ScrumptiousFINALMAG

scrumpti us Running a restaurant behind the scenes of Freda’s Seafood Grille

Austin Restaurant Reviews

Snack ideas For the Busy LASA Student

Table Of Contents The Scrumptious Crew

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Austin’s Best Food Trucks

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Food Around the World

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Food Coloring: Colorful or Dangerous?

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Freda’s Seafood Grille

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Oh, The Temptation: Fast Food at LASA

East Side Cafe

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Snacks For The Busy Student

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Flip Happy Crepes

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Marzipan

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Trans Fat Truth

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Austin Specialty Reviews

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Delectable Disasters

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World’s Craziest Restaurants

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Locally Grown Food?

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Jess R. Jess is a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. Her favorite class is art, and earlier in the year she was on the freshman volleyball team. As you can see from her picture, she is a fun loving person who just can’t sit still. In her spare time, she listens to music, hangs out with a few of her friends, and will occasionally whip up a quick batch of cookies for her large family of six. Her whole life has been spent here in Austin, Texas, and she only plans on leaving for college at New York University, and then is moving right back home to Texas.

Luxy B. Luxy is a freshman at LASA High School, and is thirteen years old (she skipped two grades). She loves traveling around downtown Austin and eating at lots of local restaurants. She also enjoys writing stories, designing layouts, playing lacrosse, acting, singing and painting. In her free time she loves to watch food network, hang out with her friends and shopping. Her favorite class’ are theatre, biology and E-zine. Luxy is very bubbly and random and full of ideas. She loves Austin, and has lived here all her life, but hopes to visit Italy and Greece as well as France and Japan. The only other city she would like to live in (other than Austin of course!) would be San Francisco.

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Madhumitha V. Madhumitha is a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. Her favorite class is art. She’s not that good of a cook. She lives with her parents and her little sister. She was born in India, then moved to Minnestota when she was 3. She then moved to California, and spent 6 years there. Then she moved to Austin, Texas. In total, she been to 7 different schools. She’s seen Niagara Falls and once had a vacation in Lake Tahoe. She thinks that Texas is OK, but that the weather is way too tempermental.

Sanam V. Sanam is a freshman attending LASA high school. She enjoys playing volleyball and has been playing since 4th grade. Her favorite class is E-Zine and in her free time she reads, plays Wii or is hanging out with her friends. She loves to bake, especially brownies, over the weekend, and her specialty cookie is the Snickerdoodle. She lives in a family of four with her mom, dad and younger brother. She was born in Austin, Texas and has lived here her whole life. Sanam has been to many countries including; Canada, Italy, England, Belgium and Costa Rica just to name a few. Her favorite country so far has been Italy, mostly because she ate pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner there.

But she still thinks that Austin is the best city she has gone to.

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Hey guys,

Recipes are important. We’re a food magazine, so of course we’re going to have recipes in this. Have fun making them! We’ve got foreign recipes to expand your taste, and local ones to refresh them. We also have quick and healthy snacks that are designed for the busy LASA student, We’ve a bunch of information and interviews about local restaurants, like East Side Cafe, Flip Happy Crepes and Freda’s Seafood Grill.

We hope you’ll love reading our magazine as much as we did making it.

Stay Delicious, Luxy B. Madhumitha V. Jessica R. Sanam V.

Bon Appetite!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2605724934_e0af9c2e86_z.jpg?zz=1

We’re the Scrumptious staff. Thanks so much for taking the time to read our magazine and blog at www.scrumptiousmagazine.blogspot.com. Scrumptious is not just about food, it’s about local and foreign recipes, cuisine and culture, what’s a healthy treat and local restaurants and cafes. Everything you need to know about food and Austin is here in the only Winter Edition of Scrumptious.

Food Coloring: Colorful or Dangerous?

By: Sanam V.

Imagine a perfect slice of moist, creamy red velvet cake, sitting on a kitchen counter, beckoning you, or a refreshing cold juice pouch seated comfortably in an ice chest; but first think about what is in there that can harm you and others.

I think that artificial food colorings should be banned in the United States, because they can be very dangerous to the population and we should follow Europe’s actions to put a limit on what food coloring is added to.

Color Additives. The food colorings inside these items are scientifically proven to make your child even more hyperactive than the average toddler or if they have ADD/ADHD it will increase the symptoms of those diseases. So when feeding your child the slice of red velvet cake, or a giving them a juice pouch to help them calm down, just remember that a juice pouch isn’t always the best option. A recent study by the United Kingdom’ Food Standard Agency proved that consumption of food dyes could increase hyperactivity in children. An experiment was conducted with 2 drink mixtures containing different dyes and one placebo. 8 and 9 year olds had increased hyperactivity with both drinks. 3 year olds had the same effects with drink one but not the same with drink two. Norway is a country we should follow, they banned all artificial food coloring made from coal tar or that contain parts of coal tar. This reason is due to the fact that colorings can cause depression, cancer and asthma-like symptoms in humans. These will definitely affect children because of their sensitivity at a young age. The amount of artificial coloring in foods should be banned because it could be building up cancer in your friends, family and even your own bodies.

Food coloring is made up of many dangerous substances which can lead to cancer. Many ingredients are made from numerous mineral compounds, considered to be safe to consume, but some have been considered hazardous. Some dyes are so dangerous that they have been banned in many countries such as; tartrazine which is derived from coal tar and is very bad for

“consumption of food dyes could increase hyperactivity in children”

asthmatics, erythrosine which is another coal tar based compound that can cause thyroid tumors. Red 2G has the potential to damage genetic material and cause cancer in animals; this is because it contains genotoxic and carcinogenic effects. The FDA has claimed these food colorings dangerous in 1976. Europe has taken precautions to this food dye and is only permitting a certain amount in some red meats and in some cereal and vegetable content.

Natural food coloring is safer than artificial coloring and tastes the same as artificial coloring, yet people don’t use it because it is more expensive. Food producers should spend that extra money to use natural food coloring and ensure safety, instead of using artificial food coloring, and putting people in harm’s way. Natural food coloring has no evidence showing that it harms people because it is 100% from nature. There are many side effects from food coloring from the lab, but since it’s cheaper it will be used. In many natural food colorings there is a substance by the name of bioflavinoid, and it has reported benefits to the body. They maintain healthy capillaries; prevent easy bruising, hemorrhages, and other circulatory problems. Researchers have also discovered that Vitamin C has been over credited because bioflavinoids have the same immunity boosting effects that Vitamin C does. Studies show that bioflavinoids can also remove mutagens and carcinogens; they also help neutralize cancer cells. The reason that artificial food coloring is used is because it makes the food look appetizing and appeal to people. Food industries get more money and people’s health goes down, just because of foods being bought because of the appetizing look.

In the end it boils down to whether or not you care about your health, your child’s health and that of your loved ones. The United States should ban food coloring because of the potential harm in it. Why have artificial food coloring when there is a healthier and safer alternative most likely growing in your backyard. There is a choice of artificial food coloring with a more divine look and leading to cancer. Take the safer route and spend extra money to buy natural food dyes with no side effects at all. Healthy or delectable?

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Austin’s Best Food Trucks

By Jess R.

1. Hey Cupcake!

Hey Cupcake! is a local Austin cupcake bakery. Wes Hurt, an Austinite, started it all with the help of his business partner, Brian Morris. When they first opened, they went out of business within two months because of a bad location. They decided to re-open in an airstream on Sout Congress. Austinites loved the Hey Cupcake! cupcakes, and kept coming back for more. Now, it is one of the most popular food trucks in all of Autin. Some of their very popular signature flavors include the Vanilla Dream, The Standard, the Double Dose and the very classy Red Velvet.

2. The Mighty Cone

The Mighty Cone is a delicious austin festival food. It was originally developed in 2002 when Austin City Limits contacted Jeff Blank about his Hot ‘n’ Crunchy Trout. They wanted the genius creator of that popular dish to help them create the ultimate festival food, that not only tastes good, but shows the culture of Austin. The final result was chicken, breaded in the Hot ‘n’ Crunchy Trout recipe, wrapped in a tortilla and put in a paper cone to make it easier to eat. Then, it is topped with a mango-jalapeno slaw and ancho sauce. Sales at Austin City Limits were so good the first year that Jeff expanded his recipe to include avocado and shrimp.

Every year, The Mighty Cone is one of the most popular Austin City Limits festival foods.

3. Mmmpanadas

Mmmpanadas was started by two people who love Austin and traveling around, hence the mobile restaurant. They make atrisan empanadas with only fresh ingredients and are searching for new flavor combinations. Mmmpanadas also offers a catering service, which has become more popular over the years. Some of their signature flavors are spicy black bean, an experimental ham and cheese, mango ginger, pulled pork and green chile chicken.

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4. Torchy’s Tacos

Michael Rypka and his business partner, Bill, opened their first Torchy’s Tacos in an airstream on Bouldin Creek. At first, customers were no where in sight. So Michael began handing out free chips with his award winning salsa to invite people to come to his taco stand. Soon after, Austinites had a newfound love for Torchy’s Tacos. They were so good, in fact, that the customers inspired “Damn Good Tacos” that are served along with the rallying cry “Damn Good!”

Now, there are several locations of Torchy’s Tacos--food trucks and small buildings. Michael and Bill are very proud of thier accomplishments, and many awards for their tacos. They are very passionate about their work, and are still looking to expand their business even further.

5. Flip Happy Crepes

Flip Happy Crepes is a local food trailer owned by Nessa Farrow and Andrea Day-Boykin, opened in April of 2006. Their mission is to serve delicious hand-made crepes and French coffee in an outdoor setting in Austin. They have fulfilled this well, seeing as they have become one of the most popular food trucks. The menu contains many gourmet crepes--Roasted Chicken with Carmelized Onions, Spinach with Feta and Roasted Garlic, Lemon and Sugar and a sweet Nutella Roll-up. Next time you’re on Jessie Street, be sure to stop by!

The age old question...

Chocolate: 21 Vanilla: 7

Results of Cupcake Poll

How do you eat it?

Lick off: 2 Just Cake: 2 Together: 24

Amounts of Icing?

Little: 14 None: 2 A lot: 11

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Freda’s Seafood Grille: Behind this local austin restaurant

By Luxy B. Everyone has dreams, and Freda Chang’s was to open a restaurant. She worked hard and unlike many people’s dreams, she accomplished it. As we sit in the restaurant she says “ I built this restaurant, and it was a lot of hard work, and I did it, all by myself. So that’s a success. Not many people can do that, and it’s not as easy as people think.” She loves her business and her guests, and doesn’t mind the hard work. “ I love people, I enjoy people, I enjoy food, I enjoy hard work. “

Chang is a hard worker, and when I sat down with her, I discovered many things about the restaurant industry, and how it is behind the scenes of a busy restaurant.

Freda’s Seafood Grille, open in Austin for almost eight years is Freda Chang’s current restaurant. The two restaurants she owned before Freda’s were located in or around Austin, one near a Seton hospital, and one in Georgetown, the both of those she owned for a combined time of twenty three years. She always loved

Your restaurant, the food, the kitchen, the staff, they have to be ready.

she says. Freda Chang worked very hard on opening three restaurants in Austin and is content with her job.

Even though she makes difficult decisions and spends lots of time choosing waiters and cooks to service her restaurant, its her dream. She has learned lots by opening a restaurant, especially that “ You have to monitor everything they do. You cannot let them do whatever they want. Then usually, there’s a problem. “ Freda

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to work when she was young, and takes joy in it still.

Her inspiration for starting a restaurant was the fact that she loved the concept of mingling with food and people, and wanted to make a restaurant that served the food she liked. “I love steak and seafood. So, when I went to restaurants to eat this, I always had to drive downtown and find a good restaurant, and that’s very far from where I live.” Freda wanted people like her-

self to have the same quality steak and seafood found in high class downtown restaurants but more convenient. And that is how Freda’s Seafood Grille came about. Freda’s favorite food on the menu is “ Lobster and steak. And our sea bass. I love sea bass, and we have good sea bass.” “But”, she says “we have a lot of good stuff on our menu, a lot of variety.”

Freda puts lots of effort to looking at the details of her restaurant, making everything perfect. “Your restaurant, the food, the kitchen, the staff, they have to be ready. We all have to be ready. “ she says. “ The server serves the food and the server’s good, the food’s good. And when they leave here they’re happy. And

she has taken a moral from is the trust of employees. “ You have to know whats going on all the time. You cant just let the manager handle everything, you need to know what they are doing, so in case they make a mistake, you are there to correct it.” she comments.

Another burden of a restaurant is managing time between family and work. “ You do your best. You try to multitask to do everything. and then you always hope your family understands. “ Freda says. In the end though, she is happy with her job. “I built this restaurant, and it was a lot of hard work, and I did it, all by myself. So that’s a success. Not many people can do that, and its not as easy as people think.” She says as

they come back again.”. But, even with her attention she has soaked up many skills and lessons from her experiences in a restaurant. Her biggest mistake that

a success. “But you get through it and you learn a lot from your experiences.”

Fredas Famous Foods - Freda’s Crab Cakes: Tender lump blue crab filling, with a crispy, Japanese bread crumcoating,

served in a lemon beurre blanc with capers ! Yum!

- Southern Fried Pickles: Buttermilk battered and fried to golden,served with house made Ranch dressing! I really want to try these, they are avery bold and interesting menu choice!

- Crab Stuffed Avocado: Avocado halves stuffed with lump crab, shrimp, crawfish and Andouille sausage. Rob Balon reviewed this as well as other foods and said this was “ tasty and presents beautifully.” Also, a very unique menu choice, like many of her other dishes.

- Pecan Tilapia: Pecan-crusted tilapia in a crawfish pesto sauce,served with green beans. This was also reviewed by Rob Balon, and is a dish with of her very prestigious seafood, which is always fresh.

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FOOD AROUND THE WORLD

Four Recipes From Different Cultures

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Kolaches

By Jess R.

Kolaches are a pastry made of a bread roll with a filling, usually either poppy seed, apricot or cream cheese. They originated in Eastern Europe, and were especially popular in Czehoslovakia, and eventually spread into the United States. Now, there are several popluar, and very good, kolache shops around Austin. They may not be the easiest pastrys to make, but they’re delicious and worth every minute! Here is a recipe for apricot kolaches.

Ingredients -1 cup softened butter -6 oz softened cream cheese -2 tbsp white sugar -2 cups all-purpose flour -3/4 cup dried apricots -1 1/2 cups water -3/4 cup white sugar

Instructions To make filling: 1. Combine apricots and water in a saucepan and cook covered over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until apricots are soft. Cook uncovered now until most water is absorbed, usually between 5 and 10 minutes.

2. Mash the apricots and stir in 2 tbsp of white sugar. Set aside and let it cool.

To make dough: 1. Mix the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add 3/4 cup of sugar and beat well. Add flower and mix well.

2. Shape dough into a ball. Let chill for 1 hour.

3. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. 4. Put dough onto well-floured surface, working with only half of the ball at a time. Roll until 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 2 inch squares. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of filling into the center of the square. Bring the 4 corners to the center and pinch to seal.

5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. *Optional: Drizzle lightly with powdered sugar to add a sweeter taste to your kolaches.

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Pad Thai

By Luxy B.

Ingredients * 1-ounce tamarind paste * 3/4 cup boiling water * 2 tablespoons fish sauce * 2 tablespoons palm sugar * 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar * 4 ounces rice stick noodles * 6 ounces Marinated Tofu, recipe follows * 1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil * 1 cup chopped scallions, divided * 2 teaspoons minced garlic * 2 whole eggs, beaten * 2 teaspoons salted cabbage * 1 tablespoon dried shrimp * 3 ounces bean sprouts, divided * 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, divided * Freshly ground dried red chile peppers, to taste * 1 lime, cut into wedges Directions Place the tamarind paste in the boiling water and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.

Combine the fish sauce, palm sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the rice stick noodles in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Once the other ingredients are measured out into separate bowls, drain the water from the noodles and set them aside. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch wide strips, similar to French fries.

Press the tamarind paste through a fine mesh strainer and add to the sauce. Stir to combine.

Place a wok over high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Heat until it shimmers, then add the tofu. Cook the tofu until golden brown, moving constantly, for no longer than 1 minute. Remove the tofu from the pan to a small bowl and set aside.

If necessary, add some more peanut oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Add 2/3 of the scallions and then the garlic, cook for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the eggs to the pan; once the eggs begin to set up, about 15 to 20 seconds, stir to scramble. Add the remaining ingredients in the following order and toss after each addition: noodles, sauce, cabbage, shrimp, and 2/3 of the bean sprouts and peanuts. Toss everything until heated through, but no longer than 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining scallions, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Serve immediately with the ground chile peppers and lime wedges.

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Marzipan_critters.jpg

Marzipan

All about

By Madhumitha V,.

Marzipan is a sweet made out of sugar and almonds (sometimes cashews). It can be flavored with rosewater and sugar syrup. Its used to make a lot of sugary treats. There are chocolate filled marzipans, marzipans used as icing and marzipan shaped into animals or people. Marzipan has been around for a long time. Ir has always exiated in Mediterranean trade. Most people believe it started in either Italy, Persia, Hungary or China and then spread to other countries. The term marzipan might have come from the Latin word “martius panis” which means “bread of March.” It could also have orignated from the Arabic word “ mawthaban” which means “king who sits still”, or the Persian word Marzban, which means border/guardian.

Yield: 1 pound

INGREDIENTS: 8 ounces almond paste 2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup corn syrup 3 drops food coloring, your choice of color DIRECTIONS: 1. Break almond paste into small pieces over a medium bowl.

Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and work in with your hands until incorporated.

It will be crumbly.

Add another 3/4 cup of sugar and work it in really well.

Pour in corn syrup and work in until evenly blended.

Spread remaining sugar out on a clean work surface and knead dough until smooth and uniform; 3 to 5 minutes.

If dough seems too sticky knead in more sugar.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate about an hour.

It should have the consistency of modeling dough.

2. Break off small pieces of marzipan to color, kneading in color thoroughly until you arrive at the desired color.

Then blend colored pieces into larger portions of dough. Dust a work surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar and roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness.

Cut into desired shapes using small cookie cutters to make candies.

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Madhumitha V.

Chakli was first started in India, in Tamil Nadu cuisine. It then spread to Malaysia, Sri Lankam Fiji and North America. Its also called Murukku and chakri. Chakli is a popular treat during Divali and Krishna Jayanthi.

2 cups rice flour 1 cup moong daal flour 1/2 cup ghee 1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tbsp cumin seeds lightly roasted 1 tbsp thymol seeds lightly roasted 2 tbsps sesame seeds lightly roasted Salt to taste Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil for deep frying Sieve the 2 flours together.

Mix all the other ingredients in the flour.

Melt and cool the ghee. Pour it, a little at a time onto the flour mixture and knead. For Chakli, you need to make a dough that is medium soft and smooth so, when all the ghee is used up, add cool water, a little at a time and keep kneading till you reach the required consistency. Taste dough and season with salt. Mix well.

Fill some of the dough in a chakli mold or icing bag (with a large nozzle).

Pipe out spirals - 3� diameter - onto a baking sheet.

Heat the oil in a pan on a medium flame.

Deep fry the chaklis till golden. Drain on paper towels, cool and store in an air-tight container.

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Image is courtesy of http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2099/2318547916_82f2c72770_o.jpg

CHAkli

East Side Cafe, 22 years in Austin Madhumitha V.

“absolutely nothing about gardening” “to sort of make the concept come to life” “nice little house to start a restaurant”

A

s Austinites, we can take pride in a localized cafes that bring people from across the States to sample the specialized foods that are made only here. Restaurants have garnered local fame and have integrated themselves with our local society. For over two decades, East Side Cafe, co-run by Dorsey Barger, has served mouthwatering meals to hungry customers; crepes filled with mushrooms and topped with tomato mushroom sauce. Catfish fillet with sesame seeds and bread crumbs. Brownies drizzled with vanilla ice-cream, lime pie, edged with a graham crust and whipped cream.

Dorsey has run of acclaim ture,

East Side Cafe for over two decades. The restaurant has been the center from many of its diners and press. It has melded itself into Austin culappearing in our food-craves and newspapers. It is the quintessential quality of the food that marks the restaurant, and its importance to us. The savory, sugar-and-spice dishes that it has served has been with Austin for longer than many of the lives of the younger generations.

East Side Café is a cottage-esque building with shrubbery in the front. It looks warm and comfortable; one of those picture perfect lodges seen in Disney movies. Standing next to it is Pitchforks & Tablespoons, the restaurant gift shop. At the back of the house is a garden, filled with herbs and plants and chickens. This supplies a great deal of the ingredients needed for the food served.

But, of course, no restaurant can be acclaimed without its owners.

Dorsey is the front-of-the restaurant person, as she describes herself. Her dream to own her restaurant began in high school. She would frequently eat in restaurants, and decided then that she would own one someday. “There was a res-

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taurant in Houston called Armando’s which was serving Mexican food and I loved go ing there; the food was incredible. It was in a comfortable, old house, and every time I would say when I grow up I’m going to own my own restaurant and its going to be in a house and that’s what I ended up doing.”

East Side café was started in 1988. Prior to starting her culinary career, Dorsey was managing someone else’s. She and her business partner, Elaine Martin, met while they were managers in different restaurants.

The soon discovered that they shared a passion for food, and owning a restaurant. Dorsey found that managing a restaurant meant learning about brilliant chefs and advertising, and restaurant financing, all vital information for owning one. “I’d been working in restaurants for three years we knew a lot about the business. So when we decided to open our own restaurant we already had a real tool of talents we knew cooks who were very good at what they did and we knew great chefs who were very good at what they did.” So Dorsey and Elaine proceeded and found East Side

A poem about wine

by Dorsey Barger “Sunsets are Burnt Orange Skies are often Blue Zinfandels are Red Wines So what’s that pink stuff?”

Café. “We were looking for a location and found this house on the east side of town and we went to go see it,” she says. “A nice little house,” she declares, “it was perfect for us.”

“We took one month between the day we signed the agreement and the day we opened the restaurant and we assembled our staff and we hired people and spent every day and night deciding what we wanted our restaurant to be and then putting together a series of recipes and menu items to sort of make the concept come to life.”

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Image is courtesy of the East Side Cafe website

Dorsey describes the opening of East Side Café as being “frightening and very slow,” she laughs warmly, then continues, “it was very frightening and very nervous and not many people came to eat with us and it was boring and nerve wracking.” She offers and insight on how she and Elaine method for popularizing the café, “We didn’t want to have a big party or anything to announce our presence and what happened then was you become too busy too quickly.

That’s very easy to disappoint people. So what we decided to do was to quietly and very slowly so that we would learn as we went you know how to prepare the recipes how to take care of our customers.” She then adds, “our strategy was to grow very slowly.”

Much of the ingredients that go into the food served at East Side Cafe is grown at the back of the restaurant, where a garden paints the perfect backdrop to the center focus of the canvas that is East Side Cafe.

“We grow vegetables and for egg production (because we have about 100 chickens there),” Dorsey describes, “and we also have a farm that’s 2 miles away from the restaurant between our property at East Side which is conserved for garden and eggs.” The farm grows 50% of all the vegetables and eggs that go into the food.

She then talks about the garden’s origins. “[When] I started I knew absolutely nothing about gardening,” she admits, “We had brought in a person who knew quite a bit about gardening because we didn’t have the knowledge to maintain a garden which had already been in place.I walked with the gardener and pointed to a plant and he’d say ‘that’s a zucchini,’ and I’d walk over to another plant and say ‘what is that?’ and he’d say ‘those are beans.’”

She then says, “I was sort of very interested in listening carefully and learning things. And about in our 20th year I knew I really wanted to be the person who was in the garden every day. And now that’s what I do every single day, I go into the vegetables and work.”

Over the years, East Side Café has grown to be a household name throughout Austin. It rocketed into fame as The Austin-American Statesman and the Austin Chronicle started to put the restaurant onto their front pages. “[They] wrote some very nice articles about us,” she says, while talking about her café’s fame, “and so slowly by word of mouth often the press that was so nice to us began to build a very nice reputation.” She puts in, “we’ve had 22 years to keep working on our recipes our concepts…we’ve had every single day of every [single] year.”

Brunch Huevos Mexicanos Eggs baked with flour tortillas, green chilies, jack and cheddar cheese. Topped with sour cream tomatillo sauce and Eastside Café Salsa. Served with homefries and black beans.

Smoked Salmon Benedict Two poached eggs and smoked salmon on an English muffin.

Topped with hollandaise sauce. Served with homefries and a blueberry bran muffin.* Eggs Benedict Two poached eggs and ham on an English muffin. Topped with hollandaise sauce. Served with homefries and a blueberry bran muffin.* Eggs Florentine Two poached eggs and creamy spinach sauce on an English muffin. Topped with hollandaise sauce. Served with homefries and a blueberry bran muffin.* Migas Eggs scrambled with tomatoes, green bell peppers, onions, and corn tortilla chips. Topped with cheddar cheese. Served with black beans, homefries, salsa, and flour tortillas.

French Toast Three slices of whole wheat or white bread dipped in cinnamon batter and grilled to a golden brown. Served with three pieces of crisp bacon or garlic cheese grits.

Belgian Waffle A golden homemade Belgian waffle topped with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream. Served with three pieces of crisp bacon or garlic cheese grits.

Apple Almond Waffle A golden homemade Belgian waffle topped with homemade whipped cream and toasted almonds. Served with sautéed apples and three pieces of crisp bacon or garlic cheese grits.

Blueberry Blintzes Four crepes filled with sweetened ricotta and cream cheese. Topped with blueberry sauce and sour cream. Served with three pieces of crisp bacon or garlic cheese grits.

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Oh, The Temptation Fast food at LASA

T

he fast food business is one of the most successful industries in the United States, and has continued to prosper despite the negative connotation that surrounds it. The general public tends to think badly of fast food restaurants because of their health and nutrition value, as well as their small wages for workers. So why do people still eat it? “Because no one cares what’s in it as long as it tastes good,” says Chris P, a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA).

Fast food is affecting students in high schools across the nation. Americans have become addicted to those fatty fries and delicious burgers. Everything happening now is setting the world up for the upcoming generation--the teens now in high schools all over the world. Negativity towards fast food is not changing the way people thing about it. In fact, fast food consumption is increasing, creating more overweight teens. “Peo-

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By Jess R.

ple need to stop making Americans look so bad,” says Ivy T, a LASA freshmen, about the American stereotype thanks to mostly fast food. Many teens feel badly towards it and despite their knowledge of its unhealthiness, they still eat it.

The bell rings for lunch at the LASA and the halls flood with hungry students. Lunch lines for pizza, burritos and teriyaki chicken stretch through the caf“No one cares eteria, and benches near the front of what’s the school fill with in it as long as it homemade lunches. A small group of freshtastes good.” men gather by their lockers and drop their heavy backpacks on the tile. “I’m so hungry!” Ivy says, as she pulls out a crinkled grocery bag.

Her typical lunch consists of a bag of chips and a water bottle, which isn’t much for a growing teenage girl. “It’s just what my mom packs me. I’m too lazy [to make my own lunch],” she laughs. Most students at LASA bring lunches made by their mother or father. You would think that if it was made by their parents, it would be healthy and contain enough to satisfy their hunger. As you can see, that isn’t always the case.

Things like chips and other processed foods, such as Fruit Roll-Ups and Goldfish, are the most common things in lunches. Parents also tend to stop by a fast food restaurant in the morning to grab their child a quick lunch on the go. It is widely known that these foods are not the healthiest, and shouldn’t be on the daily menu.

Chris props himself up against a locker, slams his unfinished homework down next to him, and heaves a sigh.

Today, his lunch is made up of a bagel sandwich, an energy bar, a small piece of candy and a water bottle. This is a more typical lunch for a high school student. He doesn’t eat fast food much, “Only about once a month,” he estimates.

The fast food industry in America preys on working class citizens, and completely consumes families who don’t have the time or money to shop at H-E-B or Whole Foods once a week. Circumstances people find themselves under when they eat fast food vary from one to the next, but usually have something to do with time availability or willingness to cook.

“I’m busy, I guess,” Chris says, while Ivy’s reasons are quite different. “My parents don’t have [the] energy to cook after a long day at work,” she says. Even if they do have the time or energy to cook a healthy meal, Americans seem to be addicted to fast food.

People like fast food because it’s cheap, filling, and “It tastes good,” as Chris says. To these students, it does not matter what it contains, they just want it to be good. This is possibly the main factor in the increase in the fast food industry. If Americans are going for the best tasting thing, they will usually end up choosing something unhealthy. This habit can, and most likely will, lead to obesity. A major obesity epidemic has struck America, with fast food being a large contributor.

Just like other high schools, LASA is being struck by America’s self inflicted obesity epidemic. Some think it isn’t serious, Ivy explains. It seems like a few overweight people can’t really be too bad—it’s just how some people are. However, this is a common misconception.

Obesity in America is a major problem, and fast food is a big part of it. It is all too convenient. Students don’t think much of it, most of the time. But they all feel the same when they are asked about it. “It sucks,” they both say with their eyes downcast.

Average High School Lunches

The average lunch of Chris P; his bagel sandwich, water and extras.

School served lunches are popular at LASA and LBJ.

Some students have small lunches, consisting of only one thing, because they are too busy in the morning to pack more.

Other students have filling lunches.

There is a wide variety of home made lunches.

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Snacks For The Busy Student

by Madhumitha V.

Nachos

A snack that won’t take more than five minutes to cook. You need 12 ounce bag tortilla chips 1 pound Cheddar cheese, grated,1/3 cup chopped canned peeled green chilies, and 1/2 cup chopped onion. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Lay the tortilla chips on a cookie sheet, mix together the cheese, chilies and onion and sprinkle it over the tortilla chips.

Bake the chips for about 2 minutes (the cheese should have melted, then eat!

(Recipe Courtesy of http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ Cookbook:Nachos)

Smoothie

For a delicious wildberry smoothie, take blueberries, raspberriers, strawberries, and blackberries, vanilla ice-cream and a banana and ice and mix it together in a blender.

Popsicles

This is really easy to prepare, but takes a while to freeze.

You can get popsicle molds, or just use a cup, and fill it with fruit juice. The popsicles will harden in 4-5 hours.

Sandwiches

We can all make a normal sandwich, so here are some additions on a peanut butter sandwich; potato chips, mayonnaise, bacon, banana, honey, bologna and lettuce.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (For this part I would leave the butter out for a couple of hours before starting, because warming the butter in the microwave is really messy.) ¾ cup of granulated sugar ¾ cup packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups of chocolate chips Directions: 1) Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit 2) Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt, gradually to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips 3) Drop by teaspoons onto a cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

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Flip Happy Crepes By: Sanam V.

“Something yummy but simple” “We are a mom-and-pop type of food truck” says Nessa Farrow from Flip Happy Crepes. Since opening in April of 2006 they have been on Throwdown! With Bobby Flay, and beat him with their caramelized banana creme crepe and a Cuban shredded-pork crepe. Recently they also appeared on the Food Network show, The Best Thing I Ever Ate. With this kind of publicity, this “gourmet street food” truck has become very popular in the Austin area.

From being a word-of-the-mouth food truck, to a crêpe trailer that has been on two Food Network shows, the managers, Nessa Farrow and Andrea DayBoykin, have been through a lot to make this food stall a success. Nessa Farrow wasn’t always a chef at Flip Happy Crepes, in fact, it was a surprise that she was cooking. Nessa has two sisters and out of them three she was the least interested in cooking. So it was a shock to her family when they found out about the food trailer. Ms. Farrow’s profession before Flip Happy Crepes was working for photographers, like, casting and helping with photo shoots. “I was gonna get my teaching certification to stay with Willow (Nessa’s daughter) for Christmas’, summer, winter break so I was in this certification program and I was 27, 28 and I was like, you know, I could be a teacher later and I wanted to do something different so I decided to do this instead.” But it was worth it, “I like cooking here like fast on the line, but for my own enjoyment I'm not that into it. I enjoy eating, and I like our foods because I know it so well, and I’ve taught myself this new skill that I had no interest in or

knowledge of. Getting this place up and running was really exciting, I guess for anybody to learn something new and then conquer it is such an amazing feeling.” says Nessa. Even with all this success there has been an idea that didn’t work out so well. Nessa “We almost opened up a restaurant this last year but we backed out because it was not really our style and way too much money. We were gonna move into a building but at the last minute we changed our minds, it didn’t feel right.

Our plan right now is to stay here for a while we don’t have like definite plan but we are pretty happy, like our jobs, all the people we work with and our customers like our food so why fix what’s not broken?”

Flip Happy Crepes has been on two Food Network shows so far. Throwdown! With Bobby Flay and The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Throwdown! With Bobby Flay is when Bobby Flay, a famous Food Network chef who owns and is the executive chef of ten restaurants and has hosted seven shows on the Food Network, goes to a local restaurant and challenges them to see who can make their specialty better. Bobby Flay had come to Austin to throwdown with Flip Happy Crepes, and despite all of the controversy, Nessa and Andrea had no idea he was coming. Also, Nessa and Andrea hadn’t really heard of the show, “I didn’t even know who he was and I don’t have cable and my partner doesn’t have cable so we didn’t really see the show” Nessa replied, when I asked if she knew that her crepes were going to

“We are a mom-and-pop type of food truck”

be challenged on national television. By making their

caramelized banana creme crepe and Cuban shredded pork crepe, this food trailer beat Bobby Flay in the competition. When I asked Nessa how it felt to beat Bobby Flay on national television she replied, “It was awesome. He said on national television that we have the best crepes in America and that increased our business. He was really nice and a good sport and it was super fun and the whole experience was amazing!” The production process for this show was different than for The Best Thing I Ever Ate because Throwdown! it was a smaller production production and they had people telling them what to say and do, also they were only on the show for a couple of minutes because it was a segment of it. Just being on a show was good, but there were other benefits to it as well. “It was free advertising for us and it was a good experience and the problems we had, running out of food, not having enough people were solved.”

sive, “there would be a lot of room to play with new recipes because there is a lot of filling we can use, we kinda made it our own thing.”

“We want to eat good crepes, we wanted to do gourmet street food, you know, with reasonable prices.”says Nessa, flipping a crepe.

“Something yummy but simple”she smiles while drizzling chocolate sauce on a crepe. “We are happy with it, we like our schedules, we have to work our tails off but it was worth it.”

“ gourmet street food ”

“My friend had always wanted to do something like this because she went to Ireland and had amazing crepes you know and just couldn’t find any here that was as good.”That is how Flip Happy Crepes had come to be.

“Neither of us wanted to do a restaurant, oh my gosh I never even worked in a restaurant, it’s such a commitment, and this was something we just wanted to try and you know, see how it went. And I think that’s why it worked out, I didn’t overanalyze it because I knew I wanted to do something new and something with her but we had no idea we were going to be as successful as we were and how this trailer thing would work” It also helped that Andrea’s husband was a chef; he was the one who came up with most of the recipes for the batter and for their sauces. Before their opening, Nessa had gone to Portland to do some research on crepes, like which kind of fillings to use, and which go well together. Even though making crepes can be time consuming and labor inten-

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Menu: Savory

-Roasted chicken with carmelized onions, garlic aioli and goat cheese -Roasted vegetables with feta buttermilk sauce -Ham and gruyere cheese and green onions -Shredded pork w/ cheddar cheese, pickles and tabasco sauce -Three cheese crepe with carmelized onions and spinach -Spinach, feta cheese, and roasted garlic -Smoked salmon with herbed cream cheese spinach and tomato, scallions -Roasted chicken, mushrooms, w.cheddar, carmelized onions -Tarragon mushroom, goat cheese, carmelized onion, spinach, tomato, chives -Shredded pork with carmelized onions and white cheddar

Sweet

-Lemon and sugar -Nutella and fruit (strawberries or bananas) -Whipped peanut butter with dark chocolate sauce, bananas and almonds -Vanilla pastry cream with fresh berries and berry sauce -Cinnamon sugar crepe with toasted coconut, crushed almonds and cream cheese frosting -Lemon curd with blueberry dressing

Scrumptious Word Search

Word Bank: BACON BROWNIES CAKE COOKIES CREPES EGGS GARLICBREAD JESS KITKAT LUXY

MADHU MINTY NACHOS NOM PASTA PIZZA SANAM SCRUMPTIOUS SMALLFRY SUSHI

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photo by: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mHIAp_fU3uI/R1BLNgS90YI/AAAAAAAAAIY/z2-6OJBp-ec/s1600-R/photofries.jpg

The Trans Fat Truth.

By Luxy B.

photo by: http://miltonstokes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/transfat.jpg

E

veryone loves cookies, crackers, pies, and french fries. But rarely do you ever look at the nutrition facts of these foods. But if you do, you will find a killer: Trans fats.

The body does not like trans fats, and it confuses it.

As said by Dr. Robert Demaria, the trans fat takes 51 days to metabolize, and confuses the cells that try to process the fat. This means that the french fry you ate two months ago is still being processed in your body at this time. This is not good for the body, because you body has to work harder to process the food you eat.

Trans fats can increase heart disease and obesity as well as high cholesterol. Trans fats are stiff, hard fats, and as proved by the University of Michigan studies.This means that the fat builds up in your blood veins as your body tries to process it, which it processes very slowly as said before, and if eaten too much, it can start clogging up in your arteries and lead to a heart attack or heart disease. Also proved by the University of Michigan is that trans fats do not only raise bad cholesterol but it helps deplete the buildup of good cholesterol. This is horribly unhealthy because cholesterol can also contribute to obesity and heart disease. Becuase of this, trans fats should be banned like they have been in other countries like Denmark.

Trans fats are highly unhealthy as proved above, and they can and must be replaced by healthier alternatives. Trans fats are used as things in processed foods to prolong the shelf life, and manufacturers have been using trans fats for the past twenty years as stated also by the University of Michigan. But, lately there has been new breakthroughs in the science world and scientists like Alejandro Marangoni have developed a trans-fat free solid, gel like fat. This process involves turning the fat into a gel by “encapsulating it within the multi-layered structure of monoglyceride in water.� This fat lowers the level of insulin and fatty acids needed to process the meal just eaten. Other, healthier and more accessible alternatives are sunflower, corn, soybean and canola oil instead of partially hydrogenated oil (trans fats) as suggested by a cbc news article.. So, if there are these healthy alternitaves,why havent we banned it yet?

Trans fats has proved to be a deadly player in the food industry. But there are heroes- healthy alternatives- that have showed up, but we should help ban the danger of trans fats from all foods in America.

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Austin Specialty Reviews Amy’s Ice Cream By: Sanam V.

Amy’s Ice Cream was opened in 1984 by Amy Simmons, with her first restaurant located on Guadalupe Street. They have seven year-round flavors; Sweet Cream, White Chocolate, Mexican Vanilla, Coffee, Belgian Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Just Vanilla. Along with these seven flavors, there are 8 other flavors that rotate out regularly. Amy’s has about 300 flavors of ice cream ranging from Chipotle Peanut Butter to Key Lime Pie. But no worries, you dont’ have to eat the ice cream by itself, Amy’s Ice Cream lets you have crush’ns and toppings on your icecream A crush’n is a chocolate, nuts, cookies that are chopped up and crushed into your ice cream. Some different crush’ns they have are M&M’s, Kit Kat’s, Oreos, Walnuts or Fresh Strawberries. This idea can create so many new possiblities of different ice cream flavors, because now you not only have to choose an ice cream, but something to put in it as well. My favorite combination is Mexican Vanilla with hot fudge and fresh strawberries.

If you would like to work at Amy’s you have to pass the white paper bag application. The only requirements are to write a name and contact information somewhere on the application. People appllying are encouraged to be creative and applications have included decorated bags, short stories, and videos placed in the bag. The bag doesn’t have to remain intact in fact, some applications have included only portions of the bag, puppets made from the bag, or the remains of a bag like ashes. The end product does not need to resemble the original bag.

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Top Three Amy’s Ice Cream Flavors: 1) Mexican Vanilla 2) Belgian Chocolate 3) Sweet Cream

Home Slice Pizza

By Luxy B.

Home slice Pizza is a local pizzeria in Austin, located around South Congress. Called “The Queen of Pies”, Home slice lives up to its name. On a slightly chilly Friday, I went to get a slice of the pizza, made fresh, right in front of you. I got a simple cheese, but it was far from plain. The pizza is made new york style, thin and greasy. “Its like they have deliciousness baked right in” says a first time visitor to home slice. The owners of Home Slice Jen and Joseph Strickland and Terri Hannifin, opened the restaurant in 2005. On any given weekend you can see people lining up, getting their fill of the delicious pizza and roaming downtown SoCo. The pizza comes out hot and fresh and its no surprise why its so packed. I would award home slice FIVE out of five stars, for delicious food, friendly waitstaff and fast service. I have never had a bad experience there, and I always leave there happy. Once you get a bite, you get hooked. I know I am.

Thundercloud Subs

By Jess R.

Walk inside the Thundercloud Subs at The Arboretum and the smell of fresh bread floods around you. Look up, and you’ll see a homey loft full of satisfied customers. Look over the counter, and you’ll see big smiling faces waiting to take your order.

Austinites are farmiliar with the radio jingle for Thundercloud: “When I’m really hungry, and I want somethin’ good, I go to the Thundercloud in my neighborhood.” But they haven’t all been there to taste the delicious subs themselves. Every time I go, I get the same thing: a chicken salad sandwich with lettuce on wheat bread. The almost sweet bread complements the creamy chicken, and the lettuce ties it all together. The service is great and the employees are always friendly.

I would award Thundercloud 4.5 stars for its delicious taste, good service, Austin culture and great locations. It expresses the everchanging and fun loving culture of our city and is easily accessible with its many city wide locations. You can be sure to find one near you if you visit their website: www.thundercloud.com.

Photos by Jess Ritchie

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electable D isasters D

The Problems With Genetically Modified Foods

By Jess R. Genetically modified foods are the future of the food industry. They will lead to less pollution, the end of world hunger and if we’re lucky, even better tasting foods. The whole world is on a roll, set to go now that a “supersalmon” has been created proving that it’s possible after all. This opportunity is now bigger than ever, but it will be a mistake to take it. Increased toxicity levels and water pollution due to genetically modified (GM) foods are what we’re facing now. The risks don’t outweigh the benefits anymore.

Allergen content tends to increase in some GM foods, especially soybeans, potatoes, and tomatoes. Trypsin inhibitor, a major allergen, that decreases the ability of trypsin (an important enzyme for humans and other animals) to function, is significantly increased in prototypes of GM soybeans. It can, and has, caused, as says Dr. John B. Fagan, Ph.D. says, “serious allergic reactions” in test subjects.This comes from a gene being used to make plants herbicide resistant. Many side effects come from altering genes in foods intended to be consumed.

Toxins such as isoflavones became more prominent, as well. Isoflavones have been known to reduce fertility in animals that consume plants that contain higher concentrations of them. This could, with time, alter the ecosystems throughout the world. When scientists tamper with the genome, there could, and most likely will be, unintended consequences.

GM specialists and researchers have previously thought that the use of genetic modifications against insects and herbicides would reduce pollution. There would be less runoff from pesticides, and water pollution would decrease. It has now been hypothesized by R. J. Goldberg, a weed technology expert, that herbicide resistant plants will lead to an estimated three hundred percent increase in herbicide usage. The genetically modified plants will cross pollinate with the natural plants, making hybrids. Farmers and gardeners will then have to use up to three times as many chemicals to get weeds and pests to die off. This will increase runoff into freshwater sources that cities and towns rely on, as well as into the ocean, polluting marine wildlife and coral reefs.

The increased water pollution and herbicide use will be absorbed by the foots of our GM crops, leading to food pollution as well.

If invasive species, such as genetically modified ones, are introduced to an environment where they are not welcome, they will quickly defeat their competition of plants and animals with natural genes.

“Even minor tampering with nature is apt to bring serious consequences,” said Dr. Eva Novotny, a GM foods activist. The advantages these plants and animals will be given will help them to destroy our current ecosystems. In our world today, we are having to compromise our wants to save the things that we really need, like our environment.

Genetic modification of plants and animals is something that our world simply can’t handle right now--cross pollination has already created “super weeds” that have displaced other plants in the ecosystem. Results can be disastrous if we are not careful with what we put into our world.

All in all, we don’t know the full effect of GM foods yet. We do know, however, that tests that prove their purity are flawed, they will increase pollution, and may be bad for those who consume them. This evidence all goes against them, and there isn’t much truth in facts that go for them. We need do decide if consuming false foods is the best thing for our world.

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Locally Grown Food?

by Madhumitha V.

“pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or chemicals”

In YOUR food?

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T

en years ago, my class planted a garden. We planted tomatoes, corn, broccoli and berries . After the garden had grown, we harvested the plants and made a small picnic for ourselves. We cut garlic bread and made lemonade. Most of all, the food was clean, with no chemicals or pesticides, and I wonder why so many people can’t enjoy such meals.

As the amount of chemical-soaked edible materials flood the nation wide stores, a healthier alternative source remains; locally grown food.

My first argument, and one that I think will interest most people, is that fact that locally grown food has a much higher nutrition level that store bought food. It is not genetically altered, (the potential dangers of genetically altered food are, as of yet, not known, however, the UK, Australia, Japan and the European Union have banned them), and the consumer will be able to buy food that isn’t grown with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or chemicals. Unlike store bought food, which travels many miles to the store, locally grown food is normally sold fresh, usually within 24 hours of its harvest.

Buying locally grown food supports farmers. On average, a farmer receives only 20 cents from every food dollar spent by the consumer. For a loaf of bread, they receive only 6 cents, as said in a research done by Jules Pretty in 2001.

However, selling food at a farmer’s market enable them to be able to keep 80 to 90 cents of every dollar

spent by the consumer. Money is spent by the farmers for packaging, handling and transportation. Selling locally greatly reduces these costs.

We have all heard of the dangers that global warming and climate change pose to the world.

Buying locally grown food helps to reduce the amount of the emissions and pollution that is associated with transportation. On average, store bought foods travel 1500 miles to a person’s dinner table.

The guarantee, NOT fresh and NOT environmentally friendly. A study done by Ken Meter in 2005 at the Crossroads Research Center showed that Hawaii imports over 90% of it food, rather than relying on local food sources. Emissions would occur from the transport of the food, as well as a potential chance in pollution due to spillage. The study also showed that in 1886, California produced 2997 varieties of food and vegetable. Now, they produce only 350 commercial crops, which greatly harms biodiversity. However, buying locally protects long term biodiversity, which, in turn supports a number of natural processes and services. Examples of these are water purification, recycling nutrients and providing and maintaining fertile soil, all of which are important to our lifestyle. Biodiversity is also vital in culture and aesthetic appeal.

Many traditions value plants and animals, and many hobbies need biodiversity, such as bird-watching and hiking. Biodiversity also protects the natural beauty and peace of a place. Don’t you believe that all these things are to keep?

It is arguable that locally grown food is more expensive that store bought true. In some foods, this can be true. However, the quality of the locally grown food is much better than that of the store bought food. In a report done in 2010, store bought beef was said to be $2.83 per pound, while locally grown beef was $6 per pound. However, the locally grown beef cooked easier and tasted much better than the store bought food.

So, it comes down to the question of whether or not the consumer is willing to spend a little more money to get better food. As stated in a research (How Local Farmers and School Food Service Buyers are building Alliances, Lessons learned from the USDA small farm/ school meals workshop) done in 2000, schools can buy locally grown food in bulk for reduced prices. The conclusion; better food for the same price for school children.

I suppose that, after reading this, you could go to your nearby grocery store and buy a bag of organic apples. Or a loaf of bread. Or I suppose you could go find a nearby farmer to buy from. I suppose that you have to think about the long term affects of buying locally; unchanged finances, a cleaner environment, and better health.

Store Bought Strawberry

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World’s Craziest Restaurants

By: Sanam V.

Toilet Themed Restaurant:

When you walk by this restaurant it would seem like any other restaurant you’ve seen, but inside is a another story. Modern Toilet is a restaurant in Taiwan that has a bathroom theme. The seats are toilet seats, you are served food in mini-toilet bowls, and for desert you get poop in a toilet, well actually chocolate ice cream. All one hundred seats in the restaurant are toilet seats not chairs. Many would think this to be not an appetizing place to eat, but this restaurant still gets their costumers.

Dinner in the Sky:

Imagine eating a gourmet dinner with twentyone other people while floating above the Grand Canyon! Dinner in the Sky is a restaurant in the air that is being held up by a crane. Since you are atleast 150 feet in the air you are required to wear a harness, and you must be atleast 150cm to fit into the harness. It can be hosted anywhere you want, but the rate is very expensive. It costs around 15,000 dollars, but people have said that it is a breath-taking experience and the food has been called amazing, but eat quick because the high altitude can lower your meal’s heat.

Undersea Restaurant:

In April of 2007 the Hilton in Maldives, a small island in the Indian Ocean, opened an undersea restaurant called Ithaa or “pearl” in Dhiveli. Seating twelve people and having contemporary Maldivian cuisine, this restaurant costs 187 to 220 dollars per person. The underwater life includes many varieties of fish, coral reefs and sharks. Guests first begin with drinks on a deck that looks out to the Indian Ocean, then for the meal they go down 16 feet and have their meal.

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A Special Thanks... scrumpti us

The crew would like to express our gratitude towards our many interviewees, and those that have helped us along our way in creating this issue of Scrumptious. We would like to say thank you for your contributions, and that this magazine would not have been possible without you. A big thanks to:

Ms. Richey: Thank you for the great class, and helping us along our way, teaching us what we needed to know, and for a great semester.

Ms. Lisa W.: Thank you so much for helping us with our layouts, we appreciate it so much.

Our Interviewees: Ivy T, Chris P, Freda C, Dorsey B. and Nessa F: Thank you for being interviewed for our magazine!

You helped us each create a great story.

Connie Z.: Thank you for contributing your art for our logo and end sign, it is very appreciated!

Clint McMahon: Thank you so much for letting us use your photo “A Cupcake in the Sky� as our cover image.

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