Month: March 2019
Dear Friend,
Today many people say that pasta is the enemy of light and high fiber diet. IT IS WRONG !
Remove the pasta from your diet is wrong. Pasta is an ally of your line, intestinal function and good humor.
Yes, it’s true, pasta is a kind of natural antidepressant and then “stimulates” good humor.
It’s important not to exaggerate, a portion of 2 1/2 oz per person is good.
The pasta is rich of B vitamins and iron. It’s also low in sodium and doesn’t contain cholesterol.
The traditional Mediterranean diet confers more health benefits than current dietary patterns common in western countries.
Currently there are many diets that can be found on the internet but the Mediterranean diet is considered by most doctors in the world as the best to use.
Many false diet gurus tell you to eliminate carbohydrates and not to eat the pasta, the real secret is to eat well and in the right quantity, the pasta is the best food you can have. Do not trust people which insult the pasta, in my opinion they are stupid.
The real problem is too much sauce in the spaghetti. Too much sauce creates weight gain. If you want to eat well and healthy using the right amount of pasta and the right amount of sauce. Believe me it’s the truth.
Too much food and less sports are the main causes of obesity in most industrialized countries. Another causes is the trend to sleep less and those who spend more hours awake more often also tend to open the refrigerator and snacking outside meals. Another causes is stress, another is
that many pollutants in the environment have the ability to alter the hormonal balance and therefore the metabolism of the human body.
On cold weather the body consumes energy to produce heat, but also it’s very hot in the summer you burn calories to activate the mechanisms that govern the physiological regulation of body temperature. Radiators and air conditioners urge us to stay home with the consequence of burning less calories and be tempted to go for drinks, juices, ice cream, etc..
No one says that the guilty is the pasta. Believe me.
According to me you think it’s true what I say before.
Eat well and be happy, This is the true philosophy.
Buy the cookbook, it’s original and teaches you many things.
Guaranteed.
Sincerely,
Alan Ferrari
I have a bone to pick about cinnamon. How many of you really know what spice you have in your cupboards. Are you sure it really is cinnamon.
We in the U.S. are having the wool pulled over our eyes about cinnamon. What we commonly know in the U.S. as cinnamon is actually Cassia (cinnamomum aromaticum). It is a relative of true cinnamon, but not the real thing. The rest of the world uses true cinnamon (cinnamomum verum), in their cooking or baking, yet here we are sold something completely different.
As background, I first found out how much difference there was between these two spices when I lived in Guatemala. The cinnamon there tasted very different from what I knew growing up in Ohio; making things like an apple pie or apple crisp just tasted different. They were very good, but didnt taste like what had known. I chalked it up to differences in quality of product, or maybe my baking skill was inadequate. Any typical Guatemalan foods I ate or made with cinnamon tasted just fine of course, with nothing to compare.
That was back in the 1970s, and it wasnt until much later, when once again living in the U.S., I tried making a Guatemalan dish, Platanos en Mole (Plantains in Mole Sauce), using the cassia available. The dish just tasted wrong. I couldnt understand it. I had made this dish many times in Guatemala. I had a lot more cooking and baking skill by this time. What was wrong? I started checking into spices in general, with an eye to those things I knew were different, and discovered that we in the U.S. are being marketed a completely different product.
Cassia cinnamon is a very good spice, of course. I do not for a second propose we do away with it! What would our apple pies taste like without it. It is a wonderful spice, worthy of the space in our cupboards. However, I propose that true cinnamon have an equal place.
Cinnamon of either kind is the bark of the tree. The bark is peeled off and dried, curling into what are known as quills or ground into powder. This is where the similarity ends. Cassia quills are very thick curls, strong and sometimes even hard to break. It has a stronger taste, warmer and more potent. There is some very good quality cassia to be found these days, such as Korintje AA. A lovely spice to perk up anything you commonly make with cinnamon here.
For my cooking classes I always take both types of cinnamon: a high quality cassia quill and ground Korintje AA cassia, alongside true cinnamon quills and ground cinnamon. True cinnamon quills are curled and layered together in a tight roll, are very thin and easily crushed. The flavor is lighter and more delicate, with a somewhat lemony quality. I set the quills side by side and demonstrate the differences, first breaking a cassia quill, with the ensuing loud snap when it breaks. Then I show the cinnamon quill, layered together, and how very easily it breaks and crumbles. With the ground version of each side by side, I ask the class members to smell the two; first the cassia that is the most familiar, and then the cinnamon. The startled reactions when they realize exactly how big a difference exists between these two spices, is quite rewarding.
I would liken this before the U.S woke up and smelled really good Arabica coffee. Once we found out about good coffee, the tide turned. I believe this country is in the process of bringing true cinnamon into the light. It is found in most any Mexican grocery section these days. Good quality spice shops carry excellent quality cinnamon and also excellent quality cassia. If you want to make any ethnic food from anywhere else in the world, or just become familiar with a new flavor go for true cinnamon. Its worth the effort.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it was informative and helped you along your own culinary journey. You will find many more recipes and helpful tips on my web site. I am on Facebook at A Harmony of Flavors and share a recipe or tip each day to the fans that have liked my site. I hope to see you there soon.