Tommy Thompson knows his quiche

The former Governor of Minnesota and Secretary of Health and Human Services has apparently been a closeted-quiche lover. Now, his secret is out and you've got the recipe.

The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson
Former Governor of Wisconsin
Specialty Recipe
Broccoli/Cheese Quiche

Ingredients
Pastry for 10-inch single pie crust
1-1/2 cups chopped broccoli
1-1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of nutmeg
Arrange broccoli and cheese in pastry-lined pan. Beat together eggs, cream, and spices in bowl. Pour the custard mixture over cheese and broccoli. Place in preheated over at 375 degrees 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean.
Yield: 8 main dish servings.
Joe Dodge, Chef Executive Residence Kitchen

You'll feel better and its not just the hydration

It's okay now.

One can stay hydrated without polluting the enviroment from empty water bottles. I, myself, always have a little soft spot in my heart for ther Nalgene bottle, but that's just the California talking.

Before you invest the $10, get the full scoop from a water bottle consumer report from Slate.com. I promise, you feel better about yourself because you're doing your part and because your getting that daily-8.

'Tis the season of tomato

As if summer wasn't a great time of year anyway, it just so happens to be tomato season too. I saw this great article in the Washington Post that pretty much sums up what you need to know to really enjoy everyone's favorite non-fruity fruit.

Chocolate lovers are anti-faking the cocoa butter funk

If there is one thing I have learned, its that you never want to mess with people's chocolate.

Deep in the heart of chocolate lovers worldwide, there is a (sometimes subconscious) division-- those purists who love the cocoa butter-based treat and those who enjoy the cheaper versions made with vegetable oil. These two groups have coexisted peacefully, but now everything could change...

A dozen food industry groups have petitioned the FDA on standards of how certain foods can be produced and the great chocolate divide is proving to be the most contentious of the debates.

While the battle took 30 years to settle in Europe, Americans have only been entrenched in the chocolate war for a year.

The pro vegetable oil lobby: "If you're able to replace cocoa butter with another fat, even at the 5 percent level, you're saving lots and lots of money, especially if you are a major manufacturer of chocolate bars," said Bernard Pacyniak, editor in chief of Candy Industry magazine.

The oil-haters (aka cocoa connoisseurs) argue: "It's a real philosophical thing, just about the foods we eat. There is such a focus on people's wanting to know what's in the foods they eat, how they're grown, where they come from — this seems to fly against the direction of the way things are moving," said Gary Guittard, the president of California's Guittard Chocolate Co. and a leader of the opposition.

For the full rehash of the cocoa-throw down, click here for the AP story

China's Great Wall is holding the good stuff back

The folks who invented the Zagat guide have got some major beef with Chinese food in this country.

If Henry Kissinger could practice “Ping-Pong diplomacy,” perhaps Condoleezza Rice could try her hand at “dumpling diplomacy”? With more chefs who are schooled in China’s dynamic new restaurant scene, we would see a transformation of the way Chinese food is served in this country.

According to the Zagats, China is culinary nut desparetly needing to be cracked. Developing capitalism has brought about a new surge in the restaurant industry and taste buds in China are benefitting from the emergence of regional cuisines into the mainstream.

Apparently you can get sick of too much rice.

And Chinese food in America? Oh, don't even get them started. First the problem was that good traditional ingredients were not found here in the U.S.; then cuturally the American palate was not into anything that wasn't bland. Now, the Zagats say what's missing is a visa program for chef exchanges.

Lesson to be learned: Liberate yourselves from subpar chow mein from the mall. Move to China. Or something like that.

Read the article from the New York Times

Photo by Stephen Doyle

There are looney people in Holland, too

Everyone in America knows that the origin of the meat in hot dogs is, at best, dubious. But wooden shoe-wearing stoners in Holland take pride in the amalgam of meat in the frikandel-- a deep-fried sausage made from beef, pork, chicken and...gasp, horse.

The frikandel experience as recalled by Greg Lindsay:

The Netherlands appears to lag about a century behind the United States in sausage-delivery mechanisms, bypassing the standards bun in favor of a plastic sleeve and fork. I also ordered -- just because I was there -- pommes frites and mayonnaise, reflexively hearing John Travolta ("They drown 'em in that shit") echoing through my mind. Despite the deep-frying, the exterior of the frikandel was still soft, making it almost impossible to cut off a piece with a fork without spilling pink gloop on my shoes.

Photo by Greg Lindsay for Esquire

Mooove over, you fatty inferior cows

Mad scientists in New Zealand are working on creating a cow super-race, if you will. These alpha-cows will produce milk that is "high in health-boosting omega-3 fatty acids and makes butter that spreads as easily as margarine even when chilled,high in health-boosting omega-3 fatty acids and makes butter that spreads as easily as margarine even when chilled."

In 2001, a cow named Marge was identified as having a genetic mutation that made her milk and her offsprings' milk healthier. Scientists and dairy farmers subsequently got all geeked out.

Up next are plans to create beta-cows for lower quality cheeses and epilson-cows for sausage.