Food by Jude   Eat well, live long and have more fun!

Eat more Fiber! Mmmm sounds delicious, can I have some processed cheese with that? How do you feel about fiber? Or more importantly how much do you know about it?

Fiber, as a nutritional word, has only recently come into common usage. Known in grandma’s time as roughage or bulk, it refers to fruits, vegetables and whole grains and especially their parts, such as peels, skins and bran, which are indigestible.

Fiber has two faces; soluble, meaning easily dissolved and unsoluble – not.

Soluble fiber’s schtick is a magic act. Eat some, and presto-chango, it becomes a gooey gel like substance that coats the digestive tract, thus preventing fat and cholesterol molecules from breaking through our intestinal walls, thereby guarding us against heart disease.

Insoluble fiber’s claim to fame is its incredible ability to soak up many, many times its weight in water as it speeds through our intestines. This “death defying” act helps in the prevention of colon cancer.  It also binds to estrogen in the digestive tract, possibly reducing the risk of breast cancer. It is found in whole grains.

Both forms of fiber are extremely important for health.

Today, with the weather cooling and the thought of freshly baked bread haunting me, I will focus on the insoluble, which nearly vanished from the American diet.

Over 100 years ago, in order to produce breads with more delicate flavor and more refined texture, food manufactures began removing the rough outer covering of grain. This was kicked off by an invention called the roller mill that was introduced at the 1873 World’s Fair.

Throughout history, white flour had been preferred, and was always a favorite of the elite – who could afford it. With this invention, flour could be refined cheaply and quickly, making it available to the common folk.

Unfortunately, this process left the best part of the grain on floors of the factories. The resident rodents were quite robust!

Not everyone was on the bran-less bandwagon. A sly guy named Sylvester Graham (of cracker fame) had begun preaching about the benefits of whole grain wheat – which became known as graham flour), even before the roller mill came on the scene.

Sly recognized the benefits of eating whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. He stressed the importance of   baking of bread – at home.

But, the country wasn’t yet ready for a menu mutiny.  Bread and beef were the mainstays of the country’s cuisine.

In 1837, a scheduled appearance of Graham in Boston so angered bakers and butchers (he was also a vegetarian) that widespread rioting occurred.

Graham, although right on about whole grains and fruits and vegetables was a bit off his rocker on a number of other topics.  Nevertheless, he had a great many followers who believed, as he did, in healthy eating. But, alas, not enough to change the trend toward processed foods, which continued, unchecked, through the mid 20th century. Squeezable white bread, the nutritionally vacant, became the star of them all, and a lunch box staple!

We were a rich, well fed country.  Why then were we so much sicker than poor, third-world countries?

The Reverand H.C. Trowell, a British missionary and physician, wrote about this in his book, “Non Ineffective Diseases in Africa”, 1960. I’m sure you have a copy somewhere.

In it, he muses on the correlation of a whole grain/high fiber diet to the lack of diseases in Africa to those prevalent in developed countries, where refined flour, sugar, etc is the norm.

His book caused a sensation, and brought the subject of whole grains to the forefront.

Since then, the medical community has urged us to eat more whole grains; the recommended daily intake for fiber being 25-35 grams daily.

Not everyone has the time to bake a loaf of whole wheat bread; but how about whole wheat scones? They are good for you, and it would make Sylvester sooo happy.

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We’ve all heard of Souza, the March King, Stauss, the Waltz King, and of course Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll; but many may not have heard of Escoffier, the Chef of Kings and the King of Chefs. 

Auguste Escoffier, creator of such memorable dishes as Peach Melba and Strawberries Romanoff, was more than a master chef, he was a true innovator, and a nice guy.

Born in France 1846, he began his career at the age of 13 when he went to work at his uncle’s restaurant, Le Restaurant Francais, in Nice.

It was there, under the watchful eye of his uncle that he learned the basics of cookery. 

He also learned the ways of the kitchen; an area he was destined to change and bring into modernity.  Auguste was to revolutionize not only the kitchen, but the role and

public perception of the chef.

After six years of tutelage, he was discovered by the owner of the prestigious Le Petit Moulin Rouge, in Paris, who had been touring the area, and was invited to work in the big city.He exceeded his employer’s expectations, and soon rose to the rank of Chef de Cuisine.

While there, the Franco Prussian war broke out, and young Monsieur Escoffier was drafted.

It was during the siege of Paris, that Auguste began to seriously study the canning of meats, vegetables and sauces, the first chef to do so.  After the war, armed with his new appreciation of “convenience foods”, he returned to the restaurant business, where he thrived. 

Escoffier, a small man who was known to wear elevator shoes in the kitchen, went about changing the way a restaurant kitchen operated.

Up until his time, commercial kitchens were little different from medieval kitchens; consisting of many units that operated autonomously from one another.  Auguste could see the waste and inefficiency, and knew personally the horrible working conditions.  The heat and concentration of cooking odors, in those days before ventilation and air conditioning, were only bearable if the staff partook in considerable amounts of liquor throughout their shift, which they did.  This resulted in other objectionable behaviors.

Language in the kitchen was far from refined, and young apprentices were subject to verbal and physical abuse. (Don’t argue with a cranky chef with a clever).  Personal cleanliness was also at issue. Escoffier set out to change that, and change it he did. Liquor was banned from the kitchen (except for purposes of cooking).  The crew was “spiffed-up”, making them feel better about themselves.  He also encouraged education.  Professional training often started so early, that young men (boys really) had to forfeit any kind of cultural instruction. 

One might think that a man so busy would have little time for anything else; but not our man Auguste.  He was a prolific writer, and wrote extensively on cooking.  He also wrote a book of poetry with his wife Delphine of 55 years,  to whom he was totally devoted.

In 1884, while working at the Hotel National in Lucerne, he met up with a young eager beaver manager named Ceser Ritz. They collaborated to provide the public with the finest accommodations “ala Francais”.

Each with their own specialty,  they sent out representatives all over the world extolling the comfort and service of their hotels.  Maybe you’ve heard of some of  them – the Savoy in London, the Grand Hotel in Rome, and oh yes, the Ritz in Paris.

In 1920, Escoffier was awarded the Order of Officer of the Legion of Honour, the first chef to be so honored. Of his many accomplishments, his greatest was to bring classic French cuisine to the common people.  His book “Le Guide Culinaire” published in 1903, contains an astonishing 125 recipes for sauces alone, is easy to read and understand for even the most inept of cooks.

A gentle and unpretentious man, he created, inspired and shared his love of food and cooking; his legacy lingers.  

I’ll bet he could teach Emeril, Wolfgang, Mario and Gordon a thing or two, elevator shoes or not.  Hail to the King!

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It has been said that “real men” don’t each quiche. I find this puzzling.

Two men I know quite well, really love quiche.  One is a former EOD guy, who used to take apart bombs, and put them back together; and the other plays rugby, which is a game rather like football, but without all the padding. I think they both qualify.

Unlikely to be the blue plate special at the local diner in 1955, Cary Grant, that Hollywood hunk of hunks, extols the virtues of quiche in the classic film, “To Catch a Thief”.

Quiche became part of the American diet thanks to that great lady of gastronomy, Julia Child. When Julia whipped up a quiche on her show “The French Chef” in 1964, it took the country by storm. I understand it was a favorite of her husband Paul, who was an OSS agent in WWII.

And, if real men don’t each quiche, why it is featured on the menu of the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Now that that’s settled, the rest of you real men listen up.   Quiche used to be off limits for some guys, not because it was “girlie’, but because it was so loaded with fat and cholesterol it could, nutritionally speaking, bring the Incredible Hulk to his knees.

Laden with eggs, cheese and cream in its original form, the fat per serving typically totaled a whopping 48 grams.  I’ve even seen pies that contained up to 75 grams of fat.  That is 15 grams more than the recommended daily allowance!

Now, a delicious quiche can be put together with lighter ingredients, and still provide the sensuous satisfaction of the original.

I’m not sure why Bruce Feinstein, who coined the phrase, “real men don’t eat quiche”, felt that way, but just maybe he had fallen prey to a quiche with a soggy bottom.

A culinary catastrophe, but it happens. 

Even Julia had problems with a weepy crust – I am so glad, I felt I was the only one!

Often, the culpability goes back to the oven and over- baking. Let the quiche bake according to directions.  It’s OK if it shakes a little in the center when you take it out of the oven.    Quiche should not be sliced until it has rested for about 5 minutes.  Let it sit on a wire rack, or a cool stove burner, so air flow will go underneath the pan.

After pre-baking the pie shell, “paint” the bottom and sides with egg white and let it dry before filling.

Baking the quiche on a preheated pizza stone will also help prevent a soggy bottom.

If a pizza stone is unavailable, unglazed tiles work well too!  

Quiche freezes well.  Let it cool and wrap tightly in aluminum foil and freeze.  When ready to eat, do not defrost; open the foil and reheat in a regular oven. 325 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or heated through.

Quiche is one of the most versatile of entrees.  Welcome at breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is a favorite of “manly” men, women and kids too.

Once when our son was a little boy of about 7 years old, he called from the neighbor’s house where he had been playing, to tell me he had been invited for lunch.

A short time later, his friend’s mom called.  “I just wanted to tell you what a polite little boy you have”, she said, with a giggle in her voice.  “I asked him if he’d like a tuna sandwich.  “He said, no thank you Mrs. Erickson. Do you have quiche?”

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