Sooooo much to tell all of you about but sooooo little time. Here are a few bullet points:
- Nightshade Kittytoes (don't you love that name?!) has an interesting post up about Burger King and nutrition: apparently Burger King subjected villagers in Africa to a taste test between the Whopper and the Big Mac? NK asks for ideas on how to fix the problem. Let's start with significant subsidies for local farmers who sell at local markets. Revamp the FDA, USDA, DofA...it's a big ol' mess and it's high time someone fixed it. Dismantle the whole damn thing and start fresh, I say. Shouldn't bringing our troops home free up some cash?
- You won't believe what the Washington Post is spewing about children's and young adult literature. I thought we were sooo over this, but I guess we have to go there again. I'll save you my own rant and just send you over to Librarilly Blonde.
- What will they think of next? Customizable M&Ms!!! Thanks, Rachel!
- Ramona may finally be turned into a movie. I find her darling in print...I suspect I may want to slap her big-screen incarnation.
- I may be vocal about the fact that I don't bake, but that doesn't stop me from ogling others' delicious confections. My latest food porn is Clotilde's Flourless Poppyseed Cake. The offer is open again, readers: you make this for me, bring it over, and I'll serve you a phenomenal dinner. Wine included.
- Nick Kristof suggests to Obama renaming the Department of Agriculture for "change we can believe in."
- Got blog envy? I know I do. How do these people find the time????
Eat, drink, and finish your holiday shopping!
Showing posts with label fast food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fast food. Show all posts
12.12.2008
7.30.2008
Food Things
-- First, after more than an hour of hopping to many, many offices, I FINALLY got myself admitted to a Food Studies class in the fall as a non-matriculated student!!!! Naturally, the school didn’t exactly give me a wide range of sexy classes to take – I’m taking a non-sexy core class. Food Systems I: Agriculture. Here’s the description:Food Systems I: Agriculture
E33.2033 30 hours: 3 points
Surveys issues surrounding food production from an agricultural perspective. Students will gain anunderstanding of how agricultural production shifted from a Jeffersonian ideal to an industrial and politicalpracticality. Topics include the agrarian ideal of the yeoman farmer, the ascendancy of markets and agricultural commodification, the politicization of agriculture and the farm bill, and sustainable agricultural systems.
No, definitely not sexy. But fascinating, nevertheless.
-- Los Angeles has blocked any new fast-food “restaurants” in their poorest areas, particularly South L.A. Places like Subway that are usually in strip malls and don’t use heat lamps are exempt. I actually have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, something needs to be done because the poorest people in our country are the ones with the highest rate of obesity and fast food restaurants certainly play a role in that. However, I’m not a fan of governments legislating behavior and I’m annoyed that personal accountability and responsibility, as well as education about nutrition, is being undervalued or totally ignored. Additionally, kids won’t have new fast food places coming into their neighborhood…but often what they get at school is even worse than fast food. Spend some time and tax dollars worrying about that, lawmakers.
-- I found this article in the San Francisco Chronicle: 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know. It even includes video. Happily, I can do almost all of these things successfully: Breading, Browning/Searing, Dicing an Onion, Making Pan Sauce, Rolling Out Pie Crust, Making a Roux, Segmenting Citrus, and Making a Vinaigrette. Where I am less successful is Tempering: sometimes I’ve nailed it…other times, I’ve had chunks of cooked egg or bits of curdled cream in my dish. And the last one is Folding: I’ve actually never folded anything since I don’t bake and I’ve never tried a soufflé. So I don’t even know if I can do it or not.
-- As I mentioned in my earlier post, my friend Heather introduced me to the book What to Drink with What You Eat by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (See their website). It is the definitive source. Wanna know what to eat with that IPA you have in the fridge? This book has a list. Wondering what in the hell one drinks with Pad Thai…or pretzels? This is the book. Not only does it have “chicken” but it breaks it out into “chicken with lemon or lime”, “chicken tikki masala”, “chicken with cream sa
uce”, and maaany more. It includes beer, cocktails, wine, tea, and even water. I checked out the 2006 version from the library but Heather informed me that a new edition is coming out this fall (but I can’t find the new one anywhere online). So look out for a new edition sometime soon. Likewise, Heather is highly recommending The Flavor Bible, which is also by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. It comes out in September so I’ll be keeping an eye out for that one too.
Eat, drink, and master the 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know
No, definitely not sexy. But fascinating, nevertheless.
-- Los Angeles has blocked any new fast-food “restaurants” in their poorest areas, particularly South L.A. Places like Subway that are usually in strip malls and don’t use heat lamps are exempt. I actually have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, something needs to be done because the poorest people in our country are the ones with the highest rate of obesity and fast food restaurants certainly play a role in that. However, I’m not a fan of governments legislating behavior and I’m annoyed that personal accountability and responsibility, as well as education about nutrition, is being undervalued or totally ignored. Additionally, kids won’t have new fast food places coming into their neighborhood…but often what they get at school is even worse than fast food. Spend some time and tax dollars worrying about that, lawmakers.
-- I found this article in the San Francisco Chronicle: 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know. It even includes video. Happily, I can do almost all of these things successfully: Breading, Browning/Searing, Dicing an Onion, Making Pan Sauce, Rolling Out Pie Crust, Making a Roux, Segmenting Citrus, and Making a Vinaigrette. Where I am less successful is Tempering: sometimes I’ve nailed it…other times, I’ve had chunks of cooked egg or bits of curdled cream in my dish. And the last one is Folding: I’ve actually never folded anything since I don’t bake and I’ve never tried a soufflé. So I don’t even know if I can do it or not.
-- As I mentioned in my earlier post, my friend Heather introduced me to the book What to Drink with What You Eat by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (See their website). It is the definitive source. Wanna know what to eat with that IPA you have in the fridge? This book has a list. Wondering what in the hell one drinks with Pad Thai…or pretzels? This is the book. Not only does it have “chicken” but it breaks it out into “chicken with lemon or lime”, “chicken tikki masala”, “chicken with cream sa
uce”, and maaany more. It includes beer, cocktails, wine, tea, and even water. I checked out the 2006 version from the library but Heather informed me that a new edition is coming out this fall (but I can’t find the new one anywhere online). So look out for a new edition sometime soon. Likewise, Heather is highly recommending The Flavor Bible, which is also by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. It comes out in September so I’ll be keeping an eye out for that one too.Eat, drink, and master the 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know
9.12.2007
Ban all the fat!
L.A. proposes fast food ban. I don’t think it’ll go through – it’s just a proposal – which is all well and good because it doesn’t address the real issues anyway. We’re so wrapped up in non-fat, low-fat, trans-fat, high fat…goodness gracious, stop with the fat! Fat is not the problem! Well, at least not one of the major problems. The biggest problem is with all the hidden additives in those fast frozen foods. The corn syrup and all the corn derivatives. The salt. The hormone-laden, disease-prone CAFO meat. The ridiculously large portions of all these foods. How about we start there?
Speaking of which, I read an article yesterday – heaven help me, I have no idea where I read it – that discussed Starbucks' appeal to children and teens. Starbucks has been clear that they’re not marketing to these groups but, in the midst of parents visiting, children and teens have also become fans. First, it was good to know that, previously, Starbucks hasn’t marketed to these groups. Like they need any more external stimuli! Second, the article had particular appeal to me since my 6-year-old daughter goes for a vanilla crème frappuccino about once a month. Lastly, the article mentioned offering drinks in an 8-ounce version more regularly, which apparently some of them already do (you just have to ask). Amen! I would love to have an 8-ounce version of the pumpkin spice latte – that “tall” size is waaaay too much for me. How anyone ever drinks a venti size of anything is beyond me. And given the obesity epidemic in our country, I don’t know that anyone should.
I’ve got A LOT more to blog about. Coming up:
1) YAY! WEDNESDAY! NYT Dining Out section round-up
2) My response to the Top 100 Songs of High School meme circulating around
3) My list of the top children’s books of the year. I’m jumping on the bandwagon.
4) Various tidbits and ramblings
5) A few reviews of some picture book F&Gs I recently received. Not to mention I got a galley of Babymouse #8: Puppy Love! Woo hoo!
Speaking of which, I read an article yesterday – heaven help me, I have no idea where I read it – that discussed Starbucks' appeal to children and teens. Starbucks has been clear that they’re not marketing to these groups but, in the midst of parents visiting, children and teens have also become fans. First, it was good to know that, previously, Starbucks hasn’t marketed to these groups. Like they need any more external stimuli! Second, the article had particular appeal to me since my 6-year-old daughter goes for a vanilla crème frappuccino about once a month. Lastly, the article mentioned offering drinks in an 8-ounce version more regularly, which apparently some of them already do (you just have to ask). Amen! I would love to have an 8-ounce version of the pumpkin spice latte – that “tall” size is waaaay too much for me. How anyone ever drinks a venti size of anything is beyond me. And given the obesity epidemic in our country, I don’t know that anyone should.
I’ve got A LOT more to blog about. Coming up:
1) YAY! WEDNESDAY! NYT Dining Out section round-up
2) My response to the Top 100 Songs of High School meme circulating around
3) My list of the top children’s books of the year. I’m jumping on the bandwagon.
4) Various tidbits and ramblings
5) A few reviews of some picture book F&Gs I recently received. Not to mention I got a galley of Babymouse #8: Puppy Love! Woo hoo!
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