Childhood Enhanced

Andre Bshara  

Moms and dads everywhere know how to prepare one. Children everywhere like to eat it. I know what you’re thinking: a sandwich. You are correct. But there is a specific type of sandwich that leaves people speechless. Literally. When the contents of this sandwich get stuck on the roof of your mouth, you won’t be able to utter a single comprehensible word. Now I think you’ve narrowed it down. A peanut butter sandwich is a classic example of the main course in a child’s lunch. Most kids enjoy their sandwiches with a spread of strawberry or grape jelly, but some kids enjoy it plain. Well I am here to help those kids out. Although I do enjoy peanut butter sandwiches with/without jelly, other additions can be made to intensify the flavor. Before I get into the details, I would like to address the kids who do not put enough peanut butter on their sandwiches. STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Be generous with the spread. You can even put an extra dollop in the middle—think of it as a goal or a little achievement for getting to the middle of the sandwich. Each one of the following modifications to the peanut butter sandwich has a generous helping of everything.

One piece of bread is covered with peanut butter. The other piece is covered with Nutella.. What is the first reaction that any regular human being would have? It is to slap those two sides together. This first combination is simple yet delicious. Chocolate and peanut butter made into a sandwich is ridiculously delicious. Now in order to put some texture into each bite, granola may be used.

Want to test your knife skills and make a sandwich at the same time? Chop up a banana into thin disks to put on your peanut butter sandwich. The banana slices should cover the entire surface of the bread. Although it is a bit unstable once you pick the sandwich up, it is a risk worth taking for more goodness in your sandwich. Tasting this combination will make you/your children/any child ever want to cover an entire banana with peanut butter and fry it. I wish this were possible (maybe it is?). These ideas build off each other. Put some Nutella in that peanut butter and banana sandwich.

If you’re looking to combine peanut butter with the purest form of sweet, then you need a jar of honey. You cannot have the honey that is sold at supermarkets. No. Get that honey from some local farmer’s market for maximum effect. Put some on the peanut butter sandwich you have waiting at home, and enjoy. And if you want, take that peanut butter, banana, and Nutella sandwich we were talking about earlier and add honey.

The ultimate peanut butter sandwich consists of all the previously listed items, but with your preferred flavor of jelly. That’s not all. Make it a double-decker peanut butter sandwich. Add one more layer, just so your nose can end up with some of the ingredients on it.

Take these suggestions to heart; they are all great snacks. And as always, cut from corner to corner.

Wolverine CuiZine loves Al Dente!

Carmen Lee  

With the chilly weather upon us, there is nothing more comforting than spending quality time inside with good friends and great food. And that is exactly what Wolverine CuiZine did over Winter Break – we feasted on two delicious dishes made from Al Dente’s sizzling pastas and sauces.

The potluck was delicious!

The first of the two was a simple and fabulous Al Dente spinach fettuccine tossed in roasted garlic sauce and mozzarella. Al Dente’s “tender but firm” pasta has a distinct and not too overpowering spinach flavor and a beautiful texture, making it a great canvas for Al Dente’s aromatic roasted garlic sauce. This dish was a huge hit, as people kept coming back for more.

Delicious roasted garlic sauce from Al Dente!

Right next to the generous dish of spinach fettuccine was a huge bowl of baked goodness: egg fettuccine with Roasted Garlic sauce, organic turkey sausage, and loads of mozzarella and Parmesan. What is there not to like about great pasta, flavorful sauce and melted cheese? The recipe also couldn’t get any simpler – there is minimal prep work, and the oven does the rest!

Our fundraising potluck sponsored by Al Dente was a major success as we raised money toward our year-end publishing goals, all while eating very well and enjoying the great company. Return trips to the table to get seconds and thirds were not uncommon, as people really enjoyed the fresh made pasta made with truly quality ingredients. Al Dente’s pastas and sauces elevated our fundraising dinner to another level, making the event something extraordinary.

Thank you Al Dente!

“What’s that you’re eating?”: Top Food trends of 2011

Emily Kastl  

Now that we have bid 2011 adieu and welcomed 2012, I thought this would be an opportune time to look back at some of the biggest food trends of the year. 2011 was arguably one of the biggest years for gastronomy in the media to date. With the rise of the organic and whole foods movements, the gluten-free fad, and the explosion of celebrity chefs and talk shows, hardly a day has passed without some sort of mention of food in the news. The impending doom of the obesity epidemic has no doubt scared our country into being more food conscience (has it really? Didn’t we just announce that pizza counts as a vegetable), resulting in the development of many of the trends listed below. Since I consider perusing news and social media sites one of my favorite past times (and a useful procrastination tool), I have compiled a list of the top 10 food trends I found to be most prevalent in my hours of extensive…research? That’s enough of beating around the bulgur—here they are:

Whole/Organic/Local Foods: Due to recent revelations of how food is grown/processed for your consumption (details too scary to talk about here), the popularity of healthy, local, whole foods has taken off. It’s all about decreasing the number of steps between the farmer and your grocery store.

Gluten-Free Diets: With celebrities like Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Gwyneth Paltrow publicly lobbying against gluten (a protein in wheat), many people have similarly kicked it to the curb—and out of their diets—with the hopes of losing weight and becoming healthier. This is ideal for people who can’t process gluten (Celiac’s disease), but for everyone else, there is no scientific research that supports the benefits of abstaining from gluten for weight loss purposes.

Celebrity Chefs/TV shows: Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsey, Anthony Bourdain—the list goes on and on. Whether you fancy butter-saturated recipes or angry British chefs making people cry, there’s likely a food show out there that caters to your interests (no pun intended!).

Insects: Though you probably don’t have to worry about finding them at your local grocery store soon, these creepy-crawlies are becoming popular among food connoisseurs for their potential health benefits and low impact on the environment. Take crickets, for example. A handful of these little guys packs a walloping 13 grams of protein!

Meatless Mondays: This campaign, in association with Johns Hopkins University, encourages people to cross meat off the menu for one day out of the week to improve their health as well as our planet.

Foods in place of Supplements: As this movement gains support from doctors and nutritionists, more and more people are throwing away their vitamins and replacing them with foods like pomegranates, nuts, and spices.

Food Trucks: These mobile food hubs are becoming popular places for their unique, ethnic, and authentic foods, especially in big cities. The greasy, unsanitary food truck stereotype is no more!

Omega-3: This fatty acid found in fish and nuts is being cited as one of the best methods to combat heart disease, stroke, and depression. Eat up!

Probiotics: I’m sure you’ve heard Jamie Lee Curtis touting the benefits of probiotics in her yogurt commercials, but it’s true—they’re good for boosting immune systems and aiding digestion.

Asian foods: unique Asian flavors and ingredients are increasingly making their way into U.S. diets. This is largely due to their natural health benefits.

Hot Chocolate

Heather Fendell  

With the cold weather fast approaching and the holiday season creeping up, it’s prime time for my favorite winter beverage: hot chocolate. Hot chocolate is a winter staple and no, it’s not just for little kids. Espresso Royale carries both a classic hot chocolate and a mint hot chocolate while Starbucks has a peppermint hot chocolate and a white hot chocolate. Some frat houses even fill coolers with a dangerous mix of hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps! Hot cocoa has been a favorite for thousands of years, dating back to the Mayan civilization about 2,000 years ago. It later made its way into Aztec culture, then became popular years later in Europe after coming from Mexico.
For me, hot chocolate is a great addition to any snow day. It makes me reminisce about when I used to build snow forts and have snowball fights, only to come back home to the smell of fresh baked cookies and hot chocolate. My personal favorite: Ghirardelli’s Hazelnut Hot Cocoa Mix with mini marshmallows and lots of whipped cream! Nom!
If you’re feeling adventurous, try this Creamy Hot Cocoa recipe, and get ready to snuggle up on the next snow day (or any day for that matter!).

Ingredients
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup half-and-half

Directions
Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Stir in the milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature and serve.

An Entrée into the World of Food Blogs

Molly Donahue  

There is something about food blogs that lures me to sit in one place, drink several cups of coffee and gather a list of recipes to recreate for more time than I care to acknowledge. The internet is flooded with food blogs and food enthusiasts alike generating gorgeous images of their kitchen creations. It is almost guaranteed that the visit to one food blog will inadvertently take you to another. They all link up - tempting you to click onto another and then another. It is a vicious cycle of flour, eggs and butter - vicious yet innocent.

Smitten Kitchen: Deb Perelman serves up consistently delicious meals from her small New York kitchen. The photos of her dishes are beautiful - the pictures alone will have you in the kitchen. She uses ingredients that you would probably already have or can easily find - nothing fussy. Her first cookbook, which will feature 80-100 recipes written and photographed by Deb herself, will be released in fall of 2012.
Recipes to try: mom’s apple cake, meyer lemon and fresh cranberry scones, mushroom lasagna

Joy the Baker: Joy, based out of Los Angeles, has a food blog that constantly induces new cravings. Her voice is unique, informal, and honest. Joy is relatable - she eats popcorn for dinner, has a drawer of chocolate, and makes friendship bracelets. If her blog has you hooked, check out her podcast. Joy, along with Tracy Benjamin from shutterbean have a free weekly podcast where they discuss the “most important unimportant” topics.
Recipes to try: cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread, curried sweet potato soup with goat cheese biscuits, chocolate espresso sandwich cookies

KathEats: Kath Younger from Charlottesville, Virginia is a registered dietitian. Her blog captures her daily meals and various aspects of her life. The trademark of the blog is “Kath Eats Real Foods” and it is evident that she does. Posting three times a day, you may feel like you know a bit too much about her life but, you’ll keep reading. KathEats does not focus on recipes but rather on her resourcefulness in cooking. She pieces together impressive meals daily and utilizes left-overs.
Recipes to try: overnight oats, risotto with butternut squash + ‘shrooms

101 Cookbooks: Heidi Swanson, based out of the Bay Area, is the author of Super Natural Cooking and Super Natural Everyday. Her blog features healthy, vegetarian recipes. The images on her blog capture moments of her life while her dialogue makes you feel like you are having a conversation with her. Reading her blog, will naturally slow you down, if only for a moment.
Recipes to try: macaroon cherry tart, pumpkin and feta muffins, roasted delicata squash salad

Miracle Noodles!

Emily Kastl  

Have you ever eaten something and thought “WOW! This is so delicious I wish it didn’t have any calories so I could eat it forever!”? Your wish is the Miracle Noodles’ command! Never heard of these? You’re probably not alone, but due to our country’s current obsession with diet foods, these calorie-free little guys are starting to make a name for themselves. More commonly known as shirataki or “white waterfall,” these traditional Japanese noodles are made from the konnyaku imo root—100% pure dietary fiber. And for you Celiacs out there, they’re gluten free! Since they are zero-calorie and carb-free, they‘re a dieter’s dream.

Image from mamaseacat's Guilt-Free Goodies blog

That’s all well and good, but how do they taste? Much like tofu, Miracle Noodles are flavor-chamelions; they take on the taste of whatever they’re in. Though I haven’t personally tried them, I‘ve read a ton of reviews and they all seemed to be on Team Miracle Noodles. Since they’re just coming onto the scene, they’re currently only available at specialty markets, Asian grocery stores, and online.
Eager to give these sensational shiratakis a try? Next time you make spaghetti, alfredo or any other dish that usually calls for pasta, set aside your Barilla and toss in some Miracle Noodles. If zero calories, no carbs, and flavor versatilty aren’t enough reasons to convince you to make the switch, how about the fact that they’re easier to make than regular noodles? Since they’re packed in water, simply rinse them off with hot water and add them to your dish! It’s like...a miracle!

Cooking’s New Frontier

Nate Kristel  

Let’s start with an overview. I could throw in my own opinions, experiences and ideas on the topic of molecular gastronomy, but to be honest they aren’t completely formed. I, like many other diners, am new to this modern cuisine (new to it, but all the while intrigued) and haven’t experienced enough of it to pass judgment. What I can tell you about molecular gastronomy are the facts. It’s defined as “A style of cooking in which scientific methods and scientific equipment are used. This type of cooking examines, and makes use of, the physical and chemical reactions that occur during cooking." (about.com). But which methods are these? Which pieces of equipment are used? Which additives manipulate these reactions?
To answer these questions to their fullest, you’d probably need a five-part, 2,438 page book about the topic. Fortunately there is such a book! Modernist Cuisine is the new ultimate guide to modern/molecular gastronomical cooking techniques; and by the way, it costs $625. But I haven’t the money nor the time for such a book, and perhaps neither do you. The point is that molecular gastronomy is a very exhaustive topic, and going for it all in one article would be overreaching.

Image from Time.com book review

Here are some of the basics:

Sodium Alginate and Calcium Chloride: Sounds tasty, huh? Actually, they’re flavorless, all natural, and can be used in the spherification of foods. Sodium alginate is “a salt extracted from the viscous liquid from the cell wall of brown algae". (Molecular Gastronomy Network). Calcium chloride “is obtained as a byproduct of the manufacturing of sodium carbonate [baking soda]". (Molecular Gastronomy Network). One of the coolest recipes I discovered using these two additives, was a recipe for Mango Ravioli, which to me seemed more like a mango egg yolk. Basically, sodium alginate is mixed with a mango puree and then dipped into a bath of calcium chloride and water. When dropped in the bath, the sodium alginate reacts with the calcium chloride to create a surface gel around the mango puree. There you have it, a gel capsule filled with tasty mango puree. Put it in your mouth, bite down, and boom, a gush of mango.

Tapioca Maltodextrin: This turns fatty items, such as peanut butter, caramel or olive oil, into powders. Tapioca maltodextrin is a sugar obtained from tapioca and then dried into a powder itself (Molecular Gastronomy Network). Making olive oil powder is very easy: Take tapioca maltodextrin, mix it with olive oil in a food processor, and then pass through a tamis (basically a strainer). Once made, it can be served as a condiment, used as flavoring or used for texture. I’ve never made it, but it seems really easy and I can’t wait to experiment.

To me, these three additives embody the entire character of this style of cooking. By changing the physical properties of ingredients, a whole new world of creativity is opened up, and many chefs have taken notice. It seems that this style of cooking is constantly becoming more mainstream. Already, chefs have gained fame by running restaurants that base their entire menu on dishes primarily made with molecular gastronomical techniques. Some of the most famous restaurants are: Wylie Dufresne’s WD-50 in New York City, Homaru Cantu’s moto and Grant Achatz’s Alinea in Chicago, and Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli in Roses, Spain. I’d have to imagine that dining at one of these restaurants would be more of an overall experience than a dinner.


Craving more molecular gastronomy? Ian Rosoff recently wrote an article about El Bulli.