Coming Soon!

I've been at work revamping my blog. I have the page almost done, and will have an article up Wednesday. I think it looks pretty cool so far. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks!

http://keithstestblogthisisjustatest.blogspot.com/

Reverse Vandalism

My post about food network reviews was vandalized a few weeks ago. I decided to leave it, thinking it was some form of blogger karma. I recorded this gem, which I was going to add to the defaced post.  When I logged in to add the new video clip, I discovered the posting had been restored. Thankfully it didn't resemble the monkey saint! 

I should leave well enough alone but she makes it so easy...

These two things are not like the other:

Sandra is at it again, this time with Cherry Pie Filling from a can, (see HFCS post) and whipped cream cheese. Our hostess mixes these two ingredients to fill her "pancrepes" while explaining that she prefers her homemade creation over a store-bought version of same.       

Wha?? 

Two store bought items combined together at home does not constitute home-made. I know, I need a more productive outlet for my sharp tongue, but her use of mayonnaise in a recipe for Shrimp & Grits put me over the edge, and I have been on the offensive ever since.     

Here is the clip of her making crepes...for some reason she calls them pancakes. 

Coming soon:  A new look & fresh design!

Think High Fructose Corn Syrup is just a no-no? You better sit down...

HFCS            

You probably don’t want to read this post. Why would you, you’re aware it’s bad for you. You promise to make more of an effort to read labels-whatever, leave you alone and go away…
But do you really know just how bad it is? I’m guessing a majority of people think it’s bad,
like French fries, or ice cream, but it’s not.  It’s much worse.  I hope you’ll take a minute
to read this post, I think it's important, and I promise to make it quick and painless. 

Do you know what ATP is? I didn’t either; Adenosine triphosphate is a chemical compound present in 
all living cells in your body.  It functions as the primary energy source for cellular function.  

Remember mitochondria from high school biology?  Mitochondria are the tiny power plants that keep everything running inside the individual cell, ATP is their energy source.    

Not all sugars are the same, and they are not metabolized in the same way. Fructose is referred to as just another type of sugar; this is where controversy and confusion begin. 

This is done on purpose. 

There are further distinctions about sugars; for more

 info check the sources under biology tab, or wikipedia. 

High Fructose Corn Syrup is made from cornstarch that has been converted to corn syrup. The syrup is then enzymatically altered into fructose, which amplifies sweetness.

Sucrose (common sugar) is composed of equal parts glucose and fructose.

Fructose is derived from fruit and fruit juice, it usually contains nutrients and fiber.

Food Glucose is sugar derived from food starches.

Blood Glucose refers to a combination of sugars in the bloodstream used by the body.     

The important difference is how the sugars are metabolized. 
This study in The European Journal of Clinical nutrition found an important distinction between fructose and glucose.  They discovered when fructose is being metabolized, it causes depletion of ATP levels in the liver, kidney and intestines, which in turn, triggers an inflammatory response in epithelial tissue.  

More troubling is that HFCS causes insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2Diabetes.  The study also points to a distinction between the glycemic index, and the fructose index. Glycemic (glucose) stimulates insulin, whereas fructose (HFCS) inhibits insulin production.

In Summary:   High Fructose Corn Syrup robs you of energy, can give                                                         you diabetes, and makes you obese.  

Below are a few extra facts, links, and charts I used as references.  My hope is that the average person will become more vigilant when it comes to the products they buy.  
Sadly, being on a shelf at your local market is no guarantee 
of product safety.   

Courtesy Cycling Hall of Fame

This chart is similar to one listed on the CDC website a few years ago, but I was unable to locate it. The chart suggests a relationship to the rise in use of HFCS with the rise in rates of obesity in the United States. 

    

Obesity in the United States had reached staggering proportions by 2004; 66% of the adult population in our country was overweight or obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics and the CDC.

Fun fact!   HFCS had a small role in the Watergate Scandal. 

Not convinced? 

Put on your foil hat and click here.

The Daily Kos ran a comprehensive article

detailing the adverse health effects directly attributed to HFCS, in addition to the 

billions spent in healthcare. 

I hope they remembered to include taxpayer subsidies to GMO corn. 

There is a ton of information on this subject available. I chose the journal 
article for the reason that it highlights information being studied outside of the United States, 
and presumably less subject to influence. 

    

There Be Dragons in Yer Grog!

Arrrgh!
There's too much ballast to make port by Tuesday, so here be a preview.

Amy Winehouse Poem + creative commons license

I wrote a free form poem for poetry class about 

Amy Winehouse. I thought I would post it 

and add a creative commons license as well.

Lioness

A raspy, baleful voice

lonely and vulnerable

   exposed

Sonorous and sensual

yet, tortured

Nicotine stained words born from injury and kissed with beauty,

a whiskey scented melody escapes the darkness                            to fill the air

only to be replenished                                         and escape again

Diamonds flowing out of agony    exposed

The raspy voice of a little girl cries out in need

someone to watch over her, for Daddy to comfort her

an injured soul loudly wails. Transformed, a Jezebel unleashed

against the silent reply

Her beautiful pain, an inner darkness

projected onto faces in a crowd

Faces reflecting the darkness and pain

bear witness to the executioner, as she

slowly, exquisitely, carries out the sentence   

Tragedy and Irony threw her a party,

Cliché chose the theme.  Ecstasy arrived

with Cocaine and Vodka, then Heroin..

floating behind the blurry

membrane, safely ensconced in a womb,

protected from her torments she is embraced

by the numbing hazy warmth of Cruel friends

and cold comfort unaware, she drifts

away, peaceful at last 

New Friends & Iced Coffee

The man seated next to us had just finished eating his dinner then moved a few plates forward to make room for a laptop computer.  When the waiter arrived to clear away the plates, the man made a request we were unable to hear. Minutes later, the waiter returned with a steaming café cortado, and glass containing a few large ice cubes. We watched as he added sugar to the cortado and stirred it briskly with the tiny spoon. He dumped the cortado onto the ice without spilling a drop, and began to enjoy his iced drink. We had been to this restaurant several times, and had visited Spain before, but we had not seen this familiar combination outside of New England.  When we asked for iced coffee before, and in Spanish, we were presented with such a sense of bewilderment, that we just gave up trying. The man noticed our fascination with his ritual and smiled, he asked in perfect English if we thought his was a strange custom.  We became fast friends over discussions of food, and various customs of the Catalans and the Spanish, politics and travel.

We made new friends that evening in Barcelona through the simple act of sharing a love of food.  This past summer we were been able to visit, and rekindled our friendship over

food. Jordi and Cristina (our new friends) treated us to a home cooked Catalan meal served on a Saturday afternoon. It was a four hour marathon of tapas, cheeses, seafood, ham, vegetables, white wine, red wine, gintonics and single malt scotch. It was so much food that we took a break and went for a walk at one point. A few days later we traveled up the coast and enjoyed a seaside paella in Cadaqués, which traditionally takes two hours.  I have long thought that sharing food with others is the best way to get to know people, possibly make new friends, and break down barriers.  

I opened a Yelp account and posted a review for Quan's Kitchen this morning, here is the link.

 Link to This Review