Honest, greener food choices can help prevent precocious puberty

When I was an editor for several womens' magazines the studies about precocious puberty in children made us all shudder. It was difficult - even 10 years ago - to find experts (researchers or pediatric clinicians), to talk much about what might cause this or even propose a theory. However, there were a few brave enough to go on the record and point to the food supply of milk and beef and their added hormones. Following some studies showing the estrogenic effects of plastic (from water bottles, food containers, baby bottles, and canned food liners), this became a hot topic in regards to hormone-related cancers. The American Plastics Council is not happy about that! Here's an article about precocious puberty, which is the premature development of children, from msnbc.com.
In it Dr. Luigi Garibaldi, a professor of pediatrics and clinical director of pediatric endocrinology at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, explains that a 'greener' lifestyle and healthier food choices can help prevent it. I think what he means is a diet that is more plant based and includes things like organic milk, 100% grass-fed and organic beef, local pasture-raised poultry and other animal protein, and probably avoiding plastic bottled water and other drinks and fast-food burgers.

Precocious puberty strikes more 7-year-old girls - Health - Kids and parenting - msnbc.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

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Amish Cabbage Noodle Casserole

I've learned a lot about thrift, simple ways, food and farming from my Amish friends. I’ve talked about my Amish friend Ellen and her family over on the HonestFarm.org website. I visited with her recently and her teenage daughter Suzy was putting together a supper dish with some cabbage and onions they had in cold storage. Ellen’s ‘cold storage’ is actually the back end of a refrigerator truck that runs on a diesel generator. They recently created a freezer section and sealed it off so they now have ice cream all the time, which makes all the kids still living at home very happy, as well as visitors. Especially when Ellen has made one of her apple pies.

But back to the cabbage-noodle casserole. I’ve always loved cooked cabbage and I’ve had it every which way, including a similar dish my Hungarian grandmother used to make. Like a lot of Amish people Ellen’s heritage is Pennsylvania Dutch and they cook many traditional dishes – along with the occasional pineapple pizza (!) -- and Ellen sometimes adds some homemade sausage or bacon to it. She wrote down the recipe for me and I added a few things (yeah, the parsley and the crumb top), as the foodie in me can’t resist. I served it as a New Year’s dish. It’s a great winter dish and like a lot of Amish cooking, knows how to stretch a food dollar.

Amish Cabbage Noodle Casserole
Serves 6 to 81 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley or fresh dill
Half a (16-ounce) package egg noodles (kluski or Amish brand noodles are best)
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup coarse bread crumbs (you can use Panko)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the cabbage, onion and garlic until the cabbage is wilted but still bright green (browning it a bit adds flavor). Remove from heat and stir in the parsley. Meanwhile, cook the egg noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and toss in a large bowl with the cabbage. Beat the sour cream with the egg and stir into the noodle-cabbage mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer the noodle-cabbage mixture to a greased 9x13x2-inch baking dish. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and combine with the bread crumbs and Parmesan. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 10 to 15 minutes until the casserole is bubbly and the top is golden brown.

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The New Official Farm Dog

This is Roscoe, the Treeing Walker Coonhound. Yes, that's an official breed. Roscoe had been living at the Woodford Humane Society for about a year. At first I 'fostered' him, which is a total scam as you nearly ALWAYS adopt the foster. And with a face like this, how could you not? That's Minnie the cat. As you can see, they made friends quickly.

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My favorite Oven-Fried Chicken Recipe

I've done a lot of experimenting to come up with this recipe, which is very close to fried chicken only with less fat involved. Start with good quality chicken (preferably local) or organic/free range from the market. The best way to make is to prep the chicken the day before, allowing it to marinate overnight. However, it's still a really good recipe if you skip the marinating altogether and go straight to battering and flouring.

I prefer seasoned flour to breadcrumbs as it's more southern and less like 'shake and bake.' I actually use local eggs and a local flour (Weisenberger's) in this recipe and onions from the garden for the marinade. Serve with mashed potatoes, green beans and/or corn on the cob when it's in season. Lately it's been with some spinach from the garden, quickly sauteed in a little butter and garlic.

Oven Fried Chicken
Serves 4 to 6
about 4 pounds chicken, cut up, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels

Marinade:
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons salt
Egg Batter Mixture:
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
Seasoned Flour Mixture:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dried marjoram, crumbled
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Using a heavy sharp knife, cut the chicken breasts in half crosswise. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mustard, onion, and 2 teaspoons salt. Add the chicken and turn to coat; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Lightly grease a large baking sheet with sides. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°.
In a medium bowl, beat together the batter mixture. Whisk together the flour mixture then place it in a large pie plate or wide shallow bowl. Wipe marinade from chicken and place on a plate. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg mixture until it's just coated (let excess drip off). Immediately roll in the seasoned flour. Place the chicken on baking sheet. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown and crispy. Chicken juices should run clear when pierced deeply with a fork.

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Recipe for Beggar's Linguine

My friend Dorie, author of Around my French Table, has a recipe for the fantastic looking pasta dish called Beggar's Linguine, which has butter, pistachios, chopped dried figs and Parmesan. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

http://doriegreenspan.com/

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Snow falling on Pin Oaks

Don't hate me because I live in a beautiful place. Sure, there are downsides to rural life - coyotes who party on your deck, chickens that eat all your tomatoes, no Chinese delivery. But it's lovely to drive twenty miles without running into a strip mall or a McDonald's. This is Woodford County, land of thoroughbred racehorses, mineral-rich springs and greener than green pastures. I'll be snowed in for a day or so but it's worth it. I drove by the big house on the farm (aka as Tara), to check on things. And no, sadly, I do not live here. But golly, isn't it gorgeous?

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Men and their Truck (add ons)

Can you tell I live in rural Kentucky just from looking at this? And yes, I was in a Walmart parking lot. People of Walmart, I salute you.

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