From pie eating to the ingestion of selected bugs, we seem to glorify the most ridiculous practice of gorging competitions. These asinine displays of human facial vulgarity will always find their way to the moronic media machine. I have yet to understand why a civilization with all the means of good food at our disposal we choose to chow with same zeal as hogs slopping down their evening meal . For fame and cash, they would go gastronomic suicide and the Romans we cheer for their misery! Gluttony, burping, passing gas. and food dribbling down the front of shirts are great American sports for those who have no talent for anything else!

A 429 lb man traveled across the country setting world records such as consuming over a gallon of ice cream in 12 minutes, 4 lb and 5 ounces of French Fries in 6 minutes. He is seeking fame, product endorsements and, of course, money. Apparently movies and reality TV have defined a need for this new gastronomical insanity.

I can’t imagine looking for fame in the garbage can of world-wide sports and winning a lifetime supply of Alka-Seltzer, 1000 hot dogs and free visits to gastritis specialist. However, I was informed, the fat man didn’t stand a prayer because the slender Japanese man, though small, was able to stretch his stomach for the event while the man with huge stomach could not stretch, he only added more permanent weight while dreaming of winning his trophy of gluttony glory!

What kind of insanity would lead a any human being to train himself for a hot dog eating competition. He would need 8 weeks stomach stretching, he would have to drink a gallon on water in less than one minute. His prize if he wins, possible endorsements, appearances on Leno and a lifetime of medical consequences. To be the freak of the week seems to be this man’s goal. I have no ideas where such inspirations come from perhaps from the movies heroes such as DUMB AND DUMBER is a contestant to be out done.

This has moved from merely silly contest to SPORT. Did you know, there is an actual International Federation of Competitive Eating? Their top contestants are called super gurgitations for their sheer ability to ingest such inhuman amounts of food. Winnings could be in the form of endorsements or even a year’s supply of the featured food. With only reality shows and reruns on hand, the sports choose to entertain with belly busters.

In the meantime, pie eating contests go on at all the county fairs. People are challenged on a daily basis to stuff themselves at their local restaurants with all-you-can-eat meal options. There’s always a bigger burger with more meat, more cheese and more fries on the horizon. Not to be undone, one fast food king gives us his no-mercy breakfast bomb containing more fat, sodium and cholesterol than any sandwich previously had before.

In the early 20th Century, eating was a gracious thing, there were many fine restaurants even eating at home had a certain urbane graciousness. Most family members enjoyed a meal together every evening. Many moms were home churning butter and many had gardens. But as the 1960’s began, the disappearance of family dining and meal making evolved into what it is today. And 40 years later, gluttony mocks our civilization like a man-made Frankenstein holding us hostage.

He jumps at us on TV. He pops up in our mailbox and beckons to us from billboards. He is harder to avoid than your relatives. He is hunger. He knows you’ll get hungry and everything comes in a bigger size than yesterday. As the American stomach grows larger, the portions and the choices of unhealthy foods are growing longer each day. Little wonder that gluttony is becoming a sporting event, the only thing missing that seems to be missing is the Roman Coliseum!

In this age of Twinkies, Crispy Kremes and other over-hydrogenated and sugary snacks, the tasty square called gingerbread is a delightful slice of baking history. Gingerbread is a comfort food steeped in tradition and enchantment.

In medieval times, gingerroot was discovered to have a preservative effect and was thus added to a number of baked goods. Not surprisingly, this practice developed into the baking of many types of breads, cakes and cookies. The manufacture of gingerbread began appearing around the end of the eleventh century. How rich and wonderful for an edible to remain popular for ten centuries!

In 1571, French bakers belonging to an elite guild were permitted to bake these noble cakes. The most noteworthy recipes came from Dijon, Reims and Paris. Their wares were prized and separated from ordinary bakers of the day. For 8 centuries, a gingerbread fair was held at an abbey on the site of the present day St. Antoine Hospital where monks sold animal shaped gingerbread. The power of ginger has been a remarkable cohesive element in the community!

In 1614, in the town of Nuremberg, Germany, ginger was not used in the home but rather as a preservative whose use was restricted to an exclusive guild of master bakers. The town became known as “The Gingerbread Capital of the World” and became a major trade center. The finest craftsman were attracted to the town and created the most beautiful gingerbread cakes in Europe. They turned such cakes into works of art and sold them at fairs and carnivals.

In England in 1614, a typical family may have visited “The Bartholomew Fair” held every August. Many special cakes were made which honored the town’s patron saint (whose image is reputedly was stamped upon the gingerbread). On special days, the cakes would be decorated with icing that looked like men, animals or hearts, attracting hordes of buyers from near and far.

While Germany remains the strongest influence on the origin of gingerbread, the making of gingerbread would spread to the rest of Europe and England soon enough. In the nineteenth century, it was immortalized by Brothers Grimm in one of their most famous fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel. Abandoned by their parents, Hansel and Gretel found a house made entirely of gingerbread. It is believed that from this enchanting story came the tradition of creating edible ginger houses which has spawned many a worldwide competition.

In North America, early pioneers created recipes of gingerbread made with new and intriguing ingredients such as sorghum molasses. It is this addition of molasses which accounts for the dark, rich color of gingerbread that we recognize today.

Rumor has it that General Lafayette visited the home of George Washington in 1884 where his mother served fresh baked gingerbread. The fine cake was served with a generous mint julep. Apparently, gingerbread was made in the most dignified American homes and remains one of the enduring traditions we enjoy today.

If you’d care to taste a sweet bit of the 15th Century yourself, email me for your FREE copy of Traditional Gingerbread Recipes: mailbag@savvykitchensolutions

SPECIAL PLASTIC BOARD: Raw chicken is one of our worst offenders and needs handling with utmost care. You should purchase a large cutting board exclusively for cutting chicken and raw meats. It’s a good idea to buy one that can fit in your dishwasher. A few minutes under the hot water tap is good to kill bacteria. After hand rinsing, a run through the dishwasher will sterilize and kill any serious germs left behind.

FRUIT JAMS: With no-sugar and low-sugar pectin now available, you can forget about the sweet jars of jelly with wax covering. You have been jam-liberated. Firstly, make only small portions: place about 2 cups of chilled, mashed fruit into a double boiler (using a double-boiler will prevent scorching). Add pectin to cold fruit. Stir until dissolved. Heat until jam begins slow boil, and add a small portion of sugar (about 1/3 cup). Bring the jam back to boil and the process should be complete. Ladle the results into small plastic tubs. Keep a few in the refrigerator and the rest in your freezer. Your own home-made jams will be far superior to commercial all-fruit jam.

CHICKEN BROTH ON HAND: For pennies, you can always have a good supply of homemade chicken or even turkey stock. Both turkey wings and chicken make excellent stock. Chicken wings cost twice the price of turkey wing. My suggestion: any bony parts from either is OK! Place in a pot with water, carrot, onion, parsley, salt, pepper and a few fresh herbs, and simmer for 45 minutes (depending on the quantity of water). Try to resist adding more water half-way through. When it reaches your desired strength, remove from heat and strain out any bones or debris. Ladle into pint containers and freeze. You just made about $10 worth of quality broth ready to use when you need it. To thaw, do not place the tub in microwave. Instead set in a pot of hot water (not on stove). It will loosen, at which point you can move it to a glass dish and microwave.

As mentioned before, apricots, nectarines, cherries and peaches have all been growing abundantly this year. I have seen more fresh fruit in the last couple months than I have seen all last year. A couple of things to remember when buying fruit: fruits like watermelon and cantaloupe are best eaten fresh, whereas plums, apricots and other similar fruits can have a much longer life span if frozen or cooked.

The easiest and fastest method of preserving fruit is to wash them when fresh. Once washed, place them in plastic cartons (available at any Smart & Final or restaurant supply store) then put them in freezer. I prefer to leave out the sugar. Freezing fruit preserves their quality and taste. You generally can keep frozen fruit for a year. Once thawed you can make the fruit into jam, cobbler, pie or fruit topped cake Also, red plums can be pureed and be used as a natural gelatin mold.

If you have a very small freezer and don’t mind a little extra work, canning is certainly a viable option. Canning is like riding a bicycle; once you get the hang of it, you have it for life. I was once asked by a household in Santa Rosa to can 48 lbs of apricots. It took us three days to complete the task. We only processed the fruit that was ripe. Our yield was 96 pints and about 4 pies.

Over the years, I have done a lot of research on canning. I have read many resources on the subject, and can recommend the entries covering canning in The Joy of Cooking. The University Home Economics website and the USDA also have helpful information on the subject. However, none of the books I read mentioned sterilizing the jars in the microwave. Most canning instructions (for those who use the open kettle method) recommend boiling the jars for 20 minutes in a pan on the stove. Recently, however, I found out that placing about ½ cup of water into my pint jar for 90 seconds in the microwave also gave me a sterile jar.

An advantage to home canning is being able to control the amount of sugar used. Usually, recipes suggest using ½ cup of sugar to every three cups water. But you can also decide how sweet or wet you want your fruit to be. I prefer my fruit as dry as possible. To can fruit: place the washed fruit into a wide kettle. Add the sugar and water. Each fruit has its own time-frame for cooking. Time-frames vary from 3- 5 minutes. When pouring the fruit into jars, remember to wipe the outsides of the jars with a damp cloth to remove any sugar which might be on the surface. The stickiness might attract ants.

I would love your comments and suggestions. While canning may seem like a dead art, it can save you oodles of money and provide you with quality foods. Whether you preserve food or not, don’t miss out on the fabulous fruits and vegetables at your local farmer’s market. My prize for the week: juicy beefsteak tomatoes full of flavor. Bon Appétit!

KEEPING THE REFRIGERATOR FRESH:
For decades, a box of baking soda was always recommended to keeping odors out of the refrigerator. However, I have found a new way to keep my fridge smelling fresh: mint! My garden is running over with mint because it is so easy to grow. I keep a couple of bouquets of mint in the fridge. The mint leaves will last for several days, keeping the fridge fresh-smelling.

DRIED FOOD STAINS:
Even in the perfect household, there are occasions when your stove or counter will get dried food stains. Rather than reaching for liquid or powder cleansers, grab a cloth (preferably terry). Dip the cloth in hot water. Wring the cloth out a little and cover the stain with the cloth. Within 20 minutes or less, the stain should wipe away with ease. If you have food stains like berry stains, liquid or powdered bleach may be needed.

BROWN RICE FOR BREAKFAST:
Cook some brown rice (not steamed but cooked, like as for a casserole). Add custard ingredients like milk, eggs, sugar or maple syrup and dried or fresh bits of fruit. You can keep your calories down by using 1% or 2% milk because once baked you will not be able to tell the difference between reduced-fat and whole milk. Pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Chill. Can be reheated with a small covering of milk in the microwave but is equally good cold. You now have a breakfast that will give you enough energy to last until lunchtime.

About two years ago, I gave up those big, sugary fried-apple bear claws when I realized I was gaining a few extra pounds every week. Like many American culinary icons, donuts, along with Girl Scout cookies, are basically nutritional disasters because they hardly have any nutritional value. However, our society will not declare these treats as a contributing factor to our country’s current obesity anytime soon. This type of junk food is on sacred ground and they have existed much longer than the Golden Arches.

Now we have a new doughnut connoisseur in our midst and he has no fears of showing his love for this deep-fried pastry. It seems that a 200 pound black bear in Sammamish, Washington was lured away from the forest by a hefty batch of freshly-made sugar-coated doughnuts near a nearby elementary school.

Lately the headlines have been flooded with stories of bears attracted by human food. These stories reveal our carelessness in the way we take care of our garbage. Cheese and fat-drippings left on fast food wrappers make strong bear magnets. I can just see the following headline story on MSNBC: “Local Black Bears invade one of the town’s Golden Arches because of a strong smell of fries. However, once inside, it was the sugary and crusted apple pies that they seemed to prefer over the burgers and fries. They finished their invasion with a 32 ounce glass of Pepsi!”

Oh God! Does the great discovery made in Sammamish, Washington, mean that our Krispy Kreme outlets are in jeopardy?! Let’s certainly hope so! Such a potential doughnut calamity might be an “unbearable” situation for some, but would surely be a good thing for their body. Deep-fried bear claws have not been put to rest yet, but I am sure the day will come.