"Food,FoodAndDrink" news and stories

Well, if you and your pup are going to indulge in a little ice cream together, why not go all the way and actually share a meal?

I'm not sure if it's available here in the US, but Judge's Choice of Japan (website translated from Japanese via google) offers a new type of dog food that you can enjoy, too. For the dog's health, the foods contain no onions or peppers, and for both of you, there is only a minimal amount of fat and sodium. The meals are sold primarily in department stores, and can cost up to 3,000 yen (about $25). But hey, that's still cheaper than a sushi dinner for two!

[via: CrissCross]

You could be like Santos of Scent of Green Bananas, and well, go bananas.

Santos, who blogs regularly from Guam, is on a little holiday, and when she is in LA, she blogs from her LA-based blog, Meet Me at the Corner of Third and Fairfax. Apparently, Santos fell into a lemony thicket, and has crates and crates of lemons. The products of her first crate of lemons are a luscious lemon curd which would be a serious overdose if spread on the Basil-Lemon Peel Sugar-crusted French Lemon Pound Cake. Overdose of lemons? Who am I kidding. Bring it on!

It's almost some form of culinary masochism - but in the summer when it's really hot, I love to punish myself by eating supremely spicy foods that make me sweat even more than I already am. My friends and family think I'm psycho. Of course, there is a completely logical, physiological reason why spicy foods are eaten when it's hot, but there are also other health and preventative reasons why spicy foods are good for you. Let's just take a look at those reasons so we can use them when we go for the Korean yook-gae-jahng in 100% humidity.

• Cancer-fighting and cancer-prevention - A recent study shows that capsaicin can be used to fight pancreatic cancer. It slowed the growth of cancer cells and in some cases, even caused cancer cells to die off.
• Alleviate inflammation - Arthritis and psoriasis are cause by nerve damage and cause pain on joints. Capsaicin supposedly helps to ease that pain.
• Relieve chronic pain - In some cases, spicy foods containing capsaicin greatly reduced pain caused by headaches or osteoporosis.
• Heart-health - Cayenne and chili peppers can help to reduce cholesterol. Additionally statistics show that cultures that eat spicy foods (e.g. some Asian countries) frequently have a much lower rate of heart attack and stroke.

So break out those jalapenos!

I love zucchini. I would say that of all the vegetables, zucchini is in my top five.

Last summer, I made my version of Greek zucchini cakes called kolokythokeftédes. However, they had a lot of added herbs like mint and oregano that made them taste less like zucchini and more like an herb cake. Besides, I am not a huge fan of mint in savory foods (cocktails, on the other hand, are a different story altogether). So I made simple zucchini cakes that are about as zucchini-y as a cake can get without eating a zucchini plain.

Coarsely grate zucchini so that you have about 2 c. grated zucchini (it all depends, of course, on how big the zucchini are). Sprinkle the zucchini with a little bit of salt, and let sit at room temperature for about a half hour to leach out moisture. Squeeze the zucchini of all the water.

Very thinly slice half an onion and add to the zucchini along with a handful of fresh breadcrumbs, pepper to taste (no need for salt, since the zucchini was already soaking in it for a half hour!), and one egg. Mix together, adding more breadcrumbs if the mixture is too runny. Shape cakes about 4 inches across and fry both sides in olive oil over medium heat until lightly golden brown. It'll take 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. I served them with a lemon and garlic yogurt sauce.

Ever on a breakfast and brunch kick, I've gotten into the habit of making variations on the traditional eggs Benedict. Some of them are common, like a crabcake Benedict or smoked salmon Benedict, and others are a bit of a "stretch," like a southern Fried Eggs Benny.

Eggs Florentine is a dish known as its own thing, but I still consider it part of the Benedict family because it is a poached egg on something and covered with a white sauce. I make mine by simply sauteing fresh chopped spinach with olive oil and minced garlic, placing a poached egg on top, and topping with Mornay sauce, which is Bechamel sauce embellished with Swiss cheese.

Emeril Lagasse makes a crispy potato pancake to serve as a base for his eggs Florentine. Epicurious has a couple of recipes, one which bakes the eggs over the spinach in a 400 degree oven, and another made with hard-boiled eggs rather than poached eggs.