*** Another newly documented symptom of anemia to consider besides fatigue or weakness.
From Denny: Well, here's one thought we rarely give any time to pondering. Who ever thought wanting ice in your drink on a hot sweltering day could mean more than you are hot and thirsty?
Anemia afflicts millions of Americans every year. The most familiar symptoms, especially to younger women, are issues like fatigue and weakness that signal anemia may be the problem. Often, iron supplements are all that's required along with a mindful change in diet.
This fixation for ice, as a connection to anemia, is a new symptom recently studied. The medical community finds this craving for ice puzzling and has been documenting the craving as a sign of anemia for several years now. It's generally noted in the form of anemia known as iron deficiency anemia. Researchers still don't fully understand the link to ice and anemia. What they do suspect is that ice consumption alleviates mouth inflammation that occurs from iron deficiencies. They have named the compulsive consumption of ice as pagophagia. You know how doctors are, they like to give Latin names to obvious plainly named conditions that are a lot easier to understand.
There are documented cases of people who have gone undiagnosed with pagophagia that actually go through multiple bags of ice or trays of ice in one day alone. Their problem most often fades when they are treated with iron supplements. (Sickle cell anemia. a more severe form of anemia and genetically inherited, cannot be treated with iron supplements and is a far more serious form of anemia requiring constant medical monitoring.)
Northwestern University has conducted studies that reveal ice cravings are also a very common side effect of a type of weight-loss surgery known as Roux-en-Y (say it as ROO-on-why). This is a popular bypass surgery. The problem is that this also bypasses the very part of the intestine where iron and other minerals are absorbed by the body.
Studies, from the Mayo Clinic Proceedings of 2008, show that one-third of these bypass patients develop a B-12 or iron deficiency. The husband of one bypass patient, a 33-year-old woman, " I frequently observed her in the middle of the night with her head in the freezer eating the frost off the ice maker." Her craving subsided after transfusion and iron administration.
So, the next time you are craving ice, ask yourself two questions, "Am I getting enough iron in my diet? Did I forget to take my vitamin supplements lately?" The next time we all put ice in our drinks I bet a lot of us will be asking those questions.
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From Denny: Most doctors and lawyers want to be somewhere else and be someone else. This lawyer, cookbook author Warren Brown, wanted to bake, and bake he did! He came up with a great idea for a book to merge his love of eating cake and studying American history.
He has recipes featured in this food video segment that hail from Wyoming, Texas, Delaware and Illinois. He has cake recipes from all 50 states, from California to Connecticut. All his recipes are simple, easy to do for the home baker.
Preheat the oven to 335 degrees and place the rack in the middle position. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick oil-and-starch spray.
Combine the ingredients for the filling in a bowl. Crumble them together with your fingers to break apart any clumps of brown sugar. Set aside.
Combine the ingredients for the topping in a bowl and press to combine with a fork or your fingers, or mix on low speed using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients for the cake in a bowl; combine the wet ingredients in another bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar and mix on low speed for about 3 minutes.
Once the butter is creamed well, add the eggs one at a time. Use a flexible spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
Alternately add the dry and wet mixtures about a quarter at a time without pausing between additions. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on low for another 20 seconds.
Scoop half of the batter into the prepared pan, smooth it out, and sprinkle on the filling. Add the rest of the batter and smooth again. Sprinkle on the topping.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when lightly pressed and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake for 5 minutes before inverting it onto a plate and flipping it again so the streusel side is facing up. It’s also fine to serve it in the dish it’s baked in.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Honey and Raspberry Cheesecake
From: Chef Warren Brown
Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust:
Graham crackers 3 tablespoons Superfine granulated sugar 3/4 stick Unsalted butter, melted 1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
16 ounces cream cheese 16 ounces fresh goat cheese 1/2 cup superfine granulated sugar 1 cup crystallized or raw honey 4 eggs 1/2 cup sour cream 1/4 cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 cup raspberry puree
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300°F and place the rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-by-3-inch round pan and line the bottom with parchment.
Crush the graham crackers in a bowl or food processor into very fine crumbs.
Using a fork, toss all the crust ingredients in a bowl until evenly combined. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan.
Bake until fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool while you make the filling. Leave the oven on for the filling.
Place a roasting pan large enough to hold your cake pan in the oven and fill it about two-thirds of the way up with water.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cheeses on medium speed to break up and soften them.
Reduce the mixer to slow speed and add the sugar and honey in 2 additions each, beating until they dissolve, about 3 minutes total.
Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to combine before adding the next.
Mix the sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla together until smooth. Pour into the mixer slowly.
Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Drizzle up to . cup of the raspberry puree randomly on the batter and swirl it with your finger.
Gently set the cake pan in the water bath. Bake, uncovered, until the center of the cake is only slightly wobbly when the pan is shaken, about 1 hour.
Turn off the heat and leave the oven door ajar for 1 hour.
Remove the pan from the water bath and cool the cake for 4 hours, until it reaches room temperature.
Cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight. (Be sure you don’t have cut onions or garlic in the fridge—the cake will absorb the odor.)
Set the pan in warm water to loosen the cake. Run an offset spatula around the edge if necessary. Invert the cake onto a flat plate, then turn it right side up onto a decorative plate for serving. Smooth out any tears on the sides with an offset spatula. Add a cluster of raspberries to the top of the cheesecake if you like.
To make your own puree, combine 1 (10- ounce) package of frozen raspberries with 2 cups of sugar in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the seeds. Cool the puree completely before using.
Preheat the oven to 335 degrees and place the rack in the middle position. Line the bottoms of two 9-by-2-inch round pans with parchment.
Melt the chocolates, 1 ounce of the butter, and the half-and-half in a double boiler over steaming water. Once melted, remove the pot from the water and whisk to combine the ingredients. Set aside.
Measure the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Separate the eggs and set the yolks aside.
Combine 6 ounces of the sugar and the water in a saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.
Place 4 of the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. (Discard the 2 leftover whites or reserve them for another use.)
When the sugar syrup measures 240 degrees on a candy thermometer, drizzle it slowly into the meringue while the mixer is on high speed. Whip for another 20 seconds and then remove the meringue from the bowl and set aside.
Add the reserved yolks and 2 ounces of sugar to the mixer’s bowl and whip with the wire whisk — there’s no need to clean the bowl or whip. You can even leave the cooked meringue that’s stuck inside the whip. Whip on high speed until the yolks are pale yellow, about 2 minutes.
Reduce the speed to low and add in the remaining 4 ounces of butter. The yolk base will lose volume — that’s okay.
Alternately add the dry ingredients and the melted chocolate to the mixer about a quarter at a time without pausing for the ingredients to combine. Detach the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the cooked meringue in two stages. It will be stiff at first. Use caution not to over mix it or you will deflate the batter.
Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top appears dry, soft, and flat. It will give slightly to a very light touch.
Cool the cakes for about 20 minutes, then run a metal offset spatula around the rim of each and invert the cakes onto a flat surface. Cool completely.
To assemble the cake, slice each cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife to create four layers.
Spread about 1 cup of frosting between each layer with an offset spatula and stack into a four-layer cake. Then pipe on the frosting with an open star tip to cover the top and sides of the cake, or just spread it lavishly with the spatula.
Texas Sheet Cake
From: Chef Warren Brown
Ingredients:
2 cups Superfine granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour 1/2 cup Cocoa powder 1 teaspoon Baking soda 3/4 teaspoon Salt 2 sticks Unsalted butter, melted 2 Eggs 1 cup Milk 1/2 cup Buttermilk 1 tablespoon Brandy 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract Chocolate Pecan Icing 1 1/4 cups Pecans 1 stick Unsalted butter, room temperature 4 cups Confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup Cocoa powder 1/2 cup Milk 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract Sugared Pecans 2 cups Pecans 2 tablespoons Honey 1 cup Superfine granulated sugar 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
Baking Directions:
Preheat the oven to 335°F and place the rack in the middle position. Grease a 12-by-2-inch round pan or 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine.
Combine the wet ingredients in a second bowl and whisk lightly to combine.
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well for about 20 seconds.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top of the cake bounces back slightly when gently pressed.
For the icing, roast the pecans on a baking sheet for 4 to 5 minutes while the cake is baking. Remove the nuts from the oven, cool to room temperature, and chop.
Combine the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Begin beating on low speed and then increase to high.
Slowly add the milk and vanilla and beat well. Stop the mixer and fold in the roasted pecans by hand. Set aside.
To make the sugared pecans, combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a rubber spatula.
Roast the sugared pecans on a baking sheet, while the cake is baking, until crisped and fragrant, approximately 10 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven and cool on a heat-resistant surface before using.
Cool the cake completely before spreading the icing onto the top using a flexible spatula. (If you prefer, you can turn the cake out onto a tray, but it’s fine to leave it in the dish.) Add the sugared pecans across the top, pressing them slightly into the frosting.
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
*** Indulge in heavenly chocolate paired with intense bits of orange. Enjoy this wonderfully rich muffin with a steaming cup of coffee when you need to stress down.
From Denny: This recipe is from a bed and breakfast in Michigan. This bed and breakfast sports a number of interesting themed packages to enjoy. They have a special shopping package where they have teamed up with 10 shops in their area where you can get some great discounts with the range from clothing to food and drink and even local art.
These shops are a wine sellar of 200 wines from around the world, local pottery, a green recycled products shop carrying famous names, a spice merchant, a gourmet food and kitchen supply shop, an antique mall of 175 merchants, a local folk art shop and artisan hand-knit clothing.
*** Remember to support small business in your area and when you travel. Why stay at a Big Business hotel as you travel when you can stay in a more home like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast inn? The prices are comparable, the people friendlier and your stay will be memorable.
A similar version of chocolate chip muffins from Laura HB @ flickr- these bed and breakfast inns rarely provide photos but this muffin should look just like it only with flecks of yummy orange peel throughout the muffin.
Y-Vonne's Chocolate Chip Orange Muffins
From: Sherwood Forest Bed & Breakfast Y'Vonne, a favorite siren and chefette at Sherwood Forest, gave us these delicious muffins, they're dense and rich and so perfect on a chilly morning!
Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl. In another bowl, combine rest of ingredients (except chocolate chips). Add wet to dry ingredients and mix, then add chocolate chips. Divide batter among 18 greased muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.
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*** Check out news, political opinion - serious and funny cartoons, recipes, science and health news, poetry, funny posts, photography, spiritual thoughts and great quotes.
From Denny: With the new and faster features offered by Blogger lately, I decided to go ahead and take the jump. All of my three food blogs are now neatly compiled into one blog: Dennys Food and Recipes.
For the past year I've been experimenting with small niche writing like the so-called internet SEO experts preach. As far as writing goes, I felt constrained in too small a space. Yes, I'm one of those kids who skipped coloring outside the lines in coloring books and took it to a whole new level. I colored whole murals on my bedroom walls. It sure beat the pedestrian mind-dull wallpaper my parents used to cover unsightly and uneven plaster walls in a 160 year old New England house. My father knew how to properly plaster walls since his father was a commercial and residential contracter among other talents - he just didn't want to go to the bother. So, I had my own solution.
I have my own solutions too for these many blogs and I'm combining several of them. What the statistics have proven over the past year is that once a generalist always a generalist. Roaming intellectually is fun for me and I like to bring home my finds for others to enjoy whether it's for mind food or just a good silly laugh.
The new large recipe blog is finished and is called Dennys Food and Recipes. You can find everything from pasta to chocolate to Louisiana food. There are recent food videos and food from other countries like the Olympics food from Canada. The Muffin Monday segments feature bed and breakfast inn recipes from primarily America and Canada to help support small business over Big Business. Supporting small business helps build up and stabilize the economy. It's small business owners who are the heroes of the economic world as they hire at least 70 percent of the workers in America. Supporting them to do well helps you!
Muffin Monday: The Best Blueberry Muffins - also there is Kale's Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Sophia's Banana Chocolate Chip Bread from this same bed and breakfast inn.
*** Cup of Spanish Hot Chocolate Photo by heliosphan @ flickr
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:
*** Enjoy some great blueberry muffin recipes and 2 breads: Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Banana Chocolate Chip Bread.
From Denny: Muffin Monday is back and people are already arguing who has the very best blueberry muffin! This first recipe is from a bed and breakfast in Michigan. This bed and breakfast sports a number of interesting themed packages to enjoy.
They have a special shopping package where they have teamed up with 10 shops in their area where you can get some great discounts with the range from clothing to food and drink and even local art. These shops are a wine sellar of 200 wines from around the world, local pottery, a green recycled products shop carrying famous names, a spice merchant, a gourmet food and kitchen supply shop, an antique mall of 175 merchants, a local folk art shop and artisan hand-knit clothing.
A link for another blueberry muffin recipe is provided to The Bitten Word blog for a recipe from Cook's Illustrated that they gave a test drive and folks weighed in with their comments. That recipe looks like too much sugar for our house.
But you really have to know, and taste, the blueberries you are using in the recipe. Some blueberries are wonderfully sweet while others are tart or even bland and watery. I love Maine blueberries as they have the most intense blueberry flavor and are small and relatively sweet so you don't have to add much sugar.
On the flip side, down here in Louisiana where it's hot and muggy, the blueberries grow large, are mild in flavor and watery so I use the amount of sugar called for in most recipes, about 1/4 cup less. You will have to be the final judge on the sweetness level that will fit the muffin recipe best for your personal taste and whatever kind of fresh blueberries you can find in your area.
From the website: Our beautiful Victorian bed and breakfast offers inviting elegance in a wooded setting. Hardwood floors, leaded-glass windows, and wraparound porch add to the ideal surroundings. Perfect for romance or a much-needed getaway, our guest rooms are complete with antiques, cozy wing chairs, and Jacuzzis and fireplaces.
Two suites are available: the first reproduces the serenity of the north woods as a replica of the inside of a log cabin. It includes a stone-mantle gas fireplace, viewed from either the two-person Jacuzzi or the comfort of the bedroom. The second suite features the same amenities but is decorated in the flair of the late 19th century.
Another room sports a hand-painted mural that transforms the room into a canopied tree loft and is complemented by a gas fireplace.
Breakfast features such favorites as pecan streusel coffeecake, cinnamon-orange French toast, or potato quiche.
During the summer, guests can swim in the heated pool adorned with a giant mural of a sunken ship half embedded in a coral reef surrounded by a couple of hundred fish, not to mention a Mermaid or two, or walk 1/2 block to a Lake Michigan public beach to enjoy spectacular sunsets. Bicycles are available for exploring the scenic lakeshore.
In winter, X-country ski or hike along wooded paths, or visit the shops in charming Saugatuck and Douglas.
Sherwood Forest Package of the Month: Melt Your Stress Away
Melt Your Stress Away Upon arrival, you'll find a beautiful wine and cheese basket with a bouquet of fresh flowers. During your visit, you'll each experience a soothing massage in a style suited just for you and a $30 voucher good toward a romantic dinner at a fine restaurant. Upon your departure (which we're sure you'll want to delay as long as possible before returning to the real world), a gift from us: a compact disc of relaxing music and an illustrated guide to massage. The cost for this R&R is $165 with one massage; $235 with two massages (does not include room rate).
*** Remember to support small business in your area and when you travel. Why stay at a Big Business hotel as you travel when you can stay in a more home like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast inn? The prices are comparable, the people friendlier and your stay will be memorable.
1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter, at room temp. 1 Cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 ½ Cups blueberries (mash 1/2 cup with a fork) 2 Cups flour 1/2 Cup milk 1 Tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease 12 muffin cups.
Beat butter until creamy, then beat in sugar, then beat in eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt.
Mix mashed berries into batter, then fold in half of flour and half of milk. Add remaining flour and milk, then fold in remaining blueberries.
Fill muffin cups and sprinkle with nutmeg sugar.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 20 minutes in pan before removing.
This bread is awesome; it's one of our favorites at the bed & breakfast. You'll love it, mainly because "Chocolate Rules."
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 large bananas will do) 2 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., spray cooking oil (you can use butter) to coat the bottom of a 9 x 5 x 3-inch bread pan, then lightly dust the pan with flour and tap out the excess.
Next, in a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until blended. One at a time, add eggs, beating well with a fork after each addition.
Stir in bananas, milk and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour mixture just until blended. Stir the chocolate chips. Scrape batter into a prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until you test with a knife in the center of the bread and it comes out clean.
Remove the pan to a wire rack, cool 10 minutes before removing bread from the pan, then finish cooling on the rack.
And it's chow time! (Bread can be frozen for later use, thaw overnight.)
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