Entries from August 2007 ↓

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R708060900

The program discusses our growing understanding of bottled water, its impact on the environment and proposed disclosure legislation.
Host: Spencer Michels
Guests:

Dr. Gina Solomon, senior scientist with the Health and Environment program with the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association

Mark Pastore, owner of Incanto restaurant in San Francisco

Susan Leal, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R707161000

The program looks into what the “organic” label means, why foods with the label cost more, and if “organic” foods really are more healthful.
Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:

Alyson Mitchell, associate professor and food chemist at UC Davis

Dr. Barbara Robinson, deputy administrator of the USDA, Transportation and Marketing Programs

Mark Squire, co-owner of Good Earth Natural Foods in Fairfax

Patricia Allen, director of the Center for Agro-Ecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz

Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association

The 2007 Farm Bill

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R707110900

The Farm Bill, governing farm and food policy, is up for renewal this September. The program discusses the significance of the Farm Bill to farmers and consumers alike, as well as the increasingly heated debate in Congress and among interest groups in California over what priorities should be enacted.
Host: Michael Krasny

Guests:

A.G. Kawamura, secretary with the California Department of Food and Agriculture

Judith Redmond, president of the Community Alliance of Family Farmers and a full-time farmer at Full Belly Farm

Michael Pollan, Knight Professor of science and environmental journalism at UC Berkeley and author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”

Richard Rominger, farmer and former deputy secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture in the Clinton administration and former secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture

from megnut.com

Rational analysis doesn’t hold sway with the pregnancy police, says Steven Shaw in a great Op-Ed in the New York Times about sushi consumption and pregnancy. His point? The prohibition against raw fish during pregnancy is unnecessary.

Culinary Podcast Network (TM)

The Culinary Podcast Network is the world’s first all-food podcast network. Some of us are professional chefs, and others obsessed gourmands who simply can’t put down the fork. Here you can find some of the finest quality food podcasts on the web, hot out of the oven!

I think this rather an important topic to think about considering the high price both ecologically and health-wise we pay for our homogeneous diets.

Andy Griffin, found on Edible San Francisco

Times have changed. Americas political culture has embraced multiculturalism, yet goat meat has yet to break into the mainstream. Why? Partly because of language. We eat beef, not cow. We eat pork, not pig. Wed eat horsemeat if it was called pumpkin pie. Having a name for a meat thats different from the name of the animal it came from gives squeamish consumers a chance to forget that theyre eating a creature. Some producers call goat meat cabrito others call it capretto, and still others call it chevon. I asked Mark Pastore, the owner of Incanto Restaurant in Noe Valley, about the challenges of writing a menu that features goat meat. Incanto is an Italian restaurant that puts a sophisticated spin on a rustic, seasonal cuisine. Pastore means shepherd in Italian, so Mark is almost fated to serve goat. He had a smile on his face when he answered. “You want to sell me tender, young, locally grown goats? How do you think its going to look if I have Ôneighborhood kid on the menu?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/22/dining/22fran.html?ref=dining

“SERIOUS cooks know they can go off to France and take immersion courses, but until recently, I hadn’t realized that it is possible to take quickie cooking classes: a few hours, a half day or a day.

From SFGate

Associated with the southern Italian island of Capri, a famed vacation spot for the moneyed set, insalata caprese requires five ingredients, and five only: tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil and salt. Full stop. Vinegar, especially balsamic vinegar, doesn’t belong.

“You could put me on record as saying that (vinegar) is the most nontraditional thing, and I see it all the time and I cringe,” says Nate Appleman, chef of A16 in San Francisco.

Tomato Bread Salad with BurrataServes 6

Acme Bread Company’s herb slab is a good choice for this recipe. Look for burrata at Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace and the Cheese Board in Berkeley, the Pasta Shop in Berkeley and Oakland, and A.G. Ferrari stores throughout the Bay Area.

1/2 pound plain or herbed focaccia, such as Acme’s herb slab, in 3/4-inch cubes

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish

11/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, in 3/4-inch dice

1/2 pound cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, then sliced in 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 small onion, very thinly sliced

16 kalamata olives, pitted and halved

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped

8 to 10 fresh basil leaves

The dressing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

Kosher or sea salt

3/4 pound burrata or fresh whole-milk mozzarella, cut in 6 wedges

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 400°. In a bowl, toss the focaccia cubes with the olive oil. Spread on a baking sheet and bake until the bread is lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and capers. Tear the basil leaves into small pieces and add to the bowl along with the focaccia.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and salt. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently but well. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Divide the salad among 6 salad plates. Make a small well in the center of each salad and put the burrata in the well. Drizzle some olive oil over the burrata, sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

From NYTimes

body of water behind him is not Lake Como, but rather Grand Traverse Bay, and the scene is not the countryside of Northern Italy but the wilderness of northern Michigan where Mr. Batali spends his summers and most holidays cooking for family and friends