Food Blabber

Just as a quick note on the pictures on this post. Try and find ham, hot dogs, bacon, etc without nitrates and nitrites added! I did here is what I found so far. This brand is also awesome tasting. Nitrates and Nitrites= bad news. Check this out: Sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate are two closely related chemicals used for centuries to preserve meat. While nitrate itself is harmless, it is readily converted to nitrite. When nitrite combines with compounds called secondary amines, it forms nitrosamines, extremely powerful cancer-causing chemicals. The chemical reaction occurs most readily at the high temperatures of frying. Nitrite has long been suspected as being a cause of stomach cancer. Look for nitrite-free processed meats -- some of which are frozen, refrigeration reduces the need for nitrites -- at some health food and grocery stores. But regardless of the presence of nitrite or nitrosamines, the high-fat, high-sodium content of most processed meats should be enough to discourage you from choosing them.

So Mandi has come up with some ideas that I think are creative and awesome. Some will take time and others we can implement almost right away. So for starters Mandi has suggested that I make my home made Thai curries, jar them up, design a cool logo and sticker, and sell them. I think this is a great idea and will open the blog and us to new people.

She has also suggested for us to do a live feed of us cooking online for people to watch. I was hesitant as first but then this grew on me quite a bit. This will be a long term goal and we would have to get a very good HD webcam. If we do not do things live we were thinking about filming us cooking then posting it online.

Even the best Chef's curse and groan at things not going right. I stress to never rush cooking! Relax and go with the flow. If something does not turn out right when you are experimenting its ok, take a deep breath and fix it. Most of the time I have been able to fix things when I did something wrong especially when I am calm. Also I have come to know very well when stir frying to always use small batches. You do not want to steam your food. When I first started using my woks I did this from time to time and realize wait my veggies and rice or noodles need to be cooked but mushy!

I have also come to realize that most people use way too much salt when cooking including me. Salt can be hidden too if you are not paying attention. Some marinara sauce and other Italian sauces can be packed full of sodium. Soy sauce is full of sodium, so is fish sauce, or any other Asian sauce, oyster, hoisin etc. I recommend using less or cutting with water or other liquids like lime juice, coconut milk and son on. Use fresh herbs and spices more than salt. Salt should be an accent to flavor not the majority. Most of our favorite places to eat like Olive Garden, Chile's, Red Lobster, and so on have tons of sodium in there foods. Of course fast food joints use salt and lots of it. Salt is good for you and we need it both sea salt and iodized table salt but in small amounts. When people have heart attacks or suffer from congestive heart failure a good doctor tells the patient very low sodium all the time! So be smart with salt. Educate yourself on what the recommended daily allowances are and take into consideration the naturally occurring salts found in food.

Fresh ingredients lets talk this for a second. I have come to be a bit of a fresh ingredient enthusiast. I don't have the money to buy all organic or hydroponically grown yet but in the future when I have kids I want to give them the very best nature has to offer. Fresh ingredients is one of the key steps to having amazing tasting food period. Eventually I want to be able to buy from local growers so that my food is very nutrient rich. Most produce loses quite bit of its healthy components the longer they sit, the more they are processed, handled, and shipped. Do not be afraid of fresh ingredients. Using fresh everything does not mean you will be spending hours in the kitchen. Invest in a food processor, some good knives, and learn proper cutting techniques. All of this will cut down on time. Prep fresh foods before hand. Rinse produce off as soon as you get them soon. Cut up your veggies and seal them tight and use often so that nothing spoils. I am telling you fresh ingredients can make or break an amazing cuisine offering.

Also MSG=no good in my book. This ingredient should not be used at all in my opinion. Many people are allergic to it and it is known to cause some serious health issues if consumed in large amounts. Stay away from it if you can. Even Doritos has it. I will not buy anything with MSG. The oyster sauce I use for asian cuisine is Wok Mei brand found at Whole Foods. I also make sure I get premium soy sauces and premium fish sauces. No MSG should ever be in fish sauce, oyster sauce, or soy sauce, but a lot of what you will find at the Asian market is full of it. MSG finds its way into curries as well. So look for that NO MSG printing on the labels.

Seafood is amazing when cooked right. Get fresh fish, if it smells really fishy then most likely its not fresh. The longer a fish sits the more the oils come out of the wood work and the less fresh tasting the fish will be in general. Try to buy right off the boat if you can! If not then make sure you pick your seafood wisely. Most people do not smell their seafood before they buy it. Thats one of the first things I do when buying seafood is I ask the guy if I can smell it. No I don't literally hold it up to my nose or near my mouth to contaminate the thing, I just have them hold it and I waft it extensively. Most of the time they look at me weird but who cares smell your fish and other seafood. Oh one more thing on this matter as an fyi no matter good that fried catfish or tilapia is please be aware that most of these fish are farmed raised in over crowded ponds and are not living in the most healthy environment. Go to a fish farm sometime and you will see what I mean. Not to say there are not good fish farms because there are plenty but there are just as many disgusting ones out there serving up your next catfish or tilapia dish. The same goes for certain species of trout, and some salmon species as well. Again ask where they get it from and research that grower!

One last thing, use more chiles! Many people can't handle hot chiles. Well try to start eating some of the more milder varieties. They are packed full of vitamins and have been shown to help with arthritis, joint, and muscle pains. What do you think is in most of those muscle creams you use for sore muscles and stuff, its a lab version of capsaicin which is the chemical that gives heat to certain chiles. If you are too wimpy its ok eat your bell peppers and sweet peppers just the same.