Welcome once again for another week's round-up of eco-foodie news, tips, links & recipes. Each week I glean tasty bits from the various blogs & sites I follow outside of the Kos-verse and bring them together here for your perusal. If you have a good tasty bit to share let us know about it in the comments!
This week's mystery kitchen gadget is something I have seen and used in plastic form but here is an older metal version:
"What is this?"
News
New concerns over chemical in food packaging
A new study from the United States has raised fresh concerns about the use of the chemical BPA in food packaging. Concerns have long been held about the health effects of using BPA in baby food jars and baby bottles.
The latest scientific report suggests that exposure in utero, via the mother's diet, could be even worse.
Food forecast: Prices up for the year
While food prices can fluctuate for many reasons, at the beginning of this year it was largely because of gas. High transportation costs had consumers paying dearly at the pump and at the grocery store. Recent figures from the Commerce Department indicate that wholesale food prices have dropped, and we could be seeing some relief at the register soon. Overall, we’re on track to see prices increase in five key categories for the whole of 2011, although the gains nationwide won’t be quite as high as what we’ve already seen since just last May, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Changes in Specific Dietary Factors May Have Big Impact on Long-Term Weight Gain
The most useful dietary metrics for preventing long-term weight gain appeared to be:
Focus on improving carbohydrate quality by eating less liquid sugars (e.g. soda) and other sweets, as well as fewer starches (e.g. potatoes) and refined grains (e.g. white bread, white rice, breakfast cereals low in fiber, other refined carbohydrates).
Focus on eating more minimally processed foods (e.g. fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, yogurt) and fewer highly processed foods (e.g. white breads, processed meats, sugary beverages).
EU clinches deal on new food labelling rules
Under the agreement, within five years all food products must carry labels showing their energy, salt, sugar, protein, carbohydrate, fat and saturated fat content, EU officials with knowledge of the deal said.
The nutritional labels will not have to go on the front of packages, but companies will have the option of repeating some of the information on the front if they choose.
Should food irradiation return to the table?
Worldwide, 40 countries have either approved or currently use irradiation for more than 50 food products, including spices, teas, onions, potatoes, fruit, chicken and shrimp. An international symbol known as the radura — a flower inside a dashed circle — is used to identify irradiated foods around the world. In Europe and the U.S., irradiation is prohibited under guidelines for producing organic foods, such as the sprouts implicated in the current outbreak.
The reason irradiation isn't more widely used in the U.S. and abroad comes down to just one thing: consumer fear, said Patrick Wall, professor of public health and a food safety expert at University College Dublin in Ireland. "People hear irradiation and they think of Chernobyl," Wall said.
Organic Pesticides: Not an Oxymoron
It may seem counterintuitive, but foods that are grown to organic standards can contain commercially manufactured pesticides.
It turns out that a key factor in chemicals being cleared for use on organic crops is whether they occur naturally. Spinosad, for example, comes from the soil bacterium Saccharopolyspora spinosa. It can fatally scramble the nervous systems of insects. It's also poisonous to mollusks.
The USDA maintains an official list of substances that can and can't be used for organic farming. Other potent natural extracts that have been approved for use as pesticides include pyrethrin, derived from chrysanthemums, and azadirachtin, from the Asian neem tree, which was also detected on some samples of organic lettuce.
All three of these substances are considered slightly toxic by the EPA.
The Beer Archaeologist
The ancients were liable to spike their drinks with all sorts of unpredictable stuff—olive oil, bog myrtle, cheese, meadowsweet, mugwort, carrot, not to mention hallucinogens like hemp and poppy. But Calagione and McGovern based their Egyptian selections on the archaeologist’s work with the tomb of the Pharaoh Scorpion I, where a curious combination of savory, thyme and coriander showed up in the residues of libations interred with the monarch in 3150 B.C. (They decided the za’atar spice medley, which frequently includes all those herbs, plus oregano and several others, was a current-day substitute.) Other guidelines came from the even more ancient Wadi Kubbaniya, an 18,000-year-old site in Upper Egypt where starch-dusted stones, probably used for grinding sorghum or bulrush, were found with the remains of doum-palm fruit and chamomile. It’s difficult to confirm, but “it’s very likely they were making beer there,” McGovern says.
Home & Garden
Real Time Farms
A new growing internet resource that allows you to search your city & state for locally sourced restaurants, farmers' markets, and the farms themselves.
Real Time Farms helps you understand where your food comes from. You can learn about farms in your area, and see where you can get their goods at farmers markets, farm stands, and restaurants around you.
Seafood Seasons Availability Chart (U.S.)
There are two charts, one for the West Coast and one for the East Coast & Gulf Region.
Make Your Own Dishwasher Detergent For Pennies
40 clever uses for household objects
How to Store Food Properly in the Freezer and Fridge
A good guide and refresher on how to handle food safely and waste less.
Join a Coffee CSA for Fresh Beans on Your Doorstep Every Month
Garden irrigation methods ranked by efficiency
Green Your Drainage: Permeable Pavement
Gardening Tip: Use newspaper as a weed blocker
On City Rooftops, Scrappy Green Spaces in Bloom
Sherwin-Williams Wins EPA Green Chemistry Award for Soybean Oil & Bottle-based Paint
Create a Spa Bath Mat using IKEA Outdoor Decking
Instructables:Magnetowel (magnetized kitchen towels)
The DVR Dilemma: Turn off the power hog?
I guess the usefulness of the "Turn off your DVR" advice depends on your lifestyle. If you use it infrequently enough to leave it powered off 5 nights a week, then it's a good idea. But for someone like me, who's constantly taping new series and double-booking her DVR, I'll just leave it on 'round the clock. It's the price you pay for watch-when-you-want convenience.
Recipes
Provençal White Bean Dip
Sweet pea crostini
Shaved Fennel Salad
Asian Slaw with Ponzu Dressing
Cucumber herb buttermilk soup
Polenta steaks with asparagus pesto, cherry tomatoes and burrata
Spinach pie quesadillas
Omelet Gramajo
A simple Argentinian omelet with crispy fried potatoes and crispy thin slices of ham! Yum!
Condiments: Mojo Sauce
Chipotle blue cheese dressing
Seasonal drinks: Balsamic strawberry smash
Blueberry yogurt multigrain pancakes
Easy chocolate peanut butter crunch fudge recipe
Believe it or not it is made in the microwave using a recipe from Alton Brown. Perfect for summer!
The Perfect Chocolate Tart
One Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes For Two
crossposted to Original Cin's and firefly-dreaming at 9pm EDT