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Meet The Team / Dennis Craven

How cool is that zeer pot?

Of all the households in the US, 99.5% have refrigerators. About the same percentage have some way of heating food. We've seen some great gadgets for keeping things hot and cold here on Slashfood, but I want to show you an ancient technique for keeping food cool. It's called a zeer pot. The vessel itself may be third world, but it's playing a timely role in the continuing recovery of northern Darfur and other African nations. Science in Africa magazine states that a zeer can keep tomatoes edible for 20 days, as opposed to two, and meat two weeks, as opposed to a few hours.

A zeer pot is quite simple. It's basically two large earthen pots, one nested in the other. The space is filled with sand and water is added. A damp cloth covers the top. As the water evaporates, the inner pot containing the perishables is kept cool in the same manner that a mechanical refrigerator operates -- water evaporation draws heat from the inner vessel. Water is added twice a day.

Muhammed Bah Abba is credited with reviving (some say inventing) use of the zeer and has his own instructions on theory, application and making one. I am going to make one of these myself and see how long basic vegetables will keep at room temp. You can see from the picture how easy it would be to improvise a zeer with regular flower pots. I will then give it a taste test after one week.

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Filed under: Science, Farming

Seniors need their greens, too

Age related macular degeneration, or AMD, is associated with the eye's inability to remove anti-oxidants. There are two forms of AMD: the wet and the dry. The dry form accounts for about %90 of cases and is slow in progressing. It is what leads to the "cloudy" look in an eye with AMD, the culprit being the deposition of drusen around the retina.

Broccoli contains sulforaphane, an isothiocynate, that has been shown to modify the way in which some carcinogens are metabolized. According to Medical Food News, sulpforaphane (found in broccoli) actually stimulates the body's internal anti-oxidant system. Studies have been limited to the lab, but are promising with regards to retinal tissue and the removal of anti-oxidants. The thrust of the studies has been aimed at the elderly, who suffer most often from AMD.

So, the next time you hear a grand-mother tell the kids to load up on broccoli, remind her to do the same. It's easy to cook, and versatile. And we knew it was good for us all along. Next, the cauliflower.

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Filed under: Health & Medical

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Chocolate-zucchini muffin-cake

I have never been much of a zucchini fan, so I thought I'd just incorporate it into some comfort food. Since zucchinis are in season and I had a couple handy, I thought, "How about chocolate zucchini cake?" It's been done many times before, but how about a pseudo-healthy muffin? Well, the zucchini is a versatile veggie...I used a cake recipe from this slashfood page and fiddled with it a little.

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Filed under: Ingredients, Methods

Periodic table of storing produce

Have you ever grabbed a musty garlic clove, or had a green bell pepper ooze through your fingers when you pull it of the bag? Everyone has had an avocado or potato go past its prime. I find it ideal to shop according to the seasons. Once you get your bounty home, what are good rules of thumb to keep fresh and ready as long as possible? I came across the following cute Periodic Table of Produce in Simple Life magazine. It's a novel, practical approach. I even tore my copies out for future reference, but thought that you might like to take a look at them here first. I scanned them in and the full table is after the jump. The images are big, so you may have to be patient for the few seconds it takes for the images to load.
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Filed under: Science, How To

Sloppy rooBender reuben sandwich

The season is changing, so how about trying a new variation on something old? The Reuben is a favorite and it inspired the following sandwich. Now, this isn't entry level finger food -- it's vegan, a bit sloppy, and most kids won't like it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cake extra firm tofu
  • 1 cup sweet teriyaki marinade
  • 2 tablespoons vegan mayo. I use nayonaise but any will do, probably even canola mayo
  • 1 tablespoon relish
  • 1 tablespoon hot pesto or chutney
  • 1 small yellow squash (which is widely available this time of year)
  • 2 slices light rye bread

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Filed under: Sandwich Day

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