New Food Friday – Chayote

Although they’re spelled and pronounced similarly, Chayote and Coyote are two different animals. In fact, Chayote is a fruit! You already know what a Coyote looks like

Coyote http://www.flickr.comphotoscbruno

and that is why I’m posting Chayote as the new food for New Food Friday.

Chayote, pronounced Cha-i-O-tee, is a fruit that is used like a vegetable.  It is originally native to Mexico or Central America.It is a very pretty pale green and the easiest produce I have ever peeled, fruit or vegetable! My paring knife just glides and therefore it is a pleasure to prepare.

As far as texture, it is like a cucumber or pickle: juicy and crunchy. But it doesn’t taste like a cucumber or pickle. It’s one of those fruits that has a taste that is hard to describe. It’s a pleasant taste, and mild flavored. I thought I detected a slightly peppery aftertaste on my first bite which was raw. It can be eaten raw in salads but I chose to roast it along with a medley of other vegetables. 

Chayote with Mixed Veggies, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

When I roast vegetables, I usually roast them with chicken. I didn’t have any chicken on hand this time but that’s OK.  Roasted vegetables are very good on their own. If you can call all the spices I put on them “on their own”!

Chayote on the Vine – wikipedia – Thuydaonguyen

I drizzled olive oil on cut brussels sprouts, russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and piled the Chayote pieces on top. Everything got a spattering of salt and pepper. One side of the pan got dill, the other side got some other spice. The sweet potatoes got dashes of cinnamon, and since I had fresh mint on hand, I tore up some mint leaves and sprinkled them over top too. I also had fresh tarragon and sprinkled those leaves over top too. I shook some cayenne pepper over everything.

This is how I usually prepare roasted veggies with chicken: I line the pan with parchment paper, add a mixture of spices, whatever strikes my fancy, and roast them at 425F for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are charred and the chicken skin is crispy and to my liking. This is a very healthful way to eat vegetables.

Chayote with Mixed Veggies, Olive Oil, Spices & Herbs

Chayote with Mixed Veggies, Olive Oil, & Spices Roasted

I did this batch with my new convection toaster oven which cooks 25% quicker. I’m still getting used to it. The results were delicious! So, what tasted the best? Here are the results in order of preference:

1. The brussels sprouts (mmm, very good!)

2. The Chayote

3. The sweet potatoes

4. The russet potatoes

5. The carrots

Usually, I also add an onion quartered but as you can see from the photos, I had no room! Sometimes I add an apple, other times a quartered tomato.

I paid $.99/lb for my Chayote at Meijer or $.52 since it was a small one.

Chayote has a small soft seed which is edible but I removed it.

Chayote halved with Seed - Wikipedia

Nutritional Facts (from USDA)

Serving Size: 3.5 oz

Calories: 19

Sodium: 2mg

Carbs:  5g

Fiber: 2g

Sugar: 2g

Protein: 1g

Vitamin C: 1%

Calcium: 2%

Iron: 2%

Vitamin B6: 4%

Folate: 23%

Manganese: 9%

To see a further breakdown of nutrients, go to this USDA webpage. 

Chayote has a pleasing texture and a mild taste. It is low in calories and very versatile because it can be added raw to a salad, made into a soup, or stuffed and baked. Chayote is worth trying.

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New Food Friday – Ugli Fruit

The song goes like this: “If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife. So, from my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you!” That was just a little musical intro to today’s New Food Friday which is: Ugli Fruit.

Ugli Fruit

Ugli Fruit comes in a few colors: green, greenish-yellow, yellow, and orange. They range in size from 4 inches in diameter to 6 inches. This fruit is a tangelo that is a variety of citrus fruit grown exclusively in Jamaica where it was discovered over 80 years ago growing wild. Ugli is believed to be a hybrid of the Seville orange, the grapefruit and the tangerine. To me it tastes like a cross between a grapefruit and a pineapple.

I had a heck of a time peeling this thing. I began using a knife to get it started but the skin is very thick and rather tough. At least this one was.

Ugli Fruit Top Cut

It reminds me of alligator skin! Here’s what it looks like partially peeled.

Ugli Fruit Partially Peeled

You can see that the bowl is filled with all the thick skin peelings once it is completely peeled!

Ugli Fruit Peelings

Once I removed all the skin, I separated the slices of half the Ugli Fruit and had them for breakfast.

Ugli Fruit Slices

The membrane of the segments was tough too but it was fairly easy to remove the pulp from the membrane. It was juicy and I barely lost a drop!

I bought my Ugli Fruit at Meijer for $1.69. 

Ugli Fruit is harvested and sent to market after they have ripened on the tree so when you purchase it at the store, it is already ripe even if it is green.

Nutritional Facts

Serving size: 1/2 Ugli Fruit

Calories: 45

Fiber: 2g

Total Carb: 11g

Protein: 1g

Sugars: 8g

Calcium: 2%

Vitamin C: 70%

Ugli Fruit is ugly, but it will not interact with medicines the way grapefruits do!

Some people make ice cream out of the juice or put the segments into a salad (like a Sicilian salad which is very good). You can squeeze the juice of the Ugli Fruit and combine it with rum to make an Ugli Hot Toddy. What a way to welcome in the New Year!

Or, you can mix the juice of the Ugli with Cointreau and pour it over roasted duckling.

Duck-roasted (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At which time you will have: Ugli Duckling! Get it? 

Happy New Year Everyone! (I haven’t even started drinking yet.)

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New Food Friday – Escarole

Escarole is a vegetable that many Italians are familiar with but because I am so fond of it, I wanted to feature it on this New Food Friday for the folks who haven’t tried it. I’m always having to explain what it is to the supermarket cashiers when I buy it! 

Beautiful Escarole Head

In fact, the cashiers think it’s lettuce. I tell them it’s escarole and they can never find it in their computer.  I go through the same conversation with them every time! But I don’t care as long as they keep stocking escarole.

One of the first things I’d like to mention about this vegetable is that it’s beautiful to look at! I’m not kidding. A head of escarole is a thing of beauty like a bouquet of flowers. Some say to stop and smell the roses. I say, stop and admire the escarole.

It is beautiful enough to be thrown by a bride at a wedding except that you can eat the escarole bouquet!

                             Bride throwing inedible bouquet                                    sxc.hu kathalpha

The second thing I like about escarole is that you can eat it uncooked in a salad, or if you prefer, you can cook it and serve it hot. How many vegetables can you say that about? Ok, carrots.  Sure, celery. Yes, bell peppers. OK, never mind. Forget I asked. Here I’ve torn it into pieces.

Escarole torn pieces in skillet

 

I like to put it raw in a sandwich and use it just like lettuce.

I never see anyone else buying escarole. I think they must order it just for me. Sometimes they get heads that are so big I can hardly fit them in the plastic bag! (The escarole, not the supermarket people.) These are grown locally and boy, they must have a good strain of them because they are delicious besides being beautiful. Escarole is also reasonably priced: $1.99 a pound. Wow! I just realized it’s gone up in price. But then, what hasn’t!

The only down side is that sometimes it is sandy. I usually leave it in the plastic bag that I stuffed it in at the store and run the kitchen cold tap water in it a few times and rinse the worst of it out.  Then I put it in my Tupperware-like large green plastic bowl (see photo below) and fill that with water a few times and drain it. That usually takes care of all the sand and dirt.

Escarole soaking in water

Escarole is a slightly bitter green but when you cook it or braise it, it loses it’s bitterness and develops a sweetness. Lately, I’ve been steaming it in a large frying pan with a few tablespoons of water. (Of course I chop up a garlic clove, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil, and a few flakes of red pepper to the pan.) This cooks covered for about 20 minutes or until the leaves are tender. Then I remove the cover, continue cooking it, and let most of the water evaporate.

Escarole braised with garlic

If some of the leaves get slightly browned, that A-OK to me! Don’t forget to add salt to taste. I serve it with chicken, or a pasta dish. It goes well with most meat dishes.

                  Italian Wedding Soup                     flickr: devlyn 

However, I love escarole so much that I have been known to stuff it inside a piece of Italian or French bread and enjoy a nice cooked “green” sandwich for lunch! A seeded roll will work equally as well. In a pinch I will also put it on rye bread.

Another thing about escarole is that many people chop it and add it to soups, like the well-known Italian Wedding Soup.

Escarole is closely related to chicory, radicchio and Belgian endive.  It is very low in Cholesterol and a good source of Vitamin E, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a great source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Zinc, Copper and Manganese.

I can’t promise that someone will propose to you and you will get married if you eat escarole, but who knows?

Beautiful Bride sxc.hu papaleguas http://www.fernandoweberich.com

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New Food Friday – Daikon Radish

When I think of radishes, I think of small, round, red radishes.

Red Radishes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That’s why I was surprised to find this long, white, Daikon radish in my supermarket. It is exactly why it’s on the menu for today’s New Food Friday.

Daikon (giant white radish)  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Daikon radish is very low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol free, and a good source of vitamin C. It’s milder than regular radishes and a little sweeter.

According to fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org there are many ways to prepare this radish. Already that is a big difference from the small red radishes that we know which typically get sliced into a salad!

They list 10 ways to enjoy it, but I decided to try it two ways:

Raw with peanut butter. I used Smuckers Natural peanut butter. Daikon Radishes are another option for people who like to nibble on raw veggies with a dip.

Daikon Peanut Butter Sticks

  Or,

Roasted and slow cooked with carrots, onions, garlic, celery, olive oil, salt and pepper and whatever other seasonings you like. I omitted the seasonings except for the salt and pepper. You can do a lot of variations on this roasted dish. Add sweet potatoes or squash or whatever vegetable you have in the fridge.

This turned out great! It was delicious. The Daikon Radish became more peppery. I took some photos and then tasted it. I decided I wanted it browned a bit and put it under the broiler. I had roasted it for 45 minutes in an aluminum foil packet. I really liked this dish and will be making it again.

Roasted Daikon and Vegetables

I think it would also be great raw in a cole slaw dish or salad.

Daikon Salad with Sashimi – Horoki (Photo credit: flickr – avlxyz)

It’s good in an antipasto dish too.

If you are the adventurous type, you can even make a cake out of it!

Daikon Cake  (Photo credit: Mr & Mrs Stickyfingers)

I paid $.79 per pound and my Daikon Radish was under two pounds. Let me know if you try this.  I was pleasantly surprised at the results when it was cooked.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am thankful for my followers, for all your comments, and for your “likes.”

I hope all of you have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

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New Food Friday – Plantains

I like to experiment trying new foods every now and then and sometimes trying new combinations of foods. So, I decided I would share my experiences with you and write a post about it every Friday. Each New Food Friday will be about a food or foods that are good for your health. I will also provide nutritional data.

This Friday’s new food are plantains.  Have you ever tried them?

Plantain plant

You know what they look like – they look just like a banana.

But they don’t taste anything like a banana. In fact, their flavor is difficult to describe.

Some people say they taste like squash. I don’t know if I would agree with that. Their flavor is very mild though. I prepared my plantain by slicing and frying the pieces in canola oil.

Plantain Frying

I like canola oil because it has no flavor. In this type of preparation, the plantains have the look and the consistency of French fries. There isn’t much difference.

This was my first plantain experience. The plantain I bought was slightly green on the ends and I waited until it turned yellow before I fried it. Some people like to mash plantains like mashed potatoes. You boil them like potatoes and mash them like potatoes. I haven’t tried them that way yet.

Plantains slowly turn from green, to yellow, to black, just like a banana. They also go from very firm and starchy, to soft like a banana and they get sweeter as they ripen just like a banana but that is where their similarity ends.  Their skin is thicker than a banana which makes them a bit difficult to peel when they are green. Plantains are inexpensive. I paid all of $.43 for my first big plantain.  As you can see from the photos, I fried mine then drained the slices on paper towels and salted them. They ripen very slowly and they fry very quickly!

In fact, I slightly burned one side of my plantain slices with the first batch I made. I only fried up half the plantain because I wanted to wait until the other half ripened more to see what it tasted like.

Plantain Half

Even though I slightly burned some of the slices which gave them a slightly bitter note, I still enjoyed them.

About a week later, I fried up the other half of the plantain and watched it more carefully when I fried them up. No bitter note. They stay nice and hot so be careful you don’t burn your mouth when you eat them. I didn’t notice any change in taste when I fried the second half even though it had a streak of brown on the skin which means it was getting sweeter.

I bought a second plantain and fried it up the same way and enjoyed it. I haven’t had the patience to wait until it turned brown to see the difference in taste. Once they turn brown or black, they can be used in dessert recipes.

Americans think of plantains as being used for Mexican or Latin dishes. According to Wikipedia, plantains are a staple food in the tropical regions of the world. They fruit all year round. Africa is the largest plantain-producing continent. Northern California is a minor producer of plantains. India, Indonesia, Venezuela, Cuba, Australia, and many other countries produce plantains.  

Plantains, red bananas, apple bananas, and the cavendish banana (the one you put on your corn flakes)

The uses for this fruit are mind-boggling. Every part of the fruit can be used for something it seems. The skin can be made into a drink, the fruit can be made into a flour, the plantain flower is used in soups and gravies, the leaves are used to make tamales or they’re used as plates since they are stronger than banana leaves. The plantain shoots can be used as a salad. Juice from the stem and the peel have been used as first aid for burns and minor abrasions. I’ve barely scratched the surface.

Plantains are a good source of Vitamin A, C, B6, and potassium.  Plantains have 890 mg of potassium while bananas have 422 mg ! Potassium stimulates your muscles, nerves and brain cells, and can also help reduce blood pressure and risk of stroke. Plantains are low in sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol and high in fiber. Recipes for plantains are endless! I will leave the recipes (other than the simple one I mention in this post) for the food/recipe blogging gals and guys out there.

I give plantains a thumb’s up! You should give them a try if you are new to them.

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Calcium, Vitamin D and Panne Cotta: All Important to Good Health

Vitamin D the Sunshine Vitamin

Ever since we were young, our moms told us to drink our milk. So we drank it. As we got older, we learned that we needed even more calcium, up to 1200 mg of calcium for those of us over 50. But nature plays a cruel trick on us because as we age, we become more lactose intolerant making it difficult to accomplish the goal of 1200 mg of calcium a day. It isn’t fair!

Fortunately, there are other ways to get that calcium beside drinking milk.

Plus, we also need to be concerned about our body absorbing the calcium. Certain medications and foods make our bodies expel calcium. How do we know what foods help our bodies to absorb calcium? And, what about Vitamin D? How do we get this essential vitamin? I answer these questions and more in this article link.

Did you hear what Marcella said? Why no! Tell me, what did she say?

Panne Cotta – a delicious way to get more calcium

Here is an Italian recipe called Panne Cotta. It means “cooked cream.” I got the recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, “Great Taste – Low Fat Italian Cooking.” Their version is a lowfat version so they don’t use cream. They called their recipe, “Latte Cotta” which means “cooked milk.”  Sprinkled on the top of the dessert is crushed amaretti cookies. I did one better. Why use sweet cookies that contain sugar and are added useless calories? Instead I crushed walnuts as a topping which contains omega-3, an important necessary nutrient and tastes delicious in this dessert.

Then, on top of the nuts I thinly sliced bananas, which are high in potassium – good for your heart. I substituted milk too with powdered milk. Yes, powdered milk. It’s just as good if not better than regular bottled milk. Why is it better? It’s better because you can add an extra tablespoon of the powered milk and not notice the difference. This is one trick to help you get more calcium.

But nutrition aside, this is a dessert to die for! I wasn’t expecting it to taste so good. It’s excellent if I do say so myself and I’m pretty critical of my own cooking. It’s good enough for company. It looks like pudding but has the consistency of a gelatin (Jello) dessert. When you pile the thinly sliced bananas on top, they look like whipped cream topping as you can see from the photo. I highly recommend this dessert.

CHOCOLATE PANNE COTTA

Ingredients

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

2 ¼ cups low-fat (1%) milk (or, use my suggestion: powdered milk. Follow instructions on the box.)

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup boiling water

½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown)

1/8 teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

chopped walnuts for sprinkling

bananas for slicing

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over ¼ cup of the milk and let stand until softened, about 3 minutes. In another small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and cinnamon. Gradually add the boiling water to the cocoa mixture, whisking until smooth and no lumps remain. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups milk, the brown sugar, and salt. Whisk in the cocoa mixture until well combined. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, whisk in the gelatin mixture, and remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.

Divide the mixture among four 6-ounce dessert dishes. (I used large wine glasses.) Chill until set, about 2 hours. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Slice bananas on top when ready to serve.

Rewards for Doing Everything Right in Your Vegetable Garden

When you’ve done everything right in your vegetable garden, and when the stars and the moon are in the right position, and the weather has cooperated, and you’ve been lucky to boot, you can sometimes end up with too many vegetables! What? Too many? Yes, it’s happened to me. Let me tell you about it.

I had a surplus of tomatoes one summer. Here’s what I did with them and with other notorious over-producers in the vegetable garden. Click here to learn more.

I am not fortunate enough to be growing fruit in my backyard but boy, I am so itching to do so. Here is a recipe I made with store-bought fruit of which I had an over-abundance. This recipe has a terrible name: Raspberry Grunt. The name comes from the New England states as I understand it. They call it a Slump in Rhode Island and a Grunt in Massachusetts. I think it should be called a Plump.

I purchased a small box of raspberries at my local Meijer because they looked so fresh and plump and the price was right. I had no idea what I was going to make with them. I did what I usually do, checked my cookbooks, looked online, etc. I found the Raspberry Grunt on Martha Stewart’s website. Well, I didn’t have enough raspberries and her recipe also called for blackberries. I didn’t have any of those. But I did have some nectarines and some plums on hand so that is what I used.

The reason I was drawn to this particular recipe is because I didn’t have to turn on the oven. It cooks on the stove top. We’re probably going to hit 100 degrees again today and I don’t want to make my air conditioner run anymore than it has to!

First, I tasted one of the raspberries. Wow! Talk about tart! I would have rather bitten into a lemon. So, I made sure I added more sugar than the recipe called for. That is the opposite of what I usually do in a recipe. Here is what the fruit looked like when everything was rinsed, peeled, and cut into slices.

My Recipe

1  1/4 Cup sugar

1/4 teasp. plus pinch cinnamon

3/4 Cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teasp. ground ginger

1/3 Cup milk, room temperature

3 Tablesp. unsalted butter, melted

2 Cups raspberries

2 nectarines, pitted and peeled

2 plums, pitted and peeled

2 Tablesp. lemon juice or orange marmalade

3/4 teasp. baking powder

salt

Directions

Mix 2 Tablsp. sugar and 1/4 teasp. cinnamon and set aside. Wisk flour, 2 Tablesp. of the sugar, baking powder, pinch salt, and ginger in a bowl and set aside.  Stir milk and melted butter in small bowl. Mix the milk/butter into the flour mixture and set aside.

Put the fruit into a skillet and add 2 Tablsp water. Add the remaining pinch of cinnamon. Add the lemon juice or marmalade and the remaining sugar. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring occasionally.

Drop 8 large dollops of batter on top of the fruit mixture. Using two spoons to do this helps. Space them evenly apart. Sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the top of the batter dumplings. Cover and reduce the heat to medium or lower depending on your stove. Cook until the dumplings are cooked through and the juices are bubbling, about 12-15 minutes. You can serve it warm as is or with cream drizzled on top or ice cream.  I also like it served cold.

Here is a photo of the results.

My take on the taste and texture.

Even though I added 1/4 cup more sugar than the original Martha Stewart recipe, my fruit was still too tart. I didn’t add lemon juice as was required in the original recipe either; I used my homemade orange marmalade instead which was very sweet. Yet I still wanted to pucker because it was tart! True, I didn’t drizzle cream or serve it with ice cream which would have helped a lot. So, if you use berries, especially raspberries in your recipe, you may want to add more sugar, especially if you don’t serve it with cream or ice cream.

The dumplings. Now this is what made it worthwhile. These dumplings were out of this world. They were fluffy, big, tender, and delicious. I ate two but I wanted to eat four. This was my breakfast today. I’m going to have some for dessert after dinner too! It may not taste as tart when it’s cold.

Extra Tip. The other thing I did differently was that I used powdered milk. So, I mixed 1/3 cup water with 3 tablespoons powdered milk. The box directions say use 5 tablespoons powdered milk to an 8 oz glass of water to get 8 oz of milk. I added a lot more than was needed. Why? We need our calcium for good health. I add powdered milk to a lot of recipes. You can’t tell the difference.

I will definitely make this again using different fruits. I might even use frozen fruit to make it easier and quicker.

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Rachel Allen Fans Will Love Her Cookbook

I’m always on the lookout for an interesting cookbook and I thought I’d pass this one on to you. It’s Rachel Allen’s Favorite Food at Home cookbook.

I first learned about her on her PBS CreateTV show where I was watching her make Drop Scones with Lemon Curd. The Lemon Curd recipe is in the book, the Drop Scones recipe is not but she does have several other scone recipes in the book from sweet to savory. If you are fortunate enough to have a lemon tree on your property, this is a good recipe to use them!

The thing I like about these scones is that you don’t have to bake them in the oven. It’s too hot to turn on an oven! There have been record temperatures across the nation. Hopefully we will get a break soon.

She’s also got a bagel recipe that I’d like to try. I have my own bagel recipe (they’re very easy to make) so I’ll have to try hers to see if it’s better. Let me know if you try these lemon scones.

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Good Health and Good Gardening Go Together

I have been a vegetable gardener for many years. It seems that no matter how much you plan in the garden, something unexpected always comes up! (Literally!)

For example, I purchased some tomato seedlings at a local store this Spring and I thought I was buying cherry tomatoes. It turned out that four of the plants were cherry tomatoes but one was a different kind of tomato plant. The tomatoes are medium size and I have no idea what they are! Don’t you just love surprises? I can’t wait to bite into one of them.

My garden this year is doing well considering the drought and heat wave we are having and I have been good about watering it every other day or so.

If you’ve never grown a vegetable garden or herb garden before, you may want to give it a try. I offer some tips for someone who wants an easy garden with not much effort.

Having your own vegetable garden provides you with the freshest produce and highest vitamin and mineral content which is better for your health, not to mention that you will be getting good exercise and sunshine which provides Vitamin D. Make sure you wear sunscreen though to protect your skin.

I enjoy the butterflies, the bees, and sometimes the hummingbirds who frequent my garden. Gardening has so many benefits. I hope you try a garden today, even if you just have a small area by a windowsill. Give it a try!

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What You Eat Today, Walks and Talks Tomorrow

I come from an Italian-American family. My parents were born here; so was I and my two sisters. My mother’s parents came from Bari, Italy which is a city in the southern part of Italy or the heel of the boot. My father’s parents came from Arzignano, Italy which is a city in between Verona and Venice, Italy.

Consequently, I learned to cook a variety of Italian dishes. When I married and left home, I began to experiment with other cuisines. I always liked cooking, baking too. I’m addicted to cooking shows and cookbooks and cooking and baking DVDs! I never get tired of the stuff! My ears perk up when I hear about a new recipe or something I’ve never tried.

One winter I decided to make all my own bread. I didn’t buy a single loaf of bread at the supermarket. Rye bread, whole wheat bread, French bread, oatmeal bread, it was all so good slathered in butter.

I’ve made all kinds of rolls, pizzas, pies, cakes, soft pretzels, jelly rolls, butter cookies, ginger snaps, spice puffs, I mean really, who can remember it all? There isn’t much I haven’t tried. But for the most part, I’m not a sweets eater. I made cookies for when my son was little. Now that he’s an adult, I don’t make them anymore. Besides, he’s more of a health nut than I am. Not that he would turn down my cookies if I made them!

I grew up on the authentic Mediterranean diet. Vegetables and legumes were a big part of my diet. My mother always used to say, “What you eat today, walks and talks tomorrow.” This turned out to be true as I’m sure you know. If you eat that second piece of chocolate cake, you’re going to notice it when you put your pants on tomorrow. Maybe Michelle Obama should adopt my mother’s phrase. I think the slogan could help curb the obesity problem we have in this country.

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