In honor of my oven-baked latkes, I decided to opt for a more health-conscious choice for the Cookbook of the Day today with Fry Light, Fry Right: Fried-Food Flavor Without Deep Frying because you don't have to eat a ton of oil just to enjoy the flavor of fried foods (or to celebrate oil, since today is the first day of Hanukkah).

Despite the holiday reference, this is not a Hanukkah oriented book. In fact, it's more about all-American fried foods of the variety that you'll find on hundreds of menus and in bakeries across the country, including things like Mozzarella Sticks, Coconut Shrimp, Chicken Fried Steak and Chocolate Devil's Food Donuts, among its 120 recipes. Each one is simple and all you really need to know how to do is work an oven to turn out impressive (and healthy) results. With only some heat and a little bit of oil, included primarily to prevent sticking and encourage browning, you should be able to obtain crisp exteriors and tender interiors on everything you make - just like deep fried foods, only there won't be as much fat to cover up the base flavors.

It's official. New York City has become the first in the nation to ban the use trans-fats at restaurants. The members of the Board of Health voted unanimously for the ban and heath advocates are already applauding the decision. Restaurants will have until July 2007 to switch to trans-fat free frying oils - meaning that all french fries in the city, as well as other fried foods will have to be trans-fat free by that time - and will have until July 2008 to remove all trans-fats from their food.

Trans-fats, which have been called "chemical abominations" by some health officials, are known to raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, changes which can contribute to an increased risk of heart disease. According to FDA estimates, "the average American eats 4.7 pounds of trans fats each year" in spite of the reductions that food processors have made with their use. They are favored in the restaurant and food processing industries because they are easy to work with, have a long shelf life and can increase the shelf life of foods that use them.

All the campaigns to encourage people to eat healthier are having an impact on mothers, but not necessarily in the way that you might expect. Instead of giving up fried foods or other things deemed to be unhealthy completely, some mums are not changing what they feed their kids - they're just lying about it. A new survey, which was sponsored by the British Potato Council, found that as many as 93% of mothers lie from time to time about what they feed their kids, and they mostly spin the tales to their own mothers and other relatives, since they make up the group that is most likely to criticize parenting choices.

Some are confused as to what foods are healthy, or simply give up due to lack of time or energy, opting for a TV dinner instead of frozen fish sticks with some fresh veggies. Fortunately, the kids aren't as confused as the parents, so it is possible that the "little white lies" won't be necessary any more. The study also showed that 58% of kids would question their parents about whether given foods were healthy or not, demonstrating that they are becoming more aware of healthy eating issues at a young age and will hopefully want to make better food choices as a result.

Family-oriented attractions, including theme parks and fairs, are "failing to provide healthy food" says a report that sent a "secret mum" to visit 14 tourist attractions around the UK. She found their food lacking, offering primarily burgers and fried foods. To the average fair or park-goer this is no surprise, but some are expressing concern over the fact that they are unable to find healthy options for their children at such venues. How, they wonder, can they provide healthy foods to their children in such an environment?

The theme parks are the ones who respond with a voice of reason, saying that visits are generally special occasions, not once-a-week events. A burger and fries is not going to irreversibly set your child down the path to obesity, but if your concern is too great, there is always the option to pack a few healthy nutrition-type bars and eat a full meal after you leave.

It seems like onion rings sell based on smell alone in steakhouses and other restaurants. Too often, they are served in unattractive bricks of onion shreds or have at least three times as much batter than onion per ring. A good onion ring has to - first and foremost - be a ring, and it should be one with a good ratio of onion to batter. Anne, of Anne's Food, has captured what appear to be perfect onion rings. She notes that she would have liked a thicker coating of batter, but the batch in this particular photo looks just right. Another tip for making good onion rings is to use sweet onions, which add a milder flavor and are especially good if you like to add spices to your batter.

Sarah had a point when she said that conference food is pretty much always fattening. I am currently at the BlogHer conference, along with a few other people from Weblogs, Inc., and even though the company is wonderful, I can say less for the food. When a hotel prepares fried food for a large group, it is inevitably greasy and heavy, so it was unfortunate that the meals centered on that. Lunch on the first day included fried chicken and dinner was a buffet of fried foods, like egg rolls and dumplings, as well as kebabs slathered in various sauces. There was no salad option at dinner, although there was a cheese plate. Any dinner dissatisfaction was quelled by the open bar, though I did hear some slightly dissatisfied murmuring about the fact that Pepsi, and not Coke, was the hotel's soda of choice. Many women opted for calcium-fortified water instead.

After making a batch of doughnuts this morning, it struck me that I was getting quite hot as I worked over the stove. Of course, the high humidity played a part, but there was no doubt that much of the heat was radiating out of the 370°F vat of oil. The reason that I took particular notice is that, over the weekend, I had a discussion with a friend who attempted to convince me that frying was a better way [than baking] to cook in the summer, since it didn't heat the house up.

I beg to differ.

The oven has to preheat and bake whatever it is you want to eat, but the oven door is open for very little time during the baking process and releases only a small amount of heat into the room. The oil, on the other hand, is a constant and long-lasting source of heat, not to mention the fact that the cook (me) has to stand over the hot oil and supervise whatever is being cooked.

If you've heard that frying is cooler, do you fry in the summer? Frankly, if I'm worried about heating up the house, I'm more likely to make a salad or a batch of ice cream - neither of which heats up the kitchen in the slightest.

Most people are already aware that you should not give your dog chocolates - but what about your elephant? Elephants are largely vegetarian and apparently like chocolate quite a lot. That doesn't mean you should let them indulge, though. Raja, who at 45 is the most famous elephant in Sri Lanka, has become very ill after eating too much chocolate and other fattening foods. The chocolates, deep-fried cookies, sweet rice and fermented pineapple slices were fed to him by fans while celebrating the Buddhist New Year.

The monks who care for the elephant found him in great distress, writhing on the ground, the day after the celebration. A vet said that his digestive system could not cope with the fattened and processed foods or "the cookies... literally are soaked in oil." There is now a sign outside his enclosure which reads "Do not feed the elephant."

[Image Yahoo!]