Tuesday, October 30, 2012

French Bread



1 pkg yeast
1 T soft shortening
1 ½ c very warm water
1      T sugar
4   c   sifted flour
melted butter
1 ½ t salt

Sprinkle yeast into ½ c water, stir until dissolved.  In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in remaining water.  All shortening and yeast mixture and mix well.  Add flour and mix.  Work through dough with wooden spoon at 10 min intervals for 5 consecutive times.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and divide in half.  Shape into balls.  Let rest for 10 minutes.  Roll each ball into a 12 X 9 rectangle.  Then roll firmly as for jelly roll starting with long side, seal edge.  Place rolls on baking sheet score tip diagonally 6 times.  Cover with towel and let rise 1 ½ hour. Preheat oven to 400°.   Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.  Brush with melted but while warm. 

Apple Crisp



10 apples peeled, sliced             ¼ c sugar
¼ c flour                                   1 t cinnamon
Topping:  2/3 c flour                 1 c light brown sugar
2 c quick oats                           2/3 c melted butter

Put apples in 9 X 13 baking dish and mix with other ingredients.  Mix topping ingredients together and crumbled on top. Preheat oven to 350°.  Bake for 45 min.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Chicken Casserole



1 chicken cooked or 4 c cubed turkey or chicken
2 c chopped celery                    3 T chopped onion
1 can water chestnuts, drained and sliced               3 c cooked rice
1 can mushrooms                        2 can cream of chicken soup
1 t salt                                     2 T lemon juice
½ t pepper                                ½ c water
1 ½ c mayonnaise                        6 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
2 c crumbled potato chips for topping

Preheat oven to 400°.  Combine everything except mayo, water, eggs and potato chips.  Mix mayo with water and add to mixture.  Gently stir in hard boiled eggs.  Turn into greased 9 X 13 baking dish.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Then turn oven down to 325° and bake for 45 minutes.

Yield: 12 servings                      Prep time:  45 minutes + baking time

Soy and Your Health: Dispelling the Myths Part 3

Review of article by Dr. Messina, an expert in the study of soy.
Breast Cancer
For more than 20 years the US National Cancer Institute and laboratories throughout the world
have been rigorously investigating the role of soy in breast cancer prevention. However, in
recent years, concerns have arisen that, because they contain isoflavones, soyfoods may worsen
the prognosis of women with a history of breast cancer and increase risk of breast cancer in women at high risk of developing this disease. These concerns are based on research in one particular type of mouse. Because rodents metabolize soy much differently than humans, they aren’t particularly useful models for learning about the effects of soyfoods. Studies done with humans paint a different picture. When female subjects are given either soyfoods or the isoflavones from soyfoods, there is no effect on indicators of breast cancer risk. Recently published studies from China and the United States, show that soy consumption after a diagnosis of breast cancer reduces recurrence and improves survival.

Soyfoods and Male Reproduction
The estrogen-like effects of isoflavones have led to concerns that soyfoods may exert feminizing
effects in men, but a wealth of human data show these concerns to be without merit. A recent review of
nine studies found that soy has no effect on estrogen levels in men. Men in these studies consumed as much as six servings of soy per day.

Thyroid Function
Although soy isoflavones can interfere with thyroid function in laboratory animals, they have no
effect on thyroid activity in healthy people. More than 20 studies have examined thyroid
function in response to the consumption of soyfoods, soy protein, or isoflavones. The evidence overwhelmingly supports the safety of soy.

Cognitive Function
In a study conducted in Hong Kong, tofu had no effect on cognition, and in Indonesia, intake of the widely consumed soyfood tempeh, was linked to better cognitive health whereas tofu was unrelated. Even more important, the clinical studies, which are studies in which subjects are actually given the test product, suggest that soy may improve cognitive function. At this point, the totality of the evidence suggests
soy may actually improve cognitive function, not impair it but the data are far too limited for any
claims about the impact of soy on cognition to be made.

Consumption
There is a considerable range of soyfood intake among Asian countries. In Japan and some urban
areas of China, average consumption is around 1 ½ to 2 servings per day, but older people with
more traditional diets may consume as many as 3 servings per day of 25 grams. Both fermented and
unfermented soyfoods are popular throughout Asia. While consuming more than this amount is not unsafe, consuming too much (more than 4 servings in one day) of any food violates the principles of moderation and variety.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Soy and Your Health Part 2

Review of article by Dr. Messina
Dr. Mark Messina is an adjunct associate professor at Loma Linda University and the Executive
Director of the Soy Nutrition Institute. He has been studying the health effects of soy for more
than 20 years and has published more than 60 scientific papers and given more than 500
presentations on soyfoods to health professionals.

Prostrate Cancer
Studies show that Asian men who consume about two servings of soyfoods daily are about 30 to 50% less likely to have prostate cancer than Asian men who consume little soy. Some evidence also shows that, in men with prostate cancer, eating soyfoods may slow the rise of blood levels of prostate specific
antigen (PSA), a protein associated with tumor growth.

Osteoporosis
Because isoflavones exert estrogen-like effects under certain circumstances, scientists have been
studying whether soyfoods reduce risk of osteoporosis. Two important studies show that among
Asian postmenopausal women, those who are in the upper quarter of soy intake are about onethird
less likely to suffer a fracture.

Hot Flashes
The drop in estrogen levels that occurs in menopause is linked with the onset of hot flashes. The
estrogen-like properties of isoflavones may be one reason why western women report having hot
flashes to a much greater extent than women in Japan. On average, isoflavones produce a 50% decrease in
the frequency and severity of hot flashes. The amount of isoflavones found in two servings of
traditional soyfoods appears to be sufficient to produce this benefit.

Based on Asian intake as well as the amounts of soy shown to be beneficial in clinical
studies, a good goal is to consume about 15 to 25 grams of soy protein per day. These amounts
are provided by about 2 to 4 servings of soyfoods.

Soy and Your Health Part 1

Review of article written by Dr. Messina
Dr. Mark Messina is an adjunct associate professor at Loma Linda University and the Executive
Director of the Soy Nutrition Institute. He has been studying the health effects of soy for more
than 20 years and has published more than 60 scientific papers and given more than 500
presentations on soyfoods to health professionals.

This article contained much information soy and its benefits. I will summarize a little bit about soy and then the benefits of it.

Soybeans are unique among legumes because they are much higher in protein and fat than other beans, and lower in carbohydrate. The fat in soybeans is primarily a combination of heart-healthy essential polyunsaturated omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. This makes soybeans one of the few plant foods to provide both of the essential fatty acids. Soybeans are perhaps best known for their high protein content. Protein in soy is very well digested; digestion typically exceeds 90 percent.

Research suggests that incorporating soyfoods into the diet may decrease LDL-cholesterol (the
bad cholesterol) by as much as 8%. When soyfoods replace conventional sources of
protein in western diets, saturated fat intake is reduced and polyunsaturated fat intake is
increased. As a result, blood cholesterol levels will be lowered.

Breast Cancer Risk
In Asian countries, where soyfoods are a usual part of the diet, breast cancer rates are much
lower than in western countries. This observation helped fuel speculation that soyfoods reduce
breast cancer risk. However, after years of research, it is not clear that women who begin to
consume soyfoods in adulthood will lower their risk of cancer. Rather, the protective effects
appear to be related to early soy consumption. That is, women who consumed these foods in
childhood and/or the teen years may have a lower risk for breast cancer later in life. Protective
effects of soy are thought to be due to actions of soy isoflavones on the developing breast in
ways which make breast cells more resistant to being transformed into cancer cells later in life. Studies conducted in China and the United States show that the consumption of modest
amounts of soy—1 to 1 ½ servings per day—is associated with a 25 to 50% reduction in risk.
Although the hypothesis that early soy intake is protective against breast cancer remains
speculative, because the amount of soy needed for benefit is modest and soyfoods provide good
nutrition, there is no reason to wait for the results of future research before encouraging young
girls to consume soy.

Since this article was very long, I will continue in part 2

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Molasses Cookies



½c butter @ room temp.            1 ½ c sugar (+ ¼ c for dipping)
½ t cinnamon
1 egg
¼ c molasses
1 t baking soda
1 t ginger
2 c flour + 2 T
¼ t salt
½ t cloves



Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Add molasses and stir in egg.  In a separate bowl, cream together flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.  Add to butter mixture and blend.  Place remaining sugar in a small bowl.  Shape cookie dough into balls and coat with sugar.  Place on greased baking sheet.  Flatten cookies.  Bake for 12 –15 min.  remove cookies to cool. 

Yield:  2 dozen cookies              Prep time: 40 minutes + baking time

Pecan Chewies



1 c flour and for dusting pan
1 lb firmly packed brown sugar
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
6 oz pecans
3 large eggs



Preheat oven to 325°.  Brush a 9 X 13 pan with butter and dust with flour.  Beat eggs, add sugar, beat to combine.  Add flour, salt and vanilla.  Beat to combine.  Spread pecans in prepared baking pan in a single layer.  Pour batter over pecans.  Bake until mixture is set and a shiny crust has formed (35 min).  It won’t look done but it will be.  Remove from pan and let cool before cutting.