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My father used to say, “Chuck doesn’t do anything in halves.” He was right: sometimes its a virtue and sometimes a curse. He and my mother taught me to cook, sometimes using cookbooks, like Julia Child's, but more frequently just winging it. This site is a roller coaster ride of recipes, articles, ingredients and anything else that involves cooking and presenting food. There is something here for everybody from beginners to experts.


Cooking Temps

Chicken breast 165, Chicken thigh 170 or more. Pork med well 145, Pork med 140, Rack of lamb med rare 131, Beef very rare 125, Beef rare 130,Beef med rare 135, Duck Breast 126, Salmon med 118, Disclaimer: USDA stds dictate much higher temps. To be super safe, cook everything until it is dry and crunchy, then toss it in the trash

Stop Your Sugar Addiction

Check ingredients on what you are eating and you find Sugar and high Fructose corn syrup in almost everything. These sugars are not good for you in any form. Table sugar is Glucose and Fructose linked together. Is Honey a healthy sugar substitute? No. Honey has Glucose and Fructose, but they are not linked.  While there are a number of nutritional differences, the bottom line is that they both consist of Glucose and Fructose. Coconut sugar is mostly Sucrose. How about using sweet fruits as sweeteners? Also not good because the sugar that makes fruit sweet is Fructose. 

Fructose is a particularly bad sugar.  Overconsumption of it may result in insulin resistance, oxidative stress, inflammation, elevated uric acid levels, increased blood pressure, and increased triglyceride concentrations in both the blood and liver. Not good! 

Significantly reducing Sugar intake is relatively easy. Reading labels is a start. Using a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) is a huge help. Changing food choices based on sugar content is not that difficult. Let's look at fruits.

High Glycemic Index Fruits
Grapes, Banana, Pineapple, Peach, Sweet Cherries (not the red sour type)

Low Glycemic index fruits
Guava, Asian pear, plum, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry

Artificial Sweeteners. Stevia, Aspartame, Saccharin, Sucralose. They all have taste issues and they alter the bacteria in our digestive tract. 

An option that I am currently experimenting with is a combination of Allulose and Monk fruit. Allulose is a sugar that does not increase glucose levels and actually enhances glucose regulation and appetite control. Monk Fruit with Allulose. Note this is completley different from Monk Fruit with ERYTHRITOL which should be avoided. So far I have found this product to add sweetness without a weird aftertaste.