Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... (158 page)

[Throughout the Azores and the West Indies] enormous quantities of wood were consumed in building the many sugar mills and converting the cane into sugar. Mills failed if their owners did not have access to large amounts of timber because as Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, who spent many years on Espanola, observed, "You cannot believe the quantities of wood they burn without seeing it yourself." Experts in West Indian sugar production estimated that from six to eight slaves had to be constantly employed in carrying fuel in the forest and transporting it to the mill for optimum efficiency. To provide fuel for one mill stripped about ninety acres of forest land each year. John Perlin
A Forest Journey

BREAD AND RICE CAKE

Serves 8

¾ cup
basic brown rice

3 slices whole grain bread, crumbled by hand

1 cup
piima cream
or
creme fraiche

½ cup raisins

4 tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup chopped
crispy pecans

3 eggs

¾ cup Rapadura (see
Guide to Natural Sweeteners
)

grated rind of 1 orange

2 tablespoons brandy

Soak crumbled bread with cream. Using a wooden spoon, mix all ingredients. Pour into a buttered 9-inch easy-remove cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or more. Let cool before removing from pan.

VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM WITH BLACKBERRY SAUCE

Serves 12

1 tablespoon gelatin (See
Sources
)

½ cup water

4 egg yolks, at room temperature

½ cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 egg whites, at room temperature

pinch of sea salt

2 cups heavy cream, preferably unpasteurized

1 12-ounce package frozen blackberries

½ cup maple syrup

1-2 cups water

fresh blackberries for garnish

Mix gelatin with water and dissolve over low heat. Place egg yolks, syrup and vanilla in food processor and process until smooth. With motor running, pour in gelatin mixture and process briefly. Place food processor bowl and its contents in refrigerator while completing next steps. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with pinch of sea salt until they form stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until softly stiff. Return food processor bowl with gelatin mixture to machine, scrape down sides and pulse briefly. Fold gelatin mixture into cream and this mixture into egg whites. Pour into individual molds and chill for several hours.

Meanwhile, place partially thawed berries and syrup in food processor and process until smooth. Add water to achieve desired consistency. (Sauce should not be too thick.)

To serve, dip molds briefly in hot water and invert onto soup plates. Spoon sauce around molded Bavarian cream and decorate with blackberries.

Downey considered that gelatin was recognized as a valuable addition to the dietary because of its easy digestion, ready absorption, protein-sparing ability and supplementary protein value. He also noted that gelatin aided in the digestion of other foods, especially milk and milk products, and served as a base for many attractive and appealing dishes. N. R. Gotthoffer
Gelatin in Nutrition and Medicine

Sugar, which had up to about 1600 been extremely expensive and only used for making luxury confectionery for the very rich, had fallen in price dramatically when the seventeenth century trade with the East opened up and was freely available for such dishes as fruit tarts and puddings. One immediate result of this was that the teeth of the well-to-do, who could afford to eat large quantities of the new sugary dishes, began to show rapid signs of decay, especially as the custom of cleaning the teeth was not very common. The courtiers, always the first with new fashions, were inevitably also the first to display the stigmata of excessive sweet-eating: a visitor to England in 1598, Paul Hentzner, who saw Queen Elizabeth arriving at the royal Palace of Greenwich, remarked on her black teeth, "a defect the English seem subject to, from their too great use of sugar." Terence McLaughlin
A Diet of Tripe

HAZELNUT SHORTCAKE

Serves 8

1½ cups
crispy hazelnuts

1 cup arrowroot

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup butter, softened

½ cup Rapadura (see
Guide to Natural Sweeteners
)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups fresh berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries

2 cups
whipped cream

Process hazelnuts in food processor to a fine meal. Add arrowroot, butter, salt, Rapadura and vanilla and process until well blended. Butter and flour a 12-inch French-style tart pan and press dough into the pan to make an even layer. Bake at 300 degrees for about ½ hour. Let cool. To serve, cut shortcake into wedges and top with fresh berries and whipped cream.

A study from the Netherlands has found that people older than 85 live longer if their cholesterol level is higher than "normal." More than 700 elderly residents of the town of Leiden had their cholesterol levels measured 10 years ago. In the ensuing decade, a majority died as expected, but the death rate for the people with a cholesterol reading higher than 251 was 44 percent lower than that of those whose cholesterol levels were below 194. The explanation is that cholesterol is not an enemy but a friend—the body's repair substance, a potent antioxidant and precursor to many important substances including vitamin D, bile salts for digesting fats and the whole family of protective steroid hormones.
PPNF Health Journal

BERRY-CREAM CHEESE DELIGHT

Serves 8

2 cups homemade cream cheese
Whey and Cream Cheese

½ cup raisins, soaked for 1 hour in water

grated rind of 2 lemons

½ cup cognac

¼ cup raw honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3-4 cups fresh berries

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the soaked raisins to a pan. Add cognac and lemon rind and simmer for about 10 minutes. Mix cream cheese with honey and cinnamon in food processor. Blend in cognac and raisins with a wooden spoon. Line a strainer with a linen towel and place cream cheese mixture into the cloth. Tie into a bag, being careful not to squeeze, and hang the bag over a bowl to drain for several hours.

To serve, place ½ cup cream cheese mixture in eight individual bowls and place berries on top.

The startling interest in Viagra, a new drug that increases sexual potency in men, indicates that a huge number of American men are not satisfied with their sexual performance. Clues to the underlying cause come from the massive MRFIT study, in which men were encouraged to make substantial reductions in their fat intake. When fat intake was cut back, testosterone levels went down. Men with type A behavior—driven, aggressive, combative types—also show a greater decline in testosterone levels as they grow older. Could it be that lowfat, low-cholesterol diets cause men to be "driven, aggressive and combative," and then burn out by middle age?
PPNF Health Journal

SUET PUDDING

Serves 8

½ pound (1 packed cup) beef suet, grated

1 cup Rapadura (see
Guide to Natural Sweeteners
)

3 eggs

1 cup dark beer or ale

1 cup dates, finely chopped

1 cup dried pineapple, finely chopped

1 cup dried currants

1 cup crispy walnuts or pecans, chopped (
crispy pecans
)

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 cups whole grain bread crumbs

2 teaspoons baking powder

2-3 tablespoons brandy

Beat suet with Rapadura to form a smooth paste. Beat in eggs and dark beer or ale. Stir in remaining ingredients except brandy. Pour pudding into a well buttered 6-cup ceramic bowl or mold and cover with 2 layers of greased parchment paper (See
Sources
), secured with a rubber band or string. To steam, place in a pan of simmering water with water coming one-third up the side of the mold. Steam for 5 hours, adding more water as needed. Allow to cool, remove parchment paper and pour brandy over the pudding. Cover again with ungreased parchment paper, secured with a rubber band or string, and keep in a cool, dry place for several days to several weeks. To serve, steam again for 2 hours, unmold onto a plate and serve with brandy butter.

BRANDY BUTTER

Makes 1 cup

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup Rapadura (see
Guide to Natural Sweeteners
)

4 tablespoons brandy

Beat butter until soft and light. Gradually beat in Rapadura and rum. Place in a bowl and chill.

Defenders of pasteurization make little of enzymes and report that a large number of enzymes are completely destroyed in the process of pasteurization. They attribute little importance to this and point out that the complete destruction of the enzyme phosphatase is one method of testing to see if the milk has been adequately pasteurized. Phosphatase is essential for the absorption of calcium,
but the complete destruction of phosphatase is the aim of pasteurization!
William Campbell Douglass MD
The Milk Book

BAKED PEARS

Serves 8

8 whole pears

½ cup lemon juice

1 cup red wine

½ cup honey or maple syrup

½ cup
sweet cream sauce
, optional

Combine lemon juice, wine and honey or syrup in a small pan. Bring to a simmer. Peel pears and core from the bottom end. Set on sides in a buttered pyrex dish and pour the wine mixture over them. Bake at 350 degrees for about ½ hour, turning and basting frequently. Carefully remove pears to a bowl and chill well. Meanwhile, pour syrup into a small saucepan and boil down until it thickens. Let cool.

To serve, place pears on individual plates and spoon sauce over. For a more elegant presentation, place pears on individual plates and place one large spoonful of thickened sauce on one side of the pear and one large spoonful of optional sweet cream sauce on the other side of the pear. Let the two sauces run together slightly for an interesting pattern.

Variation: Baked Peaches

Use
8 fresh peaches
instead of pears.

The pear is a relative of the apple and a native to the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. Pears are good sources of fiber and contain phosphorus and carotenoids as well as ellagic acid, a substance that protects against cancer. The ancient Chinese valued the pear for treatment of the stomach and lungs.

There are many delicious varieties of pears. The best for poaching and baking purposes are the bartletts. SWF