Do you think that kids today, or even 20-somethings know how to make popcorn without a microwave? I sort of have a feeling that they don't. It seems like microwave popcorn has become so ubiquitous that it's the only way to make it at home.
A couple of months ago, I was plowing through some articles on these hair-raising lung diseases contracted by workers who produce/package microwave popcorn. It seems that diacetyl, the FDA-approved compound used to enhance the buttery flavor is not meant to be breathed in...not even a little bit. Add to this the fact that components of the popcorn bags can degrade in the heat of the microwave, releasing potential carcinogens into your snack. When I finished these articles, I announced to mi esposo that I would never bring the stuff home again. He looked a little sad.
Fortunately, a fund-raising little boy scout rang my doorbell the very next day. He was selling popcorn to earn money for his troop. And whaddya know...the kid had some straight, natural, non-microwave-variety kernels for sale! I ordered what may be a lifetime supply of popcorn. It was delivered yesterday.
I hadn't made popcorn on the stove for a long time...although I used to make it daily in my college years: my roommate sophomore year had me half-talked into her bizarre diet that involved not much more than a steady supply of popcorn, avocados, and black coffee. So we made popcorn every day (If you are thinking of trying this diet, don't. The roomie and I did look great that year, but I'm now positive that it had more to do with the fact that we were 19 years old and less to do with our cockamamie food regimen).
Making popcorn the old school way is not difficult. It's just as easy as the microwave, really. Here's how:
1. Take a deep pot with a lid.
2. Add a couple tablespoons of oil (or not...you don't have to if you are in the anti-fat camp)
3. Add approximately 1/3 cup of popcorn kernals
4. Put it onto a stovetop burner on high and listen...
5. As soon as you hear a pop, get over to that pan and shake it.
5. Periodically shake that pan, lifting it off the heat if need be (shaking keeps it from sticking and burning and also releases steam so your snack doesn't get all soggy
6. When the popping slows down to almost nil, get it off the heat--it's done.
7. Season it to taste.
Those seven arduous steps will take you a whopping five minutes. You can clean that pot in about the same amount of time it would take you to throw away that greasy microwave bag. What's better, even if you use oil to pop, it's only about 60 calories per serving. Not to mention the fact that there is a whole lot less potential for contracting a chemical-based disease from your snack. Finally, it's CHEAP. (Hey, I'm part thrifty Scot!) For 5 bucks, I probably got 5x the amount of popcorn I would. have received if I spent that 5 bucks on a microwavable product...and I don't have an armload of plastic-wrapped bags to add to a landfill.
WOW! That was an easy better choice to make. You should try it, too!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Sleep and Wellness, on the Eve of a Restless Holiday Season ("Let Go, or Be Dragged")
My freshman year of college was overwhelming. I wanted it all, both academically and socially. I wanted to get good grades, attend special lectures, as well as to be seen at every party and to hear every band that toured through town.
And so I did.
But, when you are poring over textbooks at the library until close to midnight, then rushing off to some all-night party, then digging deep to find the discipline to be front row and center for the 8am classroom lecture, you have to sacrifice something. Which, in my case, was sleep. I sacrificed it nght after night after night for an entire year. While I achieved the goals of having both a good report card and a festive social life, I only slept 3-4 hours a night consistently throughout my freshman year.
Although the bizarre heart palpitations I was feeling in the spring should have told me that my regimen was less than healthy, that didn't really convince me. It was my face. On spring break, I was riding in my mother's car and pulled down the mirrored visor to see if my hair needed a comb. In the bright midday sunlight, I saw the reflection of my face, which looked like it had aged 10 years over the last three school quarters. Vanity prevailed, and I started skipping a few parties in favor of some shut eye.
So now, many years later, I am beginning to think that quality sleep is just as important (if not slightly more so!) than good nutrition in maintaining optimum health. Honestly now, if too few zzz's were wreaking that much havoc with the cells supporting my appearance, what was it doing to the cells supporting everything else???
I've spent most of this morning reading statistical data about cancer rates. I'm sure that folks far more qualified than I have analyzed the same data with a more experienced eye. They likely make a profession, and not just a morning, out of studying these statistics. But in my unqualified opinion, the nations that seem to have the highest cancer rates tend to be nations of what I would call "do-ers"--folks who work hard, keep at their tasks, make time for extracurricular activities, and prioritize socialization and relationships. Do-ers do a lot, so would it be such a far stretch to imagine that they are so busy doing that they have to sacrifice some sleep?
There is no real science behind my hypothesis, so please take it for what it's worth. But I think it's a hypothesis that could garner substantiating support, if someone continued to focus on the factor of sleep. Serving to bolster my personal opinion is data that suggests that marathon runners tend to have a higher cancer rate. Maybe the tax that 26.2 miles puts on the body requires a rest and repair time beyond the standard 8-ish hours that a lot of us get...? But who has time for more than 8 hours? (Many of us don't even have time even for that much sleep!) An Israeli study indicates that women who do not get quality nighttime rest may have a higher incidence of breast cancer. And I think about the too-many folks I have known who have gotten a frightening diagnosis---there is no real common thread among them (some are male, some are female, some are vegetarian, some are ominivore, etc.) except not a single one of them could ever be accused of being a slothful layabout. They are all do-ers. And maybe it seems like cancer and disease rates are on the rise because we have inadequate time to rest...the world we live in forces us into a mode of constant doing. For example, most of us have to work really long and/or hard hours at stressful jobs to make ends meet. Add to that the admonishment that we must move more to stay fit...so, dead-tired, we drag ourselves to the gym. We have kids that have to be carted hither and yon for extracurricular obligations, adding hours and hours of high-stress commuting to our weeks. And we get sucked in to the late-night adventure flick when we only meant to turn on the tube to unwind for a half hour before bed, ending up with yet another night of too-few hours of sleep. It seems like we never get a chance to complete a full, resting repair cycle before we are up and at 'em again.
I say this to you even as I am about to embark on an overloaded couple of weeks. You can probably imagine that the holiday season in the cooking business is a busy one. I am nervous about the constant buzz of stress I know I will be feeling and I am nervous that I will run out of hours in the day to take care of very basic things I need to do for myself and those closest to me. I am especially nervous about the inadequate sleep I will be getting throughout the holiday season and how that might have a long-term ripple effect on my overall health.
All I can do, I suppose, in the coming quiet of the early days in the New Year, is to try to shed stuff---obligations and expenses that must be fed by constant activity and income-generating maneuvers. I'm sure my resolution will be something to the effect of "try to do more with less," or "do less and sleep more," or the really great one I just heard the other day: "let go, or be dragged." Yep. I'll be giving some things up, just as I had to give up some wonderful parties so many years ago. I'm aware that I just can't have it all and have my rest. But the sacrifice will be for the invaluable hope of standing strong, healthy, and disease-free for another glorious trip around the sun.
And so I did.
But, when you are poring over textbooks at the library until close to midnight, then rushing off to some all-night party, then digging deep to find the discipline to be front row and center for the 8am classroom lecture, you have to sacrifice something. Which, in my case, was sleep. I sacrificed it nght after night after night for an entire year. While I achieved the goals of having both a good report card and a festive social life, I only slept 3-4 hours a night consistently throughout my freshman year.
Although the bizarre heart palpitations I was feeling in the spring should have told me that my regimen was less than healthy, that didn't really convince me. It was my face. On spring break, I was riding in my mother's car and pulled down the mirrored visor to see if my hair needed a comb. In the bright midday sunlight, I saw the reflection of my face, which looked like it had aged 10 years over the last three school quarters. Vanity prevailed, and I started skipping a few parties in favor of some shut eye.
So now, many years later, I am beginning to think that quality sleep is just as important (if not slightly more so!) than good nutrition in maintaining optimum health. Honestly now, if too few zzz's were wreaking that much havoc with the cells supporting my appearance, what was it doing to the cells supporting everything else???
I've spent most of this morning reading statistical data about cancer rates. I'm sure that folks far more qualified than I have analyzed the same data with a more experienced eye. They likely make a profession, and not just a morning, out of studying these statistics. But in my unqualified opinion, the nations that seem to have the highest cancer rates tend to be nations of what I would call "do-ers"--folks who work hard, keep at their tasks, make time for extracurricular activities, and prioritize socialization and relationships. Do-ers do a lot, so would it be such a far stretch to imagine that they are so busy doing that they have to sacrifice some sleep?
There is no real science behind my hypothesis, so please take it for what it's worth. But I think it's a hypothesis that could garner substantiating support, if someone continued to focus on the factor of sleep. Serving to bolster my personal opinion is data that suggests that marathon runners tend to have a higher cancer rate. Maybe the tax that 26.2 miles puts on the body requires a rest and repair time beyond the standard 8-ish hours that a lot of us get...? But who has time for more than 8 hours? (Many of us don't even have time even for that much sleep!) An Israeli study indicates that women who do not get quality nighttime rest may have a higher incidence of breast cancer. And I think about the too-many folks I have known who have gotten a frightening diagnosis---there is no real common thread among them (some are male, some are female, some are vegetarian, some are ominivore, etc.) except not a single one of them could ever be accused of being a slothful layabout. They are all do-ers. And maybe it seems like cancer and disease rates are on the rise because we have inadequate time to rest...the world we live in forces us into a mode of constant doing. For example, most of us have to work really long and/or hard hours at stressful jobs to make ends meet. Add to that the admonishment that we must move more to stay fit...so, dead-tired, we drag ourselves to the gym. We have kids that have to be carted hither and yon for extracurricular obligations, adding hours and hours of high-stress commuting to our weeks. And we get sucked in to the late-night adventure flick when we only meant to turn on the tube to unwind for a half hour before bed, ending up with yet another night of too-few hours of sleep. It seems like we never get a chance to complete a full, resting repair cycle before we are up and at 'em again.
I say this to you even as I am about to embark on an overloaded couple of weeks. You can probably imagine that the holiday season in the cooking business is a busy one. I am nervous about the constant buzz of stress I know I will be feeling and I am nervous that I will run out of hours in the day to take care of very basic things I need to do for myself and those closest to me. I am especially nervous about the inadequate sleep I will be getting throughout the holiday season and how that might have a long-term ripple effect on my overall health.
All I can do, I suppose, in the coming quiet of the early days in the New Year, is to try to shed stuff---obligations and expenses that must be fed by constant activity and income-generating maneuvers. I'm sure my resolution will be something to the effect of "try to do more with less," or "do less and sleep more," or the really great one I just heard the other day: "let go, or be dragged." Yep. I'll be giving some things up, just as I had to give up some wonderful parties so many years ago. I'm aware that I just can't have it all and have my rest. But the sacrifice will be for the invaluable hope of standing strong, healthy, and disease-free for another glorious trip around the sun.
Friday, December 7, 2012
The Potable Remedy
I attended a casual lecture this evening featuring Warren Bobrow--journalist, chef, and mixologist. Mixologist is fancy-speak for "capable, knowledgeable bartender". Now, I happen to know absolutely nothing about the art of mixed drinks, but I do know that some folks like Mr. Bobrow put a lot of thought and energy into creating powerful flavor combinations to enhance their adult beverages. So, I set out to see if I could learn something about the flavor profiles of adult beverages.
Curiously, though, what I took away from this most interesting speaking engagement was less about flavor and more about the medicinal history of spirits. The cocktail, you see, was born in the apothecary's laboratory not as a social lubricant, but as a healing elixir or "preparation", as spirits were once called. A swallow of bitters might be prescribed for an unsettled stomach. Absinthe or wormwood might cure you of worms. Of course, bitters and wormwood tasted awful, so the apothecary might mix your "cure" with something a little more palatable to assist you in drinking your health. I cannot help but think of Mary Poppins chirping away, reminding the children that "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down". And there is your cocktail. Even the etymology of the word "cocktail" has a medicinal link---some folks used to believe that a sore throat could be cured by swiping the neck with the tail feathers of a rooster, i.e. the cock-tail.
Bobrow talked of how the navy used to feed the sailors rum on a daily basis as a mollifying agent in order to avoid flared tempers and fisticuffs among the men cramped on the ships in confined quarters. He told tales of vodka being mere molecules away from horse liniment. He swore that a dose of the Italian digestif Fernet Branca was a veritable cure for overindulgence at the feasting table. As he mentioned those things, I remembered a wine distributor I once knew who always recommended hot wine as a cold remedy. While I laughed at his "Italian Nyquil" I must confess that I tried his remedy a few times over the years and found it a reasonable stand-in for drugstore stuff. I recall my grandfather taking a thimbleful of bourbon with his breakfast...he called it "his medicine", though I'm not sure why he took it. He was a strong man and lived a long life. (Curiously, he almost never touched a drop of the stuff for the rest of the day.) And of course, there have been multiple action flicks where the stabbed hero wards off staphylococcus by dousing his open wound in straight whiskey. So there must be something to the shamanism of the cocktail.
I feel pretty fortunate that I wake up feeling strong and healthy enough to not require any medication, or even a cocktail, to bolster my health. But it IS interesting. I'd love to hear about the "remedies" from behind the bar that you've heard about or even tried yourself....
Curiously, though, what I took away from this most interesting speaking engagement was less about flavor and more about the medicinal history of spirits. The cocktail, you see, was born in the apothecary's laboratory not as a social lubricant, but as a healing elixir or "preparation", as spirits were once called. A swallow of bitters might be prescribed for an unsettled stomach. Absinthe or wormwood might cure you of worms. Of course, bitters and wormwood tasted awful, so the apothecary might mix your "cure" with something a little more palatable to assist you in drinking your health. I cannot help but think of Mary Poppins chirping away, reminding the children that "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down". And there is your cocktail. Even the etymology of the word "cocktail" has a medicinal link---some folks used to believe that a sore throat could be cured by swiping the neck with the tail feathers of a rooster, i.e. the cock-tail.
Bobrow talked of how the navy used to feed the sailors rum on a daily basis as a mollifying agent in order to avoid flared tempers and fisticuffs among the men cramped on the ships in confined quarters. He told tales of vodka being mere molecules away from horse liniment. He swore that a dose of the Italian digestif Fernet Branca was a veritable cure for overindulgence at the feasting table. As he mentioned those things, I remembered a wine distributor I once knew who always recommended hot wine as a cold remedy. While I laughed at his "Italian Nyquil" I must confess that I tried his remedy a few times over the years and found it a reasonable stand-in for drugstore stuff. I recall my grandfather taking a thimbleful of bourbon with his breakfast...he called it "his medicine", though I'm not sure why he took it. He was a strong man and lived a long life. (Curiously, he almost never touched a drop of the stuff for the rest of the day.) And of course, there have been multiple action flicks where the stabbed hero wards off staphylococcus by dousing his open wound in straight whiskey. So there must be something to the shamanism of the cocktail.
I feel pretty fortunate that I wake up feeling strong and healthy enough to not require any medication, or even a cocktail, to bolster my health. But it IS interesting. I'd love to hear about the "remedies" from behind the bar that you've heard about or even tried yourself....
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