The floods in the Mid-West are causing a nationwide increase in food prices across the board. Corn and soy prices are increasing dramatically which means other foods that depend upon them are increasing as well. Expect to see many grocery items like meats, cheese, eggs, milk, oil, etc. increase in price.
I spent summers as a child in the corn fields of Iowa, many of which have become lakes, with the gently hills small islands. Now many of these farmers are calling it quits, selling off the farms and getting out of the business. Animals are being sold off, which means a short term meat glut, but a long term shortage. Don't expect prices to go down from the quick influx of meat, because the long term shortage is so visible that prices have to start reacting now.
This is going to have such long term effects that you can expect your Holiday turkeys and hams to cost quite a bit more than last year, and possibly even more the year after that.
Over the years, I've actively tried to expand the number of grains I eat regularly. I grew up eating quite a lot of brown rice, and my mom frequently added barley to soups and stews, but beyond that, I was fairly clueless. I acquired a copy of The New Laurel's Kitchen not long after I moved to Philadelphia and it became my go-to resource for learning about new grains. It opened my eyes to quinoa (not exactly a grain, but it acts like one), millet (both as a cooked and raw grain) and kasha (buckwhat groats) and I continue to explore.
If you're also trying to incorporate more whole grains into your diet these days (after all, it is the new food trend) then I have a helpful resource for you. Last week, Carrie Floyd put together a whole grain glossary on Culinate and it has become my new favorite repository of grain information (Laurel's Kitchen is still wonderful, but since I often plan meals while sitting at work, I can't really carry it around with me all the time).
Check it out and let yourself be inspired to check out some new grains. It's a little more challenging that buying the box of Cheerios that now has more whole grains, but it's a whole lot more interesting and tasty.
I'm sure we're all aware by now that there's a rice shortage going on. Lots of factors contribute, but the bottom line is that even in the first world there is some rationing going on. But what happens if it gets worse?
The BBC recently posted this article about some possible rice replacements. Quinoa, the native South American grain, was first on the list. I think a lot of people are aware of quinoa by now, but how many people have heard of fufu? That's a west African dish made from cassava, but apparently it's not well known outside of that region's population.
Most of the other grains in the BBC article are familiar, like millet and bulgur. I know there are plenty of other grains out there, and lots of edible plants that we just don't eat. Maybe we should start thinking about that kind of thing, now that we're having shortages of some of our staple foods.
Yup, another food recall because of possible E coli contamination.
Orval Kent Foods has recalled 23,000 pounds of its Amish Macaroni Salad. The packages being recalled include five pound containers with the Orval Kent Amish name (June 12 expiration date) and one, two, and five pound containers sold under the brand name of Yoder's (June 7 expiration date). The salad was sold in nine states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey (sorry, can't find any info on what the other states are).
There are no reports of any sickness yet, but the company doesn't want to take any chances so they have issued the recall.
Summer's nearly here, and you know what that means: Potlucks.
Everyone needs at least one dish they can nail at a moment's notice. A dish everyone will love, from vegans to carnivores. Something that's cheap, easy, quick, yet delicious. Something that dresses to impress. Something that even bad home cooks can manage.
When I was growing up, we were a granola and Cheerios kind of family. Kix cereal was an occasional treat and we were allowed to pick out one sugar cereal a year (on our birthday). This didn't mean that we didn't beg for the other, less healthy cereals that we saw advertised to us during Saturday morning cartoons, but my mom was passionate about keeping brightly colored and sugared flakes, charms and balls out of our cereal bowls.
It seems like she was on to something, as according to a recent report, printed in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the more heavily marketed a cereal is to children, the less healthy it is. Additionally, this same team of researchers at Yale University have found that the health claims made about childrens' cereals are often misleading and false.
According to the study's lead researcher, Dr. Marlene B. Schwartz, parents should seek out cereals that contains 4 grams of sugar per serving (about one teaspoon) or less and that they should aim for 4 grams of fiber per bowl of cereal.
The feature story this week is on the "greening" of Chicago, with farmers' markets returning to new locations with sustainable produce. The Tribune shares some tips for shopping at the farmers' market, as well as recipes from cookbooks that focus on market fresh produce: Scallops with three peas and prosciutto from Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes, Savory mashed potatoes with garden herbs from Rosalind Creasy's Recipes from the Garden, Butter Lettuce Salad from Fresh, and Watercress, snow pea and shiitake mushroom stir-fry from The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally.
The news couldn't be more timely with Cinco de Mayo right around the corner.
According to the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a native Mexican diet full of soups, legumes, tomato-based sauces, meat and Mexican cheeses seems to help prevent breast cancer. Whether the foods and dished are topped with a chili or two wasn't stated, but Hispanic women believe it's the chili in Mexican food that may prevent breast cancer.
So with Cinco de Mayo coming up and resources featuring Mexican recipes, now might be a great time to add Alondigas Soup, bean-based dishes, and moles (might it be the chocolate?) to your recipe repertoire.
But don't let this be an excuse to gorge on greasy, deep-fried tortilla chips!
You know when you are eating your fourth tofu salad of the day for the eighteenth day in a row of this hell we call "diet before bikini season?" And on the salad there is a slab of stupidly healthy tofu that when you bite into it, you close your eyes and tell yourself it's actually a piece of chocolate cake?
I have worked my way through Amanda Hesser's Cooking for Mr. Latte more than five times. Each time I read it, I dog ear a few more recipes that I think would be good to try. A couple of weeks ago, I had some friends over for dinner and while most of it was potluck, I took responsibility for the main course (baked salmon) and a side. I chose to make the couscous dish that Mr. Latte makes for Amanda when they are first dating, having both read and drooled over the recipe on more than once occasion.
It turned out perfectly, and I'm planning on keeping it in mind for all those summer picnics and rooftop potlucks that pop up throughout the warmer season. It also has the added benefit of keeping well (we ate it happily for the three days it took to use it all up). Check out the recipe after the jump.
If you keep up with the news, you've probably heard about the food shortages and riots in Haiti and Egypt. You've also probably heard about the drought in Australia and the fact that China and India are limiting exports of rice. That's all going to lead to a lot of problems worldwide, as it already has in some places, but have food shortages hit the US?
According to this article in the New York Sun, the answer is yes. Some stores in New York and California are limiting the amount of rice and flour that consumers can take home. Retailers are also complaining about spotty deliveries for rice in California.
We tend to think of food shortages as something very far away, something that doesn't affect us. With the possibility that Americans could be affected by this, will we be able to come up with a solution in time to prevent a real crisis?
I love this cereal mascot reunion image from SketchBlog!
Can you identify all the characters? I got 4 out of 5. Check out SketchBlog for the answers.
More importantly, what characters do you think should have been invited? I'm a fan of Snap, Crackle, and Pop. I think they would surely be more fun at the party than these guys. Also, where are the ladies?
If you'd like your own copy of this print, you can buy a 22" x 17" for $80 US (plus shipping) or a 17" x 11" for $50 US (plus shipping).
I thought ya'll might care to know that the World Grits Festival kicks off today in St. George, South Carolina. The three-day festival will include grits grinding demos, a grits eating contest, corn shucking competition, and a "rolling in the grits" contest (ages 15 and up. Is that anything like "rolling in the hay," I wonder?).
The festival website features grits recipes like savory grits pies, syrup n' bacon grits, and deep fried grits and cheese. While I'll devour a plain old dish of grits with butter and salt any day, my favorite grits recipe is shrimp and grits, an old coastal Carolinas favorite. I like to fancy it up, stirring grated sharp white cheddar into the grits and topping with handfuls of crumbled bacon, chopped chives, caramelized onions and fresh fat shrimp sauteed in butter and garlic. Serve it with biscuits for brunch or try it with a green salad for an easy but elegant Sunday dinner.
When I was growing up, once every eight weeks or so, my dad would surrender to our cajoling, drag out the waffle iron, and create some of the best waffles. Even the waffles I now make for myself (still on a every-other-month schedule) just don't compare. However, I think that I've discovered a waffle that might just best my dad's fare, as these waffles look crisp, have good, deep wells (all the better to hold your maple syrup) and also contain raspberries. Be still my heart.
This image comes to us from Meliass and she's got the recipe up on her blog, The Boastful Baker (her recipe also comes from her dad. Are waffles a father thing?).
That wasn't a typo in the title. Anaphrodisiac is the opposite of aphrodisiac. It's something that quells the raging libido.
Both graham crackers and corn flakes were developed as a way to keep people from having sex.
Sylvester Graham, the inventor of graham flour and the purported inventor of graham crackers, believed that if food sat in the stomach for too long, it overstimulated the organs and caused sexual arousal. He also felt that rich, fatty foods would only increase sexual urges. According to Graham, more healthy graham crackers meant less sex.
John Harvey Kellogg, one of the Kellogg brothers who invented corn flakes, subscribed to Graham's principles. Cornflakes originally had no sugar and were served to the patients in his psych ward. Kellogg believed that bland cornflakes equaled a bland bedroom.
Read more about the history of graham crackers and cornflakes on Wikipedia.
What foods do you think of as anaphrodisiacs? I'll start the list with beans - for obvious reasons.
I'm sure we're all aware by now that there's a rice shortage going on. Lots of factors contribute, but the bottom line is that even in the first world there is some rationing going on. But what happens if it gets worse?
Yup, another food recall because of possible E coli contamination.
Summer's nearly here, and you know what that means: Potlucks. 
The feature story this week is on the "
If you keep up with the news, you've probably heard about the food shortages and riots in Haiti and Egypt. You've also probably heard about the drought in Australia and the fact that China and India are limiting exports of rice. That's all going to lead to a lot of problems worldwide, as it already has in some places, but have food shortages hit the US?
That wasn't a typo in the title. Anaphrodisiac is the opposite of aphrodisiac. It's something that quells the raging libido.
America's Most Hated Foods
Slashfood Ate (8): Ways to create the perfect cheese plate
A good trick for saving summer herbs for future use
