soupnancy

At the Noma Science Bunker, things are fermenting.. http://eater.com/archives/2014/08/28/noma-copenhagen-science-bunker-photo-tour.php

How meat gets to your plate (or doesn’t) in Quebec  Good article about meat processing and the slaughterhouse situation in Quebec today. Important stuff. Seeing the number of local slaughterhouses diminish due to the Govt cracking down and pressure from the big guys has made me sick over the years. Even harder for small producers of venison, lamb or say lama, with even fewer authorized and one day a week 4hrs away say; Deer, not used to being confined, more skittish and aggressive. Detrimental. I saw it again and again. And for some small farmers, the extra cost was the difference between surviving and closing. No one thinks about how AFU our system is and this article says it well. I’m actually encouraged if some of the ‘B’s can viably become medium sized and better service our local farmers and eaters..http://boucherielawrence.com/blog/les-producteurs/

Rethinking Eating - Great piece!  Not farm to table stuff; but here, scientists and vegans weighing in.on the best way to ingest protein and nutrients. I can’t help but think I could have ended up this way if my appetite hadn’t been greater than my science/analytical bone. Unlike Mr.Soylent, a major highlight of my day has always been feeding myself (and others) real food, no powders or shakes. All due respect, I don’t want the guy who makes blood vessels making my burger either. And I Love this exchange:

‘Instead of centrifuging out plant proteins, “Why not just eat the vegetables?” asked Marion Nestle, author of “Food Politics” and professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University.

High-tech food entrepreneurs, mostly white, well-educated young men who have spent much of their lives fueling up on fast food, say they want to provide more convenience and better taste.

“Being forced to take time from my day and having my train of thought interrupted by hunger was really bothersome to me,” said Rob Rhinehart of San Francisco, the inventor of Soylent, a liquid meal replacement now being delivered to some 60,000 customers who preordered it during a yearlong crowdfunding campaign that ended in May and raised $3 million. “Trying to eat a balanced diet looked like I was leaping into a sea of complexity, of biochemistry and cooking, sourcing and cleaning.”

To which Dr. Nestle said, “Sex is messy and a lot of trouble, too.”’ http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/24/sunday-review/rethinking-eating.html?

Gael Greene tells her story, rants and raves  I just love it. Old school food writing, so rare nowadays.. http://www.insatiable-critic.com/Article.aspx?ID=1385&keyword=Out

Why Bitter makes food taste better  http://online.wsj.com/articles/why-bitter-makes-food-better-1408732030?tesla=y I like bitter, but am sensitive to it too making me a tough lover in the wild food world, I have analyzed this quite abit myself. Like with everything, it’s a question of dosage (the difference between pleasant bitter, off-putting and poisonous), and what you’re used to or trained to like on the low end, like with chili heat or anything. The fact is we don’t want to do without it, for taste or health..

Breakfast might not be all that it’s cranked up to be – whatever works for you.. My thoughts exactly. Beyond fruit and cheese, I know that a big breakfast is not a good idea for me, making me sluggish and unproductive which might be ok on a holiday but even then.. I never bought into the idea, like with raw food or not eating late-night – common sense and life experience. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/breakfast-isnt-important/378917/

Feeding the world – no easy answers But let’s just say that big ag is not at the top of the list http://grist.org/food/is-producing-more-food-to-feed-the-world-beside-the-point/

On Raw Food, Paleo, Microbes and our food: No one says it like Michael Pollan - science and common sense with a love for food! I love my salad but I have always thought the raw food diet a croc because cooking allows you to extract more nutrition. Fire and cooking allowed us to evolve beyond chewing for half the day, allowing our jaw to diminish and our brain to grow? And the Paleo diet might be good inspiration, it means nothing if your meat isn’t grass-fed, why rule out good grains/good bread etc. Good read. http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/michael-pollan-paleo-diet-inquiring-minds

MEP, a kitchen tool for EVERYBODY, A way of life Yup, tis true. I keep trying to explain this to my non-kitchen friends who claim to be too busy to cook.. It's all about MEP! And yes, the same approach makes you better in life in general.. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/08/11/338850091/for-a-more-ordered-life-organize-like-a-chef

The disconnect between Foodies/Chefs and Farmers  What I've been saying for years as I see small producers struggle & disappear while everyone seems to think the local food movement is in full gear and hunky dory.‎ Whatever trend to quality local fresh and artisanal is paralleled increasingly by that of cheap food everywhere thanks to Big AG, free trade & cheap imports and a govt./ system and culture that favours such, and loves BS. There is more bullshit marketing smoke n' mirrors than ever be it at the supermarket, in restaurants - Teroir/Local/Organic/Naturel/Sauvage etc. making it even harder for the real thing to shine. Whatever they say, most chefs still buy the bulk of their food in the big ag industrial system. Consumers flock to Walmart and Costco. Leaving a sliver of a market, choking out the authentic cream of the crop who aren't lucky enough to be subsidized or independently rich hobbyists. No, Urban foodies and hipsters don’t seem to really care about farmers and producers at the bottom of the chain, as long as the menu evokes the idea of them, the décor is hip and their cocktail name sounds cool. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/opinion/sunday/dont-let-your-children-grow-up-to-be-farmers.html?_r=2&referrer=

Maillard - Worthy of a celebration http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/10/162636059/100-years-ago-maillard-taught-us-why-our-food-tastes-better-cooked

MTL Blog scandal: Wow, I'm obviously not in the loop! Although I knew it existed, hardly on my radar.. Then again, I’m not in their demographic either, of the kind that prefers newspapers and in depth articles, you know the boring stuff.. http://canadalandshow.com/article/inside-mtlblo 

Fall issue of online magazine The Cook’s Cook http://www.thecookscook.com/emagazine/2014-08/issue4/

Fascinating story of our native Apple in NA http://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/the_apple_in_north_america

Crazy how the world works.. I remember being shocked by this when reading ‘Bitter Chocolate’ many years ago, still no change.  Cacao workers tasting chocolate for the first time: http://firstwefeast.com/video/cocoa-farmers-savor-their-first-taste-of-chocolate/

Hurray for quality over quantity! Good article. There is always less mark-up on the good stuff, for some of the reasons described here - so many people don't realize.. http://m.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/rethinking-dining-value-eating-at-restaurants-shouldnt-be-only-about-volume/2014/07/28/84dc6c34-11d4-11e4-8936-26932bcfd6ed_story.html?wprss=rss_lifestyle

15 Hottest Mtl restaurants now according to EATER http://montreal.eater.com/archives/2014/07/03/the-15-hottest-restaurants-in-montreal-right-now.php

The importance of eating together http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/the-importance-of-eating-together/374256/

Caribou - New Quebec Food Magazine (In French) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/470712816/magazine-caribou

Beginner Pickling Tips  http://food52.com/blog/10826-5-links-to-read-before-pickling

Real changes in restaurants and clientele, a documented glimpse of the new reality  http://news.distractify.com/culture/craigslist-surveillance-restaurant/?v=1

Food documentaries (and not all depressing, most look whimsical and fun) – on my to see list..http://coolmaterial.com/media/movies/10-food-documentaries-every-guy-should-see/

Marinetti and Futurist Cooking from the 1930’s - pretty neat! Looking at some of his recipes, I’d be more into eating the modernist food of today, but kudos to the original thinkers past and present.. http://www.thestaffcanteen.com/editorial/futurist-cooking-was-molecular-gastronomy-invented-in-the-1930s

Beware of industrial (cheap) meat. Scary stuff!    If this wasn’t the mainstream meat source, there would be less annoying vegetarians. And if this affected me, I would be a total veghead. But it’s not if you opt out of the superstores and hook up with a farmer/farmer’s market or hunter for a reasonable amount of good meat.  ecowatch.com/2014/04/29/5-dangerous-substances-big-ag-meat/

Progress in Florida tomato fields  Happy to hear; I have been traumatized since reading Tomatoland. To think that such slavery existed in the US, on top of the botchy agriculture with so many pesticides. This new movement seems like a minimum, surely with some glossy marketing thrown in, but fingers crossed for them. I don’t buy tomatoes that aren’t local anyway and neither should you. www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/business/in-florida-tomato-fields-a-penny-buys-progress.html

Michael Pollen always has something interesting to say http://www.vox.com/2014/4/23/5627992/big-food-michael-pollan-thinks-wall-street-has-way-too-much-influence

An ode to the past bread & water tradition  Yes about the water. I’m all for hospitality but the fact is that good bread has a cost, so either has to be integrated into the price or charged. Not that I’ve done it myself, but I’m stupid. Not everyone wants it anyway. Unfortunately everyone is used to cheap industrial stuff so often aren’t aware of the cost of real good crafted food and figure that restaurants make a fortune. Too many opportunist restauranteurs who overcharge for crap doesn’t help, so vicious circle. But a restaurant should not be shy to charge for quality, a fair price to cover their costs.. People have to get used to it and not go back if they don’t feel like they got their money’s worth. Not many other businesses systematically operate with such slim margins, and few people would agree to work for free just to make customers happy, as many restauranteurs happen to do in not upping their prices, while dealing with no shows etc in this economic climate. mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/dining/lets-start-with-bread-and-water.html

Should a wine critic be neutral or have an opinion? I agree with him. As objective as possible while most importantly honest and informative, impressions real but with context. So that it makes for good reading, that you learn something and are inspired to try a wine. It’s a conversation. A critic is a knowledgeable free guide that you can take or leave. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/dining/a-wine-critics-realm-isnt-a-democracy.html?

Why aren’t more restaurant critics women? Some weigh in on why and the general issues and differences between men and women.. http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/04/female-critics-gender.html?mid=twitter_grubst

Food Camp Quebec City 2014 – a foodie festival that is growing.  A run down (in French): http://www.natalierichard.com/blog/food-camp-levenement-des-foodies-de-quebec/

Fed up – a film about the food industry, sugar and the obesity epidemic http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/fed-film-examines-food-industry-150003153--abc-news-movies.html?