"grapefruit" news and stories

• Hot Southern Florida weather pairs well with fresh vegetarian and Asian fare: Malaysian restaurant Parc 28 in Weston offers "boldly spiced fare" in a cuisine that takes inspiration from Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian, Thai and European influences; "fresh and vibrant" vegan cuisine is offered at Miami's Om Garden; Lauderdale-by-the-Sea offers "light, fragrant, healthful" Vietnamese food at Basilic.
• Culinary historian Maricel E. Presilla discusses the honor of cooking a feast for Fiesta Latina at the White House and her attempts to "convey that the allure of Latin food is as irresistible as the rhythms that pulled President Obama out of his chair to dance" that night.
• The "Desperation Dinners" feature raves about infused vinegar and its ability to "excite the palate" and elevate otherwise simple dishes.
• Once incorrectly reputed to have a correlation with breast cancer, the grapefruit has been expunged -- and is even suggested as the perfect pink fruit for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
• Cabernets are the quintessential U.S. wine: "big and brash, supremely self-confident, a little loud, even rude at times."
• Recipes: Maricel Presilla's Milk Chocolate-Coffee "Cortadito" Brulées, Pink Grapefruit and Fennel Salad, a complex Vermouth Molasses Marinade, Corn Tortilla and Mixed-Bean Lasagna.
• Calendar highlights include a silent auction for painted pumpkins, $35 prix-fixe meals for Dine Out Lauderdale, Rosa Mexicano's Chocolate festival and a "Top Chef" Talent Hunt.

Grapefruit. Photo: Zanastardust, Flickr

• A new University of Western Ontario study suggests that eating grapefruit can help fend off fast-food fat.
• Toronto-based chef Susur Lee has his own vacation package up and running.
• As the "Julie & Julia" release date moves closer, a chat with author Julie Powell and Judith Jones, Child's Knopf editor.
• Visit a specialty hot sauce store or make your own tongue-zingers.
• Carrots can be orange, yellow or purple!
  
• From farm to fork: A look at duck farming at King Cole Ducks.
• Weekly wine picks: Strewn 2008 Cabernet Rosé, Ravenswood Vintners Blend 2007 Chardonnay, Torri Riserva Chianti Colli Senesi 2005, Quinta Da Carregosa Tinto 2007, Lan Reserva 2004.
• Recipe: Eggplant Börek.

Not all salads revolve around lettuce and the Avocado, Grapefruit, and Pomegranate Salad from Pepper at Frugal Cuisine is a perfect example of this fact. The salad is very simple - only one grapefruit avocado, pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of extra grapefruit juice - but very elegant. Coincidentally, the red and green colors of the salad and the jewel-like look of the pomegranate seeds make this an incredibly festive dish and ideal for the holidays, especially if you live in California or somewhere it is easy to get avocados year-round.

The creamy avocados balance out the sharp flavor of the grapefruit, while the pomegranate seeds add a much needed crunch. A sweet grapefruit will work best here, so if yours is very bitter, you might want to use half of an orange to round out the flavors of the salad.

This salad would work well served on its own, but could also be used as a sort of relish for fish or chicken if you diced up everything into small pieces.

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Fresca is really the forgotten soft drink. Up until a few years ago, I wasn't even aware that they still made it, and I'm sort of a soft drink nut. (Side note: do they still make Tab?) But they do still make it, and they've even updated the logo!

It's always been one of my favorite soft drinks. It has a great grapefruit taste, it's low calorie (but doesn't taste it), and is perfect for those hot summer days and nights. Here's a recipe I found. Sounds good to me:

Sparkling Grape Drink

4 cups grape juice, diluted
2 cups of lemonade, diluted
2 cups of Fresca

Combine grape juice and lemonade. Mix well. Add ice cubes. Just before serving, add Fresca. Not sure why the grape juice and lemonade has to be diluted since you're adding so much ice, so I'd try it both ways and see which way tastes better.

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Researchers have recently identified a group of chemicals believed to be responsible for grapefruit's meddling effects on some medications. For a long time, flavonoids were thought to be the culprit, but new research from UNC at Chapel Hill suggests that substances called furanocoumarins may be to blame. Furanocoumarins seem to make certain medications enter the bloodstream faster, which can make dosages unpredictable and cause unwanted side effects. Researchers say that furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice produced none of these effects in test subjects. Aside from the possibility of marketing such juice, furanocoumarins, once studied further, might be of some use in moderating how fast drugs are absorbed by the body.

[Photo: Nick Vagnoni]

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