An apology for MSG?

This article questions whether or not MSG has gotten a bum wrap.

If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn’t everyone in Asia have a headache?

I got the impression that both sides of the argument are lame. Interestingly, the author will not use MSG in his own kitchen.

Glutamate is found in all of the ‘alternate names’ list, and corresponds with some of Dr. Neil Barnards’s comments in one of his books about food addictions.

For those who don’t want to read the article here is a list of alternate names that MSG may be listed under( from the article):

  • monopotassium glutamate
  • glutavene
  • glutacyl
  • glutamic acid
  • autolyzed yeast extract
  • calcium caseinate
  • sodium caseinate
  • E621 (E620-625 are all glutamates)
  • Ajinomoto, Ac’cent
  • Gourmet Powder

Also, lookout for any kind of hydrolyzed protein or yeast extract.

Adventures in cooking part 2

This Sunday my adventures in cooking continued with 2 recipes from this vegan recipe booklet:

You can also read these recipes for free at TryVeg.com

First I tried
Champion Chilli

I used some dried ( then soaked overnight ) black beans instead of kidney beans and I added a tablespoon of cayenne pepper to the recipe but it turned out very tasty. It made a huge pot. I have food for a few days. Very filling too, which was good, because I had a full stomach which helped my self control when I made

Chocolate peanut butter pie

This was so rich even nibbling on a bit of the surplus pie filling completely filled me up and I still don’t want to eat. I have a new appreciation for the cost and time involved in making a pie. I bought my ingredients from a co-op so that added some money, but the ingredients for the pie cost the better part of $20. I used a ready made crust ( whole spelt, couldn’t find grahm cracker crusts anywhere ) so that cut down on a lot of time. All I had to do was melt the chocolate and mix the filling. All I had was a blender so I had to do it in stages. I’m sure if I had a food processor it would have gone quicker. The pie is delicious and it was worth the trouble. It was the first pie I ever made. I enjoyed the experience. To my pleasant surprise baking can be fun. It is creative like programming and like programming you get the fun and satisfaction of making something.