• Gender in the restaurant kitchen – myths and preconceived notions [Serious Eats]

• Fruit foraging. Kind of reminds me of Toronto’s Not Far from the Tree. [New York Times]

• This stuff feels like bullshit for the sake of marketing to me, and I believe in food as medicine and healing with nutrition: “Chocolates, jams and juices sporting beauty claims were showcased by market researchers Mintel at the In-Cosmetics show in Munich.” [Nutraingredients.com] The German girl interviewed is adorable. “I’d recommend it to my friends who are addicted to sugar but not my male friends.”

• Another reason to eat blueberries: Blueberries may help boost insulin sensitivity and fight inflammation [Karen Hawthorne, The Appetizer, National Post]

Technorati Tags: links, Serious eats, New York Times, Mark Bittman, food science

• U.S. Obesity Trends 1985–2007 [CDC]

• Vegetarian version of Atkins diet lowers weight, heart risks [CBC]
• A slide show of 10 Tasty Fish You Don’t Want to Eat. Among the more popular types of fish on the list: Chilean sea bass (check out the tongue on that thing! It looks like he’s smiling), farmed salmon, grouper/sea bass, monkfish (the image of which reminds me of Jabba the Hutt), orange roughy and skate. [Treehugger]

• 5 Green Reasons to Use an Ice Cream Maker. [Re-Nest/Apartment Therapy network] Reasons include not relying on “big food” to choose your ingredients, going off-grid if you use a manual device and saving on packaging.

• Why bagels are boiled. [The Kitchn]
• For food enthusiasts and geeks: Heinz Introduces World’s Smallest Microwave, and It’s USB-Powered. [Serious Eats]
• The Kitchn on the book Squeezed: What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice, which I mentioned in my post last Friday. I think I have to buy this one asap rather than waiting for its soft cover release. [The Kitchn]

• This gun’s for hire: Dining in the Dark [Globe and Mail]
• A judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California dismissed a complaint filed by a woman who said she had purchased ‘Cap’n Crunch with Crunchberries’ because she believed it contained real fruit. [The Appetizer] Writer Vanessa Farquharson uses that as a starting point for commentary on processed food and labeling but, as into that topic as I am, I’m stuck on being dumbfounded that someone would sue for that reason. Only in the U.S. I love talking about processed food, food labelling and food ethics but I also love to make fun of dumb people. Possibly even more so.

• Most Jewish Delis Named in One Minute on Blip TV (found via Serious Eats) Centre Street Deli, Yitz’s and Caplansky’s are in there representing Toronto and I heard some Montreal delis in there. Sax is from Toronto so he’d have to represent.

• Topless Coffee Shop In Maine Burns Down [Serious Eats] I don’t know where to start with the jokes.

In health:

• Increased intakes of vitamins C and E and beta-carotene may reduce the risk of uterine cancer [Decision News Media]

• Vitamin K2 may boost bone health in adolescents [Decision News Media]

• Not that we’re surprised, but new research reveals that diets low in fat and red meat and rich in fruits and vegetables helps prevent and treat prostate cancer. [Disease Proof]

• Low Vitamin D Makes it Hard to Think! [Disease Proof] My doctor once told me that north Americans tend to be deficient in Vitamin D because we’re afraid of the sun and slather on the sunblock. Good for protecting cancer, yes, but we need vitamin D. So, get out there and get some sunshine! (P.S. Chose your sunscreen wisely because some are toxic.)

• Absorption of calcium from ice cream is no different than from low-fat milk. [All Decision News Media] While I like to THINK that ice cream is good for me, I harbor no illusions. When my doctor told me to increase my calcium intake a couple of years ago I kept joking that it was a prescription to eat ice cream.

• Spirulina extract may reverse pain sensitivity [Decision News Media] I take spirulina almost daily, as part of my green smoothie. It’s also an ingredient in Josh’s Incredible Hulk Quinoa Bread. I don’t know Josh.

• Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia [BBC]

In food pr0n:

• This lemon mint granita recipe from Smitten Kitchen looks awesome and as I was reading I was silently crying about the small size of the freezer in my new, bigger apartment. [Smitten Kitchen]

• My face lit up as soon as I saw this: Photo of the Day: Orange & Grapefruit Slices [Serious Eats]

Local:

• Management of local restaurant The Black Hoof is opening a second location across the street and calling it “Hoof Café”. Toronto Life calls The Black Hoof a “temple of charcuterie.

• BlogTO interviews local writer Alissa Hamilton about her new book Squeezed: What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice. I am so looking forward to reading this book and expect it to be along the lines of Twinkie Deconstructed.

Other:

• Following up on yesterday’s post about the new Hellmann’s Eat Real, Eat Local campaign…  Grist.org tells Hellmann’s to GET real.  Read it.

• Great read: Food critic Gael Greene writes a wonderful response to a 10 year old wannabe food critic who is a food prodigy. I read every word, and I rarely do that. The sign off made me groan.  [Huffington Post] (Tempted to post this under “funny”.)

• Anthony Bourdain’s 13 Places to Eat Before You Die. Not surprising that elBulli (Spain), Per Se (New York) are on the list. I think I’ve heard of Le Bernardin (New York). I like that he includes a sandwich shop in Seattle. It’s a little more accessible to those of us who will never make it to elBulli (although I think that one is more likely to vacation in Spain than Seattle, which just isn’t as exotic). Bourdain describes it at “a sandwich shop with a couple of tables and a true mom-and-pop — even if they’re the mom and pop of Mario Batali.”
  Katz’s Deli in New York made the cut (no pun intended).  What would you add to the list? [Slashfood]

• Tobacco candy? The headline made me exclaim out loud, “That is SO wrong!” [Treehugger] Tobacco candy is just what it sounds like – fine-ground tobacco mixed with sweeteners and flavorings.

• Overweight Moms More Likely to Have Asthmatic Kids [HealthDay]

• Multivitamins Might Prolong Life [HealthDay] (But they’re not a replacement for a healthy diet, of course)

• Orange juice shelf-life may be extended by natural chitosan [FoodNavigator]

• Illustrated Guide to Steak Cuts, Plus Grilling Tips [Serious Eats]

• Last call for Fiddleheads: Now we eat them, soon we won’t [Toronto Life Daily Dish]

• Prix fixe roundup: A sampling of the city’s latest recession-inspired menus [Toronto Life Daily Dish]

• Corey Mintz on how he choses restaurants to review. [Toronto Star]

Looking forward to the opening of the Brickworks farmer’s market tomorrow!

• New online resource guides athletes to ‘safe’ supplements [FoodProductionDaily]

• Kosher grape skin extract responds to US demand [NutraIngredients]

• Probiotics may reduce eczema risk by 60 per cent [Food Navigator and others in that network]

• Another case for probiotics: Following a gluten-free diet may be detrimental to gut health, which may also affect immune health [Food Navigator]

• Protein-fibre combo offers ‘promising’ gluten-free options [Food Navigator]

• Fight Fatigue With Delicious Food [Slashfood]

• Beauty foods: What you eat as important as makeup, skin products [Newsday]. (Not that this is news.)

• Belgian city goes vegetarian one day per week in order to promote sustainable and healthy living.Belgian city world’s first to go vegetarian, one day a week [National Post and others such as The Guardian ]

• A List of Street Food Vendors (in the U.S.) Using Twitter [Serious Eats]

• On the topic of food vendors, Toronto’s new “a la carte” program was rolled out yesterday. Among the news coverage: Cheap Eats Toronto, City NewsToronto Star. In his review in the Toronto Star, Corey’s expresses an overall opinion that is unfavourable, calling the food “bland” (maybe I should have said “unfLavourable”). The comments to the story are telling as well. Lauren from BlogTO had a much different – and more positive – experience (also, one of the commenters takes a dig at Corey). Torontoist‘s Kaori called the chicken souvlaki “sensational”. She liked the biryani and called the the jerk chicken “delicious”. Now I’ve got to taste for myself.

• Taste T.O is looking for writers! And once again I question whether I have enough confidence in my writing ability to apply.

Peeps Smores at Serious Eats

• Oat and quinoa possible semolina replacers in pasta [Food Navigator]

• Fact about me: Growing up I referred to Sundays as “Bagel day”, the day all the Jews went to their local bakeries to pick up bagels for the week. Yesterday Foodcate posted “10 Bagel Bits for Sunday Morning”. Mmmmm… bagels. Second fact about me: I worked at a Montreal bagel bakery (that is, Montreal-style bagels, not a bakery in Montreal) one summer.

• I wouldn’t eat these Peeps smores, but they’re pretty. [Serious Eats]

• The Easiest Herbs to Grow Indoors [The Kitchn] – Last summer I hung out with a guy with a green thumb. I was completely envious of the amount of basil – in numerous varieties – that sat on his front and back porches, as well other herbs. My herbs die, a result of me forgetting to water them. Somehow I manage to keep oregano alive and I did well with cilantro one year (possibly also basil for a short time). This summer I will once again try windersill herbs and I’ll buy some soil to plant some more balcony herbs. My living room windowsill and balcony have southern exposure.

• Cheap Eats Toronto talks to a representative of Toronto a la Cart.

• The Toronto Sun muses, “Variety of street food, but where’s Canuck cuisine?”

• Slashfood taste tests Haagen-Dazs new ice cream line

• Older men and postmenopausal women who have one or two glasses of beer or wine a day appear to have stronger bones than both nondrinkers and heavy drinkers, a new study suggests. [MedlinePlus]

• Food science at work: Why did someone’s perfect rice pudding solidify when she put it in the fridge? She asks, Serious Eats readers answer.

• Possible therapy takes bite out of peanut allergy – essentially, the homeopathic method. [Associated Press]

• 7 thing to know about Nitrites in your Luncheon Meats. [Fooducate]

• An awesome post and comments that I flagged to read “later” last week: Serious Heat: Taming the Chile Fire The accompanying photo is gorgeous. [Serious Eats]

• The 10 Most Disgusting Delicacies to Try Before You Die. WARNING: Contains images. Not for the faint of… anything. I started reading it but couldn’t continue. Duck fetus is on the list. Really. And a bat that can kill you if you eat it. This is way worse than the blowfish, kids. [Culinary Schools.org]

• Grape polyphenols may protect against obesity  [Food Navigator]

• Formulating cakes with sesame oil, hydrocolloids and emulsifiers could replace fat in cakes, leading to low-fat alternatives of family favourites, suggests a new study.  [Food Navigator]

• Who has the freshest candy? Walmart, that’s who. Researchers at Brock University looked at the age of candy bars in eight major retail stores. Results: the average bar was 140 days old.  [Financial Post]

• The Toronto Star on the 8 street vendors approved to broaden the definition of “street meat” in Toronto. Includes a diagram [pdf] of what will be served and where. The Globe and Mail on the same issue, and I include Taste T.O.’s commentary here too because I always like Greg’s snark.

• The Toronto Star asks, “Are you sushi savvy?”

• The Appetizer wants to know what you think is the Best Sandwiches in Canada [National Post]

• The New York Times Well blog asks, What Kind of Chef Are You? I’m healthy, or healthy and innovative. The Internet Food Association discusses.

• Childhood diet alters hormones for life: Research. The  message seems obvious: what you eat as a child can have a huge impact on health later in life

• Because in the winter we could use all the help we can get: How Food Can Affect Your Mood

• Prebiotic may offer ray of light for IBS sufferers: Study

• New soy concentrates for improved meat texture

• Yesterday David Lebovitz blogged a great corn syrup FAQ.

Branding…

• Heinz ketchup loses the pickle on the bottle.

• I bet that Heinz’s new package design will be nicer than Tropicana’s. For coverage of the Tropicana juice carton redesign see Serious Eats, Slashfood, Packaging Digest and Brand Week (or Google for more, of course). According to Brand Week,

The new packaging has 20 design trademarks and copyrights. It took 30 people five months to develop it. Three alternative designs were scrapped including a revised orange and straw version and a Pepperidge Farm-like depiction of an orange grove.

and

The design team…took half of a mid-season orange and created a cap that mimicked its peel in both color and texture. Because you have to squeeze it and turn it, “the cap symbolically represents the essence of the message which is that it the juice is fresh squeezed,”

I think that the Tropicana redesign looks bland and generic and to me the symbol of the orange with the straw did a better job at conveying the brand. Marketing and branding has long been among my interests too.

From Pepsi product to Coke product: Coke Sued Over Vitamin Water.

File under “cool stuff”…

• A chandelier Made of Gummy Bears
• Yesterday I stumbled upon some kitchen gadget pr0n.

And speaking of pr0n, though this goes under the categories of research and studies:

• Women less able to resist favourite foods. What does this have to do with food porn? The image in the article borders on NSFW (not safe for work). Some mom is going to be writing a letter to the newspaper, calling the image obscene.  Or maybe it’s just my mind.

And strange news…

• Teen charged with assaulting mom with taco. Yes, a taco. There’s got to be a joke about the Taco Bell chihuahua in there somewhere.  I shit you not and yes, I’m going there intentionally. Maybe the kid will use the Twinkie Defense (or if you prefer law.com‘s shorter definition).

Locally…

In Taste T.O., beer aficionado Greg laments the lack of good beer drinking establishments in Toronto, using a TAPS Magazine article for inspiration. The piece takes the reader to Montreal and Halifax. Interesting read. By the way, I think that Greg  (and/or Sheryl) needs to create a Taste T.O. Twitter account.

At Forum Liberalis Carolyn Bennett asks:

“Many experts suggest that Canada needs a comprehensive National Food Policy. What do you think should be essential elements of such a policy in the areas of agriculture, fishery, environment, industry, transportation, health, food protection, food security, aboriginal affairs, international trade and international development? Are there any other areas you think should be included?”

…Tell them what you think.

Finally…

Do bars serve beer floats? They should.

A blog post about what I’ve been cooking and baking coming soon and there’s a blog redesign in the future. I’ve changed templates but I want to do so much more.

Happy Obama Inauguration Day! We Canadians are thrilled.

• Food Navigator report: Beer and red wine marinade may cut cancer risk from beef.

• News from Israel that does not involve the war: High fat diets upset our biological clock.

• Serious “Drinks”: Top 11 Compounds in U.S. Drinking Water.

• I once learned from my grandmother that laying a piece of plastic wrap on top of ice cream before putting the lid back on prevents crystallization. It works.  New research shows that dietary fibres such at oat, apple and wheat may control crystallisation and recrystallisation in ice creams.

• Antibiotics in veggies? I give up.

• Tip: Creamier (and Lighter!) Sauce With Pasta Water. This sounds familiar, as if I’ve read it before or saw it on a cooking show once.

• Feeling gelty after the holidays (get it? gelty?)? Post-Chanukah suggestions for using up less-than-amazing chocolate.

• Tired of raccoons being a pain in the ass? Eat them. Not that I’m advocating this, but hey.

• TV Squad asks, “At which of the Top Chefs’ restaurants would YOU eat?”. I wonder if these restaurants would live up to expectation.

• The power of Oprah: Advertising Age asks,  Will Oprah Bring Down Blue Corn Chips? I can’t believe I still remember David Letterman’s “Uma… Oprah” bit from the Oscars 14 years ago. It was neither good nor funny, but it was memorable. Of course it’s got a section on Wikipedia (I wanted to check the year to see how far back the memory went).

• Taste T.O. wants to help you get the most value out of prix fixe menus.

• For you food enthusiasts (and you are reading my blog), today Slashfood announced the launch of an online cooking community called Mixing Bowl.

• Around the world  there’s talk about what Barack Obama eats and whether or not he’ll replace the current White House chef. The Globe and Mail’s headline is “Chowbama”. The Toronto Sun has two stories. Chicago Sun Times on White House chefs. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis asks, “Will Obama be a foodies’ president?” …and so on. Blogs are abuzz as well.

Photo links:

Pretty clementine granita (Click photo for more info.)

Is this cool or what? (Click photo for more info.)

Happy eating.

Post script: I’ve just added the tag “food pr0n”. Will be interesting to see if I’m denied access to posts tagged as such while at work. It won’t let me view mightygodking’s award-winning blog (mightygodking.com) or certain posts at other food blogs.