Corn Chowder with Bacon and Green Chiles

I know it's September, and football is happening (go UW!), and there are pumpkin recipes everywhere, and storefronts are filled with boots and scarves. I get it. But can't we still enjoy summer�just for a few more weeks!? Days??

I had all these summer recipes I wanted to make before the season swapped over to fall, and I took a pulse check on Facebook to figure out which of those summer bucket-list recipes I should make first. The big winner? Corn chowder! Unfortunately, I might only get to one or two more summer recipes before chicken wings and chili just get too tempting. But lucky for you, corn chowder is one of 'em! 

This has totally been the summer of corn for me. You could even say I'm a child of the corn. Or maybe not� that's creepy. Let's just say I love corn.

Most of the corn chowder recipes I've seen out there are filled with heavy milk, cream, and potatoes. That just sounds wintery to me. And guys� I just wanted something summery here. And obviously green chiles=summer. And obviously bacon=awesome. 

Speaking of summer and awesome, this soup is awesome. And summery-like. It's a little tangy from the lime and chiles, salty and smoky from the bacon, and nice and sweet from the fresh corn. Rather than adding milk or cream, I just blended half the soup, that way it's thick, but not heavy. Top it off with a swirl of sour cream, some cheese, and cilantro? You'll be thinking it's early August. 

Also, if your produce section is running low on last of the season corn, or you decide to whip this up in December, no worries! You can totally use frozen corn. Then you can have summer anytime. Yep, you're welcome. 

Corn Chowder with Bacon and Green Chiles 

Serves 4-6

8 ears of corn, raw (or 8 cups of frozen corn, thawed)

4 slices of bacon, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or a pinch dried)

2 sprigs of fresh oregano (or a pinch dried)

4 cups chicken broth 

1 four oz can roasted green chiles (mild or hot, depending on your taste)

Juice from half a lime

Salt & pepper

sour cream

lime wedges

cilantro

cheese (crumbled cotija or shredded cheddar or jack)

Cut kernels off corn cobs, and then run the back off the knife or a scrape a spoon along cobs to get the last of the liquidy goodness out of the cobs. Set aside.

Heat a stockpot or dutch oven over medium, and add bacon and onions. Cook until onions are translucent and starting to brown, and bacon is cooked through (it won't necessarily be crispy). Add the garlic, thyme, oregano (and olive oil, if necessary), and cook a few more minutes. Add corn and green chilies, and stir to combine. Add broth, and turn heat to medium-high, bring to a boil. 

Add lime juice, and reduce heat to low. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. 

Remove from heat, and (carefully) run emersion blender through soup one or two times. You don't want to fully blend, but want about 1/2 blended, half still chunky. You could also scoop 2-3 cups of the soup into a blender, blend until smooth, and stir back in. Be careful blending hot soups, it could splatter. 

Server with sour cream, lime wedges, cilantro, and cheese. 

Is Refined Carbohydrate Addictive?

[Note: in previous versions, I mixed up "LGI" and "HGI" terms in a couple of spots. These are now corrected. Thanks to readers for pointing them out.]

Recently, a new study was published that triggered an avalanche of media reports suggesting that refined carbohydrate may be addictive:

Refined Carbs May Trigger Food Addiction
Refined Carbs May Trigger Food Addictions
Can You be Addicted to Carbs?
etc.

This makes for attention-grabbing headlines, but in fact the study had virtually nothing to do with food addiction. The study made no attempt to measure addictive behavior related to refined carbohydrate or any other food, nor did it aim to do so.

So what did the study actually find, why is it being extrapolated to food addiction, and is this a reasonable extrapolation? Answering these questions dredges up a number of interesting scientific points, some of which undermine popular notions of what determines eating behavior.

Read more �

Labor Day Camping Round-up

Labor Day! Camping! You�re camping, right? I went camping last weekend (because I have other very important plans this weekend). So here are some of my insta-photos from that camping trip, plus a lil� camp-food round up for ya!

�Oh, what are my very important plans, you ask? Well�since you asked�OMG you guys. Deathcab is playing Transatlanticism in full at Bumbershoot!!! AAHH! I�ve actually never been to Bumbershoot� I�m not a big music-festival fan. I mean, I like music. I like festivals. But, the crowds and stuff. I don�t know. I just don�t know. Wait� I�m not even sure I like festivals.

Anyway, Transatlanticism!!! Are you dying yet!? I am. That album was the soundtrack of my freshman year in college (which was 10 years ago�I�m old now). The. Soundtrack. Aside from Get Low�which I�m embarrassed to admit was my dance-party JAM that year (to the windows, to the walls!)�the most defining moments of my first two years of college include Ben Gibbard.

I�m not even kidding. Evan and I broke up to a song from that album two days after we first started dating. Tiny Vessels. How emo, right? Is emo even a thing anymore? And the Transatlanticism tour is the first show we ever went to together. At the Showbox. My friend V and I wore matching outfits to that show, which is kind of weird, right? So anyway, I�m going with Evan and his twinsie Mark. It�s going to be epic. We might cry. All 3 of us. I can�t wait. I�m freaking out a little.

Ok. Camping. GO!

• This video and Camp Cobbler from Happy Yolks kills me (in a good way).
• There�s some serious gourmet action happening with these 16 camping dinners from Sunset Magazine.
• I wish I knew about these camp-fire burritos last weekend!
• Retro camping photos are the best, check out this retro-camp-coffee cake.
• Forget everything above, and just make foil-packet dinners (which I call Girl Scout Packets, from my days at Girl Scout Camp). Need ideas? Here are 50 of �em.
• Sweet Paul�s bread on a stick� bread on one stick, hot dog on the other. Ammiright?
• I assume that Portland chefs know a thing or two about camping. Also� paella.

PS. If you make s�mores, please put berries in them. Fresh picked huckleberries if you can.

Baja-Maui Zucchini Tacos

Ok, I know the name for these tacos is a bit confusing. What's a Baja-Maui zucchini taco, you ask? 

Well� the Baja comes from Baja-style fish tacos. You know, battered/breaded fish tacos with creamy white sauce and cool, crunchy cabbage. So good! That's basically what these are. Except, instead of fish, they're filled with zucchini. Maui-style zucchini! When Evan and I went to Maui a million years ago, we had this awesome fried zucchini at a fish stand. It was coconutty and crunchy, breaded in panko, coconut, and black sesame seeds. 

I decided to recreate that delicious zucchini (but baked, instead of fried), and throw 'er in a Baja-style taco with tangy white sauce. Meatless Monday, at your service. Also guys and gals, this is a great way to use up those loads of zucchini you have on your hands. Not that I would ever complain about loads of zucchini (um, hello� gimme that goodness!), but I've heard you� you lucky jerks with your overflowing gardens. 

Get on these tacos, ASAP! 

Baja-Maui Zucchini Tacos

Makes 4-6 tacos

4 small-medium sized zucchini

1 cup flour

1 cup panko

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

2 eggs

1/2 cup coconut milk

Salt & Pepper

Baja White Sauce (recipe below)

Shredded cabbage

Sliced green onions

Corn tortillas
lime wedges

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Cut zucchini in half, then cut lengthwise in quarters. 

Set up your breading station:

Plate #1: Flour, salt, pepper

Plate #2: panko, coconut, sesame seeds

Plate #3: eggs and coconut milk, whisked together until mixed

To bread, first coat zucchini stick in flour, then egg, then panko mix. It's best to do just one at a time, to avoid making a big messy breading clump. 

Arrange zucchini on baking sheet, with a little bit of space between each one. Salt breaded zucchini. Bake for around 15 minutes, until panko is crispy and golden, and zucchini is cooked but not soggy. 

To assemble: Heat corn tortillas, and fill with cabbage, zucchini, sauce, and green onions. Serve with lime wedges. 

Baja White Sauce

1/3 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon mayonnaise 

Juice from 1 lime

1 tablespoon coconut milk

Hot sauce (like Tapatio) 

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

Salt & Pepper

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, add more hot sauce or coconut milk, to taste. 

More Thoughts on Cold Training: Biology Chimes In

Now that the concept of cold training for cold adaptation and fat loss has received scientific support, I've been thinking more about how to apply it. A number of people have been practicing cold training for a long time, using various methods, most of which haven't been scientifically validated. That doesn't mean the methods don't work (some of them probably do), but I don't know how far we can generalize individual results prior to seeing controlled studies.

The studies that were published two weeks ago used prolonged, mild cold exposure (60-63 F air) to achieve cold adaptation and fat loss (1, 2). We still don't know whether or not we would see the same outcome from short, intense cold exposure such as a cold shower or brief cold water plunge. Also, the fat loss that occurred was modest (5%), and the subjects started off lean rather than overweight. Normally, overweight people lose more fat than lean people given the same fat loss intervention, but this possibility remains untested. So the current research leaves a lot of stones unturned, some of which are directly relevant to popular cold training concepts.

In my last post on brown fat, I mentioned that we already know a lot about how brown fat activity is regulated, and I touched briefly on a few key points. As is often the case, understanding the underlying biology provides clues that may help us train more effectively. Let's see what the biology has to say.

Biology of Temperature Regulation

Read more �

Road Trippin: Lake Shasta

Weekend before last, Amanda, Evan, and I road-tripped from Seattle to Lake Shasta, in northern California. We drove through Oregon's Willamette Valley wine country, and stopped at Ankeny winery� home to a super old cemetary and crazy red-eyed emu. We met up in Cali with Mel's side of the fam, for a little houseboat reunion.


Lake Shasta (or Shasta Lake, both work), is one of the most beautiful places ever. We had unbelievable sunsets each night, and the light is constantly changing, making the water glisten and sparkle at certain times, and turn a deep, dark greenish blue at others. And the red-orange shorelines contrast with the water, mountains, and trees beyond like you wouldn't believe. It's really a photographer's playground out there.  Not to mention we made a few friends, including a giant bald eagle that swooped down right next to us (and almost hauled off my little cousin!). We did a ton swimming and floating, ate and drank, and played a whole lot of Barbies (again, little cousin). Here are a few of my favorite shots from the winery and the lake. 

Reflections on the 2013 Ancestral Health Symposium

I just returned from the 2013 Ancestral Health Symposium in Atlanta.  Despite a few challenges with the audio/visual setup, I think it went well.

I arrived on Thursday evening, and so I missed a few talks that would have been interesting to attend, by Mel Konner, Nassim Taleb, Gad Saad, and Hamilton Stapell.  Dr. Konner is one of the progenitors of the modern Paleo movement.  Dr. Saad does interesting work on consummatory behavior, reward, and its possible evolutionary basis.  Dr. Stapell is a historian with an interest in the modern Paleo movement.  He got some heat for suggesting that the movement is unlikely to go truly mainstream, which I agree with.  I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with him and found him to be an interesting person.

On Friday, Chris Kresser gave a nice talk about the potential hidden costs of eradicating our intestinal parasites and inadvertently altering our gut flora.  Unfortunately it was concurrent with Chris Masterjohn so I'll have to watch his talk on fat-soluble vitamins when it's posted.  I spent most of the rest of the day practicing my talk.

On Saturday morning, I gave my talk "Insulin and Obesity: Reconciling Conflicting Evidence".  I think it went well, and the feedback overall was very positive, both on the content and the delivery.  The conference is fairly low-carb-centric and I know some people disagree with my perspective on insulin, and that's OK.   The-question-and-answer session after the talk was also productive, with some comments/questions from Andreas Eenfeldt and others.  With the completion of this talk, I've addressed the topic to my satisfaction and I don't expect to spend much more time on it unless important new data emerge.  The talk will be freely available online at some point, and I expect it to become a valuable resource for people who want to learn more about the relationship between insulin and obesity.  It should be accessible to anyone with a little bit of background in the subject, but it will also be informative to most researchers.

After my talk, I attended several other good presentations.  Dan Pardi gave a nice talk on the importance of sleep and the circadian rhythm, how it works, how the modern world disrupts it, and how to fix it.  The relationship between sleep and health is a very hot area of research right now, it fits seamlessly with the evolutionary perspective, and Pardi showed off his high level of expertise in the subject.  He included the results of an interesting sleep study he conducted as part of his doctoral work at Stanford, showing that sleep restriction makes us more likely to choose foods we perceive as unhealthy.

Sleep and the circadian rhythm was a recurrent theme at AHS13.  A lot of interesting research is emerging on sleep, body weight, and health, and the ancestral community has been quick to embrace this research and integrate it into the ancestral health template.  I think it's a big piece of the puzzle.

Jeff Rothschild gave a nice summary of the research on time-restricted feeding, body weight and health in animal models and humans.  Research in this area is expanding and the results are pretty interesting, suggesting that when you restrict a rodent's feeding window to the time of day when it would naturally consume food (rather than giving constant access during both day and night), it becomes more resistant to obesity even when exposed to a fattening diet.  Rothschild tied this concept together with circadian regulation in a compelling way.  Since food is one of the stimuli that sets the circadian clock, Rothschild proposes to eat when the sun is up, and not when it's down, synchronizing eating behavior with the natural seasonal light rhythm.  I think it's a great idea, although it wouldn't be practical for me to implement it currently.  Maybe someday if I have a more flexible schedule.  Rothschild is about to publish a review paper on this topic as part of his master's degree training, so keep your eyes peeled.

Kevin Boyd gave a very compelling talk about malocclusion (underdeveloped jaws and crowded teeth) and breathing problems, particularly those occurring during sleep.  Malocclusion is a modern epidemic with major health implications, as Dr. Boyd showed by his analysis of ancient vs. modern skulls.  The differences in palate development between our recent ancestors (less than 200 years ago) and modern humans are consistent and striking, as Weston Price also noted a century ago.  Dr. Boyd believes that changing infant feeding practices (primarily the replacement of breast feeding with bottle feeding) is the main responsible factor, due to the different mechanical stimulation it provides, and he's proposing to test that hypothesis using the tools of modern research.  He's presented his research at prestigious organizations and in high-impact scientific journals, so I think this idea may really be gaining traction.  Very exciting.

I was honored when Dr. Boyd told me that my 9-part series on malocclusion is what got him interested in this problem (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).  His research has of course taken it further than I did, and as a dentist his understanding of malocclusion is deeper than mine.  He's a middle-aged man who is going back to school to do this research, and his enthusiasm is palpable.  Robert Corruccini, a quality anthropology researcher and notable proponent of the idea that malocclusion is a "disease of civilization" and not purely inherited, is one of his advisers.

There were a number of excellent talks, and others that didn't meet my standards for information quality.  Overall, an interesting conference with seemingly less drama than in previous years.