Health magazine has picked the five healthiest foods that you can get from five different countries. The list isn't complete, of course (I'm not even sure if these are the healthiest foods in the world), but it's a quick guide to the healthy foods that a few different countries have given us.

Spain has given us olive oil, Japan soy, Greece has given us yogurt, and lentils come from India. I've never had kimchi, from Korea, but that's on the list too. You can get recipes for each food at the link above as well.

So readers, what about the United States? What healthy foods have we contributed to the world? And no, Ring Dings don't count.

I haven't seen too many Greek foods with bananas, but apparently, 2,000 tons of South American bananas made their way to Volos, Greece. Then they were dumped into a landfill.

The bananas were actually on their way from Ecuador to Turkey (wait, so are there bananas in Turkish cuisine?), but had become rotten after the refrigeration unit on the ship broke down. The ship docked in Volos. The local mayoral council decided to dump the cargo, but nearby residents have begun protesting, saying that it will harm the local environment.

They could have saved themselves all that trouble if they had just caught the bananas a little earlier in an over-ripe stage and made banana bread. Duh.

When Claudia Roden's Book of Middle Eastern Food was first published more than 30 years ago, it set a standard for Middle Eastern cuisine in the US. The foods of Morocco, Turkey and most Arabian countries were almost entirely unknown. As the tastes of American chefs grew to love and crave new flavors, Roden updated her book into The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. This volume contains most of the recipes set forth in the original, as well as many new ones. The recipes are divided by type and main ingredient, so there are chapters dedicated to soups, yogurt, meat dishes and vegetables, though there is a lot of crossover between the sections as some ingredients, like yogurt, are widely used. Roden's presentation of the material is very interesting, as she takes the time to explain a lot of the origins of dishes and ingredients and the lore that surrounds them in the Middle Eastern cultures she describes.

Californians are crazy for Spanish wines, especially since they are a good value; but SIV's Wine of the Week is a 2003 Berra Sassisto Langhe from Piedmont. It's "warm and earthy," and for $22, makes me warm and earthy, too.

In the kitchen, parsley isn't just a garnish anymore. Fabiolus Cafe on Melrose offers its recipe for Bigoli all'Anatra, a pasta with a rich duck sauce. If you need sausage, Bob's Market in Santa Monica makes it fresh. A story on Greek food has recipes for Balkan moussaka, pastitsio, masahri yiouvetsi, as well as resources around LA for ingredients.

Out on the southeland dining scene, SIV treks out to Ojai and gives two stars (**) to Christian and Tedde Shaffer's Auberge. Neal Fraser will be serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner at BLD.

Regina Schrambling seeks out intelligence on the newsstand that's covered with the likes of "Yum-o" Rachael Ray and Paula Deen.

There's a pretty good debate going on today at  the blog Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen about the best brand of olive oil. One of my favorite olive oils is Primo Olio, which is produced by Montecastelli Farm, an olive oil farm in Tuscany. The oil is used in many New York restaurants, but I was lucky enough to sample a batch of the oil when I was visiting Italy two years ago. It had a grassy, peppery taste, which I now prefer to the taste of the more thick and buttery oils. For everyday cooking, I am happy with the Trader Joe's oil options that come from both Spain and Italy. Some, like at least one poster at The Kitchen, prefer olive oils from Greece.

Back when I roasted cauliflower with curry, I thought that Indian raita, a minty cucumber yogurt sauce, would have been a nice accompaniment.

Raita is made by wrapping 1 seeded, grated cucumber in cheesecloth and squeezing out all the moisture. In a bowl, whisk together 1c. whole milk yogurt, 1/2 tsp. cumin, a pinch of cayenne. Add the cucumber, as well as 2-3 Tbsp. finely grated carrots, and 1 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro or mint.

Raita is very similar to Greek tzatziki which is yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, and a lot of minced garlic. I have to say that even though the raita sounds like it matches better with a roasted curried cauliflower, I'd rather have the garlicky tzatziki.