Sweet Potatoes: American Nourishment for Thousands of Years

Evidence from a Peruvian cave indicates that sweet potatoes have been eaten by people for at least 10,000 years. When Columbus landed in the Caribbean Islands, he found people eating sweet potatoes and he brought them back to Europe.

By the 16th century, the Spanish had spread sweet potatoes to the Philippines and the Portuguese had spread them to southern Asia and Africa.

Around this time cultivation of sweet potatoes became common in the Southern United States. Enslaved Africans working on plantations noticed the similarities between the sweet potatoes and a food they had in Africa called nyami or anyinam. They began calling sweet potatoes yams. The name yam became common, although the yams in Africa are actually from a different plant.

I have always loved sweet potatoes, so at lunch today I was browsing through the whole foods bakery when I found enticing loaves of sweet potato bread. I must admit that I bought a loaf...I didn't bake it myself. I brought the loaf home and everyone loved it. It is slightly sweet because there is some sugar in it, and it has a wonderful texture as you can see in the picture on the right.

There is a great recipe for sweet potato bread at http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/08/bread-baking-sweet-potato-bread.html. I hope to try baking some soon.

Nutritionally, sweet potatoes have a lot to offer.They are rich in vitamins A and C and manganese, copper, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and iron. They have anti-inflammatory qualities and contain proteins with significant antioxidant effects.


You can find out more about their health effects at http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64.

Tteok: Korean New Year's Treat

Rice cakes hold a beloved position in Korean culture. They are used throughout the year to celebrate many important rites of passage. There are about 200 different kinds and there is even a museum dedicated to them. They have been part of the Korean culture for about 2000 years!

On New Year's Day, white garae tteok are commonly  eaten in tteokguk soup. This white tteok has a lot of positive energy or yang, and helps infuse the New Year with yang.

Red scares away ghosts, goblins, and other scary creatures, so it is used on Dongji which is the winter solstice with the longest night of the year. Rainbow colored rice cakes help celebrate a child's first birthday.

 

I am looking forward to experimenting with making these one day soon. I will let you know how it goes!!

For more information about these wonderful treats, visit:  http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=630938

http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=288590

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2872340

http://koreanfood-koreanet.blogspot.com/2009/10/would-tteok-or-rice-cake-by-any-other.html

Mochi: Japanese New Year's Treat

The rolls on the plate are ginger crackers, and the green items are called mochi. I found them at the Korean Grocery that I visited last night.

The mochi are particularly important in both Korean and Japanese society. They are sticky rice cakes, and these are Green Tea Mochi. They are quite chewy, almost like gummy bear candy in texture. The taste is very nice, slightly sweet with a mild green tea blend.

The mochitsuki is a custom in Japanese and Japanese-American households. It is a gathering, usually directly before Japanese New Year, when friends and families come together to pound the glutinous rice to make the mochi. The first step is washing the rice, then leaving it to soak overnight. Early the next morning the rice is steamed in wooden steaming frames called seiro.

After the rice is steamed, it is dumped into a mortar called an usu.The rice is pounded with a wooden mallet called a kine until resulting mass in smooth and shiny. Between pounds a person quickly sticks his or her hand into the usu to turn the rice mass over. This job must take skill to avoid injury!

Small parts of the mass are pinched off and formed into bun shapes, then set aside to cool. They are then ready to eat.

Ozoni, which is mochi soup, is usually eaten by the Japanese as the first meal of the new year to insure a happy New Year.

More details can be found at http://janmstore.com/mochitsuki.html.

Acorns: Hearty Flour Source

Acorns are all over my back yard, so I was curious about how they had been used as food in the past. Acorn flour is one way to access their nutrients, so I bought some at the Korean Market. I then needed a good recipe, so I found a wonderful Acorn flour Cake recipe at http://honest-food.net/veggie-recipes/acorns-nuts-and-other-wild-starches/acorn-flour-cake/.

This recipe calls for a mixture of wheat flour and acorn flour, and is easy to make! The acorn flour is darker than wheat flour, and the kind I bought was finely ground. There is honey and some sugar in this recipe. I baked them in a cupcake pan with baking cups lining the pan. I did this because the recipe I was using sometimes makes a crumbly cake, so I thought this would make them less messy.

Acorn flour is high in manganese and vitamin B6. It can be used to replace chestnut flour in recipes. Acorns contain toxins, so it is important to remove the toxins during processing. I took the easy route and bought my acorn flour after it had been processed. But acorns can be collected in the wild and processed through grinding then washing and drying.

The picture on the left shows my batter with the acorn and wheat flour mixed. Notice how dark it looks.

Native Americans and many other people around the world have historically used acorn flour. Some of these people baked their acorn flour bread with clay included in the dough. The mineralogy of the acorn bread clays is effective in adsorbing toxins and adding trace minerals to the bread according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The clays were found to reduce the toxicity of acorns by as much as 77%, and to potentially provide 38% of the adult RDA of Calcium. For more information go to http://www.goodhealthnaturally.com/files/Eating%20Clay%20-%20Lessons%20from%20Worldwide%20Cultures.pdf.

The main toxins in acorns are tannic acids, which luckily can be removed by leaching with water, particularly warm water. These toxins can also make dogs sick and could be fatal in high concentrations. Different kinds of acorns carry different concentrations of tannic acids.

Acorns were mentioned as nuts in a Chinese agricultural text in the 6th century. As much as 20% of the diets of some people in Spain and Italy were acorns before 1900. For more information about human consumption of acorns, go to http://www.ecocomposite.org/native/acorns.htm.

The picture shows my muffins immediately out of the oven! I then dusted them with powdered sugar. The taste was quite appealing to me. It was nutty and hearty. These will make nice breakfast muffins.



Koreans eat dotorimuk which is a jelly made from acorn flour (starch). They also use acorns for noodles called dotori guksu. These might be my next projects!


For more information about acorns and acorn flour, go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/dining/13acorn.html
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3084/1
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/acorn.html
http://www.aragriculture.org/horticulture/ornamentals/toxic_plants.htm
http://www.caf.wvu.edu/~forage/acorns/acorns.htm.

Bun Dae Ki: Silkworm Snacks

I was in a Korean Market last night and came across a shelf with cans of boiled silkworm pupae. This made me curious, so I bought a can and brought it home. I opened the can and was at first repulsed by what I saw. It is not really a cultural norm in the United States to eat insects...and I guess my initial reaction confirmed my thorough indoctrination into my country's culture.

The scientist in me had to examine them more closely, so I cut one in half, and noticed the developing insect inside the crunchy shell. They were packed in brine, which I discarded...then after taking the picture on the left...I knew it was time to try one. They have a nutty smell with undertones of something I can't find a word to describe.

The nutritional information label indicates that one serving is almost one entire can and has 168 calories. This same serving has 20 grams of protein, so they are nutritious!

I knew I had to be fast, so I popped one in my mouth and bit down on it. A squirt of briny fluid was released in my mouth. The outer covering was crunchy, but the insides were kind of mealy. It almost tasted like some corn tortilla chips I have tasted, but a bit stronger.

I wondered whether these pupae were left over from silk production, so I did some investigating on the Web. I found this photograph demonstrating the relationship

between the cocoon and the pupa. It reminds me of a time when I took a spinning workshop and we were working with silk. During the workshop, we began working with the fibers at different stages in the processing. Our last project was to take the cocoons and process them to get our own fibers for spinning. We soaked the cocoons, and hastily discarded the pupae.

I admire Asian cultures for their efficiency in using all parts of this resources. It makes a lot of sense to me to utilize the pupae, an important protein source that they get in abundance when producing silk for cloth.

All Souls Day Celebrations

I was so absorbed in the beauty of Dia de los Muertos, that I almost forgot about the All Souls Day Celebrations in other cultures. The image above is from Wikipedia, and shows a Polish cemetery during Zaduszki or All Souls Day. This day, November 2, is reserved for remembering loved ones who have died but are in purgatory, waiting to go to heaven. On November 2, they are thought to come back to Earth. Poles give their priests notes with names of their deceased loved ones. The priests read the names on All Souls Day. People place candles on the graves in the evening and use the day to honor their ancestors.


Bread is often placed on the graves in Poland and the recipes are remarkably similar to those for Pan de los Muertos. Germans, Belgians, French, Austrians, Spaniards, Italians, Hungarians, and Slavs are among the people who enjoy this tradition. All of them use an egg-rich bread that has some sweetness and citrus flavors. 


In some parts of central Europe boys receive an All Souls Day cake shaped in the form of a hare, and girls recieve one in the shape of a hen. All Souls Day cakes or bread are made of braided strands of sweet dough and are called Heiligenstriezel in German, Strucel Swiateczne in Polish, and Mindszenti Kalácska in Hungarian. In Italy, Ossi di Morto, Bones of the Dead, are cookies that are prepared on All Souls Day.


There are many other special traditions on All Souls Day. 

• Some Western Europeans prepare an All Souls Day meal of cooked beans or peas or lentils, called "soul food," which they afterward serve to the poor together with meat and other dishes. 

• In Poland, farmers hold a solemn meal on the evening of All Souls'' Day, with empty seats and plates ready for the "souls" of departed relatives.  

• In the Alpine provinces of Austria poor children go from house to house, recite a prayer or singing a hymn for the holy souls, and receive small loaves of the "soul bread" in reward.  

• In parts of Spain people eat a special pastry called "Bones of the Holy" (Huesos de Santo). In Catalonia All Souls'' pastry is called Panellets (little breads).

• Hungarians call the "Day of the Dead" Halottak Napja and invite orphan children into the family for All Souls Days, and serve the children generous meals and give them new clothes and toys. Also, Hungarians care for graves that do not have living relatives to care for them.

• In Brittany, farmers kneel bareheaded in fervent prayer by graves of their departed relatives on Jour des morts (Day of the Dead). Then they sprinkle the grave with holy water, and finally, before leaving, pour milk over the grave as nourishment "for the holy souls." In every house a generous portion of the dinner is served before an empty seat and afterward given to the hungry.

• In Poland, to welcome the souls of the departed, the people leave doors and windows open on All Souls Day.

• In rural Austria, the souls are said to wander through the forests on All Souls Day, and the children are told to pray aloud so the souls will be comforted.

12 Food Dangers for Kitties

They reach high counter tops in one leap, scare huge dogs with one fierce hiss, and pounce on small rodents in one second. Their antics make us think of them as super-felines, but they are not immune to many dangers lurking in our kitchens. 

They charm us with their bright eyes and beg us to share our delicacies with them....but mostly we should resist. Many harmless-looking foods can create major problems for our beloved cats. 

This is a list of some common human foods that can harm cats.

1. Onions, garlic, and related root vegetables contain substances that can destroy feline red blood cells and cause Heinz body anemia.

2. Raw green tomatoes and potatoes contain bitter alkaloids that can cause serious lower gastrointestinal symptoms. Tomato and potato leaves and stems also contain large amounts of these harmful alkaloids.

3. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is a central nervous system and cardiovascular system stimulant, and can cause vomiting and even death. Some animals are attracted to chocolate because of the sweetness, but we need to protect them from their desire...for their own good!

4. Grapes and raisins have mostly been documented as toxic for dogs, however they are also most likely harmful for cats. Little research has been done on grape toxicity in cats, but the ASPCA recommends avoiding them for both cats and dogs.

5. Xylitol, a common sweetener in candy, can cause lethargy, liver failure, and loss of coordination in cats.

6. Fat scraps from meat can cause pancreatitis in cats, and bones can cause choking.

7. Raw eggs can contain salmonella and E. coli which make cats sick. They also contain avidin, an enzyme that interferes with the absorption of biotin, a B vitamin that is needed for healthy skin and fur.

8. Raw fish and meat can also contain salmonella and E. coli, which make cats sick. Raw fish contains an enzyme that destroys the B vitamin thiamine. Lack of thiamine causes convulsions and even comas.

9. Coffee and tea contain caffeine which makes cats restless and in large quantities can be fatal to cats.

10. Tuna can be addictive for cats. If it is available, cats will eat only tuna and suffer from malnutrition.

11. Dog food as an only food source for cats will also lead to malnutrition because it does not contain the correct nutrition for cats.

12. Milk is well tolerated by kittens, but many adult cats are lactose intolerant. Adults can get most of their nutrition from food and should avoid milk.

9GZNU5K5U3NB