Comments for Spilt Wine & Sticky Rice

Comment on Caprese Stratas w/Basil, Tomato & Mozzarella by Yoko

Yoko — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:09:30 +0000

I made a variation of this last night. Here’s what I did differently:
-I used some stale sesame wheat bread and cut it up into cubes
-I cut up two yellow tomatoes (the bread and the tomatoes were from the farmer’s market)
-I used ciliegine mozzarella– melted nicely
-I only had 6 eggs, so I used them up
-I omitted the milk and nutmeg
-I sauteed some diced onion and added it to the mix
I also shredded the basil, then put the mixture into 2 small casserole dishes and baked them for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
The result was delicious, and yes, it’s supposed to be more like a savory bread pudding. The crust from the bread that ended up on the edges was a little crispy (yum), and everything else combined to form a cheesy strata.
What I would do differently next time:
-Save the basil until near the end of the baking time, then sprinkle it so that it just wilts.
-Saute garlic instead of onion
-Let the bread soak in the egg mixture overnight.

Comment on Bare Minimum by Ace

Ace — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:02:32 +0000

…but I packed the coffee. Aaaaargh!

Comment on Triscuit Brand Repositioning (“Trisophistication”) by Bonnie

Bonnie — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:20:35 +0000

This is a very interesting conversation. As someone with allergies, I am always looking at ingredients to be sure I can safely eat something. I was curious about the IL # D5068 as well. Good to know it’s just an internal recipe thing. Thanks!

Comment on 24/6 by Yoko

Yoko — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:05:27 +0000

Looks like they offer a potato knish, mozzarella sticks, cheese pizza, onion rings, and French fries?

Do they turn off the vending machine on the Sabbath?

Most importantly, I wonder if it tastes any good.

Comment on English Muffins by Ace

Ace — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:08:58 +0000

Maybe you can hit up this guy for some additional pointers.

Comment on Sour Cream Blue Cheese Dressing by Ace

Ace — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:51:30 +0000

In addition to everything else, it makes an utterly amazing dip for filet mignon/ hot oil fondue.

Comment on Dragonia’s Macaroni & Cheese by Ten Feet

Ten Feet — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:35:18 +0000

I’ve followed various kinds of low-carb ketogenic eating plans on and off, depending on my athletic needs, since about 1998. I’ve eaten Dreamfields as well and like it. However, I’ve never been confident in it as a very low-carb food. I think it’s better categorized as a lowER carb food. I’ve known plenty of people who actually check their urine for ketones who have said that it kicks them out of ketosis, even when eaten in moderate amounts. I can’t say from my personal experience, as I never ate Dreamfields during a time when ketosis was important to me.

I’m extremely skeptical about any claims Dreamfields makes about its starch “protection” technology, since they’re not particularly transparent about how it works. I do think that whatever they’re doing works for many people, but it also doesn’t work for a not insignificant number of people out there. Human beings have a wide range of tolerances for / sensitivity to dietary carbohydrates, and it seems to me that reactions to Dreamfields varies quite a bit as well.

So I just wanted to give a heads up to people that recipes using Dreamfields may be problematic for some people, and if maintaining ketosis or strictly controlling blood sugar is important, people may want to test diligently when eating Dreamfields to make sure the product works as desired for them.

Comment on Dragonia’s Macaroni & Cheese by Dragonia

Dragonia — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:34:10 +0000

I have heard this comment made about Dreamfields net carb raising after over cooking or reheating. I called Dreamfields and this is a myth. I was told that Dreamfields fiber/protein blend creates a barrier to reduce starch digestion in the small intestine. The unabsorbed, or protected carbs then pass to the colon where they are fermented, providing the same health benefits as fiber.

You are correct about diabetics reporting that it elevates their blood sugar. But this also depends on what type of diabetic you are. I am not diabetic, and have followed a low carb regiment since 2002. I have never had a problem with the Dreamfields pastas. But as with any diet, everything should be eaten in moderation.

Comment on Dragonia’s Macaroni & Cheese by Ace

Ace — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:13:35 +0000

Thanks for bringing up those important issues, Ten Feet. I don’t maintain a low-carb regimen myself, so I pretty much just passed the recipe along as Dragonia made it for me without any fact-checking. She’s apparently had dialogues with other people about these same topics, though, so she’s planning on reading your comments and addressing them herself in this space. Stay tuned…

Comment on Dragonia’s Macaroni & Cheese by Ten Feet

Ten Feet — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:30:15 +0000

FYI, Dreamfields isn’t low-carb for a lot of people. A lot of diabetics report that it elevates their blood sugar almost as much as regular pasta after consumption–but it does so many hours after eating, not, as regular pasta would, within the 2-hour post-prandial window in which many people test their blood sugar. And a lot of people who have a hair-trigger response to carbs report that they stall on weight loss plans after eating Dreamfields.

Even if it does work for you, whatever technology the company uses to keep the starch from being quickly digested seems to fail (i.e., it reverts to pretty much the same glycemic properties as regular pasta) if you overcook it, so using it in a “twice cooked” dish like baked mac & cheese is probably a bad idea. The magic also apparently fails when the cooked pasta is stored, so keep that in mind when considering quantity; leftovers have an even smaller chance of behaving like a low-carb food.

This may or may not be a big deal for some. But, at best, I would expect that, in a baked mac & cheese dish, the Dreamfields doesn’t behave all that differently from a protein- and fiber-enriched pasta like Misura or Barilla Plus, only at twice the cost. At worst, it could really mess with a diabetic’s blood sugar. It might be safer to think of Dreamfields not as a low-carb pasta, but as a low-glycemic pasta, and only when cooked properly (only to al dente, cooked via boiling, eaten immediately after cooking, and sauced at the last minute) and eaten in small quantities. And if you are not diabetic or overly sensitive to carbs.

The recipe sounds delicious, though.