“They’ve been touted to increase sex drive, boost arousal, and put men and women in the ‘mood’ for hundreds of years. But the skeptical consider aphrodisiacs — foods, drinks, and … extracts and supplements — to be more mental than physical. A brief look at some … of these purported libido enhancers reveals both flimsy claims and some sound science.” Covers watermelon, oysters, hot peppers, and chocolate. From U.S. News & World Report. URL: http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/sexual-reproductive/2008/08/19/the-science-of-aphrodisiacs.html

Presidential Food: Selected Resource Guide

This bibliography features books and articles about food and cooking in the White House. It includes general White House cookbooks (such as “Presidential Cookies: Cookie Recipes of the Presidents of the United States”), cookbooks featuring recipes from specific presidencies (“Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance”), books for younger readers, and related material. Also includes links to related online content. Prepared by Alison P. Kelly of the Science Reference Division, Library of Congress (LOC).  URL: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/presidentialfood.html

Copyright 2009 by Librarians’ Index to the Internet, LII.

Recently, Oprah did a couple of shows focusing on the emotional toll of childhood obesity. The shows were touching, powerful, and an important step in rethinking how we nourish our kids.

We want Oprah to broaden this discussion to address the need to fundamentally change how we feed kids in America both in school and at home. We want to extend the conversation beyond obesity and diabetes and delve into the impact of poor nutrition on learning capacity, cognitive function, social adaptability, behavior issues, and general health and wellness. Even more importantly, we want to spark action to effect meaningful change in the school food environment to enhance our collective ability to create healthy, well-adjusted, thriving children.

Please take a moment to reach out to Oprah. Let her know we want to fill her audience with Angry Moms working to ignite the kind of positive change that will sustain our kids as well as the planet they will inherit.

Go to OPRAH.com, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click on “contact us” [it's in small print at the very bottom]. Under the heading “The Oprah Winfrey Show” at the middle of the page, there are prompts to either “send in your thoughts” or “send in your show suggestions.” Click on either one and encourage Oprah to join the Two Angry Moms movement and show her audience the inspiring people and programs that are already making a positive impact around the country. Let Oprah know that with her help, we can reach the tipping point in this movement.

Let’s keep our grassroots growing!

A new study conducted for the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that a ban on fast-food advertising to children could significantly reduce childhood obesity. Researchers measured the number of hours of fast-food television advertising messages viewed by children each week and found that a ban during children’s programming would reduce the number of overweight children aged 3-11 by 18 percent, and lower the number of overweight adolescents aged 12-18 by 14 percent. Sounds like a good idea to us.

More information on this study is available at HERE.

(From the Dec 2008 Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Newsletter)

A “blog written by Clotilde Dusoulier, a 27-year-old Parisian woman [and cookbook author] who lives in Montmartre and shares her passion for all things food-related — thoughts, recipes, musings, cookbook acquisitions, quirky products, nifty tools, restaurant experiences, ideas, and inspirations.” Also features a recipe index, picture gallery, and guide to Paris restaurants. [LII]

An example of some cajun culinary delights include:

Beignet (ben yay’)

Lighter than a doughnut, and square (no holes), sprinkled with powdered sugar

Cafe au Lait (caf ay’ oh lay’) Coffee served with steamed milk. Chicory

based coffee is often used.

Dirty Rice

Pan-fried rice cooked with green peppers, onions, celery, stock and giblets

Etouffee’ (ay’ too fay)

“Smothered” with a dark roux (tomato-based sauce) of seasoned vegetables, poured over rice–usually served with Crawfish

Hush Puppy

Fried cornmeal bread ball

Jambalaya (Jum’ ba lie’ ya)

Rice based dish with just about everything thrown in! Poultry, tomatoes and cooked rice, ham, shrimp, chicken, celery, onions & and just about every seasoning.

Muffuletta (Muf’ a lotta) and a lotta it is!

Super-large, round, fat sandwich filled with salami-type meats, mozzarella cheese, pickles, and olive salad

Red Beans and Rice

Monday night tradition in New Orleans–Kidney beans served with rice, seasonings, spices and chunks of hot sausage

Tasso

Smoked red pepper ham

University cafeteria food is rarely considered award-winning, but Ken Toong, executive director of UMass Dining is changing that in UMass Amherst dining halls. The efforts of Ken and his staff were rewarded in March when UMass Amherst Dining Services won the highly-coveted Ivy Award. The Award is a lifetime achievement award distributed by “Restaurants and Institutions” magazine. Begun in 1971, the award aims to recognize outstanding achievement and a commitment to excellence by foodservice operations. The University’s recognition comes for the institution’s dedication to purchasing fresh, local foods, integration of world cuisine into the menu, and using innovative approaches to serving five million meals each year. A March 25th article in the Daily Hampshire Gazette noted that about twenty percent of UMass produce served at the dining commons is delivered to the university from farms within a 50-mile radius. The University Dining Services will be inducted into the Ivy Society in May.

Improving the school food environment can be a difficult task, and understanding school food law and policy can be a barrier to getting started. That’s why this new guide from the Public Health Advocacy Institute is so invaluable. Mapping School Food was written to help legislators, advocates, parents, teachers and anyone interested in improving school food navigate school food law and policy.

Mapping School Food is an innovative guide that describes school food policy from the perspective of different personnel in the school system. It also provides tools to help advocates find answers, resolve conflicts, and build consensus for improving school food in their community. Click here to download your free copy today.

Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood

Every year I send my parents a gingerbread house for their solstice dessert party, complete with their last name iced on the front door. The door with their name is left for the host and hostess, but by the end of the evening, their guests have demolished the rest of the house, leaving behind little red hots and coconut snow. It’s become a fun tradition. If you’re looking to make a gingerbread house for the holidays, check out A Charming Candy Cottage over at epicurious.com where Kari von Wening, the owner of Takes the Cake Bakery in Pasadena, CA, gives instruction on how to make your very own. Included in the instructions are a shopping list, template and an illustrated tutorial.

MORE THAN JUST A HOUSE

At the Hartsbrook Winter Fair in Hadley, MA, they always have an auction of gingerbread houses (and libraries, castles, churches, windmills …) that the families have made (photos featured with this post are from the auction). Structures that can be made out of gingerbread are only limited by your imagination. Over at verybestkids.com they give directions and a template on how to make a gingerbread sleigh. On BobVilla.com they give instructions on how to make an A-Frame, Colonial, Saltbox, and Side Gable houses. And if you really want to get inspired, on flickr.com there are over 400 photos posted to the Gingerbread House Showcase.

GRAHAM CRACKER HOUSE

Another option to making a gingerbread house is to make a miniature graham cracker house. Every one in the family can make and decorate their very own. Kaboose.com offers instructions on how to make this miniature version, as does organizedchristmas.com with a few photo images.

GLUTEN-FREE HOUSES

If you or your kids have allergies and want to make a gingerbread house, check out Only Sometimes Clever’s gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and peanut-free gingerbread house recipe, or you can buy an allergy-free gingerbread kit from kidsallergystop.com.

Click here to read more over on www.HilltownFamilies.org.

On Friday my family stopped by the Fall Chrysanthemum Show put on by the Botanic Garden of Smith College in Northampton. Cascades of chrysanthemums lined the walls in the Lyman Conservatory, creating an amazing display of “floral pyrotechnics.” Our daughter went around smelling and counting the different colors that were being displayed, while looking for petals on the ground. She gathered a pretty large collection of fallen petals, storing them in the front pocket of my coat as we strolled around the conservatory. I tried to get her to examine the wide array of petal forms that had been cultivated, but she was more interested in squirreling away the petals from the ground.

I recommend the show as an excellent opportunity to do a botanical home study with older kids by exploring at the rich history of the chrysanthemum and examining the wide array of forms and colors that are cultivated. See if you can get your kids to pick out the nine different chrysanthemum forms displayed at the show. A show brochure lists these different forms. Click here for printable coloring sheets for the kids of the different flowering forms.

And did you know that chrysanthemum petals are edible? Not that you’d want to eat the petals found on the ground there, like my daughter wanted to do when I told her they were edible. But potted chrysanthemums kept on the kitchen window or petals gathered in the fall from your garden would be more suitable. The Forgotten Art of Flower Cookery by Leona Woodring Smith has a whole chapter on the chrysanthemum with sixteen different recipes that call for chrysanthemum petals.

I found a recipe in Cooking with Flowers: Wherein An Age-Old Art is Revived by Zack Hanle that I’ll share here:

RISING SUN SALAD

• 1 dozen fresh lichee nuts (you could probably use the canned ones instead)
• 2 mangos
• 2 fresh peaches (and again, probably canned or frozen since peaches might not be around in the fall)
• 2 large bananas
• 4 tangerines
• 1 or 2 large, yellow chrysanthemums
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
  
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (maybe more of the whipped cream instead of mayo?)

Peel and slice mangoes, peaches, bananas and place in a salad bowl. Peel lichee nuts (or open the can) and tangerines and remove tangerine segment skins. Add to bowl. Whip cream and fold into mayo (or whip extra cream and skip the mayo). Pour mixture over the fruit. Wash chrysanthemums, drain and remove petals. Scatter over the salad and serve ice cold. Serves 4.