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Archive for August, 2009

September Eats

Aug 31

Posted by admin in food, History, lifestyle, news | No Comments

chrysalisgrapesAbout this time in the calendar, at the end of the month and before the new month, we look at the various ways we can celebrate food during the coming weeks. September clearly will not disappoint. Sure it’s a hectic month with back-to-school, lunchboxes, and a semi-normal work schedule without long weekend escapes, but there is much to celebrate. Take a peek.

Here’s a hearty protein to start with: National Chicken Month. Lotsa ways to celebrate this one from finding new recipes to supporting producers of organic and heritage birds.

It’s also a sweet month: It’s National Honey Month. The Honey Board’s website makes it easy for parents and youngsters to find teaching activities about honey or bees, and some easy recipes.

Now my new food weakness: Mushrooms. September is National Mushroom Month and Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (considered the Mushroom Capital of the World) celebrates with the 24th Annual Mushroom Festival. Maybe one of the best nutritional tidbits about mushrooms is their natural Vitamin D content. With everyone screaming about testing for low Vitamin D levels: Do yourself a favor, enjoy mushrooms.

The list goes on, and some foods are celebrated for a week or a single day. (Starting on the 6th is National Waffle Week). The possibilities for a week or a day’s celebration are only limited by your imagination.

September, a back-to-reality month, is just a warm up for October’s great party: Virginia Wine Month.

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Prices Rising

Aug 30

Posted by admin in Administration, Economy, food | 2 Comments

marketbasketIt’s a good news-bad news story: We are moving into a post-Recession universe. We have seen prices drop on important commodities like milk and eggs: That’s the good news. Now flip the coin, and you get the other story. We escaped a near Depression cycle, but are headed onto a collision course of higher food prices. That’s a problem.

If people are supposed to spend again (post-Recession), and consumers have changed their ways of shopping, cooking, and dining out, this could be a red alert to slow down the rising price cycle. Rising prices will once again turn them away from major purchases if so much of their money has to go to basic food necessities. We must have learned something from this past cycle. Sure not every product dropped in cost (cereals and bakery products are up for the year), but many of the major ones were lower (beef prices were down over 2% in July) enabling cooks and chefs to be creative with a range of foods.

At the same time farmers continue their struggle. Farm incomes are down 38% no matter how many of us have joined CSAs, visit farm markets, and support all the Buy Local campaigns. It’s never been easy farming the land, but this news is truly depressing as the farmer in many ways has become the superstar of the food industry with all the attention being given to finding the best products locally. We have to save the farm.

So we have a double whammy situation: Rising basic food costs and farmers struggling beyond the bounds of livability. Both of these issues need immediate attention from the Administration.

We cannot move forward by continually sliding backwards.

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Grocery Wars: Round Two–Consumers Rock

Aug 29

Posted by admin in cooking, Economy, shopping | No Comments

I love it when the grocers start tripping over each other to show the consumer how good their prices are. With the economy crawling ever so slowly upward into a post-Recession mentalitykashi, there are still far too many individuals struggling to find footing. The grocery chains, much like the restaurants, are trying to capture some of the action. Earlier this month we saw the beginning round of pricing. Now we are hearing from Stop & Shop and Giant Food about the “real deal.” This terminology makes me wonder how long they sat with an ad agency to come up with something more than just a “deal.” Maybe it should have been titled “reality.”

What do these new pricing strategies mean? As far as I can tell after a mini-aisle cruise, products are tagged with multiple layers of prices–what it used to cost v. the new price and what a nearby national brand competitor (often Safeway) is charging. The gloves are off.

In the Chicago area, it’s Jewel v. Dominick’s, and the focus is on rolled back prices.

No matter where you live, we are all in this grocery pricing life. With Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, and Trader Joe’s competing with traditional grocers, there is some hope for further reductions. As consumers the questions we should ask are: Why were the prices so high in the first place? How do we continue to get them to come down? Overpaying is the name of the game as purchasers continue to feed conglomerates. Some hope is on the horizon as lowered pricing continues to garner attention.

Maybe we just don’t shop the way we used to. Maybe we are smarter, and the chains are just starting to understand that consumers have become savvier and have learned to be more better shoppers; less impulsive.

Maybe, just maybe, the pricing wars will continue, and we, as consumers, will benefit from further reductions.

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Clover Drinks: One Cup at a Time

Aug 28

Posted by admin in coffee, life | 1 Comment

clover2sIt’s like you’ve found a 4-leaf clover and bingo all in one cup. This expensive, technologically smart machine makes a different, richer brew than you might expect. It’s not an inexpensive purchase for a small coffee shop, but it is what may distinguish them when coffees and espressos are lined up on the bar. Actually watching a barista in action at a clover machine is a fine art of delicate processing. The coffee gets ground, the unit gets a clean sweep, and all the magic starts to pour at the cup.
Trust me.

Here’s how it works.

Although Starbucks purchased the company last year, I have yet to see one in action at any of the locations I frequent. Maybe with their smaller footprint, new cafe experience, they will become a more common occurrence.

If you want to select a fine clover drink, try El Beit in Brooklyn. The whole place defines coffee. If you prefer a non-Clover selection, don’t worry, there are plenty of options including some great sweets to go along with the pour. They value the importance of the bean, the water, and the machine: All work together to make a morning outing worthwhile.

Grab a paper; relax. This place spells coffee comfort.

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The Next Beverage Craze

Aug 27

Posted by admin in beverages, lifestyle | 1 Comment

You can learn so much from New Yorkers. They get the next big craze and know how to give it proper attention. Just last week I vitacocowatched no fewer than 5 people order Coconut Water. Yes, it was hazy, hot, and humid, and I could have just as easily been perspiring in the Caribbean, but instead the island drink had worked its way up to the sweaty streets of the city. If your expectation is something super sweet–move on. If you want a substitute for plain water, you may be on to something. Anyway you’ll be at one with all the advertisements that are sprouting up everywhere.

As long as it is served super chilled, this no-sugar coconut water drink has the advantage of providing some vital potassium. It could easily compete in the sport electrolyte market, and quickly solves the thirst-quenched, heat-inspired need. This is not the super sweet product that makes Pina Coladas; instead it is the pure liquid from the fresh coconut. It could be considered totally tasteless, but plain water can fall into that category.

If you want to be drinking the next big thing, then this is the beverage of choice. I’m not the only one noticing this trend: Pepsi
decided to invest big time on this new drink. Right now they may focus their attention in South America, but it’s doubtful if mass marketing in the US can be far behind.

Take a holiday: Grab a straw, enjoy your new water.

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Sugar is Sweet

Aug 26

Posted by admin in beverages, health, lifestyle | No Comments

DominoThe sugar debate continues. Just this week, the American Heart Association weighed in on sweetness indicators. Let’s start at the beginning. Many moons ago people only had sugar to sweeten beverages or desserts. Now the range of options far exceeds the practicality index. Choosing the sweetener becomes complicated with all the sugar substitutes and the accompanying marketing.

As obesity has become a critical American problem, the spotlight glares onto sugar as the culprit. Just how much sugar do people need? How fattening is sugar anyway? A teaspoon has 15 calories). That is one side of the question, but the counterbalance is that so many products are sweetened with enormous amounts of sugar. Start with soft drinks. To get around that weight-gain elephant in the room, the diet drink industry was born and a successful birth it’s been. Unfortunately the myriad of sugar substitutes are a complicated mix. It’s not uncommon to see some interesting combos: A diet soda and a candy bar, or a diet drink and a big juicy quarter-pounder with fries. It’s as if one selection enables the other to occur.

Many of these diet products have ingredients such as saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose that have their own individual set of problems. They are still the subject of scientific research and the data in many instances still borders on confusing and inconclusive. Not all are appetite suppressants so a product with an artificial sugar could actually increase your need for additional food!

So what is one to do? Go back to the old days of sugar and limit the intake. Skip the adulterated diet beverages and find a happy medium: A slice of lemon or lime can elevate a basic water drink.

Go natural: Sugar sparingly or start analyzing the fine print.

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Restaurant Attitude

Aug 25

Posted by admin in dining out, lifestyle | No Comments

You decide to go out and make a reservation fully expecting a pleasant experience. After all, the restaurant took the reservation so they must have some idea where they plan to seat you. A decent enough table is not too complicated an expectation; after all you planned ahead, and they knew you were coming.

How many people can you squeeze into a popular restaurant on any given night of the week? That’s an interesting question. When does your table become an unwanted section of the restaurant with a perfect view of the rest rooms and so close to the next table that you’re almost touching the person sitting in the aisle? When it’s unacceptable.All+American-Copper+CLEAR

This table was not going to pass muster or mustard, for that matter. Yes, the aisle; the passageway for wait staff to move freely among the tables was surrendered to extra bodies. No aisle; no free space separating tables from each other. When a restaurant which normally has a strict policy in terms of how many people can be seated at a table or a booth goes for the money instead of civility, they have created a situation that is untenable. A booth for 6 should not be added to making it an extension arena for 10. What happened to the aisle? No more. Gone. What that translates into is greed: Trying to fit too many people into one very tight space. Where is the fire marshall at a time like this? No exit would have been possible. Our crammed table worked for under 5 minutes while we assessed the restaurant and determined what table might open up. Nothing. Looked bleak. We spoke to the manager who shrugged.

We left. One does not need to spend money–this is not an inexpensive restaurant–to be cramped into quarters so tight you might as well join the new 10-top. The food is good. Certainly not worth this level of claustrophobia.

The question is will we return. The answer: Why?

Get over yourselves. Treat customers as guests, not as stowaways. This attitude is unacceptable.

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Let’s Go Natural: Kill Off HFCS

Aug 24

Posted by admin in health, lifestyle, news | No Comments

025000054266It sounds easy: You grab a product off the shelf and continue your grocery shopping. No, not really. You have to build time, significant time into the outing, to read, digest the food labels. Who would suspect that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is in so many products? Why is it there in the first place? Do we need it or is its presence just interfering with what we consider healthy grocery purchasing?

I doubt we need it. Taste can be adjusted with the simplest of spices: Salt and pepper. Artificial sweeteners can be replaced with good old-fashioned sugar. Flavor can be enhanced with fresh herbs or a sprinkle of a dry product. What does adding HFCS do except increase our chances for diabetes, heart disease, or obesity? The corn lobby would say otherwise; health experts remain divided and many continue to advocate moderation in all purchases rather than blaming a single ingredient.

We are an overweight society with a quick hand at grabbing simple solutions to meal preparation. We need help and manufacturers have to side with us, the consumer, on this one. Processed foods are quick solutions to dinnertime blues, but are most likely to contain unnecessary extra ingredients.

Kraft Foods announced a further commitment to eliminating HFCS from more of its products. Many of their salad dressings and sauces are already being made without the fructose additive. When you read the article you are struck with the fact that the popular Wheat Thins has the unnecessary ingredient (in the 7th line of ingredients), but not for long. The question is what happened to wheat, to the concept of the crunchy easy to snack on cracker without needing HFCS? It probably always had the ingredient, but we had no idea what was killing us. Studying labels was a rare consequence of shopping. Now we are more critical purchasers and attempting to be in greater control of our lives. We question ingredients and try to stay with the fewest.

Seeing HFCS in a label should motivate us to return the product to the shelf. This summer in the good news for Starbucks column, they eliminated HFCS from their pastries. We are seeing more elimination strategy with soft drinks and natural flavors grabbing headlines. The ball is in our court: Time to strike back and show manufacturers they can lighten the load.

We can take charge and manufacturers can continue to show they get it. Do not be confused by a barrage of television commercials and print ads from the corn refiner folks saying that HFCS is not the enemy. Be practical.

Limit your ingredients to words you recognize. Keep it Simple.

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Taking the Virginia Wine Trail

Aug 23

Posted by admin in lifestyle, wine | 2 Comments

vineyard
Everybody’s heard of Napa and Sonoma and the myriad of wine tasting possibilities. Some have even ventured into Washington State and the Walla Walla region or explored the wealth of Pinot Noir in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but there’s more. There are wine-making operations now in almost every state. New York State’s pride is along the Finger Lakes, but the mid-Atlantic part of the East Coast, aka, Virginia has become the newest contender in swooping up the accolades. Neighboring state Maryland wants a little bit of the action and has just inaugurated its first wine trail. They are still in their infancy in capturing the essence of terroir.

With over 140 wineries in the state, it is no small undertaking to experience Virginia wine. It seems as if each part of Virginia has its own wine trail. In the Charlottesville region you have the Monticello Wine Trail (quick history lesson: Thomas Jefferson’s  residence, Monticello), and further north closer to Washington, DC is Loudoun County which has identified itself with the entire metropolitan area in calling itself  DC Wine Country. Many well known wine writers have seemed surprised by the bounty of sophistication. One has even taken the premise of the movie “Bottle Shock“and applied the principle to Virginia with that state beating out California. That’s how good the product is and how superb some of the wines are.

Hardly a national or regional competition gets judged without awarding golds to the stalwarts of the Virginia wine trade. Barboursville Vineyards continues to take home top honors in a variety of categories with its highly touted Octagon earning impressive results it seems wherever it is tasted. Chrysalis Vineyards in the Middleburg area has garnered attention for its commitment to the Norton grape, Virginia’s native grape. When we say Governor’s Cup award winners in Virginia we are talking about some serious, stiff competition.

So many fine wines. Virginia has mastered the art of wine tourism and some of the wineries have captured the national attention they deserve.

Take a trail; Experience wine-making on the East Coast.

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Swimming with the Fish

Aug 22

Posted by admin in Environment, health, lifestyle | 1 Comment

Every time I think we have a path to clarity about fish–such as in which fish to eat–a new, troubling report comes out. This one sounds like a planet: Yes, Mercury is back into the headlines once again. Maybe it never left, but the latest study indicates that if we try to eat fish, thinking that is a healthy alternative to beef, and we try to focus on the sustainable variety, we are still left with a crisis. The focus again is onone-fish-thumb
mercury contamination. Not just a single kind of fish, but it seems almost all fish.

Once again there is a handy fish guide (A Mercury Calculator) directing us to safety and telling us what to avoid. The big question is simply: Is fish safe? Well it depends. Assume there is mercury contamination present in all US-water based fish. Then decide if you are asking about a young child, a pregnant woman, or a healthy adult. Recognizing that some fish contain less mercury than others and some should be avoided all together helps minimally. You need to know which fish to eat; some, such as canned light tuna, you can have multiple helpings of each week. One that is particularly high in contaminants is swordfish, a fish small children and women of child-bearing age should avoid altogether. The EPA even has this “One Fish…Two Fish” poster available as a reminder.

The most recent announcement from the US Geologic Survey says mercury contamination is higher than expected and almost impossible to avoid.

Know what you eat. It just gets harder to find safe, healthy foods.

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