An apple a day keeps the doctor away is a farmiliar refrain to us North Americans, but what happens if the apples are covered in potentially harmful chemicals? A recent report from the Environmental Working Group pointing to the European Union ban on American-grown apples raises exactly that concern.

The furor surrounds DPA, or diphenylamine, a chemical spray treatment applied to apples to prevent “strorage scalding.” If storage scalding sounds vaguely ominous, you’re right- though perhaps not for the reason you’d first expect. Storage scald refers to the black or brown spots that occur on an apple’s peel while it is kept in cold storage, where it can remain for up to a year.  Because DPA is applied after harvest, it appears in greater concentration than other pesticides used in conventional agriculture. (As the EWG report points out, DPA is regulated as a pesticide, though it does not serve the same functions- it does not kill insects, weeds or fungal growth).

DPA is not to be confused with BPA, in the news again as paper receipts are once again called out as source of exposure, but the narratives are similar: the substance has been deemed “unlikely to prevent a public health concern” as recently as 2007 by the World Health Organization, but additional research indicates otherwise. In particular, the presence of nitrosamines, a carcinogen found in food, cosmetics and latex rubber and linked to increased rates of stomach and esophogeal cancer. Nitrosamines themselves have been regulated in the U.S. since the 1970’s.

European regulators have responded to this risk decisively: in 2012, a rule was issued that bans the use of DPA on apples and other fruit grown in the 28 member nations. This past March, the rule extended to imported fruit, limiting the acceptable amount of DPA as 0.1 part per million. (The average concentration reported on U.S. apples is 0.43 ppm).

So why call this an argument for organic apples? We Americans eat nearly 10 lbs per person of raw apples a year, per the USDA; organic apples are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides. Many of the apple’s benefits lie in its peel, which one can feel a whole lot better consuming if there is no need to stress about ominous acronyms. Finally- the idea of consuming ‘fresh’ produce that has spent a year in cold storage just doesn’t sound that appetizing.

As an apple-centric aside – check out Martha Stewart’s candy apple recipe here, and Epicurious’ caramel apple recipe here to dress up your Halloween party plates.

There are as many ways to cook a turkey as there are cooks to cook them.  (How’s that for holiday alliteration!) But it never hurts to learn something new, right?

Until recently, I was devoted to my turkey cooking method.  I was a roaster, Southern-style, if you please, and didn’t see any reason to change.  And after the Great Turkey Disaster of ’99, I didn’t want to take any chances.

But there’s something to be said for stretching your wings (pun fully intended) and trying something different.  So a few years ago, after much cajoling by my DH, I let him grill a turkey.  It was the best bird I have ever tasted. Eveh!

Now he cooks the turkey, and I get to brag about my wonderful, smart and talented hubby.

So if you’re in the mood to cook outside the box this year, try one of the methods below.

5 Ways To Cook A Turkey

1. Brown Bag It. This is basically the same idea as cooking a turkey in a plastic bag, but more eco-friendly, since paper is biodegradable.  It will accommodate a much larger bird than many traditional roasting pans, so it’s a good choice if you have a large crowd to feed. Check out How To Cook A Turkey In A Paper Bag from Great Party Recipes.

2. Pre-Cook It.  Roast your bird the day before Thanksgiving and make gravy from the drippings. Then combine sliced, cooked turkey with gravy and chill.  On the big day, reheat and serve.  Get the deets at busycooks.about.com 

3. Bake it, Southern style. This is one of my favorite turkey recipe. In fact, it’s the way I used to cook my turkey.  It’s super easy and produces a juicy bird every time. Basically, you roast your bird at high heat for a short time to seal in those wonderful juices and crisp-up the skin.  Then you let it cook at a very low heat overnight. You’ll wake up to a perfect bird.  Get the recipe at CountryLiving.com

4. Grill It.  My new favorite way to cook a turkey! This is not the same as smoking, but if you think you’ll be sacrificing smoky taste, think again!  My husband, Jeff, has perfected this method.  He uses soaked applewood chips along with the indirect cooking method for a lightly smoked flavor.  He puts a few sliced apples and onions inside the bird to bump up the flavor even more. A good coating of olive oil and salt and pepper are the only other ingredients you’ll need.  It takes about the same amount of time as roasting, 3- 4 hours for an 18lb bird, but is much less mess.  Plus, it frees up the oven for other cooking.  Get another recipe for grilling turkey at allrecipes.com

5. Fry it. Yes, I said fry it!  You can use a traditional turkey fryer with peanut oil and season your bird with cajun spices to get a real New Orleans taste in your own backyard.  Be careful, though. If you’re a turkey-frying first-timer, please be mindful of the fire hazard of dropping a large, cold bird into a vat of boiling hot oil.  If, however, you want fried taste but want to skip the oil and mess that goes with it, try The Big Easy Oil-Less Infrared Turkey Fryer.  It uses Infrared cooking technology, and can cook a turkey up to 16 lbs. with ease.

So, there you have it, 5 ways to cook a turkey.  Maybe some of these ideas are even new to you.  Either way, why not try one out this Thanksgiving.  You might just find a new favorite.

You may have had Concord grape jelly or juice, but have you ever tasted the grape itself?

Perhaps you’ve just never noticed them in your supermarket, or selected the more common seedless red or green kind instead.

But Concord grapes are really in a class by themselves. One of only three fruits native to North America, this variety is really the perfect “grape,” both flavor-wise and for its health benefits.

While grapes have been cultivated for millennia, as indicated by how closely they’re associated with the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Concord grape is an especially healthy, hardy and tasty variety that dates back to the mid-19^th Century.

And while they’re  grown a lot in locales like Washington state and upstate New York, the Concord grape originally came from the place it was named after—Concord, Mass., where a farmer named Ephraim Wales Bull began growing it after experimenting with all kinds of native species and thousands of seedlings.

(And that Concord grape juice, by the way, is something that was “invented” here in South Jersey – by a dentist named Dr. Thomas Welch and his family, right in their kitchen.)

The great thing about these juicy little purple spheres is that they pack a whole bunch of health benefits – including the antioxidants called polyphenols that keep free radicals from damaging healthy cells and offer protection against heart attacks, stroke and cancer.

Besides lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, keeping arteries flexible and helping to support the immune system, Concord grapes were shown in a 2010 study to inhibit a process called angiogenesis, which promotes the growth of new blood vessels that can help cancers grow and metastasize.

While most Concords are used to make juice (something that appears to have all of the heart-healthy benefits of red wine) fresh bunches of these beautiful grapes should also be turning up at your local supermarket or farm stand this time of year.

So if you can get some fresh Concord grapes in your neck of the woods, absolutely give them a try.

I think you’ll be surprised at what this true blue American grape tastes like!

I will admit I am cheap, especially when it comes to food. Its not that I don’t want good food, I do. It’s just that I don’t want to pay for it. And while I love the luxury of going out to eat (who doesn’t) and trying new things, I find that the food I enjoy most is what I make myself. Its gratifying to know that the ingredients I am using are good quality, and that the end result is a meal that I would pay a lot more for if someone else were preparing it. Add to this the fact that I am lazy, – O.K. there I said it. – When I find something easy to make that I love, I tend to make it often.

This morning I made one of my perennial favorites. It’s high in protein, has a fresh veggie, and I can have a delicious, “frig to plate” meal in under ten minutes. I’ve waited that long for breakfast at McFast Food sometimes.

Most days if I make this for brunch I only need some fruit and/or yogurt to carry me though to dinner.

• Take one slice of Rye (or your favorite) bread
• 1/2 tablespoon of mayonnaise
• One big ripe juicy organic tomato
• One slice of Swiss cheese
• A little butter
• Two fresh organic eggs

Melt butter in the pan

Pop the bread in the toaster while you start the eggs

When the toast comes up, spread the mayonnaise on it

Flip the Eggs so they can cook just past “over easy”

Next lay the swiss cheese down

Thick slice the tomato, and lay it on top of the cheese

Eggs are now ready

Lay them over the tomato, salt and pepper to taste

Fresh red or green pepper on top is really nice too if you have it,

Or you can scramble the eggs and add precooked bacon crumbles.

I sometimes exchange the Swiss cheese for Cheddar or Gouda or whatever I have on hand, and of course the type of bread is optional.

*When I get a request for stringent carb curbing, I just eliminate the bread. Lay the tomato and egg on a bed of lettuce, and chop a little fresh basil to add interest. Dress with balsamic and olive oil. – Its lovely and surprisingly filling.

You can a substitute mustard for mayonnaise, and olive oil for butter on the open face eggs if you like. Or skip both and just use a non-stick pan. For myself, I find there are some things that are worth the calories and or fat. *When I really enjoy a meal, I’m much less likely to overeat later.

Clean up is just one pan and one plate (or two.) For two people, just double the ingredients.

Cheers!

Is fried food a staple in your dinner line-up?  Well, for the sake of your good health and your waistline, I hope not.  Fried food is certainly popular ….. but most of us know fried foods are high in excess calories and are not particularly healthy for us. And yet, there are times when a perfectly fried addition to a meal is called for.  For me ….. it’s onion rings!  Oh gosh, my favorite!

Here’s today’s tip: a new study shows that frying with olive oil is healthier than frying with several other popular oils.  The study  was published this month in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.   In the study researchers took pieces of raw potatoes and either  pan-fried and deep fried them in one of four different cooking oils:  corn, olive, soybean and sunflower.  All of these oils are unsaturated oils (see my post about muffins for more on unsaturated fats ).    Each oil was reused 10 times and was tested for the effect on the stability of the oil to resist deterioration into unhealthy fat metabolites (breakdown products).  The results …. Olive Oil was more stable than the others, and maintained its health supporting benefits better than the others!  So, thinking of frying up something good?  Think Olive Oil!

An older study from 2013 looked specifically at blood tests for certain unhealthy biomarkers after eating meals containing different oils.  In this study, olive oil, sunflower oil, and mixed sunflower/canola oil, were each taken through 20 heating cycles before the oil was used in preparation of identical breakfast meals.  In this study, the blood tests confirmed that the olive oil promoted healthier blood levels of different biomarkers when checked a few hours after eating the meals.  Geeze!  There is no hiding from it … what you eat matters!

Are you in the mood for some fried onion rings?  Well, if you are a deep fryer person, change your oil to some Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oil.  It will be healthier for everyone who eats some of your yummy creations, starting with the onion rings.  Here is a great deep fryer recipe.

But …. to be candid …  I’ve got an alternative that really is delicious and so much healthier than deep fried onion rings  …. Oven Fried Onion Rings!  No, really, these are a delicious alternative!  Try it … you’ll like it!!