Newsletter, May 8, 2002
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Lydia Jensen, Editor: Lydiajj@get2netdk
Lars Jensen, Webmaster/Publisher: Lars@Eclecticcooking.com
For this week's edition, you may visit:
www.eclecticcooking.com/CookingRecipes.htm
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=> Article; What is it and why is it so good?
=> New Recipes of the Week
=> Hot Tip
=> Coffee Corner
=> Fruit/vegetable in focus
=> Joke/Story of the Week
=> Next week's Issue
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Writer
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
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What is it and why is it so good?
By Lydia Jensen
On one of my trips to Luang Prabang, Laos, I had the
opportunity to taste wonderful, delicious Lao food. Since
Luang Prabang is in a somewhat remote location in the
mountains of Laos, with the only safe access by plane,
you primarily eat local food. The first day the food
in this beautiful mountain village tasted absolutely
delicious, particularly the vegetables. The second day
the food was still delicious, but I began having just the
slightest nagging headache. The third day I not only
had a headache, but I felt like my whole backbone was
slowly becoming paralyzed. Upon arriving back home
in Vientiane on the fourth day, I just managed to put
myself to bed where I stayed for a whole day, drinking
a lot of water and eating very little food. I felt strange.
I was not really ill, I just felt overloaded with a substance
which my body had difficulty tolerating. Later I learned
that the reason I probably had enjoyed the food so much
and found it absolutely delicious was because it contained
a flavor enhancer referred to as monosodium glutamate or
MSG. I learned that I could not tolerate large doses of
monosodium glutamate.
Except for some plants such as peas, mushrooms, tomatoes
and potatoes, glutamates occur naturally in most plants
and animals. Glutamate itself is in many living things.
It is found naturally in our bodies and in protein-containing
foods such as cheese, milk, meat, peas and mushrooms.
For centuries MSG was derived from seaweed, but today
it is made from corn, wheat, beets and molasses. MSG is
made by a fermenting process using starch, sugar beets,
sugar cane or molasses. Unlike salt and sugar which bring
their own flavors to food, MSG increases foodıs basic taste.
We can break down flavors into salt, sour, sweet and bitter
and MSG flavor enhancer. MSG does not have a distinct
taste of its own, and how it adds flavor to other foods is not
fully understood. Many scientists believe that MSG stimulates
glutamate receptors in the tongue to augment flavors. MSG
works best in foods with low concentrations of glutamate
such as cooked vegetables. It is often added to dishes which
have little meat and is a common ingredient in Asian food.
In Asian cooking, bouillon containing MSG is often used.
MSG can produce a cumulative effect which produces
headaches, nausea, and flushes. Used in small amounts,
for people on a low sodium diet, MSG - which does contain
sodium - may make food tastier and healthier than salt.
MSG can be purchased in the spice and herb sections
of most supermarkets, in a bouillon form in an Asian super
maket or in specialty shops. Monosodium glutamate is
usually sold in a white crystal form. You can use MSG
in most recipes, but you should use only a little to determine
if you like the flavor enhancement and if you can tolerate
the additive. The following recipes are not given with MSG,
but if you wish to add it to try the flavor, we suggest that you
use no more than 1/4 teaspoon.
(Contents derived from a publication by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, August 31, 1995.)
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This week's edition, May 8, 2002
Newsletter, May 8, 2002
Article: What is it and why is it so good?
By Lydia L. Jensen, Editor
Recipes:
Zucchini Soup
Warm Goat Cheese
Yoghurt Marinated Chicken
Flambèd Bananas
For this week's edition, you may visit:
www.eclecticcooking.com/CookingRecipes.htm
This week's recipes:
http://www.eclecticcooking.com/whatnew.htm
You may also submit your recipes directly on to our site here:
http://eclecticcooking.community.everyone.net
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Hot Tip
If you are trying to cut down on oil when cooking, invest in
an oil sprayer. You fill the container with oil and spray a little
oil when you need it. It can be used to spray a frying pan,
muffin pans, baking tray, casserole dish and spray a little
on food before you cook it. It cuts down a lot on oil use and
still allows you to cook with oil.
Get an oil sprayer from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?tag=eclecticcooki-20&keyword=oil%20sprayer&mode=kitchen
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Coffee Corner
Turkish Coffee
Turkish coffee is boiled in a small pot called an ³ibrik².
Place 1 heaping teaspoon Turkish coffee, (very finely ground
coffee) 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 espresso cup water in
the ibrik. Bring the coffee to a boil and continue boiling
until the coffee foams, remove from heat and let the foam
subside. Repeat this procedure two more times. Pour the
coffee into mocha coffee cups or Turkish coffee cups
with a little of the foam in each cup. Let the foam and
coffee settle a couple of seconds before you drink it.
Serve the coffee with a cold glass of water.
For a slight variation to the Turkish coffee flavor, add
a dash of cardamom to the ground coffee before boiling it.
http://www.eclecticcooking.com/CoffeeCorner.htm
How much do they cost at Amazon?
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Our Health and Nutrition links:
http://eclectic-healthy-cooking.subportal.com/health/
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Fruit/vegetable in focus
Honey Melon - Cucumis melo
This is one of the many varieties of melons now available in many
supermarkets. The Honey Melon comes in several varieties. Most
varieties have a smooth and yellow peel and numerous seeds in the
center. The meat has a white color with a tint of green; it is sweet and
very juicy. The Honey Melon can last one week in the refrigerator. This
type of melon is usually available all year round.
From www.online-cooking-recipes.com
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Joke/Story of the Week
We presented the joke with the cows from America and French
economies last week, but, perhaps to make sense, we should
present the cows from the economies of the other countries as
well. So here we go with the entire "cow story."
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and
force the other to produce the
milk of four cows. You are
surprised when the cow drops dead.
A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike
because you want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them
so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce
twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon
images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.
A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You reengineer them
so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk
themselves.
A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. They are mad. They
die. Pass the shepherd's pie, please.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know
where they are. You break for lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and
learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn
you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you
have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another
bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5,000 cows, none of which belong
to you. You charge others for storing them.
A BRAZILIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You enter into a
partnership with an American corporation. Soon you have
1,000 cows and the American corporation declares bankruptcy.
A GREEK CORPORATION: You have two cows, but declare only one.
The European Union subsidises you to buy another cow, then
pays you to cull your cows because there is an oversupply of
milk. You pocket the money, sell the cows and get subsidised
by the EU to buy them back because there is a milk shortage.
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Thank you.
Recipes and articles can be Emailed to Lydia Jensen, editor: Lydiajj@get2net.dk
or posted on our site under "community".
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What do you think of our newsletter? Do you have any comments about the
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(For advertising please contact, Lars@eclecticcooking.com
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Copyright 2002 Eclectic Cooking
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