soupnancy

Bits and Bites September 2008

Bottleshock the movie – a wino flick about the famous blind wine tasting in 76 that put California wines in the same league as the French .. Now playing at the AMC forum.

www.bottleshockthemovie.com

Food matters – a documentary about food to fight diseases such as cancer, heart disease and depression - nutritional tricks the pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know about..

Playing at Cinema du Parc this week at 7:15pm, watch the trailer.

http://foodmatters.tv/trailer.html

6 Ways mushrooms can save the world: A Paul Stamets video – Take 20 minutes to get a glimpse of the power of mushrooms beyond being delicious to eat. No, apparently they can potentially save the world, from cleaning up soil to creating fuel.. Mysterious mushrooms never cease to amaze and inspire… http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world.html

Speaking of mushrooms: Our annual event begins October 17 at Les Jardins Sauvages 45min NE of Montreal, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm, Sundays at 1pm for 3 weeks. 7 Courses, 20+ kinds of mushrooms from appetizer to desserts, 85$ BYOB. To reserve, call 450-588-5125. www.jardinssauvages.com

Disputing the 1500mile factoid (average distance from farm to plate)

http://www.slate.com/id/2200202/pagenum/all/#page_start – I find it interesting to know where that commonly stated figure comes from, and therein lies a useful reminder to be wary of the media, but still we shouldn’t allow such details to water down the value of eating locally..

For the same reasons mentioned in this article, (as well as the fact that I hate rules and absolutes, especially ones that want to take my olive oil and lemons away), I never liked the idea of artificial numbers, as in the ‘1500food mile cost’, nor all the ‘100mile food diet’ talk per say, even if I always and even more so now, stand by the locavore ideal. And of course, I credit the original 100mile food diet experiment in BC as valuable as an initial hook or wake-up call (in the late 90’s), mainly in that it alerted us to make us stop and think about where our food comes from and consider making more conscious, sustainable food choices, to pay attention to what we had in our own backyard. Even at the time, I was already cooking mostly from far within 100miles, but still the debate was no where close to being on the mainstream radar.. It was an exciting and energizing idea, but forget about the numbers. First of all, because nothing is black and white, or good or bad for us, or for the environment in the big picture. Of course, sometimes it makes more sense to buy something from afar (tropical fruit from a tropical climate where a developing country relies on it for example). Of course, it depends where you live, on what the foodstuff in question is, on your point of view. But no matter, most of the time, and common sense tells us this, it makes the most sense to buy local, for taste, freshness, flavour, community and traceability, if not for global warming or anything else..

Just what we need – a book on FAT and our misguided fear of it http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080917.wxlfat17/BNStory/lifeFoodWine/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080917.wxlfat17&pageRequested=all&print=true

Things parents do wrong with food for their kids

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15eat.html?partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

In defence of water Michael Ruhlman (and Mark Bittman) remind us of the importance of water in the kitchen (better than canned stock in a soup).. I know I have had a squeeze bottle of water by my stove side for years now.

http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/09/in-defense-of-w.html

La Banquise vs. Patati Patata Poutine taste-off by two New Yorkers

Wait, what do they know? http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/09/poutines-montreal-canada-la-banquise-patati-patata.html

My tops goes to that roadside casse-croute in the Quebec countryside called Patate something or other with dark crisp fries, ultra squeaky cheese and super savoury sauce brune– you know the one.

Foods to fight bad breath http://cbs3.com/health/bad.breath.foods.2.813226.html

The El Bulli experience described by a ‘food virgin’ More beautiful, moving and to the point, than any account by a food critic, professional or ‘foodie’..

Sex, Death, Dinner http://www.nymag.com/restaurants/features/49921

63 foods on a stick at the MN State Fair! An old primary school friend now living in Minnesota alerted me to this stick festival tradition, and although I have to say some of it sounds scary (and what’s a Hot Dago or a Pronto pup anyway?) But I do love the idea, how fun! Deep fried pickles on a stick or anyhow – yum. I’m quite sure that some things were never meant to be served on a stick though (cheesecake, spaghetti and meatballs!?), but hell, there’s no harm in trying. http://redravine.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/mn-state-fair-on-a-stick-happy-bday-mn/

In photos: http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/09/in-videos-foods-on-a-stick-at-minnesota-state-fair.html

Yup, I’m a shoemaker, and proud.

Are you a shoemaker? An anecdote on the cook vs. pastry chef difference..

http://www.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2008/09/are-you-a-shoemaker.html

No matter how precise you are though, if you’re dealing with real food (and not powders and etc) which is organic and variable, you have to tweak and fine tune for the best results taste wise.. Besides, it makes no sense to weigh out ¾ of an onion, or measure out 10 ml of lemon juice instead of seasoning to taste - it kills me to see students doing that.. I do appreciate the use of scales, but I personally don’t want my kitchen to ever resemble a lab.. I believe in using your head and all your senses with each recipe and dish, never relying on a routine recipe or grams.. which is probably why molecular gastronomy is appealing to me less and less.

Listeria, salmonella, food scare this, food scare that

Why is everyone so shocked that tainted food is a new (although not really new) reality? Hello, food is perishable. Real good food does not normally have a two month or year long shelf life. I am surprised more people don’t get more sick more often eating Maple leaf foods and etc.. Imagine how much denaturing of food, not to mention all the additives and noxious cleaners they have to use to pull this off. A few people dying is sad, but to me, no surprise, and if that’s the kind of wake up call it takes for government and people in general to pay attention to the importance of their food, than so be it. As long as we rely on mass produced food that is convenient and cheap, this will be a recurring nightmare. Like the guy at Gremolata in the first article below, this did not wreak havoc in my world, because apart from the odd takeout sandwich I buy on the fly, I know where all my food comes from, even my bacon is homemade. I buy meat and poultry from small producers I know, vegetables from even closer, cheeses from the source or from a reputable cheese purveyor who is in direct contact with the maker; we get other stuff from the farmers’ market, but again, everything is fresh, unprocessed and from a traceable source. I do it for taste mainly, because I value food more than most things like Ipods and Nikes and window dressings, but it turns out that for health and safety, not to mention less stress, it’s paying off.. The Slow food nation fest in the US , timed with Barak’s rise (new hope), with all these food scares in the news might converge to really bolster the already growing trend back to more wholesome food values. It would only be better for us, both eaters and farmers, and for the environment.

Of course, I could still get sick from an artisanal raw milk cheese, or get hit by a car if I leave the house, some risks are worth taking. And besides, if you’re healthy and eat a varied diet including a bit of dirt, chances are a little food poisoning won’t do you in..

Where's The Good Beef? by James Geneau at Gremolata http://gremolata.com/goodbeef.htm

What's in your sandwich? Listeria isn't the only risk http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080827.LMEAT27/TPStory/

Is Slow Food Finally Picking up Speed in the US ? Alice Waters says despite elitist reputation, Slow Food movement revving up in US. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26378691/

Amy reports back from Slowfood Nation after a panel discussion with Michael Pollan, Dan Barber and co.. http://cookingwithamy.blogspot.com/2008/08/slow-food-nation-report-from-day-1.html

Gremolata’s report back from Slowfood Nation 08 http://gremolata.com/slowfoodnation01.htm

Recently added links : some newly discovered websites of interest:

Salon Culinaire : An Australian e-gullet style culinary community for professionals

-of interest, check out ‘read the latest debate’

http://www.salonculinaire.com/

Phaedrus Consulting Detective : Finder of lost recipes among other things..

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/archives.htm

Stéphane l’Écuyer’s recipe video blog www.stephanelecuyer.tv

If this is your kind of thing..