[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/03/Popcorn-Nutrition.mp3[/podcast] There’s nothing quite like the smell of popcorn. It makes you think of movie theatres, the circus, the midway. It makes you long for a handful. Or two. Or better yet, a whole bucket. And best of all, just this week some research results were released that indicate popcorn is also a very healthy …
Tag: food
Salt-tolerant wheat
[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/03/Salt-Tolerant-Wheat.mp3[/podcast] Having grown up on the prairies, first in Texas, then in Saskatchewan, I’ve seen, my whole life, the patches of white where nothing grows, out in the middle of the fields. And like most other prairie folk, I’ve tended to call them “alkali.” Fact is, though, that most of them, at least in Saskatchewan, …
Steamed-Rice Mommy’s Coming to Town
While looking for something entirely different in my computer files (The Mixed-Up Files of Edward C. Willett, which would be a great title for a book if someone hadn’t already kind of gotten there first), I came across this audio recording from a couple of years ago, when my daughter was seven. Ladies and gentlemen, …
Blue’s clues
[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/02/Blue-Cheese.mp3[/podcast] I love blue cheese. It hasn’t always been so. As a child, I was of course immersed in the done-to-death running gags of the cartoon world, where smelly cheese (always Limburger, for some reason) seemed to be thought of as a sure-fire laugh riot. Outside of the cartoon world, I simply wasn’t exposed to …
A half-billion years of irritation
Just a couple of years ago, I wrote a column about the advent of tearless onions that included some background on why onions make us cry in the first place. Ordinarily I wouldn’t revisit a topic quite so soon, but you know how it is with science: things change fast, and just this week there …
The Willetts on Wine: Wine – it’s what’s for dinner
Continuing the run-up to the release of the spring issue of Fine Lifestyles Regina, here’s “The Willetts on Wine,” the wine column penned by my wife, Margaret Anne, and myself, from winter issue of FLR, in which it premiered. Eventually there’ll be a dedicated Willetts on Wine website to replace the old Blogger blog we …
Blame your brain for overeating
[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/12/Why-We-Overeat.mp3[/podcast] Put on a few extra pounds over Christmas? Wonder why you feel compelled to eat half a box of chocolates half an hour after finishing your second plate of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy? Feel a little guilty? Well, new research offers clues to one of the most baffling aspects of the eternal …
The mathematics of pizza slicing
[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/12/Pizza-Slicing.mp3[/podcast] It’s almost Christmas, and Christmas means food: turkey, dressing, candy canes, oranges, cranberries, chocolate, and, of course, pizza. (OK, maybe pizza is not the most traditional of foods, but it’s still a popular holiday choice, so humor me.) Pizzas normally come pre-sliced. The question is, and I’m sure you’ve asked yourself this a lot, …
Rob Fuller: from globetrotting chef to Regina restauranteur
As I’ve mentioned, I’m the new editor for Fine Lifestyle Regina magazine; but before I took on that job, I wrote two pieces as a freelancer for their first two issues. Here’s the one that appeared in the premiere Spring 2009 issue, about chef Rob Fuller… *** Regina Chef Rob Fuller didn’t exactly grow up …
Children’s tastes in food
When I was a kid, my mother will confirm, I was a picky eater, the sort of kid who ordered a hamburger and fries at a Chinese restaurant, hated to have different kinds of food touching each other on the plate, and wouldn’t touch spinach, broccoli or Brussels sprouts with a ten-foot fork. My own …
Molecular gastronomy
The terms “soft condensed matter physics, biochemistry, and molecular biology” are not usually associated by the average person with “bread, cheese fondue, and the mystery of milky sambuca,’ but as Rachel Ehrenberg recently pointed out in Science News, they should be. That’s because (and if you watch the Food Network, this won’t come as a …
Popcorn
Download the audio version.Get my science column weekly as a podcast. *** There’s been a lot of attention paid to the movies this past week due to the various awards handed out between old clips of previous awards being handed out that aired on TV Sunday night. Which got me thinking about the food that …
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Episode 165: Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes – A Fifth of the Story
A chat with author, podcaster, and blogger Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes about her new spy thriller, A Fifth of the Story Websitedrkatherinehayes.com Facebook@authordrkatherinehayes Instagram@authordrkatherine X@khutch0767 Dr. Katherine Huthcinson-Hayes’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for A Fifth of the StoryAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book A fascinating thriller of espionage that takes you into the secretive world of the CIA… -
Episode 164: Kristen Ciccarelli – Heartless Hunter
A chat with New York Times bestselling YA author Kristen Cicarelli about Heartless Hunter, The Crimson Moth Book 1, a “dangerously romantic Scarlet Pimpernel-inspired fantasy.” Websitekristenciccarelli.com Facebook@AuthorKristenCiccarelli Instagram@kristenciccarelli Pinterest@kciccarelli Kristen Ciccarelli’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Heartless HunterAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Enemies-to-lovers doesn’t get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling… -
Episode 163: Sebastien de Castell – Play of Shadows
A chat with award-winning fantasy author Sebastien de Castell about Play of Shadows, Book 1 of Court of Shadows, set in the world of his popular Greatcoats series. Websitedecastell.com X@decastell Facebook@decastell Sebastien de Castell’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Play of ShadowsAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first… -
Episode 162: Lyn McGinnis – Amarel Mountain
A chat with author Lyn McGinnis about Anu Awakes, an epic fantasy series, and the most recent release in that series, Book 2, Amarel Mountain. Websiteanuawakesseries.com Bluesky@anuawakes Goodreads Instagram@anuawakes Lyn McGinnis’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Amarel MountainAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Descendants of the Tolku of the Primary Epoch, the Koru, Yakku and Yelda, now… -
Episode 161: Jared N. Michaud – Brightstar
A chat with new author Jared N. Michaud about his upcoming YA science fiction novel Brightstar, first book in the Energematric6 space adventure series. Websiteenergematrice6.com Facebook@Energematrice6 X@Energematrice6 Instagram@jarednmichaud Jared N. Michaud’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for BrightstarAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Brightstar is the beginning of an epic space-adventure series that introduces readers to Nate, a… -
Episode 160: Breakfield & Burkey – Enigma Tracer
A chat with the writing team of Charles Breakfield and Rox Burkey about their long-running techno-thriller series, Enigma, and Enigma Tracer, first book in their new Enigma Heirs trilogy. Websiteenigmabookseries.com Facebook@TheEnigmaSeries X@EnigmaSeries@1rburkey Instagram@enigmabookseries YouTube Amazon Links for Engima TracerAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book The clock is ticking … can Gracie uncover the truth? Phillip Pliant is… -
Episode 159: Steve Truitt – The Mindset Chronicles
A chat with author and former television host Steve Truitt about his new science fiction novel series, The Mindset Chronicles. Websitestevetruitt.com Facebook@AuthorSteveTruitt Amazon Links for The DeletionAmazon.comAmazon.ca Steve Truitt’s Amazon Page About the Book In a world where artificial intelligence has become an integral part of daily life, the sudden death of all AI sends… -
Episode 158: Danièle Cybulskie – Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for a Modern World
A chat with noted medievalist Danièle Cybulskie about her new book, Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for a Modern World. Websitedanielecybulskie.com X/Twitter@5minmedievalist Facebook@5MinMedievalist Instagram@5minmedievalist YouTube@5MinMedievalist Amazon Links for Chivalry and CourtesyAmazon.caAmazon.com Danièle Cybulskie’s Amazon Page About the Book Medieval people are often portrayed as having poor hygiene and table manners—licking their knives or throwing chicken… -
Episode 157: Marie Brennan – The Market of 100 Fortunes (Legend of the Five Rings Book 3)
A chat with Hugo-nominated author Marie Brennan about her Legend of the Five Rings trilogy, which just wrapped up with The Market of 100 Fortunes. Websiteswantower.com Bluesky Patreon Amazon Links for The Market of 100 FortunesAmazon.caAmazon.com Marie Brennan’s Amazon Page About the Book Enthralling fantasy mystery from the world of Legend of the Five Rings as two… -
Episode 156: Douglas Smith – The Lost Expedition (The Dream Rider Saga, Book 3)
A chat with Canadian author Douglas Smith about his young adult fantasy trilogy The Dream Rider Saga, which has just culminated in Book 3, The Lost Expedition. Websitesmithwriter.com Facebook@WritingtheFantastic X/Twitter@smithwritr Instagram@douglassmithwriter Amazon Links for The Lost ExpeditionAmazon.caAmazon.com Douglas Smith’s Amazon Page About the Book The Thrilling Conclusion to the Multi-Award-Winning Trilogy Will is the Dream…
