Chef Gaynol

Bran Muffins with Golden Raisins

There's something about bran muffins.  They just sound so very healthy and I always feel slightly more virtuous when I order one.  The problem is that most commercial bran muffins pack a healthy dose of sugar and very little actual bran.  Take Otis Spunkmeyer, their Harvest Bran Muffin contains 19 grams of sugar and 10 grams of fat.  I might be able to live with that, but what freaks me the hell out is that individually wrapped muffins have a 35 day shelf life.  Did you get that?  You can keep these babies on your shelf longer than a month with no loss of quality.  If you run across an unwrapped  Spunkmeyer muffin at a coffee shop, they have a 14 day shelf life.  Mind you this is after they've been defrosted, so who knows when they were originally manufactured?   No thank you. I've had relationships that didn't last that long.  I don't need that kind of commitment from a muffin.

Garlic Hummus

Anyone else trying to cut down on the amount of meat and saturated fat in their diet?  I'd raise my hand but at this point it's covered in barbecue sauce from my baby back ribs.  I use to be a whole lot better at making vegetarian meals than I am now.  I don't know if I just got lazy or bored or maybe a little of both, but I'm back on the bandwagon now and trying to make more meat free recipes. 

Did you know that you're much more likely to keep your New Year's Resolution if you set a specific time to work on your goal? I bring this up because I ran across a great site that I wanted to pass on to you all (or y'all if you're in the south, or youse guys if your related to me by marriage.)   The site is Meatless Mondays,  which is joint project begun in 2003 by the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 

The site encourages Americans to make Monday meatless in an effort to reduce saturated fat in our diets.  Sounds like a worthy goal to me!  You can go to the site for recipes, nutritional information and if you want, sign up for their weekly e-newsletter, with the latest health news, product recommendations, tips and coupons.

This recipe is one of my old veggie standbys.  I don't know why I haven't made it in so long.  You can serve this as an appetizer with pita bread for dipping or take it along as a lunch and dip all kinds of veggies into it, carrots, celery, red pepper strips, they all make great carriers for this high protein dish. 

My favorite way to serve hummus is inside a pocket pita bread with sliced cucumbers and lettuce.  Yummmm.....  I'm particularly partial to Basson Bakery Original Pocket Pita Bread.  It's made here in Washington, but I don't know if it's available nationally.  They also don't have an Internet presence (Hey Basson!  Get with the program, it is 2009, you need a website!)   If you want to stuff your hummus inside a piece of bread make sure your pita is the "pocket" variety and not the flat Greek variety.

National Day of Service - Operation No Kid Hungry

"Everybody can be great.  Because anybody can serve.  You don't have to have a college degree to serve.  You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve.  You only need a heart full of grace.  A soul generated by love." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Share Our Strength has launched a brand new campaign to raise funds to help end childhood hunger.  "Operation No Kid Hungry" responds to President-elect Obama's call to action to end
childhood hunger by 2015.

Share Our Strength has partnered with AT&T to offer two great ways that you
can support and participate in "Operation No Kid Hungry":

1.Donate by text: Text "SHARE" to 20222 on your mobile device to donate $5.
AT&T will match all text donations up to $100,000. Help Share Our Strength meet this
challenge grant! Find out more here.

2.Hold a food drive: Beginning January 19th, a national day of community
service, help feed those in need by holding your own community food drive.

3. Volunteer at a food bank.  Go here to find a food bank in your community.

Readers,  I know you've got big hearts and souls that light the darkness.  Let's make sure that no child goes to bed without dinner or has to start school on an empty stomach.  This is your call to serve, make sure you answer.

Blog Giveaway

Psst!  Would you like to win this adorable apron or bag, along with some chocolate?  Then surf on over to Dog Hill Kitchen before midnight January 16, 2009 and leave a comment.  Dog Hill Kitchen is celebrating her first blogiversary so get in on the fun!

Top Ten Food Trends for 2009

Alright it time for my annual predictions about what's going to be hot in the food world this coming year.

10)  Say goodbye to Styrofoam and hello to compostable containers. As of January first, Seattle has officially outlawed polystyrene and Styrofoam containers  and I expect other cities to hop on the decomposing bandwagon.  One of the biggest employers in the region has been using compostable utensils and containers for the last six months and estimates that it is keeping  20.3 million pieces of cutlery and more than 40.6 million plates, cups and bowls out of the landfill.  I'm really glad to see movement in this direction, since one of my post apocalyptic nightmares includes being chased by a giant cockroach wielding a plastic spork.

9) Though I'm a big fan of Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz, I think this is not the year for complicated cooking techniques.  I think cooking sous vide and molecular gastronomy are trends for a more affluent times.  Both these men do amazing things with food but it's going to be simpler preparations that win the hearts and minds of home cooks.

8) Vitamin enhanced food- Enough all ready with trying to convince me that potato chips, soft drinks and cookies are health food because the manufacturer pumped it full of vitamins.  Coca Cola recently got it's hand slapped by the FDA over it's Diet Coke Plus which made the dubious claim of having "several essential nutrients."  If you're worried about vitamin intake eat real food, fruits, veggies, whole-grain bread or take a supplement.  Don't fall victim to a food company trying to convince you you're doing something good for your health by drinking a soda.