Wednesday, September 16, 2009

What to Eat When You Can't Eat Anything























Well, it's day 6 of the new regime (not like I am counting or anything). In all honesty, it hasn't been that terrible. Of course, I have a long way to go but for now, this thing is working. So much so, that I have already lost 5 pounds. I know from my years of ups and downs that this is always the case at first and it drops off significantly after the first two weeks or so. But hey - for now, it's enough to keep me going!

So what do I get to eat? Nothing white, that's for sure! It's pretty balanced and includes protein, whole grains, fruit and veggies. Sadly, no wine is on the menu these days. Lemon-lime seltzer has become my new best friend.

Along with fish. The menu tonight was supposed to be grilled halibut with grilled lemons and limes. Until those thunderstorms came calling. I'm not that brave (or that stupid, I hope). I've been fighting Mother Nature enough with those damn fruit flies (more about that later). Guess it's time for Plan B.

And what is Plan B? Beats me. But here's what it isn't: pan sauteeing the fish and stinking up my entire house. Alrighty then. I guess I could bake it, but that's boring. No, the best solution is to load it up with vegetables and olives and wrap it all up in parchment. Yup. Delicious and healthy (and legal). And did I mention "delicious?"

But first I digress. Back to the fruit fly convo (how appetizing). They aren't flying into my wine anymore, but I guess that's because I'm not drinking any these days (sigh). A few of them are left in my garage but I think we're finally on the downward leg (I hope, I hope). But did you know that "fruit fly" really refers to a woman who likes to be around gay men? Thanks, Tim for that information. Still I guess it's better than "fag hag." And of course, none of this applies to me.

If you have stuck with me this far into the post, then you deserve my recipe. I'll give you the basic, but just remember that you can tweak it to your own taste. It's great for cleaning out the fridge. I had leftover roasted cherry tomatoes with garlic and a few straggling scallions in there that I added to mine tonight. Have at it.

Halibut in Parchment with Kalamata Olives

2 lbs. halibut or any other fresh fish of your choice
1/4 cup tapenade (black olive paste)
1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 small bulb fresh fennel, cored and thinly sliced
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Italian parsley sprigs
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 450-degrees. For each portion, cut parchment paper into a 10-inch circle or heart shape and fold in half. Spray one half of each with cooking spray (or, if you are not watching every single calorie like me, brush with olive oil).

Place a portion of peppers, fennel and onion on each parchment sheet. Season well with salt and pepper. Place a portion of fish over and coat it with tapenade. Top with the garlic and parsley sprigs. Tuck Kalamata olives around the fish. Drizzle with a little olive oil if desired (I did not - it didn't need it).

Fold the other half of the parchment over to enclose the fish and crimp edges to seal. Place packets on a large baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to plates and garnish with lemon wedges.

Serves 4 - 6
Next post up: Brown Sugar Shortbread. Stay tuned!

Katz's v Schwartz's

September 16

I spent early Monday evening with a nice Quebecoise woman named Katerine Rollet, who does a food blog for Montréal’s tourism board. She, or her bosses, or a combination thereof, wanted to find food connections between New York and Montréal.

You’d think that would be fairly easy. Montréal's just an hour flight or an easy six-hour drive away (go up the thruway, turn left at Montréal), but apart from Milos, which also has a restaurant, older than the one in New York, in Montréal, and Riad Nasr of Minetta Tavern, who is from Montréal, the only other connection we could find was T Poutine, a restaurant on the Lower East Side that specializes in the Québecois dish poutine, which is French fries covered with cheese curds and gravy (think nachos, only with French fries, cheese curds and gravy instead of chips, melted cheese and salsa), there's not much cultural culinary dialogue between what are arguably the two best food cities in the Northeast. Top Chef alumnus Spike Mendelsohn would have been good, as he’s from Montréal, but he’s not in New York anymore.

As far as Tourisme Montréal was concerned, Milos was too high-end for Katerine’s audience, and as far as I was concerned Kieth McNally’s restaurant empire, which includes Minetta Tavern, were too difficult to work with.

So I made reservations at T Poutine and the authorities in Montréal decided that it would be a good idea to compare New York and Montréal bagels.

New York is more famous for its bagels than Montréal, but the Montréalais are adamant about their product's superiority.
So we met at the original H&H Bagels in the remote, industrial reaches of 46th St. and 12th Ave.

Katerine was not impressed. But from what I understand a Montréal bagel is a different animal from a New York one — crustier and more pretzel-like.

She was nice about it, though, and expressed enthusiasm for the everything bagel, which does not exist in her hometown.

From there we were supposed to eat at T Poutine, but despite my having made a reservation there, it turns out that the restaurant is closed on Monday. This could have been a disaster, but Katz's Deli is just down the street from T Poutine, and is a worthy comparison to Schwartz's, a Montréal restaurant known fro its smoked meat, which is similar to corned beef.

Technically, that means Carnegie Deli would have been a better comparison, as Katz's is better known for its pastrami, but it was nearby, and a deli institution of similar gravitas, so we went there.

Not surprisingly, Katerine preferred Schwartz's smoked meat to Katz's corned beef, but, quite apart from the fact that she works for Tourisme Montréal, because I wouldn’t accuse her of being biased because that would be rude, she was raised on Schwartz's.

Also, this was her first time having pastrami, and she didn't take to it readily. To her, the taste seemed artificial.
What can I say? New York is a big, grown-up city. It can take a lump or two from time to time.

Katerine’s colleague, who has the great name of Tanya Churchmuch, recorded our experience at Schwartz's on video, which you can enjoy by clicking here.

Fat Gene




In 2007, UK researchers discovered a gene variant that may help to explain the variation in weight status among humans. It is noted, however, that this gene is unlikely to be the cause of the global obesity epidemic. The gene, called "FTO", helps to regulate the amount of fat in the body and thus, is a strong indicator in predicting BMI. The FTO gene is known to play a role with the hypothalamus, which regulates appetite in the brain. The strength of the relationship between the gene and weight status depends on whether or not an individual has inherited one of two copies of the FTO gene variant. For an individual with two copies of FTO, their weight is an average of 6.6 pounds more than an individual without the variant. For an individual with one copy of the FTO variant, their weight is approximately 2.6 pounds more than an individual without the variant. It was estimated that 16% of Europeans have two copies of the variant with half of the population containing at least one copy of the variant [1].

The FTO gene aforementioned is not to be confused with the estimated genetic predisposition to "severe" obesity, which is estimated at 1 on 10,000. The UK research team confirms a genetic link to obesity, but reminds that while genetics have not changed, environment and eating patterns have changed [1].

Emily Sonestedt, author and member of the research group at Lund University Diabetes Centre, says that in the case of FTO, the critical determinant of obesity of what you eat. The September 14, 2009 article by Science Daily states, "The risk of becoming obese is 2.5 times higher for those who have double copies of the best known risk gene for overweight and obesity [FTO]." The article goes on to explain that a low-fat diet "neutralizes" the harmful effects of the FTO gene [2].



While exercise has been studied in relation to the FTO gene, Sonestedt's research is the first study where the effect of the gene is being studied in relation to food. After extensive questionnaires and interviews, as well as food diaries kept by study participants, a clear pattern between fat consumption and obesity risk emerged -- the risk of obesity was dramatically increased only in the case of high fat consumption [2].

Sonestedt's research shows that the harmful effects of the gene can be canceled by improving diet and mapping the effects of other obesity genes, allowing professionals to better individualize nutrition counseling for those that want to avoid gaining weight. She also states, "This shows that we are not slaves to our genes. Even if we are born with an inherited predisposition to obesity, life style is important" [2].


To all the people of the world wanting to lose weight: YOU CAN DO IT!


[1]. Paddock, Catherine. Obesity Gene Discovered. Medical News Today. April 13, 2007.
[2]. Obesity Risk Gene. ScienceDaily. September 14, 2009.

Food Tip of the Day - Wednesday, September 16th, 2009: Tips for Better Eating Habits

Providing tips for better eating habits is very much a growth industry today. All sorts of ridiculous forms of advice are imparted, some of which would be laughable were their providers not so serious.

Tips for better eating habits should be welcomed by all of us but only when they are sensible and worthwhile. This is precisely what the article linked to below tries to provide.

Tips for better eating habits

Where food comes from...

Recently this food related story caught my eye.

In order to teach children about the realities of food production (carrots come covered in earth, potatoes don’t grow chip shaped on trees – that sort of thing), a school in Kent set up a smallholding complete with vegetable patch and livestock.

Meat production is something that has become so sanitised and the end product so far removed from the realities of raising and killing an animal that I applaud the efforts of the head teacher in her attempts to make her pupils aware of where meat actually comes from.

It was made clear from the very beginning of the project that Marcus the sheep would be slaughtered and the meat sold off to pay for some piglets (not only are the kids learning about husbandry but also rudimentary economics. Brilliant).

As the slaughter date grew closer, a group of parents decided to launch a campaign to save Marcus. Despite support from tabloid fave Paul O’Grady, they were (rightly) unsuccessful in their attempts and the sheep met his inevitable fate a couple of days ago.

Cue outrage. The headmistress has been labelled a murderer and one parent, whose daughter, in the most delicious of ironies is called Liberty (Liberty?! Armando Ianucci couldn’t come up with a better tale), is threatening to sue the local education authority for alleged distress suffered by her daughter.

It is a sad, sad state of affairs when we have become so far removed from the realities of eating meat that some people, despite being willing to consume it, are in denial about the consequences of it.

If you eat meat then something has to have its throat cut, that is just the way it is. Well done to the headteacher for implementing this and I can only hope that more schools follow her lead. And that the only form of compensation offered is a rosemary studded leg of lamb.