Monthly Archives: April 2006

Gluten-free without compromise

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GF Dinner No.1

This is the first of what I hope to be at least a weekly event: Cooking. Lately I’ve been a slacker in the kitchen. My last attempt at cooking got me banished from the kitchen all together, so this is my redemption song:

New York Steak with Baked Potato and Grilled Broccoli

The steaks were choice New York strips, cut nice and thick, and marinated in balsamic vinegar, Bordeaux wine (a bottle I didn’t care for drinking, so it got demoted to cooking wine), a little chili powder, and about four cloves of fresh crushed garlic. I topped it with a little butter after I took the photo.

The baked potato is a full-size Russet, and is topped with butter, sour cream, crumbled honey/pepper bacon, and seared green onions.

The broccoli crowns were smothered in crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I put the steaks in the top rack of my oven and set it to convection broil at 450F, and set the broccoli on the bottom rack on a piece of aluminum foil. I nuked the potatoes in the microwave until they were mostly done, and then put them in the oven next to the broccoli to let the skins dry out and develop some crispiness.

Then I poured a nice tall glass of Kendall Jackson 2003 Sonoma Cabarnet Sauvignon. (Not pictured)

Now that’s a Happy MealѢ!

Dedicated to all the GF bloggers out there that were kind enough to post comments or send emails, and their blog postings filled with inspiring comments and recipe ideas. Cheers!

Evolution of the Eye

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This is a fascinating clip of a scientist showing how evolution has made the eye progressively more and more complex:

Way cool. And this was an experiment to see how to embed YouTube video into my blog. That’s cool too!

Learning C++ on Mac OS X

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Cover of Deitel & Deitel C++ How to Program Just a quick tip, but the book C++ How to Program, 5th Ed. by Deitel & Deitel thoroughly covers beginnning C++, and each example works just as well on Windows using a compiler such as Microsoft Visual C++ as well as on Linux using GCC. GCC ships installed with every Mac and works just the same, minus a few extra Apple-only extensions included for legacy compatability. Just use this pattern in Terminal to compile your code:

g++ name_of_main_file.cpp -o target_application

BBEdit works great with command-line GCC. Xcode makes a great C++ IDE too. I’ve been switching between using BBEdit/GCC and Xcode as I go through the book and haven’t had a problem yet. The book stays safely clear of any windowing issues or proprietary items, sticking instead to core ANSI C++.

New food labeling law omits gluten

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A new food labeling is going into effect, but they forgot one little thing:

Plain language labels now required for eight top allergens

Of note is that the new law does not specifically address gluten, only wheat. Gluten describes a group of proteins found in certain grains such as wheat, barley and rye. It is of concern because people with celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten. An estimated one in every 133 people in the U.S. currently has celiac disease, and there is some concern that the numbers are rising. The new law does requires the FDA to issue a proposed rule that would allow voluntary use of the term “gluten free” by August 2006 and to have a final rule on “gluten free” in place by August 2008.

Well at least there’s something in the works.

Reading the list of ingredients is not enough. Many products are made in facilities that have wheat flour dust flying all around, process foods in the same containers as wheat-based products, and dust conveyor belts with wheat four to keep things from sticking, without any obligation to list wheat as an ingredient. For people with food allergies, grocery shopping can be a friggin’ nightmare.