Cooking Out Loud

English Muffins!

2011-11-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

It's gyro, rhymes with hero

2011-10-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Pita

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

11/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon salt

31/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir to blend. Let the yeast stand until foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the salt. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough gathers into a ball; this should take about 4 minutes.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it's smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Place a large pizza stone on the lower oven rack, preheat the oven (and stone) to 500 degrees F.

Punch the dough down, divide it into 8 pieces, and gather each piece into a ball; keeping all of them lightly floured and covered while you work. Allow the balls of dough to rest, covered, for 15 minutes so they will be easier to roll out.

Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a circle that is about 8-inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Make sure the circle is totally smooth, with no creases or seams in the dough, which can prevent the pitas from puffing up properly. Cover the disks as you roll them out, but do not stack them up. Slide one pita round at a time on the hot pizza stone and bake for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the bread puffs up like a balloon and is pale golden. Watch closely; they bake fast. Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool for 5 minutes; they will naturally deflate, leaving a pocket in the center. Wrap the pitas in a large kitchen towel to keep them soft.

Gyro meat

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground pork
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.

Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.

To cook in the oven as a meatloaf, proceed as follows:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

To cook on a rotisserie, proceed as follows:

Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of 2 overlapping pieces of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long. Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.

Preheat the grill to high.

Place the meat onto the rotisserie skewer. Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Tabbouli

Ingredients

1 cup water

1 cup fine cracked wheat

1 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

1/2 cup minced fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup finely chopped green onion

3 tomatoes, diced

2 cucumbers, peeled,seeded and diced

1/3 cup olive oi l

1/3 cup lemon juice, or to taste

1 teaspoons sea salt

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, pour the water over the cracked wheat and cover, let stand about 20 minutes until wheat is tender and water is absorbed. Add the chopped herbs and vegetables and toss with the mix. Combine the oil, lemon juic e, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to wheat mixture and mix well. Chill.

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups Mediterranean-style yogurt, (may substitute with conventional yogurt)
1 large English cucumber (peeled, shredded and drained)
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 tablespoon mint, chopped
1 tablespoon dill, chopped
1 ounces lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

To Prepare the Yogurt: Line strainer with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Bowl should support strainer so it does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Put the yogurt in the strainer loosely covered, and let it drain overnight in the refrigerator.Discard the liquid and use the strained yogurt as directed.

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight before serving. Serve with pita.

You have to shop the sales

2011-10-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

The reason we ended up having a New York strip roast was because Felton's Market in Plant City had them for $2.99 a pound.
We spent about $37 for a 12-pound, whole boneless New York strip. We couldn't have gone out to dinner and had steak for what we paid for the couple of big roasts and several steaks I cut from it.

This is how I always shop, I read the advertisements we get in the mail or look for them online and buy what is on sale. It's a good way to stock up on items like this NY strip, that you can keep in the freezer for special occasions, or stock up things you use often, like boneless, skinless chicken breasts, when they are most affordable. This only works if you remember to use what's in your freezer though.

I think I have found a way to inspire myself to post at least once a week. I am going to go through the sales fliers and fix a meal from one of the better deals of the week and try to come up with a recipe I haven't posted before.

Most of these sales are good only through Tuesday, with the exception of the Save a Lot and Bravo stores'.
If all goes as planned, I'll try to post the ads and recipe on Thursday so there's time to take advantage of the sales.

If you're a vegetarian, you might want to skip this one

2011-10-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

Beef - it's what's for dinner

OK, OK, OK, I got a little carried away. But this was a seriously good piece of meat.

I state here, without apology, that we really like roast beef.
My grandmother was born in England, so maybe it's genetic.
We often have a traditional sirloin roast for Christmas dinner and splurge on rib roasts when I can find a good sale, but this roast, from a boneless New York strip, may the best one.
Ever.
Yes, I know it has fat on it, if it didn't it would taste like shoe leather and be tough as nails. The cooking method I used, the first one below, calls for searing the meat before roasting it slowly at a very low temperature so a lot of the fat ends up in the searing pan.
I will get to how we ended up roasting NY strip in the next post, but even if you can't find it on sale, this is one of those things that you are just going to have to try at least once.

http://www.themeatsource.com/striploinroast.html
Cooking Instructions

Strip loin roast can be cooked at different temperatures with different results. We discuss two ways that yield good results. The first way is our favorite, there is a little more work involved and it takes a little longer but its worth it. The second method is a quicker and easier method which will please most but not quite as juicy from center to outer edge.

Cooking Method 1
Many of the finest restaurants that serve strip loin roast use low temperatures to achieve those great juicy beefy flavors. In our experience cooking at higher temperatures of the 350-450 degree range will cause a roast to dry out on the outer parts and shrink anywhere form 3/4 to 1lb or more depending on the size of the roast by the time its done cooking.
A low temperature of 250 degrees will cook roast beef evenly through from the center to the outer edge without any drying out, leaving the meat tender and juicy. You might be concerned about the possibility of bacteria and it has been shown that cooking a roast this way is actually safe but to have piece of mind there is a way to solve this and at the same time give the roast a nice brown surface. Bacteria grows from the outside and a way to get rid of bacteria is to sear the roast first. Searing the roast will seal in the juices and look very appealing when being served.

1. An hour before cooking, remove the roast from the refrigerator to bring to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and set the rack to the lower middle position. Take a heavy bottomed roasting pan and set the pan on 1 burner or 2 burners if you have a large pan and set the temperature to medium-high. Once the pan is hot sear the roast on all sides for 1.5 - 2 minutes per side. A large heavy skillet can also be used to sear the roast.
3. Carefully remove the roast, set a wire rack in center of the roasting pan and place roast fat side up on the rack. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook uncovered.
4. Roast the meat to a temperature of 135-140 degrees (medium-rare) for maximum flavor and tenderness or 140-150 degrees (medium) but no more, anything more will begin to dry out the roast. Depending on the size of the roast it will take 25-30 minutes per pound, so you must have an instant-read thermometer to make sure you don't overcook. Remove roast from oven and tent with foil. Let it rest at least 15- 20 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute themselves evenly throughout the roast. When cooking at 250 degrees the roast will only rise another 2-4 degrees or so during the resting time. Cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on platter and serve.

Below is a cooking chartfor roast beef recipe. Remember you should always use an instant-read thermometer to check the doneness of a roast. In method A because a temperature of 250 degrees is used the temperature will only rise about 2-4 degrees during resting time.

Doneness	Description	Meat Thermometer Reading
Rare	Red with cold, soft center	125-130 degrees
Medium-Rare	Red with warm, somewhat firm center	135-140 degrees
Medium	Pink and firm throughout	140-150 degrees
Medium-well	Pink line in center, quite firm	150-155 degrees
Well-done	Gray-brown throughout and completely firm	160-165 degrees

Cooking Method 2
The second method is a non-risky way to cook a strip loin roast, it may not give you the most tender, juiciest roast but will still be a nice roast.
1. An hour before cooking, remove the roast from the refrigerator to bring it to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Season with salt and pepper, place meat fat side up on rack in roasting pan uncovered. Roast meat 15 minutes.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and roast for about 15-18 minutes per pound. Roast meat until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 135-140°F (medium-rare), which will give you maximum flavor and tenderness or 140-150°F (medium) but no more, anything more will begin to dry out the roast. Remove from oven, tent with foil and let stand at least 15-20 minutes.

The internal temperature will rise about 5-10 degrees during resting time. Remove the strip loin roast 5-10 degrees before the desired doneness. Remember you should always use an instant-read thermometer to check the doneness of a roast.

The best pork chops ever

2011-10-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

Food blogging is hard if you don't do it for a living for a couple of reasons, the first being that most people don't fix a completely unique meal every day of the week. The same stuff makes it on the menu simply because it's what we like to eat but nobody wants to see 20 posts on the same shredded chicken enchiladas. The second reason being that nobody is breathing down your neck waiting for your copy to fill a news hole - I'm a terrible procrastinator.

For the most part, blogging can be sort of of like talking to yourself.

Just in case there is actually someone out there who reads this, the following recipe is definitely worth making. I was trying to think of something different to make. I didn't find any recipes that sounded good to me so I just made one up. I guess I'll call it:

Pork Chops Provolone

Ingredients:

3 or 4 1 1/2 to 2 inch-thick center cut rib end pork chops or one 3 lb roast cut into chops
2 cups milk
salt and pepper
1 28 oz can whole Italian plum tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
6 Tbs olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs fresh tarragon leaves, chopped or 2 - 3 tsps of dried tarragon
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
2 cups of dry Italian-style bread crumbs
3 Tbs butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz sliced, smoked provolone cheese
12 oz dried angel hair pasta

Directions:

If you are starting out with the roast, as I did because it was on sale for $1.79 a pound, cut into chops.
Sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper and soak them in the milk for at least two hours.

While the chops are soaking, make the tomato sauce. Dump the tomatoes in a bowl and use your hands to break them up. You can use canned diced tomatoes but I think the hand-crushed whole tomatoes make a better sauce.
Pour 3 Tbs of olive oil in a sauce pan and turn the burner on low, add the chopped garlic and saute for about a minute until the garlic is fragrant, but don't let it start to brown. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, crushed red pepper and tarragon and simmer for at least one 1/2 hour. If you don't like tarragon, you can substitute fresh or dried oregano or basil instead, but I think tarragon and tomatoes go really well with the flavor of the pork.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Take the pork chops out of the milk and pat them dry with paper towels them dredge them the bread crumbs.
Let the breaded chops sit for a few minutes before browning them in 3 TBS butter and the remaining 3 TBS olive oil - about 5 minutes a side.

Cover the bottom of a baking dish or pan with some of the tomato sauce and lay the pork shops on the sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the Parmesan then lay the slices provolone over the chops. Pour the remaining sauce over the chops and bake, uncovered, for about an hour.

Serve the pork chops and sauce over a bed of the cooked pasta.

These were some of the best pork chops I have ever had in my life.

I made some of this simple bread to go with it. What the recipe lacks in ingredients it makes up for in taste and texture.
The dough is basically the same one I use for my pizza crusts.

Filoncino - Classic Italian Bread

Ingredients:

3 and 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour,plus extra for the counter
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup cornmeal

Directions:

Combine the flour with the yeast and sea salt in mixing bowl opf a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment. Slowly add 1 and 1/4 cups of warm (110 degree) water. The dough should come together, forming a somewhat sticky,smooth ball. Add a little more flour if the dough is wet or a little more water if it is dry.

Once the dough forms a ball, knead on low for six minutes..Turn the dough out onto the counter,shape into a ball,and transfer to a floured bowl; sprinkle it with a little flour and turn it to coat with the flour on all sides. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in bulk. (Or let the dough rise in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, remembering to bring it to room temperature before shaping it and letting it rise a second time.)

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Cut it into 3 equal pieces and shape each into a ball, making sure you don’t press out all the air bubbles that have developed (leaving air bubbles intact ensures larger air holes once the bread is baked).Cover with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven with a baking stone in it to 475 degrees. If you don’t have a baking stone, heat 2 baking sheets instead.

Pat 1 ball of dough into a flat 1-inch high rectangle measuring about 4 inches x 5 inches. Fold the side furthest from you over toward you and seal the seam using the heel of your hand. Turn the rectangle 180 degrees, and fold the side furthest from you over toward you; seal the seam using the heel of your hand. Fold the resulting log in half lengthwise, sealing the edges with your fingertips. Roll into a 14-inch-long cylinder with slightly tapering ends. Repeat with the 2 remaining balls of dough. Cover with a towel and set aside to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes; the cylinders should increase by half their size.

Slash each cylinder diagonally at 3-inch intervals with a razor blade. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Place on a baking peel that has been sprinkled with the cornmeal and dust with flour; slide onto the baking stone. If you don’t have a baking peel, place the loaves on a reversed baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and slide them into the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Bake the bread for 25 minutes, or until it is golden brown and crisp, misting with water from a spray bottle 3 times during the first 10 minutes of baking. (Close the oven door quickly each time to prevent heat from escaping and the bread from deflating.) Cool the bread on a rack and serve at room temperature; alternately, freeze the bread in plastic freezer bags for up to 2 weeks and reheat for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.
Makes three 12-inch loaves

Finally, a meal worth writing about

2011-10-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

I finally took enough photos and made something different enough to deserve a blog post. More to come.

Much better pizza than the last time

2011-09-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

Ribs!

2011-06-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes they just don't work, friend.

2011-01-29T12:13:00.000-08:00

This has happened to me several times. I get an idea in my head to make something I haven't made before and I spend countless hours Googling recipes and comparing them and reading the reviews.
It's no secret that I love pizza. I prefer New York-style but was nagged by the urge to make a Chicago deep dish pie. I did my typical exhaustive research before deciding on the recipe below.
This pizza is supposed to be a clone of Giordano's World Famous Chicago Stuffed Pizza.
Giordano's website claims: "Giordano's Pizza was chosen 'Best Pizza in America' by NBC. Chicago Tribune writes 'Giordano's pizza is a must when in Chicago.' New York Times posts, 'The Ultimate Pizza.'"
Blasphemy on the part of the New York Times, if you ask me.

There were 27 reviews and the average rating was 4 and a half out of five stars.

This is the review that convinced me: "Its not often that I am compelled to review something but this recipe is incredible! I've made it once a week for 4 weeks now."

All I can say is, why, oh, why?
I usually don't follow recipes exactly after I've made them at least once the way they are intended- I improvise to tweak them to better suit our taste, but it always irks me to read reviews where the reviewer says instead of this I used that or I didn't have pepperoni so I substituted broccoli and it turned out just great.
So I followed the recipe faithfully as it appeared online. I'm not usually good at following instructions - considering how this pizza turned out, that might not be such a bad thing.

Double Crust Stuffed Pizza

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

1 cup warm water (100 degrees F/40 degrees C)

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 (8 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage

1 (4 ounce) package sliced pepperoni

1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

Directions

1.Combine the white sugar and the warm water in a large bowl or in the work bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm sugar water, and let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam. Stir 1 tablespoon olive oil into the yeast mixture.

2.Stir 1/2 teaspoon salt into the flour. Mix half of the flour mixture into the yeast water, and stir until no dry spots remain. Stir in the remaining flour, a 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes (or mix with dough hook in stand mixer).

3.Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

4.Combine the crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and salt in small saucepan. Cover pan, and cook over low heat until tomatoes start to break down, about 30 minutes.

5.Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll one piece into a 12 inch thin circle. Roll the other half into a thicker, 9 inch circle.

6.Place the 12 inch dough round into an ungreased 9 inch springform pan. Sprinkle dough with 1 cup of cheese. Shape sausage into a 9 inch patty and place in pan on top of the cheese. Layer pepperoni, mushrooms, green pepper, red pepper, and remaining cheese on top of sausage patty. Top with the 9 inch dough round and pinch edges to seal. Cut several 1/2 inch vent holes in the top crust. Spread sauce evenly on the top crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the edges.

7.Bake pizza in the preheated oven until the crust is set, the cheese is melted, and the sausage is cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Let hot pizza rest for 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

As you can tell by the picture, this pizza looked good - you might even say it looked tasty, sadly, it was not.

I made two of these nasty things at the same time thinking that if they were are good as they were cracked up to be, one might not be enough.

We didn't touch the second one so I wrapped it up in aluminum foil and made William take it to work.

He gave it to some friends of ours. William is very leery about my ability to judge my own cooking so he passed it on without warning them that I thought the thing was a disaster - several emails were exchanged about this particular "gift."

The recipients tried very hard to be polite and not say how much it sucked.

My next installment of "don't try this at home" will be the mushroom cannelloni that Emily and I made when she was home. Like these pizzas, they sounded like a good idea at the time.

Lentil with rice and zucchini fritters

2010-12-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

For the lentils:

1 cup lentils

1 cup long grain or Jasmine rice

1 large onion, minced

1 large carrot, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

4 cups of beef, chicken or vegetable broth

For the topping:

2 large onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

3/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

Shredded lettuce (optional)

chopped tomatoes (optional)

Directions

For the lentils:

Sauté the onion, carrot and garlic in the 1/4 cup of olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the rice and sauté for a couple of minutes, add the lentils, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, salt and pepper and pour in the broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes without removing the lid of the pan.

For the topping:

Sauté the diced onion in 1/4 cup of olive oil until they are caramelized, if they become a little blackened, this is good, it adds to the flavor - just don't burn them to a crisp.

For the dressing:

In a jar or cruet, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, jalapeno, oregano and salt and shake until the mixture is emulsified.

Serve the caramelized onions on top of the lentils and rice with a dash of the dressing on top.

The sweetness of the caramelized onion and the tang of the dressing elevate the lentils and rice - if you try them once you will miss them if you just make the lentils and rice again and decide to skip the onions and dressing.

Beignets de Courgettes

Ingredients:

2 pounds of zucchini

3 eggs

3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

oil for frying

Directions:

Shred the zucchini using ther largest holes on a box grater and put in a large mixing bowl.

Stir in the eggs, garlic, flour, salt, pepper and cheese and mix until blended.

Heat about 1/2 inch oil in a frying pan or electric skillet to 350 degreees. Drop the batter by

large spoonfuls and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon or spatula and drain on brown paper or paper towels to absorb the grease.

Reheat for 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Just in time for Thanksgiving

2010-11-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

Stuffing bread

Ingredients:

3/12 to 4 cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons active dried yeast

1 Tablespoon rubbed sage

2 Tablespoons poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg.

Directions:

Using a stand mixer,combine 2 cups of flour, yeast,sugar and seasonings. Add the water and oil, egg and mix until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour a little at a time until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 6 to 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for at least 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Punch down and shape into a large round loaf. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until golder brown. Cool on a wire rack then cut into cubes and bake in a low oven until the cubes are dry. These freeze well.

To make stuffing

Ingredients:

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup melted butter plus more to saute the onions and celery

1 large onion, diced

3 large celery stalks, sliced

4 cups chicken broth, turkey broth or water.

Directions:

Saute the onions and celery in oil or butter until the onions are just translucent. In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, onions, celery, butter, eggs and broth. Stir to moisten the cubes, adding more broth if the stuffing seems dry. Pour into a greased baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

The great pizza divide - William loved them, I wasn't thrilled.

2010-11-13T05:42:00.000-08:00

I experimented with my personal favorite food last night, which, if you've looked through the blog at all you have to have guessed, is pizza.

I've never made a really slow rise dough but came across a recipe for one that sounded too good to ignore. Slow rise dough uses less yeast but rises long and slow in the refrigerator. The slow rise adds a depth of flavor to the dough. If you try this, heed the instructions and make sure that your refrigerator is no cooler than 40 degrees or you will kill the yeast and end up with hardtack.

I found the dough recipe here:
http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/pizza-time-pizza-with-long-rise-dough-366817

I made three variations - once plain cheese, once cheese and pepperoni and two "supremes" with black olives, onion, Italian sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms.

William liked these more than I did. If I made these pizzas with this dough again I would increase the oven temperature or increase the cooking time to 10 minutes. The last pizza I made I left in for 10 minutes and that's the one I think turned out the best.

I like my own sauce so that is what I used:

Pizza sauce

Ingredients:

1 28 ounce can of peeled Italian plum tomatoes

1 4 ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 large onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 links Italian sausage with fennel (optional)

Put the tomatoes in a large bowl and crush them with your hands.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the minced onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano and sausage links, if using.

Simmer until the onions are very soft and the sausage is cooked through. Remove the sausage links from the sauce and set aside to slice as a topping for one or two of your pizzas.

Thank you Lesley Blackner for helping me to decide what to fix for dinner last night

2010-11-11T06:19:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my friend Lesley yesterday and she asked me if I had any good vegetarian recipes.

I have a pretty good collection of them since Emily and I used to have vegetarian summers when Emily, Ryan and I spent their school vacations in North Florida without William around to complain about the lack of meat.

Looking though my recipes gave me the inspiration for last night's peanut noodles. I decided to try Soy Sauce Chicken to go with them to keep my husband happy.

It's the first time I've made this chicken and it was excellent.

Peanut Sesame Noodles

For peanut dressing:

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup hot pasta water

2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

For noodle salad:

1 lb dried linguine or spaghetti

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips

1 small head of broccoli cut into florets and steamed

Directions:

for dressing:

Purée dressing ingredients (except the pasta water ) in a blender until smooth, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl.

Add the scallions, bell peppers, and broccoli to dressing.

for salad:

Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until tender. Reserve a cup of the pasta water for the 1/2 cup water to add to the sauce plus a little extra to thin the sauce if necessary. Add the hot pasta water to the sauce. Drain pasta in a colander and add to the bowl with the sauce. Toss to combine and serve immediately.

Soy Sauce Chicken

Ingredients:

1 small chicken - 3 to 4 pounds

1 cup soy sauce

3 cups water

3 tbsp sherry

1 tbsp sugar

1 bunch chopped scallions

8 slices of ginger

4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

Directions:

Put all of the ingredients except the chicken in a small heavy pot. You want the pot to be small enough so that the chicken fits in the pot with the liquid reaching at least halfway up the chicken.
Bring the sauce to a boil.
Place chicken in liquid and continue to boil over high heat, covered, for 15 minutes.

Turn off heat and let chicken sit in liquid, covered, 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the cooking liquid and place in a roasting pan and roast 15 to 20 minutes at 500 degrees.

To reuse the poaching liquid, strain the sauce and keep in the freezer until the next time. Just add fresh ginger, garlic and scallions the next time you use it.

Homemade pita bread - one of life's little pleasures

2010-11-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

I love pita, it's soft, chewy and versatile.
When I was in Egypt, a typical breakfast was pita with olives and feta cheese or sweetened condensed milk and jam - manna when paired with little cups of strong, sweet Turkish coffee brewed in an ibrik or the hot mint tea that for some reason was always served in small glasses instead of cups.

When we lived in Tarpon Springs, we would have lunch at the Sponge Docks and my favorite part of the meal was the side order of pita and tzatziki.
Pita they sell at the grocery store is OK in a pinch, but if you really want to treat yourself, making your own is quick, easy and very satisfying.

I've been on a cooking jag since the election a week ago trying to blot out the anger and sadness I feel over the defeat of Florida's Amendment 4. I made a huge batch of chicken broth last week and it's been calling me from the freezer. Temperatures were in the high 30's here yesterday morning so I decided to make a big pot of avgolemono for dinner. While I was digging the broth out of the freezer I unearthed a two-pound package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts perfect for souvlaki.
Somebody, quick, offer me a job or we are going to get fat.

On a happy note, I finally mastered the art of using my baker's peel to slide the little loaves of pita onto my baking stone without screwing them up.

I've tried several different recipes but this one from the Tyler Florence and JoAnn Cianciulli is practically foolproof and has great texture and flavor.

Pita

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

11/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon salt

31/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir to blend. Let the yeast stand until foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the salt. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough gathers into a ball; this should take about 4 minutes.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it's smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Place a large pizza stone on the lower oven rack, preheat the oven (and stone) to 500 degrees F.

Punch the dough down, divide it into 8 pieces, and gather each piece into a ball; keeping all of them lightly floured and covered while you work. Allow the balls of dough to rest, covered, for 15 minutes so they will be easier to roll out.

Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a circle that is about 8-inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Make sure the circle is totally smooth, with no creases or seams in the dough, which can prevent the pitas from puffing up properly. Cover the disks as you roll them out, but do not stack them up. Slide one pita round at a time on the hot pizza stone and bake for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the bread puffs up like a balloon and is pale golden. Watch closely; they bake fast. Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool for 5 minutes; they will naturally deflate, leaving a pocket in the center. Wrap the pitas in a large kitchen towel to keep them soft.

Avgolemono is the ultimate chicken soup with rice...
When my children were little, one of their favorite books was Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with Rice:

Avgolemono

10 cups Chicken broth; strained

3/4 cup Raw long grain white rice

4 Whole eggs, whites and yolks separated

3 Lemons; (juice only)

Salt

Directions:

Bring the broth to a full boil in a soup kettle. Gradually add the rice, stirring constantly until the broth boils again. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the rice is just tender, not mushy, 12 to 14 minutes.
Remove from the heat and keep warm while preparing avgolemono.
Beat the yolks for 2 minutes or until they become thick and frothy. Continue to beat, gradually adding the lemon juice.
In a mixing bowl with a whip attachment, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, as if you were making meringue. Gently fold the lemon/egg yolk mixture into the egg whites then slowly add some of the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, beating steadily. Stir the mixture into the soup and cook over minimum heat, without boiling, until the soup thickens to coat a spoon. Taste for salt, and keep warm over hot water until ready to serve.

Chicken Souvlaki

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 green peppers

1 red pepper

1 large sweet onion

3 lemons, juiced

1/3 cup olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 TBS oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano and minced garlic and pour over the chicken breasts. Let marinate in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

Cut the peppers and onion into strips and set aside.

Shake the marinade off the chicken and broil or grill the breasts until they are cooked through - the amount of time this takes will depend on the thickness of the meat.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to cool. Add the peppers and onions and broil for about 10 minutes or until they are softened and slightly charred.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and put the chicken and onion and peppers together in a big bowl.

This can be served over Greek rice pilaf (especially good with a little tomato sauce and parmesan cheese) or, the way we had it last night, stuffed in a pita with a dollop or tzatziki on top. Diced tomatoes are optional but good too.

Tzatziki

Ingredients:

1 small cucumber

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of Greek yogurt or sour cream

1/2 tsp dried mint

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Peel the cucumber and use a spoon to remove the seeds and discard the seeds. Shred the cucumber into a bowl and add the salt, mint, garlic and stir in the yogurt or sour cream.

This is great as a dip with the pita bread or served on top of the souvlakis.

Fresh tagliatelli and Ragu Bolognese

2010-11-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Making pasta from scratch is the adult version of playing with Play Doh. You can roll it, cut it, extrude it. But unlike Play Doh, the best thing is,

you get to eat it.

Fresh Semolina Pasta

Ingredients:

5 extra large eggs

3 1/2 cups semolina flour

2 ounces, more or less white wine

Directions:

Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the dough starts to come together - it will probably be very stiff and dry. Drizzle in the wine a little at a time, pulsing between additions until the dough forms a ball. You want eh dough to be pliable and elastic, not dry and crumbling or too sticky.

Wrap in plastic and let rest for at least 1/2 hour before rolling and cutting.

I use a pasta machine to roll and cut the dough but you can use a rolling pin and sharp knife to roll the dough into sheets and cut into strips. After the noodles are cut, let them dry on an old sheet for about 20 minutes to an hour to prevent them from clumping. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 3 to 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them.

Bolognese sauce is rich and tomato is not the primary flavor, but a compliment to the meat and cream. I experimented with various recipes before coming up with this one. I use evaporated milk because it has the richness of heavy cream with less fat.

Ragu Bolognese

Ingredients:

10 -14 oz salt pork (streak o lean)

1 1/4 pounds course ground chuck

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup of minced carrot

1/2 cup minced celery

1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth

1 cup crushed tomatoes

2 cups evaporated milk

plenty of fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring one quart of water to a boil and blanch the saltt pork for about 10 minutes.

Let cool and cut off the outer layer of skin. Cut into cubes and mince in the food processor.

Saute over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pan until most of the fat has rendered, about 8 minutes.

Add the minced vegetables and saute until the onions are translucent.

Turn up the heat and add the ground beef and saute until the beef is browned but not crispy.

Add the tomatoes, wine and 1/2 tsp pepper and reduce the heat to a slow simmer.

Simmer for two hours, periodically adding two or three tables spoons of the evaporated milk and stirring until the milk is incorporated into the sauce. When all the milk has been added, simmer for an additional 10 minutes before serving tossed with fresh pasta. Don't over sauce the pasta. You just want the pasta to be coated in the sauce, not swimming in it.

Baked ham, Gratin Dauphinois, roasted asparagus

2010-11-05T04:19:00.000-07:00

East Carolina pulled pork BBQ and peanut butter pie

2010-11-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

In less than two weeks, I should be back to posting.

2010-10-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Chicken and stuffing casserole (no canned soup)

Beef and black bean enchiladas (homemade enchilada sauce)

Apple pie

Rigatoni with sausage, eggplant and red peppers

Banana chocolate chip muffins

2010-08-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out how to use a charcoal grill

2010-08-19T07:13:00.001-07:00

Recipes to come

2010-08-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

Shredded chicken fry bread tacos with homemade refried beans and guacamole.

We need more people in this country to care about our food sources.

2010-08-12T04:27:00.000-07:00

http://mostlywater.org/italian_activists_storm_field_crush_gm_maize

Italian Activists Storm Field, Crush GM Maize
Syndicated from Common Dreams
Promoted by blackandred on Wed, 2010/08/11 - 9:45pm.

Italian Activists Storm Field, Crush GM Maize

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - ANSA News (Italy)

PORDENONE, Italy - A group of 70 no global activists on Monday staged a lightening strike against a field of genetically modified (GM) maize, crushing all the plants and effectively preventing their harvest.

The GM crop at Vivaro, near the northeastern town of Pordenone, has been at the centre of a storm for the last two weeks, after the farmer who planted the maize, Giorgio Fidenato, announced it was ready to be harvested.

Some 70 activists, dressed alike in white overalls, were able to stomp on all the plants before police arrived and dragged them away, a spokesman for the Ya Basta anti-GM group said.

"Our action was aimed against the violence that GM crops wreak on the environment and on humans," said Luca Tornatore.

Despite widespread opposition to GM crops by most Italian farmers, the action was nevertheless roundly condemned by all. Pro-biotech group Futuragra said the raid was "an act of vandalism" and the result of "terror sown by the media" against GM crops. Farmers' union Coldiretti, which actively campaigns for organic agriculture, blasted the anti-globalists, saying that "the law must always be respected".

But Coldiretti also criticised officials for having dallied on the issue. Last week several members of the largest opposition group, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), joined MPs of the governing coalition's rightwing Northern League party at a press conference outside the Senate to protest the lack of an "effective response" to the situation at Vivaro.

An umbrella organization coordinating efforts against the crops, the Task Force for an Italy Free of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), which represents 27 conservation, farming and environmental associations, called for the "immediate destruction of fields where GM maize is grown".

It warned of a "devastating impact on the local environment, wild fauna and the crops of other farmers" if pollen from the maize was allowed to disperse.

Greenpeace attempted to storm the field last week and numerous representatives from the GMO-Free Italy Task Force erected a protest camp next to the land.

The governor of Friuli Venezia Giulia where Vivaro is located, Renzo Tondo, has vowed that the law will be upheld and any infringements will be dealt with swiftly.

The president of the neighbouring region of Veneto, former Italian agriculture minister Gianluca Zaia, voiced support for Greenpeace, warning that cross-contamination from the crop could have a catastrophic effect on local agriculture.

Agriculture Minister Giancarlo Galan condemned Monday's raid, likening it to attacks carried out by Fascist thugs.

"I hope police will identify those who took part in it because they are a group of violent and intolerant thugs of the worst sort," he said, stressing that officials had been working with local authorities to analyse the crops.

Fidenato, who heads the pro-biotech Federated Farmers (AF) association, claims he acted lawfully in planting the seeds and likened GMO critics to Nazis "with their irrational fears of biological-racial contamination of the plant species".

Although there is no outright ban on the cultivation of GM crops in Italy, a long-running legal tangle effectively prevents farmers from doing so.

Farmers are technically allowed to grow GM crops provided they first obtain permission under procedures to be drafted by the agriculture ministry.

However, these procedures have never been finalized.

After months of foot dragging, a 2006 ministry circular eventually halted the drafting process entirely until regional governments agreed on local measures to prevent cross-contamination between GM and traditional crops.

But four years on, regional governments have still not agreed on definitive coexistence measures and, despite a January court ruling ordering the ministry to finalize the authorization procedures anyway, it has not yet done so.

Fidenato started lobbying local officials to allow him to plant GM crops in 2007 but received no reply.

"At this point, since they haven't said no, I take it I can go ahead," he said, shortly after announcing he had planted the GM maize earlier this year.

The issue of GM crops is particularly explosive in Italy.

As the second-largest producer of organic crops in Europe and the fourth largest in the world, there is widespread fear of the potential damage resulting from accidental GM contamination.

Coldiretti has issued several reports suggesting that widespread public hostility to GM crops would not only damage the domestic market for farm produce but would also result in a 60% drop in exports.

Off topic but - I'm voting for the guy from The Real Food Party

2010-07-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.news-press.com/article/20100715/NEWS0107/7150365/1075/A-two-party-system?-Lee-County-can-claim-38

A two-party system? Lee County can claim 38
27 have 20 or fewer members
BY GLENN MILLER • GMILLER@NEWS-PRESS.COM • JULY 15, 2010
1:10 A.M. — The Prohibition Party has two members in Lee County.
The Real Food Party - the state chairman of which, Jimmy Carter, once ran for president - has one Lee County member, a surprise to the man who shares the same name as our nation's actual 39th president.
"As far as I know, I was the only one in the party," said Carter, who owns a goat and water buffalo dairy near Live Oak, in Suwannee County.
The Surfers Party of America has five local members, down from six last month. That decrease can possibly be traced to 64-year-old Keith Branstetter, who has moved from Sanibel to Okoboji, Iowa.
Sure, Lee County has Republicans and Democrats, who have a combined total of more than 250,000 members out of about 342,000 registered voters.
But the big two are not alone. Of the 38 parties listed on the Lee County Supervisor of Elections rolls, 27 have 20 or fewer voting members.
The Prohibition Party, with two people, has twice as many local members as the Real Food Party. Lee County may be a relative hotbed for Prohibition activity. Florida has more counties - 67 - than Prohibition Party members.
"The last count I had was 51," said William Bledsoe, the party's state chairman.
Prohibition is just one of 23 principles of its conservative platform, Bledsoe said.
"Our party has always been a social-issue party," Bledsoe said. "We, like most conservatives, believe in less taxes, smaller government."
So many choices. The American Poor People Party and the American Party of Florida each claims two voters in Lee County.
Faith and Patience has three voters. The Christian Party has one member.
The Christian Party's state chairwoman is Arcadia resident Nancy Grant, who founded the party in 2000. She said it has 1,200 Florida members. Its philosophy is simple.
"It's the Ten Commandments," Grant said.
The small parties range across the political spectrum.
The Veterans Party has 20 members in Lee, and it seeks greater respect and benefits for veterans.
"It is a national shame that our president, courts, Congress and Senate are publicly against benefits for veterans and those still on active duty," the website claims.
The Southern Party of Florida has four Lee members. Google the party name and one is directed to The Florida Patriot, which claims it is the "official news agency of the Floridians by Floridians!"
The site goes on to note that the Patriot's ultimate goal "is to become a viable daily print publication that will run competitively against the tainted Yankee transplant yellow rags."
America's Independent Party has six Lee members and bills itself as America's new home of conservatism. It shares many beliefs with the tea party but has some differences, according to Tom Hoefling, its chairman.
"We're focused on electing people to office," Hoefling said. "The tea party is primarily a protest movement, one that is certainly needed. But in the end, policy is set by people in office."
On the other side of the spectrum are the Socialist Party of Florida and the Florida Socialists Party. The Florida Socialists hold an 11-6 lead in Lee registration over the Socialists Party of Florida, which may have the best name for a chapter.
The Southeast Florida chapter calls itself the Bolshevik Beach Bums.
At the other end of the peninsula is Carter of the Real Food Party.
"We're more interested in agriculture and the right to eat food that doesn't kill us," Carter said.
He doesn't plan another presidential run.
"I think I could get more done as a congressman than as president," Carter said. "A third party could not possibly win a presidential race anyway because of the Electoral College."
For Branstetter, joining the Surfers Party wasn't part of a statement of political philosophy.
"I don't know anything about the party," Branstetter said.
He liked the name because it reminded him of his surfing days.
It's highly unlikely anybody from any of these parties will win a significant race, but that isn't the point, according to the Prohibition Party's Bledsoe.
"We want to give people a choice," Bledsoe said.
He is well aware his will not place a candidate in high office.
"We believe that we vote our head and our heart," Bledsoe said. "We vote our conscience."

Corporate Acountability International takes on McDonald's

2010-07-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

Clowning With Kids' Health

So, what's driving the downfall of the local grocery?

2010-06-27T03:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/41994/

Kansas a Food Desert? Absence of Local Groceries Troubling

Saturday, June 26, 2010 :: Staff infoZine
K-State Center, Research to Help Communities Make Food Accessible
Manhattan, KS -

Forgot the hamburger buns? While there was a time when a quick trip to a local grocery could make it easy to complete the meal, in many Kansas communities, the grocery store has closed.

Since 2006, 82 of 213 grocery stores serving Kansas communities with populations of 2,500 or less, have closed, said David Procter, director of the Center for Engagement and Community Development at Kansas State University, which organized and hosted a Rural Grocery Store Summit (at K-State) recently.

The closing of local grocery stores is not unique to Kansas, said Procter, who noted that the summit attracted nearly 200 participants representing 13 states.

The absence of a grocery or other store selling essential food items within a 10-mile radius is termed a "severe food desert," he said.

Such designations dot Kansas' landscape in both urban and rural areas, said Procter, who described the goals for the conference to be initiating dialog, identifying challenges and opportunities, charting a research agenda and networking to overcome the challenges and build on the opportunities.

The local grocery has traditionally fulfilled a key role in the community, Procter said.

In addition to the obvious -- making wholesome food accessible -- grocery stores have typically anchored community businesses and the community.

And, as an employer, the local grocery store has generated full and part-time employment opportunities, often with better benefits than larger employers, and revenue from sales taxes to support education, economic development and community improvements.

So, what's driving the downfall of the local grocery?

The lure of the big-box stores offering lower prices is a factor, but the value of the savings is eroded when travel time and money are factored into the equation.

Driving 10, 15 or 20 miles (each way) to a retail center takes time -- and it costs money. Conference presenter Doug Cunningham (from Norfolk, Neb., representing Affiliated Foods) noted that the American Automobile Association reports the current cost of driving a car is 56 cents a mile. That means the minimal cost for a 20-mile round trip is $11.20.

What often is overlooked, however, is the value of doing business locally, said Leah Tsoodle, K-State Research and Extension agricultural economist and researcher of grocery shopping preferences in Kansas communities.

For every $100 spent within a community, $45 stays within the community and may be circulated within the community as many as seven times, Tsoodle said. For every $100 spent outside the community, only about $15 is likely to return to the community.

"Small businesses drive local economies, yet given the combined loss in sales volume, consolidation of wholesalers, increase in minimum orders for delivery, and rising cost of transportation, smaller retailers face increasing challenges that may mean closing their doors," Procter said.

"Once the grocery store is gone, the closing (or consolidation) of the school often is not far behind," he said. And, without a grocery store and a school, a community will typically have trouble attracting new residents, and that means property values also will decline.

So, what's a community to do?

If Morland, Kan., a Graham County community of 150, is an example, the answer is "plenty."

According to Chris Petty, K-State Research and Extension agricultural agent in the county, the local grocery (Bean's Country Market) closed in 2006, when the owners retired.

The longtime store building needed updating, and the Morland Community Foundation looked into grant and other funds to help fund the renovation, but learned they were not eligible for the funding because the store was located in the flood plain, Petty said.

While some might have backed away from the project, this community of go-getters pooled resources to hire a civil engineer to evaluate existing zoning.

The business district hasn't been flooded since the early 1950s (more than 50 years ago), Petty said, so, after studying the landscape, the engineer updated the map to include a more accurate definition of the flood plain. Updating the zoning is expected to reduce insurance premiums for homeowners in the former flood plain and make building a garage or deck possible, he said.

Re-establishing the local grocery also could increase property values, said Petty, who noted that Morland has a bank, grain elevator, popular restaurant, hair salon and newly opened photography studio.

The local grocery and the restaurant (Prairie Junction) are expected to support each other, and that, too, will make the community stronger, said Petty, who explained that they expect to draw grocery customers from St. Peter, which is located 12 miles south; from Studley, six miles west; and Penokee, six miles east. The combined population of the potential customer service base is 350 people, he said.

Community organizers also have done their homework in working with Tsoodle and Paul Clark, a former K-State ag economist, to develop and conduct a customer survey to learn more about the products and services prospective customers want.

In developing the survey (funded by K-State's Center for Engagement and Community Development), ag economists focused on respondents' preferences in the grocery shopping experience with a follow-up section asking the respondents to rate how their current shopping experiences are meeting their expectations.

With a 30 percent response rate for such surveys considered excellent, the more than 40 percent response rate to the Morland survey reflected strong interest in the question of re-establishing the local grocery, Tsoodle said.

Overall, the responses were positive and encouraging to the Morland community organizers, she said. Eighty percent of the respondents identified quality of food as a reason for choosing to shop at a grocery store; 77 percent cited cleanliness of the store and store personnel, and 57 percent noted customer service as reason to shop at a grocery store.

Results from the survey also indicated that 95 percent of the respondents would likely purchase locally grown foods, the ag economist said.

The community has received verbal approval on the change in zoning, but is waiting for formal (written) approval to move forward, said Faye Minium, president of the Citizens State Bank and member of the Morland Community Foundation.

The foundation has applied for and received a commitment in stimulus funds to cover the majority of the renovations, but the money cannot be awarded until the zoning process is complete, Minium said.

We're ready to move forward, and hope to be open later this year, said Petty, who said the local store is initially expected to employ a manager and one-to-two assistant managers.

"The grocery store is an essential part of a community," Minium said. For now, however, it's not unusual for neighbors to loan a cup of flour, sugar, or, recently, an onion …

Related link
Rural Grocery Store Initiative and Summit - www.ruralgrocery.org

The United States faces challenges to ensuring food safety.

2010-05-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10182r.pdf

The Honorable Brad Miller
Chairman
Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
Committee on Science and Technology
House of Representatives
Subject: Food Safety: FDA Has Begun to Take Action to Address Weaknesses in
Food Safety Research, but Gaps Remain
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The United States faces challenges to ensuring food safety. First, imported food
makes up a substantial and growing portion of the U.S. food supply, with 60 percent
of fresh fruits and vegetables and 80 percent of seafood coming from across our
borders. In recent years, there has been an increase in reported outbreaks of
foodborne illness associated with both domestic and imported produce. Second, we
are increasingly eating foods that are consumed raw and that have often been
associated with foodborne illness outbreaks, including leafy greens such as spinach.
Finally, shifting demographics means that more of the U.S. population is, and
increasingly will be, susceptible to foodborne illnesses. The risk of severe and lifethreatening
conditions caused by foodborne illnesses is higher for older adults, young
children, pregnant women, and immune-compromised individuals. In January 2007
GAO designated federal oversight of food safety as a high-risk area needing urgent
attention and transformation because of the federal government’s fragmented
oversight of food safety.1

Who knew? Florida - the world's largest producer of watercress.

2010-05-04T03:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/dining/05cress.html

May 5, 2010
Watercress, as Fresh as a Gurgling Spring
By FLORENCE FABRICANT - New York Times

WATERCRESS does not incite the kind of frenzy generated by ramps, those spindly wild onions that nobody bothered to pick until a few chefs began trumpeting their arrival as a major springtime event. But it is starting to show up in farmers’ markets, too, and those who know it, love it.

In a salad, as a garnish or in a sandwich, the first tender watercress of the season puts to shame the fat, often woody, rubber-banded bunches that supermarkets sell year round.

Rick Bishop, of Mountain Sweet Berry Farm in the Catskills, picks his wild right at the source of a spring on his land. Dave Harris, of Max Creek Hatchery just beyond the Catskills, finds his in the overflow of a spring. Because supplies are limited, chefs and home cooks often reserve watercress from these farmers week to week in the season, which can last into September.

Other farmers cultivate cress, like Two Guys in Woodbridge, Conn., hydroponic growers of delicious upland cress, which has a similar flavor but is not related to watercress and grows on land, not in water.

My personal watercress epiphany happened some 35 years ago. I had been visiting Washington Crossing State Park in New Jersey on a warm spring day. The ground was very moist near the Delaware River, and I noticed a carpet of small round leaves. Could it be watercress? Like Alice, I tasted a leaf or two, and it delivered a bright freshness unlike any I had ever had.

Those were the pre-arugula days, when watercress was usually called upon to add a little verve to a salad. After sampling the wild cress, I found it hard to go back to the everyday kind.

But according to Andy Brown, a partner at B & W Quality Growers, which is based in central Florida and is the world’s largest producer, I was lucky. Eating wild watercress can be as risky as nibbling a foraged mushroom.

It’s not the watercress, he said; it’s the environment. To be safe, the plants, which actually grow in water, must be right at the source of a spring before it can be contaminated by parasites carried by tiny snails or livestock or other animals. In some areas, wild cress may also have high levels of heavy metals, like copper. The British post warnings about wild watercress along some streams, according to the Web site wildaboutbritain

.co.uk. The watercress sold in stores should not pose a risk.

Jeff Aldana, a sales representative for Baldor Specialty Foods, a wholesale distributor in the Bronx, said that chefs today tend to use arugula because the cultivated watercress that he sells, from Florida, is twice as expensive.

Still, there are chefs and cooks who adore it. “I love the texture and the heat,” said Sharon Pachter, of the Grocery in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, who was shopping at the Union Square Greenmarket in mid-April. “It’s great sautéed or in a salad.”

Watercress can be quickly blanched and puréed, often with the addition of some spinach in classic recipes, and be turned into a soup, a sauce or the basis of a savory soufflé or custard. And it’s a stir-fry staple. For these uses, the heavy stems may be left on.

The Chinese account for about 60 percent of the market, Mr. Brown said, and they prefer the bigger, woody bunches, stems and all, for dishes like beef with watercress or watercress soup.

“They regard it as a cooling ingredient and a healthful antioxidant,” he said.

In short, watercress is yin. Like other dark leafy green vegetables, it is packed with nutrients. But it’s the flavor that attracts chefs. Like tatsoi, baby mustard and radish sprouts, it is a cruciferous vegetable related to broccoli, standing ready to impart a nice feisty note.

Craig Koketsu pairs it with halibut and a pea purée at Quality Meats in Midtown. At Print, at 11th Avenue and 48th Street, Charles Rodriguez uses it to tie together the flavors of scallops, a red wine onion purée and mushrooms.

Marcus Jernmark, the executive chef at Aquavit in Midtown, folds the purée into a risotto-style dish made with barley, which he calls barlotto. He is partial to its tanginess. “It’s my palate,” he said. “I would use horseradish all the time if I could, but watercress gives a similar effect.”

Supermarket watercress often looks wilted as its shelf life diminishes rapidly. But you can refresh it by untying the bunch and dropping it into a large bowl of cold water. It will perk up. Dry it gently, and you can use it in a salad like the one with Gorgonzola and pears at Frankies Spuntino on the Lower East Side and in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

Mr. Brown also said that it is easy to grow at home. Put a bunch in a large bowl of water with some clean gravel in the bottom, and it will begin to put forth roots and grow. Soon it will be ready for a tender harvest, on demand.

Better for them, better for us, better for the environment

2010-04-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Two Florida Farmers Opt Out of Animal Rights Battles
By Gail Shepherd, Tuesday, Apr. 13 2010 @ 12:12PM
Comments (4)
Categories: Environment, Florida, Health, Man and Beast

This week's feature story details the escalating battle between Big Agriculture and the Humane Society, the organization behind a nationwide campaign to legislate the safety and comfort of farm animals. The Humane Society helped push through Florida's "pregnant pigs" constitutional amendment in 2002 -- its first such victory in the nation. It's now illegal for Florida pigs to be kept in "gestation crates" too small to allow them to turn around for the 16 or so weeks before they give birth.

After the amendment passed, the only two large pig farms in Florida went out of business, at least in part because of plummeting pork prices. And no new large-scale pig farms have set up in Florida. But with the recent emphasis on the local and sustainable and on humane, free-range methods of animal husbandry, smaller operators in Florida are making a go of farming.

The Humane Society's Paul Shapiro contends that the Florida amendment may have "helped provide an environment in which family farms can flourish."

Take Matt Thomas, who runs Little Pig Farm in Homosassa, Florida. He says he started the farm five years ago because he and his wife "wanted to know where our food came from."

Thomas was a city boy from Tampa with no farming background. But he started raising Berkshire pigs, a black heritage breed with dark, heavily marbled meat, beloved of chefs for its high-quality flavor. The pigs are raised naturally, without hormones or antibiotics.

Thomas has a boar and three breeding sows, and he's raising four more. The sows produce six to 12 piglets per litter that Thomas raises to adulthood. When they reach 250 to 300 pounds, he sells whole pigs for $650 direct to consumers and chefs.

The sows are treated humanely and range freely during gestation. "We used to keep our pigs in 16-by-16-foot pens," he says, "but honestly it was more trouble than just letting them run free. You'd have to come home from work and muck out the pens. This way we're all happier."

Another rancher who has switched from commodity farming to humane methods is David Strawn, whose family owns the 700-acre Deep Creek Ranch in De Leon Springs. Strawn says they're happier too now that they've turned to free-range and grass-fed ranching.

The Strawn family has been cattle ranchers since 1883: The remnants of the original slaughterhouse still stand on their property. Until five years ago, they were commodity ranchers.

But as the price of petroleum went up in the second half of the 20th Century, David says, it became harder and harder to make a living at large-scale ranching -- shipping cattle across the country to feedlots was sapping profits. So the Strawns turned to producing free-range, grass-fed beef and lamb that they now sell to consumers and to chefs like Zach Bell, who oversees the kitchen at the posh Café Boulud in Palm Beach and to Dean Max at 3030 Ocean in Fort Lauderdale. Their grass-fed Angus and South Poll beef has an added benefit: Studies have shown it's higher in omega 3s and lower in cholesterol than commodity corn-fed beef.

Deep Creek is already so successful that Strawn says the USDA recently alerted the Strawns to an operation selling bogus Deep Creek beef. "They found somebody was buying commodity beef in the supermarket and slapping a Deep Creek label on it," Strawn says. Then they were peddling it around at farmer's markets. We heard about it and we said, here's a sign that we've finally really made it big. Somebody is counterfeiting us!"

Thomas and the Strawns have never felt any pressure from the Humane Society. "They love farms like us!" Thomas says. These farms prove it's possible to raise animals using humane husbandry. But here's the kicker: Smaller farms like Deep Creek and Little Pig are never going to feed a mass market.

As Humane Society-backed legislation puts pressure on farmers to use more expensive methods, meat may become more precious, a luxury for the kind of people who dine at Café Boulud or who can pay $325 for half a free-range Berkshire pig. Some commodity farmers may be able to weather the changes. Others who can't stand the heat, like the Basford family in Florida, may have to get out of the business

You had to know this was coming...

2010-04-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

There's no way I'd get a new stove and NOT make pizza.
Our new favorite, prosciutto on the left, pancetta and portobello on the right,

The politics behind our bland-tasting tomatoes

2010-04-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Review | 'Ripe': The politics behind our bland-tasting tomatoes
A former AP reporter delves into farmers' risks, the need for profits and the effect on the American diet.
BY M.L. JOHNSON

Arthur Allen, a former Associated Press writer, focuses on the tomato industry, and he's somewhat more sympathetic to corporate farms and big business than trendsetter Michael Pollan and others writing on similar topics. The first part of Ripe includes a number of derisive comments about members of the ``crunchy left,'' who want cheap, locally grown, organic tomatoes year-round. Allen notes, rightly, that that's almost impossible to provide, given the climate in most of the country.

He visits Mexico, where the American entrepreneurs who run Del Cabo Farms are trying to help local farmers make a living by growing new hybrids to be shipped to U.S. markets. The question, Allen notes, is whether their tasty tomatoes will hold their flavor and form during the long journey north. That musing leads into an examination of U.S. tomato breeding that has created ever firmer, but increasingly bland, fruit. As labor problems and costs grew in California's tomato industry, farmers growing tomatoes for ketchup, sauce and other products turned to mechanical harvesting. Mechanical harvesters require tomatoes that fall off the vine when shaken -- but not before -- and can withstand sorting. Allen recounts how researchers at the University of California, Davis, helped develop these.

In Florida, farmers growing tomatoes for direct sale needed fruit that ripened slowly and wouldn't spoil during shipping. They eventually developed a method of picking tomatoes while they were green and then exposing them to ethylene gas to turn them red when they reached their destination.

But while Allen is understanding of the risks farmers face and their need to make a profit, he becomes increasingly critical of the effect of business interests on the U.S. diet as Ripe progresses. Americans eat tomatoes that fit the needs of Heinz, McDonald's and a few other corporate giants because those companies provide the bulk of farmers' sales. McDonald's and other fast-food companies need firm tomatoes that hold up when sliced thin and look nice on a hamburger bun. Taste, Allen insists, is not a priority.

Allen also delves into labor and trade issues, writing critically about the treatment of farmworkers in California and Florida.

While each chapter is focused, the book as a whole has a meandering feel as Allen jumps from plant breeding to international trade to labor organization. Parts are also heavy with science and Latin plant names. But readers with a strong interest in understanding the politics of food will probably find it enlightening.

Two ovens!

2010-04-08T05:10:00.001-07:00

Out with the old, in with the new

2010-04-07T09:32:00.001-07:00

Now, all I need is time to try it out.

Not food but - we can't live or cook without it...

2010-04-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

Aral Sea in Central Asia dries up,
April 5, 2010 by tangledwing

Aral Sea Almost DRIED UP: UN Chief Calls It ‘Shocking Disaster’

Once the world’s fourth-largest lake, the sea has shrunk by 90 percent since the rivers that feed it were largely diverted in a Soviet project to boost cotton production in the arid region.

The shrunken sea has ruined the once-robust fishing economy and left fishing trawlers stranded in sandy wastelands, leaning over as if they dropped from the air. The sea’s evaporation has left layers of highly salted sand, which winds can carry as far away as Scandinavia and Japan, and which plague local people with health troubles.

A much lower level problems, but Florida has had a problem with lakes drying out because of the pressure to provide water to a state that has become over populated in the last two decades. They rely largely on a fresh water underground aquifer for drinking water and agricultural needs – in addition to having more golf courses than any other state. In the western U.S. the Colorado River with dams on the river itself and many of its tributaries, is a water life line for millions of people who live hundreds of miles away. Water rights are still a contentious issue. In 2007 the states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida got into a feud over water rights and as much of Atlanta’s water supply simply dried up. There is a photo here that compares the Aral Lake in 1989 to 2008. In the U.S. we file law suits and get a little angry thus far. Those that depended on the Aral are now susceptible to militant political ideologies since there always seems to be people ready to exploit such tragedies for their own purposes. Most of the residents around the lake live in poverty and are subjects of repressive governments. Millions of people around the world do not have access to clean water a situation likely to worsen as we head from a current world population of 6 billion to probably leveling off in the next decade at 10 billion. If we cannot manage our water resources now it does not bode well for the future.

We still eat - I just haven't had time to write about it

2010-04-02T03:38:00.001-07:00

Shredded chicken nachos

Coq au Vin, egg noodles roasted asparagus

Lamb and porcini Bolognese with salad of baby lettuces

Greek beef Kebabs, rice pilaf and pita bread

Florida, from sea to plate, just is not the seafood buffet it once was

2010-03-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

In Florida, the Seafood Becomes Less Local
By DAMIEN CAVE
Published: March 30, 2010

ISLAMORADA, Fla. — The postcard Florida experience: sun, fun and plenty of local seafood. It was the latter that brought Gary and Vicki Haller from Kansas to Wahoo’s here last week, with its waterfront views, toucan colors and promise of fresh food “from our docks.”

But the fish in his “belly buster” sandwich actually traveled farther than he did. It was Pangasius, a freshwater catfish from Vietnam. The grouper and tuna were also imports, according to Wahoo’s managers. And the “local” label on the menu? It still applied, they insisted, because their distributor was down the road.

Florida, from sea to plate, just is not the seafood buffet it once was. Reeling from a record, fish-killing cold snap and tougher federal limits on what can be caught, commercial fishermen and charter-boat captains are struggling. Distributors and restaurants are relying more and more on imported seafood — some of it clearly labeled, a lot of it not.

Federal fisheries managers say that a law reauthorized by Congress in 2006 now requires them to take more aggressive action against overfishing. They cut back the legal catch for some kinds of snapper last year, and 11 species of grouper are now off limits from January through April on the Atlantic coast. It is the longest ban on record for grouper and the first to include both commercial and recreational fleets.

In a state that bills itself as “the fishing capital of the world” — with a commercial industry worth $5.2 billion and a recreational one worth $4.4 billion — thousands of anglers are angry.

“For a fisherman that works 12 months a year, you’ve just taken a third of his livelihood,” said Tom Hill, whose family has owned Key Largo Fisheries since 1972. “You’ve also taken away the ability of someone who comes here to enjoy a local piece of fish.”

Last month, several thousand fishermen from all over the country held a “sea party” protest in Washington to demand that federal fishing limits be loosened.

They were especially concerned about a series of proposals that would continue a ban on catching red snapper in federal waters, as well as close off an area from North Carolina through the Florida Keys to bottom fishing for all 73 species of fish in the “snapper grouper complex.”

The proposed area for closing has since been shrunk by the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, but fishermen who depend on the 6,161-square-mile area of water from Savannah, Ga., to Melbourne, Fla., remain fearful of bankruptcy.

Robert Johnson, the owner of Jodie Lynn Charters in St. Augustine, Fla., estimated that if the closing plans are approved this spring, at least 600 boats and 1,800 fishing jobs would be lost — more if bait shops, marinas and dockside bars are included.

“They’re not just saying you can’t catch red snapper; if that was it, we might survive,” Mr. Johnson said. “But when you come in and say you can’t even fish where they live because you might catch one, we can’t.”

Fishermen also argue that the science driving the fisheries’ decisions comes from limited models that exaggerate declines in fish stocks and the role fishing plays.

Jerald S. Ault, a marine biologist at the University of Miami and an expert in statistical assessment of underwater populations, acknowledged that scientists were still struggling to assess the damage from coastal condominiums and houses, which have destroyed many of the mangroves where fish develop.

But he said that peer-reviewed statistical models showed clear reason for concern. Populations of most of the snapper and grouper species once so common in Florida waters are down 30 percent or more from their historic highs, according to recent estimates.

Keeping hooks and nets out of the water is simply the clearest path to improvement, Mr. Ault said. He noted that while the state’s commercial fleet had declined by 11 percent since the 1960s, to about 24,000 registered vessels, the number of recreational fishing vessels had soared to 944,000 in 2009, up from 128,000, in 1964.

“Unfortunately,” he said of today’s fishermen, “certain people have to pay a price for other people not paying attention to the resource.”

The result — and the disconnect between marketing materials and reality — is evident not just on restaurant menus, but at fish houses like Mr. Hill’s.

Sitting on the edge of a marina, it is an open warehouse with melting ice on concrete floors, brochures bragging about Florida fish and very little actual fish from Florida. Workers in white coats were busy on a recent morning cutting snapper flown in from Mexico, and on the blue sign for shoppers, nearly everything came from far away.

Mr. Hill, 59, a serious-sounding man in a flowered shirt, ran down the list. The salmon was from Norway. The yellowfin tuna? Frozen, from Ecuador. And the dolphin, or mahi mahi? Ecuador as well, Mr. Hill said, adding that in about a month, it could be caught locally.

It was a similar scene in the coolers at Independent Seafood in West Palm Beach, where the salmon came from Scotland and the largest crates stamped Florida held frogs’ legs and alligator meat. The food from Independent Seafood will end up on white tablecloths at some of the area’s fanciest restaurants, from South Beach to Palm Beach. But most of it will have come from abroad.

“We’re sourcing stuff all over the world,” said Mike Molina, a co-owner. “If you have product that’s not readily available all the time, the restaurants don’t put them on the menu.”

Does it matter? Some say no. “It’s still good fish,” said Luis Garcia, the owner of Garcia’s, a seafood restaurant on the Miami River that buys its grouper from Mexico.

But others, like Doug Gregory, a marine biologist with the University of Florida, say that overall quality has decreased because of looser regulations in other countries and longer shipping times — if you can even believe what the menu says.

Since 2006, grouper prices have climbed, and it has become one of the most commonly misrepresented food items on Florida menus, with 241 complaints investigated by state inspectors. Even the Eatz Capital Cafe a floor below the Florida Department of Agriculture was found in 2007 to have been selling a “catch of the day” that was supposedly grouper. In fact, it was catfish.

Mr. Gregory said he had almost stopped eating seafood because of the problems. Others, like the Hallers from Kansas, may feel differently. When told of his fish sandwich’s provenance, at first Mr. Haller was appalled.

“Well that’s not good,” he said. Then he took a bite.

“It’s pretty good fish,” he added. And at least he was still in Florida.

Not so sweet

2010-03-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Florida sugar growers sue to stop regulation under Clean Water Act
By PAUL QUINLAN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Two of the nation's largest sugar growers, Florida Crystals Corp. and U.S. Sugar Corp., are fighting a new push from the federal government to regulate them under the Clean Water Act.
The companies, which own 342,000 acres of land that was once part of the Everglades south of Lake Okeechobee, have filed federal suits that say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suddenly and improperly began requiring wetland destruction permits to converted their lands to non-agricultural use.
The requirement would allow the Corps to either block new plans or force the companies to pay for "mitigation," the preservation of wetlands elsewhere in proportion to those being destroyed .It's a sign that federal officials have taken new interest in the future of the farming region, whose lands are seen as critical to Everglades restoration. At the same time, so have rock mining companies and other industries feared to be counterproductive to environmental goals.
In the suits, Crystals argues that the requirement has impeded plans to create a 100-acre ash dump for its cane-burning power plant. The company now trucks the soot 60 miles away. U.S. Sugar complains of the delay in commencement of rock mining by Stuart Mining Industries, which is leasing land from U.S. Sugar and could be paying rent and royalties if work had started.
The lawsuits have profound implications for Florida's 700,000-acre Everglades Agricultural Area, land south of Lake Okeechobee that was flowing Everglades marsh before the government drained it half a century ago to create fertile farmland.
Crystals and U.S. Sugar argue that the implications extend far beyond South Florida's cane fields to the 53 million acres of U.S. farmland that was once wetlands. They call it a major policy shift that deserved public notice and comment.
"We have legislation here that's been promulgated by bureaucrats," said Dan Riesel, who represents Crystals. "They've done it in a way that is sort of clandestine."
Environmentalists counter that the move merely represents an interpretation of existing law. They say the wetland permit is necessary because the Everglades Agricultural Area, unlike other converted wetlands, requires the use of pumps, locks, levees and drainage canals to keep dry. Without active drainage, the land would revert to wetlands, the Corps argues in a 2009 memo cited by the U.S. Sugar suit.
"They're farming a riverbed that is pumped actively to remove the water from the land," said Eric Draper, lobbyist for Audubon of Florida.
The companies disagree and cite a 1993 Corps ruling that said farmland legally converted from wetlands in prior decades would not be subject to Clean Water Act requirements.
"It doesn't mean they can't have a mine and that they can't have a landfill," said Draper. "The real issue here is that there's going to be more mitigation. They don't want to have to mitigate."
In the suits, Crystals says the cost to offset destruction of one acre of wetlands in the region runs about $90,000. U.S. Sugar says the permits can cost, on average, $272,000 and take more than two years to obtain.
Corps and Department of Justice officials declined comment, citing the ongoing litigation

Support local farmers by asking Florida legislators to endorse the Florida Food Freedom Act, Senate Bill 1900

2010-03-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

Guest column: Bill would help small farms
Posted: March 7, 2010 - 12:20am

By Richard Villadoniga
Supporting local farmers by asking Florida legislators to endorse the Florida Food Freedom Act, Senate Bill 1900, will benefit St. Johns Country tremendously.

The Florida Food Freedom Act will allow small family farms to remain profitable and viable by allowing direct sales to consumers. These farms will be exempt from burdensome regulations that the longer, multi-layered industrial food distribution chain should be required to have. The relationship between the small-scale producer and the consumer, including the producer's integrity and the consumer's interest in and knowledge of how the food is raised, harvested, and prepared, provides sufficient oversight.

The Florida Food Freedom Act also opens up opportunities for agritourism and other new enterprises for Florida family farms, especially here on the First Coast, where we are fortunate to have a number of sites that reflect our past and current agricultural heritage. The act sparks the entrepreneurial spirit, rather than squashing it with burdensome regulations and fees. Those new entrepreneurial businesses will make Florida a more attractive place for tourists, as well as residents, and create new jobs.

When consumers are able to shop for food with local businesses and farmers, more of their dollars stay in the local community and help farms and ranches remain economically viable. For every dollar spent with a local company (or farmer), 45 cents stays in the community. For every dollar spent with a corporate chain, only 15 cents is reinvested in the local community.

Even the USDA agrees the biggest threats to food safety are centralized production, centralized processing, and long distance transportation. Small farms and local food processors are part of the solution to food safety. Raising meat, dairy, eggs, fruits, and vegetables as close as possible to the kitchens of the end-user, increases our food security. Lessening the regulatory burden imposed by the State of Florida will enhance the economic condition of family farms, improve public health, decrease environmental degradation and build a sense of community. Local food systems are inherently safer and more traceable.

Preserving farmland and open space helps local governments prosper as well. The cost of public services used by open land or farmland is much lower than the cost of public services provided to land used for residential purposes. The median cost for every dollar of revenue raised (taxes collected) for farm/open land use is just 36 cents in public services. On the other hand, for every dollar residential land use provides in taxes, it uses $1.16 in public services.

Given the economic, environmental, and cultural ramifications of this bill for our county, it just makes sense to take a moment and send your representatives a note letting them know you want them to pass the Florida Food Freedom Act, Senate Bill 1900 into law.

*

Richard Villadoniga is Leader for Slow Food First Coast (www.slowfoodfirstcoast.com.), a nonprofit organization that works toward creating a food system based on the principles of quality and pleasure, environmental sustainability, and social justice. www.slowfoodfirstcoast.com. He was awarded the Geoffrey Roberts Award (www.geoffreyrobertsaward.com) for 2007 to fund the Endangered Foods Tour project. He previously received two Fulbright fellowships to study in Japan and South Africa.

He is a teacher in the St. Johns County School District and a contributing food and travel writer for The St. Augustine Record.

There's a saying that you can either choose to pay your farmers now, or your doctors later. Who would you rather pay?

2010-02-22T05:07:00.000-08:00

Obesity: Agriculture's Ultimate Externality?
by Greg Plotkin

Published February 17, 2010 @ 01:01AM PT

When strolling through the aisles of the grocery store, most consumers have no idea that they are paying a far greater price for their Coca-Cola and Doritos than what their check-out total may lead them to believe.

These hidden and often unanticipated costs -- known as externalities in economic terms -- are not reflected in a product's purchase price but are instead passed along in the form of environmental impacts or health care costs that someone else must eventually pay.

Perhaps more than any other business sector, the agriculture industry has become an expert at making cheap food and externalizing its costs. For example, the widespread development of coastal "dead zones," is an external cost associated with the over-application of fertilizers and pesticides. These dead zones haven't made our food -- agriculture's end product -- any more expensive, but they have destroyed fisheries all over the world and cost many fishermen their livelihoods.

So while many Americans get to enjoy an endless supply of cheap calories, these may end up resulting in the greatest -- and ultimately, most expensive -- agricultural externality of them all: obesity.

The most recent estimates predict that if Americans continue to grow at their current rate, obesity will cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $350 billion a year, consuming an astonishing 21% of the country's total health care spending.

We can either continue to pass the true cost of our unhealthy diets onto our future selves, or we can begin to realize that paying a little bit more for healthy food now is the best way to cut down on the health care costs we pay later in life.

There's a saying that you can either choose to pay your farmers now, or your doctors later. Who would you rather pay?

I want to be a farmer when I grow up

2010-02-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.mnn.com/food/farms-gardens/stories/photographer-captures-the-essence-of-an-organic-learning-farm-in-florida http://www.blogger.com/

MNN.COM > Food > Farms & Gardens
Photographer captures the essence of an organic learning farm in Florida
Thanks to Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, Jake Stangel spent two weeks working with his hands, tilling some land — and taking some amazing photographs.
By Good MagazineFri, Feb 19 2010 at 2:25 PM EST
Read more: ORGANIC FARMING, PHOTOGRAPHY

ON THE FARM: Bringing sheep to pasture, early morning. (Photo: Jake Stangel)
In an effort to escape the hustle and bustle of his urban life, photographer Jake Stangel contacted Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. WWOOF, as it's more commonly known, links volunteers with organic farmers to "promote an educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming practices." WWOOF connected Stangel with a couple who operate an organic farm in Central Florida, where he spent two weeks learning how to work with his hands and till some land.

"I had this desire to leave the urban environment, to ditch the computer and the phone" says Stangel, who lives in Portland, Ore. "I got to work a handful of other people — to use my hands and power tools — on this beautiful farm in the middle of nowhere."

He may have left the computer at home, but he brought his camera with him, and he documented his work with remarkable imagery. What follows is a selection from Jake Stangel's "Florida Farming."

OK Em - Name That Food

2010-02-13T04:53:00.000-08:00

Going Greek for the Super Bowl

2010-02-08T05:43:00.001-08:00

Louis Pappas Famous Greek Salad - My version
Ingredients:

Potato Salad

6 boiling potatoes

4 whole green onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup whole green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Salt to taste

Greek Salad

1/2 medium head iceberg lettuce

1 head of Romaine lettuce

3 cups potato salad

4 small ripe tomatoes cut into 8 wedges each

1 cucumber, peeled and cut lengthwise into i inch strips

6 ounces crumbled feta cheese

1/2 jar pickled beet slices

12 Greek olives

six hardboiled eggs, quartered

Dressing:

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 TBS Oregano

Directions:

Make potato salad: Cook unpeeled potatoes in unsalted water until tender, about 20 minutes; cool until you can handle them. Peel potatoes; cut into chunks in large bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar and salt; add chopped green onions; toss. In small bowl combine parsley, sliced green onions, mayonnaise and salt; add to potatoes, mix well.

Chop the lettuce and put it in a large (very large) bowl with the tomatoes, cucumber, eggs and feta cheese. Mound potato salad in center.
Arrange the beets and the olives on top of the salad.

Mix the oil, vinegar and oregano in a jar and shake to emulsify.

Serve as dressing over the salad.

Roasted Tomato & Pepper Soup

2010-02-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

I went out to dinner with Ryan last night to a nice little Italian place called Patsy’s. Since both of us are trying to lose weight, and knowing we were going out, we abstained from eating for the entire day until he got out of work – around 8:30 pm. So naturally by that point we were ready to start eating unnecessary body parts. We ate an incredible amount of food: fresh bread, bruschetta with tomatoes, lemon juice and basil, mozzarella sticks – those were the appetizers – and for the entrée I got tortellini carbonara with prosciutto and onions, and Ryan got ravioli with meatballs. There was, unfortunately, no room for dessert. Believe me, though, we tried to find some.

Anyhow, so I woke up today still feeling uncomfortably full, not to mention rather guilty for so egregiously disregarding my diet, and decided to make something light to eat in the middle of the day. After taking a short one-person poll, I elected to make roasted tomato & pepper soup. I scanned a few recipes and none looked good, so what follows is more of less an amalgam of a bunch of recipes I read over and discarded. I was feeling incredibly lazy today so I used mostly canned ingredients, except for the hot peppers (the grocery store didn’t have any of my favorite chipotle peppers in adobo sauce). I’m sure this soup would be even better with fresh red peppers and tomatoes.

Roasted Tomato & Pepper Soup

2 28-oz cans whole, peeled tomatoes

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

2 15-oz cans roasted red peppers

6 oz. chile peppers (optional, but I like heat)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 medium sweet onions

4 cups milk

½ can evaporated milk, about ¾ cup

¼ cup flour

1 tablespoon vegetable soup base

Ground pepper, salt to taste

Preheat the oven to around 450 degrees. Slice the onions, de-seed the chile peppers and drain the tomatoes and canned peppers, but reserve the liquid – it’s all going in the soup. Line three baking sheets with aluminum foil and rub each with a teaspoon of the olive oil, and put the tomatoes, onions and peppers in their own trays. Sprinkle each with a teaspoon or two of garlic, and a little salt and pepper. Put them in the oven to roast for about 20–30 minutes at the preheated temperature, and then turn on the broiler until everything is black on top, probably another ten minutes. Make sure you check frequently while the broiler is on; things in my oven can go from pleasantly charred one second to totally inedible before I can turn around, so watch out. Take the trays out and let them cool.

Put the tomatoes, peppers and onions in a thick soup pot. Don’t scrape off any of the charred bits – they add a lot of flavor to the soup, even if they aren’t pretty. Add the reserved liquid from the cans and stir in the tomato paste. Using a hand blender or a conventional one, puree everything until very smooth. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, add the other tablespoon of olive oil and heat it on medium for a couple minutes until it’s bubbling, then add the flour and make a roux. Then add the milk and vegetable soup base and simmer for about ten minutes, whisking constantly so everything incorporates. When it has thickened nicely, take it off the stove and add it to the pureed tomatoes and peppers. Blend it again until has an even consistency, then put it back on the stove. Simmer for 15 or 20 minutes until it’s nice and hot, adding the evaporated milk toward the end for a creamier texture.

I served this with grilled cheese sandwiches and it was exactly what I was in the mood for. For the nutritionally minded, this recipe makes around 10 two-cup servings, and according to my diet software, it has 180 calories, about 5g fat, 28g carbs, 4g fiber and 9g protein per serving. (I used 2% milk and fat-free evaporated milk in the soup.)

[This sentence is a place-holder. My camera's batteries were dead so I couldn't take a picture, but one will go here the next time I re-heat some of the soup.]

"Chicken in every pot. And a car in every backyard, to boot."

2010-01-28T05:13:00.000-08:00

The new Republican idea of prosperity is a Wal-Mart every quarter mile and six lanes on every street, but that's a post for a different blog.

Last night we had Chicken in a Pot for dinner while we watched the State of the Union Address.
I have been living with the false impression that some president or other used this phrase in a speech but, in preparation for my post on this recipe, I found that not to be the case.

Promising a Chicken in Every Pot — Infoplease.com: "The Question:
Which president promised 'a chicken in every pot'?
The Answer:
It wasn't just chicken. During the presidential campaign of 1928, a circular published by the Republican Party claimed that if Herbert Hoover won there would be 'a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.'
Despite a landslide victory over Alfred Smith, the first Roman Catholic to run for president, the Republican Party's promise of prosperity was derailed seven months after Hoover took the oath of office. The stock market crash of 1929 plunged the country into the Great Depression and people eventually lost confidence in Hoover.
During his administration, however, there were several impressive accomplishments. He increased the acerage of U.S. national forests and parks by five million. He also worked out the engineering and funding of San Francisco's Bay Bridge, and re-organized the FBI. Despite these undertakings, American voters couldn't be persuded to elect him to a second term. With the Depression at its lowest point, voters elected Franklin D. Roosevelt to replace Hoover in 1932."

Who says history doesn't repeat itself - except the only impressive thing he did was get us into a war that is sucking us dry financially and we kept him for two terms.

But, regardless of who said what, Chicken in a Pot tastes great, is simple to make and everything cooks in the same dutch oven making clean up quick and easy.

Chicken in a Pot

Ingredients:

1 large chicken

2 Tbs Olive oil

1 Tbs dried rosemary or 2 4-inch sprigs of fresh rosemary

1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

1 pound of packaged baby carrots

8 small red potatoes

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup dry vermouth

2 Tbs flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Put the olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, salt and rosemary in the pot.

Roll the chicken around in the spices and oil to coat it evenly on all sides.

Place the potatoes and carrots around the sides of the chicken then pour in one cup of chicken broth and the wine.

Cover and bake for at least 3 hours.

Remove the chicken, potatoes and carrots to a serving platter. Mix the flour in the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth and add it to the cooking liquids in the pot. Stir over a burner on medium heat until it thickens to a gravy. Serve the gravy over the chicken and potatoes.

The good, the bad and the incidental

2010-01-27T05:36:00.000-08:00

The good:

Pizza is always good. Last night, it was probably better than good.

I made the same dough I usually do and topped it with provolone, crumbled Italian sausage, mozzarella, Parmesan and roasted red pepper.

Things were hopping around here yesterday and I didn't get a chance to make sauce, but that turned out to be a good thing too as I discovered a very acceptable pre-made pizza sauce, Dei Fratelli. I plan to keep a couple cans of this on hand for emergency purposes. It was so much better than any pre-made sauce I have ever tried in the past.

The bad:

I went to visit my neighbor and to bring her some of the shredded chicken nachos we had the other day. She asked me to look up a term her doctor used to describe her medical condition which she was unfamiliar with: Binswanger's Disease.

The term was unfamiliar to me as well but sadly, I am all too familiar with the condition.
Binswanger's is another term for Alzheimer's.
So now I get to tell my friend that she has been tentatively diagnosed with the same disease which killed my mother.

The incidental:

They are wrapping up the first stage of our sinkhole remediation. They ended up pumping 300 cubic yards of cement under the house, 100 cubic yards less than the worst-case scenario.
My excitement yesterday occurred about four feet in front of my computer on the other side of the sliding glass doors leading onto the porch. They were attempting to fill one of the last remaining grout points when the pipe shot out of the hole and straight through the ceiling of the porch with a horrific bang. Much excitement ensued. But today they are cleaning up and clearing out.
I feel sort of bad for my first post or two about the workers here. They have all been very nice and it's not their fault they were here to do a job that for me was living hell.
I think Jack will be sorry to see them leave. Now he will just have me to harass and, on top of that, I got his Frisbee stuck in a tree this morning when I was at the barn.

So, hopefully things will be back to normal around here for a while(are they ever normal?) until the shallow grouting starts February 12 when I will get to tell you what it's like to have expanding urethane injected under your house.

An interesting blog post

2010-01-26T06:41:00.000-08:00

Rebuttal for Urban Gardening and Some Other Thoughts
By jamesg, on January 25th, 2010

Alright, this got a little bit lengthier and more off topic than I had originally planned, but it’s already written so I may as well post it. The arguments against urban farming–its small scale, its questionable economic feasibility, and simply its difficulty–are all completely valid. However, these “problems” in my opinion are in fact the solution to what has become our food chain which is at best, misdirected by industry, and at worst, frankly disgusting and pushing some ethical boundaries to the limit.
As Barry Commoner once said, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” While urban farming may appear to cost more (in terms of labor, time commitment, space, or literal food costs), it takes into account all the externalities that the industrial food market machine does not. Our Dollar Menus and Happy Meals may seem cheaper, but only when ignoring many factors, namely environmental degradation, transportation, conglomerate business schemes and government subsidies insuring cheap corn.
I think that urban farming should kept at a small scale because while it may not seem as efficient as large-scale industrial agriculture, it is philosophically different. It represents a move towards the way things used to be done, taking with it the advantages of modern knowledge and technology. Mother nature really does know best, but there is a definite culture shock looming on the horizon. We are going to have to get over our need for instant gratification and massive, one-stop super stores. People (or more accurately, organisms in general) are much healthier and populations are much more stable when allowed to differentiate and specialize at local levels rather than the homogenous culture we have become accustomed to. Unfortunately for our industrialized society, this will require a rediscovery of such novel phenomena as seasonality and face-to-face interaction.
Thomas Jefferson was an important advocate for equalizing America, socially, economically and in this case, agriculturally. He proposed that the United States is nothing more than a giant grid-x, y, and z-where land is land for whatever purpose and everyone everywhere could and should exist in exactly the same way and live the same experience. However, the world doesn’t really work that way. Local conditions are key to survival. From a broad evolutionary perspective, communities are more stable when its members are allowed to specialize and differentiate. This also makes more sense in terms of energy use and natural resource consumption. Why, for example, do we continue to burn down the Amazon (thus contributing to positive feedback cycles of global climate change, desertification and ocean eutrophication) to grow oranges, which grow perfectly well in Florida, where instead, we drain and pave over the Everglades to maximize real estate. Somehow it doesn’t make sense that shipping food, materials, and products all over the world is somehow better than learning to use what we have at hand.
Globalization, in every aspect of our lives, has taken over. Everything we do and everything we are has been reduced to numbers streaming through cyberspace. I can search the internet for just about ANYTHING that I want, and not just find it, but have it delivered to this building by merely entering a credit card number and an address. Then the most involved thing I have to do, three to five business days later, is take the elevator (or heaven forbid, the stairs) down to the first floor to pick it up. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with this, or that I would change it; it’s a marvel of the modern world. But is what we’ve done with it best for us? Such an exchange of knowledge and ideas is fantastic, but it may be costing us a life worth living. While everyone in the world knowing everything that everyone else knows would be incredible for the progression of knowledge (maybe if Google and Wikipedia ruled the world), it does not mean we should all BE the same. Technology and globalization should offer us all the same resources and the same opportunities, but it should not advocate any particular way of life beyond what is necessary to coexist. What a bore the world would be if we all spoke the same language, ate the same foods, dressed the same way.
This leads me back to urban farming. It’s small. It can’t feed everyone. That’s the point. It’s simply one piece of the puzzle. There is no one answer to any of the problems humans face today. There is no silver bullet to solve the energy crisis. There is no simple panacea to food security woes. Everyone, along with his or her unique methods or field of study, has a part to play–a different part. This is key, I think, not just to urban farming, not to neighborhoods, and not to Detroit, but to any human endeavor of any size. Collaboration and a sense of place are becoming more and more important to everything we do as a species. Whether it’s a melting pot of nondescript assembly line workers or the acres upon acres of maize that cover this nation from coast to coast, it won’t work anymore. There can be freedom, and equality, and maybe even government to tell us so, but it will never change the fact that each person is undeniably and irrevocably different, simply incapable of forming a human yogurt–tasty for sure, but uniform and dull.

You gotta eat

2010-01-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

USF Study Shows First Direct Evidence of Ocean Acidification

2010-01-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

USF Study Shows First Direct Evidence of Ocean Acidification
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - News

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 20, 2010) – Seawater in a vast and deep section of the northeastern Pacific Ocean shows signs of increased acidity brought on by manmade carbon dioxide in the atmosphere -- a phenomenon that carries with it far-reaching ecological effects -- reports a team of researchers led by a University of South Florida College of Marine Science chemist.

The scientists, whose results are published in the American Geophysical Union’s journal Geophysical Research Letters, analyzed Pacific seawater between Oahu, Hawaii, and Kodiak, Alaska by comparing pH readings from 1991 and from 2006. This study provides the first direct measurements of basin-wide pH changes in the ocean’s depths and at its surface and has produced the first direct evidence of acidification across an entire ocean basin, the investigators said.

Principal investigator Robert Byrne, a USF seawater physical chemistry professor, said the study leaves no doubt that growing CO2 levels in the atmosphere are exerting major impacts on the world’s oceans.

“If this happens in a piece of ocean as big as a whole ocean basin, then this is a global phenomenon,” Byrne said.

Adding carbon dioxide to seawater makes it more acidic, and each year the world’s oceans absorb about one-third of the atmospheric CO2 produced by human activities.

Using pH-sensitive dyes that turn from purple to yellow in more acidic waters, the scientists were able to track changes produced by 15 years of CO2 uptake near the ocean's surface, Byrne said. In deeper waters, down to about half a mile, both anthropogenic and naturally occurring changes in CO2 and pH were seen. In the very deepest waters, no significant pH changes were seen.

The results verify earlier model projections that the oceans are becoming more acidic because of the uptake of carbon dioxide released as a result of fossil fuel burning, said Richard Feely, a member of the research team and chief scientist of the cruise and NOAA researcher from the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle.

Byrne and colleagues at USF’s College of Marine Science developed the methods for precise pH measurements and the project was the first time a team of researchers employed those methods in the field.

Byrne led a team of scientists that made pH measurements aboard the NOAA-National Science Foundation-sponsored cruise R/V Thomas G. Thompson in the spring of 2006 using state-of-the-art techniques developed at USF’s College of Marine Science. The researchers found that upper-ocean pH had, over the preceding one-and-a-half decades, decreased by approximately 0.026 units, equivalent to an average annual pH change of ‑0.0017, over a large section of the northeastern Pacific. Similar recent pH trends have been found at isolated time-series stations in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and corroborating observations have also been reported by scientists who study other CO2-related substances in seawater.

"The pH decrease is direct evidence for ocean acidification of a large portion of the North Pacific Ocean," said Richard Feely. "These dramatic changes can be attributed, in most part, to anthropogenic CO2 uptake by the ocean over a 15-year period.”

The implications for sea life and the world’s food web are serious, Byrne said. When seawater becomes more acidic, lower concentrations of carbonate result. Because the protective shells of sea organisms are made of calcium and carbonate, more acidic waters make it more difficult for many organisms to make their shells and thrive.

That affects not only the food web, but also many important processes essential for healthy marine ecosystems, such as coral reef formation, Byrne said.

The cruise was part of a decade-long series of repeat hydrographic sections jointly funded by NOAA-Office of Global Programs (now the Climate Program Office) and NSF-Division of Ocean Sciences as part of the Climate Variability and Predictability/CO2 Repeat Hydrography Program.

The program focuses on the need to monitor inventories of CO2 and heat in the ocean. Earlier programs under the World Ocean Circulation Experiment and U.S. Joint Ocean Global Flux Study have provided baseline observational fields.

Scientists from 11 academic institutions and two NOAA research laboratories participated in the expedition, whose goal was to determine how the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, land-use practices, and cement production will affect the chemistry and biology of the ocean.

Over the next millennium, the global oceans are expected to absorb approximately 90 percent of the CO2 emitted to the atmosphere, says Christopher Sabine, chief scientist for the first leg of the cruise.

"It is now established from models that there is a strong possibility that dissolved carbon dioxide in the ocean surface will double over its pre-industrial value by the middle of this century, with accompanying surface ocean pH decreases that are greater than those experienced during the transition from ice ages to warm ages," Sabine said. "The uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide by the ocean changes the chemistry of the oceans and can potentially have significant impacts on the biological systems in the upper oceans."

“Estimates of future atmospheric and oceanic CO2 concentrations, based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission scenarios and general circulation models, indicate that by the middle of this century atmospheric CO2 levels could reach more than 500 ppm, and near the end of the century they could be over 800 ppm. Current levels are near 390 ppm, and preindustrial levels were near 280 ppm," Feely said.

Corresponding models for the oceans indicate that surface water pH would drop approximately 0.4 pH units, and the carbonate ion concentration would decrease almost 50 percent by the end of the century. This surface ocean pH would be lower than it has been for more than 20 million years.

Byrne and many other scientists expect that even if substantial reductions are made in the pace at which humans produce carbon dioxide, ocean acidification will continue for hundreds of years to come.

“The bad news is it takes many hundreds of years for self-correcting factors to occur,” he said. “That leaves many centuries of ugly consequences.”

The University of South Florida is one of the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of only 25 public research universities nationwide with very high research activity that is designated as community engaged by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. USF was awarded $380.4 million in research contracts and grants in FY 2008/2009. The university offers 232 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. The USF System has a $1.8 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 47,000 students on institutions/campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.

-USF-

Friday sinkhole update

2010-01-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

The guys are packing it in for the day. They have already put about 60 hours in this week in their attempt to save us from the abyss.
So far, we've got 270 cubic yards of grout under us with 13 grout points to go.

Having the septic tank sucked out for the second time this week as I type.

I am ready for this to be over.

Well, the Chalupas aren't going to make it to the blog until my mind clears

2010-01-21T05:33:00.001-08:00

This sinkhole remediation business is throwing me all out of whack and I didn't take photos and the the chalupas were too good to waste on a post without them.

They starting grouting Monday and at day 4 have 22 pipes left to go. I've lost count of the number of truckloads of cement.

Dinner planning has taken a back burner to hand wringing and pacing.
This morning, we can't use the water - septic backing up again (oh, joy).

Last night we had Almost Chik-Fil-A chicken sandwiches, potato salad and some very excellent onion rings Emily made with a beer batter coating. I didn't bother making buns, just bought some.

Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 pounds of russet potatoes

1 tsp. salt

2Tbs red wine vinegar

1 cup mayonaise

6 hard bopiled eggs

3-4 Tbs sweet or dill pickle relish

Directions:

Boil the potatoes in their skins until they are cooked to your liking. Some people like mushy potato salad, some people like the slices or cubes a little bit firm.
I did mine for 20-25 minutes- we like our salad in between mushy and firm, but the time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes. I don't like peel in my salad so after the potaoes have cooked and cooled, I peel them and either slice them or cube them, depending on my mood. If you like the skin, leave it on.
While the potatoes are still warm sprinle on the vinegar and salt and toss. Add the chopped eggs, relish and mayonaise and chill for several hours.

Almost Chik-Fil-A Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients:
peanut oil
1 egg
1 cup milk
milk (for dipping chicken)
1 cup flour
2 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons salt
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved
4 plain hamburger buns
2 tablespoons melted butter
8 dill pickle slices

Directions:
Heat the peanut oil in a deep frywer to about 375°F.

In a small bowl beat the egg and stir in the milk.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt and pepper.
Dip each piece of chicken in milk and roll in flour mixture until completely covered.

Drop all 4 in the fryer and fry for approximately 15 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts.

While chicken is cooking, spread a coating of butter on the face of each bun.
When chicken is done, remove it from oil and drain on paper towels.
Place two pickles on each bottom bun, then top with chicken and top bun.
You can add lettuce, tomatoes, mayonaise and ketchup, but a purist will stick with just the pickles.

Emily's Beer Batter Onion Rings

Ingredients:

3 medium sized, sweet onions

2 eggs

1 bottle of Sam Adams beer

1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

1 tsp. salt

Oil for frying

enough flour to make a medium-thick batter, approximately 1 heaping cup, plus additional flour for coating the oinion rings prior to dipping them in the batter.

Directions:

Slice the onions into thick rings. Make the batter in a large bowl by combining the eggs, flour, salt, seasoning and beer.

Shake the onion rings in a bag with some flour to coat.

Dip the rings into the batter one at a time and fry between five and six at a time for four minutes then flip them over and fry for an additional 3 minutes.

Continue battering and frying until all the rings are cooked (this makes a large batch but I guarantee you will eat them all, cholesterol be damned.)

I should be back to posting recipes some day soon

2010-01-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

I am working on a post on shredded chicken chalupas I plan to call Chalupas from the edge: Food to sustain you through the ordeal of a sinkhole repair.

I was going to try and blog about the whole process but the week installing the 29 grout points was too gruesome to share on a food blog, trust me. (think sewage)
Here are some thoughts on day one of the actual pumping:

January 18, 2010

I lost count after 5 so I have no idea how many cement trucks full of cement they pumped into the first of the 29 grout points yesterday. What a nightmare. They estimated that they would need between 35 and 40 truckloads of cement to stabilize the whole house. So far, they have pumped more than 8 percent of them under my bedroom.
If all the grout points take 5 truck loads, that would be 150 cement truck loads for shit under my house and they will be at it for another 28 days.

Right now they are working right on the other side of the glass doors where I have my computer.
I had to get out of the house yesterday or Emily and I would have had to spend it staring at the butt cracks of the four guys working the pump, not to mention the guy who monitors a spot on the wall to make sure the house isn't shifting and the guy who monitors the guy who monitors the spot on the wall and the driver of the cement truck.

Poor Henry would have been beside himself.
Jack, the goofus, just goes bounding up to everybody trying to make friends. Isn't afraid of the trucks, the pumps or the freaking hoses snaked out all over the yard.

There is no more landscaping around the house. They pulled it all out including my rosemary bush. sob.

Author Robert Glennon says if we don't change the way we value water now, it might be too late.

2010-01-18T16:31:00.000-08:00

Entering a crisis

1/18/2010

Author Robert Glennon says if we don't change the way we value water now, it might be too late.

Robert Glennon. Photo by Daniel SnyderRobert Glennon lives in Arizona. It’s hot. It’s dry. The grass, the flowers, the cats, the dogs – they all scream for water.

But Glennon believes there will be a time when the luscious East is also screaming for water. In his second book, “Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What to Do About It,” Glennon attempts to present solutions to the ever present problem of water. Las Vegas has suggested importing Mississippi River water to solve its shortage problems, Tennessee has had to truck in water from Alabama when it ran out and Lake Superior (the largest freshwater body on Earth) was too shallow to float cargo ships in the summer of 2009.

Glennon says those in the landscaping industry have made large gains for a greener environment, but unless Americans understand the value of water, the latest gizmos and gadgets for water conservation won’t interest them.

What led you to write “Unquenchable”?
I did another book, “Water Follies,” that led me to give talks in 30-something states. In the course of that, I realized there were some real problems in sections of the countries that weren’t water scarce, like Florida, Georgia, North Carolina. I also had a project going on to study what was going on in the West, how water was being reallocated by sales and leases of water. There were people who needed new supplies and were going to farmers and asking them to sell some water. I wanted to write a book that would really resonate with the general public, not just about ground water or surface water, not just the West but also the East that included conservation, dam building and environmental problems.

How are landscape and lawncare professionals handling water?
The people who are working with water – turf, xeriscaping, residential, commercial – they all take pride in what they’re doing. They don’t want to waste water. If they do, they’re threatening their own livelihood in the business.

How do you feel about landscaping companies current use of irrigation techniques?
From my perspective, there’s been some tremendous sophistication for some years. There are smart controllers that use satellite data that can tap into soil sensors. There’s all kinds of neat stuff out there. The technology is there to use water very efficiently. I don’t think there are financial incentives to do so. The price of water is too low. Unless we price it right, people won’t take advantage of the great technology in the industry.

The Irrigation Association recently released a report saying the country used slightly less water in 2005 than in 2000. How do you think it will look in 2010?
Water use has gone down. I think it is absolutely due to changes in the irrigation processes, particularly in the agriculture sector. They’re changing from flood irrigation to center pivot systems and from center pivot systems to drip or micro-irrigation. There is considerable conservation that has come from those practices. There are two problems. The fact that overall national use went down obscures the fact that regionally, we have huge shortages. That’s the problem, the fact that nationwide the overall use is down slightly obscures the fact that people are moving from where the water is to where it isn’t. California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Georgia – the fastest growing states in the country are suffering water shortages.

The report is largely based not on people actually using less water, because the number of people (in the country) went up. What really affected the numbers is that industries used less. Power plants used less. With the federal Clean Water Act, it was going to be expensive for industries if they didn’t figure out ways to use water more efficiently. Intel has reduced its water use by 75 percent, but how much more could they reduce? They’re not going to go down another 22 percent to only 3 percent. Both industry and power industry have made substantial improvements in their water use, but we can’t expect that to happen again. There are a lot of demands in new energy.

It’s not an environmental problem, but an economic problem.

What do most people not know about the politics behind water?
Most people don’t even know where their water comes from. There are public opinions in California that show people are woefully ignorant of where their water is coming from. There’s a real challenge for people who are in the water business to try and show people this is a scarce resource.

You can have conservation programs where you run education campaigns. You could have rules and regulations that prohibit watering lawns a certain number of times a week. What we haven’t done in the United States is use price signals. We Americans are spoiled. We wake up in the morning and we turn on the tap and it’s less money than we pay for cell phone service or cable television. It’s very frustrating. There are lots of neat tools out there (for landscape professionals), but in many situations, it’s not even worth installing the meters or the other gizmos because the price of water is so low. The average homeowner has no interest in saving water. As I go around speaking to people in the irrigation business, I hear these horror stories of customers who just don’t have any interest in saving water because the water rates are so cheap. That’s a huge problem.

Have we learned anything from extreme situations? Have ‘temporary’ attitudes – like when a drought limits water use – turned into permanent conservation?
All too often it doesn’t. Georgia is a good example: They didn’t learn a darn thing from the drought. Nothing substantial has changed in Georgia. They saw themselves facing a crisis and they did nothing. They took short-term action. It was a band-aid over the wound. And that’s karma. Apathy rules.
The author is an intern at Lawn & Landscape magazine. She can be reached at kpickerel@gie.net.

The Keys to a Thriving Local Food System

2010-01-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

The Key to Local Food Systems' Survival: Strong Community Support
Let's get back to local communities.
By Sara Novak
Columbia, SC, USA | Fri Jan 8, 2010 03:00 PM ET

John Wilkes/Getty Images

READ MORE ABOUT:
Eco-Friendly Foods | Food Miles | Local Food

I read the most interesting article on Grist the other day and it brought to light some local food issues that are not getting nearly enough attention. While farmers' markets are growing, small farms are becoming trendy, and sustainable agriculture has made its way back into the limelight, producers are just one piece of the local food puzzle. According to an article on Grist, without a vibrant rural community, the emerging local food system cannot survive.

If a farmer has no place close to home to have grains milled, livestock butchered, or items sold, a prosperous local community is difficult. Each tiny rural community used to have their own butcher, mill, grocer, and farm supply shop, but in recent decades as industrial and factory farming have taken over, these small entities were pushed out of business. Larger corporate grocers are less likely to purchase local foods because these stores have minimums which most small farmers cannot reach. The same goes for butchers, millers, and processors. We have to think of the big picture to make local food a real force.

The Keys to a Thriving Local Food System

1. Support Local Businesses

For a thriving rural community to exist, you need businesses holding it up. This means always frequenting your neighborhood grocer over large chain establishments. They are much more likely to purchase from local farmers and producers. And on that note, when you're at the store, don't just look for local produce and dairy, try and find boutique food retailers from your area. Also look for local meats. I buy local tofu, jam, honey, and granola (if I don't make my own that week). Tell your friends about your purchases and be the biggest advocate for your community's local food producers.

2. Encourage Entrepreneurship in Your Community

While small size farming is becoming an increasingly well respected field, it's crucial to spread the entrepreneurial spirit to the businesses that support it. Local community colleges used to have classes on butchering and other professional skills like these, but many have fallen by the waist side. Consider taking the plunge and opening a small business yourself. After all, it is the small businesses that hold this nation up.

3. Engage in Community Supported Initiatives

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has grown in popularity in the past few years and with good reason, it's likely the best deal going for fresh local eats. And Community Supported Restaurants are another step in the right direction. According to Mother Nature Network, the next big thing in the realm of local eating are Community Supported Restaurants. Similar to the way that farms get their funding with CSAs, restaurants receive funding from the community. One of the first restaurants to try the model was Claire's in Hardwick, Vt. The Preservation Trust of Vermont initially contributed $15,000 to the restaurant and then $50,000 was raised by selling $1,000 restaurant coupons to members of the community. This again, encourages entrepreneurship in your small town.

4. Support Local Food Cooperatives

Local food co-ops like Oklahoma Food Cooperative sell food and non-food products that are made in Oklahoma. They do this via an order delivery system based on their Web site and a network of members and volunteers across the state. This makes all of the state's local food available and easy to order. Check and see if your state has such a system and if not, try other local food sites like Local Harvest. Read my guide to finding local food in your community.

5. Become a Ruralpolitan

Rachel wrote that a Wall Street Journal story illustrated the growing trend of "ruralpolitans" moving from urban or even suburban homes and out to the country. Young people are feeling a pull to rural communities and this, in my opinion, is the single most important aspect of a local food structure. Establishing a vibrant rural community is the key. A community that is self sufficient and can survive from within is critical. It's a shift in the current system that may seem overwhelming, but it is so possible and would, in the end, lead to a shifting of the entire food mentality. It's a welcomed change for the planet and the palette.

`Wow! This is a little piece of heaven,'

2010-01-07T04:47:00.000-08:00

Ambitious Redland roadside stand rises from real-estate collapse
BY ANA VECIANA-SUAREZ
aveciana@MiamiHerald.com

Preserves, pasta sauce and fresh fruits are among the products at Whitney's Produce and Market Place. A couple of years back, when real estate was booming and the good times rolling, Glenn and Christina Whitney used their bucolic five-acre plot in the Redland as a place to park the 25 or so vehicles they owned through their property management company.
The orchard with the waxy-leafed trees and plump avocados? An afterthought -- a tasty one, to be sure, but an afterthought just the same. They always hired someone to pick and pack the crop.

Then last year the packing house returned 17 boxes of avocados because they were too small to sell commercially.

What to do?

``We had to change work hats,'' says Glenn. ``There was no way we could eat or do anything with that many avocados.''

So they set up a roadside stand in the front of the orchard at Southwest 232nd Street and 139th Avenue. The avocados sold like . . . well, like avocados do in South Florida.

That inspired the Whitneys. The real estate market was tanking and their property management business slowing; they had cut their 55-person staff to 15. It was time to make better use of their rural land.

Thus was Whitney's Produce & Market Place born. In the year since, the couple has put up a pole barn -- ``We really needed the shade,'' Christina says -- added refrigeration and expanded their offerings.

``Little by little we just got into it,'' says Christina, whose family was busy this week protecting plants from the cold with plastic sheeting. ``We had the Key limes, so we started making Key lime pie. Then we had all those banana trees and I had this recipe we all really like, so it was the banana bread.''

Strawberry jam, mango bread, guacaomole dip, spaghetti sauce, smoothies and milkshakes joined the lineup along with fresh fruits and vegetables. Next field-to-table items in the pipeline: grilled tomato sandwiches and tomato soup.

As the business expands, the Whitneys hope to create ``a Norman Brothers kind of place where you come to eat and relax and just enjoy yourself,'' says Glenn, referring to the landmark Kendall produce market. ``We want this to be a place you experience.''

``They have lots of places to sit, so I always stick around to talk,'' says customer Joan Cortez, who stops by two or three times a week. ``They're the nicest people going. They have the perfect personality for what they're doing.''

Her favorite item? ''They have a Key lime pie that is to die for.''

``They have this vision of what they want to do and how they want to make people feel when they're here,'' says Glenn's sister, Robin Cromer, who moved from Orlando with her husband, Tim, to help with the operation.

The Whitneys, Cromer says, are not afraid to experiment. Case in point: the hydroponic stackers suggested to them by Miami-Dade County Agriculture Manager Charles LaPradd as a way to maximum space.

They now have about 5,000 plants -- broccoli, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, even corn -- growing in a perlite and vermiculite medium in white poly-styrene stacked pots. Glenn dreams of expanding to 150,000 plants.

``It's amazing how this saves space,'' he says, leading a visitor down the tidy rows. ``You can put 100,000 plants on an acre, and you use 80 percent less water.''

They've also added a post on the east side of the property so trail riders can tie their horses when they stop by for a snack. A bucket of water and fresh carrots are provided, too.

One Sunday a month, they invite customers on their growing e-mail list to a potluck. They cook the main dish and guests -- usually 20 to 30 -- others provide the sides.

Most customers spot the place driving by or hear about it from friends. Nancy Moller of West Kendall found out about Whitney's from Cortez, a fellow teacher at Oliver Hoover Elementary. Moller comes for the fresh herbs and red sauce.

``It's great to get away the commercial and boxed stuff,'' she says. ``Every time I'm in the area I make sure to stop by.''

Christine, 44, comes from a New Jersey farming family that also ran a restaurant and catering company. Glenn,50, was born and raised in Cutler Ridge (now known as Cutler Bay). His dad, a Marine colonel, and mom, a Julliard-trained musician, kept their six children busy with sports, music lessons and church activities. As a kid, Glenn ran his own lawn service and washed dishes at a restaurant.

Though he eventually raced cars in the Florida Pro Series, he stayed in the restaurant business for a while, learning to make everything from spaghetti sauce to subs. Recipes he perfected in that past life have become the inspiration for the products he now sells. His guacamole dip, for instance, is flavored with unusual ingredients: crushed pistachio nuts and goat cheese.

When he brought Christine out to the Redland for the first time in the late 1990s, ``I thought, `Wow! This is a little piece of heaven,' '' she recalls.

Now they spend 12-plus-hour days baking, cooking, cleaning, picking fruit, trimming trees. Their three teenage daughters join them on weekends.

``Being outdoors and working with family is how life should be,'' Christine says. ``I love it. We eat lunch together, we plan together. We cook and eat fresh produce together.''

``Yep,'' quips Glenn. ``Being out here is also about as close I can get to playing golf.''

"Everybody needs to eat..."

2010-01-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

How one farm got off the ground in Sarasota

By Kate Spinner Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: Monday, January 4, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 10:50 p.m.
SARASOTA - In an industrial park about a mile from Main Street, mechanics repair cars, cleaners launder draperies and Vincent Dessberg grows crops on the roof of his old glass shop.

Dessberg used to fuse glass into colorful windows. But after the economic downturn he turned from the kiln, seeing better opportunity on his 3,000 square-foot roof.

"Nobody needs glass. Everybody needs to eat," he said.

His lettuce is selling at the Sarasota Downtown Farmer's Market. Other fruits and vegetables -- cauliflower, okra, goji berries -- are bound for dinner plates at some of the city's best restaurants.

With about 6,000 plants, this new small farm is by far the most urban in the county. Crops grow vertically in 180 hydroponic planters that stand about six feet tall.

Another 114 pots border a shaded chain link fence that keeps people and plants from plunging to the asphalt below.

While big cities such and New York and Montreal embraced rooftop agriculture a few years ago, Dessberg is setting this green trend in Sarasota on a commercial scale.

Pipes transport water and fertilizer above a dizzying maze of green. Clusters of ripening strawberries and fat green tomatoes dangle from hearty vines. Heads of lettuce and leaves of broccoli and arugula burst from a soil of coconut husk and perlite.

The list of crops seems endless: cucumbers, broccoli, squash, peppers, mustard greens beans, cauliflower, herbs. Innterest from restaurants is growing, said John Matthews, founder of Suncoast Food Alliance, a business that connects area restaurants with fresh produce from local farmers.

"A little bit of it is the novelty," Matthews said. "Restaurants can use that as an enticement."

The hydroponic set-up, including plants, cost $25,000. If sales go well, Dessberg plans to expand to other roofs. Already, he said, he has an offer of roof space from a neighboring business.

He is also considering opening a small restaurant himself in the shop space.

The farm began as a home experiment. Dessberg bought about 50 hydroponic stacks last year and learned growing techniques. He had enough success that he planned to expand horizontally on a neighbor's three acres, until the deal fell through.

Later, he logged on to Google Earth, the computer program allowing people to zoom in on satellite images globally. His farming inspiration came from the colorful rooftops of Tokyo.

Now, he wants everyone with a flat roof to follow his lead.

"If it's a flat roof it should have farming. If it's a slanted roof it should have solar panels," Dessberg said.

Although the rooftop approach is unique, Dessberg is not in uncharted territory.

Hydroponic farming can be a profitable businesses, said John Lawson, owner of Hydro Harvest Farms in Ruskin.

After "a six figure expenditure" in the business five years ago, Lawson expects a profit this year or next.

Lawson has volume on his side. He grows 25,000 plants on about an acre -- an amount that would take six to seven acres on a conventional farm.

He turned to hydroponics because of limited space and to conserve water. The method demands just 20 percent of the water a traditional farm needs.

Rooftop hydroponics also appeals to Lawson. He is partnering with Florida Aquarium in Tampa to build a hydroponic farm on the roof there next year.

Those rooftop vegetables will not go to restaurants, however. Instead, the crops will feed fish.

Florida is too busy trying to build more subdivisions than it is sustaining its population. "The possibilities are limited only by lack of will."

2010-01-03T06:34:00.000-08:00

The demand is there for locally grown food
By Cynthia Oi

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 03, 2010

The thought that Hawaii could produce enough food to feed its human inhabitants comes up from time to time. It is usually dismissed as a fanciful idea of sentimentalists wanting to return to a Utopian island existence that never really was.
Now comes a study suggesting that early Hawaiian agriculture was vast and substantially more complex than previously known, implying that what was grown fed a population of perhaps a million people, which is about the present occupancy of Hawaii.
Samuel M. Gon III was clearly excited by the findings of a team of researchers and scientists from noted institutions.
"If a million mouths could be fed back then, this points to a future where we can wean our reliance on food from the outside world," said Gon, who as senior scientist with The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii participated in the study.
I admire Gon's vision, but I doubt that many of Hawaii's political, business, corporate and investment leaders would accept his assessment. Neither would many who claim to represent agriculture and farming interests here.
Hawaii is too far gone in its obligations to use its land and water for other purposes. Those natural resources produce far more dollars when consumed for roofs and walls and for quenching a thirst for revenue streams fed by an ever-increasing number of people, both transient and permanent.
To change direction would be like trying to divert a rail car by heaping taro on a $5 billion track. And with food tastes the way they are, with hamburgers and fries as typical sustenance rather than poi and sweet potatoes, growing everything we want to eat would be impossible.
Still, we can cultivate a lot of what goes into our meals.
A look at the dozens of farmers markets that have sprung up on every island in the past few years—proof of the desire of local consumers for local foods—shows the wealth of fruits, veggies, meat, eggs and dairy products that originate in native soil.
Speckled oranges from trees in Kau, considered unconventional two decades ago, are now common in grocery stores. Local lemons also look different, but their flavor and juice are far better than that of the yellow, thick-pith varieties from California, Florida or Mexico.
Strawberries from Kula or Waimea take the shortcake to higher taste levels, and, if experimental crops turn out well, blueberries and other summer berries from Hawaii island and Maui will soon be on our tables year-round.
Less fancy stuff, like bok choy, onions, peppers, potatoes and leafy greens are already familiar, locally grown plate-lunch ingredients. With planning and incentives, those could be part of school lunches as well.
Maybe we can't grow staples like rice, wheat and cattle in financially practical quantities. But there are thousands of empty acres, all suitable for one kind of crop or another.
If farmers had the infrastructure they needed—dependable water supply, long-term land leases, reasonably priced, reliable transportation and distribution networks—Hawaii could become less dependent on California, Florida and Mexico for food.
The possibilities are limited only by lack of will.
Cynthia Oi can be reached at coi@starbulletin.com.The thought that Hawaii could produce enough food to feed its human inhabitants comes up from time to time. It is usually dismissed as a fanciful idea of sentimentalists wanting to return to a Utopian island existence that never really was.

Now comes a study suggesting that early Hawaiian agriculture was vast and substantially more complex than previously known, implying that what was grown fed a population of perhaps a million people, which is about the present occupancy of Hawaii.

Samuel M. Gon III was clearly excited by the findings of a team of researchers and scientists from noted institutions.

"If a million mouths could be fed back then, this points to a future where we can wean our reliance on food from the outside world," said Gon, who as senior scientist with The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii participated in the study.

I admire Gon's vision, but I doubt that many of Hawaii's political, business, corporate and investment leaders would accept his assessment. Neither would many who claim to represent agriculture and farming interests here.

Hawaii is too far gone in its obligations to use its land and water for other purposes. Those natural resources produce far more dollars when consumed for roofs and walls and for quenching a thirst for revenue streams fed by an ever-increasing number of people, both transient and permanent.

To change direction would be like trying to divert a rail car by heaping taro on a $5 billion track. And with food tastes the way they are, with hamburgers and fries as typical sustenance rather than poi and sweet potatoes, growing everything we want to eat would be impossible.

Still, we can cultivate a lot of what goes into our meals.

A look at the dozens of farmers markets that have sprung up on every island in the past few years—proof of the desire of local consumers for local foods—shows the wealth of fruits, veggies, meat, eggs and dairy products that originate in native soil.

Speckled oranges from trees in Kau, considered unconventional two decades ago, are now common in grocery stores. Local lemons also look different, but their flavor and juice are far better than that of the yellow, thick-pith varieties from California, Florida or Mexico.

Strawberries from Kula or Waimea take the shortcake to higher taste levels, and, if experimental crops turn out well, blueberries and other summer berries from Hawaii island and Maui will soon be on our tables year-round.

Less fancy stuff, like bok choy, onions, peppers, potatoes and leafy greens are already familiar, locally grown plate-lunch ingredients. With planning and incentives, those could be part of school lunches as well.

Maybe we can't grow staples like rice, wheat and cattle in financially practical quantities. But there are thousands of empty acres, all suitable for one kind of crop or another.

If farmers had the infrastructure they needed—dependable water supply, long-term land leases, reasonably priced, reliable transportation and distribution networks—Hawaii could become less dependent on California, Florida and Mexico for food.

The possibilities are limited only by lack of will.

Cynthia Oi can be reached at coi@starbulletin.com.

Not how I think about our food supply, but what do I know?

2010-01-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

Agri-Food Thoughts
by Ned W. Schmidt

Living in Florida, as this author does, often comes with minor problems. As one of the biggest batches of cold, snowy winter storms ravages North America, records of all kinds are being broken. Dallas, as an example, had a white Christmas for the first time in 80 years. But, the UK also has problems. Winter weather there may have damaged the Brussels sprouts crop. Is that not real suffering? Relative to all that, what is our problem in Florida? Cannot remember where we put that pair of socks last year.

We can soon place global warming on the List of Never Happened Forecasts. That list was officially started the day after the Millennium. Also on it is a perennial favorite, going around again, of the imminent collapse of the Chinese economy. U.S. Congress is considering a law that is claimed will reduce the U.S. deficit. On the Never Happen List that goes. And a real favorite on that list is that equities never have a ten-year loss. Perhaps best of a year ago was that commodity investing was dead.

As the year is drawing to a close, our fist chart above seems appropriate. For 2009, the S&P 500 price return will likely be better than that for Agri-Food commodity prices. However, the difference is not much. That said, longer term superiority of the return provided by Agri-Food commodity prices is readily evident in that chart.

Our second chart, below, looks at the price change of the more important Agri-Food prices over the past almost three years. All of them show a percentage change better than the S&P 500. In fact a box of oats in the pantry outperformed the stock market over that period of time. Not bad for an investment theme declared dead on numerous occasions by investment gurus.

Many reasons might explain why Agri-Food prices have risen more than the value of equities. However, the principal reason is that Agri-Foods are bought to be consumed. Stocks are bought to be sold. The supply of Agri-Food is finite, while the supply of equities is infinite.

If one buys a share of IBM, that stock is moved from one investor's portfolio to the buyer's portfolio. It might reside there for years. It does not disappear. However, if one buys a pound of rice, the intentions of the buyer are very clear. The buyer intends to eat it. That rice will disappear, be consumed, never again to be seen. Prices for Agri-Foods are real economic transactions, not financial transactions like that purchase of IBM stock.

A further difference is that the transaction in IBM stock does not change the total supply of IBM stock in existence. A purchase of corn will be consumed, and therefore reduce the total supply of corn in existence. Agri-Food transactions reduce the available supply.

Transactions in IBM stock can continue to occur even if no new IBM stock is created. If no soybeans are produced by farmers growing it in the dirt, no future transactions in soybeans can occur. Soybeans are not produced in a factory, and neither are corn, oats, canola, etc.

The future supply of Agri-Food is influenced by today's prices. If the price of IBM stock declines, the future supply of IBM stock will be unaffected. If the price of wheat declines today, the future supply of wheat will decline. The farmer may wish to produce wheat in the future. However, if a price sufficient to cover the costs of future planting, feeding, and harvesting of wheat is not received, ultimately the farmer will be unable to produce wheat.

Higher Agri-Food prices and larger volumes translate into revenue growth for the producers of Agri-Foods. They will spend those revenues with those vendors that provide them with everything from seed to fertilizer to machinery. Those buying from the farmers will also have higher revenues.

As our final chart above shows, the shares of those companies active in the Agri-Food revenue stream have performed quite well to date. The next year will not likely repeat the excellent results of 2009, but that may be true of all equities. That acknowledgment made, the economic prospects for these companies in the coming decade seem good.

Few opportunities exist for global investors to participate in the positive investment consequences of economic growth in China and India. Agri-Food is a sector that benefits from the higher consumer incomes and spending that flow from that economic growth. Imagine 2.4 billion consumers striving to buy the products produced and delivered by Agri-Food companies. Where else can you find such strong fundamentals? To start building your knowledge of Agri-Food use this link: http://home.att.net/~nwschmidt/Order_AgriValueRECENT.html

The exceptional response to the 3rd Annual U.S. Agricultural Land As An Investment Portfolio Consideration, 2009 has exceeded expectations. This work is the definitive annual study of the role of U.S. agricultural land in an investment portfolio. It is a rigorous statistical analysis suitable for the sophisticated investor. The 60 page PDF file is delivered via email, and is available at the following link: http://home.att.net/~nwschmidt/OrderAgriLand2009.html

AGRI-FOOD THOUGHTS is from Ned W. Schmidt,CFA,CEBS, publisher of The Agri-Food Value View, a monthly exploration of the Agri-Food grand cycle being created by China, India, and Eco-energy. To receive this publication, use this link: http://home.att.net/~nwschmidt/Order_AgriValue.html.

Christmas dinner

2009-12-29T10:43:00.001-08:00

I'll post recipes for roast beef sirloin, mashed potatoes and gravy and Yorkshire pudding if anybody wants me to.

Where is Jack LaLanne when you really need him?

2009-11-24T04:33:00.000-08:00

This post has been a niggling thought in the back of my head since I saw a piece on "Squeezing the Truths out of Juice Myths" on CBS The Early Show last week. The story bothered me when I saw it, but I ignored it and it's been festering like a splinter ever since.

This is a line from the story as posted on the Early Show website:

"Dr. Jennifer Ashton debunked myths about the health benefits of juice. In some cases, juices have more calories than soda."

I need to add a Dave Barry-like disclaimer here: I'm not making this up.

Say what? Since when is number of calories the determining factor in terms of whether or not a food is good for you?

Am I the only one who thinks it is dangerous for a "doctor" to be telling parents that soda is better for their children than juice because it has fewer calories?

Here's an excerpt from the show transcript:

A cup of apple juice, she said, can contain 117 calories while a cup of cola contains just 91 calories and is also less caloric than orange juice (105 calories). A cup of grape juice has 154 calories. There's also more than 37 grams of sugar in a glass of grape juice, compared with cola's 22 grams. "If you just go by calorie to calorie and put them head to head...you could be getting a lot more bang for the buck in terms of calories, obviously sugar, in the juice versus the soda," Ashton said.

Maybe there is some validity to the problem of parents giving their children too much of a good thing, but why not just tell them to try and get their kids to drink more water instead of making it look like - in a comparison between soda and juice - soda might be a better choice?

I'm pretty sure this is the same woman who tried to tell us a month or so ago that Fruit Loops contain an arsenal of antioxidants. http://cookingoutloud.blogspot.com/2009/08/is-there-some-conspiracy-to-keep-us.html

Stories like these make me wonder who is paying for these "studies."

Scenes from the Southside

2009-11-16T04:47:00.000-08:00

My mother fixed chicken many ways - roasted, fricasseed, chicken and dumplings - but frying was never part of her repertoire.

Before I met William, my idea of fried chicken was the stuff that the Colonel sells by the bucket.

Every summer we would drive from New Jersey to visit my grandmother in Florida.
Some of my fondest memories are of blistering August afternoons sitting on the beach in Dunedin turning various shades of red and eating volumes of original recipe and extra crispy. Wet naps were optional, sand was not.

The first time we visited William's hometown in North Carolina after we were married, my concept of fried chicken changed forever.

From my first bite of Parker's fried chicken in Greenville I knew I would never eat chicken from a bucket ever again unless I was desperate. And then there were the corn sticks and the hush puppies!

Since it was my first time meeting my husband's extended family, half the population of the state dropped in to visit every day we were there (I started to feel as if I was being vet-checked and wouldn't have been surprised if someone had asked if they could take a look at my teeth). But the good news was, everybody that came to see us, brought food.

I was in hog heaven. Not only did I experience chicken enlightenment, I had my first East Carolina pulled pork barbecue sandwich and decided that Farmville had to be close to Nirvana. How could it not be with Jack Cobb's at one end of town and Contentnea Creek BBQ on the other?

I may never be able to replicate Aunt Ann's marvelous turkey gravy with pieces of hardboiled eggs, but, after much trial and error, I can fry a mean piece of chicken.

Buttermilk fried chicken

Ingredients:

1 3-4 pound fryer

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons Creole seasonings

(Tony Chachere’s or Zatarain’s)

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups unbleached all purpose white flour

Directions:

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces, removing the backbone.

Put the buttermilk, seasoning and pepper into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and mix well.

Add the chicken, close the bag and turn it over a few times to coat the chicken with the mixture then put the bag of chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for at least two hours or overnight.

Put the flour in a plastic bag or large bowl. Remove the chicken pieces one at a time and shake in the bag or dredge in the flour in the bowl to coat.

Place on a baking sheet and let the coated chicken sit in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. If the coating is wet, shake or dredge in the flour for a second time (makes a crispier coating).

Gently shake off the excess flour and deep fry four pieces at a time for 20 minutes, starting with the legs and thighs. Place the first four pieces on a baking sheet in a warm oven while the second batch is frying.

Carolina On My Mind...

carolina on my mind songs music videos lyrics

Tourte reform

2009-11-14T06:40:00.001-08:00

When I die and go to heaven, I'm going to have a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a Viking gas stove.

I have a confession to make. I hate my kitchen.

Under no circumstances will I ever buy another smooth surface electric range. The front right burner has two settings that work - el scorcho and not hot enough. The white porcelain has darkened over the burners and, no matter how hard I try, they never look clean any more.

The oven is fickle and runs sometimes too hot, and sometimes not, which makes baking somewhat of an adventure.

My refrigerator never seems to have enough room.

The sinkhole is making the kitchen floors wavy and my cabinet doors gape annoyingly open.

I try to look at things from the perspective of the lyrics of a Sheryl Crow song:

"It isn't having what you want, it's wanting what you've got."

But I can dream.

What does any of this have to do with the recipe?

Well, not much.

I've been watching cooking shows on TV for a very long time and I'm starting to become a little disappointed in the offerings on the Food Network.

In my opinion, the shows seem to be less about food and more about personalities and selling cookware or knicknacks - like Semi-Homemade - or create dishes using equipment and ingredients no home cook realistically has access to - like Iron Chef. (When was the last time you saw squab or sea urchin at the grocery store?)

The other day we were flipping through the channels and came across an old Julia Child series on PBS.

Julia was all about the food and never seemed to rely on fancy gagets or equipment. She created her masterpeices with quality ingredients, a serviceable stove, a few good pots, pans and knives and a copper bowl and a whisk.

Tourte Milanese adapted from the PBS series In the Kitchen with Julia - Episode: Puff pastry with Michel Richard

Ingredients:

1 pound puff pastry
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound fresh spinach (blanched, chopped, and drained very well)
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 large roasted red bell peppers
8 extra large eggs
2 teaspoons chopped chives
2 teaspoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
salt, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
½ pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
½ pound thinly sliced ham
soft butter to grease pan
1 beaten egg for egg wash

Directions:

Grease an 8-inch spring form pan with soft butter. Roll out ¾ of the puff pastry ¼ inch thick and line bottom and sides of pan leaving a 1-inch overhang. Roll out the remaining pastry into ¼ inch thick and cut out 8-inch circle. Transfer into a plate. Keep both pastries refrigerated while preparing the filling.

To roast peppers: If you have a gas stove, turn one burner on low to medium and place pepper directly on the flame to char the outside skin and soften the pepper. Keep turning the pepper until all sides are charred. Put the peppers in a paper or plastic bag to steam then peel the charred skin from the pepper and remove the stem and seeds.
The peppers can be roasted the same way on an outdoor gas or charcoal grill or in an electric oven set to broil.

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet. Add spinach and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat, set aside.

To make the omelets, whisk four eggs in a bowl then add half of the herbs and salt to taste. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat, coating the bottom of skillet evenly. Pour the egg mixture and stir briefly. As eggs start to set, lift edges
so liquid can run under. When eggs are completely set but still moist, transfer omelet onto a plate. Repeat with the remaining eggs and herbs.
Remove the lined pan from the refrigerator.

Layer ingredients in following order: 1 omelet, half of the spinach, half of cheese, half of ham, all of the red bell peppers. Repeat layering in reverse order using the remaining ingredients.

Remove the 8-inch pastry from refrigerator and place over omelet. Seal well to pastry lining by pinching together with fingers. With tip of knife, draw desired number of slices directly on the pastry. Make a small hole in the center of the pastry. Brush all over with beaten egg. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Position rack in lower third of oven, preheat to 350 degrees F.

Brush pastry one more time with beaten egg. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 1 ½ hours. Cool for 30 minutes, release from pan. Slice and serve warm.

A couple of tips on using frozen puff pastry:
Don't let the pastry get too warm when you thaw it or you will have a hard time getting the packaging off and rolling it out.
If you don't let it thaw enough, it will crack when you unroll it.

End of an era

2009-10-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

Closing the Book on Gourmet
By KIM SEVERSON The New York Times
ONE of the first things Ruth Reichl did after telling her staff on Monday that Condé Nast had closed Gourmet was to lock up the library with its landmark collection of 70 years of cookbooks and typewritten recipes.

“That’s not going to disappear,” she said, adding that she had strongly suggested to S. I. Newhouse Jr., the company’s chairman, that he donate the archives to the New York Public Library or to a university.

Then she and her staff gathered bottles of wine and liquor from the office and held a wake at her apartment. Readers are mourning in their own ways.

Killing Gourmet and keeping Bon Appétit, which had more readers and stronger ad numbers, may have made business sense for Condé Nast. But to the food elite — especially of an older generation — it felt like a gut punch.

How had the magazine that seemed more likely to stay home, broil pork chops and take care of the kids won out over its sexy, well-read, globetrotting sister? And what does a world without Gourmet portend for an age when millions prefer to share recipes online, restaurant criticism is becoming crowd-sourced and newspaper food sections are thinner and thinner?

“It has a certain doomsday quality because it’s not just a food magazine. It represents so much more,” said James Oseland, editor in chief of Saveur, a smaller, younger food magazine. “It’s an American cultural icon.”

The magazine, founded in 1941, thrived on a rush of postwar aspiration and became a touchstone for readers who wanted lives filled with dinner parties, reservations at important restaurants and exotic but comfortable travel.

Although it was easy to paint Gourmet as the food magazine for the elite, it was a chronicler of a nation’s food history, from its early fascination with the French culinary canon to its discovery of Mediterranean and Asian flavors to its recent focus on the source of food and the politics surrounding it.

In the decade since Ruth Reichl took over as editor, she underlined everything from the exploitation of tomato pickers in Florida to dishes like chicken and dumplings that could be on the stove, simmering, in 15 minutes.

But whatever the fashion of the time, Gourmet remained a place where people learned how to eat and cook — particularly for an older generation.

“Gourmet was the only resource you had other than your cookbooks,” said Judy Walker, the food editor of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

Over the course of nearly 70 years, Gourmet has a recipe database enviable in both size and quality. The pool is so deep that Gourmet compiled a cookbook of more than 1,000 recipes in 2006, then turned around and published more than 1,000 more in “Gourmet Today,” which arrived — in one of the industry’s great moments of bad timing — in September.

“It feels like the last act of this magazine should be to support this book,” said Ms. Reichl, who is heading to the Midwest this week to promote it.

After a short rest, she plans to write a book about her years at Condé Nast.

Chefs, too, lamented the magazine’s passing. For many, their dreams of a life in the kitchen were born in its pages.

“Growing up, my parents’ copies of Gourmet were my only window into the high-end restaurant world,” said Andrew Carmellini of Locanda Verde.

Scott Peacock, the Atlanta chef who has become known for Southern cooking, made his first biscuits as boy using a recipe from Gourmet. Years later, biscuits from his own recipe would be on the cover of the magazine.

“That magazine was a big deal to me growing up in Hartford, Alabama,” he said. “It was a glimpse into another world, one that I was interested in.”

The magazine also provided a home for literate, thoughtful food writing. Its stable of contributors included James Beard, Laurie Colwin and M. F. K. Fisher. In the 1940s and ’50s, the restaurateur Lucius Beebe wrote a meandering column called Along the Boulevards.

“Gourmet was the New Yorker of food magazines back in the 1970s and ’80s,” said Jim Lahey, a Manhattan baker.

Gourmet magazine was an early influence on Alice Waters, who recalls building files of recipes and photographs of dishes that she and Lindsey Shere, the first pastry chef of Chez Panisse, wanted to make. And, she said, for some restaurateurs, a review in Gourmet used to mean everything.

“Yes, you could be in The New York Times, but that was sort of fleeting. Gourmet was just a bigger cultural picture,” she said.

The magazine had its detractors, too, and they are doing plenty of Monday morning quarterbacking: Gourmet was out of step with the times, both in content and design, they say.

“The magazine has been casting about and remade itself too many times,” said Nach Waxman, the owner of the Kitchen Arts and Letters bookstore in Manhattan.

“Gourmet got away from the things that are going on in people’s homes, and seemed to be for an elite that got smaller and smaller,” said Judith Jones, the Knopf editor, who believes food magazines in general have become too focused on fashion and style.

Still, there are believers. Kylie Sachs, a venture capitalist and subscriber for 15 years, took to Twitter on Monday and started a campaign to save Gourmet. In 24 hours, she had almost 200 followers.

Ms. Sachs, 37, thinks readers could rise up to save what she says is a tested brand whose reliability is even more important in a digital age.

And if she fails, she will still head into Thanksgiving — the first she is cooking for her family in her Brooklyn home — with Gourmet’s November issue, its last, at her side.

“I’ll have a good, trusted friend guiding me,” she said.

Julia Moskin and Florence Fabricant contributed reporting

Got Milk? Maybe not for long.

2009-10-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Florida’s Milk Industry Soured by Bad Economy

News Service of Florida - Oct 3rd, 2009

First there was the housing implosion. Then banks melted down.

Now, Florida’s milk industry is souring.

The state’s already shrinking dairy industry is getting pummeled by the recession, with a Senate report released Thursday showing each farmer will lose an average $709,000 this year.

“Milk prices have come way down but our costs remain very high,” said Joe Wright, who runs a 1,400-head dairy farm in Avon Park. “It’s a double whammy that’s really hurting the industry.”

There are 140 dairy farms in Florida, fewer than half the number that existed as recently as 1992. Milk sales account for 90 percent of the revenue collected at Florida dairy farms, but prices have plunged 50-cents-a-gallon over the past year, costing farms an expected $99 million this year, according to the study by the Senate Agriculture Committee.

The findings are scheduled to be reviewed by the committee next week. Wright, who also serves as a vice-president with Dairy Farmers Inc., in Orlando, said Floridians’ milk consumption has slowed with the recession – falling 5 percent some months last year.

Florida’s population, which declined last year for the first time in 60 years, also contributed to the state’s milk malaise. Consumption, however, has picked up again in recent months, spurred by a price-war among Florida retail stores, industry analysts say.

But feed costs remain high, rising sharply in part because of the federal ethanol program which now absorbs roughly one-third of the corn that otherwise would be available to go to cattle, according to the industry.

“Corn prices were three times their 10-year average last year,” Wright said. “They’ve since come down a bit. But you can’t stay in business with those kinds of increases.”

The Legislature is being asked to consider taking steps to bolster the industry in coming months – although no big bail-out is proposed.

Instead, possible moves range from the heavy-handed — a proposed requirement that government institutions in Florida buy a certain percentage of milk from the state’s dairy industry – to more traditional tax incentives and other proposals easing state environmental regulations for farms.

Another approach encourages the state to provide tax credits to encourage more development of bio-fuel from Florida dairy farms – what the industry calls anaerobic digestion technology.

Even taking modest steps in converting Florida cow manure and its accompanying methane gas to electricity could power as many as 2,000 homes in each Florida county, Senate analysts said.

The new report also points out that the state’s dairy industry is concentrated in the Lake Okeechobee area and Suwannee River basin in North Florida. Since those regions also are home to most of Florida’s prisons, those facilities could be pushed to convert waste management systems to those using bio-fuel from nearby dairies, the study suggested.

“If you can make bio-fuel economically worthwhile, farmers would give it a try,” Wright said.

Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee whose district includes a belt of dairy farms near Lake Okeechobee, said he was uncertain what steps are needed for the industry’s survival. “But we can’t let agriculture go by the wayside, and dairy is a big part of it,” Aronberg said.

Is there a sturgeon in the house?

2009-09-25T03:55:00.000-07:00

State pays Flagler family to keep farm land
July 28, 2009

Historic City News learned that Flagler County ranchers Gene and Marilyn Evans farm-raise sturgeon; a fish that produces pure white steak meat and a rare caviar. And now, the state is giving the couple money to keep it that way.
The governor and Cabinet on Tuesday approved a conservation easement for the Evans family that will pay them more than $2.7 million to keep the land away from developers. The state will pony up half of the money, with the St. Johns River Water Management District paying the other half.
This is the state’s first acquisition of a conservation easement through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program that was passed in 2001.
“This is a great start to keeping lands in agriculture,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson said as the Cabinet signed off on the easement.
Under conservation easements, the government essentially pays a landowner to restrict the use of the land and protect it from certain types of development or use. Without such agreements, many small farmers would sell their land to developers. The easements allow the state to steer the use of certain lands away from development while preserving certain elements deemed important to the community – such as preserving the environmental character of the land or preserving small family farms.

Contest, anyone?

2009-09-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Food & Water Watch's Second-Annual Sustainable Seafood Recipe Contest

You want to put safe and environmentally sound fish on your family's plate, and it can be more challenging than ever in tough economic times. Luckily, there's our Smart Seafood Guide, with recommendations of fish that are most likely to be healthy for you and the environment! Now we're challenging chefs of all types to create a sustainable seafood dinner for four -- for under $25.
Visit our site to read the full Frugal Fish contest rules and guidelines.
THE BASICS- Your entry must be your own original creation - Each entry must feature at least one of the fish recommended in our seafood guide- The combined cost of all ingredients must be $25 or less (please include item prices)
DATES- Submissions accepted from September 21, 2009 to midnight EST on October 16, 2009 - The winners will be announced by the end of October JUDGING- Recipes will be judged by Chef Rocky Barnette and Food & Water Watch staff - Recipes will be evaluated based on the following criteria: - Features a recommended fish and meets other contest requirements - Taste - Working within the $25 budget - Uniqueness - Healthiness (i.e. low sodium, low saturated fat, few processed ingredients) - Simplicity - Bonus points for using sustainable/local ingredients
WINNERS- Winning entries will be published in our online recipe collection (click here to see last year's winners in Fish & Tips)- All winners will receive a Food & Water Watch gift- The grand-prize winner will receive $250.00HOW TO ENTERRead the full contest rules and fill out the form below. Send us links to photos or to video as well. When you enter, we'll keep you informed about who wins and about other important actions you can take to protect our seafood.

Smart Choices Program not so smart after all

2009-09-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

Victory: Change.org Members Force Health Organizations to Back Away from Food Labeling Ploy
Hey Changemakers,
This week thousands of Change.org members took on the food industry's new marketing scheme to persuade customers to buy more highly processed foods - and won a major victory.
The new marketing program, called "Smart Choices," is a front-of-the-package nutrition-labeling program designed in theory to help shoppers make smarter food choices.
But as the New York Times exposed last week, the selections are anything but healthy. One of the selections is Froot Loops, which was chosen, according to one board member, because "it's better for you than donuts." (No, we're not kidding. We couldn't make this up.)
Despite the program's dubious standards, it maintained the appearance of legitimacy because researchers associated with three reputable organizations - American Diabetes Association, American Dietetic Association, and Tufts University - were on its board.
In response, thousands of Change.org members sent letters to the presidents of these three major research institutions urging them to remove their name from the program.
The result? All three organizations responded to the pressure this week by publicly distancing themselves from the food labeling scheme and officially asking Smart Choices to remove their name from its website and marketing materials - thereby publicly embarrassing and discrediting the program.
Mark this as a victory for consumer advocacy on the web. If anyone still questioned whether the Smart Choices program had any legitimacy, they now have their answer. And if food companies had any question about whether they'd be able to introduce a new marketing program to sell more unhealthy foods without repercussion, they now know there are thousands of consumers who will be watching.

For Your Health, Froot Loops

By WILLIAM NEUMAN
Published: September 4, 2009
A new food-labeling campaign called Smart Choices, backed by most of the nation’s largest food manufacturers, is “designed to help shoppers easily identify smarter food and beverage choices.”
The green checkmark label that is starting to show up on store shelves will appear on hundreds of packages, including — to the surprise of many nutritionists — sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops.
“These are horrible choices,” said Walter C. Willett, chairman of the nutrition department of the Harvard School of Public Health.
He said the criteria used by the Smart Choices Program were seriously flawed, allowing less healthy products, like sweet cereals and heavily salted packaged meals, to win its seal of approval. “It’s a blatant failure of this system and it makes it, I’m afraid, not credible,” Mr. Willett said.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture have also weighed in, sending the program’s managers a letter on Aug. 19 saying they intended to monitor its effect on the food choices of consumers.
The letter said the agencies would be concerned if the Smart Choices label “had the effect of encouraging consumers to choose highly processed foods and refined grains instead of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.”
The government is interested in improving nutrition labeling on packages in part because of the nation’s obesity epidemic, which experts say is tied to a diet heavy in processed foods loaded with calories, fats and sugar.
The prominently displayed label debuts as many in the food industry and government are debating how to provide information on the front of packages that includes important elements from the familiar nutrition facts box that usually appears on the back of products.
Eileen T. Kennedy, president of the Smart Choices board and the dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said the program’s criteria were based on government dietary guidelines and widely accepted nutritional standards.
She said the program was also influenced by research into consumer behavior. That research showed that, while shoppers wanted more information, they did not want to hear negative messages or feel their choices were being dictated to them.
“The checkmark means the food item is a ‘better for you’ product, as opposed to having an x on it saying ‘Don’t eat this,’ ” Dr. Kennedy said. “Consumers are smart enough to deduce that if it doesn’t have the checkmark, by implication it’s not a ‘better for you’ product. They want to have a choice. They don’t want to be told ‘You must do this.’ ”
Dr. Kennedy, who is not paid for her work on the program, defended the products endorsed by the program, including sweet cereals. She said Froot Loops was better than other things parents could choose for their children.
“You’re rushing around, you’re trying to think about healthy eating for your kids and you have a choice between a doughnut and a cereal,” Dr. Kennedy said, evoking a hypothetical parent in the supermarket. “So Froot Loops is a better choice.”
Froot Loops qualifies for the label because it meets standards set by the Smart Choices Program for fiber and Vitamins A and C, and because it does not exceed limits on fat, sodium and sugar. It contains the maximum amount of sugar allowed under the program for cereals, 12 grams per serving, which in the case of Froot Loops is 41 percent of the product, measured by weight. That is more sugar than in many popular brands of cookies.
“Froot Loops is an excellent source of many essential vitamins and minerals and it is also a good source of fiber with only 12 grams of sugar,” said Celeste A. Clark, senior vice president of global nutrition for Kellogg’s, which makes Froot Loops. “You cannot judge the nutritional merits of a food product based on one ingredient.”
Dr. Clark, who is a member of the Smart Choices board, said that the program’s standard for sugar in cereals was consistent with federal dietary guidelines that say that “small amounts of sugar” added to nutrient-dense foods like breakfast cereals can make them taste better. That, in theory, will encourage people to eat more of them, which would increase the nutrients in their diet.
Ten companies have signed up for the Smart Choices program so far, including Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, Unilever, General Mills, PepsiCo and Tyson Foods. Companies that participate pay up to $100,000 a year to the program, with the fee based on total sales of its products that bear the seal.
The Smart Choices checkmark is meant to take the place of similar nutritional labels that individual manufacturers began plastering on their packages several years ago, like PepsiCo’s Smart Choices Made Easy and Sensible Solution from Kraft.
In joining Smart Choices, the companies agreed to discontinue their own labeling systems, Ms. Kennedy said.
Michael R. Taylor, a senior F.D.A. adviser, said the agency was concerned that sugar-laden cereals and high-fat foods would bear a label that tells consumers they were nutritionally superior.
“What we don’t want to do is have front-of-package information that in any way is based on cherry-picking the good and not disclosing adequately the components of a product that may be less good,” Mr. Taylor said.
He said the agency would consider the possibility of creating a standardized nutrition label for the front of packages.
“We’re taking a hard look at these programs and we want to independently look at what would be the sound criteria and the best way to present this information,” Mr. Taylor said.
Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, was part of a panel that helped devise the Smart Choices nutritional criteria, until he quit last September. He said the panel was dominated by members of the food industry, which skewed its decisions.
“It was paid for by industry and when industry put down its foot and said this is what we’re doing, that was it, end of story,” he said. Dr. Kennedy and Dr. Clark, who were both on the panel, said industry members had not controlled the results.
Mr. Jacobson objected to some of the panel’s nutritional decisions. The criteria allow foods to carry the Smart Choices seal if they contain added nutrients, which he said could mask shortcomings in the food.
Despite federal guidelines favoring whole grains, the criteria allow breads made with no whole grains to get the seal if they have added nutrients.
“You could start out with some sawdust, add calcium or Vitamin A and meet the criteria,” Mr. Jacobson said.
Nutritionists questioned other foods given the Smart Choices label. The program gives the seal to both regular and light mayonnaise, which could lead consumers to think they are both equally healthy. It also allows frozen meals and packaged sandwiches to have up to 600 milligrams of sodium, a quarter of the recommended daily maximum intake.
“The object of this is to make highly processed foods appear as healthful as unprocessed foods, which they are not,” said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University.

Do we really want other countries controlling what we eat?

2009-09-17T03:45:00.000-07:00

Brazilian beef producer JBS to become world’s largest meat maker with Pilgrim’s Pride deal
Emily Fredrix September 16th, 2009 Brazil beef producer to be world’s largest meat co

MILWAUKEE — A Brazilian meat conglomerate could leap ahead of American meat producer Tyson Foods Inc. to become the world’s largest meat company with two deals announced Wednesday that would expand its interests in beef, dairy and chicken.

One of the deals would take struggling Texas chicken producer Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. out of bankruptcy court protection, while the other merges Brazilian beef producer JBS SA said with Bertin SA, one of Latin America’s largest producers and exporters of milk products, beef and leather.

JBS cemented its status as an international meat conglomerate with its 2007 purchase of Greeley, Colo.-based Swift & Co. for $225 million. It said the newly minted JBS-Bertin will make it the world’s largest meat producer.

With annual revenue forecast at $28.7 billion, JBS-Bertin will edge out Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc., which brought it just under $27 billion in its fiscal 2008.

JBS-Bertin will have operations in North and South America, Africa, Europe, Russia, China and Australia.

“We have already passed Tyson and we’re just starting. We made it all the way here, and we are in a capacity to continue investing,” JBS CEO Joesley Batista told reporters at a news conference in Sao Paulo, according to Brazil’s Agencia Estado news agency.

Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said the deals may change the rankings in the meat business but “won’t determine which company is the best.

“We remain focused on our own business strategies, which we believe will enable us to continue to provide the best protein products and service, both in the U.S. and around the world,” Mickelson wrote about Tyson in an e-mail.

KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Akshay Jagdale likened the new company’s U.S. operation to a clone of Tyson and said diversifying with the two new deals was a smart tactic for surviving downturns that affect like chicken more than beef, which has higher profit margins.

The JBS purchase gives a lifeline to Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride, which was the largest U.S. chicken producer, with about 23 percent of the market, when it filed for bankruptcy protection late last year. It had been hobbled by debt from its buyout of a competitor and by high feed costs that left much of the industry in a slump.

JBS will buy 64 percent of the stock in the reorganized Pilgrim’s Pride for $800 million, which implies a total company value of $1.25 billion. The deal includes paying off Pilgrim’s Pride’s creditors in full and distributing new stock to current shareholders — something unusual for a company in bankruptcy protection.

Existing shareholders will receive shares in the remaining 36 percent of Pilgrim’s Pride worth $450 million. Including the plan to pay off $1.5 billion in debt, the entire transaction is worth $2.8 billion, Pilgrim’s Pride said.

In addition, the plan calls for exit financing of $1.75 billion, although spokesman Ray Atkinson said the company would not draw all of that.

Terms were not disclosed for the deal to buy Bertin.

Even before the Pilgrim’s Pride deal, rumors of which surfaced earlier this month, JBS was a top producer of beef and pork in the U.S. and worldwide. With the deals announced Wednesday, JBS will be the largest beef producing company in Brazil, Australia, Argentina and Italy.

JBS became the third-largest beef processor in the U.S. after purchasing Swift. The company’s Web site says it is also the third-largest U.S. pork producer.

Batista said the company will continue with an initial public offering in 2010 for JBS USA, which he expects to raise $2.5 billion. He said no more acquisitions are planned for 2009.

“In 2010, however, I expect to make new announcements,” he said.

Pilgrim’s Pride said the deal is subject to antitrust clearance. U.S. regulators earlier this year sued to block JBS’ acquisition of a major beef producer, citing pricing concerns for consumers and producers. JBS later dropped the $560 million deal with National Beef Packing Co., though it did buy Smithfield Foods Inc.’s beef group.

Pilgrim’s Pride, whose creditors’ valid claims would be paid in cash or by issuance of a new note, said it could emerge from bankruptcy court protection by December if the court approves the deal.

Doug Conn, managing director at Hexagon Securities, said it was unusual for shareholders to receive stock — or any value for their shares — from a company in bankruptcy protection.

“This is due to the fact that there is (one) very interested purchaser in the company in its entirety,” he said. “Normally bank assets are sold in parts or shut down.”

Associated Press Writer Marco Sibaja contributed to this report from Brasilia and AP Business Writer Mae Anderson contributed from New York.

How to say I love you with a stew

2009-09-12T11:58:00.000-07:00

I sometimes drive William crazy asking "what sounds good for dinner?'

And he drives me equally crazy when he says "hot dogs."

I was mortified the first year we were together and I wanted to fix him something special for his birthday and told him to pick anything in the world he wanted and the thing he requested was sloppy Joes, the kind you make with the crap in a can.

I guess the difference between our outlook on food stems from the different ways we were raised. His dad did most of the cooking. His mom made holiday desserts and roasted pecans. Food was something you fixed because you had to eat.

My mom was more the Betty Crocker type who stayed at home and had dinner waiting on the table when my dad got home at 6 o'clock, so cooking has always been on my radar.

A combination of events turned my average interest in cooking into a passion. When our twins, Ryan and Emily, were born and I had to quit my job, it gave me something creative to do. And then, there's Ryan.

Without going into details, I can honestly say that when he was small, and even to this day, feeding him and keeping him healthy has been one of the greatest challenges of my life.

To me, in it's most elemental definition, food is love.

If you want to watch a movie that poignantly illustrates this philosophy, I suggest Babette's Feast, based on a book written by Isak Dinesen, author of Out of Africa. It's beautifully filmed and the story will touch your heart.

I could never recreate the meal Babette serves at the conclusion of this film, but Beef Bourguignon is also a labor of love.

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients for the Stew:

8 ounces thick sliced bacon,
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups red wine (a full bodied wine like Bordeaux or Burgundy or Chianti)
2-3 cups beef stock (Simple Beef stock is posted on the site, unsalted and defatted)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, mashed (you may choose to add more)
1 sprig thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
Ingredients for the braised onions
18-24 white pearl onions, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup beef stock
salt & fresh ground pepper

Ingredients for the Sauteed Mushrooms
1 lb mushroom, quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

First prepare the bacon: slice width wise into 1/4 inch pieces (lardons)

Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Put the tablespoon of olive oil in a large (9" - 10" wide, 3" deep) fireproof casserole and warm over moderate heat.

Saute the lardons for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly.
Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry off the pieces of beef and saute them, a few at a time in the hot oil/bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides.
Once browned, remove to the side plate with the bacon.

In the same oil/fat, saute the onion and the carrot until softened.
Pour off the fat and return the lardons and the beef to the casserole with the carrots and onion.

Toss the contents of the casserole with the salt and pepper and sprinkle with the flour.

Set the uncovered casserole in the oven for four minutes.
Toss the contents of the casserole again and return to the hot oven for 4 more minutes.

Now, lower the heat to 325°F and remove the casserole from the oven.
Add the wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered.
Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs.
Bring to a simmer on the top of the stove.

Cover and place in the oven, adjusting the heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly for three to four hours.

The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
While the meat is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms and set them aside till needed.

For the onion, if using frozen, make sure they are defrosted and drained.
Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and add the onions to the skillet.
Saute over medium heat for about ten minutes, rolling the onions about so they brown as evenly as possible, without breaking apart.

Pour in the stock, season to taste and cover.

Simmer over low heat for about 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and the liquid has mostly evaporated.
Set the onions aside.

For the mushrooms, heat the butter and oil over high heat in a large skillet.
As soon as the foam begins to subside add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for about five minutes.

As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

To Finish the Stew:
When the meat is tender, remover the casserole from the oven and empty its contents into a sieve set over a saucepan.

Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it (discarding the bits of carrot and onion and herbs which remain in the sieve).
Distribute the mushrooms and onions over the meat.

Skim the fat off the sauce and simmer it for a minute or two, skimming off any additional fat which rises to the surface.
You should be left with about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of stock.
If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency.
Taste for seasoning.

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.
If you are serving immediately, place the covered casserole over medium low heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve in the casserole or on a warm platter surrounded by noodles, potatoes or rice and garnished with fresh parsley.

If serving later or the next day, allow the casserole to cool and place cold, covered casserole in the refrigerator.

20 minutes prior to serving, place over medium low heat and simmer very slowly for ten minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Spaetzle

Ingredients:

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions
Bring a saucepan of salted water it a boil, reduce the heat, and maintain a simmer.

In a bowl, stir all the ingredients together. Place a colander over the pan, pour about1/4 of the batter into the colander, and press through the holes with a plastic spatula into the hot water.
When the spatzle starts to float to the surface, cover the pan and keep covered until the spatzle appears to swell and is fluffy. Remove the dumplings and repeat procedure with the remaining batter.

French Bread

Ingredients:

1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups water (105 -115 F)
4-4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water and let stand in the bowl of you mixer until foamy, about 5 - 10 minutes.

Stir in flour and salt and process with the paddle attachment of the mixer until mixture forms a stiff dough.

Change to the dough hook and knead dough on low for 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, adding in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour to keep dough from sticking.

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled deep bowl, turning to coat with oil, and let rise, bowl covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 475 and place a Dutch oven filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven.

Punch down dough and form into two long loaves.

Put each loaf diagonally on a lightly greased large or 17 x 14-inch baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, about 30 minutes.

Make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes on loaf with a razor or sharp knife and lightly brush top with cool water.

Bake in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped Transfer to a rack to cool.

Happy birthday Jack! I can't believe you are one year old...

2009-09-11T07:46:00.001-07:00

Dinner and a movie

2009-09-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

First, a few words from William:

Our choice – mine, actually, without objection from my lovely bride – for a movie was “Big Night,” a 1996 drama starring Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci.
Co-directed and co-written by Tucci (now starring in “Julie & Julia”) “Big Night” is about two Italian immigrant brothers (Tucci and Shalhoub) struggling to keep the doors open to their Italian restaurant in the Chelsea section of New York City. They withdraw all but $63 from their bank account and plan a major party when told that famed jazz and swing band singer Louis Prima would be dining at their restaurant.
If you like food movies, especially those with a great soundtrack, this is a good one. Realistic cooking scenes, and Prima, Rosemary Clooney and Claudio Villa are featured on the soundtrack.
Though considered a drama, “Big Night” has some very funny and poignant moments, especially with Shalhoub, who probably is better known as the strange detective “Monk.” I highly recommend this movie. It’s one of the best food movies I’ve ever seen.

I wasn't quite up to trying to make a timpano, but since I am still working on my mozzarella technique,I decided to make stromboli. Stromboli is sort of like pizza, sort of like calzone. It is a sandwich made from pizza dough and the filling is rolled inside the dough. If you don't like the meats or vegetables I used, feel free to substitute toppings of your choice in equivalent proportions. The next time, I am going to try sliced meatballs in a little tomato sauce instead of the sausage, and sauteed mushrooms instead of the black olives. I've inserted a step by step slide show of how to assemble the Stromboli at the end of the post.

Stromboli
Ingredients:

Basic Pizza Dough, recipe follows
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
1 thinly sliced yellow onion
1 thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 thinly sliced green bell pepper
1 large jalapeno, seeded, stemmed and minced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 pound sliced ham
1/4 pound thinly sliced pepperoni or salami
1/2 cup sliced black olives
8 ozs sliced provolone (12 slices)
8 ozs sliced, fresh mozzarella
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.
In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos and cook, stirring, until very soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool.
Punch down the dough and divide half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough to a large rectangle, about 10 by 14 inches. Spread half of the cooled sausage mixture across the dough leaving a
1-inch border. Overlapping slightly, layer half of the ham, pepperoni, olives, provolone and mozzarella cheeses over the top. Using a pastry brush, paint the border of 1 long edge with egg wash. Starting at the opposite long end without egg wash, roll up the dough into a cylinder, pinching the edges to seal. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining ingredients. Let the dough rise, 20 to 30 minutes.
Brush the top of each stromboli with egg wash. Bake until nearly completely golden brown and starting to crisp, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes. Slice thickly and serve.
Basic Pizza Dough:
1 1/2 cup warm (110 degrees F) water
3 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/3 tsp sugar
1 TBS plus 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/3 tsp salt
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and 1 tablespoon oil and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.

Add the flour and the salt, mixing with the paddle attachment of your mixer or by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Knead by hand or with the dough hook on your mixer for five to 8 minutes.
Oil a large mixing bowl with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Use as directed.

A few suggestions: Less is more or sometimes, more can be too much. Since I am still trying to perfect my homemade mozzarella, I made a batch to use in this stromboli. I used the whole pound and it was a little too much cheese so I altered the recipe to call for 1/2 pound instead.

If you make your own cheese using the recipe on the blog, I have a tip to make the cheese even better. Don't overwork the curds. Once you have separated the cheese from the whey, gently knead the curds into a cohesive ball during the microwave process and you will get a softer cheese more like the expensive fresh mozzarella you can find at the grocery store or specialty market. The more you work the curds, the tougher and stringier the cheese will become. I have also expreimented with the amount of salt and in this batch added 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to the warm curds before kneading and that made for a more flavorful end result.

Is there such a thing as blog envy?

2009-09-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Well, William and I went to see the movie Julie & Julia and now I need a shrink (or a drink).

I have a deep-seated aversion to people who seem to whine and fall apart for no good reason and Julie Powell, who chronicled a year of her life preparing every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in her blog "The Julie/Julia Project," is, at least in the movie version, a first-class whiner.

Other than that, I really did enjoy the film, but it is hard to empathize with someone whose problems seem so ... well, shallow.

For example, in the middle of this blog's post about beef broth from scratch, I did not sink into a "woe is me" diatribe over the fact that my house is slowly (or not so slowly) descending into a sinkhole.

Even though it put him in the doghouse, I think Julie's husband was right, she was more than a little self-absorbed.

I left the movie thinking about the beef tenderloin on sale at the Winn Dixie in a wine and mushroom sauce. William nixed that for pork chops. There is probably a German name for them that would make them sound exotic, like Schweinsomething, but I just call them pork chops in onion gravy and my dad used to love them too.

FYI Julie - just wait until you hit 40.

Smile and say cheese!

2009-08-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

I feel like dancing a jig, blowing a horn or jumping up and down. I made mozzarella cheese on my first try and I am ridiculously happy.

If you have ever wanted to make your own cheese but thought it would be too hard, too complicated or take too long, stop thinking about it and make some cheese.

The whole process took less than 45 minutes, start to finish, and was easier than making pancakes.

Once you have the rennet and the citric acid, all you need is a gallon of milk, salt to taste, a thermometer and a microwave.

The recipe I followed was from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company:

Mozzarella

Ingredients:

1 gallon of whole milk (not ultra pasteurized)

1 1/2 level tsp of citric acid, dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water

1/4 tsp liquid vegetable rennet, diluted in cool water

Directions:

Dissolve the citric acid in water in a small glass or plastic cup and set aside. Dilute the rennet in a small glass or plastic cup and set aside.

Pour the milk into an 8 quart stainless steel pot and heat slowly until it reaches a temperature of 55 degrees then add the citric acid solution and stir thoroughly. I used a stainless steel whisk for this.

When the milk reaches 88 degrees, it will begin to curdle

Pour in the rennet and fold it in with gentle scooping motions.

Continue heating until the temperature reaches just over 100 degrees.

At this point, the curds should be pulling away from the edge of the pot and the whey should look clear, not cloudy.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the curds from the pot and place them in a two quart microwaveable bowl.
Press the curds gently with your hands to remove as much hey as possible - this takes a few minutes.

Microwave the curds for 1 minute on high then knead the cheese with your hands or the back of a spoon to remove more whey.

Microwave two more times for 35 seconds, kneading the curds each time to remove more whey. At this point, add salt to taste.
Remove the cheese from the bowl and knead and pull it until it is smooth and elastic. If it starts to break apart, reheat for another 35 seconds.

When the curds can be stretched like taffy, the cheese is finished and can be rolled into one large ball or several small balls. The mozzarella can be eaten right away warm or stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Don't discard the whey. You can use it to make ricotta cheese later.

The whey of the world, part 2 - Just do it

2009-08-27T05:34:00.001-07:00

In an earlier post I mentioned Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - A Year of Food Life "in which she describes the year her family devoted to growing as much of their own food as possible, eating only what was in season in their own gardens or could be purchased from local farmers markets. One section of the book details a cheese making course Kingsolver took from Ricki Carroll, author of Home Cheese Making and owner of The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.

The 30-minute mozzarella recipe she learned became a staple in their diet and reading about it started me thinking again about making my own cheese.

I spent all last week researching cheese making and cheese recipes and trying to find a local source for the two ingredients needed to make the most simple cheeses: food grade citric acid and rennet.

Rennet is a complex enzyme coagulant found in the stomach of ruminants and certain plants and is necessary to separate curd (the cheese) from whey (the protein-filled liquid left over after making cheese).

Citric acid is used to increase the acidity in the milk and to help prevent curds from falling apart.

I could probably have found the citric acid at a health food store or pharmacy but the rennet was proving elusive. It can sometimes be found in shops selling wine-making supplies or brewing supplies but, in the end, the easiest way to get what I needed was from an online source.

I placed my order for two bottles of liquid rennet and a pound of citric acid from Leeners, a supply company selling everything from wine making supplies to books on how to cure meat, and spent the next six days waiting UPS to deliver.

The box arrived Tuesday, right on schedule. Now, the only thing left was to just do it.

The whey of the world, part 1

2009-08-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

The on-going saga of my quest to make cheese

For years now I have thought about making cheese.

Every once in a while on my travels through the Internet looking for a recipe I would stumble across a recipe for one kind of cheese or another and I would save it and then forget about it. It seemed like an impossible dream. I had visions of the need for big, stainless steel vats and kitchens as sterile as an operating room - equipment beyond the average home cook.

Then, William bought me Lynne Rosetto Kasper's "The Splendid Table" and there I found a cheese I thought I could handle, Fresh Squaquerone.
Described as "A fresh cow cheese originating in Romagna, squaquerone is tangy and creamy at the same time, a cross between yogurt and cream cheese."

It's quick, simple and, speaking for myself, idiot-proof.

Fresh Squaquerone

Ingredients:

6 oz cream cheese made without guar gum (read the label)
1/4 cup chilled sour cream
1/2 cup of chilled buttermilk
3/4 cup chilled plain yogurt made with live cultures and without pectin
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
salt

The instructions (paraphrased)

In a medium size bowl, blend the cream cheese and sour cream together then stir in the buttermilk, leaving pea-sized lumps of the cream cheese mixture. Gently fold in the yogurt and lemon juice, taking care not to stir so hard that the yogurt liquefies. Add salt to taste. Mellow in the refrigerator in a covered bowl for 24 to 36 hours before using.

Kasper suggests adding 2 cups of chopped herbs (basil, parsley, etc) for a savory dip or spread.
Other uses for the finished product include replacing squaqureone for mayonnaise in potato salad; as a sauce for pasta with garlic and olive oil or with sauteed onion, minced garlic and basil, as a topping for baked potatoes; a dressing for fruit salad or spread on fresh baked bread.

I was baking bread every day back then and that's how Emily and I liked it.

Ryan wouldn't touch it and William was highly suspicious so I think I only made this a couple of times. I may just give this one another shot now as William has expanded his culinary horizons.

I've realized now how this cheese must have come about - farm wives with all of those cultures hanging around their kitchens looking for ways to use up odds and ends.

Cheese is all about culture and it's simple and complicated all at the same time.
It's simple because, with access to the right milk to start with, many soft and semi-soft cheeses and cheese products can be made practically out of thin air, - literally. Or rather the bacteria which can be found floating around in it.

I myself, can't imagine a world without cheese.

Back when it wasn't as easy as driving to the grocery store and pulling it off the shelf, if you wanted it, you had to do it yourself or know someone who did.

Blessed are the cheese makers.