Food Science: How cookies are made

Found this on "Tai-wiki-widbee" and it is the dreamiest piece of food animation I've seen in some time. Also very accurate!

Secrets to photographing food

National Geographic Kids wrote an article detailing how food stylists make food look so tasty in magazines.

Not included in the article is how ice cream is often whipped crisco and powdered sugar since it won't melt. What's interesting is that according to this article by the Art Institute truth in advertising laws from the Federal Trade Commission prohibit specific substitutions. Campbell's soup was in the hot seat for putting marbles at the bottom of bowls so the vegetables didn't sink down.

I think with the increase in food blogs photos taken at home and are equally gorgeous and less manipulated. Then again I'm not in other bloggers homes making sure they're not just painting raw chicken carcasses to make it look good. You never know what people do behind closed doors.

Also with Thanksgiving coming up I will be doing a new dessert soon. After my soup fiasco I'm resorting to what I know best- spiked blood glucose and chocolate.

The Brain-Gut Connection

A small study from UCLA revealed consuming probiotics affects multiple areas of the brain linked to cognition. Investigating bacteria in the human body and health is becoming a popular research topic.

"The discovery that changing the bacterial environment, or microbiota, in the gut can affect the brain carries significant implications for future research that could point the way toward dietary or drug interventions to improve brain function, the researchers said."

The article reminded me of a TEDTalk by Heribert Watzke about "The brain in your gut"
Interestingly enough Watzke works for Nestle in Switzerland. The UCLA research was funded by the Danone institute.

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-through-245617.aspx

Liz Wolfe- Photography

Liz Wolfe create some of the most enchanting photos from food. The album "Happiness is Contagious" is just full of things peculiar and beautiful.

http://www.lizwolfe.com/index.html

Pumpkin Soup: In the pumpkin!

Last weekend I tried making soup in a pumpkin. It was honestly an epic fail. It was my first time using dried beans and even after soaking them and cooking them for 1.5 hours they were still ummm...a little crunchy.

Outside of that I didn't get that wonderful pumpkin puree, thick, delicious product shown in other photos. I think those people cheated. I know it's still a pretty serving vessel so maybe I'll cop out next time and just transfer it to the pumpkin at the end.

I'd give you the recipe but really I'd recommend using Alton Brown's.

Using the tinfoil as handles was very helpful. It turns out while baking the pumpkin shrinks a bit and without the foil the lid would have fallen into the soup!

The soup contained corn, beans, and pumpkin- also known as "The Three Sisters" in Native American culture. Together these plants formed a symbiotic relationship. The corn stalks allowed the beans to grow upward while providing shade for the squash. The squash also kept the soil moist and protected. It was common for Native Americans to plant a fish underneath plants to provide more nutrients as well.

Case Study: Man ferments alcohol in stomach = forever drunk

"Auto-brewery syndrome" is a rare phenomenon where excess yeast in the gut causes food to be fermented, creating alcohol. This poor guy blew a 0.41 without drinking alcohol! The few articles I looked at said the yeast was in the stomach. Go-go microbes!

Home-made Granola Bars

The Pennsylvania Nutrition Program has a carrot granola bar recipe I tried out for work. It's easier than you'd expect and there are carrots which is an added bonus.

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.Heat honey and peanut butter in a sauce pan to melt.

3. Add oatmeal, craisins, carrots, stir until combined.

4. Pour concoction into baking pan/sheet, press down. Bake for 25 minutes

 

I was impatient and didn't let the bars cool before eating a few with hot apple cider.

IF you let them sit they do get a lot more bar like. This would be a good breakfast treat too.

Depending on how thick you want the bars to be you may want a bigger pan and increase the cooking time. The ones I made were pretty thick. 

Throw back bonus: using juicer pulp is an option too!



Serving size: 1 bar. Yield: 12 bars.
Nutrition Information: Calories-160, calories from fat 60, total fat 6g, saturated fat 1.5g, cholesterol 0mg, sodium 5mg, total carbohydrate 25g, dietary fiber 2g, sugar 15g, protein 4g.