Recipe

Nopales: cactus with blood glucose benefits

Nopales are the fleshy pads of the prickly pear cactus. Nopales are eaten all day in Mexico: had them in scrambled eggs, and also as a breakfast side - delicious little stir-fry with onion and tomato, and probably lard. They appear in salads and stews, at all-inclusive resort buffets where they hold well in steam trays, and in fine dining that is serving up local and traditional foods.

Recipe

Hijiki: Surprise in Guanajuato

I haven't had hijiki in about 5 years. In fact, I might have cooked up some of the last hijiki in Canada. Okay, that's probably an overstatement - others probably had a better inventory than I did. I don't think my parents were the only ones who squirreled stuff away, bought a lot on sale, and generally liked to keep a cushion of stuff in the house, a trait I share. Think I once read that holocaust survivors had that tendency, and I wonder if the uprooting and internment of Japanese Canadians - albeit a less devastating event - had a similar effect. But back to the present - last week, I again had hijiki, in a lovely little restaurant in Guanajuato, in the highlands of colonial Mexico. What a delightful surprise - both the restaurant and the hijiki.

Blood Sugar Blog and More

Low-carb diet: Weight loss and lower blood pressure

A recently published study found low-carb ketogenic diet resulted in lower blood pressure than a weight loss regime using orlistat plus a low-fat diet (less than 30% of calories from fat). Orlistat is marketed as Xenical or Alli. It prevents the body from absorbing fat that was eaten. The study subjects were overweight (mean Body Mass Index of 39.3) with a mean age of 52. Although both groups lost about 10% in a year (20-25 lb.), the low-carb group showed better blood pressure results.

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Las Mercedes: fine dining in Guanajuato

In Guanajuato, we had an excellent meal at Las Mercedes restaurant. We had spent the morning walking in the historic centre, seeing museums, and wandering through the tunnels that carry a good amount of vehicular traffic underground. The oldest tunnels were once riverbeds. Antonio Ojeda from Cacomixtle Group told us that the first tunnels were built with many arched bridges over the rivers that once ran through the city. I'll be posting about our trip with Antonio soon.

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Crema and Creme Fraiche

I can't remember how I first learned about Mexican “crema” - it's thick and creamy - a bit like sour cream, but not so sour, and much richer. My interpretation of the Spanish on the Lala crema is that it's made from acidified pasteurized cow's milk, stabilizer and salt. The Lala plastic tub claims 25% butterfat, and low carbs (2g per 100g/3.5 oz serving). Crema brings everything to a higher level. It makes me glad that I'm on a low carb diet. At home, I looked for something similar.

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Asides

• Sea lice from fish farms threaten salmon fry

  One to three sea lice can kill a juvenile pink salmon. Now, we have evidence that sockeye are also at risk, as they must swim past fish farms where lice infestations are common. To learn more and send a message to the Federal and Provincial governments, go here: http://www.adopt-a-fry.org/

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