Friday, June 18, 2010

The High Art Of The Pack Lunch




Description: a bed of rice flavoured with turmeric, and then layered on onions, red peppers, shrimp and mint.

The cooking part went a bit like this: I used a heavy 20 cm steel skillet with a lid and applied the highest heat with everything being cooked in safflower oil and ground black pepper. The pretty much diced onion was sauteed until the edges browned, then I added the chopped red pepper, cooking until the oil was tinged red. A
s I watched the red tinge spread, I was hoping to benefit from the antioxidant activity of the phenolics and flavonoids upon consumption. 

The shrimp went in last, cooked until they looked cooked but not overcooked with all that accompanying loss of fulsomeness. I occasionally used the lid to seal in the heat and moisture, keep those shrimp plump. After I scattered this mix on top of the rice, I momentarily cooked the mint in the same skillet.
 

And of course, I read something appropriate with the lunch,
 

"Oxygen species scavenger activities and phenolic contents of four West African plants"
Kouakou-Siransya et al, Food Chemistry, Volume 118, Issue 2, 15 January 2010, Pages 430-435


Abstract
 

In West Africa, Alchornea cordifolia, Baphia nitida, Cassia occidentalis and Boerhavia diffusa leaves are used in food and drinks, as well as in traditional medicine, to treat rheumatic ailments which incur oxidative stress. First, these plants were evaluated for their antioxidant properties through a scavenger effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorous acid. All of them showed dose-dependent antioxidant activity. The values obtained were comparable to those of antioxidant pharmacological substances: N-acetylcysteine and Mesna. Second, rates of total phenolic, flavonoid and proanthocyanidin contents were evaluated. The highest rates were to be found in the most active extracts, indicating that antioxidant activity could be influenced by these phytochemical groups.
 

The results of our study confirm the traditional use of these plants in inflammatory diseases, and demonstrate that they could contribute, through their phenolic contents, to attenuating tissue damage due to ROS. These plants can also be beneficial for health as a source of antioxidants when they are included in food and drinks.
 

Keywords: Antioxidant; Phenolics; Flavonoids; ROS; Alchornea cordifolia; Baphia nitida; Cassia occidentalis; Boerhavia diffusa
 

See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.04.117


P.s. Red pepper, mint, dill, cilantro, basil and a visible red tinge to the oil,