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October 2000 Volume I, Number 2 |
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| A Community Newsletter of Tasty Tips, Quips, Recipes, and Ruminations on Food and Cooking |
News and Views:
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| Why It’s Good to Eat a Lot of Jello |
| New Hope for Crisco |
| As Wrinkled As a . . . |
| Food Pyramid of the Month. |
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Why It’s Good to Eat a Lot of Jello
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| According to researchers, the folk belief that eating Jello helps your fingernails grow has never been scientifically proved. BUT there is new evidence that Jello (specifically the gelatin that makes the stuff gel) helps sore knees. In a double-blind experiment, people with arthritic knees who took gelatin capsules for a month reported significant improvement in their aching joints. The scientists think the gelatin restores damaged cartilage.
In memory of my mother, who unmolded a queen’s ransom of Jello concoctions over the years (and whose knees never hurt), here is one of her favorite Jello salads, Pineapple Carrot Delight: Prepare a box of orange or lemon Jello according to directions. As the Jello cools and starts to thicken, add 1 cup of grated carrots and about 1 cup (1 small can, drained) of crushed pineapple. Stir well. When firm, unmold if desired, or serve out of the bowl. That’s it. Your knees will love you for it.
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New Hope for Crisco
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A friend in the landscaping business found himself in a grocery store recently buying several large cans of Crisco. It seems that a customer of his wanted several large granite steps installed on a path leading to a garden. At a quarry, the steps were cut and stacked in two layers on a flatbed truck. At the site, the landscaping crew was faced with the daunting task of sliding the heavy granite off the truck. Not wanting to scratch the stone, they debated what the best lubricant might be. In the end, they turned to Crisco. The stones slid easily, didn’t get scratched, and were not stained.
And there was enough Crisco left over to make a pie.
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As Wrinkled As a . . . |
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If the word "prune" is enough to make you purse your lips, you may like the fruit’s new identity better. The FDA has just approved a move by the California Prune Board to refer to its product as "dried plums." Maybe all the people who have successfully avoided eating Prune Whip will be fooled into trying Dried Plum Whip. (Maybe.) |
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Food Pyramid of the Month
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What exactly is a healthy diet? A dietician might respond that it means eating foods that supply the essential nutrients and energy needed to avoid both nutritional excesses and deficiencies. A healthy diet balances carbohydrates, fats, and protein to reduce the risks of chronic diseases, and it incorporates a variety of foods.
We’d like to add the concept that a healthy diet should be a pleasure to all the senses, something that encourages joy in cooking and eating. A healthy diet is good for you, but it is not medicine!
With that in mind, we checked out the Traditional Vegetarian Diet Pyramid at the Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust web site, www.oldwayspt.org. Anyone with questions, doubts, or confusion about vegetarianism will find answers and ideas here. The whole spectrum of vegetarian variations from Vegan and Fruitarian (the most restrictive) to Macrobiotic and on to Pollo- and Pesca-Vegetarian is explained and evaluated. As the Oldways writer notes, "The diversity of specific diets that co-exist merrily under the vegetarian umbrella makes it quite feasible for one or more of them to fit almost any lifestyle."
For a selection of recipes from one of Vermont’s oldest and best vegetarian restaurants, Montpelier’s Horn of the Moon Café, go to Favorite Cookbooks in this newsletter.
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