Thanks to Ashley Endemann, some thoughts on cheese: What's the environmental impact of cheese? - By Nina Shen Rastogi - Slate Magazine.
I'm in Chicago for a while, so there will probably be a few weeks' hiatus here.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Kale, yellow beet and pistachio salad; baby bok choy risotto; seared sea scallops and cauliflower in raisin-caper sauce
Three more members of the Cabbage family round out this week. Kale, bok choy, and cauliflower. All delicious and reasonably easy to find, although I couldn't get locally grown versions. I settled for organic, but imported either from Ontario or the United States. Hardly ideal, but better than nothing. For good measure, I grabbed some local yellow beets that added colour and flavour to the meal.
Kale is something I don't know much about, other than that is a very strongly flavoured and rather tough leafy vegetable. I wanted to use kohlrabi as well, but again couldn't find local varieties (I didn't have time to try the Jean-Talon Market, which has a somewhat larger selection of local vegetables than Atwater). I pulled up this recipe for sautéd kale with kohlrabi, and simply substituted boiled, peeled, and sliced yellow beets for the kohlrabi. This recipe was easy, delicious and very popular with my audience (Andrew and our roommate). The pistachios add some nice texture, but honestly they're not really necessary, and they're pretty expensive. Leave them out or substitute another nut. I have another bunch of kale, so I'll have to try another way of preparing it, but sautéing just wilts the leaves enough so they lose some of their toughness. They retain all of their flavour, most of their shape, and plenty of texture. The simple lemon and olive oil dressing is delicious, easy and can be used on any salad. Both of those ingredients are things that, despite being from far away, I would never give up using in cooking. Just too good. And we use them sparingly, anyway. One thing I did differently from the recipe was that I (inadvertently) didn't remove the stems and center ribs from the kale leaves. They are totally edible, but tough and not very appetizing. I'm of two minds on this, though: I hate to cut pieces of the vegetable off and throw them away if they're edible (broccoli stems, for example, or beet greens), because it seems wasteful; so, I say, follow your conscience, and whether or not you feel like bothering with the extra step. Another thing to note about Kale is that it is super healthy, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities. It has tons of beta carotene, vitamin C and vitamin K.
Risotto is one of my favourite things to cook. It requires a lot of attention, so you don't get bored or distracted, and it is just so delicious and easy. You start with 4-6 cups of stock (any kind will do). Then, you take a cup or so of finely chopped onion (yellow or red, the latter having more colour but tending to dull in the cooking), and heat it in olive oil (or butter, or whatever fat you have on hand -- this time I used guineafowl fat that had been skimmed off the stock I made) until it is translucent, but not browned. Then, throw in a cup or two of Arborio rice, and quickly stir until the rice is coated in fat. Then, a generous splash of dry white wine, and the cooking has begun. As the liquid cooks down, you must keep stirring so that nothing burns or gets too dry. Once the liquid is beginning to disappear, you just start adding ladlefuls of broth (one or two at a time) to the pan and stirring away until the rice is cooked to your liking (traditionally a bit "al dente" but cooked enough that the dish is very creamy). Then you can do whatever you want. Add vegetables, (cooked) meat, cheese, or whatever else you happen to have around. I chose to put in a few ounces of grated Pecorino Romano cheese (normally I would go with a local imitation, but this is what we had in the fridge) and a bowl of sliced up baby bok choy. Salt and pepper to taste, and you have a perfect meal, side dish or snack. And the leftovers are delicious. You can even mix them with an egg and fry up risotto fritters the next morning.
To go with the risotto I took some Atlantic sea scallops from Nova Scotia (SO expensive--almost $60/kilo at the Poisonnerie Atwater--so I only bought enough for us each to have 3, but they are considered to be sustainable seafood) and seared them (just until they were well browned on the outside, but not cooked through). I did the same to some chopped up cauliflower (less fragile than the scallop; I just threw the lot into the pan with a little oil and sautéd them until they were nicely coloured), and I made a raisin and caper sauce to drizzle on it all. This, I must admit, was an idea I stole from Jean-Georges, a Michelin 3-star restaurant in New York, but of course I wouldn't dare try to recreate their dish exactly--that would just be embarassing to me. I melted a stick of butter in a small saucepan, threw in a handful of capers and a handful of golden raisins, let it all cook for a minute, and ground it up in the food processor. It was unbelievable. Incredibly rich (hello, butter), with a perfect balance of sweetness, saltiness, and acitity, and a magical flavour that could only be described as, well, capers and raisins. Andrew was eating it with a spoon after the meal. You can't put too much of it on, because it becomes overwhelming, but damn was it tasty.
OK, so I took that photo after I started eating, and the white balance didn't really come out right, so it doesn't look that pretty, but you get the idea.
I'm going to Chicago for the weekend, but next week I'll be back with some more awesome local winter food. Maybe my ingredient of the week will be an animal product? Vegans, look away.
Kale is something I don't know much about, other than that is a very strongly flavoured and rather tough leafy vegetable. I wanted to use kohlrabi as well, but again couldn't find local varieties (I didn't have time to try the Jean-Talon Market, which has a somewhat larger selection of local vegetables than Atwater). I pulled up this recipe for sautéd kale with kohlrabi, and simply substituted boiled, peeled, and sliced yellow beets for the kohlrabi. This recipe was easy, delicious and very popular with my audience (Andrew and our roommate). The pistachios add some nice texture, but honestly they're not really necessary, and they're pretty expensive. Leave them out or substitute another nut. I have another bunch of kale, so I'll have to try another way of preparing it, but sautéing just wilts the leaves enough so they lose some of their toughness. They retain all of their flavour, most of their shape, and plenty of texture. The simple lemon and olive oil dressing is delicious, easy and can be used on any salad. Both of those ingredients are things that, despite being from far away, I would never give up using in cooking. Just too good. And we use them sparingly, anyway. One thing I did differently from the recipe was that I (inadvertently) didn't remove the stems and center ribs from the kale leaves. They are totally edible, but tough and not very appetizing. I'm of two minds on this, though: I hate to cut pieces of the vegetable off and throw them away if they're edible (broccoli stems, for example, or beet greens), because it seems wasteful; so, I say, follow your conscience, and whether or not you feel like bothering with the extra step. Another thing to note about Kale is that it is super healthy, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities. It has tons of beta carotene, vitamin C and vitamin K.
Risotto is one of my favourite things to cook. It requires a lot of attention, so you don't get bored or distracted, and it is just so delicious and easy. You start with 4-6 cups of stock (any kind will do). Then, you take a cup or so of finely chopped onion (yellow or red, the latter having more colour but tending to dull in the cooking), and heat it in olive oil (or butter, or whatever fat you have on hand -- this time I used guineafowl fat that had been skimmed off the stock I made) until it is translucent, but not browned. Then, throw in a cup or two of Arborio rice, and quickly stir until the rice is coated in fat. Then, a generous splash of dry white wine, and the cooking has begun. As the liquid cooks down, you must keep stirring so that nothing burns or gets too dry. Once the liquid is beginning to disappear, you just start adding ladlefuls of broth (one or two at a time) to the pan and stirring away until the rice is cooked to your liking (traditionally a bit "al dente" but cooked enough that the dish is very creamy). Then you can do whatever you want. Add vegetables, (cooked) meat, cheese, or whatever else you happen to have around. I chose to put in a few ounces of grated Pecorino Romano cheese (normally I would go with a local imitation, but this is what we had in the fridge) and a bowl of sliced up baby bok choy. Salt and pepper to taste, and you have a perfect meal, side dish or snack. And the leftovers are delicious. You can even mix them with an egg and fry up risotto fritters the next morning.
To go with the risotto I took some Atlantic sea scallops from Nova Scotia (SO expensive--almost $60/kilo at the Poisonnerie Atwater--so I only bought enough for us each to have 3, but they are considered to be sustainable seafood) and seared them (just until they were well browned on the outside, but not cooked through). I did the same to some chopped up cauliflower (less fragile than the scallop; I just threw the lot into the pan with a little oil and sautéd them until they were nicely coloured), and I made a raisin and caper sauce to drizzle on it all. This, I must admit, was an idea I stole from Jean-Georges, a Michelin 3-star restaurant in New York, but of course I wouldn't dare try to recreate their dish exactly--that would just be embarassing to me. I melted a stick of butter in a small saucepan, threw in a handful of capers and a handful of golden raisins, let it all cook for a minute, and ground it up in the food processor. It was unbelievable. Incredibly rich (hello, butter), with a perfect balance of sweetness, saltiness, and acitity, and a magical flavour that could only be described as, well, capers and raisins. Andrew was eating it with a spoon after the meal. You can't put too much of it on, because it becomes overwhelming, but damn was it tasty.
OK, so I took that photo after I started eating, and the white balance didn't really come out right, so it doesn't look that pretty, but you get the idea.
I'm going to Chicago for the weekend, but next week I'll be back with some more awesome local winter food. Maybe my ingredient of the week will be an animal product? Vegans, look away.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Cabbage and leek soup, brussels sprouts sautéd with garlic, and southern fried guineafowl
I had so much raw cabbage, leeks and brussels sprouts left over from my first two recipes that I decided to abstain for a day from buying new ingredients and just use what I already had.
The easy solution was to take the leeks and cabbage and just make soup! I started by throwing a dollop of duck fat (any fat would work) into a big pot and browning thinly sliced leeks and cabbage for a few minutes over medium-high heat. This step is not obligatory, but it gives a deeper flavour and prettier colour than if you were to just throw the vegetables raw into boiling water. I had tons of cabbage, so it was a bit of a chore to stir it around so it all got a bit browned; I gave up after a little while and just threw in the stock. I had some homemade chicken stock concentrate in the freezer (about 10 cups worth, condensed down to one cup--much better than storing all that water!) so I thawed it, dumped the concentrate and 10 cups of water into the pot, covered it up, and waited for it to come to a boil. From there it was just a question of letting it cook until the cabbage was tender.
To serve it, I took a page from traditional French cooking. In oven-safe bowls, I put some soup, a slice of homemade bread, and a generous heap of leftover 1608 and Québec gruyère-style cheese (from the Fromagerie Hamel at the Atwater Market; not the best cheese shop, but there was a super cute boy working there...), and stuck it under the broiler for about five minutes, until the cheese was browned and bubbly. Served with a selection of McAuslan beers, it was a huge hit. Hearty winter soup with homemade bread and local cheese. How could you go wrong?
Next, however, came the pièce de résistance, and my husband did all the work so he gets all the credit. And it didn't even involve cabbage.
We bought two small guineafowls (called pintade in French, a much prettier name--and aren't they funny looking birds?) at Claude & Henri. For about $13/kg, they're far more expensive than chicken, but along the same lines as most game birds. I've been playing with game birds lately, but anything you can do with a game bird you can do with a chicken. Andrew, being a professional cook, took great pride in butchering the whole birds into their constituent pieces, ending up with a plateful of beautiful thighs, drumsticks, and breasts and a big pile of necks, backbones, wingtips, and internal organs from which I will make some stock this afternoon. He then allowed them to fully dry on the outside, coated them with buttermilk and a southern-style breading, and dropped them into our brand new deep fryer (a wedding gift from Lauren Canepari--Thanks!). I'll have to let him expand on the breading process (please comment, Andy). He also prepared a dipping sauce made from butter, honey, lemon juice, and I don't remember what else (more comments, please) which was delectable. Only problem was that I couldn't be bothered to dip the bird, it was so painfully delicious on its own. Deep frying may have a reputation for being unhealthy (humbug!) but it has persisted as a popular cooking method because it so perfectly preserves the juiciness and flavour of whatever you put into it. Mmmmmm.
To accompany the guineafowl, I used the remaining brussels sprouts from the other night, and did a minor variation on my usual sauté with garlic. I used about half sliced sprouts (basically just a pile of little leafy rings) and half halved sprouts (I only removed the brown base of the sprout, and then chopped it in half), steamed them for about two minutes, and then tossed them in a pan with olive oil and a few cloves of crushed garlic until they were golden brown. Delicious and easy. But easily ignored next to the outrageously delicious southern fried fowl.
The easy solution was to take the leeks and cabbage and just make soup! I started by throwing a dollop of duck fat (any fat would work) into a big pot and browning thinly sliced leeks and cabbage for a few minutes over medium-high heat. This step is not obligatory, but it gives a deeper flavour and prettier colour than if you were to just throw the vegetables raw into boiling water. I had tons of cabbage, so it was a bit of a chore to stir it around so it all got a bit browned; I gave up after a little while and just threw in the stock. I had some homemade chicken stock concentrate in the freezer (about 10 cups worth, condensed down to one cup--much better than storing all that water!) so I thawed it, dumped the concentrate and 10 cups of water into the pot, covered it up, and waited for it to come to a boil. From there it was just a question of letting it cook until the cabbage was tender.
To serve it, I took a page from traditional French cooking. In oven-safe bowls, I put some soup, a slice of homemade bread, and a generous heap of leftover 1608 and Québec gruyère-style cheese (from the Fromagerie Hamel at the Atwater Market; not the best cheese shop, but there was a super cute boy working there...), and stuck it under the broiler for about five minutes, until the cheese was browned and bubbly. Served with a selection of McAuslan beers, it was a huge hit. Hearty winter soup with homemade bread and local cheese. How could you go wrong?
Next, however, came the pièce de résistance, and my husband did all the work so he gets all the credit. And it didn't even involve cabbage.
We bought two small guineafowls (called pintade in French, a much prettier name--and aren't they funny looking birds?) at Claude & Henri. For about $13/kg, they're far more expensive than chicken, but along the same lines as most game birds. I've been playing with game birds lately, but anything you can do with a game bird you can do with a chicken. Andrew, being a professional cook, took great pride in butchering the whole birds into their constituent pieces, ending up with a plateful of beautiful thighs, drumsticks, and breasts and a big pile of necks, backbones, wingtips, and internal organs from which I will make some stock this afternoon. He then allowed them to fully dry on the outside, coated them with buttermilk and a southern-style breading, and dropped them into our brand new deep fryer (a wedding gift from Lauren Canepari--Thanks!). I'll have to let him expand on the breading process (please comment, Andy). He also prepared a dipping sauce made from butter, honey, lemon juice, and I don't remember what else (more comments, please) which was delectable. Only problem was that I couldn't be bothered to dip the bird, it was so painfully delicious on its own. Deep frying may have a reputation for being unhealthy (humbug!) but it has persisted as a popular cooking method because it so perfectly preserves the juiciness and flavour of whatever you put into it. Mmmmmm. 
To accompany the guineafowl, I used the remaining brussels sprouts from the other night, and did a minor variation on my usual sauté with garlic. I used about half sliced sprouts (basically just a pile of little leafy rings) and half halved sprouts (I only removed the brown base of the sprout, and then chopped it in half), steamed them for about two minutes, and then tossed them in a pan with olive oil and a few cloves of crushed garlic until they were golden brown. Delicious and easy. But easily ignored next to the outrageously delicious southern fried fowl.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Cheap organic eggs!
Just a little note, that in my last visit to the Jean-Talon market (yesterday) I bought 30 large white organic chicken eggs for $5.75. That's a steal, for someone used to spending nearly that much for 12 organic eggs at the supermarket. I believe the vendor I bought from was Les Canardises, but there are a few egg merchants and I'm sure they all have products of similar quality for similar prices. They specialize in duck eggs (and other duck products), which I've never tried. I will have to do that soon.
Savoy cabbage
Savoy cabbage is a lot like regular green cabbage, but it has a few advantages: its taste and smell are less pungent, and it has pretty frilly leaves. I had never worked with this lovely vegetable before, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
A few things I've learned about cabbage: it's harvested in Quebec all year except midsummer (June-July); you should always cut it with a stainless steel knife, as a carbon steel knife will turn it black; Savoy cabbage is thought to have been developed by the Italians; and finally, it doesn't have to be pickled into sauerkraut or chopped into cole slaw, there are many more options!
A quick Google search for "Savoy cabbage" yielded this delicious-looking recipe from Canadian Living: Savoy Cabbage Gratin. While the cabbage I got at the market was wsy bigger than what the recipe called for (having not weighed it beforehand, I had to make up for it by adding more milk and cream in the end, and I have a big bowl of raw cabbage in my refrigerator now...), this simple dish is really, really delicious and made an excellent vegetarian main course. Also, virtually all the ingredients are local.
A few things to note:
(1) Rather than Gruyère cheese, which is imported from Switzerland, I used Le 1608, a cheese from the Charlevoix region of Quebec which is quite special. It comes from a very rare race of cows, called "Canadienne". If I'm not mistaken, only about 500 of these cows exist in the world. Click the link to read more (in French) and go out and try the cheese! It has a stinky rind like Oka, but a mild, medium-soft (softer than Gruyère) inside with a distinctive flavour.
(2) I substituted duck stock for vegetable, and duck fat for butter, since we had duck last night. To hell with vegetarianism! I find that a great way to economize and use leftovers is (a) to render and freeze all leftover fat from chicken, bacon, duck, etc. and use it instead of other fat (butter, oil) in appropriate recipes; (b) ALWAYS make stock from leftover carcasses and bones. It is so easy to do, and it keeps forever in the freezer; and (c) look in the fridge before I plan dinner, so I can use leftovers creatively. Nobody in my house seems interested in eating leftovers, but they never complain when I transform them into something new. Risotto is great for that. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
To accompany the gratin, I bought some delicious, tender, and very juicy pork sausages from Porcmeilleur, an nice farm-direct pork shop at the Jean-Talon market. For less than five dollars, I had four sausages that I first boiled in St-Ambroise beer (I like to boil sausages before I fry them, because it eliminates some of the fat and makes them easier to cut), then I sliced them into little rounds and pan-fried the pieces to brown them a bit. I removed the pork from the pan and deglazed with calvados, pouring the thick calvados along with all the brown pan scrapings over the sausage pieces. Just a few pieces of sausage along with a generous helping of gratin makes for a very hearty and healthy meal.
Oh and I also made whole wheat bread to go with all this, but I'm still quite the novice at bread making so I won't go into details here. Maybe another time.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Brussels sprouts
So, I'm just starting this and I'm not exactly sure where it's going. For now, my idea is to pick an ingredient or family of ingredients each week and explore the best places to buy them and fun, interesting and simple ways to use them.
This week I've chosen cabbage. Or, more precisely, the cabbage family, whose members include broccoli, bok choy, napa cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and others, not to mention of course the purple and green varieties that you find in every supermarket. Most members of the cabbage family are in season in Quebec right now, so the options are many.
Last night, for my first venture into cabbage, I picked brussels sprouts. An easy choice since I cook with them all the time.
Good brussels sprouts are pretty easy to find. I went to the Atwater Market, and hit up Les fermes Michaca, a farmstand that sells all (or mostly all) certified organic produce. Their sprouts were also the best looking in the market, so all the better. For $8.05, I had 650g of brussels sprouts to work with. Maybe a little expensive but oh so tasty and worth every penny.
The recipe couldn't be simpler. I bought four strips of bacon from my favourite Atwater butcher (Boucherie Claude & Henri: $10.95/kilo, supplied by Quebec Smoked Meat in Pointe St-Charles) and sliced it (the short way) into pieces about 1 cm wide. I then took my brussels sprouts and, taking a page from Jacques Pépin, sliced them like so:
I then fried up the bacon pieces until they were just starting to be brown and crispy. At that point I added the sliced brussels sprouts (only about half of what I bought -- say 300-400g) and sautéd them until they were starting to get crisp and brown around the edges. For vegetarians or vegans, drop the bacon and just put a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, let it get really hot, and toss the brussels sprouts in with salt and pepper to taste. I also love to throw minced garlic in with the sprouts. Mmm. So easy. So delicious. Tomorrow, I'm going to try deep-frying the brussels sprouts we didn't use last night. I'll let you know how it goes.
I was a bit more adventurous with the rest of the menu. Also from Claude & Henri, I bought a 3-kilo fat duck (supplied by Elevage Périgord in St-Louis de Gonzague) and roasted it. Plenty of meat to feed three hungry boys, and damn was it delicious. Normally I'm not for eating too much meat, but every once in a while roasting up a big bird is irresistible. It was the first time I had roasted a duck, and the only thing that really went wrong was that the skin didn't get quite crispy enough because I didn't do a proper "sizzle" (i.e. doing the first or last 10-20 minutes of the roasting at a much higher temperature: say 450 instead of 350). I made a stock from the duck's neck and kidneys, some carrots and a bay leaf, and then blended it with a few tablespoons of cherry butter to make a really delicious cherry gravy. For a starch, I bought some organic local parsnips and garlic from Michaca, steamed them into submission, and then puréed them with duck fat, butter and milk. Unfortunately they came out a little gummy; I'm not sure why. Next time I'll try cooking them more before I mash them. Texture issues aside though, I highly recommend using parsnips. They are a wonderful winter vegetable, and in my opinion underrated and underused.
Another interesting thing I learned: why people seem to love to hate brussels sprouts. When I was a kid, every children's book used them as an example of vegetables kids hate. I never understood why, because I've always loved them, but it's apparently because of the sulfurous odour they give off when overcooked. All too often, people take brussels sprouts and steam the crap out of them (asparagus, too). That's why I prefer to sauté -- it brings out all the flavour, and it's much easier to avoid overcooking.
This week I've chosen cabbage. Or, more precisely, the cabbage family, whose members include broccoli, bok choy, napa cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and others, not to mention of course the purple and green varieties that you find in every supermarket. Most members of the cabbage family are in season in Quebec right now, so the options are many.
Last night, for my first venture into cabbage, I picked brussels sprouts. An easy choice since I cook with them all the time.
Good brussels sprouts are pretty easy to find. I went to the Atwater Market, and hit up Les fermes Michaca, a farmstand that sells all (or mostly all) certified organic produce. Their sprouts were also the best looking in the market, so all the better. For $8.05, I had 650g of brussels sprouts to work with. Maybe a little expensive but oh so tasty and worth every penny.
The recipe couldn't be simpler. I bought four strips of bacon from my favourite Atwater butcher (Boucherie Claude & Henri: $10.95/kilo, supplied by Quebec Smoked Meat in Pointe St-Charles) and sliced it (the short way) into pieces about 1 cm wide. I then took my brussels sprouts and, taking a page from Jacques Pépin, sliced them like so:
I then fried up the bacon pieces until they were just starting to be brown and crispy. At that point I added the sliced brussels sprouts (only about half of what I bought -- say 300-400g) and sautéd them until they were starting to get crisp and brown around the edges. For vegetarians or vegans, drop the bacon and just put a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, let it get really hot, and toss the brussels sprouts in with salt and pepper to taste. I also love to throw minced garlic in with the sprouts. Mmm. So easy. So delicious. Tomorrow, I'm going to try deep-frying the brussels sprouts we didn't use last night. I'll let you know how it goes.
I was a bit more adventurous with the rest of the menu. Also from Claude & Henri, I bought a 3-kilo fat duck (supplied by Elevage Périgord in St-Louis de Gonzague) and roasted it. Plenty of meat to feed three hungry boys, and damn was it delicious. Normally I'm not for eating too much meat, but every once in a while roasting up a big bird is irresistible. It was the first time I had roasted a duck, and the only thing that really went wrong was that the skin didn't get quite crispy enough because I didn't do a proper "sizzle" (i.e. doing the first or last 10-20 minutes of the roasting at a much higher temperature: say 450 instead of 350). I made a stock from the duck's neck and kidneys, some carrots and a bay leaf, and then blended it with a few tablespoons of cherry butter to make a really delicious cherry gravy. For a starch, I bought some organic local parsnips and garlic from Michaca, steamed them into submission, and then puréed them with duck fat, butter and milk. Unfortunately they came out a little gummy; I'm not sure why. Next time I'll try cooking them more before I mash them. Texture issues aside though, I highly recommend using parsnips. They are a wonderful winter vegetable, and in my opinion underrated and underused.
Another interesting thing I learned: why people seem to love to hate brussels sprouts. When I was a kid, every children's book used them as an example of vegetables kids hate. I never understood why, because I've always loved them, but it's apparently because of the sulfurous odour they give off when overcooked. All too often, people take brussels sprouts and steam the crap out of them (asparagus, too). That's why I prefer to sauté -- it brings out all the flavour, and it's much easier to avoid overcooking.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Gourmand's manifesto
Montreal is a city in the midst of rich and diverse agricultural land. Why, then, must I content myself with processed, imported grocery store food?
In this era of packaged, sanitized edible products, urban Western society has completely lost touch with what we put in our mouths. Most people (myself included) have never seen a feedlot, or understood the pollutants and toxins that cover the food on grocery store shelves, both inside and out (I'm talking about pesticides, antibiotics, genetic modifications, and many others). I'm not an expert on food by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask exactly what I'm putting in my body, and I'm willing to take the time and make the effort to find out. This journal aims to share my exploration of local ingredients: how and where to buy them and how to prepare and enjoy them at home.
My list of principles is incomplete and always open to revision. As I said, I'm no expert, so I'm hoping to learn as I go and expand these principles accordingly. Also, there are no hard and fast rules. Life is too short to see things in black and white.
1) Eat local: it supports the local economy and reduces carbon emissions associated with shipping. There are obvious exceptions to this; I'm not willing to give up French wine, Chinese tea, or Indian spices. But any fresh produce that's worth eating can be bought locally.
2) Eat organic/natural: the universe has been working for millions of years perfecting the plants and animals that grace this planet, and continues to do so. If we restrict our activities to the bounds nature has set for us, we will be healthier and so will the Earth. Modifications and poisons, on the inside or on the outside, have no place in our food supply. This is a tough one because it gets very complicated, and organic certification is very difficult to come by, especially for small-scale family farms. I'm less concerned with bureaucratic labels than I am with principles. Some examples: no medication unless the animal is sick; no pesticides; no laboratory genetic modifications.
3) Buy from small, family-run businesses and co-ops: I think that speaks for itself. I do not want to be a slave to purely profit-driven corporations when I can avoid it.
4) Eat seasonal produce: food is better when it's fresh, and in a temperate climate, it makes for a lot of variety.
5) Support sustainable/biodynamic agriculture: I'm hoping to learn what this means in concrete terms. The more we work with nature rather than against it, the better we will live and the longer our planet will survive.
6) Try anything once.
What do you think?
In this era of packaged, sanitized edible products, urban Western society has completely lost touch with what we put in our mouths. Most people (myself included) have never seen a feedlot, or understood the pollutants and toxins that cover the food on grocery store shelves, both inside and out (I'm talking about pesticides, antibiotics, genetic modifications, and many others). I'm not an expert on food by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask exactly what I'm putting in my body, and I'm willing to take the time and make the effort to find out. This journal aims to share my exploration of local ingredients: how and where to buy them and how to prepare and enjoy them at home.
My list of principles is incomplete and always open to revision. As I said, I'm no expert, so I'm hoping to learn as I go and expand these principles accordingly. Also, there are no hard and fast rules. Life is too short to see things in black and white.
1) Eat local: it supports the local economy and reduces carbon emissions associated with shipping. There are obvious exceptions to this; I'm not willing to give up French wine, Chinese tea, or Indian spices. But any fresh produce that's worth eating can be bought locally.
2) Eat organic/natural: the universe has been working for millions of years perfecting the plants and animals that grace this planet, and continues to do so. If we restrict our activities to the bounds nature has set for us, we will be healthier and so will the Earth. Modifications and poisons, on the inside or on the outside, have no place in our food supply. This is a tough one because it gets very complicated, and organic certification is very difficult to come by, especially for small-scale family farms. I'm less concerned with bureaucratic labels than I am with principles. Some examples: no medication unless the animal is sick; no pesticides; no laboratory genetic modifications.
3) Buy from small, family-run businesses and co-ops: I think that speaks for itself. I do not want to be a slave to purely profit-driven corporations when I can avoid it.
4) Eat seasonal produce: food is better when it's fresh, and in a temperate climate, it makes for a lot of variety.
5) Support sustainable/biodynamic agriculture: I'm hoping to learn what this means in concrete terms. The more we work with nature rather than against it, the better we will live and the longer our planet will survive.
6) Try anything once.
What do you think?
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