President's Cancer Panel Report

“Only a few hundred of the more than 80,000 chemicals in use in the United States have been tested for safety,” the report says. It adds: “Many known or suspected carcinogens are completely unregulated.”

As seen in the New York Times, the President's Cancer Panel has released a 200-page report for 2008-2009 on how we can reduce our environmental cancer risk. Included are industrial, agricultural, water contamination, and electromagnetic and radiation exposures.

Please take the time to download the PDF and read the report. Included are risks regarding the use of plastics, chemical exposures during pregnancy, and non-organic foods. Forty-one percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. That's almost HALF of all Americans. If that's not alarming, than I don't know what is.

Here is a brief overview of recommendations made in the report:

• Particularly when pregnant and when children are small, choose foods, toys and garden products with fewer endocrine disruptors or other toxins. (Information about products is at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com or www.healthystuff.org.)

• For those whose jobs may expose them to chemicals, remove shoes when entering the house and wash work clothes separately from the rest of the laundry.

• Filter drinking water.

• Store water in glass or stainless steel containers, or in plastics that don’t contain BPA or phthalates (chemicals used to soften plastics). Microwave food in ceramic or glass containers.

• Give preference to food grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and growth hormones. Avoid meats that are cooked well-done.

• Check radon levels in your home. Radon is a natural source of radiation linked to cancer.

Would love to hear your opinions. Questions? Comments?

Homemade

Adventures in Indiana: Farm fieldtrip with goats and bees

I am not a big fan of goat cheese. For a brief moment when living in New York, I switched from cow dairy to goat, buying milk at the Union Square Farmers Market. I never really noticed a difference between the two, not being a huge milk drinker. Goat milk was just fine as a medium in which my cereal sat before I ate it. That is, until someone I worked with mentioned that goat products reminded him of sucking on a wet, wool sweater. From that moment on, all I tasted when I ate anything goat was soggy cashmere.

The other day, I was offered some homemade goat cheese that a friend's mother made. I wanted to try it and see if fresh-from-the-farm cheese was any different from the store bought variety that tasted like not-so-fresh farm animal. The cheese was surprisingly subtle, almost like ricotta, with out any detectable goat taste. It was delicious.

Today I took a field trip to the farm and learned how to make cheese. We started the day by sampling several different flavors, so we would know which we wanted to make. Our choices included Marjoram & Cracked Pepper, Basil, and Asian Spice with Ginger. They were all delicious, but the Marjoram & Cracked Pepper was really good.

Next we learned to milk the goats. We filled a bucket and headed in to make cheese. I decided to make dill flavored, thinking it would be delicious on a gluten-free bagel or stuffed in a chicken breast. When we were done, we were gifted 4 quarts of goat milk and I headed to the store to pick up some cheesemaking supplies (enamel stock pot, thermometer, cheesecloth, lemons). Later this week I will experiment in my own kitchen with making cheese!

The goats were adorable, and very curious.

Me and the master beekeeper.

Bees!

Super easy, gluten-free oats granola

Many of my fondest memories living in New York revolve around food. Whether it's steak at the Strip House, artichoke pizza at Three of Cups, or caviar and blini at Pravda, my recall can be so vivid, I can still taste these gustatory delights. Breakfast, or should I say le petit dejeuner, at Balthazar will always be one of my favorites. So simple, yet so delicious, a bowl of plain yogurt with fresh mixed fruit and the best dang granola ever. It was about more than just the granola; I loved the atmosphere, early morning Soho, lingering over what seemed like an endless supply of coffee, reading the Sunday New York Times. The restaurant wasn't that busy at that time of morning, no long wait or reservations required.

I have been looking for a granola recipe for a few months now. It's next to impossible for me to find one that is just right, the perfect amount of coconut, the right kind of nuts, no dried fruit to pick out (we won't go there in this blog), and most important of all, gluten-free. Now, I could easily buy one of the gf brands available at the local co-op, but they don't always have oats (there is a huge debate still over the gluten in oats and whether or not it's okay for someone avoiding gluten), often have dried fruit (which I have to pick out) and well, I'm still searching for that granola that reminds me of the perfection at Balthazar. I haven't had the Balthazar granola in over a decade and really couldn't tell you what was in it, but this recipe is dedicated to my early mornings spent in that New York bistro.

Fortunately, I am a gluten-sensitive person who isn't bothered by oats. First, I had to find a recipe to follow, as I had no clue where to begin. I bought the ingredients before I found a recipe, kind of backwards on that one, huh?

Preheat oven to 250°

3 cups gluten-free rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup whole raw almonds
1 cup raw cashews
2/3 cup shredded coconut
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
honey
maple syrup
grapeseed oil

Combine oats, almonds, cashews, coconut, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Sprinkle sea salt over the mixture. In a measuring cup, pour in vanilla and approximately 1/4 cup each of honey, maple syrup, and grapeseed (or other similar) oil. Stir well, then drizzle over dried mixture. Combine well (use hands!!!), add more honey or maple syrup until appropriate stickiness has been achieved. Spread into well greased baking sheets (or use parchment paper). Bake at 250° for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool, store in airtight bags or jar. Serve over fresh, seasonal fruit and organic, plain yogurt. You can even stir in a couple of tablespoons of ground flaxseeds for extra nuttiness and nutrients.

Feel free to add what you like to the recipe, including dried fruit or other types of nuts. Make it your own. Next time I'll add some brazil nuts, larger flaked coconut, and more stickiness so I can have bigger clumps of granola to munch on. If anyone wants to go to Balthazar and remind me of what is in their recipe, please feel free to do so. Don't forget to bring the Sunday Times.

Featured Artist: Jack Skuller

Happy Sunday! Enjoy...