Meet The Team / Emily Matchar

My mom likes to tell stories about how, when she was pregnant, she would always put her food in the microwave, press the "start" button, and run away as fast as she could so as to not irradiate the fetus.

Of course microwaves do not actually irradiate anything (even my mom knew that, on a rational level), but a lot of people still consider them vaguely evil. At the very least they don't enjoy the best reputation for producing healthy or delicious food.

But they may be better for the environment, at least in certain circumstances. As an interesting Slate story found, using a microwave for cooking small portions is much more energy efficient than using an oven. Making a single baked potato in an oven took 9.5 times as much energy as it did in a microwave; making four portions of baked potato in a microwave took 2.5 times the energy. The efficiency ratios are skewed depending on whether you have a gas or electric oven -- gas ovens produce fewer carbon emissions per units of heat than electric ovens.

Good to know, though until they make microwaves that can brown the top of a half-eaten casserole, I'm going to have to stick to my oven for certain reheating jobs.

How often do you use your microwave versus your oven?

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Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week.

Highlights from the San Francisco chocolate salon: bacon chocolate, a drink called "choffy," apple pie truffles.

Fashionable tips for the perfect party (think lots of glitter) from MTV's House of Style.

Celebu-chef Jean-George Vongerichten has plans for a worldwide empire of restaurants, with plans to open 50 in the next five years. Will they be the "Applebee's of haute cuisine"?

Are we in the middle of a food revolution? Examining the claims for the recent New York Times story.

What spring vegetable are you looking forward to most -- a quiz. Choices are artichokes, asparagus, carrots, peas and fennel.

How do you feel about mandatory coat checks? Apparently, Yumsugar readers do not like them so much.

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Iron Chef, Times-style: Food section writers Kim Severson and Julia Moskin each make dinner for six for $50, and restaurant critic Frank Bruni judges.

Severson's menu, with recipes: Chili-spiced peanuts, carnitas tacos with cabbage-radish slaw and fresh tomatillo salsa, and dark molasses gingerbread with whipped cream.

Moskin's menu, with recipes: Cold tomato-cilantro soup, cheddar puffs, pasta with chicken, currants and pine nuts, tangerine-vanilla floats.

Will they ever allow wine sales in New York grocery stores, like they do in 35 other states? Eric Asimov discusses the upcoming vote.

Homemade sausages, no grinder or casings required. With several recipes.

The Minimalist's take on Asian-flavored noodle soup.

What's on the menu at the new Yankee Stadium? Noodle bowls, Cuban sandwiches and sushi. Oh yeah, and hot dogs.

Not to be outdone, Mets fans will get pulled-pork sandwiches on brioche buns, shrimp rolls and frozen custard with fresh blueberries at the new Citi Field.

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I have to admit, I was a little put off by the greenish stuff oozing out of the side of these cupcakes. But once I heard it was mole, I was all about it.

Originating in Mexico, mole refers to a variety of sauces whose recipes vary but usually contain chiles, nuts of some sort, spices, and (often) chocolate. These vegan cupcakes, from Norwichnuts on the Slashfood Flickr pool, are filled with a rich mole made from mild chiles, ground sesame seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and cinnamon-spiced Mexican chocolate.

The cupcakes themselves are chocolate Devil's Food and the frosting is vegan pine nut "buttercream" with a sprinkling of brown sugar and nuts. Me gustan mucho!

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I wrote yesterday about how food corporations are cynically marketing sugar-sweetened foods as "healthy," a totally bogus claim. Well, the New York Times' Room for Debate blog is taking apart that and other food myths, with commentary from a handful of food writers and experts.

First, nutrition epidemiologist Barry M. Popkin demolishes the myth that fruit juice and fruit-flavored antioxidant waters are healthy. Fruit juices, he says, have just as much sugar as soda -- you're much better off eating the fruit itself and drinking some water. And antioxidant waters (like Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water) have shown zero health benefit and are full of sugar.

Next, hot dog-maker Larry Bain explains why "kosher" does not necessarily mean higher quality.

Cathy Erway of the Not Eating Out in New York blog defends pale-colored veggies like cabbage and cauliflower from the "color equals vitamins" maxim.

>Brian Wansink of Cornell's Food and Brands Lab explains that we can't really tell when we're full as long as our eyes are receiving food-related stimuli.

Josh Ozersky, author of "The Hamburger: A History" makes us think twice about the idea that grass-fed beef is automatically good.

David Kamp, Vanity Fair food writer, explains how arugula, often used as a stand-in for "fancy-schmancy" is actually a humble weed from the Mediterranean.

[Via New York Times]

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