Posted on 06/14/2007 5:50:11 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Marks & Spencer, the British department-store chain, recently started putting a new symbol on its packaged foods. The store already labels its food with the country of origin and often the name of the farmer. But shoppers who buy strawberries and beans, for example, now see a white airplane on a black circle with the words “air-freighted.” This means that the food in question was transported by airplane, leaving a big carbon footprint in the sky. In other words, go ahead and eat the beans, but you have been warned.
The local-global conundrum, a thoroughly modern predicament, has found its way into a small shelf’s worth of new food books. Two of them start with the same premise: that you can shorten the food chain by eating locally. Alisa Smith and her partner, J. B. MacKinnon, tested this hypothesis for a year, restricting their diet to foods found within a 100 miles of their humble cabin in British Columbia. “Plenty” is the logbook of their year of eating virtuously, told in alternating chapters. The book is a Canadian counterpart to Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” a similar experiment carried out in the Appalachians.
Ms. Smith and Mr. MacKinnon, both vegetarians, quickly make some unpleasant discoveries. Brimming with enthusiasm at the outset, they invite two friends over for a kickoff dinner in March. The strictly indigenous ingredients, purchased at the local organic market, come to $128.87. This is a couple who pride themselves on putting together a dinner for 50 cents back home in Vancouver. Dismay is followed by shock at the discovery that wheat is no longer grown in the region. That rules out a lot of food.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Target rich, food for thought book review. :)
Gotta say it would be much easier where I live as there are thriving farmers markets in 3 directions. And I get beef from a local guy and my kids raise pork and lamb for home consumption, also locally available is USDA Elk (really, some dudes farming them here), free range eggs, chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys, buffalo, beefalo as well as sheep cheese and goat cheese.
Lots of local orchards for apples, cherries, peaches, pears, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and we can go into the mountains for wild mushrooms and huckleberries.
These peeps are living in the wrong place, move to where the food is.
“...move to where the food is.”
Shhh! The Midwest is already FULL of Yuppies, LOL!
Actually, I sell free-range eggs as an additional income stream, so I like Yuppies that will pay upwards of $2 for a 39-cent dozen eggs, or $3.00 a pint for Raspberries or $5 a jar for my homemade Pesto. ;)
As an aside, that new book by Kingsolver and her family is horrendous! Simply useless. Avoid it at all costs, unless you want a laugh or two.
I’ve read and enjoyed the “Simple Life” books by Scott & Helen Nearing. Granted, their politics were near Marxist, but they inspired me to live off the land more and eat much more simply.
Mainly, I just cook what my Grandmas cooked and “eat seasonally.” Few convenience foods, and cooking from scratch with basic ingredients saves a TON of money.
It’s amazing how much “free” food is all around us, too. You just need to know where to look.
;^)
LOL! You remembered! It is awesome. A once a year treat, though; it feels like it takes all day to make! :)
I made Lavender Pound Cake the other day with fresh lavender from the garden and my awesome home-grown egg yolks (the dogs got the whites on their kibble.)
My co-workers scarfed it up in a matter of minutes.
Seriously, though. Could you send along the recipes for it both of these goodies? I guarantee you full credit for them if I enter either one at the State Fair this year.
And, of course, always happy to send off a couple of my favourites to you.
Either way, smooches!
Very similar to my original recipe:
Queen of Sheba Torte
4 oz (4 squares, semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tbs rum or coffee
1/4 lb butter at room temperature
2/3 cup plus 1 Tbs sugar
3 egg, separated
1/3 cup finely ground almonds
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup cake flour, measured then sifted
For the icing:
2 oz (2 squares, semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tbs rum or coffee
6 Tbs butter at room temperature
Whole almonds for garnish
Melt the chocolate and rum or coffee in a pot set over simmering water, stirring to combine. Cream the butter and 2/3 cup (160 ml) sugar together until pale yellow and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sugar until stiff. Combine the chocolate mixture, butter mixture, ground almonds, almond extract, and blend thoroughly. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, followed by 1/4 of the sifted flour. Repeat until all the egg whites and flour have been incorporated.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pan, pushing the batter to the edges of the pan with a spatula.
Bake in the center of a preheated 350F (180C) oven for about 25 minutes. When done, the cake will have puffed up, the outer edges of the cake should be firm, and the center should move slightly when the pan is shaken. A toothpick inserted in the outer portion should come out clean, and slightly oily when inserted in the center. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run the blade of a knife around the inside of the pan and invert the cake onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before icing.
To prepare the icing, melt the chocolate and rum or coffee in a pot set over simmering water, stirring to combine. Remove from the heat and beat in the butter 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time. Place the pot in a large bowl filled with ice water and continue beating until the mixture has cooled to spreading consistency. Spread the icing over the cake with a knife or spatula and decorate with whole almonds.
Makes 1 cake to serve 6 to 8.
Here’s the recipe I used for Lavender Pound Cake. It really turned out well, and had simple ingredients versus some others I looked at. :)
http://frenchfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/lavpound.htm
On my life, I'm going to have a go at this one, next week or two, time pending!
Foof! Now, I'm in your debt. glad to discharage the debt, of course.
Your choice, which recipe would you like? Happy to send it to you. These are ALL friend-tested recipes, btw.
Ruth Reichl's ''Pasta Carbonara'' recipe, kicked up to where it isn't so damned bland? Made a pot of it last night and, well, needed no further orgasms.
Jack Daniels' molasses chocolate pecan pie, w/a chocolate ganache on top? (yes, SAJ is sometimes evil...heh heh)
Triple almond cookies? (these VANISH, btw)
State Fair 4th ribbon last year! ''Four-pork Louisiana Stew'' (actually a gumbo, but the NY Slimes Crossword has associated ''gumbo'' with ''okra'' for 40 years: there is NO okra in this dish). You and I both know, certainly, that a ''gumbo'' is generally a stew that begins with a dark or ''chocolate'' roux (except seafood gumbos, which start with a ''blonde'' roux).
My grandmother Wright's ''cloud'' cookies, essentially just meringue cookies made with a LOT of love...and very good technique?
My tribute to Gran's cookies: ''stuffed cloud'' cookies?
You call it, young lady -- SAJ's recipes of various sorts are at your convenience. And, no brag, just fact -- SAJ makes a shockingly good ''Key Lime Fantasy'' pie.
Smooches again, and many thanks!
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