Last Sunday Hazon hosted our annual BIG board meeting. The board itself meets four times a year, but January’s meeting is the only time when the staff is invited and everyone is in the same place. It’s kind of a big deal around here.
As with every business meeting these days, serving food is essential - Michael Pollan writes in In Defense of Food, “It is apparently considered gauche at a business meeting or conference if a spread of bagels, muffins, pastries and soft drinks is not provided at frequent intervals.”
What Pollan doesn’t say is that, of all the aspects of a given meeting, food is probably the thing that attendees grumble about most. Maybe the bagels were too hard, the muffins too sticky, and would it have killed them to have herbal tea with the coffee? In the end, it seems getting the food “right” is almost as important as the meeting agenda.
Unfortunately, finding the right food when your organization is committed to health, sustainability and inclusive Jewish community is not particularly straight forward.
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We’re all familiar with the saying, “you are what you eat.” But two recent articles got me thinking that perhaps this old adage would be better stated, “you are what you think you eat.”
The first is a unnecessarily hateful article called “Extreme Eating” by Joel Stein in this week’s Time magazine. Stein decides to stick it to the “luddite” locavores, by making a meal strictly with ingredients grown 3,000 miles from his Los Angeles home and purchased at Whole Foods. (He must mistakenly believe that locavores revere Whole Foods as some sort of local food Mecca.) Stein writes:
“I want the world to come to me, to see it shrink so small it fits on my plate. I want Maine lobster in broth flavored with Spanish saffron. I want Alaskan salmon, truffles from Europe, a bottle of Beaujolais, a damn pineapple. And I want them much more than I want that carrot you grew in your garden. Because I know you’re going to talk to me for 20 minutes about your carrot.”
I’m not about to fight to the death for locavores or stop supplementing my CSA share with the occasional avocado or grapefruit. And as I’ve said before, there’s bound to be some backlash against sustainable food this year. But Stein’s “distavore” meal is little more than a petulant and obvious attack on a movement that has caused a lot of people to consider more carefully the impact of their food choices.
In his article, Stein likens his meal to one fit for a “European king.” Well, he’s right. European kings were known for cutting off people’s heads to get what they wanted, and in a sense, that’s exactly what his meal (ahem, publicity stunt) accomplished. Read more »
Just a thought, but could the new food credo of “Eat food not too much, mostly plants,” be a threat to the Kashrut industry as we know it?
I just finished watching a promotional video from the OU. Targeted to the food industry, this video demonstrates the process by which a product receives certification. Using a fictional cake made by Drakes (of Seinfeld lore), the OU rabbi shows how, early in the process the ingredient list of the new cake is sent to the OU to ensure that all ingredients are kosher. Some of the ingredients are found to be problematic, the red sprinkles on top and the emulsifiers that in the words of Rabbi Moshe Elefant “make ingredients mix when they normally can’t.”
According to Rebbe Michael Pollan, food is defined as something your grandmother would recognize. I would bet a big bunch of kale that your grandmother didn’t use emulsifiers to make sure her cake was delicious.
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(x-posted from my new favorite foodie blog - aside from The Jew & The Carrot of course - Serious Eats.)
Michael Pollan’s Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters: Can You Live By Them?
Posted by Ed Levine
Here they are, Michael Pollan’s Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters, from his new book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. As Jamie Forrest noted yesterday, a few food pundits are taking him to task for a number of them. I’m down with most of what brother Pollan is preaching. What about you? These commandments are made to order for serious fat-chewing.
See Pollan’s 12 Commandments below the jump
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The foodie world has been abuzz about Michael Pollan’s newest book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
. Teased by its delicious catch phrase, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants,” we’ve hungered to sit down with a mug of fair trade hot chocolate and dig in.
Well, it’s out. The Jew & The Carrot review (with a special Jewish twist, of course) is on the way. In the meantime, read an excerpt from the NY Times’ review below, and catch the whole review here.
“Goaded by “the silence of the yams,” Mr. Pollan wants to help old-fashioned edibles fight back. So he has written “In Defense of Food,” a tough, witty, cogent rebuttal to the proposition that food can be reduced to its nutritional components without the loss of something essential. “We know how to break down a kernel of corn or grain of wheat into its chemical parts, but we have no idea how to put it back together again,” he writes.”
And if you’re in the New York area, join Hazon next Tuesday, January 8th for a reception and lecture with Michael Pollan and Dan Barber at the 92nd Street Y. More info.
“You can trace the recent history of Tu B’shevat seders like branches on a tree.” - Nigel Savage, Jerusalem Post, 2004
The Jew & The Carrot Presents: Healthy, Sustainable Tu B’shevat Resources
Click here to peruse The Jew & The Carrot’s Tu B’shevat Resource List, for helpful tips and ideas to create your own Tu B’shevat seder, or celebrate the holiday of the trees in sustainable style. If you have any ideas or tips you’ve picked up from a Tu B’shevat past, please share them below.
(x-posted at Pickled)
Bonnie over at Ethicurean created a fascinating infographic for Wired that overlays the price per calorie of various foods with their energy payoff and sugar content. It depicts what Adam Drewnowski researched and Michael Pollan wrote about for the New York Times: 1. The cheapest available food is often the most fattening. 2. The most calorie-dense foods (usually processed and frozen convenience items) tend to be concentrated in the center shelves of supermarkets.
This supermarket setup seems pretty pervasive - it even holds true at my idealistic, non-profit Food Coop where I spent my monthly shift last night ringing up fancy cheese and (expensive) mixed-drink ephemera like limes and mint for people’s New Year’s celebrations. Check out Bonnie’s graphic above and, when shopping in the “middle aisles” of your grocery store, don’t forget Rambam’s “middle way” - moderation.
Below is the full text of Friday night’s keynote at The Hazon Food Conference. The keynote was given by Nati Passow, co-founder of The Jewish Farm School. It’s a long post, but definitely worth the read - even if you have to print it out (on recycled paper of course!) and take it home.
(Nati’s on the right, next to Simcha Schwartz. Photo by Sabrina Malach.)
Hazon Food Conference
December 6-9, 2007
Keynote Address: Nati Passow
Thank you Nigel. Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Sameach. It is a great honor to be here with you all tonight. Nigel suggested that I begin by sharing my story with you, my connection and relationship to food, which I think is a great way to begin this talk, because one of the things I like most about food is that sitting down to a meal is a great excuse to spend time with friends and listen to each other’s stories. So here is a little bit of mine.
Seven years ago I took a Sabbatical. I left university for the year and traveled in Israel. I studied in yeshiva, toured the country and then settled into an apartment in Jerusalem. After having little success finding a job, I decided to enjoy my sabbatical for what it was time to just be present. This was when I discovered good coffee, which for any honorable coffee drinker is a moment you never forget. An older friend of mine sat me down and said that if I was going to drink coffee everyday, I should make it good. Buy whole beans, grind them myself and brew something delicious.
The coffee was my gateway drug to the world of slow food.
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Progressive Magazine, Mother Jones, recently published an article denouncing conservative think-tank, The Heritage Foundation’s, recent report, “Hunger Hysteria: Examining Food Security and Obesity in America.” James Ridgeway at Mother Jones writes:
According to a November 13 Heritage article…there are no longer any hungry people in the United States…. Far from having too little to eat, they argue, poor people are eating too much.
“Hunger Hysteria” is the work of Robert Rector, Heritage’s senior domestic-policy man [who] argues that while the USDA’s numbers [of food insecurity in the US] might sound “ominous” on the surface, “the government’s own data show that the overwhelming majority of food insecure adults are, like most adult Americans, overweight or obese.”
I think I might lose my lunch.
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(x-posted at Lilith)
* To clear up any confusion - the picture at left is not me! See below for details…
So, my boyfriend came to Chicago with me for Thanksgiving dinner. Although he’s met my parents before, this was the first time he’d ever visited the town where I spent the first 18 years of my life. Overall, the trip and meal went smoothly, but as expected there were some sticky moments. Like when my boyfriend and parents agreed it would be just the most wonderful idea to watch my bat-mitzvah video!
We gathered around the television and watched as visions of my painfully pre-teen self flashed across the screen. On the one hand, I enjoyed this trip down Jewish milestone lane. Although I’d love to forget the braces, the awkward limbs, and bad hair-cut of my adolescense, I was also proud. I enjoyed the opportunity to root for this miniature version of myself and imagine that the “little Leah” could sense the loving presence of her future self, watching as she chanted the haftorah. I also loved the way the video made my parents smile and my boyfriend say, “wow, you were really great!”
On the other hand, it turns out there’s nothing like a little backward glance to shake the foundation of your current reality.
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With Hanukkah nearly upon us, it’s time to start prepping our latke recipes. The oil that we fry them in is more than just a nod to the Festival of Lights: It’s an essential ingredient as well, so it’s important to choose wisely. Different oils vary in flavor, nutritional value, and smoke points, and do you even know what Canola is? I’ve gone ahead and done some of the preliminary legwork to help you choose the right oil for your frying pan.
On the list you’ll find ideal oils for latke frying under the “Freedom Fry” heading, and oils to avoid on the “No Fry” list. Keep in mind that just because an oil appears on the “No Fry” list doesn’t mean that it’s unhealthy - for example, Flaxseed oil is rich in omega 3 fatty acids and can help lower cholesterol, but heat can destroy its omega 3 properties. Canola, on the other hand, has a higher smoke point, but those who wish to avoid GMOs and bioengineered products might want to stay away, as 80% of acres sown to canola are planted with genetically modified seed.
When doing your shopping, remember this: Many oils come from plants that are sprayed with fat-soluble pesticides. Those pesticides concentrate in the oil portion of the plant, so always buy organic when you can.
One last tip: Remember to change your oil out after every couple of batches. The longer an oil is heated, the more free fatty acids form, which lowers the smoke point and increases your chances of burning. Whatever oil you choose, I wish you a happy Hanukkah filled with luscious latkes and lots of love.
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Jewish Grandmas are known for their special gift for feeding - and over feeding - their loved ones. But for Jill Ginsberg (second from right), her Grandma Rose not only filled her belly with chicken soup, rugelach, and blintzes - she also sparked Jill’s entrepreneurial spirit.
In 2005, Ginsberg founded Thou Shall Snack - a line of kosher snacks products that recreate traditional Jewish recipes, while giving them a decidedly contemporary twist (they’re kosher as well as baked, free of trans fats and genetically modified ingredients, and made with 70% organic ingredients). Read an interview with Jill below and answer this question for a chance to win a special gift basket from Thou Shall Snack: What is your all-time favorite Jewish comfort food? The gift basket contains an assortment of Latke Crisps and Babka Bites from Thou Shall Snack, a custom apron and/or T-shirt, and a beautiful latke serving platter.
LK: How did you come up with the original idea for Thou Shall Snack?
JG: The first time I got the idea for Latke Crisps was after I heard of my friend’s Jewish beer company, HeBrew Beer. I thought, someone better make some latke crisps to go with that beer! It was really more of a lark in the moment, but it ended up becoming our first product.
[I also realized] there were a lot of other ethnic-inspired snack foods out there, which got me thinking about the Jewish foods I grew up eating. I began to wonder why no one had done something like this before.
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I’m going to out myself again as a newbie in the culinary and foodie world, but that’s my place on this here blog, so here we go. This morning I slept through all my alarms, both electronic and internal, due to the deep, deep sleep one gets when the body is fighting off a cold. Awaking late, I rushed out of bed, hit the subway, and ducked into the deli closest to work — only to find that breakfast was over, and only lunch food was about.
Thus this morning’s quandry: what do you eat for breakfast when you’re sick in New York City? Read more »
Today’s New York Times included a fascinating op-ed called “Weed it and Reap,” by Michael Pollan, which notes the significant increase in public input on the 2007 Farm Bill. Has the public’s voice made a difference? Read “Weed it and Reap” here.
Have something to say about a kosher estabilishment in your area? Here’s your chance. Kosher Community Surveys is a surveying organization “dedicated to recognizing quality kosher establishments.” There are open surveys for the Washington DC and Philly area, and surveys opening soon across the country.
Reuters reported that Cargill recalled over 1 million pounds of beef distributed in the US because of possible e. coli contamination. This is the second major recall for Cargill in the last month, prompting me to wonder, what is safe to eat these days? Read the article here.
