Millennium Cell Receives Sodium Borohydride Patent
Having chopped or shredded cooked chicken on hand is a lifesaver. You’ll save both time and money. Watch for sales on chicken to get the lowest prices; then cook, package, and freeze bags of it. Supper will be ready to serve much faster. And don’t forget, in a pinch, you can always use a rotisserie chicken from the deli.
For three ways to cook chicken along with how-to-freeze instructions, check outsouthernliving.com/february2007. You’ll also find 25 of our readers’ highest rated chicken recipes.
1 (8-oz.) package wide egg noodles
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup whipping cream
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1. Remove 1 Tbsp. Italian dressing mix from envelope, and set aside; reserve remaining mix for another use.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain well, and return noodles to pan.
3. Stir in 2 Tbsp. butter, and toss to coat. Stir in chopped chicken, next 3 ingredients, and 1 Tbsp. dressing mix. Cook mixture over medium-high heat, tossing to coat evenly, 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.
KIM MORTON
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
Chicken-and-Sausage Creole
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
PREP: 15 MIN., COOK: 30 MIN.
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
2 (14-oz.) cans low-sodium fat-free chicken broth, divided
½ lb. smoked sausage, cut into ½-inch rounds
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 cup chopped celery
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (14½-oz.) can diced tomatoes
2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/8s tsp. ground red pepper
2 bay leaves
1. Prepare rice according to package directions, substituting 2 cups broth for water.
2. Meanwhile, sauté sausage and next 4 ingredients in a lightly greased Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining broth, chicken, and next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves, and serve over hot cooked rice.
DOREN CLARK
MCDONOUGH, GEORGIA
One-Dish Wonder
We enjoy the simplicity of Creamy Chicken and Noodles, but when you have a good thing, sometimes it’s hard to leave it alone. Our staff is always full of suggestions to dress up recipes with ingredients that add additional flavor. Here are a few stirin variations to enjoy.
* Chopped Ham and Peas: Stir in 8 oz. diced ham and 1 cup thawed frozen peas.
* Southwestern Style: Omit Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese. Stir in 1 (10-oz.)can diced tomatoes and green chiles and ½ cup (2 oz.) shredded Mexican fourcheese blend.
* Italian Style: Add ¼ up diced sun-dried tomatoes and 1 cup turkey pepperoni slices.
Portland cooks: this town has turned into a culinary hot spot, thanks to inspired chefs, an adventurous clientele, and some of the country’s best produce
Paley identified Oregon, birthplace of the morels he’d admired, as a new culinary frontier. He headed there with his wife, Kimberly, and opened Paley’s Place Bistro and Bar, in Portland.
“Today Portland still has the same wondrous ingredient base to work with that first drew me here,” Paley says, “but now we’re also on the forefront of the sustainable movement, and we have a great range of restaurants.”
He’s not alone in his assessment. “We’re really lucky to live in Portland,” says Naomi Pomeroy, founder of Clarklewis, a restaurant known for its innovative, Italian-influenced cooking. “The physical proximity of the farms is amazing, and the growers we work with are still very small-scale. Most of our farmers do their own deliveries to our kitchen door.” All of her suppliers farm within two hours of the restaurant, and one–Ojala Farm, in northwest Portland–is just 20 minutes away.
But it takes more than superlative and sustainable ingredients to create a restaurant culture like Portland’s. Rather than having a predictable top-shelf restaurant selection downtown with a few outlying destination restaurants, it features drive-worthy eateries in practically every neighborhood. Along with showstoppers that get national attention, like Clarklewis and Paley’s Place, a tremendous number of small spots serve remarkably good food.
What else makes Portland such an across-the-board great eating town? It’s primarily the residents of Portland themselves. Portlanders are proud of their burg and support local efforts accordingly. Their love of their city–its physical beauty, its art, its wines, its quirky sophistication-translates into a restaurant-going public any chef would envy. “Our customers are willing to try anything,” says Pomeroy–even an all-organ-meat dinner she and founding Clarklewis chef Morgan Brownlow, who has since moved on, offered one year for Valentine’s Day at their previous restaurant. (It sold out.)
This culinary curiosity also explains the wide range of restaurants that thrive here, from Peruvian nuevo-Andean superstar Andina to the recent explosion of Southeast Asian places on 82nd Avenue. As Adam Berger, owner of Tabla Mediterranean Bistro, puts it, “Good food has become part of the culture of Portland, along with bridges and views of Mt. Hood.” It all began, he claims, with Paley’s Place over a decade ago, along with other pioneering restaurants like Wildwood and Higgins. “They educated their customers, who came to expect more–and now we all keep moving that bar along.”
So where are Paley’s sights aimed now? “I’ve become too attached to this way of cooking to leave,” he says. “Our farmers structure our menu every day. I’m never sure what’s coming in the back door. I just know it’s going to be excellent.”
Radicchio and apples in pine-nut vinaigrette
This irresistible combination of apples with bitter radicchio, buttery pine nuts, and a rich, sweet-tart dressing is from Clarklewis.
PREP AND COOK TIME 30 minutes
MAKES 6 servings
1/2 cup hard apple cider
1 1/2 tsp. honey
1 shallot, minced
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
About 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 head radicchio, halved, cored, and cut into 1/4-in. strips
2 Pinova, Gala, Honeycrisp, or other crisp apples, quartered, cored, and
thinly sliced
6 slices prosciutto
1/4 cup parmesan shavings
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Put cider and honey in a small pan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to a syrup (about 1 tbsp.), 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Put shallot, vinegar, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium bowl and let sit 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put 1/4 cup pine nuts into a mortar and use pestle to work into a rough paste. Set aside. Stir cider syrup into the shallot-vinegar mixture, then whisk in olive oil. Stir in pine-nut paste to create a creamy dressing and add salt to taste.
3. Put radicchio in a large bowl. Drizzle with half of the dressing and toss thoroughly. Toss in apples, adding more dressing if necessary to coat the salad. Divide salad among 6 plates. Top each salad with prosciutto, parmesan, remaining 1/4 cup pine nuts, and pepper, dividing evenly.
PER SERVING 239 CAL., 28% (68 CAL.) FROM FAT; 6.9 G PROTEIN; 18 G FAT (3.5 G SAT.); 17 G CARBO (2.2 G FIBER); 386 MG SODIUM; 9.9 MG CHOL.
Tabla Mediterranean Bistro magical egg ravioli
Swiss chard, a bit of cheese, and an egg yolk become much more than the sum of their parts in this dish. Use the freshest eggs you can find. People with compromised immune systems and others concerned about salmonella should avoid undercooked eggs.
PREP AND COOK TIME 2 hours
MAKES 6 servings
NOTES You can make the pasta rounds up to a day ahead: Dust with flour, stack them in the shortest possible layers with pieces of plastic wrap between layers, cover well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.
About 1 1/4 cups flour
2 whole eggs, plus 6 egg yolks and 1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp. heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp. plus 1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups tightly packed stemmed chard leaves
1/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds
1. Mix 1 1/4 cups flour, whole eggs, and cream to form dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set it next to the stove. Add 1 tbsp. salt and chard leaves to pot. Cook chard until water returns to a boil and leaves are tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chard leaves to ice water. (Keep pot of hot water on stove, but turn off heat.) Drain chard, squeeze out as much water as possible, and chop (you should have about 1/2 cup). Mix chard with ricotta, 1/4 cup parmesan, remaining 1/4 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Cut a 5-in.-diameter round from a piece of paper and set aside. Unwrap pasta dough, divide into 6 pieces, and pat each piece into a 1/2-in.-thick rectangle. Working with 1 piece at a time, set a pasta roller on the widest setting and roll piece through, dusting dough with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Fold piece into thirds (like a letter) and roll it through again. Repeat folding and rolling once more for a total of three rolls on the widest setting. Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough.
4. Set roller to next narrowest setting and roll each piece through once. Repeat with next narrowest setting. Cut each piece in half and roll through on each remaining setting twice, turning 90[degrees] between rolls and trimming as necessary to fit and to keep a basically square shape, until dough squares are thin enough to see through and measure at least 5 in. on all sides.
5. Using paper round as a template, cut 5-in. rounds from each dough square.
6. Assemble the ravioli: Lay 6 pasta rounds on a clean surface dusted with flour. On each round, use a small spoon to arrange 1/6 of the chard-ricotta mixture in a circle about 3/4 in. from the edges, creating a well in the center large enough to hold an egg yolk. Repeat with remaining 5 pasta rounds and chard mixture. Put an egg yolk in the center of each well. Brush edges of pasta with egg white and place a second pasta round on top of each ravioli. Working from the center of each ravioli, gently press the top pasta round onto the filling to make sure there are no air pockets in the ravioli. Press edges firmly together to seal.
7. Bring pot of water to a slow boil. With a 4- to 5-in. strainer or slotted spoon, lower ravioli one at a time into the water (cook in batches of 2 or 3). Cook ravioli 3 minutes. Using the strainer, transfer them to a serving plate, blotting excess water with a paper towel. Top each ravioli with 1 tsp. butter.
8. Sprinkle ravioli with poppy seeds and remaining parmesan. Serve immediately.
PER RAVIOLI 293 CAL., 80% (234 CAL.) FROM FAT; 13 G PROTEIN; 15 G FAT (6.9 G SAT.); 26 G CARBO (1.2 G FIBER); 617 MG SODIUM; 306 MG CHOL.
Paley’s Place double-chile brisket
Vitaly Paley is known for his eclectic style and interesting twists on comforting favorites. The two-chile combination with this brisket heats up a winter night. The recipe is based on one in Paley’s forthcoming cookbook, which will be published by Ten Speed Press in 2008.
PREP AND COOK TIME 3 to 3 1/2 hours
MAKES 8 to 10 servings
7 to 8 dried mild New Mexico chiles, stemmed and seeded
5 dried pasilla negro chiles, stemmed, seeded, and broken into pieces
1 star anise
1 tsp. fennel seed
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
1 beef brisket (5 to 6 lbs.), trimmed of fat and membrane
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 can (14 oz.) whole peeled tomatoes
1 cup beef or chicken broth
1. Preheat oven to 350[degrees]. In a medium bowl, pour 3 cups boiling water over New Mexico chiles and let soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup liquid.
2. Meanwhile, grind pasilla negro chiles, star anise, fennel seed, salt, and peppercorns in a spice mill or clean coffee grinder.
3. Rub brisket with spice blend; set aside.
4. Whirl soaked chiles, vinegar, and chile liquid in a blender until pureed. Set aside.
5. Heat a large roasting pan (not nonstick) over medium-high heat (set it over 2 burners if necessary). Add olive oil, swirl oil in pan, and add brisket. Cook brisket until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn and brown on remaining sides, adjusting heat to keep brisket sizzling but not burning. Remove and set aside.
6. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Chop tomatoes and add with juice. Add chile puree and broth. Bring to a boil. Add brisket, cover, and bake in oven until fork-tender, 2 to 3 hours.
7. Place brisket on a serving platter, cover with foil, and set in a warm place. Whirl pan juices in a blender until smooth. Slice brisket thinly and serve hot, with blended pan juices on the side.
Chocolate that keeps you slim: go ahead, indulge! These delicious desserts won’t pack on the pounds
With many chocolate desserts coming in at 800 calories or more, it’s no wonder many women feel they should shun these treats. But it may surprise you that the chocolate itself isn’t usually to blame for their high calorie and fat count. The real culprits are the copious amounts of butter, egg yolks, and cream in many recipes. “Dark chocolate and cocoa have a complex flavor, so it’s possible to use less of them, as well as to cut down on fattening ingredients, without compromising taste,” says Alice Medrich, author of Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales From a Life in Chocolate. The following recipes are all low in calories–two of them have fewer than 200–yet they’re rich enough to satisfy even the most discriminating sweet tooth. Still need a reason to indulge? Consider chocolate’s health benefits: Recent studies show that the type of antioxidants (flavonols) in cocoa help cut your risk of heart disease by improving blood flow and may also protect against cancer. Armed with all this good-for-you detail, we hope you’ll serve and enjoy these desserts regularly.
VANILLA POACHED PEARS WITH BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE
Poached pears make an elegant dessert and are easy to prepare.
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 22 to 27 minutes
1 1/2 cups of dry white wine (such as pinot
grigio or sauvignon blanc)
1/4 cup sugar
Fine zest of two lemons
1 vanilla bean
4 Bartlett or Bosc pears (medium
ripe), peeled, cored, and quartered
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
coarsely chopped
In a medium-large saucepan, add wine, sugar, and lemon zest. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds from the pod. Mash the seeds into the liquid. Over medium heat, cook the liquid for 2 minutes.
Add the pears to the syrup and continue to cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Baste the pears several times as they cook.
Once pears are done, make the chocolate sauce. In a double boiler over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate (or use the bowl-and-sauce-pan method described on the next page). Place 4 pieces of pear in a bowl and spoon 2 tablespoons of the liquid over the fruit, then lightly drizzle the pears with chocolate. Repeat for each serving. Enjoy immediately.
Nutrition score per serving
(1 pear, 2 tablespoons chocolate sauce): 391 calories, 13 g fat (26% of calories), 7 g saturated fat, 59 g carbs, 3 g protein, 8 g fiber, 30 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 4 mg sodium
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE
This souffle gets its rich flavor from cocoa powder, which is fat-free.
Serves 8
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 17 minutes
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup powdered unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup cold water
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Cooking spray
RASPBERRY SAUCE
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350[degrees]F.
Sift the powdered sugar, cocoa, and flour into a double boiler (or use the bowl-and-saucepan method on the next page). Add the milk and cold water to the pan and whisk until creamy. Continue to gently whisk the mixture without stopping for about 8 to 10 minutes or until it begins to thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
In a mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks begin to form. Add the sugar slowly and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
Blend the egg yolks and almond extract into the chocolate mixture. Fold in half the egg-white mixture, and then fold in the rest. Spoon the batter into eight 10-ounce ramekins (souffle dishes) spritzed with cooking spray, leaving about a 1/2-inch space from the top. (You can refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before baking.)
Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 17 minutes or until the souffles are puffy but still jiggle a little in the center.
Meanwhile, blend the raspberries in a food processor. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice. Spoon the raspberry sauce over each souffle and serve.
Nutrition score per serving (1 souffle, 1 teaspoon sauce): 142 calories, 3 g fat (17% of calories), 1 g saturated fat, 27 g carbs, 5 g protein, 4 g fiber, 41 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 43 mg sodium
MEXICAN CHOCOLATE SORBET
Clove and cinnamon enhance the chocolate flavor of this icy treat.
Serves 6
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 5 minutes
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
5 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup raw almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Canola-oil spray
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine water and sugar. When sugar dissolves, whisk in the cocoa, then add the cloves and cinnamon stick. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and refrigerate chocolate mixture for at least 2 hours.
Use a mesh colander to strain the chocolate mixture into a bowl, then pour it into an ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
The healthiest new soups
Soup’s reputation as a diet-friendly food isn’t entirely deserved: Some versions are loaded with fat and salt. A cup of cream of onion, for example, contains 9 grams of fat and more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium–that’s over a third of what you should get all day. Instead choose soups without cream or butter, and with fewer than 600 milligrams of sodium per serving, advises Molly Kimball, R.D., a nutritionist at Ochsner Health Systems’ Elmwood Fitness Center in New Orleans. Here, five tasty good-for-you picks.
MOST MOST MOST LIKE CREAMIEST TASTIEST
FILLING CONVENIENT MOM’S LOW-SODIUM PICK
CAMPBELL’S FANTASTIC HEALTH PACIFIC organic AMY’S ORGANIC
SELECT WORLD FOODS VALLEY creamy butternut light in sodium
HEALTHY split pea fat-free squash lentil
REQUEST vegetable
Italian- barley
style
wedding
120 140 90 calories 90 calories 2 g 150 calories
calories calories 0 g fat, 4 g fat, 3 g fiber, 4.5 g fat, 5 g
2.5 g fat, 0.5 g fat, fiber, 6 g 2 g protein, 550 fiber, 8 g
2 g fiber, 5 g fiber, protein, 390 mg sodium protein, 290 mg
7 g 10 g mg sodium sodium
protein, protein,
480 mg 410 mg
sodium sodium
Our For a thick “Freshly “This soup was Testers loved
tasters and made” and seasoned with that the soup’s
loved the delicious “satisfying” the right mix of lentils,
mix of pea soup were used to cinnamon, carrots, and
meatballs, with flecks describe nutmeg, and celery weren’t
pasta, and of carrots, this soup. ginger,” raved too mushy. A
spinach– just add It has one fan. Plus, bonus: Each cup
all in a water. “It generous it’s super-thick provides 15
peppery had the amounts of and percent of your
broth. perfect barley, smooth–despite daily iron
“The full consistency peas, being vegan. needs.
can is and wasn’t carrots, and
hearty too salty,” green beans.
enough for said one
a meal,” taster.
said one
Squeeze play: find out which juice you should chug … and which one deserves to be chucked
EVEN THOUGH IT COMES FROM FRUIT, store-bought juice is by no means a health food. Besides being filled with additives and preservatives, it’s also missing the fiber and disease-fighting compounds that make whole fruit so good for you. So you try to be smart and buy the low-sugar, all-natural brands–and you find the taste to be sickening. But there can be a happy medium. MF sat down with nutrition adviser Elizabeth M. Ward, R.D., and tried both the regular and light versions of some popular juices to decide once and for all which bottle is really the better buy.
Tropicana Original vs. Tropicana Light ‘n Healthy
TASTE-OFF: Trop Original was the overwhelming winner, easily beating the watered-down, gritty, slightly metallic tasting Light.
WARD’S TAKE: “Stick with Original. Even without the pulp, OJ is packed with vitamin C, plus powerful phytonutrients that have been shown to help fight disease and prevent all types of inflammation in the body,”
THE WINNER: Tropicana Original
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail vs. Ocean Spray Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail
TASTE-OFF: Regular won by a mile. Our tasters found the Light virtually undrinkable–overly tart with way too much chemical flavor,
WARD’S TAKE: “Both juices contain 270/0 cranberry juice–the rest is water and either high-fructose corn syrup or Splenda, so Light is obviously better.”
THE WINNER: It’s a draw. Drink the regular for breakfast, but use the Light to mix with vodka (when taste is less important than cutting calories).
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Mott’s Original Apple Juice vs. Mott’s Plus Light Apple Juice
TASTE-OFF: In an unexpected twist, the Light came out on top with tasters–thanks to its sweet yet tart apple-cider flavor.
WARB’S TAKE: “In most cases, full-calorie juices have more nutrients than their watered-down counterparts–but apple juice is an exception. Since the Plus Light has added vitamins C and D, it’s actually the healthier option.”
THE WINNER: Mott’s Plus Light Apple Juice
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
V8 vs. Low Sodium V8
TASTE-OFF: Although we preferred the original, Low Sodium V8 is a more than adequate sub. It’s a tad sweeter and not quite as smooth or refreshing, though–so consider adding some hot sauce or black pepper before drinking.
WARB’S TAKE: “Low Sodium is the way to go. You get all the same nutrients as in the original juice, but about 70% less salt.”
THE WINNER: Low Sodium V8
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice vs. Ocean Spray No Sugar Added 100% Juice
TASTE-OFF: The 100% won by a landslide. The original was sickly sweet–like Kool-Aid, without a hint of citrus bite. The 100%, on the other hand, was richer and more tart, like juice from an actual grapefruit.
WARD’S TAKE: “Both have added sweeteners, but the original uses high-fructose corn syrup, while the 100% is sweetened with added grape and apple juices. It’s higher in carbs, but at least they’re coming from fruit.”
The new hot lunch: these sandwiches get their flavor from tasty waistline-friendly ingredients
Few foods meet the demands of a busy lifestyle like a sandwich–it’s easy to make and transport, and it fills you up fast. But while turkey and lowfat cheese on whole wheat is a convenient and healthy choice, eating it every day can get, well, boring. The secret to bringing some excitement back to your lunch? Just add heat. “Melting different flavors together really makes a sandwich come alive,” says Jason Denton, co-author of Simple Italian Sandwiches: Recipes From America’s Favorite Panini Bar. For a truly satisfying option, he suggests using tasty, high-quality ingredients to ensure you get the same flavor balance in every bite. Sure, grilling a sandwich takes more time but one bite of these three mouthwatering combos, and you’ll be surprised something so delicious doesn’t require hours in the kitchen.
OPEN-FACED SANDWICH WITH ITALIAN TUNA, FENNEL, AND PICKLED RED ONIONS
Italian canned tuna is more expensive than the standard supermarket brand, but its flavor is worth the price.
Serves 1
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 minutes (to toast)
1/2 medium fennel bulb
4 ounces canned Italian or Spanish
tuna packed in olive oil
Drizzle of olive oil
2 slices multigrain Pullman bread
or Arnold Brick Oven White Bread
(available in supermarkets)
3 rings of Pickled Red Onions
(see recipe in box at right) or
jarred pickled onions
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove the tough outer layer of the fennel bulb and slice in half through the stem end, then remove the core. With the flat side facedown on a cutting board, thinly slice bulb.
Flake the tuna in a medium bowl with a fork. Add the fennel slices and a drizzle of olive oil. Combine.
Toast the bread. Spread the tuna-fennel mixture over each slice and top with the pickled onion rings. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutrition score per serving
373 calories, 11 g fat (25% of calories), <1 g saturated fat, 37 g carbs, 38 g protein, 12 g fiber, 263 mg calcium, 4 mg iron, 873 mg sodium
PANINI WITH TURKEY, SPICY RELISH, AND PARMESAN
This tasty sandwich supplies nearly half your daily calcium needs.
Serves 1
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 3 minutes
3 ounces roasted turkey breast,
sliced thinly, or 3 ounces low-sodium
deli turkey
1 whole-wheat English muffin
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese,
thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoons Spicy Relish (see recipe
on previous page) or a store-bought
red-cherry-pepper relish
Preheat a panini grill. (If you don’t have a panini grill, use an outdoor grill or frying pan. Then wrap a brick in foil and use it as a weight for pressing the sandwiches.)
Place the turkey on the bottom half of the English muffin, then cover with the sliced cheese. Spread the top half of the muffin with the spicy relish.
Grill until the English muffin is golden brown and sandwich is heated through, 2 to 3 minutes, and serve.
Nutrition score per serving
434 calories, 18 g fat (37% of calories), 8 g saturated fat, 28 g carbs, 40 g protein, 5 g fiber, 492 mg calcium, 3 mg iron, 857 mg sodium
PORTOBELLO PANINI WITH HERBED GOAT CHEESE
Slicing the top off the ciabatta roll helps the ingredients meld better when they’re heated.
Serves 1
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 3 minutes
1 medium ciabatta
roll (an oval-shaped,
dome-topped roll)
or whole-wheat English muffin
2 tablespoons mild-flavored
fresh goat cheese
2 tablespoons nonfat milk
2 tablespoons finely chopped
mixed fresh herbs, such as basil,
fennel fronds, and oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon
1 handful arugula (about 2 ounces)
1 medium portobello mushroom cap,
cleaned and sliced into 1/8-inch pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
Preheat a panini grill. (If you don’t have a panini grill, use an outdoor grill, toaster oven, or frying pan. Then wrap a brick in foil and use it as a weight for pressing the sandwiches.)
Using a serrated knife, remove the domed top of the ciabatta roll. The roll should now be about 1 1/2 inches thick. Slice the roll horizontally. (If using an English muffin, skip this step.)
Combine the goat cheese, nonfat milk, and herbs in a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Use a fork to blend thoroughly. Pour the lemon juice over the arugula and use your hands to toss.
Season mushroom slices with the same herbs you used to flavor the goat cheese, and saute in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Lay the mushroom slices across the bottom half of the roll, and cover with arugula. Thinly spread the goat cheese on the top half of the roll.
Grill the sandwich until the bread is golden brown and the cheese begins to melt, 2 to 3 minutes, and serve.
Nutrition score per serving
341 calories, 15 g fat (39% of calories), 4 g saturated fat, 40 g carbs, 13 g protein, 3 g fiber, 168 mg calcium, 3 mg iron, 480 mg sodium
DIET STRATEGY
Satisfying lunches keep midday hunger at bay.
Effect of sodium chloride on a lipid bilayer
ABSTRACT
Electrostatic interactions govern structural and dynamical properties of membranes and can vary considerably with the composition of the aqueous buffer. We studied the influence of sodium chloride on a pure POPC lipid bilayer by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. Increasing sodium chloride concentration was found to decrease the self-diffusion of POPC lipids within the bilayer. Self-diffusion coefficients calculated from the 100 ns simulations agree with those measured on a millisecond timescale, suggesting that most of the relaxation processes relevant for lipid diffusion are faster than the simulation timescale. As the dominant effect, the molecular dynamics simulations revealed a tight binding of sodium ions to the carbonyl oxygens of on average three lipids leading to larger complexes with reduced mobility. Additionally, the bilayer thickens by ~2 [Angstrom], which increases the order parameter of the fatty acyl chains. Sodium binding alters the electrostatic potential, which is largely compensated by a changed polarization of the aqueous medium and a lipid dipole reorientation.
INTRODUCTION
Biological membranes consist predominantly of lipids and proteins in mass ratios ranging from 0.25 (purple membranes of halobacteria) to 4 (lung surfactant). In most membranes the lipids are the predominant molecular species. Membrane lipids are very heterogeneous in chain length, chain saturation, and headgroup structure. In most biomembranes only ~10% of the lipids are charged, whereas the remaining lipid fraction is zwitterionic or uncharged, consisting in particular of phosphatidylethanolamines and phosphatidylcholines (POPC). The latter represent ~50% of all head-groups (Neidlemann, 1993; Sackmann, 1995).
Biological membranes are surrounded by an aqueous buffer containing Na+, K+, Ca^sup 2+^, Mg^sup 2+^, or Cl- ions with quite different concentrations inside and outside of the cell. Electrostatic interactions between this ionic buffer and the lipid molecules are crucial for membrane fusion, phase transitions, or transport across the membrane. Divalent cations are known to interact very strongly with charged lipids, but also moderately with zwitterionic lipids (Tatulian, 1993). Despite their ubiquity, knowledge about the interaction of monovalent ions with lipids is less detailed. These interactions are generally assumed to be quite weak. E.g., the dissociation constants of Na+ and Cl- from POPC membranes (Tatulian, 1993) are close to the physiological range of 100-500 mM. In a recent study it was reported that moderate NaCl concentrations induce phase separation in POPC membranes as evidenced in x-ray crystallography (Rappolt et al., 2001). This finding is of quite some relevance, since it indicates that monovalent ions affect the lateral organization of artificial and most likely that of biological membranes.
The interaction of sodium with neutral zwitterionic membranes is the subject of this article. Changes in membrane electrostatics, lateral heterogeneities, and binding of solutes influence the lipid self-diffusion. Therefore, the diffusion coefficients contain information about the membrane state. Some of the various methods to study diffusion characteristics of membranes are fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (Axelrod et al., 1976; Blume, 1993; Almeida and Vaz, 1995), fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) (Magde et al., 1972; Ehrenberg and Rigler, 1974; Korlach et al., 1999; Schwille et al., 1999; Feigenson and Buboltz, 2001; Hess et al., 2002), single particle tracking (Lee et al., 1991; Schmidt et al., 1996; Schutz et al., 1997; Fujiwara et al., 2002), nuclear magnetic resonance (Fisher, 1978; Kuo and Wade, 1999), and electron spin resonance techniques (King et al., 1987), but also neutron diffraction (Tabony and Perly, 1990; Konig et al., 1992). Since these techniques are sensitive on different timescales, numerical values for diffusion coefficients vary considerably. Typical values for the diffusion coefficient in fluid lipid membranes of D = 4 x 10^sup -8^ cm^sup 2^/s were derived from macroscopic measurements (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and FCS) on the millisecond timescale, whereas neutron scattering experiments (picosecond timescale) yield values of D = 1 x 10^sup -7^ cm^sup 2^/s to D = 4 x 10^sup -6^ cm^sup 2^/s (Tabony and Perly, 1990; Konig et al., 1992). The difference in these values originates from different modes of diffusion. On short timescales the diffusion is generally assumed to be dominated by confined motion in a local free volume defined by nearest neighbor lipids, whereas diffusion on the millisecond timescale rather resembles Brownian motion in a viscous fluid (Vaz and Almeida, 1991).
Since the work of van der Ploeg and Berendsen (1982), molecular dynamics (MD) simulations yielded an increasing amount of information on the structure and the dynamics of uncharged membranes in the absence of ions (Heller et al., 1993; Venable et al., 1993; Tieleman et al., 1997; Essmann and Berkowitz, 1999; Moore et al., 2001) and on bilayers with purely negatively charged lipids, with a high concentration of positive ions to counterbalance the charges (Cascales and de la Torre, 1997; Pandit and Berkowitz, 2002). Due to the slow relaxation times associated with ion and lipid diffusion, MD studies of the interaction of ions with lipids close to equilibrium require very long trajectories and an accurate description of the electrostatics (Patra et al., 2003); therefore, a precise computation of self-diffusion coefficients of lipid bilayers in salt solutions has up to now not been possible.
Here, we present a combined effort using both FCS techniques and extended MD simulations to study the influence of sodium chloride on structure and dynamics of a neutral lipid bilayer. It is this combination of experiment and theory that provides a new and detailed picture of the specific interaction between sodium ions and zwitterionic lipid molecules.
METHODS
Materials and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
Lipids were purchased from Avanti Polar Lipids (Birmingham, AL), and fluorescence labels from Molecular Probes (Leiden, The Netherlands). Oriented multilamellar POPC membranes were created by drying the lipid on a quartz coverslip from a dichloromethane/methanol solution in a high vacuum desiccator. The dry samples were then hydrated with distilled water containing suitable NaCl concentrations and equilibrated for at least 1 h.
Subsequently the diffusion processes in the membranes were investigated by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. In our FCS setup we used a linearly polarized continuous wave 532 nm Nd:Yag laser (Laser 2000, Wessling, Germany) and suitable filters to attenuate the laser power of 5 mW. We used a 1.20 NA 60x water immersion objective (Olympus; UPLAPO) and a confocal setup with a 100-[mu]m pinhole. The probe was mounted on an optical table equipment with a piezoelectric nanopositioning XYZ-system. The fluorescence signal was detected by two SPCM-AQR-13 avalanche photo diodes (Laser Components, Olching, Germany) with perpendicular polarization. The correlation curves shown in this article are cross-correlation curves between these two channels. Fluorescence markers at two different positions were used, TRITC-DHPE (Fig. 1, top left, N-(6-tetramethylrhodaminethiocarbamoyl)-1,2-dihexadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine) and BODIPY-C12-DHPE (Fig. 1, top right, 2-(4,4-difluoro-5,7-diphenyl-4-bora-3a, 4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-dodecanoyl)-1-hexadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine). We investigated the influence of various NaCl concentrations on the lateral diffusion of individual lipids in the fluid phase (T^sub m^ = 269.75 K). Timescales were calibrated with a Rhodamine 6G solution at 296 K with a known diffusion coefficient of D = 3 x 10^sup -6^ cm^sup 2^/s. The signal from the two APDs was analyzed using a FLEX5000/fast correlator card by Correlator.com (Bridgewater, NJ). Assuming a Gaussian cross section of the focus, the correlation function in a planar system is given by
the focus (Korlach et al., 1999). The term in parentheses is used as normalized correlation function. Temperature control was achieved via water cooling of the objective and the sample cell. During the experiment (2-5 min) the water cooling was switched off to avoid mechanical vibrations. The temperature was measured with an ultra-thin thermocouple directly on the coverslip.
Calorimetry
Calorimetry was performed using a high sensitivity differential VP-calorimeter (MicroCal, Northampton, MA) with scan rates of 5[degrees]/h. Samples were measured in a capillary that was inserted into a glycerol solution to prevent freezing of the aqueous calorimeter cell content.
Using an average charge distribution obtained from our simulations allows us to go beyond the Gouy-Chapman approximation of a single charged surface (compare to Cevc, 1990) and to compare the ion densities from our simulations with densities obtained from the Poisson-Boltzmann equation (Fig. 8). As can be seen, even in the hydrophilic headgroups the calculated ion densities correspond well with the simulated data. Note that, because in the PB treatment the solvation free energy is not taken into account, an unphysically large ion density in the region of the fatty acyl chains would appear. The comparison to the PB solution allows us to obtain improved values for the effective bulk ion concentration present in the simulations, namely 50 + or - 30 mM for system BS, and 220 + or - 30 m M for system CS, respectively, which we used in Fig. 2.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In summary we have shown that sodium chloride alters both structural and dynamical properties of a neutral lipid bilayer to a previously unexpected extent. In particular, and contrary to the common assumption that monovalent ions do not or only slightly affect lipid dynamic behavior, the lateral lipid self-diffusion decreases significantly with increasing ion concentration. Diffusion rates obtained from both FCS measurements and molecular dynamics simulations show good agreement. We note that the considerable length of the simulations and the accurate treatment of electrostatic interactions allowed us to determine the self-diffusion coefficient up to 6 ns with high statistical accuracy.
As a microscopic explanation, the MD simulations suggest a strong interaction between sodium ions and the carbonyl oxygens of the lipids, thus forming tight ion-lipid complexes. We propose this deep binding at the interface between the hydrophobic and the hydrophilic region as an explanation for the phase separation in POPC membranes (Rappolt et al., 2001) as well as for the changed C=0 infrared absorption seen in the presence of sodium chloride and for the apparent lack of an influence on the antisymmetric PO^sup -^^sub 2^ stretching bands (Binder and Zschornig, 2002).
Like sodium chloride, H^sub 3^O^sup +^ ions might also bind to the carbonyl groups stronger than expected, which would explain the observed long proton residence times at the membrane surface (Heberle et al, 1994; Alexiev et al., 1995). Indeed, the increase of order upon cation binding with increased membrane thickness is in fact supported by the calorimetry experiments.
The agreement of the values for the diffusion coefficients obtained from the FCS experiments carried out at an ms timescale with those obtained from the multinanoseconds simulations is striking, as it suggests that most dynamical processes that govern the self-diffusion rate are faster than 10 ns, whereas those between 10 ns and ms are either few or do not significantly affect lipid diffusion. The fact that, additionally, both the salt effect on an ms timescale and the subnanosecond diffusion coefficient from neutron scattering experiments are correctly reproduced by the simulations suggests that this agreement is not just accidental. Unexpectedly, the effect on the total electrostatic potential upon ion binding is very small. However, the individual contributions do change significantly, especially the contribution due to the polarization of water molecules, which is weakened inside the hydrophilic headgroups and enhanced in the bulk phase. The resulting increased range of hydration phenomena should lead to an increased bilayer distance in multilayer experiments .
four Special Entrées
We’ve made these recipes doable, and they’re sure to be the center of attention at your next gathering.
Get ready for a feast. These ham, chicken, beef, and lamb recipes are good-looking and easy. They’re ideal for a Sunday lunch, Easter dinner, or casual weekend gathering. Each one is home-cook friendly: Three are baked in the oven, while the fourth is quick to grill. Take your pick based on the flavors you crave. We’ve seasoned, sauced, and spiced with fresh herbs, citrus, plum preserves, ginger, and even barbecue sauce. Must-know tips for success and simple garnish ideas are included too. Serve any one of our impressive entrées to your friends and family, and you’ll want to try the others soon.
1.Stir together first 7 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until preserves are melted and mixture is blended. Pour half of plum preserve mixture into a microwave-safe bowl.
2.Trim excess fat on ham to 1/8-inch thickness. If desired, make long, shallow cuts (about 1/16-inch deep) over entire ham, forming diamond patterns. Place ham on a wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Brush ham with a portion of plum preserve mixture in saucepan.
3.Bake ham, uncovered, at 350° on lower oven rack 1 hour and 30 minutes, basting with remaining plum preserve mixture in saucepan every 30 minutes. Loosely cover with aluminum foil, and bake 1 hour and 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 140°, basting every 30 minutes. Let ham stand 15 minutes before slicing. Garnish, if desired.
4.Microwave plum preserve mixture in bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve ham with warm mixture.
Scynexis of research Triangle Park has signed a multiyear research agreement with Merck & Co. to discover and develop oncology compounds
Scynexis of research Triangle Park has signed a multiyear research agreement with Merck & Co. to discover and develop oncology compounds. Scynexis will provide highly targeted compound libraries and rapid lead-optimization techniques to develop new drug candidates for clinical assessment.
Switch hitters: antibacterial compounds target new mechanism to kill microbes
With drug-resistant bacteria on the offensive, researchers are on the lookout for novel microbial processes to disrupt. A new study provides evidence that recently discovered ribonucleic acid segments may become plum targets.
Those riboswitches, found in many bacteria, are stretches of messenger RNAS, which provide the instructions to cells for making specific proteins (5N: 4/10/04, p. 232). Typically, riboswitches respond to cellular concentrations of certain compounds that a cell requires. The switches then control the expression of genes necessary for making those metabolites.
Since the discovery of riboswitches in 2002, researchers have reported a dozen classes, each of which responds to a different metabolite. For example, many bacteria have riboswitches that interact with the amino acid lysine. When a cell has sufficient lysine, the amino acid binds to the riboswitch, triggering a structural change that blocks manufacture of the first enzyme in lysine production.
Although there are examples of riboswitches in plants and fungi, riboswitches have yet to be found in people, notes Ronald R. Breaker, the chemical biologist at Yale University whose team gave riboswitches their name.
Breaker suspected that those RNA segments might make good targets for drug development. Breaker’s group had shown that two previously identified antibacterial agents work in part by binding to riboswitches.
In the new work, the team created a series of compounds designed to shut down lysine synthesis in Bacillus subtilis, thereby inhibiting growth. The researchers’ strategy was to modify lysine so that it would still bind to the riboswitch but the rest of the cell’s biomachinery wouldn’t recognize it.
“We don’t want to give [the microbe] food or a precursor it can easily convert” to lysine, Breaker says.
The researchers found three compounds that inhibit microbial growth by acting on the lysine riboswitch, they report in the January Nature Chemical Biology.
Breaker notes that the lysine riboswitch probably isn’t the best one to target to fight bacteria. In their study, the researchers could stop bacterial growth only when the culture medium contained no lysine. The group is now focusing on a different class of riboswitches.
Nevertheless, the work just reported “establishes the biochemical basis” for targeting riboswitches with drugs, says chemical biologist Joseph A. Piccirilli of the University of Chicago. “You might be able to use that logic to choose or design a [drug] for a different riboswitch.”
“Nobody has thus far carried out a concerted screen [of chemicals[ against these targets,” says structural biochemist Adrian R. Ferre-D’Amare of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. With the evidence so far, he says, that approach is worth trying.