Adventures in Culinaria

1 pkg Trader Joe's Chicken & Apple Sausage, sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 head green cabbage, chopped
1 sweet onion, diced
1/2 cup Harvey's Bristol Cream sherry
4 cans low sodium chicken broth (about 8 cups)
3/4 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp olive oil

In a LARGE wok or soup crock, brown sausage in 1 tbsp oil until fragrant. Add remaining oil, cabbage, and onion, lower heat to medium, and saute until cabbage is wilting. Add sherry and stir to coat so the sausage absorbs a little bit. Add broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until cabbage is translucent. Add salt and stir to blend. Serve hot, makes enough to serve at least 6

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090411/wl_time/08599189064600

Oh for crying out loud. COWS are making Global Warming worse now? How stupid do these people think we are?? Oh. Wait. They think we're idiots. Come on... just how long have cows been around? And how long have they been chewing cudd and farting?? Take a look at the temperature records over the centuries. This is not a record century, people, not by far.

Global Warming doesn't exist. If it did, Ahnohld and his entourage would have been forbidden from using that personal jet, along with Mr. Travolta and countless others still using those methods of transportation. If Global Warming were a real issue, and we were in danger of suffocating or cooking ourselves to death, biofuel would be the standard, and petrol products would be outlawed. It's about MONEY and CONTROL, not preserving our environment. And that's sad, because in spite of Global Warming being a big joke, the environment, and everything in it, IS suffering.

Look at the rates of disease now. Cancer, Autism, Neurological Syndromes and Autonomic Nervous System disorders are rampant, at numbers far higher than ever before. And this hysteria producing bullshit is just the thing to distract us from taking notice. Yes! Let's all concentrate on "Global Warming" while our food is pumped full of genetically perverted filth, hormones and antibiotics! Meanwhile we all become sick and stupid, indentured servants to the Rx industry and their media pushers.

Here's some advice: you want to reduce waste and help your environment? Support local farmers by buying locally grown, organic produce, and cook your own damn food. The decrease in waste from all those petrol and paper product wrappers, and the resources used to pervert the processed junk they sell at the store will make FAR more of a difference than pumping a few hundred cows full of antibiotics will, and you'll feel better, too. Geez.

So I've been doing some research (again, lol), and I was thinking; "If I'm allergic to wheat and gluten, then maybe I ought to look at my personal care products, too. The skin is the body's largest and most absorbent organ after all..." Well, it turns out I was right. Not only is there wheat in my styling aid, there is wheat in my shampoo as well! No wonder my hair has been getting so thin these last couple of years!!

So today it's off in search of a new beauty regimen. Giving up old trusted products can be difficult. It leaves one feeling naked and vulnerable. But, it can be done, and in the long run I may just get my nice, thick hair back! I always say, "Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels." Well, this is also true: Nothing works as well as healthy feels.

So far I've found a few very promising products:

Stonybrook Botanicals at Rainbow Research This shampoo and conditioner contain biotin for longer stronger hair, extracts of chamomile, red clover, comfrey, and balsam. They are oil free, gluten free, not tested on animals, and free of sodium laureth sulfate (a surfactant long debated as potentially hazzardous).


Max Green Alchemy has a great line of natural styling aids that are largely organic. This texture paste looks promising!

Morrocco Method International has a complete line of hair care, all of which is Gluten Free, Organic, Cruelty Free, and Fair Trade. Some items are a bit pricey, but may be worth the extra cost.

And some products from TIGI , makers of Bed Head, S Factor, Catwalk, and B4Men, are also gluten free (but not all, so read labels carefully!).

And here's another company that looks quite promising: Organix They've got a coconut milk line I'm really dying to try!

Going healthy can be loads of fun! :D

1 large onion, sliced into half half-moons
1 cup roasted unsalted cashews
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
8oz rice vermicelli
2 tbsp red curry paste
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 cans low salt chicken broth (shelton's)
3 cans lite coconut milk
sesame oil

Saute the onion, water chestnuts and cashews in 1-2 tbsp toasted sesame oil until onions soften. Add broth and coconut milk, spices, and noodles, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until noodles are soft.

Despite its rather alien-sounding name, xanthan gum is as natural as any other fermented corn sugar polysaccharide you can name. Corn syrup, anyone?

Seriously, xanthan gum derives its name from the strain of bacteria used during the fermentation process, Xanthomonas campestris. Xanthomonas campestris is the same bacteria responsible for causing black rot to form on broccoli, cauliflower and other leafy vegetables. The bacteria form a slimy substance which acts as a natural stabilizer or thickener. The United States Department of Agriculture ran a number of experiments involving bacteria and various sugars to develop a new thickening agent similar to corn starch or guar gum. When Xanthomonas campestris was combined with corn sugar, the result was a colorless slime called xanthan gum.

Xanthan gum is considered a polysaccharide in scientific circles, because it is a long chain of three different forms of sugar. What's important to know is that all three of these natural sugars are present in corn sugar, a derivative of the more familiar corn syrup. The Xanthomonas campestris bacteria literally eat a supply of this corn sugar under controlled conditions, and the digestion process converts the individual sugars into a single substance with properties similar to cornstarch. Xanthan gum is used in dairy products and salad dressings as a thickening agent and stabilizer. Xanthan gum prevents ice crystals from forming in ice creams, and also provides a 'fat feel' in low or no-fat dairy products.

Another use for xanthan gum is the stabilization and binding of cosmetic products. One advantage of xanthan gum is that a little goes an incredibly long way. Cosmetic manufacturers add a very small amount of xanthan gum to their cream-based products in order to keep the individual ingredients from separating. Despite the use of bacteria during processing, xanthan gum itself is not generally harmful to human skin or digestive systems, though some individuals may find they are allergic to it. Xanthan gum is often used whenever a gel-like quality is sought.

Xanthan gum is also used as a substitute for wheat gluten in gluten-free breads, pastas and other flour-based food products. Those who suffer from gluten allergies should look for xanthan gum as an ingredient on the label.

One lesser-known use of xanthan gum is in the oil industry. Oil companies often use water as a lubricant for oil well pumps, but regular water is not very thick. A natural thickener such as guar gum or xanthan gum can be added to the water in order to increase its viscosity, or thickness. You could think of this as turning tap water into 10W-40 motor oil. The thickened water keeps the drill parts lubricated and displaces more of the natural oil found in the deposit area.


Taken from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-xanthan-gum.htm

One thing tomato allergy sufferers are missing is a good barbeque. But all of the sauces on the market are tomato based! So, I came up with this:

1 cup honey
1/2 cup mustard flour
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground clove

Mix em all up good, and baste the meat of your choice repeatedly over an open flame until it's done, and good n' juicy! Enjoy!

I'm still not clear on whether or not I need to refrigerate this... separately, all of the ingredients need no refrigeration. However, because prepared mustard does require it, I'd stick it in there just in case. You can warm it back up to room temperature by giving it 20-30 seconds in the microwave.

Note: While on an elimination diet, pepper and hot spices are to be avoided. You will want to wait to use this recipe until spices have been reintroduced and found to cause no issues for you.

Obviously, since I can't have wheat, egg, or dairy, this isn't going to be an authentic dish. But I must say it was pretty tasty and filling nonetheless, and a fair approximation considering that it was made in no way near the way authentic carbonara is made.


1 pkg Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti
1 pkg Applegate Farms prociutto
1/2 small sweet onion, diced
1 large shallot clove, diced
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3/8 tsp pepper
3 cups rice milk (Rice Dream Classic Original)
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/2 cup rice flour
1-2 tbsp capers

Pour 1/2 cup avocado oil in a large skillet, tear prociutto into pieces and add to oil, cook over medium-high heat until prociutto is getting done (shouldn't take long). Add onion and shallot, and cook until onion is tender and caramelizing a bit. Put rice flour in a 2qt saucepan, add prociutto mixture including ALL oil and stir thoroughly to mix, heating over medium heat. When flour is mixed in completely, add rice milk, salt and pepper, and continue heating over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add the capers. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions, drain and return to the pot it was cooked in. Adjust seasonings to taste in sauce (once I put this on the pasta it mellowed out a bit. Next time I will likely use 1/4-1/2tsp more salt, and 1/8tsp more pepper) and pour all of the sauce over the noodles. Stir to mix completely, and serve!

Note to allergy sufferers and those with special diets: This is a fairly non-allergenic dish, but though gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free, it is not vegan. Prociutto is PORK.

Enjoy!

1 bulb fennel, sliced thinly (stalks cut off, outside layers peeled)
1/2 medium red onion, sliced paper thin
1 can mandarin oranges, rinsed and drained (about 10oz)
1 large shallot clove, minced
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp blood orange infused olive oil
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/16 tsp ginger
dash black pepper
1 tsp minced fennel greens as garnish

Mix orange juice, shallot, vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, ginger, and pepper in a container and set aside. Put fennel, onion, and oranges in a bowl, mix up and pour dressing over the mixture. Toss to coat, and garnish with fennel fronds. Chill to serve.

Allergy sufferers: this recipe contains citrus.

1 package Aidel's Chicken & Apple Sausage, cut into 1/4" pieces
2 cans new potatoes, chopped
3 cups rice milk
1/2 pound sea scallops, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp avocado oil
2 tbsp rice flour
a few shakes dill weed
a few shakes basil
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt


in a large pot, saute onion, oil, and sausage for about 5 minutes, until sausage is getting cooked and onions are soft. Add rice milk, potatoes, scallops, and seasonings and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the starch from the potatoes has released and the flavors in the soup have blended.

Enjoy. :)

Allergy sufferers: This recipe contains shellfish and potato.

From www.truthinlabeling.org:

Processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is created when protein is either partially or fully broken apart into its constituent amino acids, or glutamic acid is secreted from selected bacteria. A protein can be broken into its constituent amino acids in a number of ways (autolysis, hydrolysis, enzymolysis, and/or fermentation). In general, these processes are referred to as "hydrolyzation" of protein. When a protein is hydrolyzed, the amino acid chains in the protein are broken, and individual amino acids are freed. Acids, enzymes, and/or fermentation processes are used to hydrolyze protein. These processes are discussed in some detail in food encyclopedias -- wherein articles on glutamic acid and "monosodium glutamate" are generally written by persons who work for Ajinomoto, Co., Inc., the world's largest producer of the food ingredient "monosodium glutamate."

Today, the glutamic acid component of the food additive "monosodium glutamate" is generally made by bacterial or microbial fermentation wherein bacteria used are often, if not always, genetically engineered. In this method, bacteria are grown aerobically in a liquid nutrient medium. The bacteria have the ability to excrete glutamic acid they synthesize outside of their cell membrane into the liquid nutrient medium in which they are grown. The glutamic acid is then separated from the fermentation broth by filtration, concentration, acidification, and crystallization, and, through the addition of sodium, converted to its monosodium salt.

According to The Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients:
"Monosodium glutamate can generally be produced by three methods: (1) hydrolysis of proteins such as gluten or proteins present in sugar beet wastes, (2) synthesis, and (3) microbial fermentation. In the hydrolysis method, the protein is hydrolyzed with a strong mineral acid to free amino acids, and the glutamic acid is then separated from the mixture, purified, and converted to its monosodium salt, [monosodium glutamate]. This used to be the major method of [monosodium glutamate] manufacture. Currently most of the world production of [monosodium glutamate] is by bacterial fermentation. In this method bacteria (especially strains of Micrococcus glutamicus) are grown aerobically in a liquid nutrient medium containing a carbon source (e.g., dextrose or citrate), a nitrogen source such as ammonium ions or urea, and mineral ions and growth factors. The bacteria selected for this process have the ability to excrete glutamic acid they synthesize outside of their cell membrane into the medium and accumulate there. The glutamic acid is separated from the fermentation broth by filtration, concentration, acidification, and crystallization, followed by conversion to its monosodium salt [monosodium glutamate]." (Leung, A. and Foster, S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs , and Cosmetics. New York: Wiley, 1996. pp 373-375.)

Creating processed free glutamic acid (MSG) by bacterial fermentation is not openly discussed by the glutamate industry, and it is not generally discussed in detail in food encyclopedias. It seems strange to us that when Ajinomoto discusses the way in which "monosodium glutamate" is manufactured, they talk about it being made from beets, corn, or some other crop, instead of describing their use of bacteria (which may be genetically engineered) and their process of bacterial fermentation.

When any ingredient contains 79% processed free glutamic acid (MSG), and the balance is made up of salt, moisture, and up to 1 per cent contaminants, the product must be called "monosodium glutamate" and must be labeled as such. The FDA requires that other MSG-containing ingredients be identified by names other than "monosodium glutamate." Never does the FDA require mention of the fact that an ingredient contains processed free glutamic acid (MSG).

While the glutamic acid in "monosodium glutamate" is generally produced through bacterial fermentation, the glutamic acid in the other MSG-containing ingredients is made through use of chemicals (hydrolysis or autolysis), enzymes (enzymolysis), fermentation, or a complex cooking process wherein reaction flavors are produced from a combination of specific amino acids, reducing sugars, animal or vegetable fats or oils, and optional ingredients including hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

In acid hydrolysis, crude gluten or other proteinaceous starting materials are generally hydrolyzed by heating with hydrochloric acid. The chemical hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid is said to be efficient, but almost any organic substance in the raw material is hydrolyzed, resulting in desired reactions such as hydrolysis of proteins, carbohydrates, fats (triglycerides), and the unwanted formation of mono and dichloro propanols, which are carcinogenic. The FDA has admitted, and even pretended to address the fact, that processed free glutamic acid created by acid hydrolysis contains carcinogenic mono and dichloro propanol ( Food Chemical News, December 2, 1996. Pp.24-25).

The FDA has also admitted that processed free glutamic acid found in reaction flavors which are produced from a combination of specific amino acids, reducing sugars, and animal or vegetable fats or oils, and optional ingredients including hydrolyzed vegetable protein is also carcinogenic (Lin, L.J. Regulatory status of Maillard reaction flavors. Division of Food and Color Additives, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA. August 24, 1992; Food Chemical News. May 31, 1993, p 16).

Processed free glutamic acid (MSG) carries with it material not found with unprocessed glutamic acid. Unprocessed glutamic acid in higher organisms is L-glutamic acid, only. Processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is both L-glutamic acid and D-glutamic acid, and is accompanied by pyroglutamic acid and other contaminants. The contaminants differ according to the materials and methods used to produce the glutamic acid. Under certain circumstances, processed free glutamic acid is accompanied by mono and dichloro propanols (which are carcinogenic) or heterocyclic amines (which are also carcinogenic).

By FDA definition, processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is "naturally occurring," because the basic ingredient is found in nature. "Naturally occurring" does not mean that a food additive is being used in its natural state. "Naturally occurring" only means that the food additive began with something found in nature. By FDA definition, the ingredient "monosodium glutamate" is natural. So is hydrochloric acid. So is arsenic. "Natural" doesn't mean "safe."

There are a number of straightforward bold faced lies used by the glutamate industry in defending its contention that exposure to free glutamic acid found in processed food does not cause adverse reactions including hives, asthma, seizures, and migraine headache; could not possibly cause brain damage, learning disorders, or endocrine disturbances; and could not possibly be relevant to diverse diseases of the central nervous system such as addiction, stroke, epilepsy, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, and degenerative disorders such as ALS, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Central to their argument is the lie that the processed free glutamic acid used in processed food is identical to the glutamic acid found in unprocessed, unadulterated food and in the human body.

"On the Subject of Manufactured vs. Natural Glutamic Acid" addresses this issue in considerable detail.


In short: This stuff makes people sick! It can cause anything from headaches to cancer!! The FDA knows this, yet for some reason they are permitting manufacturers to hide it in the foods we eat. It would be so easy for the FDA to simply change their rules to mandate the inclusion of ALL sources of MSG on food labels. But they don't. Why? Because when you get sick after years of eating this stuff, where is the first place you will go? The Doctor. And then what will you do? Spend money on treatments and medication. And if you die a slow, painful, lingering death from cancer before the "ripe old age" of 65, guess who doesn't have to pay out your pension from Social Security to you? Uncle Sam, that's who. And who supervises the FDA? Again, Uncle Sam. This is why as consumers we need to educate ourselves about what we are putting in our bodies. Don't expect that the government will put your best interest ahead of its interest in maintaining our consumerism based economy, and DON'T assume that simply because something is being sold on the shelves of your local grocery store that it is safe!! Do your research, and read labels! Knowledge is power. And in this case it is also your health; possibly even your life.