Photo by John Suh

Eat them by the handful.

​First, a quick and dirty lesson on the varieties of chocolate:

• Unsweetened chocolate is all cacao and no sugar, making it incredibly bitter. It is also known as baking chocolate and is usually found in the baking aisle of grocery stores in the forms of blocks or bars. The sugar is added separately when baking brownies or cakes.
• Bittersweet, extra dark, semi-sweet, and dark chocolate, at least in the U.S., are often used interchangeably and should contain no less than 35 percent cacao. (Bittersweet and extra dark tend to have more cacao, while semi-sweet and dark have more sugar.) Unlike the cacao, however, sugar content is not regulated so sweetness may vary between brands.
• Milk chocolate contains milk (duh) either in the form of powder, liquid, or condensed.
• White chocolate uses cocoa butter instead of cocoa solids as its main ingredient. As a result, white chocolate lacks many of the health benefits found in darker chocolate.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's dive into the most delectable of chocolates: the dark variety.

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Photo by Brooke Viggiano

​Great news! The Eat This, Not That! guys over at Men's Health have made my dreams come true by confirming that pizza made right is a well-balanced, healthy meal. Good thing, because last week, I made delicious whole-wheat pita pizzas topped with veggies and some Mediterranean flair. And because I'm obsessed with pizza, I want to do it again. This time, I'll be taking advantage of the beautiful weather with an Eggplant Flatbread done on the grill. Can't wait.

Here's what I'm making:

Sea Bass w/ Paprika Orange Vinaigrette

Roasted Beet & Sweet Potato Spinach Salad

Eggplant Rollatini

Italian Stuffed Pork Chop w/ Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Grilled Eggplant Flatbread

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Tags:

cooking, easy recipes, flatbread, healthy, pizza, pork chops, vegetarian, weekday menu plan

Photo by John Suh

Spurkey? (Spam: the turkey version)

​Ah, yes, that mysterious block of meat housed in the blue and yellow can. In 2007, the seven billionth can of Spam was sold. On average, 3.8 cans are eaten every second in the U.S. alone. Since its inception in 1937, Spam has become part of American pop culture--it has acted in films, been acquired by the Smithsonian, and now even has a museum of its own. Indeed, Spam is a rock star.

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Photo by jeffreyw

Pita never tasted so good...

​With last week's menu, I was lower-carb and lovin' it. Since I have a busy week ahead, my main goal this time around is quick and easy (but still healthy!) meals.

Here's what I'm cooking:

Spicy Chicken Pita w/ Sweet & Tangy Slaw

Thai-Style Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Linguini w/ Tuna Puttanesca

Mediterranean Pita Pizza

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini Rolls

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Tags:

fast healthy meals, healthy eating, light cooking, quick & easy recipes, weekday menu plan, weeknight cooking, whole-wheat

Welcome, indeed.

​Rick and Georgia Bost aren't new to the grocery game. Their flagship store, Georgia's Farm to Market, has been a wild success since taking over the old Sandy's space in West Houston more than two years ago.

The Bosts kept much of the Sandy's model in place: organic foods, bulk spices and herbs, ready-made sandwiches and salads, a popular day-long buffet and plenty of locally raised meats were all still stocked when the Bosts took over.

They aren't new to the meat and produce game, either. That locally raised meat that Sandy's once sold was theirs, after all. The Bosts have been running Georgia's Texas Grassfed Beef for a dozen years and they helped found Urban Harvest, the vast network that now administers farmers markets across the city.

The duo also founded Texans for Urban Sustainability, which helped create the state's first organic certification program, back in 1992 -- so they're not new to the organics and sustainability movements, either.

The second location of Georgia's Farm to Market, says Rick Bost, was "always a dream of Georgia's." And after years of planning, it will finally be open tomorrow, January 27.

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Photo by Joanna O'Leary.

Oh Doughboy, I wish I could quit you.

​Damn you, Doughboy. You pop that hip and giggle and pose with giant cookie, and suddenly I'm $3.39 poorer. I didn't even notice until I was at the checkout that you were proffering "special edition" baked goods, which in my mind is dangerously close to that siren call phrase, "limited edition."

While most packages of break-and-bake cookie dough are divided into 24 squares, the MegaChip inflates the cookie's overall size in addition to its component parts, and thus provides only 12 pre-cut cookies. But to my gluttonous eyes, even these "mega-size" cookies seemed "normal," which gives you some indication of the degree to which the American conception of portion size is distorted.

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Photo by John Suh

Eat a banh chung for New Year.

​Happy New Year! Or as the Vietnamese say, Chuc mung nam moi! It's the lucky year of the Dragon -- those born between today and February 9, 2013, are predicted to live fortunate, prosperous lives. And what better way to celebrate the new year than by eating banh chung or banh Tet, the traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year cake?

I know this technically isn't a single ingredient per se, but with little effort, you can dress it up and make it into a dish with different texture and taste. Read on and learn about the history and possibilities of this Vietnamese New Year cake.

What is it?

Lunar New Year cakes are made by wrapping fatty pork, mung beans, and glutinous rice inside banana leaves and then steaming. The leaves' color is absorbed by the sticky rice, green being a symbol of earth and, thus, life.

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Photo by beccapie

I do so like green eggs and ham!

​I've been on a healthier cooking kick for the New Year and so far, soooo good! My cousin Franny asked me for some lower carb recipes. Since cutting down (but not cutting out) carbs never hurt anyone, I've made it my inspiration for the coming week.

Here's what I'm making:

Grilled Ginger Tuna Kabobs w/ Sesame Snow Peas

Marinated Flank Steak w/ Steamed Asparagus

Spaghetti (Squash) w/ Garlic & Oil

Garlic Sesame Flank Steak Stir-Fry

Green Eggs & Ham Frittata

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Tags:

Asian, easy meals, healthy cooking, healthy eating, low carb, low fat, menu plan, steak, tuna, weeknight meals

Photo by John Suh

Bibigo's ssamjang: ready-to-eat

​Last week, we brought you gochujang, a red pepper paste used in Korean cuisine. This week, we give you ssamjang, a Korean seasoned dipping paste that uses gochujang as an ingredient.

What is it?

Ssamjang is a thick and spicy dipping paste that consists of doenjang (fermented soy bean paste), gochujang, sesame oil, onion, garlic, scallions, and sometimes brown sugar and/or sesame seeds.

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​Ronnie Bartley is a rancher on the verge of bankruptcy after 16 years in the business. Texas is on the verge of another devastating drought this summer. And our nation is on the verge of a severely depleted beef supply.

These are the stories told in this week's cover feature, Meat Market, which examines the many reasons -- from the hoof up -- that you'll be paying more for your meat in 2012.

The long and short of it is this: Cattle are incredibly inefficient animals. For every 20 pounds of feed you give them, they produce only one pound of flesh. That's 20 pounds of feed -- which could be corn, alfalfa or other such crops -- that could be used to feed human beings. And you have to own a lot of land in order to have a profitable ranch: A regular cow-calf operation requires three acres of land for each cow and her calf.

You can see, then, why the drought of 2011 was so devastating for Texas ranchers. Not only were their fields burned up -- and without fields in which to graze, you can't support cattle -- but other crops were too. Hay, cubes and all other types of feed were suddenly rendered in short supply. Prices soon skyrocketed, and ranchers began to liquidate their herds as quickly as possible since they could no longer afford the cost of feeding their animals.

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