Randomness

[Asso]

Eh, Silverbullet... Things tend to get worse, unfortunately.

[panyasan]

I'm puzzled by the whole sodium issue, though, because Asian food strikes me as generally loaded with salt (and quite a lot of sugar when you're cooking it from scratch), yet Asians have extremely low rates of cardiovascular disease. So I can't help thinking it's also a matter of the way we pack the extra pounds on in general, or maybe the amount of fat that comes from dairy, or something else peculiar to the Western diet.

I am not a food expert, but this I know. In Indonesian food you mostly use herbs and things like peanutsauce and coconutmilk to add flavor. So it's not the salt, but other ingredients. In Italian food you use olive oil and tomato (and wine) a lot, which is much healtier then for example baking butter. Also I have noticed that in food sold in the States lots more sugar and grease is added to products, also in so called that natural products then for example in Europe. If you want to lose some weight, it's much more difficult.

[Asso]

Everything correct, Panyasan.

[panyasan]

Everything correct, Panyasan.

Big fan of home made Italian, Indonesian and Japanese food. And Dutch food... well, we are not world wide known for our cooking skills.

[Alelou]

I cook a fair amount of Japanese and Thai and Korean and Chinese food from scratch, and fish sauce and soy sauce are just loaded with sodium, and the sauces like Teriyaki and Hoisin and so forth often contain quite a bit of sugar too -- you especially notice this if you make them from scratch. (Doesn't mean you have to use as much as the recipes call for, of course.) In general though these dishes seem mostly lower in the amount of protein, because vegetables and noodles and such play a much bigger role.

Indian curries are one thing I make that I do tend to find I can ignore adding salt to -- they're so spicy, you hardly notice if it's missing. Spicy chiles I don't salt either, but since I usually use stock in those I'm getting more than enough from that.

Some Italian food is healthy, but I can guarantee the ziti armatriciana I make is NOT if only because of all the lovely salty bacon and bacon fat. It's worth it once in awhile, though. And nobody can claim fettucini Alfredo is healthy. Or tortellini in a butter cream sauce... mmm. I can't even eat those anymore.

One thing that surprised me when I started baking bread was how much salt goes into it ... and how truly tasteless it is if you forget it. I can really understand why salt was considered a precious commodity by ancient peoples.

[panyasan]

Alelou, you make me want to take a plan and visit you when you have been cooking. You sounded like an excellent cook and your dishes sounded delicious.

[Alelou]

But of course I only write about the meals that WORK. LOL.

(You wouldn't have wanted to be here the time I tried to make pizza from scratch with my own dough. I simply haven't had the courage to try again...)

[JadziaKathryn]

Mmm, unhealthy food. It always seems to taste better.

Cooking misadventures are fun with the right people. Junior year in college I tried to make damper and it was burnt on the outside and half-raw on the outside. And yet one of my roommates and I couldn't stop eating it with jam and/or honey, so we joked about how it was addictive like the secret ingredient was crack and... well, maybe you had to be there. My point is, it can be a good time still, I think.

[WarpGirl]

WOW! Um guys... I'm back to being an omnivore. Something happens when you date a carnivor, Pescatarianism becomes expensive and impractical. The good news is not sick yet.

[Aikiweezie]

WOW! Um guys... I'm back to being an omnivore. Something happens when you date a carnivor, Pescatarianism becomes expensive and impractical. The good news is not sick yet.

I truly LOVE the idea of vegetarianism! I can't even THINK about what I'm actually eating without getting a bit upset about it. I am too lazy to make the switch and I, too, find it impossible living with a husband and son who are meat-lovers. Oh, well......

[WarpGirl]

I still eat way less meat than I did. But I cannot for the life of me justify paying for two sets of groceries in this economy. As it is I have to break my guy of his processed food addiction. You would not believe the stuff he eats. I will gladly scarf down steak if it means he stpos eating every meal from a box.

[trek_shipper]

I truly LOVE the idea of vegetarianism! I can't even THINK about what I'm actually eating without getting a bit upset about it. .

This is me exactly! I would make the switch but unfortunately I have a picky eater for a husband and I flat out refuse to make two meals. lol.

[WarpGirl]

Exactly!

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Yay! Did my last work day before my vacation today.

I'll not get back in the saddle until June 14th. And on Wednesday next week I'll fly off to Florida and hope that no Icelandic ash cloud gets in my way...

[Reanok]

Have wonderful Vacation Kevin.