Michael J. Radwin's blog

Kosher Gummi Bears from Amazon.com

I just got a 16-pack of Planet Harmony Organic Fruit Bears from Amazon.com's new Grocery service for a mere 15 bucks. It arrived in two short days because it was elligible for Amazon Prime; Amazon.com is actually stocking inventory for grocery items and not just acting as a conduit for 3rd-party supermarkets like Gristedes.

Plus, these gummi bears have a hechsher from Rabbi Eli Frankel's Kosher Certification Service.

Sweet. (pun intended)

Is it kosher?

University of Maryland Newsdesk: Paper Says Edible Meat Can be Grown in a Lab on Industrial Scale.

Chaat

Ever since we moved up to the San Francisco Bay Area, one of my favorite places to eat has been Amber India Restaurant in Mountain View. I was delighted to find papri chaat and pav bhaji on the menu. My colleagues in India call it "Indian junk food". I call it delicious.

This past week's Chronicle has an article entitled "It's time to have a little chaat" which lists a half-dozen local restaurants that specialize in chaat. Next time we're in Berkeley we'll have to check out Viks Chaat Corner and see how it stacks up to Amber.

In the meantime, I can always remind myself of the goodies I ate last May.

La Fondue

Gabriel and Rachel are visiting from the Twin Cities, so we went out to dinner at La Fondue in Saratoga. Ben & Lisa arrived late, but there was plenty of cheese and chocolate leftover.

We ordered a la carte since dipping vegetables in hot oil didn't appeal to us (I suppose that phase of the meal is more appealing to meat eaters) and we were more focused on the "appetizer" course of the meal (dipping veggies and bread cubes into pots of hot cheese) and the dessert course (dipping fruit, cake, cookies and marshmallows into pots of hot chocolate). Very yummy. We'll probably go back for dessert the next time we have out-of-town visitors
. After 10pm you can get seated just for dessert for $8/person.

That's a lot of chili peppers!

One of the many dishes I did not eat tonight:

Looks like it was 50% beef, 50% chili peppers. The entire conference (over 100 engineers) went out to dinner after a pretty full day of presentations. They stuck the two vegetarians (me and Tej) at the same table and gave us over a dozen dishes, but still managed to put another two dozen meat dishes on the table for the other 8 folks.

The schedule is pretty packed tomorrow, and I'm speaking again on Thursday, so it looks like I won't get to do any sightseeing until Friday.

Amy's Kitchen Kosher Certification

I've often seen Amy's Kitchen vegetarian frozen meals at supermarkets but haven't purchased them in the past because they didn't display a hekhsher. Ariella sent email on Sunday to ask if they'd consider getting rabbinic supervision and they replied back with some good news:

Amy's Kitchen's Kosher certification is from Rabbi Dov Hazdan of Ner Tamid K in Staten Island, NY. Amy's became certified in November of 2003. With one exception, Amy's products are certified as Kosher Dairy or Kosher Pareve as noted below. The Low Sodium Marinara is the only Amy's Kitchen product that is not certified Kosher due to the presence of non-kosher red wine vinegar.

I guess they haven't updated their packaging yet, but they did put a note in their FAQ. I guess it's been asked frequently enough that it deserves a spot in the FAQ!

The consumer relations rep went so far as to send us a list of their kosher products, which I'll post here.

These products are Kosher Pareve. They contain no dairy or meat ingredients:

All American Veggie Burger Apple Toaster Pops Asian Noodle Stir-Fry Bean & Rice Burrito - Non Dairy Black Bean Enchilada Whole Meal Black Bean Vegetable Burrito Black Bean Vegetable Enchilada Breakfast Burrito Brown Rice & Vegetable Bowl Brown Rice, Black-Eyed Peas Bowl California Veggie Burger Indian Samosa Wrap Mexican Tamale Pie No Chicken Noodle Soup Non Dairy Vegetable Pot Pie Organic Alphabet Soup Organic Black Bean & Corn Salsa Organic Black Bean Chili Organic Black Bean Vegetable Soup Organic Butternut Squash – Lt in Sodium Organic Butternut Squash Soup Organic Family Marinara Pasta Sauce Organic Lentil Soup Organic Lentil Vegetable - Light in Sodium Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup Organic Medium Chili

Organic Medium Chili with Vegetables Organic Medium Salsa Organic Mild Salsa Organic Minestrone Soup Organic Pasta & 3 Bean Soup Organic Pomodoro Zucca Pasta Sauce Organic Refried Beans w/ Green Chiles Organic Refried Black Beans Organic Spicy Chili Organic Split Pea Soup Organic Tomato Basil Sauce Organic Traditional Refried Beans Organic Vegetable Barley Soup Organic Vegetarian Baked Beans Roasted Vegetable Pizza Rst Vegetables in a Pocket Sandwich Shepherd's Pie Strawberry Toaster Pops Teriyaki Bowl Texas Veggie Burger Thai Stir-Fry Tofu Scramble Breakfast Tofu Scramble in a Pocket Sandwich Vegetable Pie in a Pocket Sandwich Veggie Loaf Whole Meal Wild Mushroom Pasta Sauce

These products are Kosher Dairy. They contain no meat or meat by-products but do contain dairy ingredients.

Apple Pie Bean & Cheese Burrito Broccoli & Cheese in a Pocket Sandwich Broccoli Pot Pie Burrito Especial Cheese Enchilada Cheese Enchilada Whole Meal Cheese Lasagna Cheese Pizza Cheese Pizza in a Pocket Sandwich Cheese Pizza Snacks Cheese Pizza Toaster Pops Chicago Veggie Burger Chili & Cornbread Whole Meal Country Cheddar Bowl Country Dinner Whole Meal Country Vegetable Pie Garden Vegetable Lasagna Indian Mattar Paneer Indian Palak Paneer Macaroni & Cheese Macaroni & Soy Cheeze Mexican Casserole Bowl Mushroom and Olive Pizza Nacho Snacks Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque Soup

Organic Cream of Mushroom Soup Organic Cream of Tomato - Light in Sodium Organic Cream of Tomato Soup Organic Garlic Mushroom Pasta Sauce Pasta Primavera Pesto Pizza Pesto Tortellini Bowl Puttanesca Sauce Ravioli with Sauce Rice Crust Cheese Pizza Rice Mac & Cheese Santa Fe Enchilada Bowl Soy Cheeze Pizza Soy Cheeze Veggie Pizza in a Pocket Sandwich Spinach Feta in a Pocket Sandwich Spinach Feta Snacks Spinach Pizza Spinach Pizza Snacks Strawberry & Cream Cheese Toaster Pop Stuffed Pasta Shells Bowl Tofu Vegetable Lasagna Tofu Rancheros Breakfast Vegetable Lasagna Vegetable Pot Pie Vegetarian Pizza in a Pocket Sandwich Veggie Combo Pizza

Yum. I love vegetarian kosher food.

Real Food Daily goes kosher

Real Food Daily's restaurant in Beverly Hills is now certified kosher. Ariella and I went there for dinner last night and saw a statement of rabinnic supervision in the window.

Since they serve only 100% vegan food, RFD has always been "kosher by ingredient" in my personal opinion. Many people in the observant Jewish community will only eat in restaurants that have rabinnic supervision, so the fact that RFD is now certified kosher should open their cuisine to a wider audience.

Apparently they're also going to be opening a 4th store in Studio City, and are considering expanding to Northern California as well. Closest thing I can think of to compare it to is Herbivore in San Francisco.

Vegetarian Guide to Fast Food

The Vegetarian Resource Group recently published the 2004 edition of their Guide to Fast Food. If you're a vegetarian and you eat out at non-vegetarian restaurants, it's well worth the $6 investment.

The VRG publishes updates of the 24-page book every couple of years. I first found out about the VRG a couple of years ago and bought a copy of the 2001/2002 Fast Food guide. As I was purchasing my 2004 copy today, I was delighted to see a checkbox that said "Please do not trade my name with other organizations."

The VRG also does a free bi-monthly VRG-NEWS electronic newsletter.

An ode to TastyBite Indian Food

A couple of weeks ago UPS dropped off a 30 lb. box of Indian food from TastyBite. Every box has been absolutely delicious.

My personal favorites are the Kashmir Spinach, Madras Lentils, and the recently discontinued Curried Mashed Potatoes. They're about $3 a box in the local supermarkets, but you can get them for as low as $2.09 a box when you buy them by the 6-pack online. And they do free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Twenty-four meals for fifty bucks is a pretty good bargain.

Most importantly, all of TastyBite's vegetarian Indian foods are 100% Kosher. We're hoping that someday they'll also get rabbinic supervision for their vegetarian Thai products, too.

I'm not a big fan of the Malabar Mixed Vegetables. We bought a dozen of those because they were on sale for $1.25 apiece, but we haven't enjoyed those as much as the more mainstream dishes. They're a little too rich and creamy for my taste.

It's a shame that TastyBite is no longer selling their Curried Mashed Potatoes dish. Those were absolutely fantastic. Fortunately, there are no shortage of recipes for Pav Bhaji available on the Net.

The Caffeine Advantage

Last night I finished reading The Caffeine Advantage, a book claims that caffeine is actually good for you: "The Caffeine Advantage offers step-by-step programs that show you how caffeine can improve your IQ, memory, mood, athletic ability, physical condition, and performance at work."

One of the most bold claims is that caffeine can make you smarter. In chapter 4 the authors state that taking a small to medium dosage of caffeine (i.e. 50 - 150 mg) before taking an IQ test will likely improve your score. Since IQ is the generally accepted measure of how smart one is, caffeine makes one smarter. I'd like to get my hands on a copy of the book that mentions that study (Caffeine and Behavior). Looks like the UCLA Biomed library has a copy, so perhaps I'll ask Ariella to check it out for me.

The book also states that if you consuming too much caffeine can actually have an inverse affect on performance. For many people, having more than 600 mg of caffeine a day can make the drug less effective.

I'm a big fan of espresso (especially Illy, which is almost never bitter) but I occasionally drink drip coffee as well. I learned several years ago from the Caffeine FAQ that a shot of espresso has less caffeine than a cup of coffee (~100 mg vs. ~150 mg), so I figure that my morning double-shot is about equivalent to a 12 oz. cup of regular coffee. What I didn't realize how little the average 6 oz. cup of green tea has: only 15 mg! Given the rough guideline of consuming < 600 mg a day, I guess I can drink as much green tea as I'd like.

This book is a refreshing perspective compared to the anti-caffeine rhetoric prevalent in the health community. It's unfortunate that the authors don't have more impressive credentials. I'd love to believe everything in the book, but I know full well that it's written by a couple of quacks.

LA Restaurant Watch

I got email from the owner of RestaurantWatch.com asking me to link to his website. I took a look, and it definitely got some good content.

I was surprised to discover that 98% of restaurants get a rating of A or B from the Health Department. Either Los Angeles retaurants are really very healthy or grade inflation extends beyond high school and college.

It turns out that you can get much of the same information directly from the LA DHS, but RestaurantWatch.com provides a better UI.

Cipro to the rescue

I'm feeling much better after a dose of some broad-spectrum antibiotics. I took 750 mg of Cipro on Friday and kissed Montezuma goodbye.

In related news, the nurse from Kaiser Permanente ("Good people, Good medicine") said she had no record of my lab results, so perhaps we'll never know what the cause of the illness was.

Montezuma's Revenge

Ariella and I had a great time in Puerto Vallarta last week. Swimming, strolling along the beach, scuba diving, horesback riding, chips & guacamole, margaritas. The good life.

That is, until we got back home. On Friday morning I had the runs. Saturday brought a 101 degree fever. I've been shivering/sweating for the past 6 days, inbetween sleeping on the couch and making a few-too-many trips to the bathroom.

A few interesting things I've learned from this experience:

1. Immobilizer A-D may be available over the counter, but it is not the best product on the market. Lomotil does a better job when you really need the strong stuff.
2. A 128 oz bottle of Gatorade lasts about a day and a half when it's the only sustenance you're consuming.
3. The medical definition of a fever is 100.4°. Anything between 98.6° and 100.3° is considered a "temperature", but not a fever.

I'm still waiting for lab results to find out if the cause is viral, bacterial, or parasites. Bleh.

Free Ice Cream Today

Cold Stone Creamery is offering free ice cream today between 5-8pm to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

I'm not quite sure how giving away free ice cream is going to bring in any income for the charity, but I'll be happy to do my part. :-)

The Caffeine Disadvantage?

JR Conlin: "Caffeine has become the new nicotine."

Over the past 10 years I've kicked my caffeine habit twice but fell off the wagon both times. A few years ago we got an espresso maker as a wedding present, and I've been drinking a shot or two every morning. It turns out that a shot of espresso has about as much caffeine as a 6-oz cup of coffee, so it's not like I'm a complete junkie. Some folks drink 6-8 cups of regular (drip) coffee a day!

Of course, I've been known to have a Diet Coke or two during the day as well, so my total daily intake is probably close to half a gram.

I've always loved the way caffeine has made me feel. I'm so alert and awake, and it lifts me out of the occasional blues. We stumbled across Weinberg & Bealer's book in a bookstore last year and I'd love to find the time to sit down and read it.

No-Boil Baked Ziti

We did some good work getting rid of chametz this past Shabbos. Here's a recipe we made which turned out to be very yummy.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 60 minutes
Serves: 8

1 26 oz jar pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups water
15 oz ricotta
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 cups shredded mozzerella
8 oz uncooked ziti

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Combine sauce and water.
Stir in ricotta, parmesan, and 1 cup mozzerella.
Add uncooked ziti.
Spoon ziti mixture into 13x9" baking dish.
Cover with foil and bake 55 minutes.
Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzerella.
Bake uncovered for 5 minutes.

(recipe courtesy MIT's Deutsche Haus)

Veggie Chili for dinner tonight

Shabbos dinner tonight is going to be simple: Vegetarian Chili.

Valentine's Day dinner was actually last night for the Radwins. We have a tradition of celebrating on the 13th. It was a fancy four-course vegetarian Italian dinner. The owner of the restaurant greeted us at the door with a handshake and a kiss (for me and Ariella, respectively).

Shabbat Shalom!

Orna's Sesame-Lemon Salad Dressing

I'm making Orna's famous Sesame-Lemon Salad Dressing for tonight's green salad. Here's the recipe:

• 3 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds


• 3/4 cup vegetable oil


• 1/3 cup lemon juice


• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce


• 1/2 tsp. salt


• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper


• a couple of dashes of Tabasco


• 1 tsp. sugar (optional)

Shabbos Dinner at Flexie's

It was over 24 hours ago, and I'm still kvelling about the meal.

Ariella and I were blessed with an invitation to Friday night dinner at Flexie's, and as expected, it was a feast worth writing home about. I guess the Big Guy Upstairs wants me to be happy after all.

After kiddush and motzi, we began with the appetizer course. First came around the challah and some eggplant-red pepper tapenade, and some chumus. Next followed three kinds of sushi (salmon and avocado, cucumber, and plain avocado) with wasabe and pickled ginger. We had not one, but two green salads. The first had slices of strawberries and mangoes; I didn't even have a chance to try the second. Next came fried tofu, bean sprouts, and cucumbers with peanut sauce. Delicious. And just writing about the warm curried salmon with garbanzo beans is making my mouth water again.

The next course was a spicy tofu-noodle soup. Flexie said she thought it was too spicy, but it was just right for me.

Then came the meat course. I'm trying to recall just how many different kinds there were:

• roast chicken


• spiced Singapore brisket


• potato puffs with something non-vegetarian inside


• curried chicken and potatoes


• beef ribs (my favorite)


• chicken egg rolls

All throughout dinner we spoke about Israel, Los Angeles, and Singapore. Who's the guy that's running against Sharon that's going to lose the election? Have you seen the ugly houses they've been building in Beverly Hills? Will Ari and Akiva get a great job working security for some Hollywod celebrity or executive?

Eliass and Stuart had us clutching our sides with laughter as they spoke about the durian fruit, a delicacy in Asia. The fruit itself is creamy and delicious, but it's got some nasty attributes. First of all, the fruit is apparently the size of a soccer ball with spikes all over it, so it's extremely difficult to open. In addition, although it tastes out of this world, it's got a rather unplesant odor. Stuart was telling us how they've got signs on the subway in Singapore that say "No durian allowed" because it's so fetid. We wondered if there were durian and non-durian hotel rooms or rental cars.

We didn't actually get a chance to try any durian at the meal, but Eliass said he'd try to get some in Chinatown and invite us back. I can hardly wait!

With our bellies full, Dr. Herzberg passed out some text for us to study and led us in a shiur about Miriyam the Prophetess. The week's Torah portion was Beshalach, when the Israelites are leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea. The discussion focused on the phrase "Miriyam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took the drum in her hand, and all the women followed her with drums and dancing." (Exodus 15:20) As usual, the shiur was superb. Dr. Herzberg has a way of making the text come alive.

He was about to lead us in a zemer or two and bentching when Flexie reminded him that he had forgotten something important: dessert. New plates were passed around, and we were treated to fruit salad, a large selection of fresh fruit (yes, there were two kinds of fruit), cake and cookies.

Finally, we finished up with some bentching and some zemirot. Everything was right in the universe. These are the things that make Shabbos so much more special than just Friday night and Saturday. It's a time for sharing wonderful meals, participating in great conversation, and some learning with your family and friends. Nourishment for the body and soul.

Exactly what I needed.

The Colonel's Secret Recipe

Yahoo! News: PETA Launching Boycott of KFC

(AP) - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Monday it is launching a boycott against KFC because of alleged animal-rights abuses by the chain of fried-chicken restaurants.

Remember that jingle? "Kentucky Fried Chicken: we do chicken right!"

Will McDonald's follow United Airlines?

One of the nation's biggest airlines recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Now I read this headline from Investor's Business Daily: McDonald's Expects Its First-Ever Loss As Chain Retrenches Amid Weak Sales. Another sign of the weak economy? Hardly. Maybe McDonald's is losing money because they're not vegetarian-friendly.

I completely stopped giving Mickey D's my business about two years ago when I read an article in the Atlantic Monthly entitled Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good. Although they are fried in canola oil, the fries themselves contain "natural flavorings" as one of their ingredients.

"The company will not reveal the exact origin of the natural flavor added to its fries. In response to inquiries from Vegetarian Journal, however, McDonald's did acknowledge that its fries derive some of their characteristic flavor from 'an animal source.' Beef is the probable source, although other meats cannot be ruled out. In France, for example, fries are sometimes cooked in duck fat or horse tallow."

Maybe if McDonald's came clean with the vegetarian community and dropped animal additives from their food, they'd find themselves with a growing market opportunity. Burger King introduced a Veggie Burger this year, and their fries have always been 100% veggie-friendly.

Pastrami on Rye

After a pretty awful day of working in the garden, we went to Pico Kosher Deli for dinner and I ate a big pastrami sandwich. It was incredible. I'm still in a bad mood, but my stomach is full.

I spent many years being an almost-vegetarian (I never gave up eating fish) but about a year and a half ago I broke down during Pesach and started eating kosher meat. I still eat vegetarian most of the time; we've got a milchig-only kitchen at home, and I don't eat meat in non-kosher restaurants. But every once in a while I actually take advantage of the LA kosher food industry and eat some fleishigs.

Ariella had a bite. We said Shehecheyanu.

Cooking Latkes and Listening to Falco

I'm in the kitchen cooking some Latkes for the first night of Chanukah. I think we should rename it the "Festival of Grease."

While I'm cooking, I'm listening to Falco: the Remix Hit Collection. It's not his best album, but it's got an awesome beat (maybe I've still got Blue Man Group on the brain).

Falco rocks.

Being a Vegetarian on Thanksgiving

Ok, so I know it goes completely against American tradition, but I'm going to be eschewing turkey for dinner tomorrow night.

As we discovered last year at Thanksgiving, there are actually two mass-market turkey substitutes: Tofurky and UnTurkey. Last year Cousin Diana bought both, but there will be a smaller number of vegetarians this year, so we'll probably have a single dish. I can't wait to see which one it will be!

There are also a bunch of vegetarian Thanksgiving celebrations going on in LA this year. We've eaten at the Real Food Daily a few times this year; I'm sure their T-day meal will be superb.

In the grand scheme of things, being vegetarian is still a rare occurrence. I think it's probably much more common in California, but survey data reveals that 2.5% of Americans are true vegetarians. But the vegetarian lifestyle is moving into the mainstream. Heck, it made the cover story of the July 15, 2002 issue of Time Magazine.

Whatever you're eating for this Thanksgiving, be sure to eat a lot of it.

Thanksgiving and Chanukah back-to-back

I'm quoted in today's issue of Newsday in an article entitled Twice As Much Stuffing: Hearty appetites will be thankful for back-to-back holiday feasts.

The story, written by Erica Marcus, is entertaining and well-researched. She even spoke to my favorite Jewish Holidays expert: Rabbi Michael Strassfeld (author of The Jewish Holidays: A Guide & Commentary).

My quotation is at the very bottom of the article:

Michael Radwin disputed the contention that "Hanukkah is early this year." "Hanukkah always begins on the 25th of Kislev," he said. "It's November that's late."

I actually need to credit Ariella with that line. It's more clever than anything I could come up with.

Cool beans. I wonder if Danny and I will get any more PayPal donations as a result of the article.

Dinner with Uncle Steve

My uncle Steve is in Las Vegas for Comdex, so we met up for dinner. He lives in Chicago so we don't get to see him too often. Tonight was a real treat.

We enjoyed some pretty decent sushi at the San Remo hotel. Afterwards, we headed downtown to see the light show at the pedestrian mall. It was totally cheezy, but highly entertaining and free. The thrill was over 5 minutes after it started. I guess that's classic Las Vegas.

Tomorrow night I'm hoping to catch a real show (like Blue Man Group or "O" or Sigfried and Roy).

Vegetarian Fast Food

We just got a copy of the Vegetarian Resource Group's Guide to Fast Food. It's a great little booklet, well worth the $4, and an extremely interesting read.

I keep Kosher but eat vegetarian food at non-Kosher restaurants, so this is a useful resource.

Vegan Caesar Salad

We have been making our favorite Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing recipe quite a bit this summer.

from Vegetarian Resource Center - vrc@tiac.net - Boston, USA

You didn't say that it had to be low calorie; this is the dressing for a "Vegan Caesar Salad"
(It is supposed to go on romaine lettuce, with croutons)

• 2 T blanched & ground almonds
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• 3 T dijon mustard
• 3 T Brewer's Yeast
• 2 T soy sauce
• 3 T lemon juice
• 1/4 c water
• 1 T olive oil

Combine almonds, garlic, mustard & yeast to make a paste, whisk in the remaining ingredients.

Or put everything in a blender and process until smooth.

It's delicious, and it's become a Radwin Family tradition. Everyone in our neighborhood has got some sort of specialty dish. Mark has the Tamale Pie, Mike makes a delicious Baked Tofu Squares dish, and Andrea makes the most delicious Roasted Brussel Sprouts.