End of an Era

Gourmet Magazine is no longer. Sigh.

Print media is quickly becoming obsolete. So is letter-writing (although I still believe in writing "thank you" notes). Makes you wonder how long books will be around. Sigh.

I took my mom to Sam's today so I could buy her a new TV. The one she had died the other day and, bless her heart, she called a TV repairman to come to the house. As you can imagine, he (covertly, I hope) laughed at her and told her it wasn't worth repair and it would be cheaper to buy a new one.

So we hit Sam's and found a perfectly decent 19" flat screen. I loaded it into the cart and kept going. Then I realized she wasn't following me. She was standing in front of the display, looking very perplexed (wait a minute, this is my mom, who is pretty much with it. Remember, she is the one who entertains all the time and drinks her fair share of wine, along with her friends). I asked her what was wrong and before she could answer, I knew.

She was looking for a replacement TV. The only ones on the display shelves were flat screens. She had no idea that what she used to have (a cumbersome old dinosaur) isn't manufactured anymore. It was an amazing disconnect. And yet --- why would she know otherwise?

She's an avid reader. She participates in a book club and goes to the neighborhood library on a weekly basis. She can even manage to drive there (scary thought and of course she drives one of those old Buicks - you know, the ones we curse at when we find ourselves behind one of them). But please, oh please, let "real" books stay around for awhile. She doesn't know how to use a computer. What would happen if her only option was a Kindle?

Well, I guess she could always take solace in her kitchen. As I mentioned before, she's a really good cook and she entertains her q-tip friends a lot. Here is her recipe for what we have always called "Ice Cream Sauce" although I have no idea why. It's not very PC as it has a raw egg in it. To hell with that, I say, just make sure you get your eggs from a reputable source (I get mine from a local farmer) and go for it.

I could eat this stuff from a spoon, with nothing else. Alright, who am I kidding here? I could happily slurp it up by the ladleful (is that a word?) But what you really want to do is spoon it over (in large quantities) some warm gingerbread that you have made yourself. (Do I need to post a recipe for that? If so, let me know in your comments and I will happily oblige). It's one of the best autumn desserts I know.

Baba's Ice Cream Sauce

1/2 pint heavy cream
1 egg
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup melted, unsalted butter
1 teaspoon rum extract

Whip the cream with a hand-held mixer. With the same beater, beat the egg in another small bowl until foamy. Beat in the sugar, salt and melted butter. Using a spatula, fold this into the whipped cream. Stir in rum extract.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Thanks, Mom. Enjoy your new flat screen!

Last coffee...

It's official, tomorrow I go to Barcelona to try to fulfill my dreams, for me life to live and to be happy. It will be the first stop on my big dream: to live outside Spain ... but before leaving my country, I trained as coolhunter ...

Today I had coffee last time with my friends at our favorite coffee shop, I spent a wonderful afternoon and has given me very sad to leave my dear Rose, with tears ... so I put a picture of three smiling, it is best to remember that.

Incidentally, today I "released" my old blue vintage skirt and my pink shoes ... Do you remember my white tea parties? Well, now are pink!

T shirt - Stradivarius but print by me

Skirt - Vintage

Tights - Primark

Shoes - Secret Shop (painted by me)

Btw, I bought a laptop to continue reading and writting to all of you about me and my life ... and now, my adventures in Barcelona. I take this moment to thank all those that you read what I do, thank you very much!

Tomorrow, fly!

Organika, and the fact that I look like Jason Alexander

October 6

My friend Kenyon Phillips is many things — actor, copy writer, singer, musician. He's also a historian of music, film, pop culture and anything related to sex.
I have, for example, learned from him that Mussolini liked strong-smelling women, and that while it was considered normal in ancient Greece for men to take boys aged 12 and up as, um, companions, if the men were seen at schools where children under the age of 12 were present, they could be beheaded.
Kenyon’s also a vegetarian, so I must choose carefully when dining with him. He’s an easygoing guy, so he’d find something to eat anywhere we went, but I want him to truly enjoy his food, and I want the restaurant to be one that embraces vegetarians and can show their talent without using animal protein.
So we went to Organika, a new little Italian restaurant that opened in July in the West Village, right next door to SushiSamba 7.
We spoke of many things, as friends do, including the fact that I am frequently told that I look like actors who are popular, but not for their looks. Wallace Shawn is one example, and when The Princess Bride was a popular movie I was frequently asked to say “inconceivable.”
I am glad that I lived in Thailand during much of the run of Seinfeld, because when I was in the United States I couldn’t be outside for 20 minutes without somebody shouting “George!” or at the very least pointing out that I look like Jason Alexander.
Observations that I resembled these actors were not, I would insist, with all due respect to Wallace Shawn and Jason Alexander, compliments.
I would be told that Wallace Shawn was in fact a great actor and that Jason Alexander was not only popular, but he could sing and dance, too. All true, but no one said I acted like Wallace Shawn or danced like Jason Alexander, they said I looked like them. And while they might be cute in a cuddly sort of way, like a teddy bear or a duck, they were not sex symbols, and that’s something that I think we all would like to be on some level. I certainly would.
Au contraire, Kenyon told me — not about people wanting to be sex symbols, but about Jason Alexander not being one (Kenyon looks like a rugged Jared Leto, by the way, and is possibly the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in real life).
Jason Alexander was, in fact, the romantic lead in a McDonald’s ad in the mid-1980s, Kenyon said.
And he was good enough to forward the link to me.
You must click on it. Oh, you must.

What we ate:
Sfornato di Melanzane (baked eggplant, Parmesan, basil, tomato purée)
Torre Caprese (stacked mozzarella, tomato, basil sprouts, roasted peppers and basil oil)
A pizza with mushrooms, arugula and truffle oil
Tagliatelle Bosco (ribbon pasta with garlic, zucchini, wild mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, basil and cream)

Nutrigenomics and Day #5

I have to admit, I know very little about nutrigenomics. What I do know is that certain races are seemingly more susceptible to various disease states when compared with Caucasian Americans.

The Nutritional Genomics Conference defines their mission as:

“The mission of the Center is to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities resulting from environment x gene interactions, particularly those involving dietary, economic, and cultural factors. Our goal is to devise genome-based nutritional interventions to prevent, delay, and treat diseases such asthma, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and prostate cancer. To achieve this goal, the Center is taking a multidisciplinary approach to develop culturally competent methods and novel technologies to elucidate the complex interactions between environmental triggers, genes, and disease.”

Arguably, low socioeconomic status and chronic disease risk trend in congruence. There are those individuals, however, who “eat eggs and bacon every morning and have perfect cholesterol!” Similarly, reasons for such phenomenon, if you will, could be discovered.

But wouldn’t it be incredible for physicians and dietitians to hand patients a completely individualized set of nutritional guidelines based on their genetic makeup? Such information could help prevent diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. Genetics are no longer the untouchable, unknown component to health and well-being…they’re emerging as a key player in the practice of medicine.

Nutrition scientist, Tim Carr, states, “We’re no longer dismissing it [genetics]. We’re trying to figure out how that works.” Nutrigenomics assesses genetic manipulation through the diet to improve chronic disease outcomes and prognoses [1].  

The University of Nebraska – Lincoln is leader in the nutrigenomic field. The team at UNL stated, “Since Nebraska is where America’s diet begins, it is appropriate that UNL would be a leader in the nutrigenomic field.” UNL team leader, Vicki Schlegel stated, “You’re making agriculture a pharmacy, basically.” Crops and livestock are being developed in order to implement findings produced by nutrigenomic research [1].

Any opinions on nutrigenomics or individualized nutrition guidelines based off genetic findings? I find this fascinating and look forward to hearing more on the latest research performed in the field of nutrigenomics.

Last night, I made a pretty amazing creation: Buffalo Chicken Salad. Mark and I just love buffalo wings, but I enjoy finding healthier ways to enjoy the bold, spicy flavor. I whipped this up last night:

Ingedients:

3-4 cups Romaine lettuce, chopped

2 ounces boneless, skinless chicken, cooked and cubed

2 Tbsp bleu cheese

1 1/2 Tbsp Hidden Valley Ranch, Light

1 1/2 Tbsp buffalo wing sauce (low-fat)

1 tomato, sliced

Place lettuce in a low bowl or plate. Top with chicken and tomatoes. Drizzle with wing sauce and ranch. Sprinkle on bleu cheese and enjoy!

Yesterday's diabetic diet looked like this:

Breakfast:

2 whole wheat waffles (2 carbs)

1 Tbsp peanut butter (0 carbs)

cappuccino with 2 Tbsp sugar-free International Delight (0 carbs)

1 medium banana (2 carbs)

     Total: 4 carbs

Lunch:

1 serving Baked Goat Cheese and Roasted Winter Squash over Garlicky Fettuccine (3 1/2 carbs)

1/2 cup Waldorf salad (0.5 carbs) 

     Total: 4 carbs

Snack:

1 pear (1 carb)

Dinner:

1 cup potato soup (1 carbs)

5 wheat crackers (1 carb)

3 cups Buffalo Chicken Salad (1 carbs)

     Total: 3 carbs

Snack:

3 graham cracker squares (1 carb)

2 Tbsp peanut butter (0 carbs)

     Total: 1 carb

[1]. ‘Personalized Nutrition’ is goal of Nutrigenomics initiative. High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal. October 5, 2009.