Liz On Food

California Roll Carrot Cake

I created this cake for my stepdaughter's sushi-themed 16th birthday party. Rolled cakes take time but allow for plenty of creativity with cake flavors and fillings. The shapes, colors, ingredients and flavors for this recipe are reminiscent of a California roll. By no means is this dessert low in calories or fat, but a 16th birthday calls for a bit of a splurge. Hey, at least the cake provides fiber and vitamin A!

Serves: 12

Preparation Time: 4 hours (including chilling time for filling and cake)

Pistachio Creme Filling

1 cup pistachios, unsalted
1/2 c sugar
2 T flour
2 T cornstarch
1/2 t salt
4 egg yolks
3/4 c milk
1/2 c cream
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
1-2 drops green food coloring, optional

Preheat oven to 250^o Fahrenheit. Roast pistachios 10 minutes; let cool. Run pistachios in a food processor until a paste is formed. Place dry ingredients in mixing bowl, add egg yolks. Beat until light yellow. In a medium saucepan, bring milk and cream to a simmer. Add about 1/4 of the milk/cream mixture to the mixing bowl and beat. Pour contents of mixing bowl into the sauce pan with the remaining milk/cream mixture. Cook slowly over low heat, constantly stirring, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat; fold in pistachio past, and vanilla and almond extracts. Cover surface with plastic wrap or wax paper. Cool in refrigerator at least 1-2 hours. Can be made a day ahead.

Carrot Sponge Cake

1/3 c cream
2 T butter, unsalted
1/2 c sugar
5 large eggs
1/2 c sifted flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder (3/4 t if baking at 5,000 ft)
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1 c shredded fresh carrots

Allow refrigerated ingredients to warm to room temperature. Position oven rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 400^o Fahrenheit. Grease 11x17 jellyroll pan (rimmed cookie sheet) and line with wax paper. Microwave butter and milk on low until butter is melted. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and eggs about 5 minutes until the consistency of soft whipped cream. Gently fold in dry ingredients. Fold in warm milk/butter mixture, then shredded carrots. Pour batter into jellyroll pan and spread evenly. Bake 8-10 minutes until top is gold brown; do not over-bake.

Remove cake from oven, wait 10 minutes, then run a thin spatula around the edges to loosen from pan. Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the cake. Place a 2nd jellyroll pan right side up on top of the aluminum foil. Holding the second pan in place, invert the cake. Remove the original pan but leave the wax paper in place. Let cool completely, then remove the wax paper.

Cream Cheese Coconut Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese
3 T butter, softened
3 c confectioner's/powdered sugar
3/4 c sweetened coconut flakes

Beat cream cheese and butter in mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing until blended. Beat until smooth. Refrigerate until ready for use.

Assembling the Cake

After removing wax paper from cake, spread the pistachio creme filling over the cake. Starting on an 11" side, roll the cake, using the aluminum foil to tighten the roll and minimize cracking. Don't worry about initial cracking; fewer cracks will occur toward the outside as the roll gets bigger. Use aluminum foil as a wrap and place cake in refrigerator. Let set for about 2 hours. Transfer to serving platter. Gently frost cake, including sides and ends. Sprinkle with coconut. Return to refrigerator; remove about 30 minutes before serving.

Per-serving Nutritional Profile:

    Calories, 610
    Fat, 36 g
        Saturated Fat, 17 g
    Cholesterol, 225 mg
    Carbs, 65 g
        Dietary Fiber, 3 g
    Protein, 11 g
    Sodium, 340 mg
    Vitamin A, 50% Daily Value
    Vitamin C, 2% Daily Value
    Calcium, 10% Daily Value
    Iron, 10% Daily Value

Just In: Sugar Snap Peas

I know how farmers feel about not wanting to be away from the farm during growing season. Just about when my garden fruits and veggies are in full swing, it's time for summer vacation. That's when I get creative.

Tomorrow morning, I'm picking these beautiful sugar snap peas, and packing them in plastic tubs with damp paper towels. They're going in a suitcase with me to Kansas City where I'll be spending a few days with my parents. I've been nurturing these vines since I started them as indoor seedlings while we were still experiencing March snow storms. So I'm not about to let these precious greens to over-ripen on the vine. Mom is not growing sugar snap peas in her garden this year, so I'm toting these along as a little treat.

I first experienced vegetable gardening as a child, hoeing and picking beans in our community garden plot. I can't say I was exactly enthusiastic about it, considering the hot, humid summers in Chicago. (I was a bit of a whiner.) But I think I did end up learning to like more vegetables as a result of Mom's efforts. And whiner or not, I'm sure I gleaned a knack for gardening from Mom.

Even with creative approaches to travel during the gardening season, my fruits and vegetables don't always fare well while I'm traveling, even if some other family members stay behind. No one else in the family fusses over the garden like me. And while I was on the road this past week, some renegade birds made away with all our strawberries; I mean, picked the vines completely clean of fruit. Oh well. We made a conscious choice not to install bird netting the past couple years, after a couple birds were caught in our garden netting a few seasons ago. The strawberry plants in our garden were planted by previous owners, and only bear fruit once per season. ((I prefer the ever-bearing varieties.) So no strawberries for us this year. I feel particularly fortunate that I'll be bringing back some of Mom's strawberry preserves, made with strawberries from her backyard patch.

Speaking of Double Rainbows

I mentioned in my June 13, 2009, post that our Front Range afternoon rains are sometimes accompanied by full double rainbows. Like clockwork, that's exactly what happened two days later at about 5:30 p.m. I took this picture looking east from the front of our home. What a treat!

Sporadic Vegetable Garden Update: June Monsoons

In Colorado, we actually have a monsoon season. During late spring and early summer, the thunderheads build up over the mountains during the heat of the day, creating frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms here along the foothills. When the timing is just right and the western sun peaks under the clouds, we experience gorgeous full and sometimes double rainbows. This spring, the P.M. storms have brought remarkably consistent moisture to our vegetable and flower beds as well as lawn. It's rare that I can turn off the sprinkler system for over two weeks, as I have lately. So my newly laid irrigation hose system really hasn't had much of a work out....yet. July will likely tell a different tale.

So far we've harvested mixed greens, walking onions, baby spinach, radishes, turnips and sugar snap peas, which have made for some lovely dinner salads. The tomato, eggplant and pepper plants are coming along nicely, with the red plastic mulch. (I've had to pull it back periodically to pull bindweed growing beneath. Maybe I'll add under-layer of black plastic next year.) A small portion of my green beans, lettuce and spinach plants and most of my first planting of beets were dinner for a cute but pesky young rabbit, until I reinforced the chicken-wire fencing. The second planting of beets looks much better. Everything has been planted except kohlrabi, which will go in mid-season.

My husband says the garden looks like an alien experiment. He's still not over the red plastic mulch and chicken wire. Of the mid-garden, projecting metal grid, I said to him, "No, honey, that's a cucumber trellis, not an extraterrestrial listening station." This is the first season for my cucumber trellis, so I'll give a progress report later in the season. The selling points are 1) more produce over smaller square footage, 2) cleaner and less blemished cukes due to their hanging under the trellis rather than resting on the ground, and 3) shade for heat-sensitive crops like lettuce and spinach, which are planted beneath the trellis.

Since we've had a cool season so far, my cilantro, dill and basil are not very happy, but they'll kick into fast-growth soon when it warms up.

If you're interested in more details of this year's garden journey, check out my earlier season posts:

Mulch for Vegetable Gardens Increases Yield, Maybe Nutrients, Too

Backyard Vegetable Garden a Money Saver?

Foodborne Disease Outbreaks in the United States: A Snapshot

With all the attention given to multi-state foodborne disease outbreaks involving Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7, one important microbial source tends to get buried. It turns out these two bacteria are not the most common source of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, but rather norovirus is, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) examining 2006 data (the most recent available). And the plain truth is foodborne outbreaks of norovirus occur most often when infected food handlers neglect to wash their hands well after a potty break. Also important to note, of the outbreaks that can be traced to a single pathogen and single food, baked chicken contaminated with C. perfringens is the most common. That points to problems with holding temperatures of cooked poultry. So paying attention to good old-fashion sanitation practices in commercial food preparation is still key in preventing future foodborne disease outbreaks.

At the same time, prevention of large multi-state Salmonella and E. coli O157 outbreaks continues to be, and rightly so, a food-related public health priority. These bacteria can cause serious and life-threatening illnesses, sometimes death, often due to secondary complications or diseases. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that two to three percent of all foodborne illnesses lead to secondary long-term illnesses. Certain strains of E.coli (for example, O157:H7) can cause kidney failure in young children and infants; Salmonella can lead to reactive arthritis and serious infections; Listeria can cause meningitis and stillbirths; and Campylobacter may be the most common precipitating factor for Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Foodborne illnesses are a major health burden in the United States, and because most of these illnesses are preventable, analyzing outbreaks helps identify causes and potential controls that could help prevent future outbreaks. Let's take a look at the new CDC analysis published in the June 12, 2009, issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Here's how some of the numbers shake out:

• A total of 1,270 foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDOs) were reported, resulting in 27,634 cases and 11 deaths.
• Among the 624 FBDOs with a confirmed pathogen, norovirus was the most common cause, accounting for 54% of outbreaks and 11,879 cases, followed by Salmonella (18% of outbreaks and 3,252 cases).
• Among the 11 reported deaths, 10 were attributed to bacterial pathogens (six Escherichia coli O157:H7, two Listeria monocytogenes, one Salmonella and one Clostridium botulinum), and one was attributed to a chemical (mushroom toxin).
• The most common foods to which outbreak-related cases were attributed were poultry (21%), leafy vegetables (17%), and fruits/nuts (16%).
• Among the 621 outbreaks (with 18,111 cases) with a confirmed single pathogen, 343 (55%) outbreaks and 11,981 (66%) cases were caused by viruses, 217 (35%) outbreaks and 5,781 (32%) cases were caused by bacteria, 52 (8%) outbreaks with then remaining outbreaks caused by chemicals (1%) or parasites (1%).
• Norovirus caused 337 (98%) of the confirmed FBDOs attributed to viruses.
• Salmonella, the most commonly reported bacterial etiologic agent, caused 112 (52%) of the confirmed outbreaks attributed to bacteria. E. coli caused 29 (13%) of confirmed outbreaks attributed to bacteria, of which 27 were serogroup O157.
• Although dairy accounted for only 3% of single commodity outbreak-related cases (16 outbreaks and 193 cases), 71% of dairy outbreak cases were attributed to unpasteurized (raw) milk (10 outbreaks and 137 cases). A wide range of bacterial pathogens were associated with unpasteurized milk outbreaks, including Campylobacter, E. coli O157, Salmonella and Listeria.
• The largest outbreaks with a known etiology and single food were attributed to baked chicken contaminated with C. perfringens (741 cases), peanut butter contaminated with Salmonella (714 cases), and spinach contaminated with E. coli O157 (238 cases). In the spinach outbreak, 31 persons developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, and five died, including a child. The contaminated spinach was traced back to a single farm, where the outbreak strain was isolated from nearby cattle feces and feral swine feces.

The CDC notes:

The large and increasing number of outbreaks attributed to norovirus indicates a need for improved attention to preventing food contamination at the point of service, because such outbreaks are largely attributed to transmission by infected food handlers.Although the number of outbreaks and cases attributed to C. perfringens declined in 2006 compared with the mean annual total during 2001--2005, the continued large number of outbreaks indicates a need for improved attention to holding temperatures of cooked meat and poultry. Illnesses associated with raw milk continue to occur, and additional efforts are needed to educate consumers and dairy farmers about illnesses associated with this preventable risk.

While the report provides very useful data, the CDC points out several limitations:

1) Only a small proportion of all foodborne illnesses reported each year are identified as associated with outbreaks. Some foodborne illnesses reported as sporadic cases likely are part of outbreaks not identified as such; also, smaller outbreaks might be reported to public health authorities.

2) Not all recognized outbreaks are reported to CDC. Some outbreaks are not investigated because of competing priorities in health departments.

3) For many reported outbreaks, information on certain aspects, such as the pathogen or the implicated food vehicle, is incomplete.

4) Only about half of the reported outbreaks in 2006 had a confirmed pathogen and thus might not be representative of those with a suspected or unknown etiology.

5) Variations in outbreak detection, investigation, and reporting, make comparisons with previous years difficult.

To ensure safe food from farm to table takes concerted effort, involving training in addition to regulation and legislation. Farmers, ranchers, manufactures, warehouse distributors, retailers, food service establishments, hospitals and schools, are all subject to various regulations and are engaged in food safety practices on an ongoing basis. The FDA as well as industry organizations such as the Grocery Manufacturers Association provide extensive educational and training resources.

Fight Bac!, a campaign from the non-profit organization Partnership for Food Safety, advises four key practices for safe food handling at home:

• CLEAN: Wash hands and surfaces often
• SEPARATE: Don't cross-contaminate!  
• COOK: Cook to proper temperature 
• CHILL: Refrigerate promptly

The Fight Bac! Web site contains a wealth of useful information, including resources for teachers and an interactive site for children, so check it out! While the campaign screams "bacteria," the same principles apply to other preventing other microbial contamination, from viruses and parasites.

Home Freezing and Cow-Pooling – Energy Considerations

In the June 15, 2009, issue of Time magazine, Kate Pickert reports on the trend of cow-pooling. More friends and families are joining together to purchase large quantities of inexpensive beef directly from farmers.

Often the direct-purchase beef comes from cows that were grass fed (at least seasonally) and is offered at a price well below retail costs. Other benefits include purchasing food closer to home, forging relationships with local farmers and potentially reducing farm-related energy inputs. However, grass-fed cows emit more methane than their corn-fed counterparts. And that's not just a little hot air. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, cattle emit about 5.5 million metric tons of methane per year into the atmosphere, accounting for 20 percent of U.S. methane emissions. None-the-less, when farm inputs of corn-fed animals are taken into account, the related greenhouse gas emissions more than offset the prodigious back-end eruptions of grass-fed cows, according to Carnegie Mellon researcher Christopher Weber. Weber has suggested genetically-modified grass could lead to reduced methane production among grass-fed cattle, much to the chagrin of those locavores opposed to GMOs.

While the social and economic aspects of purchasing locally produced foods are convincing, evidence supporting the environmental aspects of such foods, including beef, is not conclusive. In a study published online April 16, 2008, in Environmental Science & Technology, Weber and Matthews researched food miles and relative impact of food choices in the United States. They concluded:

Transportation as a whole represents only 11 percent of life-cycle GHG [green house gas] emissions, and final delivery from producer to retail contributes only four percent. Different food groups exhibit a large range in GHG-intensity; on average, red meat is around 150 percent more GHG-intensive than chicken or fish. Thus, we suggest that dietary shift can be a more effective means of lowering an average household’s food-related climate footprint than “buying local.” Shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more GHG reduction than buying all locally sourced food.

Two other issues come to mind when thinking about the true energy impact and carbon footprint of buying a side of local beef. One consideration is storage needs that accompany the purchase of a side of beef weighing in at 250 pounds. That requires a home freezer, and in fact, mirroring the cow-pooling trend, freezer sales continue to climb, a trend I first covered in my February 2009 post Top 2009 Food Trend Prediction – Down Home Cookin.' Time reports that freezer sales in April 2009 were 14 percent higher than in April 2008, according to the Appliance Manufacturers Association. Yet, household storage and preparation comprises 31 percent of food-related energy consumption in the United States, according to a life cycle assessment conducted by Heller and Keoleian. I can't imagine that increasing numbers of households with freezers (ENERGY STAR qualified or not) will improve total consumer energy consumption. And one must also consider the pre-purchase carbon footprint of actually manufacturing and shipping a new freezer.

Then, there's the conundrum of eating what you buy. If you have a freezer full of beef, does that impact food choices so that you would actually consume more beef than you would have otherwise? Plenty of research exists to indicate that modifying the immediate food environment (AKA home), impacts food consumption, for better and for worse. While grass-fed beef tends to be leaner than its corn-fed counterpart, offering a nutritional advantage, if the beef is displacing other less carbon-intensive foods in the home environment, would the net result be a larger carbon footprint for the household?

None of this addresses the actual cost of purchasing an upright freezer and expense of increased energy consumption. Recouping the cost of a freezer through less-expensive bulk purchases may take a long time. But given many people are dining out less, money saved through fewer restaurant meals could also be part of the equation.

We enjoy beef in moderation, and the flavor of the beef (some grass-fed, some corn fed) we purchase at the Boulder and Longmont Farmers' Markets is divine. We have owned an upright freezer for about five years, and with a house full of teenagers, we buy and store large quantities of food, often at sale prices. So we're already consuming the additional energy that goes with having a home freezer. Cow-pooling with friends to split a side (rather than purchase a full side) of beef would probably fit our current needs, as long as freezer space remains for chicken, fish and frozen vegetables. But when the children fly the coop and we no longer need to store as much food, we may forgo the freezer.

Two Florida Farms Agree to Pay Immokalee Tomato Pickers More

In 2008, Whole Foods and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) reached an agreement to increase the piecemeal wages of tomato pickers. However, with sustained grower co-op pressure in opposition, the agreement only recently came to fruition when two farms agreed to participate in the "penny-per-pound" program. Whole Foods announced June 4, 2009, that Lady Moon Farms and Alderman Farms have signed on to the agreement, which will be funded by the retailer.

The arrangement offers workers one penny more per pound of tomatoes picked, which may not sound like much, unless you consider the volume picked. CIW puts it like this, "We'd like you to consider that farmworkers have to pick two tons of tomatoes to make $50 a day."

According to an AP story, "Florida workers earn about 47 cents per 32-pound bucket. That can mean an average of about $12 an hour during the picking season for the hardest workers..."

Woah, anyone else find these numbers staggering? Let's do the math. To make an average of $12 per hour, a worker would need to pick about 25.5 buckets per hour ($12/$.47). That would be 817 pounds of tomatoes per hour (25.5 x 32). So, a penny-per-pound increase at 817 pounds per hour translates into an hourly raise of $8.17 or a 68% pay hike, based on $12 per hour. I took the hourly poundage of 817 one step further; in an eight-hour workday, a worker would pick a total of 6,536 pounds or 3.27 tons. Regardless of the wage improvement, how long can field workers sustain that level of strenuous manual labor?

In March 2009, Gourmet magazine reported on hardships of tomato field workers Immokalee, Florida, described as "the tomato capital of the United States" where about 40 percent of Florida tomatoes are grown, according to the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. Keep in mind, U.S. tomatoes sold during winter months usually come from Florida, so even if you live in another state, you may be at the consumption end of this chain if you buy fresh tomatoes November-February.

Self-described as a "community-based organization of mainly Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida," CIW has played a crucial role in improving workers rights and the erradication of human trafficking, since its inception in 1993. CIW posted these December 2007 photos capturing the work and life of tomato pickers in Immokalee.

Baby Bok Choy with Sirloin and Oyster Mushrooms

Bok choy has a delicate flavor that does not overpower other vegetables or mushrooms in stir-fry dishes. Luckily, both bok choy and fabulous, fresh Hazel Dell Farm mushrooms are available almost all season at the Boulder Farmers' Market. When grilling sirloin, I like to grill a extra couple steaks to use in stir-fry a couple days later. While you can start with raw beef for stir fry, you'll savor the extra flavor dimension that comes with grilling. I particularly enjoy sirloin from the family-owned natural beef operation Colorado's Best Beef, also available at the Boulder Famers' Market.

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

5-6 baby bok choy bunches
1 clove garlic
1/2 medium yellow onion
1 c small oyster mushrooms
8 ounces grilled sirloin, medium rare
1 T peanut oil
1 t sesame oil
1 1/2 c uncooked rice

Stir-fry Sauce

2 T soy sauce
1 T blackstrap molasses
1 T sugar
1 T rice vinegar

While preparing stirfry, cook rice according to package directions. Trim ends from bok choy and mushrooms; rinse bok choy thoroughly. Mince garlic; quarter and slice onion half; break apart sections. Slice steaks into 1/4" strips, cut each strip in half, crosswise. Add peanut and sesame oil, along with garlic, to wok or large sauce pan. Heat until garlic is just sizzling. Add onions, stir 2 minutes. Add bok choy along with 2 T of stir-fry sauce; simmer for 3 minutes. Move vegetables to side of wok or pan. Add mushrooms, along with 2 T more stir-fry sauce and simmer until tender. Push mushrooms to side. Add beef and remaining stir-fry sauce, simmer 1 minute. Beef should still be pink. Remove from heat. Serve over rice.

Per-serving Nutritional Profile:

    Calories, 380
    Fat, 9 g
        Saturated Fat, 2.5 g
    Cholesterol, 35 mg
    Carbs, 49 g
        Dietary Fiber, 3 g
    Protein, 25 g
    Sodium, 570  mg
    Vitamin A, 100% Daily Value
    Vitamin C, 90% Daily Value
    Calcium, 15% Daily Value
    Iron, 25% Daily Value