The Pineapple Theorem

What's in a pineapple besides bromelain and vitamin C? You say fiber or perhaps reference CAM photosynthesis, an adaption to plant survival in arid climates. All true, but the most recent connection I've made is that foods prepared by hand will always win. Freshly cut pineapple, juicy and sweet, is quite a summer treat. And yes, it's a guilty pleasure for somebody who cares about eating locally. Although conventionally grown pineapples do not have a high incidence of transferring pesticides, they are quite a waste of resources getting one shipped to Minnesota.

That said, I took a stab at cutting a pineapple along the spirals of eyes. This keeps more of the sweet fruit intact, allows the butcher to reflect on life, and looks really neat when done.

Copied from somewhere else, "In the 1820s it was discovered that, amazingly, the Fibonacci series frequently occurs in nature, illustrated particularly clearly in the pineapple. The fruitlets are arranged in curving rows: one set goes one way from base to top, the other crosses the first row at an oblique angle. The number of rows of each always conforms to two consecutive numbers from the Fibonacci series: usually 5 and 8 or 8 and 13, depending on the variety. Every single fruit is the same in this respect. In practical terms, this minimises the amount of mechanical stress exerted on it during growth. But it also means that it fulfils the properties of Divine Proportion—it is, mathematically, perfect."

The Curry Connection

The first time I made red curry, I worked a significant mount of brow sweat into my dish. Using the traditional method of grinding herbs and spices with a mortar and pestle, like toasted coriander and lemon grass, I was able to produce a delicious and aromatic curry paste. The flavors were dynamic and bright, with an almost chewy texture. As I enjoyed a hot bowl of red curry, I tried to think of ways to speed up the process for next time.


So machines, and kitchen power tools, do make our lives easier, but not necessarily more delicious. I took a spice grinder to my next curry production, cutting the time, and sweat, in half. But I also cut the flavor. Ouch. My machine-aided-paste was flat, smooth, and lacked character. It's like the difference between mom's chocolate chip cookies, roughly shaped and slightly burned, and Chips Ahoy. My paste might have had a giant glacier of garlic floating around or leftover fibrous ginger rafts, but it was down-home good.

Lesson learned. Join me for red curry sometime, and know that I busted ass to whop those fresh ingredients into something wonderful.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

I made this recipe below with cooked squash instead of pumpkin, and it turned out wonderfully.

http://theholisticchef.blogspot.com/2008/12/wonderful-and-moist-gf-pumpkin-bread.html


Now, this bread is gluten free, but you do not have to be gluten intolerant to enjoy it.

I was looking for a special dessert to bring to Thanksgiving dinner that I knew I could eat safely and wanted it to be something others could enjoy too. I also didn't want to do a pumpkin pie. I tried a couple recipes that I found online but none of them were quite right. This is what I ended up with and it is incredibly moist, almost too moist that it never felt completely baked. I have adjusted the liquid here to compensate.

I am not sure of how many standard loaf pans this recipe fills. I made one pan of 4 small loafs made by Wilson, see pic below. I think it will fill 2 to 3 regular size loaf pans.


The Ingredients . . .
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup maple crystals, 1/2 cup sucanat, 1/2 cup brown sugar)
1/2 cup grapeseed or canola oil
1 15 oz can organic pumpkin
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups gluten free flour (I used 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 quinoa flour, 1/4 sorghum, 1/4 potato starch, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup millet flour)
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sea salt

The Bread . . .
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your baking pans with a little olive or canola oil and then line with parchment paper.

Beat eggs in a medium mixing bowl with a hand mixer until a little frothy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until smooth. Add the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla and stir together with a spatula.

In a separate bowl, stir to mix the remaining ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to mix.


Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes, rotating half way through. Test with a toothpick or wooden skewer for doneness. Cool on a wire rack.