Lately, every time I go to Trader Joe's I get annoyed. It's not the insane crowd of people blocking the aisles, it's not the teeny tiny parking lot...it's the #*@! peaches from Chile. Earth to Trader Joe's: It is February. Not that it's just Trader Joe's, but why should they use their tiny (and incomplete) produce section for out-of-season fruit that isn't up to thier thrify gourmet standards of quality?
Who needs rock-hard, flavorless peaches that you have to cut with a knife and that crunch when you eat them? Is the need so great for cardboard-tasting supposed fruit that bounces like a tennis ball because it logged more than 5,587.57 miles in its weeks-long trip from the farm to the store?
It's like opening Christmas presents in April. Biking across the ocean. Shaving with your toothbrush. Cheering for Texas. You get the picture - it's just wrong.
The thing is, during the summer, we can get delicious, juicy peaches from right here in California. Peaches are such a quintessential summer thing for me that it just bothers me to see these fake ones around in the winter. It siphons off the fun and anticipation of those first peaches arriving in June or July, kind of in the same way that the holiday spirit is dampened when all the retail halls are decked right after Labor Day.
I doubt there would be any demand for these things if the stores weren't taking it upon themselves to provide all produce year 'round. I mean, I know not everyone lives in California, and we are lucky to have such a variety of fruits and veggies growing here all year. But still, think of the ridiculous carbon footprint left by a peach from Chile - its journey to the grocery store in LA is roughly equivalent to the mileage I put on my car in five months. It makes life bland if everything is available all the time, and we've got plenty to enjoy right now with a zillion varieties of citrus finishing up their season in the spotlight. OK, enough ranting...
In other news, Mike and I had the chance to go to the Farmers Market yesterday for the first time since we moved to the Valley. We decided to check out the market in Encino, and it was really good. There were hints of spring appearing: asparagus, artichokes, cute baby eggplants, snow peas...yay spring!! More recipes soon.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
in search of mocklate, chapter 1: brownies
Introducing...a new thread all about sweets! I'm calling it "In Search of Mocklate," and I will be periodically posting ideas for ways to get around that whole not-eating-sugar thing, because it's not as if I don't like dessert. For my first foray in search of mocklate, I chose to experiment with brownies. The adventure culminated at a party we attended Sunday evening, where friends unwittingly taste-tested a whole bunch of sugar-free, flour-free treats. Before I get too far, I would also like to mention that certain tasters (Lacey!) had some great ideas for the title of this post: "Brownies You Could Eat for Breakfast," or "Brownies with a Secret Ingredient (no, not that)."
I started this experiment innocently enough with an internet search for suitable brownie recipes. I Googled "diabetic brownies," "sugar free brownies," "hypoglycemia brownies," (that one didn't come up with much) and "low carb brownies." I am somewhat dismayed to report that the first recipe that came up in my search for diabetic-friendly brownies was this one with regular ol' white flour - yikes! Then there was this one, which was in the same vein, but has the remarkable distinction of requiring 60 packets of Sweet & Low. Ewww. And, I wish someone could explain to me how this one, entitlted "Not So Guilty Brownies" by Diabetic Gourmet is supposed to be eaten without causing a huge blood sugar swing. (Let's just pause for a sec to remember that the issue here is not guilt, but illness.) Needless to say, I kept looking.
Eventually, I settled upon two recipes to test in a weekend baking frenzy. The first, found on About.com is low-carb, and uses lots of cream cheese, almond meal instead of flour, and Splenda instead of sugar. (I didn't modify it at all, so I won't re-type the recipe since you can just follow the link.) The recipe was easy, and the brownies were delicious! The texture was slightly less cakey than regular brownies would be, but good in thier own way with the almond meal making it surprisingly fluffy and (not surprisingly) nutty. You can get almond meal at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and in the specialty/organic aisle of most grocery stores. Definitely give this one a try - our fellow party-goers were clueless about the lack of sugar and flour.
The second recipe is the one with the more counter-intuitive set of ingredients, and the one I had the most fun watching people try. The secret? Black beans! And, no, this is not some kind of weird "savory brownie" thing served with salsa on top - it tastes like honest-to-god brownies, and I swear you would never know there are beans in it. Mike HATES beans, but he totally dug these brownies.
I found the black bean brownie recipe on 101 Cookbooks, and did not adapt it, so click the link to check it out. They passed the party test with flying colors, even though they came out pretty soft and were hard to cut into squares. I highly recommend trying this, because they taste decadent, are excitingly unlike anything else you've probably tried, and are a hilarious way to mess with your friends while feeding them a sweet and healthy treat. Just wait until they've had a few bites to reveal your secret.
I started this experiment innocently enough with an internet search for suitable brownie recipes. I Googled "diabetic brownies," "sugar free brownies," "hypoglycemia brownies," (that one didn't come up with much) and "low carb brownies." I am somewhat dismayed to report that the first recipe that came up in my search for diabetic-friendly brownies was this one with regular ol' white flour - yikes! Then there was this one, which was in the same vein, but has the remarkable distinction of requiring 60 packets of Sweet & Low. Ewww. And, I wish someone could explain to me how this one, entitlted "Not So Guilty Brownies" by Diabetic Gourmet is supposed to be eaten without causing a huge blood sugar swing. (Let's just pause for a sec to remember that the issue here is not guilt, but illness.) Needless to say, I kept looking.
Eventually, I settled upon two recipes to test in a weekend baking frenzy. The first, found on About.com is low-carb, and uses lots of cream cheese, almond meal instead of flour, and Splenda instead of sugar. (I didn't modify it at all, so I won't re-type the recipe since you can just follow the link.) The recipe was easy, and the brownies were delicious! The texture was slightly less cakey than regular brownies would be, but good in thier own way with the almond meal making it surprisingly fluffy and (not surprisingly) nutty. You can get almond meal at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and in the specialty/organic aisle of most grocery stores. Definitely give this one a try - our fellow party-goers were clueless about the lack of sugar and flour.
The second recipe is the one with the more counter-intuitive set of ingredients, and the one I had the most fun watching people try. The secret? Black beans! And, no, this is not some kind of weird "savory brownie" thing served with salsa on top - it tastes like honest-to-god brownies, and I swear you would never know there are beans in it. Mike HATES beans, but he totally dug these brownies.
I found the black bean brownie recipe on 101 Cookbooks, and did not adapt it, so click the link to check it out. They passed the party test with flying colors, even though they came out pretty soft and were hard to cut into squares. I highly recommend trying this, because they taste decadent, are excitingly unlike anything else you've probably tried, and are a hilarious way to mess with your friends while feeding them a sweet and healthy treat. Just wait until they've had a few bites to reveal your secret.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
another reason not to click on those male enhancement drug offers in your spam box
I couldn't resist posting this. Apparently, some counterfeit Cialis and other male (ahem) enhancement drugs have been circulating in Singapore - but that's the only funny part of this story. You see, these fake remedies were tainted with a diabetes drug that caused a hospital trip for over 150 people due to severe low blood sugar. Four died, seven are still in a coma. Death from hypoglycemia is rare, but it is possible.
One thing that helped the doctors figure out what was causing this: of the 150 people in the hospital, all but one were male. Remember, guys - low blood sugar isn't very macho, so maybe we shouldn't be taking drugs we don't need.
One thing that helped the doctors figure out what was causing this: of the 150 people in the hospital, all but one were male. Remember, guys - low blood sugar isn't very macho, so maybe we shouldn't be taking drugs we don't need.
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