The Omnivore's Dilemma

When I finished reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan I was overwhelmed. There is so much information and emotion wrapped up in that book to adequately cover in a blog post, so I will only give you a few highlights, with my strong recommendation that you read it yourself. If you are at all interested in food, eating, the environment, or the moral implications of our decisions, you will find this book intriguing and enlightening.

As the menu planner and primary grocery shopper in my home, I am having a hard time doing those jobs in my post Omnivore’s Dilemma life. Michael Pollan forces us to think before we eat. I am fairly certain that this was the goal of the book- to make Americans think about where our food comes from. Here’s a hint: “the grocery store” is not the correct answer.

The correct answer is generally (but not always) “farms.” But not all farms are created equal. Most use chemical fertilizers and pesticides that strip the soil of its natural nutrients and poison the water supply. Some farms are “organic” by USDA standards (which some might consider too lenient) and still fewer are “organic” in a more traditional sense. Industry and fossil fuels have infiltrated just about everything we eat, from fruits, veggies, and grains, to beef, pork, and poultry. Industry has interfered with natural processes to turn a profit. Instead of cows grazing on ample pastures for a couple of years before being slaughtered, cows are fattened with corn over five months on a crowded feedlot. And the beautiful grasslands they used to graze on are transformed into more cornfields to fatten livestock and (unbeknownst to some of us) humans. It is more cost efficient for companies to raise livestock faster on less land, but the moral, environmental, and public health costs are often not considered. It needs to become profitable to raise crops and animals through healthy, natural methods and the only way this will happen is if people express demand for these products (or conversely, lack of demand in irresponsibly raised products.)

So how has this affected my grocery shopping?

I’ve stopped buying meat. I cannot endorse a system that crushes the true spirit of the livestock or that grossly pollutes the planet that I love and live on. This may be a temporary state of vegetarianism until I find a responsible local farmer, but even if or when that happens I know that I do not need to eat meat every day.

I’ve started buying some organic foods. Even though most organic foods that you’ll find in the store are what Pollan calls “industrial organic” he considers them a step above regular foods simply because that is a patch of land that does not have chemical fertilizers or pesticides on it. Apples are the number one fruit that we buy, so now I buy organic apples for twenty cents extra per pound. Call me crazy (Brett does) but I feel like they taste better! I also bought some Stonyfield organic yogurt on sale for cheaper than Yoplait! I love the packaging!

I’m still researching the best eggs and milk to buy. I just can’t bring myself to pay twice as much for organic milk if I’m not sure that my regular milk cows are being mistreated. As for eggs, I stood in front of the egg section for ten minutes trying to figure out what would be best. Cage-free? Organic? Vegetarian fed? I went with cage-free because I hated the image of laying hens crammed six to a cage so they can’t even move. According to the book, chickens left to their own devises like to eat grubs, so that’s why I didn’t go with vegetarian fed. I’m just not sure if that was the right decision.

The bottom line is: Read The Omnivore’s Dilemma! It will make you think about what you eat, pay attention to food in new ways, and seek change in this country’s agricultural habits.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

I've known about this book for a while and happened across it in the massive cookbook section at my new library.

It seemed too good to be true. Recently Brett and I needed bread but were too lazy to go to the store, so we decided to make it from scratch. Well, luckily we thought of this four hours before dinner because that's about how long it takes to make homemade bread. There is a lot of rising and waiting involved. So I was excited to try the "revolutionary" new method of bread baking that will supposedly take five minutes.

Part of what makes this method take only "five minutes" of your time is that you mix up a giant batch on the first day and keep it in your refrigerator pulling off hunks each day. But the mixing of the dough doesn't take as long as usual either because there is no proofing the yeast, no kneading, no covering and rising (kind of), and no punching down the dough. Brett, of course, was dubious of this method. It really does take all the fun out of baking bread. If you have never punched risen dough, I highly recommend it.

I decided to go with the first recipe in the book since it seemed the most basic- Boule (Artisan free-form loaf.) I used the flour I had on hand which is not the kind they recommend. I also halved the recipe and therefore messed up slightly on the measurement of the yeast and the salt. I should have halved it ahead of time but instead I waited until I had my water already hot and ready to go. Needless to say, my math was rushed. Quick: What's half of 1 and 1/2 T? And don't say 3/4 T because I don't have a 1/4 T measure. Answer in teaspoons please. See? Not that easy. Afterwards, I thought it through and realized I was off by a 1/4 tsp.

Once you've stirred everything up, you put a lid on it and leave it on the counter for a couple of hours and then you move it to the fridge.

After a couple of days in the fridge, I decided it was time to bake. I pulled off a handful of very wet dough. It is supposed to be wet- that is what makes it able to sit in the fridge for up to two weeks. I pulled dough from the top down to the bottom on all four sides to form a "gluten cloak" I don't know if I did this right, but it seemed ok. Then you let it sit on a pizza peel for forty minutes.

This is where I take issue with the book's title. You still have to be thinking ahead to make this bread for dinner. This isn't a Pilsbury "pop it out of the tube and you're done" kind of thing. You have to let the dough rest, let the pizza stone heat up, bake the bread, and let the bread cool. A process I will say takes at least an hour and forty minutes and that's if you don't let the bread cool all the way. So yes, you spend about five minutes of active work, but you still have to have a good deal of forethought.

The bread turned out beautiful. It was slightly misshapen from my poor pizza peel skills, but golden and very "artisany" looking. The recipe said to let it cool completely, but we couldn't wait any longer. The outside was very hard. I ended up peeling the crust off and eating it first, saving the squishy, wonderful innards, or "crumb" if I'm being fancy. I prefer innards:) It was ok. Most, if not all, of the other yeast breads we've made were better. Brett thought the innards were like the texture of dumplings. They were soft and chewy, but kind of sticky and dense. The flavor was not all that great- I'll blame that on the flour.

I will be the first to admit that I did not execute the recipe entirely accurately, but it was not good enough to merit a second chance. Maybe this method would work for you, but for us it's back to old fashioned (fun) bread.

It Must've Been Something I Ate

My first visit to the local library since becoming a MA resident was quite fruitful! I went upstairs to peruse the HUGE aisle of food/cooking books and almost immediately found It Must've Been Something I Ate by Jeffrey Steingarten. Some of you may remember that I loved his first book The Man Who Ate Everything.

While the first book was laugh out loud hilarious and very endearing, the second book was, like most sequels, not as good. I did chuckle a few times and smiled when he teased himself about seasickness or being over-obsessive. I felt like this book was less accessible to the common-folk. I learned more than I ever cared to know about caviar and unpasteurized fancy cheese. Multiple chapters about Paris and New York (one of which I skipped entirely) just could not hold my interest. There were, however, several chapters centered around San Diego. I lived there for ten years and did not know about the bluefin tuna industry, sea urchin roe, or The Vegetable Shop.

I felt a little like Mr. Steingarten was ridiculing me for liking Kraft parmesan cheese ("The powdered Parmesan in those green canisters in the supermarket is a salty, dry, repellent condiment that should not be called Parmesan.") but it's not like I'm deluding myself into thinking that it's authentic Parmagiano! So what if I put it on my pasta almost every day! He would probably insist that I throw my green canister away and buy a chunk of the real stuff immediately. Maybe I will... someday :)

One of the funniest parts was about a woman pulling the parmesan cheese curls off of her salad. I laughed because not too long before I read that part, I had been in a restaurant scraping my salad bowl with my fork trying to pick up the last bits of cheese. Brett ended up getting them out with his finger.

Now that I'm a New Englander, I paid extra close attention to the chapter on Lobster Rolls. Neither Brett nor I have ever had one. We are not huge fans of lobster. I am not a huge fan of mayo. And Brett is not a huge fan of celery. All of these things are common ingredients in lobster rolls. And yet we are still curious about trying one. According to the book, right now would be a good time to get one, so I have already started reading reviews to find a suitable place. However, we'll probably end up getting one down the street at Panera Bread- is that wrong? I'm sure Mr. Steingarten would unequivocally say, "Yes!"

The Man Who Ate Everything

I've been known to watch Iron Chef America on occasion, and I've always appreciated the brutal honesty of regular judge Jeffrey Steingarten. When they introduce him at the beginning of the show, they always mention his book, The Man Who Ate Everything, so I finally got around to reading it. It was hilarious, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys cooking or eating.

I love how it looks like he even ate the book cover!

He begins the book with a quest to rid himself of his (quite common) food phobias. He claims to hate Kimchi, anchovies, Greek food, anything with dill, and lots of other very normal things to hate. By what he calls exposure (and what I would call force feeding) he manages to conquer all of his food phobias and even grows to like some of those foods. I thought it would be fun to make a short list of some of my food phobias (believe me I could go on for a long time.)

1. Sushi- The texture, the seaweed, and worst of all the raw fish

2. Clams, Oysters, Scallops- For some reason, things that come in a seashell scare me. They are chewy, and there is almost always sand involved. (Except I love clam chowder.)

3. Raw meat (particularly chicken) - I'll eat it when it's cooked, but when it's raw, it grosses me out.

4. Tomatoes- I love salsa and ketchup, but put a slice of tomato in front of me and I just can't bring it to my mouth.

5. Mayonnaise- I could gag just thinking about trying to eat it. I always joked about having a Fear Factor for picky eaters, well I would be the one crying over eating a spoonful of mayo. If something has mayo in it, just don't tell me, and I'll probably like it.

Mr. Steingarten is very thorough (obsessive) in all of his food research. He spends months making bread into the wee hours of the night; he probably went though a thousand potatoes trying to perfect the preparation of mashing; and I'm sure he baked a hundred pies in search of a flawless crust. When he puts his mind to something, he buys two or three of the necessary equipment, all the cookbooks he can find, and lots and lots of ingredients. After reading his book, I have no doubt that he can call himself a food expert.

He reminded me of Brett at times, always doubting the latest study. Steingarten spent several chapters debunking diets, misconceptions about sugar, salt, and alcohol, and even exploring the hazards of salad. I suppose I can conclude that, in moderation, everything is ok. Of course Steingarten doesn't seem to know the meaning of moderation.

The best part was that I laughed through the entire book! If you're in need of a laugh, read The Man Who Ate Everything. (You just might learn something too.)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I first became familiar with Barbara Kingsolver's work when a friend recommended her wonderful novel The Poisonwood Bible. I was looking through the food/cookbook section at the library and was surprised to see a non-fiction book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I checked it out, not only because I know from experience that she is a great storyteller, but also because I was interested in her family's experience of a year of eating local food. Her family was hard-core dedicated.  They moved from arid Arizona to Virginia farmland, grew their own produce, and raised their own poultry. Pretty much the only non-local food that they consumed was coffee and wheat flour.

Brett teased that this book was hippie propaganda. I do admit that it was preachy at times, but everything it said made sense. Why shouldn't we know, or at least question, where our food comes from and how it was raised? I've never really thought about the bananas I buy every week traveling thousands of miles to get to my grocery cart. Am I okay with the fact that gazillions of gallons of fossil fuel was used to transport them? I like to think of myself as a pretty environmentally conscious person, so I shouldn't be okay with that. When Kingsolver talked about practically all produce traveling from California, I felt reassured. I thought at least I live in California, so it's not really traveling that far to get to me.

Newly educated on the intricacies of eating local, I was checking snow peas off my grocery list and just happened to notice the label above the bin that read, "Product of Guatemala." Guatemala?! Ugh. I still bought them, but at least I'm aware of where they come from now. At least I thought to look! Mushrooms- "Product of USA." That's not helpful. The United States is a HUGE country- I know, I've driven across it twice! I even looked at the free range eggs. Maybe I'll start going to the farmer's market. One thing is for sure, this book has changed the way I think about food.  I hope that after this thinking period, that it will start to change the way I eat.

I will never have a farm like Kingsolver has, and I definitely will never raise (and harvest) chickens, but I would like to have a garden and grow some food someday. If you look beyond the "hippie propaganda", this book is really about the joy of gardening, cooking, and eating. The fresh avocados our friend gave us last week were a tangible reminder that food doesn't have to come from the store. We can grow it!

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry

I can finally check The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn off my reading list and (if you haven't read it already) I highly recommend putting it on yours.

The book chronicles the author's time earning a diploma at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and her personal growth along the way.  It is not only funny, heart warming, and educational, but it also inspires the reader to do what they love and to not waste precious life being stuck in a rut.  

I have casually toyed with the idea of going to culinary school, but after reading this book I am thoroughly convinced that I would go for pastry only.  Pastry does not involve scaling, gutting, killing, or chopping the head off of anything.  If I was wincing just reading about those things, there's no way I could physically accomplish them.  The author claims that she was eventually desensitized, but I can't see myself ever getting to that point.

One aspect of the book that I can relate to is that cooking is personal.  The author's food gets verbally bashed by one of the head chefs at one part of the story when her sauce was really no worse than anyone else's.  Cooking for others involves putting your heart (and ego) on the line.  If someone doesn't like your food, its kind of like a part of you is insulted.  There's the cliche "secret ingredient" of love that gets put into every meal so maybe that's why it feels so personal.  That's why I relish getting complimented on my cooking (even if I've made it a thousand times) and I always try to genuinely compliment something when I eat someone else's food.  I understand that it's more than a common courtesy.

There's much more that I can say about this wonderful book, but I'd rather you just read it and experience it for yourself!

Julie & Julia

The book Julie & Julia by Julie Powell has been on my reading list for a very long time.  I'd been looking for it at the library every time I went, and this past week it was finally on the shelf!  (Yes, I've heard of putting a book on hold, but I prefer to leave things to fate:))  I came home and started reading immediately and finished it in a couple of days.

I could not have picked a more perfect book for me to read.  Not only is it about Julie's adventures (and misadventures) of working her way through every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days, but she blogged about it too!  She started her project in 2002, so this was way before I had even heard of a blog.  I view her as a pioneer in cooking blogs.  Her determination to complete her project is inspiring and proof that goal setting, no matter what your goal, can work wonders.  Read the book (if you haven't already!)

Candy

I just read the book, Candy and Me (A Love Story) by Hilary Liftin. It caught my eye at the library near the cookbooks mainly because I also love candy and am a self-proclaimed sweet tooth. Even though I seem to crave cookies and cake more than candy, I thought I might be able to relate to this author’s tale of her love affair with candy.

Now I have a sweet tooth, but this lady has 32 sweet teeth! I could not believe the vast quantities of candy this woman consumed throughout her life, but especially during her childhood. At first I had a difficult time with the book because it actually made me feel a little sick to think about.

As I read more, I began to appreciate her passion for candy, sympathize with her struggles, and I did relate to some of her compulsions. For instance she talked about lining up Skittles “abacus style” according to color and number. When I eat from a bowl of M&Ms I will choose a color and eat only that color until they are all gone. Even if I get tired of eating them, I continue until that color is eliminated; it’s a compulsion. Also, when I eat from a bag of Hugs (which I haven’t done in YEARS for exactly this reason) I make a pyramid on the table with my balled up foil wrappers. If I want to keep eating I can’t eat just one more, because I have to keep the pyramid intact. So I often ended up eating too many and my stomach always regretted it.

My favorite candy is Toll-House semi-sweet chocolate chips. I can sit and eat those by the handful. I don’t need fancy pants dark chocolates at all. One of my favorite things to do with chocolate chips is what I call a Choco-dilla. I put chocolate chips and mini marshmallows on a tortilla and microwave it for a little bit and then fold it over and eat it. YUM! I haven’t done it in a very long time…but I’m starting to feel the urge!

Free Cookbooks!

I don't know how in the world I never thought of this before, but this week I was at the library looking for a new book to entertain me during my lazy afternoons, and it struck me to wander over into the nonfiction section and look for books about cooking. I am a fiction gal through and through, and unless I'm looking for something very specific, I never even glance toward the nonfiction section. It is the motherload of cookbooks! There was a whole aisle full of them! I checked out 2 (on vegetarian cooking as you can see) and will look through them and try a few things and then return them. It is so much more economical than buying a cookbook, trying a few recipes, and then letting it collect dust. It also saves space. I have absolutely no place to store another cookbook (I've got a stack on the floor by the bed,) so this way it's out of my hair in a few weeks. I've always loved going to the library and now that I've discovered their cookbooks, I have no doubt that I will love it even more. What a wonderful resource that so many people are not using! Check it out (literally!)