Winepairings

Moving Day

2008-12-30T19:48:00.001-05:00

I've moved: Kitchen Sojourn. I'll do a proper farewell post when I have the proper time.

More evidence on the dangers of high fructose corn syrup

2008-10-13T08:07:00.005-04:00

As the Corn Refiners Association continues their pr campaign, more media sources are beginning to pay attention, though probably not with the intended results. First up, NaturalNews.com reinforces high fructose corn syrup's main ingredient is corn. While the ads ask, "What's wrong with corn?" the answer might just be, "Plenty." Well here is another question that no one really thinks about.

Feds shutter pesticide testing program

2008-10-03T16:38:00.002-04:00

Photo credit: Shawn Econo The Bush administration closed a government program that has tested pesticide levels "in fruits, vegetables and field crops" for the past eighteen years. The White House states the $8 million price tag is too steep, according to The Seattle Times: Data from the 18-year-old Agricultural Chemical Usage Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Wednesday Newsbites for 10/01/2008

2008-10-01T15:26:00.005-04:00

photo credit: Left Hand Rotation Why you should eat fat Salon.com interviews Jennifer McLagan about her new book, Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes. In it she describes some of the benefits of eating animal fat over manufactured, polyunsaturated fats, and lingers on the succulent, savory taste fat brings to food. Just in time for World Vegetarian Day! Many

October 1 is world vegetarian day

2008-09-30T14:47:00.007-04:00

In celebration, eat a vegetarian! Just don't make it about speed because they're usually pretty nimble. Instead, use your meat-fueled endurance. If you stalk them patiently, they'll eventually tire and you can make your move. The North American Vegetarian Society has dubbed October 1 World Vegetarian Day to celebrate the start of Vegetarian Awareness Month, a time to be aware of all

Lovely conversation with Alice Waters

2008-09-29T16:24:00.001-04:00

From NYT: Why do you think involving children in growing food and preparing it can make such a big difference for kids? My solution is not to try to feed children in the same way that fast food nation does — which is to figure out a gimmick to get them to eat something. It’s to bring them into a whole relationship with food that’s connected to nature and our culture. No other country thinks

Spicy Cajun sausage with kale and maple bacon polenta

2008-09-29T11:06:00.007-04:00

Several days ago I bought some Cajun sausage. I wasn't thinking about it. In fact, I planned to get a pork tenderloin for roasting, but the sausage was there, all fatty and delicious, and I suffered some kind of pork fugue. I snapped back to reality, sausage in my cart, blinking in the produce section's harsh flourescent lights. I brought the sausage home, stashed it in the back of the

Friday fundamentals: meat rest

2008-09-26T15:12:00.005-04:00

Cooked meat has been through a lot. Exposure to heat excites cells, alters secondary and tertiary peptide bonds (science!) and denatures proteins. Makes them contract. It can be messy business and is why a freshly cooked, cut steak spills so much juice on your cutting board. To make sure that juice ends up where it's supposed to--your stomach--let cooked meat rest. By cooked I mean seared,

Mark Bittman: what's wrong with the food we eat

2008-09-25T13:28:00.005-04:00

A sobering talk from 2007: It makes me wonder how long a single cow could feed my family and whether or not that option is even open to me. I bet the answers are a long time and no. Thanks to Cooking up a Story

Food photography lessons from Vegan Yum-Yum

2008-09-25T09:27:00.004-04:00

A commenter asked me to a do a food photography tutorial. I'm honored by the request and still plan to put together a short film detailing some of my techniques. Until then, I'd like to direct you to a comprehensive food photography tutorial courtesy of Vegan Yum-Yum. An excerpt: Plan AheadDo as much as you possibly can ahead of time. Food should be photographed as soon as possible after

Let kids farm

2008-09-24T15:58:00.006-04:00

Beautiful sentiment from Honest Meat: I think it is dangerous for kids to live in sterilized worlds thinking that food comes from Safeway. I say, let kids ride pigs, let them jump up and down on hay trailers, let them gingerly collect warm eggs right out from under the hens rump, let them know how our food is produced and where it comes from. Let them know the people who produce the food, let

Genetically modified meat a-ok according to FDA

2008-09-24T15:22:00.003-04:00

From Gourmet's Politics of the Plate: There’s a chance that Aqua Bounty’s genetically modified (GM) fish will arrive at a supermarket near you within the next year—without a label indicating that you are about to serve your family GM seafood. Last week the Food and Drug Administration took a giant step toward allowing the meat of GM animals into the nation’s food supply when it released a

Pairing wine with vegetables

2008-09-23T11:50:00.004-04:00

In last week's Kitchen Window on NPR, Natalie MacLean provided advice for those who are looking to increase their vegetable intake while still enjoying wine with dinner. White wines generally pair better with vegetables than reds, as they often have complementary herbal, grassy aromas. My favorite white for veggies is sauvignon blanc, especially from New Zealand. Its aromas of asparagus,

Documentary film, Food, Inc., examines modern food production

2008-09-22T06:00:00.005-04:00

Via Serious Eats: The buzz at the Toronto Film Festival this month was all about food. The new documentary, "Food Inc.," premiered at the festival to rave reviews. Entertainment Weekly called it "an important movie, one that nourishes your knowledge of how the world works," the Los Angeles Times labeled it "a riveting cautionary tale," and Variety says it's "a civilized horror movie for the

Honey lime fish fillets with peppers and plantains

2008-09-19T10:54:00.008-04:00

This post originally appeared in the September issue of Satellite Magazine Summer ends this month. It's official. We're back in Florida, exotic locations forgotten, summer travels fading like so many old photographs. But being back in Florida doesn't mean an end to wonderful food. Florida has rich, diverse culinary traditions that range from Old South and West African traditions that

Truly perfect oatmeal

2008-09-14T21:47:00.003-04:00

Starbucks recently updated their breakfast menu. According to news sources, the new menu features items with fewer calories and more protein than their previous breakfast items, coffee cake and Rice Krispies' treats. The new menu contains the Chewy Fruit & Nut Bar, a Multigrain Roll, an Apple Bran Muffin and Perfect Oatmeal. The oatmeal is "finished with your choice of dried fruit, nut

Be mindful and plan your menu

2008-09-08T12:26:00.003-04:00

A brief, lovely post at The Kitchn offers the following: Speaking on a panel about the philosophy of Slow Food, [Carlo] Petrini, the movement's founder, exhorted us to "try every day to consume a little bit less." Hand in hand with over-consumption is waste, and we can start to tackle the problem by examining the contents of our own refrigerators. Dig out the "Jurassic Park rabbit" and stash

The cupcake's reign must come to an end

2008-09-07T08:30:00.006-04:00

photo credit: jek in the box While boozing recently in celebration of a friend's birthday party, the birthday girl reveled there would be cupcakes later. As I'm sometimes wont to do, I tiraded on the cupcake's criminality for about five, maybe ten minutes before a well-tuned waiter asked whether or not I needed another heffeweissen. "Yes, please," the party said in unison. I can get pretty

Corn Refiners Association tells us "Hey, it's ok in moderation."

2008-09-06T09:19:00.000-04:00

The Corn Refiners Association, "the national trade association representing the corn refining (wet milling) industry of the United States," has come out with a series of ads and a website aimed at reducing American's growing mistrust towards high fructose corn syrup: The commercials maintain a couple things. First, that Americans don't really know the effects high fructose corn syrup (HFC)

Wednesday news bites for September 3, 2008

2008-09-03T05:40:00.000-04:00

Photo credit: Bookgrl Farm to school programs improving quality of school lunch program Nutritiondata.com reports on a University of Minnesota effort to bring better foods to the nation's children by "introducing fresh local produce into school cafeterias..." It's a banner idea and one I think should be implemented everywhere. If Alice Waters can make it happen in Berkeley, then why not where

A new take on egg salad makes for a delicious, nutritious breakfast

2008-09-01T07:34:00.003-04:00

I love traditional breakfast foods. They're fantastic--fatty, sweet and so, so bad for you. One of life's fantastic thrills is breakfast for dinner. Who doesn't love it? Waffles with the nightly news. Eggs and bacon on an evening patio. But breakfast at breakfast time? Forget it. If it's a weekday, I have to go to work. And on the weekends I have other things to do. I like to get a

Stuffed Peppers - delicious, rustic fare in about 30 minutes

2008-08-29T06:01:00.006-04:00

Over two years ago I started paying more attention to cooking. Not recipes, but cooking. The way ingredients go together. The way flavors combine. Techniques for controlling heat and moisture. It's been an excellent ride, and here is where many might expect me to say that it's a ride now over. Not so. I often think about the value of cooking. What it's brought into my life and how the

Wednesday news bites for August 27, 2008

2008-08-27T05:55:00.009-04:00

Photo credit: ewanr To Eat Local, Kill Local The case of eating local meat often runs up against NIMBY syndrome (not in my back yard). If you want to do it right, however, you have to make some tough choices. Chris Cosentino and others speak out in an article in San Francisco Magazine. FDA: Irradiating Spinach, Lettuce OK to Kill Germs Cool. No, seriously. What else will it kill? You

Tandoori Chicken

2008-08-24T18:26:00.005-04:00

My monthly food column as it appeared in the August issue of Satellite Magazine When people think of national cuisines, they traditionally think of French, Italian or Chinese. These are mother nations, and many of the ingredients and techniques pioneered there spread throughout various regions and across the world's oceans. But India has some of the world's richest culinary traditions and is

Wednesday news bites for August 20, 2008

2008-08-20T05:56:00.000-04:00

Feed kids real food, not drugs Culinate.com tackles doctors' latest recommendations that kids get drugs to help them lower cholesterol. Culinate's shocking recommendation? Stop feeding kids chemicals and candy and give them some real food. Food for thought The American Conservative magazine suggests food culture is no longer just the concern of hippy liberals and their dirty farmer's markets.

Wednesday news bites for August 13, 2008

2008-08-13T05:35:00.002-04:00

Photo credit: una cierta mirada Obesity on the Kids' Menus at Top Chains What does it do to a kids 1,200-calorie-a-day diet when lunch weighs in at 1,020? The Center for Science in the Public Interest released a study that finds 93 percent of the top chains' kid's meals are over 430 calories, the recommended 1/3 of daily caloric intake for kids aged four through eight. Monsanto plots growth

Where the hell have you been?

2008-07-30T15:41:00.002-04:00

We’ve all heard the question, slinking in late at night, breath stinking of cigarettes and booze. That tender lump about the size and shape of a large class ring just peaking on the forehead. Or maybe hickeys blooming across your neck like rude, exotic flowers. Okay, some of us have heard it. Fine. I’ve heard it. It’s a question that doesn’t necessarily expect an answer, dripping as

Wednesday news bites for July 30, 2008

2008-07-30T08:50:00.005-04:00

Photo credit: bored-now Sense of Place: The Food of Florida The Kitchn provides recipes and thoughts on the foods of my home state, Florida. Making the most of your produce The Seattle Times provides tips and tricks to preserving your summer produce. Newspaper backlash Good food is so yesterday Culinate.com reports on the snarky tone food reporting has taken of late. Mississippi is the

A Taste Trip to Thailand (Pad Thai Noodles)

2008-07-23T05:42:00.005-04:00

My July food column as it appeared in Satellite Magazine This month we journey across the Pacific, leaving Peru and landing in Thailand to enjoy what is arguably the country’s most popular dish in the west, Pad Thai noodles. Pad Thai noodles is a traditional, single-pot dish with as many variations as there are people cooking it (one variant I found even called for ketchup). The secret is

Wednesday news bites for July 23, 2008

2008-07-23T05:28:00.001-04:00

Who Owns a River? Everyone DoesRumination on the Kings River. How to be a snob: drinking alcoholGOOD: "I taste a hint of blackberry." BAD: "The tang of Fruit Roll-Ups." As Price of Grain Rises, Catfish Farms Dry Up The New York Times looks at catfish farmers as an indicator of hardship for other food industries. Food Econ 101 Paul Roberts discusses the economics of food production and why

Wednesday news bites for July 16, 2008

2008-07-16T05:35:00.000-04:00

HFCS is now 'natural' New labeling reveals corn lobby's power. As food costs soar, it's back to basics for meal planners From growing their own to soups and stews, Americans battle the rising cost of food. Cutting Out the Middlemen, Shoppers Buy Slices of Farms Skipping grocery stores and markets, consumers are going straight to the source. Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks,

FoodGawker vs. Tastespotting

2008-07-03T05:36:00.005-04:00

When Tastespotting closed its doors, food bloggers everywhere gasped a singular question: "Where will we get our food porn?" Many also wondered how they could attract new readers. The Internet being what it is, however, several Tastespotting clones sprang up to take its place. Now the big guns hve gotten into the mix. SeriousEats has introduced Photograzing. Given SeriousEats' traffic,

Wednesday news bites for July 2, 2008

2008-07-02T05:58:00.003-04:00

Massive food news this week. These headlines are seriously just the tip of the ice berg. The Magic of Old World Wine An excellent article on the wonders of European wine, growers and the benefit of people fussy about microclimates. Record corn prices raise other food costs The economy, like the environment, is all interconnected. Get used to it. The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating Well,

Granola

2008-06-30T06:03:00.006-04:00

If you're like me, you get tired of the same breakfasts all the time. If you're like me you also avoid fast-food breakfasts like the plague (though they are way, way more delicious than the plague. Especially the Burger King Croissanwich). This weekend I decided to break out of my weekday doldrums of a bagel and a banana and use some of the oatmeal that's sitting on top of the fridge,

Wednesday news bites for June 25, 2008

2008-06-25T05:27:00.002-04:00

Teach your kids healthy eating habits with online games Does food need a story? It certainly helps Geenpeace's fish tails: supermarket no-nos A confusing report with a singular conclusion: our oceans are being over fished. Text your food queries Find out which fish are healthy to eat by texting the name of the fish to The Blue Ocean Institute (just don't ask Green Peace). a good trick for

Pan seared tilapia with shallots and bacon

2008-06-23T13:08:00.005-04:00

For a long time I thought tilapia was some kind of garbage fish. People talked about it with derision most often reserved for the Fillet-O-Fish or other generic whitefish battered and deep fried. But tilapia might be one of the better values currently in your local market's sea food section. It's cheap, low on the food chain, and farm raised, which makes it affordable, low in mercury and

Travel the World (one cuisine at a time)

2008-06-20T06:11:00.004-04:00

Satellite Magazine's June food column America has its burger and fries, Germany its schnitzel, Russia its borscht and vodka. Regions, too have their assocaited dishes. The American south has its okra, corn bread and ribs. New England has its clam chowder, and Texas and the American Southwest their Mexican-influenced cuisines. This is how we can travel--through food--and expand our horizons.

Time Magazine tackles obesity

2008-06-18T05:32:00.003-04:00

The June 23 issue of Time Magazine tackles obesity, America's number-one preventable disease. The issue examines School Cuisine, Overweight Children, and ways in which ethnicity, location and economic standing all contribute to the obesity problem: It's no secret that the U.S. has a crippling weight problem and that our children are hardly exempt. Rising obesity threatens to condemn a

Wednesday news bites for June 18, 2008

2008-06-18T05:09:00.003-04:00

The $100 kitchen Do you have an indispensable tool? Tomato trials Latest news from the continuing salmonella tomato saga. Putting meat back in its place Mark Bittman provides some practical advice on reducing the amount of meat you eat. Japan, seeking trim waists, measures millions Waist measuring in Japan becomes a mandatory part of the annual checkup for people between the ages of 40 and 74.

Wednesday news bites for June 11, 2008

2008-06-11T05:15:00.004-04:00

Summer Reading For the Food Obsessed I'd like to add On Food and Cooking, and Starting With Ingredients. What are some food books you all have liked? Salmonella scare halts tomato sales Again, the problem with singular sourcing Sustainable on a budget? Order starts with a clean kitchen Well, of course it does. You can't do anything if you're mired in clutter. For more on this topic, see my

Recipe 'deal breakers': quit complaining and just cook

2008-06-09T09:54:00.005-04:00

With the recent firestorm surrounding Kim Severson’s "Recipe Deal Breakers: When Step 2 Is 'Corral Pig,'" I was ready to hate the article. I was ready to cast Severson as a lazy whiner and rail against her unwillingness to go the extra mile, but it’s not as bad as all that because at one point she describes Melissa Steineger’s realization, [The recipes from Coyote Café cookbook] went unmade

Wednesday news bites for June 4, 2008

2008-06-04T06:24:00.002-04:00

Jamie Oliver calls for sex ban to get men cooking Jamie Oliver runs neck and neck with Gordon Ramsay for Crazy-ass British Chef award The Trouble with Teflon What you're cooking with could kill you? The World on a Plate: A Tour Through the History of America's Ethnic Quisine Denker, a professor and food writer, assembles oral histories of various immigrant endeavors in the food industries of

Wednesday news bites for May 28, 2008

2008-05-28T05:19:00.002-04:00

The Last Bite The collapse of the world's food system. Cooking with kids The school lunch revolution. (Serious Eats via KCRW's Good Food) The Great Sunflower Project Watch and record behavior of bees in your garden. Help scientists understand the challenges bees are facing. How to eat your vegetables: Five to seven servings a day? Tips on how to get more vegetables into your diet. Seasonal

Liking the Lentil

2008-05-27T05:32:00.007-04:00

This is a reprint of my May column as it appeared in Satellite Magazine Simplicity. Done right, nothing matches its beauty. And yet time and again we strive for the complicated. The fussy. I turn this month to a kind of proto food: the lentil. The small, disc-shaped bean has long been a staple food for many cultures because it’s packed with fiber, vitamin B1, iron, protein and many other

Out of touch

2008-05-19T10:23:00.002-04:00

On the road for a conference, which means I'm not in the kitchen. Road food so far has included ciabatta bread and brie from Shaw's grocery, sushi to go, Au Bon Pan's multigrain bagel, hummus and pita, and a metric ass-load of coffee. Dunkin' Donuts' sugary concoction is still my favorite, even though it's barely coffee by the time they're done.

Wednesday news bites for May 14, 2008

2008-05-14T05:08:00.003-04:00

Burger King stalls on increasing tomato pickers' salaries Seems they can't afford an extra penny per pound Burger King fires 2 after blog controversy Don't say nasty things about farm labor if you're currently involved in a labor dispute. Especially if it's over a penny Change we can stomach Small, diversified farming is the way to a sustainable future. Salmon gone, fishermen try to adapt to

Chickpea and feta salad (Thanks, Gordo)

2008-05-12T08:42:00.008-04:00

I've finally jumped on the Gordon Ramsay bandwagon. I'd heard about Hell's Kitchen, but hadn't dared let myself get sucked in. Until this season. Yes, the show is horrible. Yes, Ramsay is a caricature of himself. Yes, the contestants are, for the most part, hopeless saps who care more about fame and rubbing elbows with a star than about food or cooking. But one thing is clear, even

Friday fundamentals: walter, salt and green beans

2008-05-09T08:59:00.007-04:00

The importance of solid cooking fundamentals can't be overstated. They are the skills that enable a person to toss cook books and recipes and just be in the kitchen. To start, I thought I'd tackle salt, but salt is such a crucial, complex cooking component, I simply can't do it justice in a single blog post. It would probably take an entire book to even scratch the surface of salt's

Recipe tweak: an update on earthy, crunchy granola bars

2008-05-07T06:34:00.005-04:00

Some readers wrote to me with questions about the granola bar recipe, concerned there wasn't enough binding material to hold the mixture together. They were right, and I thank each one from the bottom of my heart for showing up, reading, and being an active participant in this food blog. I'm not a cook. Not really. I'm just a dad who likes making food and eating it with my wife and daughter

Wednesday news bites for May 7, 2008

2008-05-07T05:47:00.002-04:00

The agony of the food snob Being snobby about food isn't the mark of kitchen quality. Doing great work with the scraps at hand is what kitchen quality is really all about. Weekend cooking that's pleasurable -- and practical I like to cook on Saturday mornings, too. In Taco Truck Battle, Mild Angelenos Turn Hot A city rallies around a cultural icon--the taco truck. Mess with a city's food,

Michael Pollan lectures on food vs. nutrition

2008-05-06T08:51:00.005-04:00

Another in the wonderful At Google lecture series. Michael Pollan is one of the preeminent thinkers on food today and has earned accolades for his books, including The Omnivore's Dilemma and his latest, In Defense of Food.

Wednesday news bites for April 30, 2008

2008-04-30T05:35:00.004-04:00

Fry holder for your car: I'd like to point out that Wendy's fries packages require no extra equipment. They fit in standard cup holders just fine. Shopping solutions: Strategies for stretching your food dollar A wrap-up of recent news and online articles with practical advice about eating on the cheap Peak Water: Aquifers and Rivers Are Running Dry. How Three Regions Are Coping Like oil, we

2006 Rare Bird pinot noir

2008-04-29T12:04:00.004-04:00

Color: Like many a pinot noir, the Rare Bird pinot is a lustrous, translucent ruby fading to salmon at the edges Nose: Very fresh smelling with hints of cranberry, earth, greenery and slight flowery overtones Palate: Wonderful, light mouth feel with good but not strong tannins. Excellent flavors of fruit with no overpowering alcohol heat Finish: Sweeping and clean with few lingering

From Culinate: Rules for the home kitchen

2008-04-29T10:58:00.006-04:00

An excellent article and 8-item list (though I tend to hate n-item blog lists) from Eric Gower. Of note? Number 5: 5. Be fearless. Courage is crucial to cooking well. As in many areas of life, fear of doing things incorrectly induces paralysis; this is devastating in the kitchen, because we wind up being too hungry to deal and just go out, order in, or pull out the TJ’s quasimeal. But how is

Wednesday news bites for April 23, 2008

2008-04-23T05:47:00.002-04:00

A Drought in Australia, a Global Shortage of Rice Six years of drought have reduced Australia’s rice crop by 98 percent. "The collapse of Australia’s rice production is one of several factors contributing to a doubling of rice prices in the last three months — increases that have led the world’s largest exporters to restrict exports severely, spurred panicked hoarding in Hong Kong and the

Just in time: how to peel ginger

2008-04-23T05:36:00.001-04:00

From the fine folks at Chow.com.

Spicy ginger shrimp and grits

2008-04-22T08:54:00.005-04:00

Shrimp and grits has long been a staple meal in the American south, marrying West Africa cooking methods with ingredients introduced by the American Indians. From the port town of Charleston it spread down the coast and rimmed the Gulf of Mexico. And if you’re not familiar with grits, you’re missing out. This recipe turns the traditional meal on its head, opting for a tempura-like ginger

World food shortage has Haitians eating mud to stave off hunger

2008-04-21T15:59:00.004-04:00

From the New York Times: Saint Louis Meriska’s children ate two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal recently and then went without any food the following day. His eyes downcast, his own stomach empty, the unemployed father said forlornly, “They look at me and say, ‘Papa, I’m hungry,’ and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry.” That anger is palpable across the

Wednesday News bites for April 16, 2008

2008-04-16T05:50:00.003-04:00

Is high-fructose corn syrup natural? According to the FDA, obviously caving to lobby pressure, it just might be. CASH COWS & COWBOY STARTER KITS BILL MOYERS JOURNAL teams up with the PBS series EXPOSÉ: AMERICA'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS to follow the trail of Washington Post reporters who uncovered more than $15 billion in "wasteful, unnecessary, or redundant expenditures" that have flowed from

Visions of past futures: Kitchen, 1999

2008-04-15T14:26:00.001-04:00

My favorite futures are the ones already imagined:

Cheap-ass Wine: 2005 Bulletin Place Shiraz

2008-04-12T13:27:00.004-04:00

It's tax season. If you played your cards right (or are crooked), then it's smooth sailing and Stag's Leap for you. If not--well, there's always some cheap-ass wine: Color: Deep, blood red fading to purple at the edges. Nose: Berries! A little rhubarb, a little cranberry and a little greenery or vegetation. Just a hint of smoky leather. Palate: This is a big wine with rich berry favors--

Earthy, Crunchy Granola Bars

2008-04-10T05:29:00.008-04:00

This is a reprint of my food column as it appeared in the April issue of Satellite Magazine Note: I have modified this recipe slightly. In my recipe tweak, I call for a different honey-to-sugar ratio. I've also updated the quantities here Have you been outside lately? Spring is in full swing--great blue bowl of a sky, wonderful weather, and everywhere flowers are in full bloom. This is

Wednesday news bites for April 9, 2008

2008-04-09T05:43:00.004-04:00

Grains Gone Wild - Paul Krugman (NYT) on the policies and practices that sent food prices through the roof. U.S. food shoppers hit the highway to save a buck - Reuters on what some are doing about it. Sadly, buying local isn't among the implemented strategies. Monsanto's Harvest of Fear - Monsanto makes even the smallest farmers pay a heavy price for disobedience. New food safety label

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

2008-04-07T06:02:00.009-04:00

March brought some significant things to Gainesville. Namely, perfect weather: blue skies and warm sun. The days hovered just under 80 degrees with light breezes and skies dotted with white, puffy clouds. But recently something's happened. Our gorgeous spring weather was replaced by dim, gray skies and a constant, spitting rain. Nothing to do but stay indoors, curl up with a good book and

Simultaneous processing: another reason you should learn to cook

2008-04-03T06:25:00.010-04:00

This is the second post in an irregular series of blog entries about the value cooking can bring to our lives. The first is about clutter and how it can affect our thinking. I hope to convince more people to cook. I've learned a lot by cooking: about food, the environment, and myself. Since I began to cook seriously, I've started looking at time in a different manner. I tend to think of

Wednesday news bites

2008-04-02T05:24:00.003-04:00

As Jobs Vanish and Prices Rise, Food Stamp Use Nears Record High prices for food staples mean record numbers are turning to government assistance programs so they can eat. Food Prices Rise, Farmers Respond US Farmers contemplate a switch from corn to soybeans to help alleviate the global food shortage. Michael Ruhlman on chefs who blog Chefs engaging in the conversation. Blogs can help

A recipe's evolution: braised pork ribs with sweet potato polenta

2008-04-01T13:29:00.009-04:00

I love pork. I don't think that's any kind of secret. Bacon, sausage, ribs--I even like pork chops, though I think people often overcook them, and they end up a little dry (the pork chops, not the people). Since last year I've been trying to modify the slightly Asian-influenced braised beef ribs and think I've finally got a solid recipe that works well for pork. I like to imagine this is

Tasting Notes: 2005 Paringa Shiraz, South Australia

2008-03-30T20:39:00.004-04:00

Color: Deep, inky red. Nearly purple Nose: Definite fruits, such as cherry, and a lingering sweet smell not unreminiscent of grape soda. Underlying earth, pepper and spice scents create a full wine experience. Palate: Big, bold wine. Some alcohol heat, but a solid structure with well-formed tannins and strong fruit flavors. This wine isn't for the timid, but it's perfectly drinkable and not

Charlie Rose interviews Thomas Keller

2008-03-28T11:57:00.001-04:00

America's great interviewer with one of America's great chefs.

Cleanliness is next to...

2008-03-28T09:30:00.007-04:00

This post marks the beginning of an irregular series of blog entries about the other things cooking can do for us. I hope to convince more people to cook. I've learned a lot by cooking: about food, the environment, and myself. I often think about transferable skills. It's probably a holdover from my days as a professional resume writer. I had to wrangle people's previous work history into

News bites: Kentucky Grilled Chicken? It'll never fly

2008-03-26T06:31:00.003-04:00

Will KFC grilled chicken be as successful as fried? (from Reuters) -- in a word? No. Skipping Cereal and Eggs, and Packing on Pounds (from NYT) -- Teens who skip breakfast gain weight (as if we didn't already know this) Bourdain's thoughts on the Food Network (from Food Network) -- looks to be a bit in the sauce, but still entertaining Smart Eating at Work - Part 3 (from NYT) -- top-10 snacks

Cheap-ass Wine: 2003 Three Thieves Syrah

2008-03-24T16:53:00.003-04:00

Sometimes you just don't have the money: rent's due, you had to gas the Hummer, or the heroin addiction is acting up again. Whatever the reason, you find yourself forced to cut back on the wine budget and navigate the world of value-priced wines. It can be a tricky business. The wines I normally review on this site hover in the ten to fifteen dollar range. They're mostly good, with some

New York Times reports on 'Fat Pack'

2008-03-20T05:47:00.006-04:00

Photo credit: Dogwelder The New York Times today reports that people who eat a lot--especially those who eat out--get fat. Shocker. The journalists, bloggers, chefs and others who make up the Fat Pack combine an epicure’s appreciation for skillful cooking with a glutton’s bottomless-pit approach. Cramming more than three meals into a day, once the last resort of a food critic on deadline, has

Make your own pizza

2008-03-16T08:56:00.007-04:00

Recently the local supermarket chain began offering pre-made pizza dough in their bakery. I'm not talking about the Boboli pizza disc or some other par-baked monstrosity. I'm talking about real dough with flour and yeast that you can take home and knead yourself. Last weekend, that's exactly what I did, and I came away with a fantastic sausage pizza done to absolute perfection. Bagged

Fried Green Tomatoes

2008-03-07T18:59:00.008-05:00

Food column as it appeared in the March issue of Satellite Magazine While most of the nation must wait until August or September for in-season tomatoes, we get to enjoy fresh, local tomatoes for much of the year, including spring. Tart, sweet and complex in flavor, local tomatoes are worlds better than the tomatoes you'll often find at the supermarket. Growers in other states and countries

The American predicament: fast food, nutritionally bereft

2008-03-03T06:04:00.000-05:00

This food thing is new to me. I've always enjoyed cooking, but only over the past two years have I really paid attention to how food works and how much better it can be when you use fresh, natural ingredients. It's something I've been talking about a lot at work, much to the chagrin, I would imagine, of my colleagues. Michael Ruhlman (I'm beginning to sound like such a fanboy) rants this week

From the ashes: Potato cakes with Parmesan and parsley

2008-02-25T09:20:00.000-05:00

I recenly finished Michael Ruhlman's Making of a Chef and have made it about half-way through part I in Soul of a Chef. One point Ruhlman returns to over and over is a cook's ability to fix something ruined (all the way until it's burnt, from which there is no return)--on the fly, under pressure. According to many instructors at the Culinary Institute of America, according to Ruhlman, it is

USDA issues massive beef recall

2008-02-18T05:27:00.001-05:00

The USDA has issued the nation's largest beef recall. A slaughterhouse that has been accused of mistreating cows agreed Sunday to recall 143 million pounds of beef in what federal officials called the largest beef recall in U.S. history. Keith Williams, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman, said investigators have found no cases of illness related to the recalled meat. But Dick Raymond

Puff Pastry with Milk Chocolate Sauce

2008-02-15T08:07:00.000-05:00

February food column as it appeared in Satellite Magazine Let's assume for a moment that Valentine's day wasn't created by card makers to get them through the lean period from Christmas to mother's day. Let's assume you're not going to spend Valentine's day in a bleak, cramped apartment listening over and over to "If You Don't Cry" by The Magnetic Fields. Let's assume you want to establish

2004 Lavradores de Feitoria Vinhos de Quinta S.A.

2008-02-14T16:30:00.001-05:00

Color: a deep ruby color with slight purple to lavender at the edges Nose: Strong, jammy fruits with hints of blueberry syrup and the slightest of grassy overtones Palate: Lithe mouth feel with excellent structure. Not heavy on the flavors and comes with the characteristic minerality of many old-world wines. Good, dark-fruit flavors. Finish: Excellent finish. Rich smokiness and a hint of

The Holidays are Over

2008-01-18T08:26:00.000-05:00

January food column, as it appeared in Satellite Magazine: The holidays are over. For you, maybe it started with the errant Tootsie Roll around Halloween. Maybe you went with a Krackle bar, or maybe you decided to go high-end and demolished a pyramid of Roche ganaches. Chances are, it didn't stop there. The leftover Skittles and Snickers got you through to Thanksgiving. You sat at some familiar

Ensaios FP Tinto

2008-01-15T09:02:00.000-05:00

Food lets us travel. From China to Vietnam, from India through Turkey and into Hungary, from Germany To France (with a detour through Italy), when we eat certain foods we know where we are. Or where we wish to be. It's no accident, either. The foods we most often associate with place are those foods that can be grown easily and are (or were) plentiful. So it is with wine. The French call

Make time for food

2008-01-04T12:37:00.001-05:00

The fine folks at Lifehacker have provided a link to Michael Pollan's Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters. Among them: 9. Eat food from animals that eat grass. 10. Cook, and if you can, grow some of your own food. 11. Eat meals and eat them only at tables. Interesting to note that Lifehacker's Kevin Purdy bemoans (however briefly) the time it takes to cook. This is nonsense. I get home

Buying local not as easy for some

2008-01-04T08:20:00.001-05:00

Today's Morning Edition on NPR brings us a story of local distribution. Logistics is something many people forget when they consider buying local. Many times, farmers must truck their produce to a central distribution center, run by wholesalers, where it is weighed, packaged and shipped to buyers and markets across the nation. The problem, when it comes to buying locally, is the Farmer's

Potato and Leek Soup

2007-11-19T15:46:00.000-05:00

A quick and dirty take on Amy Finley's Leek and Potato soup found on the Food Network site. Ingredients:Two tablespoons of butter Two medium-sized leeks (about 1 lb each) Four medium-sized yukon gold potatoes (the original recipe calls for russet, but I like the smoother finish and higher starch content of the yukons) Approximately 3/4 carton of chicken stock (@ 28oz) 1/2 pint heavy cream Salt

Elements of Cooking

2007-11-14T09:38:00.000-05:00

I just came from Michael Ruhlman's second blog, Elements of Cooking. It's based in part on his latest book, The Elements of Cooking, which I'm sure is available at your local book seller, but will also be available soon from Ruhlman's own site, Ruhlman.com. I'm excited about the book, and the site has just made it onto my permanent links section (over there, on the right). Why? Because it's

I must see King Corn

2007-10-19T11:09:00.000-04:00

Michael Ruhlman, noted author and Anthony Bourdain's arch on-screen enemy, has posted a brief note about a new documentary, King Corn. I've not paid much attention to corn in general, but I've tried to be more alert to high fructose corn syrup (which, it turns out, is in everything). From Ruhlman's description, though, the problem goes much deeper than that: It’s an excellent and entertaining

World Health Organization's guidelines for child nutrition

2007-10-05T13:31:00.000-04:00

According to Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig, the United States pressured the W.H.O. into recommending a child's daily caloric intake should be one-quarter sugar. That's a lot of sugar.

Savory and Sweet Pumpkin Soup

2007-10-04T08:31:00.000-04:00

October marks a transition. A transition to fall after September's equinox. A transition from lush green to spare orange. It's a harvest month. A time when autumn's vegetables supplant summer’s fruits and berries. Ask people what they associate with October, and many will say Halloween and its requisite pumpkins. But pumpkins can be used for more than just jack-o-lanterns. You can use

Eric Asimov provides 10 reds for under $10 a piece

2007-10-01T16:38:00.000-04:00

New York Times columnist Eric Asimov gives us a list of 10 excellent wines priced at under $10 a piece. I try not to spend more than $10, ever. If pressed, I'll spend up to $15. But for the most part, I've been very happy with the wines I get for about $10 a piece. Eric's list: Casa Cadaval Portugal Ribatejano , $8.99, *** Padre Pedro 2002 Domaine de l’Ameillaud France , $9, ** ½ Vin de

Garlic Chicken paired with Espelt Sauló

2007-10-01T11:22:00.000-04:00

I love to cook. There are few feelings better than plugging the iPod into my kitchen speaker rig, pulling out ingredients, and peeling that first garlic clove. Even better when I don’t have to worry about making up a recipe or following along in some book. Just the food, counter, pots and pans. And music. This past Sunday was pretty hectic for me. There’s just a lot to do to get ready for

Spiraly goodness from Korea

2007-09-28T08:47:00.000-04:00

Immediate disclaimer: I have never eaten this snack and can make no claims about its deliciousness. But damn, it just looks delicious. From the blog, Super Local: totally forgot i had this until i was reminded by the lovely shezz. what a crazily amazing way to present (& cook) a potato! came dusted with a fine cheese powder, a bit like the stuff you find on Twisties. quite yum, like a one

Simple tips for healthier food shopping

2007-09-26T13:14:00.000-04:00

Allrecipes.com (via LifeHacker) provides a list of tips and tricks to buying healthier food in the grocery store. The most helpful? 7. Buy in season. Sure, it’s tempting to buy strawberries in December, and once in a while that’s fine. But fresh fruit and vegetables are best when purchased in season, meaning they’ve come from relatively close to home. They often cost less, are tastier, and

The perfect grilled cheese sandwich

2007-09-17T09:00:00.001-04:00

Many people are troubled by grilled cheese. Such a simple sandwich, yet the complaints are myriad: my cheese didn't melt. The bread burned. It doesn't taste as good as mom used to make. The simplest fix for grilled cheese woes? Lower the temperature and use butter. Lots and lots of delicious butter. Set a pan over medium heat Give it plenty of time to heat up Meanwhile, get two

Simply French

2007-09-01T14:28:00.001-04:00

Many people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Those people are right. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, we're lucky if we have time to toss a handful of granola into a tub of vanilla yogurt during the week, and on weekends, no one wants to spend all morning in the kitchen. We have to do things, see people, or crawl back into bed.French toast is

Simple snacks for afternoon grazing

2007-08-05T20:02:00.000-04:00

I love snacks. They're usually delicious and make for perfect grazing on a long, hot Sunday afternoon. One of my favorite snacks is chips and salsa. It's easy, can be wonderfully healthy, and is just the kind of refreshing snack to help stave off the crushing Florida heat. The other snack I decided try is fried shrimp (fried shrimp!). Not first on my list of snack foods, but surprisingly

Recipe for disaster

2007-08-03T18:41:00.003-04:00

From The Ninja (capital "T", capital "N") I'll be back with new recipes soon; I swear

KFC's Famous Bowls, Patton Oswalt style

2007-07-30T11:18:00.000-04:00

In November, KFC introduced it's now-famous Famous Bowls. I wrote up a quick post outlining my thoughts on the novelty food item. Now Patton Oswalt's weighed in on the matter, and he's funnier and more pointed than I could ever be. Worth watching:

Farm Fresh Recipes

2007-07-05T20:40:00.000-04:00

This post originally appeared in Satellite MagazineFresh matters. You can ask any cook worth her salt and she’ll tell you the same thing. Fresh, whole ingredients impart even the simplest dishes with deep, rich flavor. However, since most grocery store produce travels an average of 1,500 miles to get from the farm to your plate, getting fresh produce can sometimes be a challenge. Lucky for

A summertime twist on steak and potatoes

2007-07-02T09:31:00.001-04:00

Summertime in America: a time when people turn off their televisions and head to the beach, backyard pool, or roof-top lawn chair. It's a time when attention turns to swimsuits and suntans, and families across the nation fire up their grills for the most primal of cooking methods: open flame.But how many burgers can one person eat? How many times can we turn to hot dogs, potato salad and