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A Weekly Serving - 3/05/2011
It's March?! I'm still amazed how quickly the time has flown. This week flew by as well since I've been busy in the kitchen as usual. Here's my weekly musings on family, food, and fun...
Family - Joel is 43 weeks old this week and I'm starting to think of birthday plans. The concern is that his birthday falls on Mother's Day this year. As much as I'd love to have his party that weekend, I don't want to celebrate the day before he officially turns one year old and I know scheduling a birthday party on Mother's Day will affect how many attend. Perhaps I'll plan his party for the following weekend and just have a small, intimate gathering with family on his actual birthday.
We also have the food truck to work on. It's currently getting some maintenance done and we'll be able to pick it up in a week or so. As for our plans to get it on the street, we've got a few more things to iron out before we're driving about.
Here's a roundup of what I cooked up in the kitchen this past week...
Here are the recipe collections I've posted this past week...
Hope you all enjoy your weekend and have a great week ahead!
5 Dinner & (Foodie) Movie Ideas
Some movies can only be described as delicious. In Babette's Feast, a woman flees the French civil war and lands in a small seacoast village in Denmark, where she comes to work for two spinsters, devout daughters of a puritan minister. After many years, Babette unexpectedly wins a lottery, and decides to create a real French dinner--which leads the sisters to fear for their souls. Joining them for the meal will be a Danish general who, as a young soldier, courted one of the sisters, but she turned him away because of her religion. The village elders all resolve not to enjoy the meal, but can their moral fiber resist the sensual pleasure of Babette's cooking? Babette's Feast deservedly won the 1987 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. This lovely movie is impeccably simple, yet its slender narrative contains a wealth of humor, melancholy, and hope. --Bret Fetzer / Amazon.com
The movie won an academy award for Best Foreign Film and we recommend watching it with subtitles! To pair with this movie, have a French inspired dinner including:
Big Night is an intimate look at the immigrant struggle to attain the American Dream, set in New Jersey in the 1950s. Its disproportionate success gave co-directors Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott, who also star in the picture, the green light to follow up with a smug, unsuccessful second venture called The Imposters. Tucci wrote Big Night with his cousin Joseph Tropiano, and they based the story on the experience of growing up in a large, proud Italian family. The brothers in Big Night--chef Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and businessman Secondo (Tucci)--have come to New Jersey to open a bistro named The Paradise that serves the finest in traditional, authentic Italian cuisine. Their every move is foiled by rival restaurant Pascal's, which serves mile-high servings of spaghetti and meatballs and flasks of bad Chianti at exorbitant prices. Primo is disgusted by the fact that Americans want cheap pasta instead of risotto, so Secondo hatches a plan to boost business: rumor has it bandleader Louis Prima is travelling through and will dine at The Paradise that very night. Secondo gambles to bring the finest dinner ever cooked--at the risk of losing his shirt and being reduced to exile to the old country with his tail between his legs. --Paula Nechak / Amazon.com
A favorite movie of many foodies, this is a great one to watch over Italian fare!
To pair with this movie, have an Italian inspired dinner including:
To pair with this movie, have an Italian inspired dinner including:
The 1993 film adaptation of Amy Tan's bestselling novel is both a delight and a moving experience, an anthology of stories wrapped in one Chinese-American woman's journey to understand her roots. Wayne Wang (Eat a Bowl of Tea) directs a large, outstanding cast spread over eight different tales of the lives of Chinese women, most of them set in the past. The script by Tan and Ronald Bass (Rain Man) is a delicate balance of emotions that swell but don't gush, and Wang brings impressive texture and a personal feel to Tan's descriptions of daily life in the Chinese-American community. This sprawling, good-looking movie makes for a cathartic tearjerker one can feel good about. --Tom Keogh / Amazon.com
I loved this moving growing up and it touches on so many things aside from food.
To pair with this movie, have a Chinese inspired dinner including:
To pair with this movie, have a Chinese inspired dinner including:
Director Alfonso Arau (A Walk in the Clouds), adapting a novel by his former wife, Laura Esquivel, tells the story of a young woman (Lumi Cavazos) who learns to suppress her passions under the eye of a stern mother, but channels them into her cooking. The result is a steady stream of cuisine so delicious as to be an almost erotic experience for those lucky enough to have a bite. The film's quotient of magic realism feels a little stock, but the story line is good and Arau's affinity for the sensuality of food (and of nature) is sublime. You might want to rush off to a good Mexican restaurant afterward, but that's a good thing. --Tom Keogh / Amazon.com
This movie encouraged me to channel my love of cooking into the food I prepare.
To pair with this movie, have a Mexican inspired dinner including:
To pair with this movie, have a Mexican inspired dinner including:
It's hard to find fault with the fascinating story, which traces a young girl's determination to free herself from the imprisonment of scullery maid to geisha, then from the imprisonment of geisha to a woman allowed to love. Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo), a young girl with curious blue eyes, is sold to a geisha house and doomed to pay off her debt as a cleaning girl until a stranger named The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) shows her kindness. She is inspired to work hard and become a geisha in order to be near the Chairman, with whom she has fallen in love. An experienced geisha (Michelle Yeoh) chooses to adopt her as an apprentice and to use as a pawn against her rival, the wicked, legendary Hatsumomo (Gong Li). Chiyo (played as an older woman by Ziyi Zhang), now renamed Sayuri, becomes the talk of the town, but as her path crosses again and again with the Chairman's, she finds the closer she gets to him the further away he seems. Her newfound "freedom" turns out to be trapping, as men are allowed to bid on everything from her time to her virginity. --Ellen A Kim / Amazon.com
Not quite as food filled as other movies but some highlights of food are included.
To pair with this movie, have a Japanese inspired dinner including:
California Maki
To pair with this movie, have a Japanese inspired dinner including:
California Maki
With these ideas, I hope you plan a dinner& movie night with loved ones soon!
Autistic Disorder's Twin, Intellectual Disability, In The DSM5
I have posted several times about the high "co-morbidity" relationship between intellectual disability and autistic disorder (not autism spectrum disorder). The Canadian Psychological Association 2006 Canadian Senate Brief indicated that 80% of persons with autism (exclusive of Aspergers) have an intellectual disability. Two CDC surveys indicated that 44% and 41% of persons with an autism spectrum disorder have an intellectual disability. Since the autism spectrum includes Aspergers and persons who, by definition, do not have an intellectual disability the CPA and CDC figures appear to be fairly consistent. With such a high number of persons with classic autism or autistic disorder having an intellectual disability it is shocking that very little is mentioned about the relationship between intellectual disability and classic autism. The stigma associated with intellectual disability is so strong that the relationship is either ignored or outright disavowed.
For those who are ashamed of the large intellectually disabled segment of the classic autism population no information about intellectual disability and its role in autism will be allowed to breach the walls protecting their romanticized view of autism. For those who are more intellectually honest though I thought it would be helpful to post the DSM 5 definition of mental retardation which will now officially be called intellectual disability.
Braised Boneless Short Ribs
A lot of braised short rib recipes take hours to prepare because the cut requires a slow cook to bring out the flavor and texture that it's known for. This recipe, however, allows you to get all that flavor and texture and save time as well. The boneless ribs are browned and then braised in a combination of red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon) and a little beef broth. Aromatics such as bay leaf, fresh sprigs of thyme, garlic and onions also add to the deep flavor these ribs have. After the ribs have braised in the oven for a couple of hours, the liquid is reduced and thickened with gelatin for a silky texture. I served this over buttery mashed potatoes for a truly comforting meal.
Braised Boneless Short Ribs
from Cook's Illustrated/Food
from Cook's Illustrated/Food
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 1/2 lbs boneless beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat removed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups thinly sliced onions (2 large onions)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 cup beef broth
4 large carrots, peeled and cut in large chunks
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon gelatin powder
Heat 1 tbsp oil in Dutch oven until smoking. Add half of beef and cook without moving, 4-6 minutes, until well browned. Turn beef over and cook second side until well browned, another 4-6 minutes. If fat begins to smoke, reduce heat. Transfer beef to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and beef.
Reduce heat to medium, add onion, and cook, stirring often, until softened and barely browned, 12-15 minutes. (If onions darken too quickly, add 1-2 tbsp water to pan.).
Add tomato paste and stir constantly until it browns on sides and bottom of pan, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook unitl fragrant, 30-60 seconds.
Turn heat up to medium-high, add wine, and simmer, scraping up fond from sides and bottom. Simmer until reduced by half, 8-10 minutes. Add beef broth, carrots, thyme, and bay leaf. Add beef and any juices in the bowl. Cover and bring to a simmer.
Transfer to oven and cook 2 to 2½ hours, turning meat twice with tongs during cooking. When done, a fork will slip easily in and out of meat.
Place water in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer meat and carrots to serving platter; tent with foil. Strain cooking liquid through a fine strainer into a fat separator. Press on solids to extract as much liquid as possible, then discard solids. Allow to settle, then strain off fat.
Return liquid to Dutch oven and reduce to 1 cup over medium heat, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bloomed gelatin; season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over meat and serve.
For a crockpot meal: Prepare the recipe as directed by browning the ribs as noted above. Transfer the browned ribs to a crockpot. In the same pan used to brown the ribs, reduce heat to medium, add onion, and cook, stirring often, until softened and barely browned, 12-15 minutes. (If onions darken too quickly, add 1-2 tbsp water to pan.).
Add tomato paste and stir constantly until it browns on sides and bottom of pan, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook unitl fragrant, 30-60 seconds.
Turn heat up to medium-high, add wine, and simmer, scraping up fond from sides and bottom. Simmer until reduced by half, 8-10 minutes. Transfer liquid to the crockpot and pour over the beef.
Add beef broth, carrots, thyme, and bay leaf. Cover and cook 6-8 hours on low heat or 4-6 hours on high heat.
Place water in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer meat and carrots to serving platter; tent with foil. Strain cooking liquid through a fine strainer into a fat separator. Press on solids to extract as much liquid as possible, then discard solids. Allow to settle, then strain off fat.
Return liquid to a small saucepan and reduce to 1 cup over medium heat, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bloomed gelatin; season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over meat and serve.
7 Stuffed Pastas to Try
It's March and soon we'll be saying goodbye to winter (yay!) As much as I look forward to warmer months and more sunny days, I will miss the comfort food of winter. One such comfort food to me is pasta, specifically stuffed pastas. These include cannelloni, stuffed shells, manicotti, ravioli, tortellini, etc. I love preparing stuffed pastas because it's a great way to use up random ingredients you have on hand. Have fun making various stuffings and fillings becasue these stuffed pastas are so versatile. Here are my favorite 7 Stuffed Pastas to Try...
Toasted RavioliThese are highly addictive and a fun way to enjoy stuffed pasta...
Sausage & mushroom are a classic combo that really works with cannelloni...
These stuffed shells are filled with zesty sausage and hearty mushrooms...
Alfredo ties this dish together...
Hold the red sauce, this dish is all about the pesto!
There's plenty of healthy spinach in these manicotti...
Get a taste of the southwest with these stuffed shells...
Vaccine Autism War: Roy R. Grinker Ph. D. Omits Inconvenient Names in Book Review/Diatribe
Roy R. Grinker Ph. D. has published a review of Seth Mnookin's "The Panic Virus" in The American Journal of Psychiatry in which he repeats the Mnookin's blaming of the "democratization of science" and the public discussion of autism causation by celebrities and, of course, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, for compromising "herd immunity" resulting in the re-emergence of serious diseases. In a review dripping with arrogance and condescension towards other, less educated, parents of children with autism disorders, Professor Grinker adopts Mnookin's opinions and points out that Americans, particularly celebrities and parents, lack the intelligence to understand science and fall prey to ill informed bloggers and conspiracy theorists:
The typical reader does not necessarily understand how to discriminate between or evaluate the validity of different sources. For many Internet users, a blogger's opinion and a peer-reviewed scientific article may have equal weight. The Internet thus empowers conspiracy theorists as well as fringe researchers who carry out junk science and disseminate research results and interpretations favorable to the antivaccine movement.
...
Mnookin is particularly strong when describing the classic problem in science education: that science often moves methodically and produces results that are unacceptable to lay audiences in need of clear, simple answers. Indeed, the fear of vaccines continues to be fueled by scientists' inability to satisfy parents' concerns about the etiology of autism as well as by the incremental nature of science itself. As scientists conduct more research, they posit more hypotheses; each hypothesis introduces another level of uncertainty and raises another theoretical possibility. Scientists are trained to accept uncertainty, but the typical parent with an autistic child is not. In other words, the antivaccine advocates want something science will never be able to provide: expeditious and total proof, as opposed to the preponderance of the evidence, and single as opposed to multifactorial causes. Mnookin knows that the best science is rarely as convincing as the words of friends, neighbors, and anecdotes. The Panic Virus is a superb case study in the crisis of science in a democratic society.
Professor Grinker omits some names in his review of those who have expressed concerns about possible vaccine autism links or the need to conduct research to explore possible connections:
Dr. Bernadine Healy, Former Head of the NIH, CBS Interview, May 12, 2008
"I think that the public health officials have been too quick to dismiss the hypothesis as irrational," Healy said.
"But public health officials have been saying they know, they've been implying to the public there's enough evidence and they know it's not causal," Attkisson said.
"I think you can't say that," Healy said. "You can't say that."
Healy goes on to say public health officials have intentionally avoided researching whether subsets of children are “susceptible” to vaccine side effects - afraid the answer will scare the public.
"You're saying that public health officials have turned their back on a viable area of research largely because they're afraid of what might be found?" Attkisson asked.
Healy said: "There is a completely expressed concern that they don't want to pursue a hypothesis because that hypothesis could be damaging to the public health community at large by scaring people. "First of all," Healy said, "I think the public’s smarter than that. The public values vaccines. But more importantly, I don’t think you should ever turn your back on any scientific hypothesis because you’re afraid of what it might show."
As an example, Healy points to the existing vaccine court claims.
CBS News has learned the government has paid more than 1,300 brain injury claims in vaccine court since 1988, but is not studying those cases or tracking how many of them resulted in autism.
The branch of the government that handles vaccine court told CBS News: “Some children who have been compensated for vaccine injuries…may ultimately end up with autism or autistic symptoms, but we do not track cases on this basis.”
"What we’re seeing in the bulk of the population: vaccines are safe," said Healy. "But there may be this susceptible group. The fact that there is concern, that you don’t want to know that susceptible group is a real disappointment to me. If you know that susceptible group, you can save those children. If you turn your back on the notion that there is a susceptible group… what can I say?"
Dr. Jon Poling, Neurologist, Assistant Professor Medical College of Georgia, Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 13, 2009
"Fortunately, the ‘better diagnosis’ myth has been soundly debunked. ... only a smaller percentage of this staggering rise can be explained by means other than a true increase.
Because purely genetic diseases do not rise precipitously, the corollary to a true autism increase is clear — genes only load the gun and it is the environment that pulls the trigger. Autism is best redefined as an environmental disease with genetic susceptibilities."
We should be investing our research dollars into discovering environmental factors that we can change, not more poorly targeted genetic studies that offer no hope of early intervention. Pesticides, mercury, aluminum, several drugs, dietary factors, infectious agents and yes — vaccines — are all in the research agenda.
Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D., Autism Speaks chief science officer, November 11, 2009
IACC includes vaccine research objective in strategic plan for autism research
Autism Speaks is encouraged by new language recommending funding of vaccine research
NEW YORK, NY (November 11, 2009) – Autism Speaks is encouraged by yesterday's decision of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) to include vaccine research studies in the objectives of the updated Strategic Plan for Autism Research. The new language, approved unanimously, calls for studies to determine if there are sub-populations that are more susceptible to environmental exposures such as immune challenges related to naturally occurring infections, vaccines or underlying immune problems. "This revised plan is an important step toward a more comprehensive approach to exploring the wide range of risk factors that may be contributing to autism," said Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D., Autism Speaks chief science officer.
The names and agencies listed above are simply ignored by anthropology professor Grinker in adopting the opinion that democratization of science, the internet, and ignorant, stupid parents, misled by celebrities are responsible for declines in immunization rates.
No mention is made by the "objective, scientific" professor about the fact that there have been many vaccine injury claims paid out by the US Vaccine Court or the reality that parents are in fact the first to see, and report, what happens to their children after any event that is followed by a decline in their children's health and well being.
The Offit Offensive has cranked it up considerably with the Mnookin book, the BMJ/Brian Deer conviction of Dr. Wakefield and the big media interviews and articles denigrating anyone who questions vaccine safety. The Grinker Review is the latest cheap shot fired at questioning, concerned parents.
Whether this all out offensive results in increased immunization rates remains to be seen.
