So I was thrilled when my friend came back from a trip with a souvenir: the Maple Syrup Cookbook: Over 100 Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.  Mmmm…maple heaven!  I don’t believe in reprinting people’s recipes without permission, but I will share a few fun maple tips from the book to give you a glimpse into why this cookbook is so great.

There are some ingenious ways to use maple syrup in this book.  For example, incorporating it into hot chocolate, using it in the actual batter for French Toast (in the egg and milk mixture), and tips for substituting it for sugar in recipes (which involves decreasing the main liquid in the recipe).  There is also information on the different grades of maple syrup and some stories about maple syrup producers.  The anecdotes that accompany the recipes are charming and sweet.  (They’d have to be sweet, now wouldn’t they?)

I already use maple syrup when I roast sweet potatoes or butternut squash, but there are several new recipes in this cookbook that I can’t wait to try:  Sweet Potato and Bacon Bisque, Maple Bacon Strata, Maple Balsamic Dressing, and Maple Fudge, to name a few.  Mmm, there’s something so comforting about drizzling real maple syrup!

Dr. Jason Newman used an electronic message board outside of a county health department to alert residents of the dangers of commonly enjoyed foods such as fries and hamburgers.  He posted creative slogans such as “French Fries Thunder Thighs” to get the attention of passers-by.  Then, he made the attack more personal and took on popular chains such as KFC and Dunkin’ Donuts.

Dr. Newman had a few choice words to say about donuts, and more specifically, Dunkin’ Donuts.  However, it was this play on Dunkin’s slogan that forced him to resign from his job: “America Dies on Dunkin’ ” – business owners felt he took it too far with this one.

So, I ask you - was he taking it too far, or was the forced resignation too far?

On the one hand, his attacks grew personal.  And, it’s no secret that donuts aren’t health food – Dunkin’ Donuts makes no attempt to hide nutritional information, it’s available on their website - Dunkin’s isn’t forcing anyone to eat the donuts.  On the other hand, he was utilizing his freedom of speech and was using the county health department’s equipment to further his message (an appropriate venue).  Personal attacks may not have been necessary, but I have to appreciate a doctor who is so passionate about the health of his surrounding community.  Being overweight or obese, not exercising, and/or eating an unhealty diet can lead to a host of health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  In turn, these problems can cause strokes, heart problems, kidney problems, and the list goes on…so in many ways, I have to appreciate a doctor that makes it his mission to try to prevent potentially fatal problems.  Dunkin’ Donuts may not be at the root of obesity, but it’s certainly a symptom of a larger problem.

Umami is a Japanese word, and to those who understand Japanese I suspect that it very succinctly describes a taste or flavor – but I don’t think that we have one word in English that neatly corresponds.  I’ve seen umami defined a few ways.  In one vague description it was described as another taste sensation besides the standard ones we ascribe to our taste buds: sweet, bitter, salty, and sour.  The Japanese feel that we have a fifth sensation, umami.  That description hinted at the meaning of umami, but didn’t get to the core.

More recently, I was reading an issue of Saveur magazine in which they compiled “The Burger Bible,” and one article described burgers as having an umami quality.  They elaborated that this flavor can be meaty and is usually savory.  Mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese were given as other examples of umami foods.  Supposedly, umami foods both create and sastisfy food cravings. 

Umami is becoming more generally accepted as a fifth flavor sensation…yet another “fact” I learned in elementary school that has been debunked – we don’t really have four taste sensations!

On the other hand, I read Julie Powell’s book, Julie and Julia, and it was less than inspiring.  While I’m sure she was inspired, like many, by Julia Child, I found her book somewhat disrespectful to Julia Child, and I found Julie Powell’s writing to be glib, offensive, and sensationalistic.  While we all want to see similarities between ourselves and those we admire, her constant attempts to draw parallels between her life and JC’s (her moniker, not mine) and her comments on the Great Book (Julia Child’s cookbook, again, her moniker) leave a lot to be desired.  Powell attempts to tell an amusing story about her own life, tied together by tales of her attempts to cook all 500-plus recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1, but the cooking takes a back seat, and it’s not amusing.  I like Amy Adams, who will play Powell, but I’m not eager to revisit Powell’s story.

Given my lack of enthusiasm about the book, I’m hesitant to see the movie and wondered if my hesitance was unfounded.  I also wondered if I was the only one interested in only half of the movie.  Last night I read a review of the movie on Gourmet’s site and found that I’m not alone.  I think I’ll wait for the DVD so I can take Shapiro’s advice and, if need be, read (or simply fast-forward) through the Powell half of the movie.

My husband and I ended up settling on two cheeses, a soft Spanish cheese which wasn’t very memorable, and some lovely halloumi.  I’d come across a few articles and recipes lately mentioning this somewhat hard to find cheese, and I was eager to try it.  It’s a Greek cheese, and we purchased a variety that was made from sheep’s and goat’s milks and sprinkled with fresh mint.  What is unusual about halloumi cheese  is that it is meant to be grilled or sauteed before eating.  Rather than melting, the cheese becomes firmer upon cooking.  We sauteed ours in a little olive oil and the cheese was firm with a nice salty bite, similar to buffalo mozzarella in texture.  It’s a little on the pricey side, but a good treat for once in awhile.  It would be great served up with a Mediterranean spread as an appetizer or side.  The brand we bought is also available at Amazon if you need a unique cheese fix!

The movie posits that profit is the highest priority of the food industry – above and beyond consumers’ health or farmers’ needs.  The movie features experts such as food author Michael Pollan and Gary Hirshbirg, founder of Stonyfield Farm, producer of organic yogurts and other foods.  After discussing the problems today, the movie is to discuss the future of food.  The movie opens in limited release on June 12 and has further showings around the country starting on June 19 – show times are available on the Food, Inc. website. 

I’m eager to see the film to learn more about the food industry and to hear the possible solutions.  Supposedly, the movie also delves into the horrors of processed foods – I agree that whole foods are better, but feel most things are fine in moderation – I’m curious to see if the film changes my mind.

But, necessity is the mother of invention (and pizza is a necessity!).  In the past few months I’ve started noticing Naan bread in supermarkets – with the bread or fresh bakery items.  Naan bread, if you haven’t tried it, is a type of soft flatbread eaten in India and other countries – it’s available at most Indian restaurants and it’s delicious.  My husband and I started snatching it up and eating it as, well, bread.  As we continued to buy it, it occurred to me to vary its usage.

I started making Naan bread pizzas and my pizza-making dilemmas were solved.  Naan bread works perfectly as a pizza crust, albeit a non-traditional one!  The size we buy is perfect for a personal pizza, and there are usually 2-4 per package.  I’ve since made several with all manner of ingredients.  I started with the traditional red-sauce, cheese, and veggie combos but soon began to experiment.  One of our favorites included an egg on the top of the pizza (this may sound strange, but it’s fairly common in Italy) – the egg bakes to a lovely consistency in the oven, and the soft yolk is wonderful with the crust.  I used a whole wheat Naan bread, drizzled on olive oil,  a little chopped garlic and my other toppings.  Then, you crack the egg right onto the pizza and bake it at 375 degrees until the egg whites are just cooked through (roughly 10 minutes).

Another favorite non-traditional pizza topping is potatoes, also more common in Italy.  Add slices or chunks of roasted, baked, or boiled potatoes on top of your pizza (a great use of leftover potatoes).  I added mine to an olive oil and ricotta base and threw some leftover peas on top for color and extra veggies (I figured if I was going to be non-traditional – I might as well go all out!)  I seasoned with kosher salt, parsley, and oregano.  It was unusual, but delicious.  Next time you’re craving home-made pizza, give the naan-traditional kind a try!

Before visiting Aruba, I did a lot of online sleuthing in preparation – I  especially wanted to discover the best spots to grab a bite to eat.  I was really excited when I discovered that there is an ostrich farm on Aruba!  For one thing, my husband and I had never seen an ostrich in person, and they’re pretty fascinating on their own.  Even better, the ostrich farm has a gift shop and a restaurant where they serve dishes made with ostrich meat and ostrich eggs.

If you’re not familiar with ostriches, they’re giant!  They look like giant, ambling, prehistoric birds that came straight off the set of Jurassic Park.  We opted not to go on the open-Jeep tour when I found out that they might be attracted to my glasses and would peck at them, me, and anything else shiny including jewelry.  However, we didn’t need to go on the tour, as the ostriches were perfectly happy to strut and pose for us from the other side of a chain-link fence.  And we were perfectly happy to have the fence there.

In the Savanna Lodge Bar and Restaurant at the ostrich farm, they serve a unique African-Caribbean fusion food.  We were able to sample an ostrich shoarma which is a pita sandwich filled with ostrich meat and an African spice mix.  It was delicious and the meat tasted very much like steak.

We were also lucky enough to try an ostrich omelette.  Since the ostrich is a very large bird, they lay very large eggs – so our ostrich omelette probably only used about an 1/8th or a 1/10th of an egg.  It tasted basically the same as a standard omelette made from a chicken egg, but the novelty factor was fun.

I also sampled African milk tart for dessert, which was sweet and very good.  I remember it being a bit like flan.

The gift shop even sold ostrich egg shells; unfortunately, stock was low and most had been broken by previous tourists.  It’s unlikely that we would have managed to get one home unscathed anyways, but they really are interesting conversation starters!  If you get the chance, ostrich meat and ostrich eggs are worth sampling.

In an attempt to recreate a piece of my husband’s childhood, I ordered Dutch Country Soft Pretzel Mix for him awhile back.  The other day he eagerly opened the mix, prepared it, let it rise, and baked them to perfection.  Aside from the expected stickiness that occurred when he attempted to roll and shape them, they were easy to prepare and tasted great.  The highest praise I can think of is to say that I loved them, and I am not much of a pretzel lover at all…perhaps because I never had the good ones!  They are equal parts chewy and soft but they maintain their inherent pretzel-ness and won’t be mistaken for bread.  They’re great dipped in mustard or other condiments, but are equally great on their own.  And, despite having to mail order them, they are still a reasonably priced snack mix – knot to worry!

I stopped by a local Einstein’s franchise this weekend and split two order of bagel poppers with my husband – blueberry and cinnamon sugar.  (We skipped the third flavor, an unappetizing sweet cream cheese).  I expected them to taste like, well, bagels.  We were sorely disappointed to find the bagel poppers tasted more like donut holes than bagel holes.  The blueberry variety had a sticky glaze on the outside that stuck to my fingers and made the poppers cloyingly sweet (and I love my sweets).  The cinnamon sugar flavor tasted more like fried dough dipped in cinnamon sugar.  Neither variety would be a good option for food on the go.  Despite being served in a plastic travel cup with a lid, the bagel poppers are too sticky and messy to enjoy without a napkin, or preferably a sink nearby.  If you don’t want to start your day with dessert, you’d do best to stick with your traditional bagel. And if you do want a sugary jolt to start your day, I’d recommend sticking to a classic donut.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!