End-of-October flowers

Today the weather here, in zone 5 of the U.S. Northeast, improved and I was able to grab the last blooms from my October garden.
 
I am trying to learn to enjoy the moments - the sunny weekend afternoon and the last bouquet of the season (the pics are a 360-degree view of the flowers on my table). 

A charming couple and flawless esthetics

These past few days, I got addicted to watching Fixer Upper, a show on renovating and decorating old and neglected houses in Texas. The couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines, who are undertaking these renovations, is fascinating. Both are beautiful and charismatic. So, in addition to being in love with the esthetics of the show, I admire couple's chemistry.

As I am writing this entry, I am watching Today's interview with Chip and Joanna.

Sweet potatoes baked with coconut oil, cornmeal with eggplant

I tried two new recipes this weekend:

Sweet potatoes baked with coconut oil

I found the recipe on Internet and thought that it would be a good addition to our Thanksgiving spread. This weekend, I decided to try the recipe before the holiday. I used five medium size sweet potatoes, cut them in wedges and mixed them with a tablespoon of coconut oil. After making sure that the oil was well spread between all potato wedges, I baked them at 400F for 20-25 minutes. The taste was divine; therefore, the Thanksgiving table will be accompanied by this dish.

Cornmeal with eggplant topping

This recipe is my concoction. First, I prepared the cornmeal following the directions on the box: 1 cup of cornmeal with 4 cups of water and a sprinkle of  salt. I had already baked one eggplant the day before, did not know what to use it for, and decided that it can make a topping for the cornmeal.  I sauteed the baked eggplant pieces in olive oil and after 4-5 minutes, added minced garlic, chopped parsley, salt and black pepper. The cornmeal was served for lunch with crumbled feta cheese and eggplant topping. Zucchini may also make a delicious topping by sauteing with garlic and spices. 

Where do the flowers come from

I love flowers. If anything puts a smile on my face is the image of flowers and lush gardens. This is why I enjoyed watching The World's Biggest Flower Market - BBC Documentary.

The smile was on my face throughout the documentary - watching how the flowers are grown, harvested, and carefully shipped. The esthetics of the documentary is impeccable.

Organ Transplants And Colorectal Cancer Risk

An interesting study.

Solid organ transplant recipients have increased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. We assessed CRC risk among transplant recipients and identified factors contributing to this association. The US transplant registry was linked to 15 population-based cancer registries (1987-2010). We compared CRC risk in recipients to the general population by using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and identified CRC risk factors by using Poisson regression. Based on 790 cases of CRC among 224 098 transplant recipients, the recipients had elevated CRC risk (SIR 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04 to 1.20). The increase was driven by an excess of proximal colon cancer (SIR 1.69, 95% CI 1.53 to 1.87), while distal colon cancer was not increased (SIR 0.93, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.07), and rectal cancer was reduced (SIR 0.64, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.76). In multivariate analyses, CRC was increased markedly in lung recipients with cystic fibrosis (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 12.3, 95% CI 6.94 to 21.9, vs. kidney recipients). Liver recipients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and inflammatory bowel disease also had elevated CRC risk (IRR 5.32, 95% CI 3.73 to 7.58). Maintenance therapy with cyclosporine and azathioprine was associated with proximal colon cancer (IRR 1.53, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.23). Incidence was not elevated in a subgroup of kidney recipients treated with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil, pointing to the relevance of the identified risk factors. Transplant recipients have increased proximal colon cancer risk, likely related to underlying medical conditions (cystic fibrosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis) and specific immunosuppressive regimen

Therefore, certain organ transplant patients have an increased risk of proximal colon cancer dependent upon certain comorbidities as well as the type of immunosuppressant(s) they are taking to maintain their transplant and prevent rejection.

Social stress and teenagers

I just read "Teaching Teenagers to Cope With Social Stress", and found it useful since there is not too much advice for teenagers on how to handle social stress. And yet, the teenage years are highly formative and may reflect on almost everything that happens in adulthood. 

I will definitely share the article with my teenage daughter.

Another documentary about sugar

There are several great documentaries about the dangers of sugar consumption.  I may have watched them all, several times. However, I just found yet another one, Sugar Crash - Documentary about Sugar and Disease (2016). 

It is an Irish production, but the background really does not matter - the deadly story of sugar unravels the same way everywhere in the world. Watch it, learn and protect yourself and your family.

The images of the decaying teeth, the necrotizing tissues of the diabetics and the fatty liver should be a sufficient impulse to stop you from eating sugar. Print these images from the Internet, paste them in your kitchen, carry some of them as a reminder in your purse or wallet. May be it will help?

New Colonoscopy Prep In Testing

Here is a possibly good news: better-tasting colonoscopy preps are under development and are in the testing stage.  My own personal experience has been that the prep I used ranks among the most foul-tasting things I have ever consumed, and I honestly couldn't finish every bit of it toward the end.  Luckily, taking 95% of it was sufficient for a good preparation, but I really struggled to keep it down and was always on the verge of throwing up.  If these new preps under development solve that problem, that's great, and perhaps the competition will stimulate existing brands to attempt some much-needed improvement.  And if this raises adherence to CRC screening, so much the better.

Apple Varieties

Eating more fruits and vegetables is an important component of a healthy diet. Adopting such a diet would be easier, if people fully explore the varieties of different fruits and vegetables available, to find those most appealing to their individual taste, or just to have some variety and avoid "taste boredom."

For example, there is a large variety of apples, that differ in sweetness, tartness, crispiness, etc. The image here shows many, but certainly not all, of the varieties. Most people think of apples as "Red Delicious" and, if they are somewhat more adventurous, "Golden Delicious" or "Granny Smith," but there are other varieties as well, and you should at least try some of them, and see what you think.
 

The same principle applies to other plant-based foods, but apples are a good place to start, since there is such a wide variety, and apples have a relatively long "shelf-life" at room temperature, so one can take time trying them out.

Fall garden 2016 - October 8

Zucchini soufflé

You will need:
1-2 lb zucchini or summer squash, 5 eggs, 2 cups of yogurt, 1 tsp of baking soda,1 cup of whole wheat flour, ½ cup olive oil, 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese, 2 cups of grated Cheddar cheese (or any other cheese), dry winter savory, chopped dill, black pepper, garlic to taste. Feel free to change the amounts and proportions. Even I do not precisely adhere to my recipes; my kitchen is my lab, and I like to experiment.

How to:
Wash, peel, cut and grate the zucchini. Leave the grated zucchini in a sieve to drain for 15 minutes or longer. After squeezing as much liquid as possible from the zucchini, place them in a large bowl and mix them up with the flour, oil, and all spices. Separately, mix the yogurt with the baking soda, eggs, feta cheese, and 1 cup of Cheddar cheese. Mix all together, pour into an oiled pan and bake at 400ºF for 20-30 minutes. Spread the remaining cup of Cheddar cheese on top and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes (until the mixture has settled and the crust is reddish-brown). I used slightly more than 2 lb of summer squash this weekend, and took me more than one hour to bake the soufflé.

Have a nice weekend, and enjoy the fall flowers!