Onion Straws/Rings/Fingers/Shoelaces - whatever you want to call them

This post is dedicated to the moments in life when you just can't get enough fat and grease in your diet (to quote from Steel Magnolias). Today was my day for that :) I'm surprised there were any left to even take this picture - my roommate and I made these today and couldn't stop eating them. We'd put them in the oil, take them out, and put more in. When those were ready to come out there weren't any left from the batch before. You marinate the onions in buttermilk for at least an hour or two before you fry them up (as for me, I marinated them for two days - a little unnecessary, but oh so good). Here's the recipe:

PW’s Onion Straws
1 to 2 large onions
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 scant tablespoon salt
Lots of black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Canola Oil

Slice the onions very thin (you should be able to see the knife through the onion as you are slicing). Place in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk for at least one hour. Don't worry if they aren't completely submerged in it, but be sure they are coated. Next add flour to a bowl, add a scant of salt (which is just a little less than a tablespoon), then add your pepper - add a lot of pepper - don't restrain yourself. Next add the cayenne pepper - this is the ingredient that makes it taste so great - so don't be scared to add it - you won't even feel the burn with this amount. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Grab a handful of onions, throw into the flour mixture, tap to shake off excess, and PLUNGE into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes and remove as soon as golden brown. Repeat until onions are gone. Eat before your family sees them. Repeat with another onion, because they’ll be really mad they didn’t get any.

Trans Fats

I have been learning a few interesting things lately about trans fats and since I haven't had time in my busy life to put on my beaner baker apron I thought I would share with you a few of these things. I mean, why not - maybe one of you has been thinking a lot about trans fats wishing you could know more. Who knows.
To quote my Fitness for Life book (Concepts of Physical Fitness 14th Edition, Corbin&Corbin, Welk&Welk) there has been a change in labeling laws in 2006 which has "led to some additions to labels. Food manufacturers are now required to list trans fat content on the Nutrition Facts portion of food labels. This action was prompted by the clear scientific evidence that trans fats are more likely to cause atherosclerosis and heart disease than are other types of fat...The FDA estimates that, through greater awareness and changes in food products, the labeling regulations will help prevent 600 to 1,200 cases of coronary heart disease and 250 to 500 deaths each year." Fairly interesting I thought. I was surprised I didn't know this earlier. Did anybody else know that they began to label trans fats on food labels? Who knew!
Well, if you had me beat and already knew this, here is a fact that you may not know: if your food label says that there are zero grams trans fats per serving in your favorite bag of Gardetto's or spoonful of Crisco, it doesn't necessarily mean that there are NO trans fats in them. It means that there is less than one gram per tablespoon. Okay, so 1 gram is about the weight of a paper clip - less then one gram may not seem like a lot - but is it??? They are allowed to round up or down so there may be 1/2 a gram of trans fats in a serving still being able to say it is a trans fat free food. If you are not sure if your food item is TRULY free of trans fats then check out the label - another word for trans fats is hydrogenated fats. So that is the trick to knowing if your food item is truly trans fat free.
Here are examples of what this means. I took a bag of handy dandy Scooby-Doo baked graham cracker sticks and clicked away:

A food company can market a product saying it is trans fat free

Yet it still contains trans fats - the serving size was just adjusted so that the math added up to 0 grams in that serving. So watch your serving sizes - if you are eating way more than the recommended serving size - you are more than likely getting your unrecommended daily dose of trans fats.
If you really want to be sure your food is completely free of trans fats, check out this link http://www.lilorbits.com/unimatic/ where you can get your very own Unimatic Machine - now who doesn't need one of those. Just give Shaq a call and he'll have it shipped to your door in no time. What a nice guy! Just be sure to call the right number if you live in Minnesota - they might mistake you for being a part of the U.S.A.