According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 2 billion people worldwide suffer from anemia, many caused by iron deficiency. In so-called developing countries, half of pregnant women and 40% of preschool children are estimated to be anemic. The WHO recommends dietary diversification including iron-rich foods and enhancement of... Read more →

When I was learning to be a glider pilot, one of the things I learned about was Pilot-Induced Oscillations (PIOs), which are formally defined as "sustained or uncontrollable oscillations resulting from efforts of the pilot to control the aircraft." Basically, the pilot tries to correct a situation, over-reacts, tries to correct for the... Read more →

It all started with a plan to have Sloppy Joes for supper. For those not familiar, a Sloppy Joe is a mixture of ground beef in a tomato based sauce served in a hamburger bun. You can serve it sandwich style, which can be very messy, with the filling oozing out over everything, or as an open-face sandwich eaten with knife and fork. I... Read more →

Not that I have ever actually aspired to be a food writer for a mainstream newspaper or periodical, but occasionally I see an article that really brings home the truth that I could never cut it in that job. The most recent was an article just before Christmas in a national paper. It was a question from a reader who 'loves to bake for... Read more →

Here is my first suggestion if you are thinking of buying Pâtisserie by William and Suzy Curley -- allow yourself at least an extra day to just look at the marvelous pastries pictured in this book. It seems nowadays that with competition from other media, book publishers have moved to lower grade paper and have overall reduced the... Read more →

This post is a bit of a rant and a bit of a cooking lesson. Recently for lunch I grabbed a bowl of soup, as I usually do, from the Boffins Atrium Café at Innovation Place in Saskatoon (shameless plug for my wife's book of watercolor paintings of our beautiful city). My choices were Golden Chicken Rice or vegetarian Mushroom Barley. I... Read more →

So, I'm in the local Safeway looking for pitas for tonight's falafal. I see standard, Safeway brand 60% whole wheat pitas, and Weight Watchers 100% whole wheat. Looking at the labels, I see that Safeway's nutritional values are given per whole pita, whereas Weight Watchers are given for only a half pita. Expanding them out to compare... Read more →

On a recent vacation to Paris, I thought it might be fun to take a cooking class. My wife, Pat, loves to paint so it would also be a chance to get out of her hair while we each did something that interests us. The problem, though, is that I don't need someone to teach me how to make Beef Bourguignon, or Tarte Tatin. Those I make at home... Read more →

I read recently in a magazine that you can lose weight just by drinking cold beverages, since your body has to burn calories in order to warm the liquid up to body temperature. Is that true? - April The short answer is 'yes, perhaps', the longer answer is 'not very effectively'. To start, we need to understand that the word 'calorie'... Read more →

When I was a kid, we used to make these wonderful bush pies. For those who don't know what a bush pie is, it is a sandwich made by compressing to pieces of bread, with filling in the middle, in a device which compresses the edges and which you then heat over a fire to toast the outside while heating the interior at the same time. My all... Read more →