Foodista Blog

Sci-Fi Toaster

Giao — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:23:47 +0000

How nice would it be to actually SEE when your toast is done?

Well…you’ll have to wait a wee-bit longer. The manufacturer is still working on the glass technology to enable enough heat to actually toast the bread. But hey – it’s something to look forward to!

Photo: Cnet.com

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New! The Amazing Ingred-o-Matic!

Colin Saunders — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:04:20 +0000

Ever wondered what’s in an apple pie? Or, what ingredients go into a typical borscht?

Wonder no more! Introducing the amazing Ingred-o-Matic! from Foodista Labs. Give it a dish, and — it slices! it dices! — it purées away the fluff to identify the most common ingredients that go into making that very dish^†.

^† Well, not really. What we really do is query our extensive collection of structured recipe data, bin the results, and generate histograms of the ingredients.

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Introducing Foodista Labs

Raw Tacos

Carrie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:45:46 +0000

There’s no meat in the fridge, no canned salmon in the cabinet, not even a packet of spam. What’s a woman to feed a carnivorous husband? So I found a recipe for raw tacos! Walnuts? Check. Spices? Check. Soy Sauce? Check. Food processor? Not so much, but I’m resourceful and make do with a coffee grinder.

After grinding, mixing, and using over sized lettuce leaves as shells, I served these tacos to my husband. He protested a little, but he tried a bite. And he liked it! He and I both agree that thanks to using the same spices that you would normally use in taco meat, it tasted just like a normal taco. He even enjoyed the lettuce leaves as a shell. Children might like this recipe too, ok maybe not the lettuce leaf.

Try it for yourself! Just drop a glob of guacamole, mango rawlsa, and some rawesome sour cream and you’ll have a meatless, vegan, gluten-free meal! Feeling adventurous? Try making your own raw taco shells, maybe even explore some other raw, meatless international food like Raw Pad Thai or Rawssian borscht!

Today is National Nachos Day, so how about you mix up a little meatless, raw nachos by making Spicy Corn Raw Tortilla Chips, Raw Nacho Cheese, and Raw Refried Beans. Of course you could also just use meatless refried beans if you don’t want to go all out raw, but hey, guacamole can always be raw right?

Photo by Geoff604.

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Winter Squash is Delicious, Healthy, and in Season

Kate — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:24:04 +0000

Though overshadowed by their pumpkin cousins, squash have an appeal all their own. Their mottled orange and green skins, excessively bumpy or smooth, and many different sizes and shapes draw us to the piled-high grocery store bins. A symbol of fall, squash is a food that is versatile and even healthful.

All squash can be designated as “summer” or “winter”. Winter squash has a hard skin that allows it to keep well without spoiling and is usually picked before it is fully ripe. Though available throughout the year, the peak season of winter squash is right now.

Look for squash that are heavy for their size, with dull-colored skin (shiny skin means it’s not ripe) and firm shells. Avoid squash with damaged spots or cracks. There are eight types of winter squash, including familiar examples such as butternut, turban, acorn, and spaghetti.

Winter squash is also able to retain nutrients throughout storage. It’s a great source of vitamins A and C as well as potassium, dietary fiber, beta-carotene and manganese.

Cooking squash is easy – just slice the squash in half through the stem, then scoop out the seeds. At this point, you can bake, steam, or microwave it until tender. Cooked squash can be eaten simply with butter and salt, or added to soups, casseroles, breads, curries, pies, and more.

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A Very Vegan and Vegetarian Friday Fun Links

Sheri Wetherell — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:00:09 +0000

We’re wrapping up a week of Meatless Monday (thru Friday) posts with a vegan/vegetarian finale! One of my favorite discoveries in my week of no meat? Breadfruit! Which we made into a delicious Breadfruit Coconut Curry.

The politics:

Meatless days a good idea for a healthy life. Even Presidents Wilson, Truman and Roosevelt thought so.
But, the meat industry says it threatens their way of life (well, frankly, eating meat every day threatens our lives)
High “red” meat consumption increases risk of Type 2 diabetes
Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs both blast Meatless Monday

The fun stuff:

Jones Soda’s newest wacky vegan holiday flavor: Tofurkey and Gravy
Brown Bagging it? Find inspiration in Vegan Lunchbox Around the World
Going meatless too daunting? Take baby steps with Almost Meatless
A new twist on an old fave: Mac and Cheese (with hidden veggies!)
YumSugar’s favorite vegetarian recipes
Al Dente cooks up tasty Brussels sprouts

Photo by: thebittenword.com

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Is Your Beer or Wine Vegetarian?

helen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:31:59 +0000

Nothing compliments a delicious vegetarian meal better than a glass of wine or beer- except when your wine or beer is not vegetarian.

Wait a minute. Beer is usually water, malt, hops and yeast. Wine is fermented grapes. What’s not vegetarian about these ingredients? The answer lies in the filtering, finings, and additives.

Gelatin and isinglass are sometimes used to clarify beer and wine. Most vegetarians understand that gelatin is made from animal products, though isinglass may be a new term: isinglass is derived from the bladders of fish. Both products are often used to process cask beers and white wine; when added to the liquid, they cause excess yeast to clump and sink to the bottom of the vessel. A vegetarian alternative is Irish Moss.

Egg whites are sometimes used to clarify wine and reduce tannins and astringency. Albumin, a protein found in blood and eggs, and pepsin, derived from pork, are also used for this purpose and sometimes added to beer to improve head retention. (Contrary to popular belief, a foamy, long-lasting head is actually a good thing in beer- except when that head is due to animal products.)

Charcoal can be used to remove impurities and odors from wine; charcoal is frequently made from animal bones. Refined sugar, added occasionally to beer and wine to enhance sweetness, is also filtered with charcoal, meaning it too has animal blood on its proverbial hands.

The FDA does not mandate that breweries and wineries label spirits processed using these methods. So, how do you tell if your beer or wine is vegetarian? Look online. My favorite resource is Barnivore, a site run by a couple of vegans that lets consumers know what beer, wine and liquor are and are not veg-friendly.

Unfortunately, while the popular Guinness is not vegetarian, there are a host of other delicious beverages that do make the cut. What’s your favorite vegetarian drink?

More information:

Image by Greencolander

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Foodista Quick Tip: Infusions

Melissa — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:20 +0000

Making herb and spice infusions is one way to capture huge amounts of concentrated flavors in liquid form. Infusions like clove and cinnamon oil or basil infused cream can be used as a components or as main flavors to a recipe. Bartenders, ice cream makers, bakers and chefs all use a variety of herbal and spice infusions to create delicious creations like lavender ice cream, tarragon oil or anise infused vodka.

Sound too gastronomic or overly labor intensive? If you can brew a cup of tea, then you are already an infusion pro. There are a couple culinary rules to follow when it comes to infusions. According to chemistry cooking pro, Harold McGee, the best flavored infusions come from slow extractions of raw fruits and vegetables in a liquid at either room temperature or in the refrigerator for several days or several weeks.

In most culinary regards, there are two main ways to infuse most liquids: cold infusion and heat infusion.

Cold Infusion: Cold infusions are good for delicate herbs that lose their volatile qualities when heated: use a cold infusion technique with fragile leafy herbs like basil, mint, lavender, or tarragon. A cold infusion consists of soaking whole or blended herbs or spices in cold water, milk or edible oils, (like olive oil) for several hours. The mixture is then strained and preserved. *Keep your homemade infusions cold when not in use.

Heat Infusion: Best with woody herbs and spices like cinnamon, thyme, lemongrass or star anise. This is the most frequently used method for all dried herbs or woody spice infusions and is produced by pouring boiling water over herbs or spices and steeping this mixture for fifteen minutes to half an hour. Another way to make a hot infusion is to bring a liquid with an herb or spice to a desired temperature over a stove and let it steep. Depending on desired potency of flavor, this could take several minutes to several hours.

For recipes with infusions, check out these great blogs for ideas, or see the recipes below:

Food & Style’s Rosemary Gelato
Family Fresh Cooking’s Chai Tea Infused Applesauce
Lillyella’s Vanilla Oil

Above photo by Quinn.anya

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National Candy Day is November 4

Sheri Wetherell — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:01:46 +0000

Today is National Candy Day, and while we’re still trying to eat our way to the bottom of the leftover Halloween candy bowl, we thought we’d share some yummy recipes with you. Perhaps some will inspire your holiday candy making and baking plans. Also, search Foodista for more great confection recipes.

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Wine from Scratch: A Practical Approach

Marcus — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:56:05 +0000

For many, learning about wine can seem like a pretty daunting task. Where do I start? What do I need to know? How do I go about getting the right info? Rather than overwhelming yourself with the details it’s better to jump right in and get your hands dirty- or in this case, your mouth.

4 Steps to Knowing What You’re Drinking

1. One Grape at a Time

Blends (wines made using multiple grape varieties) can produce fantastic results. But when you’re just learning it’s best to go one grape at a time. Start by picking up a few different varietal specific wines, containing at least 75% of one grape. Common grapes such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc work the best due to brand diversity and availability. Then simply drink the wine and take notes on what you smell and taste. You’ll eventually begin to discover common flavors and aromas in the wines/varieties you enjoy.

2. Style is Key

Once you’ve got a handle on a few basic grape varieties and the flavors that go with them it’s time to figure out what style of wine you prefer. Wines of the same variety can come in many different styles (eg. acidic, smooth, bold, fruity). Find wines of the same variety but from different producers or regions and give them a try. You’ll eventually have a handful of favorites that will help in narrowing down what style of wine you prefer. Having some favorites is especially handy when your wine merchant or server asks what kind of wine you like.

3. Get Experimental

From your tasting escapades you should now be comfortable with several different grape varieties and have a general idea of the style of wine you prefer. Time to shake things up a bit. Visit your local wine shop and ask the merchant to help you pick out some unique varietals or wines from other regions, based on your stylistic preferences. This is a great way to extend your wine comfort zone and discover some great new wines or wine producing areas. Obscure varietals and regions can also provide quite a cost savings, which we can all appreciate.

4. Visit the Source

Now that you have a solid wine tasting foundation it’s time to take your knowledge on the road. Of the wines you tasted there should have been some from the local area. If not go back to the store and ask about local producers that fit your style. Then once you’ve picked out a few favorites visit those places. Wine is more than a beverage it’s an experience, and to truly understand and appreciate it you need to visit the source. And as I’ve mentioned, reliving these experiences sure beats discussing flavor profiles all day.

Now get out there and drink some wine. We’ll worry about filling in the other details later. Cheers!

* Marcus Pape has worked in media and design for over 10 years with an extensive background in all forms of visual communication. As a proclaimed vinophile Marcus hopes to leverage his abilities to inspire interest in wine, recently launching WineCHATr.com – an online resource for the growing wine community, where both popular wine bloggers and businesses come together to connect and share information on wine.

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Breadfruit Coconut Curry

Sheri Wetherell — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:26:34 +0000

Our omnivore’s attempt to go vegetarian for a week of Meatless Monday led us to the discovery of a new food – the breadfruit, native to the Pacific Islands. We’d seen it before in Asian markets, but for some reason, were never compelled enough to buy one. This week we finally did, and I have to say, it is now one of my favorites.

I have a deep love of potatoes and breadfruit is quite like the potato – starchy, bland and high in carbs – but ready and able to take on any flavor. The football-sized fruit is also fast-growing and high in fiber and protein, which makes it a great food for combating world malnutrition. See this interesting article in Newsweek titled Breadfruit to the Rescue. If you were a fan of Mutiny on the Bounty, you’ll find it quite fascinating!

Most recipes we found called for stuffing it whole with any combination of meat and vegetables, then grilling it on an open fire. Since it’s quite cold now here in Seattle we opted out for the outdoor cooking, and instead cracked open the fruit and cut the flesh into cubes. We then simmered it in coconut milk, turmeric, garlic, ginger and a bit of chili powder – a delicious concoction we’ve named Breadfruit Coconut Curry.

For the full recipe and instructions click below:

Here are some other interesting breadfruit recipes:

Find breadfruit appetizers, main dishes, desserts and more on National Tropical Botanical Garden
Breadfruit Cake from GroupRecipes
Vegan Breadfruit Pizza from Child of the Nature Isle
Breadfruit Casserole from Nevis, West Indies

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