They Said It

This week we're back again with "They Said It". Today's theme is quotes from your favourite TV show characters. We take you through some the best TV shows knowing that it can tickle your funny bones, like they should. Here are today's 5!

"Now see, this is what the holidays are all about. Three buddies sitting around, chewing gum" - Cosmo Kramer, Seinfeld. Season 7, Episode 10, The Gum.

"Don't you put words in people's mouths. You put turkey in people's mouths" - Joey Tribbiani, Friends. Season 10, Episode 8, The One With The Late Thanksgiving.

"You know I love to talk about food I'm going to eat while I'm already eating" - Grace, Will and Grace. 

"If you think about it, Greek food isn't that far from Italian food. They share a spice palette.... (chews) and what a civilization is the Greeks'! (chews)... They gave us science, democracy... and little cubes of charred meat that taste like...sweat (spits his food)" - Sheldon Cooper, Big Bang Theory. Season 4, Episode 21, The Agreement Dissection

Jake: I think pizza is the thing I'm going to miss the most when I go to Japan. 

Alan: Really, pizza?

Jake: Yeah, that and sushi
 - Jake and Alan, Two and a Half Men. Season 10, Episode 23, Cows, Prepare to be Tipped.

Happy Tuesday!

Your Foodista

Bitter. Black. Bean Juice

Start off this beautiful Monday with a wonderful poem on coffee written by my dear friend Valmik Kumar.

"Bitter. Black. Bean Juice" 

Bitter. Black. Bean juice.
Liquid morning elixir. Caffeinated wake-up call.
Alarm clock in a mug.
Medicine for the Monday Blues (or any Blues).
Bitter. Black. Bean juice.

A visual delight -
White dissolving into black with languorous inefficiency,
Reaching out, tentatively, with serpentine grace,
Coiling its way with achingly gradual poise
At the base of a styrofoam cup.
 
An olfactory journey -
From the first hint of roasted bean,
Seeping its way unassumingly under cracks and through key-holes
To the long, deep breath, a drag from a liquid cigarette
That cajoles you into awakening.
 
A gustatory exercise -
You can feel the heat before it even reaches your lips
But you dive headfirst into a taste that remains
From the tip of your tongue, where forgotten names lie
To the back of your throat. A bitter tribute to -
 
Bitter. Black. Bean juice.

For more from Valmik, follow him on: http://porcupinearmd.tumblr.com .... he won't disappoint!

Your Foodista

Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Ice-cream Sandwich Recipe

Today's featured recipe is something that you'll die for - Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Ice cream Sandwich! It looks tempting and the picture isn't lying. Happy Sunday everyone!   

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• ¾ cups Ground Hazelnut
• ¼ cups Cocoa Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ cups Granulated Sugar
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
• 2 teaspoons Espresso Powder
• ½ quarts Ice Cream Of Your Choice
• ½ cups Sprinkles Of Your Choice

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Set aside. 
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, ground hazelnuts, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In another bowl, cream the sugars, butter and espresso powder with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.Gradually add the flour mixture into the creamed mixture and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Cover and refrigerate the dough for an hour.
4. On a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut the dough with floured 3-inch round cookie cutters. Put the cookies onto the prepared pans leaving an inch or so between each.
5. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. Remove pans from oven, set them on a rack and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To assemble the sandwiches, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften. Place 2 scoops of ice cream into the centre of the bottom of one cookie. Place another cookie on top of the ice cream. Lightly press to evenly push the ice cream to the outside of the cookie. Use a small spatula to smear the side of the cookie to avoid ice cream to overflow. Set the sandwich aside while you finish assembling the rest. Put the sprinkles on a plate and roll the sides of the sandwiches in sprinkles.
7. Note: If you want a smooth ice cream disc between the cookies, you need to plan ahead and prepare the ice cream the day before. Let the ice cream soften at room temperature for 10 minutes. Line a large shallow pan with plastic wrap leaving a large amount hanging over each side. Scoop and level the softened ice cream into the pan. Fold excess plastic wrap over the ice cream to cover it. Place the pan in the freezer overnight.
8. Take the pan out of the freezer, uncover the ice cream, use the same cookie cutter as you used for the cookies to cut out rounds of ice cream and sandwich the ice cream between two cookies. Continue until all the cookies are sandwiched. Put the sprinkles on a plate and roll the sides of the sandwiches in sprinkles.
9. Serve immediately. Or wrap each sandwich with plastic wrap and place them in the freezer.

P.S - Thank you Oh Sweet Day for this recipe!

Your Foodista

Are Oreos as Addictive as Cocaine?

A recent study from Connecticut College suggests and adds to the growing evidence that food can be addictive. And one these foods, is our beloved Oreo. 

Anyone that has eaten an Oreo knows that they cannot stop at one. Study designer, Jamie Honohan said "even though we associate significant health hazards in taking drugs like cocaine and morphine, high-fat, high-sugar foods may present even more danger because of their accessibility and affordability". The researcher used a two-sided maze and conducted the research on rats. On one side of the maze the researchers gave the rats Oreos and on the other side, rice cakes. The rats could then choose which side they wanted to explore. The rats were left alone and the researchers recorded the amount of time the rats spent on each side of the maze.

The same experiment was conducted on the rats but this time they were injected with cocaine or morphine on one side of the maze and were given a placibo on the other - a shot of saline. Finally, the researchers looked at the effect Oreos' had on the rats' brains by examining the number of neurons in the brain's pleasure centre, or the nucleus accumbens, that were active when consuming the Oreos. 

The results?

The rats that were given Oreos spent just as much time as the rats that were given cocaine on the maze and the cookie-eating rats experienced more pleasure than the cocaine-injected rats. This shows that Oreos may in fact, be as addictive as the drug cocaine and helps us understand why people have trouble controlling their food intake, especially junk food, or food with high amounts of fats and sugars. 

Yet, the validity of the study is still unknown. Results from lab rats cannot be generalized to humans and the labs rats, did not show the traditional "signs of addiction", but showed great amounts of pleasure in consuming the cookies. 

P.S - I'm not asking you to go cold turkey on Oreos, just eat everything in moderation - it ain't gonna do any harm then!

Sources: CNN: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/16/oreos-as-addictive-as-cocaine-in-lab-rat-study/?hpt=he_t5

Your Foodista

Garfield Loves Food

There are a lot of reasons Garfield is one of our favourite cartoons characters. He's charming, he's got a sense of humour so many people don't understand, and most of all he LOVES food. He's lazy and he's overweight and his undeclared love for food is pretty evident. Try putting him on a diet, and you know what'll happen. The Foodista compiled 11 best Garfield food moments and we love him sooo much more after this list! 

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Rejoice! It's Cupcake Day

It seems almost strange that every day of the year, is a day to celebrate food. Today is National Chocolate Cupcake Day. Not any regular cupcake, but only the chocolate types. However strange the tradition may be, it is fun one and here at The Foodista we give you the origin of the delightful treat along with a super easy recipe! 

Sadly, no food historian has been able to tell us the story of the cupcake. Two main theories float, the first, a cake measured in cups. This means that, similar to the pound cake, to make memorization of the recipe easy, measurements were taken in cups. It went something like, one cup flour, three cups sugars, 1/2 cup baking soda and so on. The second theory is that miniature cakes were baked in cups to save time and fuel. Either way, the earliest documented recipe was from the 1800s. Regardless, cupcakes a burst of heaven in your mouth and are enjoyed by all.

So, what's the difference between a cupcake and a muffin? 

Typically, a cupcake is sweeter and comes with frosting while a muffin is more like a savory with no frosting. The lines distinguishing the two are blurred. 

Here's a super easy chocolate cupcake recipe that won't take you more than 15 minutes to make!

Serves 12, or really, just as much as you can eat!

3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
80 grams butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degree Centigrade. Meanwhile, prepare your 12 hole cupcake tray or a 24 mini hole cupcake tray
2. Sift all dry ingredients into a stirring bowl
3. Add the remaining ingredients to a bowl and mix well slowing stirring the ingredients together. If you're using an electric mixture, mix of low
4. Start mixing on medium speed for two minutes
5. Scoop out the mixture and place in the tray
6. Place tray in oven for 15-18 minutes
7. Let it cool and put your frosting it all over it!

Enjoy your cupcakes!

Your Foodista

National Pasta Day

With the ever changing world and the fast, consumer paced lifestyle that we lead, families, college kids and just about everyone else, have no time left to cook meals that would last anywhere between half an hour and three hours. Pasta, is a nutritious almost ready-to-eat meal that everyone enjoys. 

Pasta is perhaps the most versatile food. You can combine with the any vegetable or meat you prefer, any sauce, any style and you can make it spicy, bland or cheesy. On this day (17th October), we celebrate National Pasta Day, and salute the dish that Italy so fondly gave us. Yet, in Italy, The Guardian reports, consumption of pasta has declined. Ironically, outside of Italy, the International Pasta Organization reports, that world consumption of pasta has more than doubled. Globalization, huh? 

Pasta comes in many different forms, shapes and sizes. It is the shape of the pasta that gives it its name. Spaghetti - cord, Vermicelli - little worms, Raviolo - little turnips, Lasagna - broad, sometimes ruffles, ribbons of pasta, Penne - quills, Fettucine - small ribbons and so now. The above were just the common ones. And then you have fresh and dry pasta. This list goes on...

Today, The Foodista gives you the most basic pasta recipe - Broccoli and Spaghetti. Don't worry if some of the below ingredients aren't at handy for you - that's the beauty of pasta. Think of it as a blank canvas waiting to be painted on. You paint it with your tastes, likes and dislikes. 

Broccoli and Spaghetti

Serves 4

1 pound spaghetti
1 large head broccoli
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. Cook the spaghetti in hot, boiling water or as per your packet directions. Drain keeping aside 1/2 cup of the cooking water
2. Cut off the broccoli stalk, peel it and thinly slice it crosswise. Cut the remaining broccoli into shapes and pieces of your choice.
3. Heat of the oil in a skillet on medium heat
4. Add broccoli, garlic, salt and cook until the garlic is lightly brown. You can also check by putting a pork/knife through the broccoli to see if it's tender.
You can add cooked meat over here if you desire
5. Add the pasta, reserved water and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes.
6. Add the red pepper flakes and toss well. Drizzle with remaining oil.
Add olive oil if needed. 

Serve hot!

P.S - You can add whatever you want to pasta at steps 4 and 5. Seriously.

Your Foodista. 

World Food Day

End Poverty, End Hunger, End Malnutrition. 

When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist - Archbishop Helder Camara.

World Food Day (WFD) is celebrated around the world on October 16th. At the start of every year the United Nations along with the FAO gives an official announcement highlighting a theme for each year's WFD. The theme gives focus to observances and helps increase understanding of problems and solutions in the drive to end hunger.

This year Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition will be the focus of World Food Day. If you look at the statistics, the numbers are shocking and the theme, fitting. As of today, according to the United Nations, there are 842 million hungry people on the planet. This means that 1 in every 8 people living on this planet suffers from chronic hunger. To make matters worse, the world's population is increasing by the day, and at these rates farmers will have to increase production by 60% to meet expected demands of food in 2014-2015. This is the Food Security that we're talking about.

Even if farmers do manage to increase production by 60% it does not necessarily translate to consumer's good nutrition. Two billion people around the world lack micro-nutrients that are needed for every human being's good health. This implies that we must start eating more fruits, vegetables and other nutrition-dense foods. 

Considering the fact that most of our food comes from farms that employ pesticides, the Food System is itself, faulty. A Food System refers to the process of consumers getting their food from "farm-to-fork". The marketing, the processing, the packing, the growing and the eating of food all make up the food system. Each aspect of this system is related and has an effect on us and the planet. Unless we start buying and eating healthier, the path will be grim, dusty and lonely. 

What are you doing to help save the planet today?

Useful links to get started: 

http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/about_us

http://www.fao.org/getinvolved/worldfoodday/en/

Your Foodista.

They Said It

Every Tuesday, The Foodista gives you some of the best, worst and funniest quotes on food. From caomedian Aziz Ansari to American author Mark Twain, we bring you the best in "They Said It". While this week's post does not have a theme, look forward to some classy and not-so-classy themes next week!

"Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education" - Mark Twain, American author

"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found" - Clavin Trillin, American journalist, poet and novelist

"Promises and pie-crusts are made to be broken" - Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish satirist

"Americans will eat garbage provided you sprinkle it liberally with ketchup" - Henry James, American born-British writer

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch" - Orson Welles, American actor

"Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It's a grain. It's like, like, grits, but with high self-esteem" James Patterson, American author

Happy Yorkshire Pudding Day!

Every year October 13th is celebrated as Yorkshire Pudding Day. This yummy pudding has its origins in North-east Britain and the first ever recorded recipe of it was in 1737 in a book titled "The Duty of a Woman". At the time the pudding was called Dripping Pudding. This pudding was eaten and served to the poor who could not afford a better meal. It was originally used as a first course meal. In time, it became popular with the aristocrats, elite and even friendly tourists in search for traditional English food. Today, it is eaten around the world!

The Foodista gives you an adaptation of a classic recipe of the Yorkshire Pudding from 1866.

Serves 2. If you double the recipe, add an extra egg to the batter

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
2-4 tablespoons of roast drippings

1. Sift flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add milk, melted butter, and egg. Beat until the batter is smooth with no lumps. Leave it aside for an hour.
2. Heat oven to 450F or 230C. Add roast drippings to a 9x12 inch ceramic casserole dish or anything similar. Coat the dish and heat in the oven for 10 minutes. Muffin pans also work.
3. Pour the batter into the pan, when the pan is hot. Cook for 15 minutes at the above mentioned temperature and then reduce the temperature to 350F or 175C and bake for 15-20 minutes until it's puffy and golden brown.
4. Cut into squares and serve hot.

Happy Yorkshire Pudding Day!

Your Foodista.

Things You Should Know On World Food Day

Food for Thought

World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on October 16th. It aims to end hunger, malnutrition and poverty. The whole word works together in solidarity towards these goals. Here are some facts everyone should know about World Food Day. There's a great need for action on World Food Day and these statistics point to the importance of this day. 

Every year, consumers in industrialized countries waste almost as much food as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (222 million vs 230 million tons)

In the United States, 30% of all food, worth US$48.3 billion, is thrown away each year. It is estimated that about half of the water used to produce this food also goes to waste, since agriculture is the largest human use of water (Jones et al, 2004)

One in eight people in the world today are undernourished. That equals about 870 million people something like the combined population of North America and the European Union.

98% of these undernourished people live in developing countries.

Women, who make up a little more than half the world's population, account for more than 60% of the world's hungry.

Hunger poses a significant economic burden, both on individuals and nations. It has been estimated that the cost to developing nations to tackle the hungry is around $450 billion every year.

In India some 190 million people are being fed with grain produced by overpumping groundwater. For China, there are 130 million on the same boat.

In Nigeria, 27% of families experience foodless day. In India it is 24%, in Peru it is 14%

Stay tuned for more updates on World Food Day.

Until then,

Your Foodista

The Origins of the Classiest Food Pairings

Where did some of the tastiest food pairings come from? The Foodista breaks six of them down for you.




Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Created: 1901

Created by: Julia Davis Chandler in Boston. Peanut butter was already eaten with sandwiches, which soon became the mode of eating food in the last decades of the nineteenth century. It was only natural that the bizarre combination of peanut butter and jelly become a classic combination.

Hot Dogs and Mustard
Created: Late 1600s

Created by: Johann Georghehner. The iconic hot dog has its roots in Germany and are today almost synonymous to the frankfurter and wiener. In the US, hot dogs were traditionally made from minced beef but today pork or even turkey and chicken are the most common. Because the ingredients of the hot dog are finely ground and enclosed in a casing it became almost impossible to determine the contents of a hot dog, leading the US government to pass a law mandating all hot dog makers to list their contents. The choppers and grinder used then were not safe and accidents were common. They said "if you lost one finger you were a great sausage maker, if you lost two you were magna cum laude. In the old days a lot of sausage makers had fingers missing".

Ice-cream and Soda
Created: Late 19th Century

Created by: Robert Green in Philadelphia. Green owned a soda shop in Philly and used carbonated water, syrup and cream to make his drinks. Legend has it, Green ran out of cream and replaced it with ice-cream. Soon after, his daily earnings rose from $6 to $600!

Eggs and Bacon

Created: 1800s among wealthy landowners but was popularized in the 1920s

Created by: Eggs and bacon was introduced to Edward Bernays by Sigmund Freud. When Bernays landed a job as a PR in a bacon company he sold it as "doctor-recommended breakfast" to boost sales.

Fish and chips

Created: 1860

Created by: Joseph Malin, a Jewish migrant in London. 

Fish and chips are a classic double act, yet they started life as solo performers. And their roots are not as British as you might think. Chips came as substitutes to fish from Belgium or France in the 17th Century when the rivers froze and nothing could be caught. Fried fish came from Portugal and was introduced to Britain by Jewish immigrants. The marriage between fish and chips, still brings about fierce controversy. 

Chili, Cheese and Fries

Created: 1988

Created by: The owners of Coney Dog in Chicago wanted to add some spice and bring in their Cincinnati tradition to this town and then came the chili cheese fries!

Grubshrub

This blog explores the many cuisines of Hyderabad and Pune through the bustling streets of Charminar all the way down to the posh localities of Jubilee Hills with stopovers for a few drinks at the many microbreweries in town. In Pune, I eat from Dhole Patil Road, let my tastes buds wander through the many Parsi joints and try out some roadside, street food!

So come on readers, open up your pants, sit back and come along with me on this gastronomical ride!

Your Foodista.