Thursday, June 11, 2009

Egg Yolk Makes Everything Better

Last night I made breakfast pizza. It's something I've been meaning to try since seeing this awhile back. Pizza...eggs...cheese...what's not to love?

I can't believe I waited so long to try it. Eggy yolk oozing over everything, perfect for dipping pizza crust* into. It was so good with the asparagus, tomato and spinach on the pizza, topped with mozzarella and a sprinkling of fresh parmesan. De-lish.


My only issue was that the egg made my pizza a lot more filling, which meant I could eat less. And this clearly isn't a problem at all. Yum.

*I do seem to have an issue with my pizza crusts. I think I need to either try NOT using whole wheat flour, get a pizza stone or knead a lot more. They're just too bready. I'll work on it.


Breakfast pizza with Asparagus, Tomato and Spinach

Pizza dough
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees Farenheit, or the hottest setting your oven has. Apparently you're supposed to do this about an hour before you bake the pizza. I don't generally have this much patience - maybe that's the problem with my crust.

2. Combine warm water and yeast; mix until yeast is dissolved. Set aside for a few minutes until foamy.

3. Mix dry ingredients. Make a well, and add water/yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until it's too hard to stir. Knead in the bowl until a dough forms, then turn onto a lightly floured countertop and knead for about 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and kind of tacky by the time you're done. Leave on the counter and cover with the bowl while you prepare the pizza toppings and sauce.

Pizza
Pizza sauce (I already had some from a previous batch in the freezer)
Asparagus stalks, ends snapped off (I heard you can thinly slice the tough bottoms and saute for frittatas, omelettes and whatnot. I did this and threw them in the freezer for future use)
Baby Spinach leaves
Tomato (diced)
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Egg(s)

1. Roll out pizza dough as thin as you want. If you're making thin crust pizza, roll it out as thin as you can without ripping when you pick it up. Move to a parchment-lined cookie sheet

2. Spread pizza sauce on dough, leaving about a half inch for the crust (unless you don't like a lot of crust)

3. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella; top with asparagus stalks, baby spinach, tomatoes and more mozzarella.

4. Place in pre-heated oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, crack an egg or two on top, sprinkle with salt, pepper and parmesan and put back into the oven for 5-10 more minutes, until the egg is set and the crust is browned.

No $h*t, Sherlock!

Admittedly, this rant is biased...but also commonsensical.

In Medical News Today, an article was written discussing the importance of nutrition in the prevention of chronic disease. Well, duh. Unfortunately for me and my fellow RD's, we're S.O.L. until legislation changes.

But really, is it an over-sight? Are U.S. officials sitting back just hoping and praying that obesity will max itself out, and annual health care costs for chronic disease treatment and management secondary to obesity will eventually start to drop? Baaaaaahahhaa. I assure you, that's not the case.

Thanks, Doc.

Ninety-six percent of U.S. primary care physicians feel more emphasis needs to be placed on nutrition to treat, manage, and prevent chronic disease. However, M.D.'s cannot do it all. Only 12% of doctors are believed to present nutrition as a means of chronic disease management to their patients. Further, 80% of doctors reported "lack of reimbursement" as one of the top reasons providing nutrition services is not routine [1].

Keeping America alive and "well" (let's use that term loosely) has reached costs that we cannot entertain affording. Yet, we continue to superficially treat our people with "chronic disease management", spending trillions of dollars annual. Of our $2+ trillion in annual health care costs, 75% can be attributed to chronic disease management, according to the CDC [2]. Unless you are a renal disease patient (not receiving dialysis) or a diagnosed diabetic, you will receive NO insurance coverage for medical nutrition therapy as indicated by Medicare Part B [3]. Your insurance scoffs at the gravity of your BMI of 60 (a BMI falling into the 7th tier of "obesity"...if there should ever be such a thing ::hint hint:: -- doesn't "7th tier obese" sound a bit harsher than just "obese"??)...and rather than supplementing the cost to see a dietitian, would rather buy themselves a few years and then cover the costs of your bariatric surgeries, hospital stays, anesthesia, ambulance costs, [insert laundry list here]....

Nutrition is an over-sight in some ways, however, as other areas of health care have figured out that prevention is key!

According to the CDC [3]:
- For every $1 spent on water fluoridation, $38 is saved in dental restorative treatment costs
- A mammogram every 2 years for women aged 50-69 costs only $9,000 per year of every life saved
- For every $1 spend on the Safer Choice Program (a school-based HIV, other STD, and pregnancy prevention program), about $2.65 is saved on medical and social costs
- Implementing the Arthritis Safe-Help Course among 10,000 individuals with arthritis will yield a net savings of more than $2.5 million while simultaneously reducing pain by 18%

Glad I'm an eternal optimist, things are grim for the fatties.

"Change we can believe in" -- hook us up, Obama! Please?


What does ADA have to say about MNT reimbursement for weight management? Find out here.


[1] More Than 9 in 10 Primary Care Physicians Say U.S. Health Care Systems Should Place Greater Emphasis on Nutrition to Manage Chronic Disease, American Dietetic Association (2009).

[2] Chronic Disease Overview
[3] medical nutrition therapy: the assessment of the nutritional status of patients with a condition, illness or injury that puts them at risk. This includes review and analysis of medical and diet history, laboratory values, and anthropometric measurements. Based on the assessment, nutrition modalities most appropriate to manage the condition or treat the injury are chosen and implemented by the patient and nutrition professional.

"Taste the rainbow!"

Forget the Skittles for just a second and let's talk antioxidants...

Don't get defensive, now...but we all have lots of bad guys in our bodies that are produced from the every day toxins we ingest, inhale, absorb, etc. -- everything from gas emissions to cigarette smoke to alcohol. And as health-conscious adults, we ought to aim to reduce bad guys as the development of cancer only takes ONE of them. One way to do this includes eating antioxidant-rich foods.

What is an antioxidant? A naturally-produced substance that fights the bad guys (i.e. free radicals) that can damage our cells, leading to conditions such as cancer and heart disease over time. Antioxidant research constitutes a large portion of today's oncology research as both animal and human studies of antioxidants have results supporting the prevention of cancer! This is big stuff, people! Cancer is a leading cause of death world-wide according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and the second leading cause of death in America according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Until recently, stroke checked in as the second leading cause of death - cancer rates are on the rise. Sadly, the World Cancer Report confirms this trend. In 2008, they projected cancer to be the leading cause of death in the U.S. by 2010 [1]. Um, that's 6 months away, folks.

We all know Oprah and her bff Dr. Oz - they love to chat about these antioxidant fellers. Let's see how we can get some, too.

Dr. Oz's "Anti-Aging" checklist
Dr. Oz's "favorite" anti-oxidant: blueberries. But, let's diversify some as not every antioxidant is found in a blueberry, Dr. Oz.


Lycopene. Prostate cancer and heart health are the biggies here. Lots of research and strong, strong evidence supporting the red stuff.

- Sources: tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit, blood oranges, and tomato products.

Beta-carotene. In addition to cancer prevention, orange/yellow beta-carotene is an immuno-enhancer and has been linked to eye health.

-Sources: carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, pumpkin, squash, mango, and apricots.

Lutein. Think greens and leafy vegetables for cancer prevention and healthy eyes.

-Sources: spinach, kale, collard greens, broccoli, etc.

Anthocyanin. You're welcome Dr. Oz. You can find anthocyanin in dark fruits and vegetables in the blue/purple family.

Sources: blueberries, eggplant, purple grapes, blackberries, cherries, and acai (but more on that last one later).

Contrary to Oz, my favorite antioxidant: resveratrol. This, my friends, can be found in red wine. Hey, hey, hey! More on this soon!

I focused heavily on F&V's (fruits and vegetables, for you slower folks) in this blog, however, antioxidants are also found in nuts, grains, and some meat, poultry and fish.


[1] Mulcahy, N. 2008. Medscape Medical News. Cancer to Become Leading Cause of Death Worldwide by 2010.

Eating New York: Momofuku Steamed Pork Buns

When you are recommended the same place by four separate individuals, it is sensible to see what the fuss is about.



When one of those individuals is a professional – and well-respected – food critic for a national newspaper, it would be bordering on the insane not to sample its wares.

And so we found ourselves at Momofuku Noodle Bar on 1st Avenue, a teeming and intimate dimly lit ramen bar that seems to have become something of an institution since opening in 2003.

This isn’t a restaurant review so I’ll skip over the finer details (empty water glasses were filled with swift proficiency, service was friendly, atmosphere was buzzy) and move onto the food.

We’d been recommended the apparently famous steamed pork buns as well as the ramen – deep bowlfuls of tasty broth complete with pork shoulder, slow cooked belly, a poached egg and enough noodles for two people.

Considering you can gorge on a near identical menu in Chinatown for around five dollars, the prices at Momofuku seem steep. In the region of ‘This had better be the best effing steamed bun and bowl of noodles I’ve ever tasted’ steep.

And, OK. They were. The buns are light, gently sweetened and filled with two slices of slow cooked pork belly complete with a slick of hoi-sin sauce. Fresh cucumber and spring onions cut through the richness.

Whilst clearly Japanese in inspiration, the ramen noodles have been deliberately Westernized with the choice of meat: two cuts of pig that I’d happily have eaten entire platefuls of: rich porky flavours that can only arise from well sourced meat cooked long and slow.

We walked home happy and sated, slept off the last of the jet lag and woke on Sunday feeling refreshed and ready to take on the City.

Or, at least I did. The GF had other ideas which mainly involved feeling desperately ill for the next two days and being unable to leave the hotel room.

Was it the noodles? Unlikely – I ate exactly the same menu and felt fine but when I mentioned the idea of re-creating that steaming bowl of deliciousness a couple of days ago she turned a worrying shade of green.

‘I’m sorry, I think it’s too soon. I’ll happily eat the pork buns but I need to wait a while before I try to face noodles and broth.’

So, here is how to cook steamed pork buns. Momofuku style. In your very own kitchen (but not ramen. Not yet.)

Momofuku Steamed Buns with Pork.
(Makes 12)

Brine a 400g piece of belly pork overnight (to make a brine, just dissolve 200g of salt and 200g of sugar in warm water. Let it cool before covering your belly with it).

The next day, drain the meat and place in a roasting tray with 250ml of chicken stock. Cook in a warm oven (about 125 degrees C) for two hours. If the liquid dries up, just replace with a little more water. Towards the end of cooking crank up the heat to crisp up the skin. Keep an eye on it though because it can burn really quickly.



For the buns, I adapted this recipe, courtesy of David Chang, chef/proprietor of Momofuku. Mix one and a half teaspoons of dried yeast with 250ml of warm water. Add a tablespoon of rendered pork fat. Mix well.

In a food mixer, combine 90g of plain flour, 275g of white bread flour, a teaspoon of salt and 40g of caster sugar.

Slowly pour in the water, yeast and fat mixture. Use a dough hook to knead it for about 15 minutes. It will be quite wet and sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave it to rise for a couple of hours.

Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back down and start rolling it into a long sausage shape. If it is too sticky, use a little more flour.



Cut it into twelve even sized pieces and leave to rise for another forty minutes on a sheet of baking paper.



In the mean time, cut out 12 squares of baking paper, each about four inches square.

Slice the pork belly into thin pieces and leave to rest in the cooking liquid. They’ll mop up the flavours beautifully.

Roll each ball of dough into an oval shape, about the size of your hand and fold it in half, placing it onto the square of baking paper. Again, leave them to rise for about thirty minutes.

Set a bamboo steamer over a pan of boiling water and steam the buns for about eight minutes until they puff up.

Once cooked, slice them open, spread a little hoi sin sauce over the bread, add some finely sliced cucumber and spring onion and then stuff them with as many slices of pork belly as you can.



Eat these little pillows of deliciousness whilst they are still warm and another batch is steaming away. Satisfying and summery in the best possible way. Serve to hungry guests with bottles of cold, cold beer, preferably just as the sun is starting to dip down past the horizon.

For more porcine treats, follow me on Twitter

semoga bertemu di syurga insya allah

10th june 2009
sy ke kolej ptg itu. ke studio utk editing... sambung utk mlm. di mcd bersama ahli kump lain.
sambung sehingga hampir 1am. kami ke kedai mamak berdekatan.
memandangkan Mcd itu akan ditutup. tatkala kurang 10 minit di situ...
sy terims 1 SMS yg terus membuatkan air mata sy mengalir laju.

11th june 2009
memandangkan sy menangis dgn tiba - tiba setelah mendengar berita itu,
ahli kumpulan yg lain menyarankan sy pulang ke rumah.
terima kasih amad & salghee sbb hantar sy ke rumah...
sy menangis sambil mengetuk pintu bilik mama & abah...
menangis dan terus menangis. sy meminjam tel abah, mendial no shafinaz.
di russia. dan bertanyakan khabar beliau.

ya... perkhabaran itu. abah shafinaz, telah pulang ke rahmatullah.
arwah meninggal semlm. dan shafinaz berada di russia lg...

sy tidur lewat. sukar utk lelapkan mata. bangun awal pagi. bersiap.
breakfast. singgah di rumah naiya & terus pergi ke rumah shafinaz.
dr rumah, kami ke masjid, kubur. ketika di masjid, sy jmpa dgn kak teh.
kak teh = adik finaz ke2 bongsu dan ke2 perempuan selain finaz.
sy nmpk kak teh, peluk dan terus sy menangis apabila kak teh pun menangis.
x lama itu, mama finaz keluar dr masjid setelah selesai solat jenazah.
sy bersalam, peluk mama finaz dan sekali lagi sy menangis...
menangis sbb mama finaz menangis memeluk sy...

ke kubur, sy menangis lg...menangis entah utk apa. benar sy rasa kehilangan.
adik beradik finaz & mamanya masih tenang cuma kadang kala menitis air mata mereka.
semua berjalan dgn lancar. mungkin itu benar, arwah org yg baik.
ketika di masjid td jgk, ramai yg hadir. ya, ramai sangat. alhamdulilah~
selesai semua. terus pulang ke rumah finaz semula. sebak kembali...

mama finaz terus ke bilik, dan menangis. begitu jgk mak lang. kak teh bertahan.
sy cuba bertanyakan ttg arwah pd kak teh. dan ya, sy yg sebak dan bergenang air mata lg.
sy ingin utk tidur di situ, menemani mereka. namun, sy perlu pulang ke kmpng.
hari ini sepatutnya, sy ke pahang. tp terpulanglah kpd abah sbb abah memandu.
lagipun, biarlah sy memberikan ruang mereka bersama saudara mara dahulu.

setelah mama finaz kembali tenang, sy meminta diri. ya sy nmpk.
kak teh dan mama finaz berat hati melepaskan sy pergi seawal itu.
sy tahu mereka perlu dan rindukan finaz di saat itu. saat begini. mama finaz
masih blh tersenyum. sy masih bergenang air mata namun cuba utk bertahan.
sy perlu jd kuat utk mereka. sy perlu mewakili finaz yg nun jauh. namun.
kdg kala sy yg masih menangis... maaf finaz. auntie. kak teh...


kenapa sy rasa kehilangan?
sbb shafinaz adalah kwn baik sy. kami bkn sekadar berkawan, kami berkeluarga.
sy rapat dgn keluarga dia. mereka layan sy dgn baik. bkn itu, mak lang, nenek, semua
sy kenal dan mereka jgk gembira lihat kehadiran sy td. sy selalu tidur di rumah mereka.
pergi ikut mereka blk kmpng di seremban. dan sy menyenangi keluarga mereka...
tapi... sejak shafinaz ke russia 28 june 2008, itu jg adalah kali terakhir sy menemui mereka.
sy tak berkesempatan utk melawat keluarga finaz sejak ketiadaan finaz d malaysia.
itulah jg kali terakhir sy melihat arwah abahnya... sungguh. sy benar terkilan.
td jg sy hanya mampu menatap keranda arwah di kawasan kubur...
uncle... terima kasih utk semuanya. uncle terlalu baik. uncle, qila doakan uncle.
moga uncle sentiasa tenang dan berada di dalam golongan yg dirahmati ALLAH.


keadaan shafinaz.
ketika sy bertanyakan khabar finaz, dia sedang otw utk ke airport russia.
malangnya, ticket utk sampai ke kl, malaysia plg awal adalah lebeyh kurang 8 mlm ni.
8 mlm 11 june 2009. jd... hingga saat ini finaz masih di russia. ya, finaz sedang exam.
2 paper sudah selesai, 3 paper lg kan? erm. dan terbaru, ptg td.
mama finaz meminta finaz utk terus berada di russia sehingga tamat exam.
memandangkan 28 june kelak, finaz akan blk utk cuti selama 2 bulan.
ya, rasanya lebih baik utk finaz terus di russia memandangkan semuanya telah selesai di sini.


shafinaz...
babe. sabar... itu perkara yg terbaik yg qila blh katakan saat ni. finaz kene sabar memandangkan mama, kak teh, adik - adik yg lain memerlukan finaz. finaz anak sulung, finaz benar - benar perlu jd lebih tabah dan kuat. finaz perlu lebih berdikari... semua org akan merasai kehilangan ini, begitu jg qila. cuma masa finaz sudah tiba. sabarlah syg... Allah lebih syg abah finaz. sbb arwah mmg baik. org baik kan disayangi Allah. finaz, ape pun terjadi, berdiri dengan sekuat mungkin utk keluarga finaz dan juga harapan abah finaz. abah finaz mengharapkan yg terbaik dr finaz sbb abah syg finaz sgt2... dan finaz jgn lupe, qila ade. qila akan cuba utk tlg dan beri semangat selagi yg termampu... finaz kuat kan? finaz jgn lupe eh... Allah tak akan menguji hambaNya dgn sesuatu yg tak termampu utk dipikul olehnya. dan cubalah utk buat yg terbaik utk beberapa exam yg masih tertinggal walaupun ianya sukar... i love u so much. be strong dear. salam takziah lg skali dr qila dan kawan - kawan yg lain.


BLT From Scratch

Michael Ruhlman (yes, that Michael Ruhlman,) has issued a challenge over on his blog: to make a BLT sandwich from scratch.

Bacon. Lettuce. Tomato. Mayo. All wedged between two doorstop sized slices of bread.

Count me in.

Fancy taking part? You have until August 28th. Plenty of time to grow the necessary items, cure the bacon and nail that bread recipe.

For more information, see Michael’s (rather excellent) blog.