A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition has discovered that capsaicin (the stuff in peppers that makes them hot), when added to breakfast foods or appetizers at lunch, causes people to eat less during meals and for hours afterwards. Thirteen women, who ate breakfast foods spiced with red pepper, ate less than normal at breakfast and during the day, while ten men, who ate red pepper laced appetizers, consumed fewer calories at lunch and during a mid-day snack hours later. Aside from acting as an appetite suppressant, red pepper also seems to increase the number of calories burned, particularly after high-fat meals.

Why is capsaicin good for you?

Capsaicin and substances that contain it are among the most studied of substances in medical, pharmaceutical, and nutrition research. Although many of the claims have not yet been substantiated by scientific research, some of these uses have been around for hundreds of years, and they seem to work for many, many people.

Capsaicin:

1. Improves digestion by stimulating stomach secretions.
2. Lowers triglycerides.
3. Has a laxative effect.
4. Triggers the release of endorphins.
5. Unclogs stuffy noses by irritating mucus membranes.
6. May reduce high blood pressure.
7. May protect against some forms of cancer.
8. Diabetics Take Note!

Capsaicin contains Vitamins A and C, and beta-carotene. It’s low in fat, calories and cholesterol. If you thought your diabetic diet was supposed to be boring, try spicing up your cuisine with capsaicin-based products, like hot sauce or jalapeno peppers. And if that’s not enough, capsaicin also appears to increase your metabolic rate so you can burn more calories. This is an important finding for dieters. If you sprinkle cayenne pepper flakes on your low-fat pizza or soup, toss some sliced jalapeno peppers into your salad, or chop some habanero peppers into your turkey chili, you may be able to lose weight faster! You’ll also benefit from the other perks: lower triglycerides and great digestion.

From CBS News’ Dante Higgins:

PAGE SPRINGS, ARIZ. — John McCain has been campaigning hard for months and his traveling press corps has been working just as hard in covering him. So, this weekend McCain played host to a handful of senators and governors at his Arizona vacation home and today the press joined the party.

Two shuttle buses rode in with about 40 journalists onto what could be McCain’s version of President Bush’s Crawford ranch if he wins in November.

As reporters filed in, McCain, who stood by the grill tending to ribs and chicken, shook everybody’s hands as they passed. The receiving line continued as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Gov. Jon Huntsman, R-Utah, and former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, lounged on McCain’s large deck that wrapped around his cabin.

McCain wore a white sweatshirt with a silk-screened family photo on it, sunglasses, a green baseball cap and blue jeans. As grillmaster, he looked like the all-American dad, with a story for every spot in the house. He explained that he loved to grill because it was social. He said it gave him something to do with his nervous energy while everyone could enjoy food and drink.

He shared his recipe for “practically” fat-free ribs. He rubs a salt, pepper and garlic powder mixture onto the ribs along with lemon and cooks them for an hour and a half to allow most of the fat to fall off. Fat-free or not, the ribs lived up to the hype. After three servings, I’m confident in reporting they were succulent and flavorful.

Our invitation to the barbecue came with restrictions. It began as an on-the-record gathering, then shifted to an off-the-record event. McCain staffers say they wanted to allow the event to be more of a social than a work event. In the end, it was back on-the-record but no video or audio equipment was allowed. Most people adhered to these rules but a few audio recorders made their way in. A handful of reporters stood next to McCain with notepads in hand, unwilling to let this story go by unreported.

After McCain greeted reporters he continually turned meat on the grill and offered pieces as they became ready. He politely explained that he wasn’t doing interviews but that didn’t stop the crowd from standing around the grill taking photos and asking questions. He even told reporters to walk around and take a look at the place, but after he realized the press wasn’t going to leave him alone, he took them on a walk instead.

McCain led a dozen reporters around as he carried tongs and a knife in his hands. The first stop was to a blackhawk’s nest where he said he once watched a mother teach her baby bird how to fly.

The décor of McCain’s house had a southwest flavor. Navajo rugs don the walls and floors. Well worn couches and chairs furnish the lower level of his home, which has exposed brick, wooden door frames, and paneling. In one room, political cartoons of McCain from the 2000 election cover the walls.

Cindy McCain decorated most of the other walls in the home with family photos, and drawings and paintings by their children.

We ate at tables along a creek that ran past his house. Beef tamales, hamburgers, sausages, potato salad and pastas were on the menu in addition to McCain’s grilled chicken and ribs. The McCain’s have two dogs, Coco and Sam, who tag-teamed each table during dinner looking for scraps.

1 cup green tomatillos (blanched, peeled and diced small)

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (I prefer brown rice vinegar)

2 teaspoons salt,

2 tablespoons wasabi powder

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.

In a small, nonreactive saucepan, combine the tomatillos, sugar, vinegar and salt.

Place saucepan over medium-high heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomatillos start to break down. Combine the wasabi and water to form a paste, making sure there are no lumps in the mixture. Add the wasabi paste and the ginger to the tomatillos and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool completely. When cool, add the cilantro and refrigerate.

It will be summer and clam season here on the coast of Maine (as we get our 20th snow storm of the season today, that’s hard to imagine, but Saucy is holding out hope!

Ingredients

Directions

1. Place the clams in a large bowl. Cover with cold water and add a handful of salt. Leave to soak for 30 minutes to rise out the sand and grit.

2. Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes by placing in a heatproof bowl and pouring boiling water over to cover. Let stand for 30 seconds then drain and plunge into cold water. The skins should slide right off. Cut the tomatoes in half, deseed, and chop the flesh.

3. To make the salsa, combine the tomatoes, garlic, corn, cilantro, scallions, cumin, lime juice, and chili in a bowl. Season with salt to taste.

4. Drain the clams, discarding the ones that have opened. Place the clams on the hot coals of a barbecue, allowing about 5 minutes per side. They will pop open when they are ready.

5. Immediately remove from the barbecue, top with the salsa and serve with lime wedges for squeezing over the clams.

Many hot sauce collectors will not keep their sauces in the refrigerator.  I suggest to customers that if the sauce is pepper based, and has no fruit or vegetables in it, will keep for a long time on the table.  It should keep almost forever in a refrigerator.  However, if the sauce has fruit or vegetables or ingredients beyond vinegar, garlic and peppers, once opened should be refrigerated.  If taken care of, these sauces should last several months if not a year once opened.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear, that if you came to my house and opened my refrigerator, you would be met with a door full of hot sauces.  And many of them are several years old (hey, a girl can only eat so much hot sauce a week!)…..and I wouldn’t think of throwing any of them out!

The Szechuan peppercorn is back after a long-term ban

Descriptions of Szechuan peppercorns could apply to a drug as easily as a spice.

The peppercorn smell is wild and perfumed, and the taste is electric. Devotees swear it’s both addictive and medicinal. It literally numbs the mouth, but also imparts a woodsy hint of pine and cedar, and an intoxicating touch of acid sweetness, like a lemon soda.

		Meryl Schenker / P-I
	The Szechuan peppercorn is an essential ingredient in Szechuan cooking. Its numbing spiciness is surprising for those new to the cuisine.

The ingredient — technically the dry berry husk of the prickly ash tree — was banned by the U.S. government for years, even seized from local store shelves for fear it could spread a canker to citrus trees.

Even during the ban years (1968 to 2005, with the most serious crackdown near the end) those in the know found ways to get a Szechuan peppercorn supply. For those without a source, though, their relevant recipes were bleak. But now, with a minimal amount of legwork, the opportunity is open to anyone interested in taking that gateway bite of authentic flavor.

"It’s different than hot," said Chengdu native Ming Liao, manager of Bamboo Garden restaurant in Bellevue, which specializes in Szechuan food. "Also, it’s spicy — but different than spicy."

The restaurant goes through nearly a pound of the peppercorns a day, said owner Stacy Zhong. It’s no surprise, given the peppercorn’s central role in the kitchen.

The spice is "as integral to Szechuan cuisine as salt and pepper is to Western food," said food writer Diana Kuan in an e-mail to the P-I. Kuan is currently in southern China for her "Appetite for China" blog.

"A typical meal may start with cucumber salad and cold noodle dishes flavored with Szechuan pepper," she writes. "The main dishes could include ‘mouth-watering chicken’ bathed in Szechuan pepper oil, fish bathed in Szechuan pepper oil and chile peppers, noodles in a Szechuan pepper sauce, and green beans stir-fried with crushed Szechuan peppers. It’s pretty much evident in every part of the meal, except the rice, beverages and fruit that’s served for dessert."

The numbing spiciness is surprising for those new to the cuisine, she said, but easy to adapt to, and even to crave.

Physically, the compounds in the Szechuan (also spelled Sichuan) peppercorn as well as the related Japanese sansho "appear to act on several different kinds of nerve endings at once, induce sensitivity to touch and cold in nerves that are ordinarily nonsensitive, and so perhaps cause a kind of general neurological confusion," food scientist Harold McGee wrote in his classic book "On Food and Cooking." He compared the buzzing, numbing effect to touching the terminals of a nine-volt battery to the tongue.

In the Bamboo Garden kitchen, chef Mingjei Lee scatters the spice with a flourish over classic dishes such as ma po tofu and restaurant specialties such as Swimming Fire Fish, sometimes using it freshly toasted and ground to a fine powder, sometimes steeping the peppercorns in oil, sometimes opting to use them whole.

The oil has a stronger flavor, Lee said through a translator, while the toasted whole peppercorns have a more attractive odor. Almost always, he adds the ingredient in the final moments of preparing the dish to impart the maximum flavor and prevent the spice from burning. Most often, it’s used in conjunction with chiles, creating a combination of spicy heat along with the peppercorn buzz.

"If it’s just numbing," said Zhong, "it’s not that interesting."

The peppercorns now found in the U.S. are legal if they have been heated to remove any risk of canker. It can still be hit or miss for retailers to find a reliable supply, though, said Jason Nakaya, central grocery manager at Uwajimaya.

On a recent visit, I found both whole and ground peppercorns on the shelves of the Seattle Uwajimaya, but Nakaya said it’s always safest to call in advance and make sure they’re in stock. He thinks vendors aren’t always willing or able to comply with the new standards, making the supply chain spotty.

		Meryl Schenker / P-I
	Szechuan peppercorn is the key to classics such as the ma po tofu served at Bamboo Garden in Bellevue.

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MA PO TOFU
SERVES 2-3 AS A MAIN COURSE

• 1 block bean curd (about 1 pound)
• 4 baby leeks or two regular leeks (or a handful of scallions can be substituted)
• 1/2 cup peanut oil (as little as 3 tablespoons is OK if you want less oil)
• 6 ounces ground beef (ground pork, generally more common in Szechuan dishes, can be used instead)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Szechuanese chili bean paste
• 1 tablespoon fermented black beans
• 2 teaspoons ground Szechuanese chiles (optional)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• Salt to taste
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 6 tablespoons cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground roasted Szechuan pepper

Cut the bean curd into 1-inch cubes and leave to steep in very hot or gently simmering water that is lightly salted.

Slice the leeks at a steep angle into thin "horse ear"-shaped slices 1 1/2 inches long.

Season the wok, then add the peanut oil and heat over a high flame until smoking. (If using a pan, add the peanut oil and heat over high heat). Add the minced beef and stir-fry until it is crispy and a little brown, but not yet dry. Turn the heat down to medium, add the chili bean paste, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, until the oil is a rich red color. Add the fermented black beans and ground chiles and stir-fry for another 20-30 seconds until they are both fragrant and the chiles have added their color to the oil. Pour in the stock, stir well, and add the drained bean curd. Mix it in gently by pushing the back of your ladle or wok scoop gently from the edges to the center of the wok or pan — do not stir or the bean curd may break up. Season with the sugar, a couple of teaspoons of soy sauce, and salt to taste. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the bean curd has absorbed the flavors of the sauce. Add the leeks or scallions and gently stir in. When they are just cooked, add the cornstarch mixture in 2 or 3 stages, mixing well, until the sauce has thickened enough to cling glossily to the meat and bean curd. Don’t add more than you need. Finally, pour everything into a deep bowl, scatter with the ground Szechuan pepper, and serve with rice or vegetables.

From "Land of Plenty" by Fuchsia Dunlop

MAO DOU (SOYBEANS IN THEIR PODS)
SERVES 4-6 AS A STARTER

• About 1 pound frozen soybeans (edamame) in their pods
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon whole Szechuan peppercorn
• Walnut-size piece of unpeeled fresh ginger, crushed

Put the frozen beans in a pan and cover generously with boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil, add the seasonings, and then simmer for 5-6 minutes. Drain and then refresh in cold running water. Serve at room temperature. (Tester’s note: While the cooking pot emitted a marvelous fragrance for this dish, the pods in the end are only very lightly flavored. It’s a good dish for getting a hint of the peppercorn without the full-on effect.)

From "Land of Plenty"

SZECHUAN CUCUMBER SALAD
SERVES 6-8 AS AN APPETIZER

• 1 large or 2 medium-size cucumbers, peeled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil, such as peanut or vegetable
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Szechuan pepper, ground or whole, or substitute red chili flakes
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 or 2 teaspoons chili garlic paste

Cut the cucumber(s) in half lengthwise, then cut each half again so you have quartered strips. Cut or scoop out the seedy middle section. Slice each strip into 1-inch cubes. Put the cucumbers in a bowl, and toss with salt. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, as the salt draws out excess moisture from the cucumbers.

Heat a small pan on medium-low heat. Add cooking oil, then add garlic and Szechuan pepper. Cook until fragrant, but be careful to not to let the garlic burn. Set aside in a small dish to cool.

Drain the cucumbers through a strainer or sieve, and return them to the bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and chili garlic paste. Pour the mixture over the cucumbers. Add in the garlic and pepper that was cooling, and mix well. Serve at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator for up to a day to serve cold.

Courtesy of Diana Kuan, appetiteforchina.com

 

SPICY TIPS

Ken Hom, author of "Easy Family Recipes From a Chinese-American Childhood," gives this advice in his book for selecting and using the peppercorns:

Avoid packets with dark seeds; they should be a vibrant, rusty, reddish brown.

They are best when vacuum-packed, for they quickly lose their aroma if left out too long.

To roast them, heat a wok or heavy frying pan to medium heat. Add up to 1/4 cup of peppercorns, and stir-fry about 5 minutes, until they brown slightly and begin to smoke. Remove the pan from the heat and let them cool. Grind them in a peppermill or clean coffee grinder, or with a mortar and pestle. Sift the ground peppercorn through a fine mesh and discard any of the hard hulls. Seal tightly in a screw-top jar. Alternatively, keep the whole roasted peppercorns in a well-sealed container and grind as needed.

My friend Dave DeWitt has posted a great tutorial over on his Fiery-Foods site (he is the man behind the Scovie Awards and the annual Fiery Foods Show, which sadly, due to the store move, I had to miss this year).  Check it out, and happy thinking spring!!!!

Bananas are not just one of Saucy’s favorite fruits, the large leaves from the banana plants are great to cook with, and are used in many ethnic recipes.  This from our friends over at Bay Area Bites

Cooking with Banana Leaves

Once a month or so, my mother sends me a box from home filled with food. The last one, timed perfectly for lunar new year, included a batch of rice cakes. Before I even saw them, though, I knew there was treasure buried somewhere deep beneath her homemade peanut brittle, gingery mustard pickles from the last greens in her garden and bags of candied coconut used as packing material. The distinctive green-tea aroma of banana leaves had emerged as soon as the packing tape was cut.

Throughout the tropical sun belt, banana leaves appear as easy, inexpensive, natural, sanitary–and most importantly–delicious packaging. From Mexican tamales to Indian wedding feasts, Malaysian lunches to Vietnamese fast food, the leaves provide pliable wrapping, compostable tableware and a lovely flavoring for steamed or simmered specialties. Throughout Southeast Asia, you’ll see banana-wrapped foods for sale as street food. Food sealed within their layers and then cooked slowly will keep for days without being refrigerated. Traditional foods for the lunar new year period are often cooked in banana leaves, especially for serving during the first three days when families are supposed to be enjoying each other’s company rather than cooking.

For my mom and all my generous, food-loving aunts, banana leaves are perfect for the three-day priority mail period between the Midwest and California.

BUYING BANANA LEAVES

Virtually all Asian and Latino markets with a freezer section will stock banana leaves that have been folded and frozen into large squares. Though more delicate than fresh leaves, they’re easy and convenient to use. If you’re lucky enough to have a pesticide-free tree somewhere in your neighborhood, you might offer a trade in sweet or savory treats for an armful of fresh leaves. Berkeley Bowl often stocks fresh leaves, and there are also numerous mail-order sources for fresh leaves, such as Florida-based Greenearth.

USING BANANA LEAVES IN YOUR KITCHEN

Here are just a few simple suggestions for experimenting with banana leaves:

Golden Rice
Cook long-grain rice, substituting 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the water or stock with coconut milk. Add a few slices of ginger, a cinnamon stick and a pinch of turmeric. After the rice is cooked, stir gently and then prepare small packets of the rice. Steam for 20 minutes and then serve with curries or grilled fish.

Tamales
Rick Bayless offers a recipe for banana-leaf wrapped Red Chile Pork Tamales at his Frontera website. We’re lucky enough to live in an area where tamale dough is available pre-made in Latino markets. Leftover or take-out chicken mole is a most excellent substitute for slow-cooking your own filling. For variety, sprinkle green olives, bell peppers or corn kernels over the filling before enclosing and cooking.

Fish with Red Curry
Small packets are a fun alternative at summer grill parties, while a hot oven is a perfectly decent rainy-weather option for a dramatic yet simple dinner-party dish. Rub sea bass or salmon with a generous amount of prepared Thai red curry paste thinned with a small amount of oil. I prefer using a whole fish and filling its cavity with scallions and lime wedges, but you can easily use steaks or fillets. Wrap a whole fish completely in three layers of banana leaves, alternating the grain of the banana leaf to crisscross from layer to layer for added stability. Individual portions can be wrapped in one large rectangle on a bed of scallions and lime slices. Tie tightly with wet string and then grill over medium high coals or roast at 400 degrees, allowing 10 minutes base time plus 10 minutes for every inch thickness of the banana leaf packets.

Mushrooms with Tomatoes and Ginger
Thinly slice full-flavored mushrooms and toss them with diced tomatoes (drain well if using canned), chopped scallions, grated ginger, cilantro, salt and black pepper. Wrap in individual packets and bake or grill until completely charred on the outside. Serve as a side dish with steamed rice and grilled chicken or pork.

Sweet Rice with Coconut and Peanuts
Cover about 2 cups of sticky rice with 3 inches of water and let soak for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Drain well. In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup each of grated coconut and chopped, roasted peanuts. Stir in a few spoonfuls of brown sugar to taste (omit if using pre-sweetened coconut) and then a healthy sprinkling of salt. At the center of a large square of banana leaf, mound 1/4 cup of sticky rice, layer 1/4 cup of the filling, then finish with 1/4 cup more of sticky rice. Fold the leaf in thirds like a letter, then fold in the two side-flaps to overlap at the center; tie securely with string. Steam for one hour, then let cool completely before serving as mid-morning or afternoon snacks with strong tea.

WORKING WITH BANANA LEAVES

If you’re used to Saran wrap or foil, there’s a bit of an adjustment to using natural material that’s irregularly shaped and varied in texture from package to package, leaf to leaf. But banana leaves are immensely fun to work with, and their flavor is far, far superior to plastic or metal. Like crepes, practice with one or two or three first to get into the groove. Each thin package of banana leaves doesn’t look like much, but there’s a lot folded up in there. The leaves are inexpensive enough that you can get an extra one for back-up if it’s your first time working with them.

• A couple of hours in the fridge or a few minutes submerged in very hot water will thaw out frozen leaves. I usually place the leaves in my empty sink, and then pour boiling water over them to clean and soften them. I keep them in the hot water until just before I need them, wiping a few at a time with a cloth to absorb excess moisture. Always wipe in the direction of the grain to prevent splitting the leaves.

• Soak some toothpicks or kitchen string at the same time. I prefer string for larger parcels of food, since the toothpicks can cause more damage then their convenience is worth. If you forget to soak the string or toothpicks, expect to see them char completely if grilled or roasted. If you’re making very small packets, you can use thin strips of the banana leaf itself as ties.

• With a pair of scissors, trim away the hard, center vein of the leaf. Sometimes, I use the hard edges as extra support for larger packages, such as whole fish, but it can cause the leaf to split, so it’s best to remove them until you’re comfortable working with larger leaves. For appearance sake, you might also want to trim away any yellow streaks.

• To repair and reinforce a split leaf, just place it on top of another leaf with its grain running perpendicular.

• When grilling large items, such as a whole fish, use a cookie sheet and two wide spatulas to transfer the package to the rack, to turn it halfway through the cooking period and to remove it when done cooking.

• For easier and more attractive serving, especially on a buffet table, use shears to snip open the packets.

• Banana leaf packets are perfect for preparing ahead of time and cooking later. They hold up to moist fillings and they’re easy to carry to potlucks and parties. Cover with a damp cloth to keep them moist in the fridge. Don’t wait more than three days to cook them, though. They’re organic material, after all, and will start fermenting if left raw too long. Once cooked, though, they and the food they hold last a surprisingly long time even at room temperature. While we have become spoiled by the apparent safety of refrigerators, much of the world still enjoys prepared snacks wrapped securely and deliciously in banana leaves.