By Joe Drozda and Bob Bley
Experts tell us that in September we lose about 1 hour and 17 minutes of daylight. In October, they say we lose another hour and 16 minutes. So with less heat from the sun, our mornings and evenings are colder. Here’s a tailgate riddle: What starts out cold, gets hot, and then ends up cold, even though its fire never goes out? The answer is a fall day of tailgating. So if you’re planning a fall tailgate party, you have to keep temperatures in mind. Early start times from 11 a.m. to noon require the tailgate chef to think about hot breakfast foods and hot drinks, such as coffee and cocoa. If tailgaters return at halftime, temperatures can warm drastically, requiring cold drinks. After the game it’s again time for hot foods and coffee for the drive home. Later starts, like 3 p.m., mean a typical warm weather pre-game meal and then a cold-weather snack after the game before driving home. When planning for an 8 p.m. start, expect cold and colder.
To help with those real late games here’s a list from Eat This Not That Magazine of foods that will keep one warmer:
- Caffeine drinks, hot or col,d raise body temps by releasing fatty acids from your body’s fat tissues.
- Lean meats that have iron which counteracts anemic issues like cold extremities of feet and hands.
- Complex carbohydrates like potatoes and lentils cause the body to work harder to break them down, unlike cakes and bread. This process increases body heat.
- Cumin generates just enough body heat to warm you, but not cause sweat like hot, spicy peppers. Sweat cools you.
- Ginger placed in meat dishes and soups enhances thermogenesis, which warms the body.
- Bananas add magnesium and B vitamin,s which regulate body temperature.
Here’s a great cumin dip recipe that has a little kick.
Cumin Yogurt Dip
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic crushed and diced
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
4 tablespoons sour cream
½ teaspoon salt (fine sea, plus more to taste)
¼ teaspoon cayenne
Preparation: Mash, peel and chop the garlic, then sprinkle it with a little sea salt and mash it to form a paste. In a medium bowl, stir to combine the yogurt, sour cream, garlic, ground cumin, salt and cayenne. Adjust all seasonings to taste.
Cover and chill to allow flavors to blend for at least 2 hours. Transfer the mixture to a seal-and-serve container and pack in your food cooler. At the tailgate, serve with vegetables and/or crackers. Make it more attractive by sprinkling a few whole cumin seeds on top (serves 12).
