Eat Ginger Cookies. You'll Feel Better

Two hours ago I was about to crawl back into bed, since Christmas hugs and kisses always seem to lead to New Year's colds and flu. But then I made my second batch of Alice Medrich's amazing triple-ginger cookies and a miracle happened: I'm well (almost). This recipe, in her enticing new "Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies," calls for no less than three-quarters of a cup of diced crystallized ginger plus two tablespoons of minced fresh ginger plus two teaspoons of ground ginger. Talk about a decongestant.

I thought I was imagining things, but I see in the late Maggie Waldron's great "Cold Spaghetti at Midnight" that ginger is good for nearly anything that ails you. It's famous as a stomach soother (my in-law equivalent hates the crystallized kind because she remembers it as a seasickness antidote on whale-watching trips), but apparently it will also "curb flatulence." And it does help with colds and flu, Waldron says, prescribing a tablespoon grated into a warm cup of water to beat a cough and a few slices to be chewed to sweat off a fever. I was fine with raw cookie dough.

(The best detail Waldron offers is that pharmacists in the 16th century (presumably in Europe) were "given a monopoly on gingerbread after it was decided that it was actually a drug made from ginger. Angry grocers fought back and eventually won the right to sell it, but the memory of the furious battle can be found today in fairy tales where the wicked witch almost always lives in a gingerbread house.")

I know we're supposed to be thinking about dieting right about now. But cookies are fine for medicinal purposes.....
For more info- http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2010/12/eat-ginger-cookies-youll-feel-better-.html

Kids' Cereal: 41% Sugar?!

OK, I know Froot Loops aren't healthy, but I admit I didn't know that they are 41% sugar. Like many parents, I started my kids off on low-sugar, healthy cereals. At some point, however, that pretty much fell by the wayside, and I was just glad to get the accompanying milk into them.

Cereal is so expensive and so sugary, and so cleverly marketed to kids. Bright colors! Cartoon characters! Catchy jingles! Eye level in stores!

Now that I've read Divine Caroline's piece on 10 Sugary Cereals to Avoid, I'm determined to make some changes. And to think that I'd been fooled by the reduced-sugar Frosted Flakes - only 26% sugar compared to the regular version's 37%.

Can anyone recommend healthier cereals that will pass the kid-approval test? Any tricks to help make the switch less traumatic?

Collected from- http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2010/11/kids-cereal-41-sugar.html

In Your Face, Winter

There's an old, stupid joke whose punchline is "chili today, hot tamale." The joke itself isn't worth repeating, but on a recent prowl through the Epicurious recipe database I discovered a repeat-worthy Sunday stew recipe, Tamale Pie, that features a cheddary cornmeal topping over a really delicious chili (the cocoa powder, I think, is what makes it work so well).

The problem? When I made the recipe on Sunday, it was a balmy 55 degrees here. What a dish this savory, warm, and fragrant needs is a harsh, cold, blustery, snowy winter day. Get out here, winter! Prepare to meet your match! Give me an antagonist worth defeating!

Wait. What am I saying. Never mind, Winter. Forget I said anything. In fact, um, forget you ever knew me. I'll just be sitting here minding my own business, with this nice hot bowl of chili...sweating.

Anyone else have a favorite winter dish you secretly can't wait to bring back into the rotation?

Collected from- http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2010/11/in-your-face-winter.html