Archive for July, 2007

I love spam. I’m not talking about pieces of unwanted email or blog comments. I’m of course talking about the canned meat product from Hormel Foods Corporation. It’s not just food, it’s a pop culture phenom.

For those living under a rock or countries where they don’t get the internet, Spam is Hormel’s brand of canned luncheon meat. It’s supposed to be a contraction of the words ’shoulder of pork and ham’. Other sources say it stands for ’spiced ham’.

But the name was actually coined by Kenneth Daigneau, who back in the 1930s won a naming contest by Hormel. It was said that market share was slipping, so they held a contest to name the product then known as ‘Hormel Spiced Ham’. What bothers me is why they needed the contest in the first place, if all they were going to name it is spam. I’m sure it needed a lot of creativity to go from ‘Hormel Spiced Ham’ to SPAM.

Spam is supposed to be chopped pork shoulder meat, ham, sugar, salt, water and the ever wholesome, all natural sodium nitrite. These ingredients are pre-cooked and packed into a can that is neither round or angular. I actually like this unnatural union of ingredients. I actually like how it tastes. I eat it, even if I actually think that its jest meaning ‘Something Posing As Meat’ could actually be justified.

So what is really in spam? How you ever wondered? Could we all been had? Some say its all left over animal parts. This includes the eyes, snouts, hooves, the face and all those gross parts. But if that is the case, then I have no problems with it. Those things are edible and in fact they are eaten as delicacies in my country. There are worse things you can eat than random animal parts.

All these remind me of the famous Monty Python sketch, where they have this cafe where everything in their menu has spam in it. It’s a funny sketch. But in the Philippines, we actually have a restaurant just like that. Everything has spam except the french fries and the hotdogs. It’s called Spam Jam, which when I hear make me think of pureed sweetened spam. Which come to think of it, actually sounds disgusting.

So even though I don’t know what the hell it is, I eat and actually like spam. Hope I don’t die from hypertension due to excess sodium in my blood. If I do, then you’re free to pry the SPAM can from my cold dead fingers.

I am craving for mussels. The truth is I have not had mussels in a long time. So this is one recipe I am hoping to do, once I get hold of some fresh mussels. Most mussels available in markets are either blue mussels or the New Zealand green-lipped variety.

When buying mussels, you should only get the live ones and you should ask the vendors where they were sourced. You should do this because the quality of shellfish is dependent on the water where it was grown.

Bacteria and red algae blooms in an area would make the shellfishes there unsafe for consumption. You just need to be updated with such occurrences, as shellfish is too delicious and good for you to avoid altogether. It provides Omega-3 fatty acids, zinc and protein without saturated fats.

• 60 pcs fresh mussels
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup mozarella or ‘quickmelt’ cheese grated
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Remove the ‘beard’ from the mussels by tugging it off or cutting with a knife. Place the mussels in a pot and let a slow stream of cold water run through them for about 45 minutes.
2. Steam mussels until shells open. Discard mussels that do not open. Remove the top shell that covers the meat. Arrange the open faced mussels on a baking tray.
3. In a saucepan, melt butter and saute garlic. Add flour and mix well. Stir in chicken stock and milk and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat when mixture thickens slightly.
4. Spoon white sauce onto mussels. Top with the cheese.
5. Bake at 350F until cheese melts. Garnish with chopped parsley.

The mussels and cheese in this recipe makes this dish rich in vitamin B. One of the many vitamin groups, vitamin B is a vital one, because of being composed of various related vitamins to perform body functions efficiently. It is a compound vitamin including cobalt which is a trace element and choline that can be easily obtained from egg yolk and animal liver. Sometimes, vitamin B supplements are used in combination with calcium supplements to ensure the adequate intake of both nutrient elements.