Niall's Blog

I've always been under the impression that there was an important distinction between the "natural flavours" and "artificial flavours" listed on food ingredients. After having read this food science article (adapted from Fast Food Nation) Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good, I realise the difference is essentially meaningless:

Natural flavors and artificial flavors sometimes contain exactly the same chemicals, produced through different methods. Amyl acetate, for example, provides the dominant note of banana flavor. When it is distilled from bananas with a solvent, amyl acetate is a natural flavor. When it is produced by mixing vinegar with amyl alcohol and adding sulfuric acid as a catalyst, amyl acetate is an artificial flavor. Either way it smells and tastes the same.

Natural flavours no healthier than artificial I had for some reason assumed that natural flavours were probably not quite as bad for you as artificial flavours, however this is not necessarily the case:

A natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial one. When almond flavor -- benzaldehyde -- is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. Benzaldehyde derived by mixing oil of clove and amyl acetate does not contain any cyanide. Nevertheless, it is legally considered an artificial flavor and sells at a much lower price. Natural and artificial flavors are now manufactured at the same chemical plants, places that few people would associate with Mother Nature.

So, basically "natural flavours" and "artificial flavours" are the same thing, and are best avoided if possible.

Niall O'Higgins is an author, event organizer and software consultant. He wrote the book MongoDB and Python, published by O'Reilly. Events he organizes include We Have Tablets, the #1 Bay Area Tablet Computing Meet-up and PyWebSF. He also offers consulting services for Mobile, Tablet and Cloud Computing.

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Although I enjoyed both the taste and ritual aspect of coffee, around six weeks ago I decided I was too dependent and that it was having a negative effect on me. Specifically, I felt like it was sapping my energy and leaving me with a kind of brain fog around mid afternoon that nothing could fix. Drinking more coffee wouldn't help at all. I had also noticed that the acidity of coffee was contributing to indigestion. I guess I was drinking two large cups of strong drip coffee per day on average, sometimes more, sometimes less. I would also drink green tea in addition to this. Aside from the morning dependency (MUST have coffee before starting work), the mid-afternoon mental slowdown I'd experience sometimes, and the increased stomach acidity, I didn't have any greatly negative experiences - unlike other people who have trouble sleeping, get very anxious, and so on. I could drink many cups and not have any real problems. I never drank coffee immediately before a work out so I'm not sure if it was helping my performance much. It seems that there is no clear cut story about the long term health effects of coffee or caffeine. There are plenty of studies on both sides of the issue - some report that caffeine contributes to high blood pressure, increases stress, leaches calcium from the body, and so on. Others point to increased athletic ability, protection against cancers and protection against Parkinson's disease. I found this post on the CrossFit Santa Cruz blog which seems to reach a similar conclusion. I didn't find it hugely difficult to give up - I simply decreased initially to a single shot in the morning for a week, then I dropped it off completely substituting black or green tea, and then gave up completely. I suppose its been over a month now since I last had coffee. I don't have any particular urge to drink it, I'm happy enough with herbal teas and the occasional black or green tea when I feel like it. I don't notice a huge difference in how I feel apart from a reduction in what I call brain fog, and of course not craving coffee in the morning. I don't think coffee could have been helping my CrossFit performance that much - since quitting coffee my Fran time has dropped by a minute and a half. On the other hand, I'm not implying any causality in that - I'm sure my performance would have improved if I hadn't quit coffee. Overall, I feel like being dependent on any substance for a long period of time is not good, that its healthy to break these mild addictions. Its rewarding just to know I can, and also not to have any pressing need to either brew a cup or pay someone else to brew one for me. I think I'll stay off coffee for the foreseeable future - I feel more free without it.

Niall O'Higgins is an author, event organizer and software consultant. He wrote the book MongoDB and Python, published by O'Reilly. Events he organizes include We Have Tablets, the #1 Bay Area Tablet Computing Meet-up and PyWebSF. He also offers consulting services for Mobile, Tablet and Cloud Computing.

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I can't take credit for this one. No, I'm merely acting as a conduit for a recipe created by my lovely girlfriend, Feifei, who has cooked this wonderful dish on a number of occasions. She kindly agreed to tell me the secret components of this steak marinade, and I'm naming it after her. Steak a la Feifei Serves two.

• Two USDA ribeyesteak
• 140 ml Thai sweet chili sauce
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4-5 coarsely chopped shallots
• 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation Mix the marinade in a small dish with high sides - whatever size container you have that will accommodate the steaks submerged into as much marinade as possible. Cut into the steaks so that they can absorb more marinade, then place in dish with marinade, for at least 15 minutes per side. Be sure to cover the steaks thoroughly. When steaks have been soaked in marinade for around a half an hour, cook the steaks. Feifei used a George Foreman contact grill. Whatever you use, cook the steaks in the marinade - pouring it over it. On the George Foreman, it took around 5-6 minutes to cook the steaks so they were medium. Serve and enjoy!

Niall O'Higgins is an author, event organizer and software consultant. He wrote the book MongoDB and Python, published by O'Reilly. Events he organizes include We Have Tablets, the #1 Bay Area Tablet Computing Meet-up and PyWebSF. He also offers consulting services for Mobile, Tablet and Cloud Computing.

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I think food is one of the most basic things in life. Most people eat around three times a day, every day, for their entire life. How food tastes, and what it does to your body, would seem to me to be absolutely critical. Few people here in the San Francisco tech industry seem to cook for themselves, or pay much attention to the kind of stuff they put into their bodies, which I find quite bizarre. The culture of consuming vast quantities of heavily refined sugars (via sodas, donuts, pastries, icecream and all that junk) along with highly processed carbohydrates (pizza, bread, potato chips, etc) along with plenty of fatty, fried foods, seems completely insane. And then people wonder why they are overweight, and suffer from all manner of health problems - diabetes, heart disease, and of course deadly cancers. While I don't advocate going crazy and completely cutting out entire food groups willy nilly - probably such an effort will be unsuccessful in the long run, and almost certainly decrease your overall happiness and emotional well being - I do think its important for people to reclaim their connection to food and at least choose their own ingredients, cooking methods, and generally go through life being aware of the details of food. If ever details are important, its the details pertaining to food. Anyway, on to this week's recipe. Andronico's had organic New York Steak on special, so I bought a nice cut and cooked it. Allspice Steak with Broccoli and Shitake Mushrooms

• One USDA organic New York Steak
• 1/2 tsp. Jamaican Allspice
• One crown of broccoli
• 1/3 lb fresh Shitake mushrooms
• 1 tsp salt

Preparation: A friend of mine, Chris, who is a fantastic cook (and chefs professionally) once told me the secret to good tasting steak is salt. While my steak isn't as good as his, he's certainly right about the salt. Rub both sides of the steak with plenty of salt, and then rub in the allspice. I cooked mine on a George Foreman, but you can easily do its under your own non-contact grill or even use a pan. I like my steaks to be done medium, so I cooked it for around 6-7 minutes. In the meantime, I finely chopped the shitake mushrooms and coarsely broke up the brocolli crown (I like brocolli coarse). Shitake mushrooms are well-known for not only their anti-cancer properties, but a whole myriad of health benefits such as anti-viral effects, thrombosis reduction, and so on. Brocolli, like all cruciferous vegetables, have tons of health-promoting qualities. Both of these foods taste great, too. So, dump your veggies in a pan with some water and sautee until they're done to your liking. I like mine on the less-cooked side. Serve and enjoy!

Niall O'Higgins is an author, event organizer and software consultant. He wrote the book MongoDB and Python, published by O'Reilly. Events he organizes include We Have Tablets, the #1 Bay Area Tablet Computing Meet-up and PyWebSF. He also offers consulting services for Mobile, Tablet and Cloud Computing.

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Andronico's near my place have had a great deal on pork loin chops for the past few days, you can pick up a couple of pork chops for around $3. Pork chops are super easy to cook and are very tasty. When I cook red meat, I make a special effort to mix in some powerful and healthy vegetables - for example cooking with shallots or having sauteed broccoli and shitake mushrooms on the side. Onions are extremely good for cancer prevention, and shallots (which are essentially a kind of onion) are the most potently beneficial sort. Here's what I did: Roasted pork loin chops with shallots

• 2 pork loin chops
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lots of shallots, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat baking dish with oil. Place meat in baking dish. Rub in salt and pepper to taste. Cover chops with shallot slices. Pour water in, making sure chops are not covered. Cook for 45-50 minutes, ensuring chops are cooked through and slightly brown. Serve with healthy veggies. Enjoy!

Niall O'Higgins is an author, event organizer and software consultant. He wrote the book MongoDB and Python, published by O'Reilly. Events he organizes include We Have Tablets, the #1 Bay Area Tablet Computing Meet-up and PyWebSF. He also offers consulting services for Mobile, Tablet and Cloud Computing.

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