word to the wise
Food
Pad thai
Thailand’s most known noodle dish, pad thai
combines cooked rice noodles, tofu, shrimp,
crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, garlic, chiles and
eggs, all stir-fried together. – epicurious.com
WIKIMEDIA
did you know? Pluots and apriums are hybrid fruits that are part plum and part apricot. – fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov
Food for
thought
TIP OF THE WEEK
Avoid high-fat diet
during pregnancy
A high-fat diet during
pregnancy may program
a woman’s baby for future
diabetes, even if the mother
is not obese or diabetic, says
a new University of Illinois
study published in the Journal of Physiology.
“We found that exposure
to a high-fat diet before
birth modifies gene expression in the livers of offspring
so they are more likely to
overproduce glucose, which
can cause early insulin resistance and diabetes,” said
Yuan-Xiang Pan, a University of Illinois professor of
nutrition.
The high-fat diet that
caused these changes was
a typical Western diet that
contained 45 percent fat,
which is not at all unusual,
he said.
Pregnant women should
consume a balanced diet low
in saturated fats, which are
usually found in fattier cuts
of meat, fast foods, pastries
and desserts.
But they should also consume appropriate amounts
of healthy fats, including
good sources of omega-3
and -6 fatty acids, which
are important for their
baby’s brain and neuron
development.
DOG DAYS
Enjoy regional hot dog recipes this July Fourth
By Kathryn Rem
GateHouse News Service
Mustard and pickle relish are
OK on hot dogs, but to make
them special for the Fourth of
July, dress them geographically
– the way street vendors and
ballpark hawkers do throughout
America.
Chicago hot dogs are layered
with yellow mustard, bright
green relish, chopped raw onions, tomatoes, pickles, sport
peppers and a dash of celery salt.
Cucumbers are optional. Don’t
forget the poppy-seed bun, preferably steamed.
Kansas City frankfurters come
with sauerkraut and melted Swiss
cheese on a sesame-seed bun.
In New York, you’ll find them
topped with cooked onions and
brown mustard. In Atlanta, expect to find coleslaw on your dog.
A Pittsburgh hot dog starts
with a hoagie-style bun covered
with yellow mustard and a layer
of hot, meatless chili. A crusty
roll also reigns in Hawaii, where
the frank is covered with crushed
pineapple and teriyaki sauce.
New Orleans’ dog lovers top
them with tangy barbecue sauce,
grilled onions and fresh tomatoes. And in Texas, you’re likely
to find chili, cheese and jalapenos inside the bun.
“You can turn a plain hot dog
into almost anything,” said Tom
Super, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based National Hot
Dog and Sausage Council. “Remember that a hot dog is already
cooked, so you can boil, steam,
grill, pan-fry or microwave it in
a wet paper towel. There’s really
no wrong way to cook it.”
Americans ate more than 7
billion hot dogs in 2010. More
than 150 million of those were
consumed around the Fourth of
July, the No. 1 holiday for hot
dog sales.
Chicago dog
Chicago-Style Hot Dog
• 1 all-beef hot dog
• 1 poppy-seed hot dog bun
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
PHOTO BY HEBREW
• 1 tablespoon sweet green
NATIONAL HOT DOGS
pickle relish
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 4 tomato wedges
• 1 dill pickle spear
• 2 sport peppers
• 1 dash celery salt
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, place hot dog
in water, and cook 5 minutes or until done. Remove hot dog
and set aside. Carefully place a steamer basket into the pot and
steam the hot dog bun 2 minutes or until warm.
Place hot dog in the steamed bun. Pile on the toppings in this
order: yellow mustard, sweet green pickle relish, onion, tomato
wedges, pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt. The tomatoes should be nestled between the hot dog and the top of the
bun. Place the pickle between the hot dog and the bottom of
the bun.
– www.allrecipes.com