increase in outbreaks parallels the popularity curve. What are we to do? Send back warm salsa–it’s been sitting around. (As a rule of food safety, warm food should spell a problem almost regardless of the item–food should be served chilled or hot. The in-between can cause the greatest upset). Restaurants need to serve from the refrigerator. We cannot inspect the restaurant’s kitchen and storage, but we can be proactive in our decision-making.

No one’s going to take a bite out of this market space, especially in a down economy. We can enjoy and at the same time be smart. Our personal safety depends on it!

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The Food Safety Dance

Jul 13

Posted by admin in Administration, food recalls | No Comments

We’re talking a slow dance; something that seems as if we’re in a wait state; without recognizable movement. No two-step; maybe a back step. The Administration came in with a Tango approach on this topic, but their efforts have been stalled. Sure lots of little bites and small steps, but the legislation that will overhaul the FDA and give us a strong comfort zone is stuck. Stuck in the Senate with the summer recess near at hand. This does not look like a favorable time for food-safety legislation.

Those who like looking in blog archives will find plenty of references to the FDA and the need for the Food Safety Modernization Act. On a positive note, the latest FDA food safety blog has good suggestions for ensuring food safety when shopping and purchasing from a farm market. Worth a read.blog_farmers_market

Where does this leave food safety legislation? In the quiet corner. So quiet, barely a whisper. Actually the fire has been stoked with conversations about BPA. Several states (CT, MA, and MD) have banned BPA from food and beverage containers, and several are in the discussion stage. Yet, the current legislation impasse seems to be bogged down at the heels of California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Amendment to the bill which would ban BPA. This thoughtful approach has further slowed down the process. Not everyone in the Senate appears to be comfortable with this additional step as several industry groups are screaming loudly about the cost of doing a nationwide BPA ban. Translation: These industry groups provide significant sums of money to many on the Hill!

Let’s end with the current  food safety concern–hydrocarbons in cereal packaging that lead to a major recall. Yes, the petrochemical leached from the package which created a “funny-tasting cereal.” Yum. Certainly not the last food safety problem.

As I’ve said before, we need the passage of the food safety legislation and the FDA needs the help. The problem has become too pervasive for it to be ignored. Now.

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The Burger: It’s The Economy, Stupid

Jul 12

Posted by admin in food universe, lifestyle | No Comments

With the nationwide proliferation of burger restaurants, are we merely responding to the peculiarities of the economy? Do diners still gravitate to a burger spot when they have more money in their wallets? With so many chefs wanting a piece of the burger action, are we not conducting a symptomatic analysis of the mood of the country? One fact is certain: the basic burger has plenty of relatives as the concept is only limited by one’s imagination. Pile it on high and grill the onions.

It was not that long ago that the slogan, “It’s the Economy, Stupid,” carried an election. Maybe the current restaurant malaise and burger elevation should help bring back that mantra. When you see the growth of a local DC area hamburger chain into one of the largest franchised companies in the country, you know what’s talking. Money and burgers are the winning order at Five Guys–you don’t need that much  money to get a decent, never frozen burger, Maybe the fact that they sell over 250,000 a day should convince you of that ratio! If you’re looking for the old-fashioned burger spot where you can cool your heels with a scoop of peanuts, you’re part of the restaurant’s growing popularity. Who would have figured their slow nationwide roll out would have such a positive, long-term effect? Maybe not me. They did!

High-end burger spots are just as common and dot many a commercial corridor. Bobby Flay, of Food Network fame and Laurent Tourondel, better known for his earlier BLT steakhouses have happily joined the burger brigade. The irony is that the basic fast food burger is still there, but when you study their lines, you hear customers selecting a wide variety of foods.  Plenty of homegrown chefs and restaurant owners have keyed in on the possibilities and find the translation does nicely in the cash register. The basic burger can easily be upscaled for a lot less money.laburger

It’s the Burger, Silly that tells us the economy is still the pivotal point of dining out.

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Celebrating July: Food Holidays

Jul 5

Posted by admin in healthy eating, lifestyle, news | No Comments

Now that we’re in the midst of the Triple H’s–hazy, hot, and humid, it’s time to thank the various associations that have figured out ways for us to celebrate their existence. What would summer be like without ice cream, blueberries, and hot dogs? Here are a few month-long excuses:

–National Ice Cream Month. You have President Reagan to thank for this luxury of edible delights. In 1984 he decided the country needed a sweet focus. Don’t worry if you can’t celebrate the whole month, there’s even a special day, the third Sunday of the month, is National Ice Cream Day or what true aficionados would call a double scoop: A Month and a Day! Can’t go wrong with this sundae! OK, this year July 17th is the day. Here’s a few factoids: Vanilla is the most popular flavor, and chocolate syrup is the favorite topping.icecreammaker

–National Hot Dog Month. With all the effort we are making to keep the kitchen cool, the grill is in overtime mode. So many dog choices and different city traditions (Chicago, Coney Island), it’s no wonder that the hot dog is the summer cause cé·lè·bre. Now you can find turkey dogs, tofu dogs, and just about any other kind if you are trying to talk about a healthier food. Just think what would baseball stadiums do without the hot dog stand! Here’s your dog factoids: LA residents eat more hot dogs than any other city, but Chicago’s O’Hare Airport wins the airport battle. Big time win with 6 times more hot dogs consumed there than LA and La Guardia combined! They know their red hots!

–National Blueberry Month. If you’re missing the grocery or farm market cues about the blueberry, it just means you haven’t been out of the house! Those little blues have met their big city cousins as the local crop has finally arrived and has plenty to demonstrate. Sure Maine takes credit for the wild, little pearls, but North Carolina and New Jersey do a mid-coast dance demonstrating their size and juiciness. They’re here. No better time to consider freezing a few as fresh frozen from your stash tastes fabulous on cereals during those less fortunate winter months. Factoids: The blueberry muffin is the most popular choice (also the official muffin of Minnesota) and the blueberry is the state fruit of New Jersey, easy one to guess! If you follow the fruit/pesticide list, blueberries rank near the top (or at the bottom, depending on how you list a list), and should convince you to consider the organic path!

That’s probably enough to digest after a rollicking Independence Day celebration that continues for many into today. Know I’ve whet your whistle!

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Gazpacho: The Essence of Summer

Jul 3

Posted by admin in food universe, lifestyle | No Comments

Oh, sure, you can make gazpacho at any time of the year, but why would you? Why use less than perfect tomatoes? Wait until they have the perfect glow of ripeness. If you give in too early, you’re a glutton for punishment or you can’t control your waiting time. Rest easy. The East Coast farm markets and stands are brimming with tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers that are ripe and ready for the dance.

As there are an almost endless list of tomato varieties, there are no shortage of gazpacho recipes. You can make the dish as complicated or simple as you prefer. For some, it is merely a combination of the 3 veggies, a little garlic, some olive oil and red wine vinegar, and tomato juice or V-8. Nothing complex; lots of variations. A hot day+ a cold soup= perfection: A melody of soothing tastes.

Here’s an obvious suggestion: Now is the time. Grab your bag and go for the freshest vegetables. Be creative. It’s hard to go wrong when you are working with just-picked produce. Chop, mix, and chill. Some like chunky; others prefer more of a liquid base. Again, not a problem. The season has just begun to offer its bounty. Plenty of time to experiment.250px-Tomato_gazpacho

Here are a few simple recipes to tease you into action. Top the gazpacho with some fresh garlic croutons and you’re well on your way to celebrating summer.

Can you guess what we’ll be having tonight?

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Grill ‘Em

Jul 1

Posted by admin in cooking, food universe | No Comments

It’s that curious time of the year when weeks get shortened into weekends and traffic is always on escape mode. Welcome to the upcoming weekend, the Fourth of July, which seems to begin this year on the 1st and conclude on the 6th! Party.

According to the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association, the Fourth of July grabs the top spot as America’s single biggest day to grill outdoors with 80% of respondents planning to keep with tradition this year. Burgers top the list of most commonly grilled foods with ketchup repeating as the number one condiment. Probably should begin with a refresher course on food safety as many of us partake in our food ventures off premise as in picnic spots, tailgating, or camping. As always food handling should top the list of concerns and include the magic food safety words: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. No matter the menu, the rules apply and make everyone safer for the experience.

For so many of us, keeping the charcoal lit and hot proves to be directly proportional to how much lighter fluid we have on hand. I know you’ll miss the smell of the endless squirting of fluid, but here’s a fun gadget that takes the guesswork out of the operation and more insures the possibility of success: The Looftlighter. (Makes me imagine an air-lifting experience that transforms an ordinary pile of coals into a full-blown campsite)! OK, I admit it looks a little like a hair straightener, but this product seems to have little difficulty starting a fire. Also great for hardwood chunks added to the grill to infuse different flavors. Such love of grilling does not come inexpensively, but the neighbors and the environment thank you!

I know you’ll miss the lighter fluid taste, but some sacrifices need to be made! What if you’re planning a road trip and still want to grill, then there are full range of portable grills to make this a possibility. Since I’m such a coffee person, I was interested in seeing what the Bodum folks (known for their full line of coffee makers and accessories) came up with. Don’t worry, they are serious BBQ players with a full line of what they call “Toys for Grown Ups.” Am sure that phrase is debatable, but they have a nifty portable grill and all the necessary tools to make the outing a true holiday. You’ll have fun with the Ikea-like names as the FYRKAT, a picnic charcoal grill, solves the grill-on-the-go experience. Anyway the palette of fun colors makes this an uplifting purchase.Web_PictMedium_10630-106bodum

When you’re thinking about what to grill, take a moment and think about the foods you purchase and consider the humane farm animal care program. The website can direct you to purveyors and farms that are part of the certified humane movement. You’ll find no shortage of selections and at the same time know that your food has been handled better and will often prove tastier.

Let’s begin the long weekend!

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