Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Mice tested results less valid and walnut meringue bars

Crispy Coconut Cupcake with Peanut Butter, Banana and Chocolate Crumble
Food Diary (November 01, 2011)
Breakfast: Sourdough toast
Lunch: Chickpea tikka masala with rice
Dinner: Pasta with caramelised onion tomato sauce, wholemeal sourdough

What you see above looks nothing like a cupcake. I am not sure what I should call this thing so lets just stick with crispy cupcake for now. It used to be a cupcake earlier in its life but it was transformed into a crispy cupcake. As a result the cupcake acquired a crispy texture, both inside and outside. 

You will probably not believe me if I say that this is really simple to make and requires few basic ingredients that are most probably sitting in your pantry. Trust me, my pantry is usually empty and I have all the required ingredients. The cupcake has just 4 ingredients, and cake mix is not one of them, neither is butter or eggs. The recipe is available here.

Moving on to the next item on the agenda. Tikka masala is usually or only associated with chicken. However the difference between chicken and chickpea is just an ’en’ and ’pea' at the end. Its amazing how rearranging a few alphabets transfers an ingredient from the carnivore to the vegetarian category. I hope tikka masala purists let me get away with this.

Chickpea tikka masala with rice

Today's Favourite Photo
Source: Bite my cake
Walnut meringue bars


Today’s Favourite Blog
Mice are often used to test whether substances in food are harmful to humans. However humans and mice are different and as such the results of the tests may or may not be applicable to humans.

Humans have certain enzymes in more parts of the body than mice. This can affect the test results. Researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health inserted human enzymes into mice to examine the health risk from eating well-done meat. These mouse were fed meat crust (i.e. the surface formed during cooking). The results show that the incidence of intestinal tumours increased from 31 per cent to 80 per cent in "human-like" mice.

Heat-processing of food can lead to the formation of carcinogenic substances. The formation of carcinogenic substances -- so-called food mutagens -- usually occurs at high temperatures when frying or grilling.

The scientists concluded that the health risk associated with harmful substances in food may therefore be underestimated if we use mice for testing.

Most Recent Recipes

19 comments:

  1. I don't care whether they look like cupcakes or not, I only know they look heavenly!:D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fantastic photo of the crispy coconut cupcake!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cupcake Crumble(d). Howzat for a name?
    Gorgeous pic!
    Poor mice.

    ReplyDelete
  4. But it looks like a cupcake cut in half! Sounds delicious too :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Banana chocolate crumble. Oh my word that sounds good.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Christy: thank you, thats what counts!

    yummychunklet: thank you

    ping: thats a nice name and practical since the cupcake is crumbled

    Lorraine: it was cut in half

    tori: thank you

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am sure that most of us only reading the name of your cupcake starts craving it! It sounds soo luscious (maybe apart from peanut butter: I have tried it so many times in sweet dishes, but as much as I love it in for example satay sauce, I am not a big fan in sweets...).
    I have already heard about the problems with tests. For example the medicine which is forbidden for pregnant women has often been only tested on pregnant animals (no one would dare now proposing tests to pregnant women, even if they agreed), which means for example that some drugs are given to pregnant women in France and not in Belgium because it depends how the health authorities see the tests' results.
    I have also heard the same for alcohol drinking during pregnancy: in case of moderate intake doctors imagine risks, but not all the risks and they are not sure about them because once again tests are impossible on humans (pregnant).

    ReplyDelete
  8. That might not look EXACTLY like a cupcake..but it DOES look delicious! It has some of my favorite dessert flavors in it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi three cookies,wish i can call you by your real name
    if the foodie scientists findings are true, then its bad news for me , because i simply love cooked meat, especially the burnt parts of a bbq.
    The walnut meringue bars look cool and yummy
    Would like to try out the chickpea tikka masala, they look appetizing with rice
    You mean those 4 ingredients?- sure manageable, actually I don’t store peanut butter and chocolate crumble ha ha ha, crispy coconut image looks so delicious and authentic- bookmarked with thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Whatever you call it, I'd call it fantastic. It looks so good, I would love one now with my morning coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my word girl! That picture of your cupcake and the description have my mouth watering. It looks and sounds amazing! Pure heaven!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks so much for stopping by and introducing me to your delicious blog!
    I look forward to future visits.

    Best,
    Bonnie

    ReplyDelete
  13. Those 'cupcakes' look out of this world amazing. I love the crispy aspect. Tikka masala is one of my favorite meals right now...so delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I just love that yummy spicy Chickpea Tikka Masala, which my daughter also made. Very nice presentation!
    As a matter of fact, I enjoy everything you feature from all the interesting, and great blogs, and sites. The desserts are incredible.
    I love how you arrange them so well, together!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Whatever you call them, the cupcakes loo amazing, especially the bit of peanut butter oozing out at the top.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What, you mean mice and humans aren't exactly the same?! WHAT?!

    ;)

    Love the look of that delicious delicious delicious slice at top!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sissi: thank you so much. The peanut butter can always be replaced by something else such as a fruit butter/jam. It is really tricky when things are tested on non-humans. The results can be interpreted either way and it is difficult to find the correct answer.

    Joanne: thank you

    Wan: I like charred meat as well, though I rarely eat it.

    Carol: thank you

    Kitchen Belleicious: thank you

    Bonnie: you are most welcome

    Caroline: thank you, tikka masala could easily become one of my favourites well

    Elisabeth: great minds think alike! And thanks for your kind words

    Sue: thank you

    Hannah: no, mice and humans aren't exactly the same because the scientist said so:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh, that cupcake looks irresistible! And not so much of a shocker that mice and humans don't react exactly the same...but too bad we may have some faulty health information due to this not so great science~

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow that Crispy Coconut Cupcake makes me drool a lot, great photo it shows how delicious it is

    ReplyDelete