Foodstuffs Scrapbook

Have you ever tossed something that looked good and smelled good, but was past its Best Before date? While lumpy milk and mouldy bread are prime candidates for the rubbish bin or the compost heap, Best Before dates are more flexible than they seem. ‘Best Before’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘Terrible After’. In fact, stores in the UK have begun to sell past-dated items at good prices and with great success.

A Best Before date tells you how long the product will retain optimal flavour, texture and nutrition. After that date has passed, you may find it’s no longer fit for eating—mould and bad smells are telltale signs. But some foods—yogurt and mayonnaise, for example—are totally fine days, weeks, and in the case of mayo, even months after their Best Before dates have passed. This is especially true of unopened products. But remember: use your judgement.

Unlike a Best Before date, an Expiry date should always be obeyed. Fortified products such as infant formula, and pills such as vitamin supplements and medications, are no longer safe to eat once expired.

From ehow.com. This is cheap, fun to make, and gentler on your skin than some of those harsher store-bought sanitizers.

Things You’ll Need

• 1 cup 100% pure aloe vera gel
• 1-2 tsp witch hazel
• 3-4 drops tea tree oil
• 3-4 peppermint oil

Steps

1. Place aloe vera gel in a small bowl, and slowly mix in witch hazel. You don’t want the consistency of the gel to become too thin.
2. Add tea tree and peppermint oil. Slowly stir together.
3. If the consistency is too thin, add more aloe veragel, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach a thicker consistency.
4. Store in your desired container. Use as you would any other hand sanitizer.

Tips

• Add other scented essential oils to the mix for a more pleasant small. If you find the peppermint and tea tree too strong, use smaller amounts.
• Witch hazel and tea tree oil can cause excessive drynes in people with sensitive skin. If you find this occuring, limit the use of your sanitizer.

WEIGHT

1 oz = 28 grams
4 oz (1/4 lb) = 113 grams
8 oz (1/2 lb) = 227 grams
12 oz (3/4 lb) = 340 grams
16 oz (1 lb) = 454 grams
2.2 lbs = 1 kilogram (1000 grams)

VOLUME

1/2 tsp = 2.4 ml
1 tsp = 4.7 ml
1 Tbsp = 14.2 ml
1/4 cup = 57 ml
1/3 cup = 76 ml
1/2 cup = 114 ml
2/3 cup = 151 ml
1 cup = 227 ml
1 quart = 946 ml

HEAT

275 F = 135 C
300 F = 150 C
325 F = 163 C
350 F = 177 C
375 F = 190 C
400 F = 205 C
425 F = 218 C
450 F = 233 C

Still in NYC folks, but this time we’re going sweet not savoury (thats big for me, but one should experiences many different things in life).

The Big Apple likes its cupcakes, there seems to be an unspoken rule that cupcakes are to be respected and admired. As a single twenty something there was only one place to go for such a treat; Magnolia Bakery in the West Village. For those of you who do not yet know about Magnolia, its the bakery Carrie and Miranda go to in the Sex and the City episode where Carrie admits she has a crush on Aidan. Since the airing of that episode it takes at least a half hour to get into the tiny bakery crammed in amongst the fashionable boutiques of Cynthia Rowley, Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren. Waiting on the street is a great opportunity for people watching though, and all that standing must burn off some of the calories involved in the heavilly iced desserts inside. Or at least thats what I reasoned. Once inside I tried the Red Velvet cupcake and went home with a full belly, and a smile.

For those of you who don’t partake in the fan-mania that is SATC but still want a deluxe dessert, I recommend the Dessert Truck. Parked Uptown during the day and in the East Village at night (until midnight!), the truck serves hot, fresh, gourmet desserts for 5$ each. Their menu is ever changing, as is their staff of cute hipsters, but if you can get your hands on a Salted Pistachio Chocolate Molten Lava Cake I highly suggest that you do. By any means necessary.

Of all the culinary triumphs that we have achieved as a species, hiring teams of micro-organisms to “deal” with our food before we eat it is probably my favourite. Cooking food is up there on the list, and freezing food isn’t too bad either—I’m glad to have the powers of temperature in my human hands. But sending out some microbial mercenaries to colonize breakfast, lunch and dinner? That’s infinitely cooler than throwing a hunk of meat in the fire. Cooked food is nice, of course, but fermented food is special. Here are a few examples of the bacterial-enhanced:

• yogurt & creme fraiche
• cheese
• bread
• vinegar
• soy sauce & miso paste
• tempeh
• beer, wine & liquor
• chocolate (yes, really)

These all receive top marks from me, but the list is incomplete if we’re talking about favourites. My number one fermented food is, by a long shot:

SAUERKRAUT

It’s delicious, crunchy, healthy (if you don’t mind the salt), and fun to say. I’ve had quite a fondness for sauerkraut for some time now, but it wasn’t until last week that some googling catapulted sauerkraut into first place. The stuff is fascinating.

True sauerkraut (and I’m not talking about that cabbage+vinegar concoction you find at hot dog stands) is the product of wild fermentation. This means that it ferments without some human coming along and adding a starter culture.

Human intervention is required, however: It’s the human’s job to add the salt! It’s the salt’s job to inhibit the growth of nasty bacteria and to draw liquid out of the cabbage. This liquid will be home to the good bacteria which, evidently, aren’t bothered by all the salt. It is imperative that the cabbage be submerged in the brine and cabbage-juice solution; oxygen will bring too many rowdy bacteria who only want to crash the sauerkraut party.

When the cabbage is submerged, the party can begin. The cabbage already contains the bacteria necessary for fermentation, along with food (sugar!) for the bacteria to eat. Once the original bacteria have created a sufficiently acidic environment, things start to get interesting. Bacteria that enjoy a low pH join the party, and the original bacteria heads home. The sauerkraut becomes progressively more acidic, and a bunch of carbon dioxide is produced as a side-effect of the fermentation. When conditions are acidic enough, a third (and sometimes a fourth) strain of bacteria joins the party and takes over from the last group. Once this whole floral succession is complete, the sauerkraut consists of cabbage, lactic acid, and Lactobacillus bacteria—a healthy, friendly bacteria for your digestive system.

Work Cited:

Lindquist, John. “Applied Food Microbiology.” Jlindquist.net. 10 Jan. 2009. http://www.jlindquist.net/generalmicro/324sauerkraut.html.

In August I packed up my life and moved to New York City for school. I quickly realized I was not in Georgetown anymore, this would take some getting used to! In an effort to find something familiar I began the most important quest of my life — the quest for mac and cheese! Here’s what I learned:

According to New Yorkers the best mac and cheese could be found at S’Mac in the Lower East Side. Not being a very far walk from my apartment and school, I wrangled some friends and some strangers into lunch and we made our way east. The restaurant is nice enough, small like all businesses in the area, but painted all in bright, warm colors so it made for a perfect respite from the rain outside. Here comes the exciting part; there are about a MILLION different kinds of mac and cheese for the eating. My faves include “La Mancha” (made with Manchego, fennel and onions) which tastes like a glass of fine wine, and “La Parisienne” (Brie, shitake mushrooms and figs) but other contenders include the “Cheeseburger”, “Napoletana” and the “Cajun”. The portion sizes range from snack sized to party sized and everything in between, and if you can’t decide on just one kind, you could always try the sampler plate of 8 varieties! Oh but it gets better; if your tummy tries to outwit you on a daily basis like mine does, you can get a leg up on it at S’Mac and make any dish gluten free! Top it off with a single serve lactose pill from the man behind the counter and you’re set. Comfort food without a flaw!

Not one to make a choice without all available information, I had to try the competition. A quick trip to Herald Square had me eating at Supermac. Basically the same deal as S’Mac, but with different flavor combinations and no gluten free alternatives. That being said, I much prefer their basic mac to S’Mac’s.

Both restaurants are reasonably cheap for good sized portions, and both deliver (which has come in increasingly handy as the work load gets heavier at school and nights spent in the studio creep closer to mornings).

Other places worth mentioning, include the cafe at the corner of Bleeker and Broadway which boasts a good bowl full, but only during the week as the weekend brunch is apparently a very big deal in NYC, and doesn’t include mac and cheese. Finally, try the mac and cheese at Cafeteria (17th and 7th Ave) or if you are feeling adventurous, they’ve also got mac and cheese spring rolls with smoked Gouda dipping sauce…but I will talk more about Cafeteria in the near future.

Clean up your act (or just your kitchen) with these environmentally conscious and economically sensible solutions.

Scented Scouring Powder

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup borax
• 1/4 cup dried sage leaves, finely ground
• 1/4 cup dried rosemary leaves, finely ground

Drain Cleaner

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup washing soda
• 3 Tbsp cream of tartar
• 4 cups cider vinegar, heated to the boiling point

1. Combine baking soda, washing soda and cream of tartar.
2. Shake mixture slowly down the drain. Follow with hot vinegar.
3. Wait several minutes, then rinse with hot tap water.

All-Purpose Spray Cleaner

• 1 tsp liquid castile soap
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 cup water

1. Combine in a spray bottle.
2. Shake before using.

Car Polish

1. Give your car a normal wash.
2. Allow to dry.
3. Then sprinkle corn flour over the paint.
4. Polish it in and off to get that extra sheen.

Look no futher than your kitchen pantry for environmentally-friendly, you-friendly beauty remedies.

Before applying any new product to your whole face, always conduct a test run on a small patch of skin.

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Make homemade skin care fresh each time due to the absence of preservatives.

ACV Exfoliating Solution

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (adjust according to skin tolerance and sensitivity)
• 1 Tbsp water

Apply mixture to your skin with a cotton ball (be careful to avoid the eye area) and rinse with lukewarm water after five minutes.

Neutralise with a very mild baking soda and water solution at the first sign of irritation.

Antioxidant Toner

• 1 Tbsp cooled green tea
• 1/8 tsp ascorbic acid (vitamin C powder)

Dissolve the vitamin powder in tea and apply sparingly with a cotton ball.

Allow a few minutes for proper absorption into the skin and follow with a moisturizer, if desired.

All skin is different—adjust the recipe according to your skin’s tolerance. Use less vitamin powder if your skin is sensitive.

Neutralise with a very mild baking soda and water solution at the first sign of irritation.

Sugar Scrub

• 1 Tbsp white granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp water for oily skin, or oil for dry skin

Massage into your skin with gentle, circular motions.

Don’t scrub hard—let the sugar do the work.

Rinse with warm water and follow up with a soap, cleanser, or moisturizer if desired.

A Simple Moisturizer

• 1/2 tsp oil of your choice (look for oils high in polyunsaturated fats, like sunflower or safflower. Jojoba is also a good choice.)

Warm the oil in your hands and apply to freshly cleansed, slightly damp skin.

Allow the oil time to absorb—about five minutes—and blot away any excess with a tissue.

Miscellaneous Tips

• Remove your make-up with olive or coconut oil. Use like you would cold cream.
• Spot-treat blemishes with a 50-50 blend of apple cider vinegar and water. The vinegar helps to disinfect, exfoliate and dry out the blemish.
• Although the grittiness of baking soda seems good for face scrubs, baking soda is too alkaline for regular use; excessive alkalinity upsets the skin’s acid mantle, which is what helps protect our skin from the elements. Only use baking soda on your face to neutralise a product that is too acidic for your skin—and even then, be sure the solution is quite mild. Nobody wants a fizzing science experiment on their face!