Forget GMO Corn and Worry about Big Corn Subsidies & Ethanol Mandates
Most of us are a little worried about GMO Corn but have not given much thought to its price.
Looking at our grocery bills recently, it is not our imagination that food prices are going up. Before we looked into it, we thought we knew the reasons, but the biggest reason rides on largely below the surface of the mainstream’s thoughts and news coverage.
It is a fact, food prices are up this year. Pork is up 15%. Poultry is up 8%. Beef is up. Sure there was a drought. Sure gasoline is up. Sure there is foreign demand for commodities from Brazil, India and China. None of these though are consuming 40% of our Corn crop.
Well-intended Federal regulations are the actual culprit. In 2005, Congress passed the Renewable Fuel Standard which mandated the use of Corn-based ethanol in domestic gasoline. Today, under the act, Americans must use 15 billion gallons of Ethanol a year. How much is that, a lot or a little?
Let’s judge it against all of the corn produced in the US. 15 Billion gallons of ethanol requires 40% of our US corn crop and this is the rub, Corn that is made into ethanol won’t feed livestock or be available in the produce section.
The original goals of the act were to reduce gas prices and to fight global warming. I can’t speak to the second point since there are reams of arguments to be made on both sides. I can point you to the gas pump to address the first point. Gas prices have not been reduced and are, in fact, near record highs.
Think of the Congress and the ethanol industry when counting out all those extra dollars.
Recently we passed around an interesting Opinion Piece by Dan Barber Executive Chef of Blue Hill Restaurant in NYC and the Blue Hill at Stone Barn in Pocantico Hills, NY. Dan also runs a sustainable farming program at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills.
Dan Barber of Blue Hill
Dan is one of the sage & sane voices in the “locavore” movement and needless to say, he knows quite a lot about sustainable farming and preparing farm products for the table. From the buildup, you’d expect him to be a raging, rabid Vege-a-holic, but is he? And what was Dan’s interesting opinion?
His opinion was that there seems to a certain growing cult-like, messianic devotion to Veganism, including a smugness and self-righteousness about shunning Meat.
Veggie Activists (photo courtesy of The Daily Free Press)
Dan was urging vegans, “Vegans (with a capital “V,”) & VEGANS (all caps) to reconsider mounting their high horses. He suggests that perhaps they should dismount, get close to the ground and speak to a farmer to learn something more about the soil and how production functions on an actual working farm. I remember personally hearing the following come out of the mouth of a Vegan on a visit to Southern California, “Why do we still need farms? I get all of my food (vegetables) at the store.”
Well the vegetables come from someplace and require a lot of hard work to produce. Ignorance about farming doesn’t reduce the importance of soil care and soil management. Deplete the soil and you “break” the farm. Vegetarians don’t seem to realize that, and I quote Dan, “vegetables are actually more costly from a soil perspective than grazing cattle. “Vegetables deplete soil. They are extractive. If soil has a bank account, vegetables make the largest withdrawals.”
The soil depletion by vegetables begs the question of who will make the necessary deposits (no pun intended). Domesticated animals are natural fertilizer factories and have been part of the vegetable life-cycle on farms for thousands of years. It is pretty tough to have one without the other, oh unless you resort to truck loads of synthetic petro-chemical fertilizers, which can’t be better than Ol’ Bossie, Lamiekins, or Charlotte.
It is not kind to kill but eating meat is also not a battle of good versus evil. It is life. It is a cycle we were all thrust into. It existed before us and will after us. Nutrient dense soil produces deeply flavorful, and healthful vegetables. Without a market for the whole animal (including Meat) no fiscally sane farmer will raise cows, sheep or pigs, which in turn can fertilize the soil. Draining the soil will eventually sicken us all.
We think moderation is important and don’t advocate a total meat diet. In fact, we suggest that you eat less meat, but eat better meat. If consuming meat infrequently, you can maximize flavor and enjoyment by procuring better USDA Grades of meat, even Heritage Breeds, and better Portion Cuts. As a special occasion meal you can take your time with the dish and make it shine. If you don’t know how to maximize your meat recipes, learn how. Smart Kitchen is one affordable option, but there are lots of ways to learn.
Dan goes into more detail in his piece but he makes a nice summation statement: “there is no such thing as guilt-free eating.” We’d like to second that and remind everyone in the debate that stress is a killer too.
We invite the vegans, Vegans and the VEGANS to stop preaching and take it down a notch and just share. If we dialogue, then we can all hear each other agreeing that vegetarianism is a good and healthful option.
We had planned a trip to Pinche Tacos (apologies if you are a Spanish speaker. It’s their name) in Denver with our colleagues and friends Chad and Danielle but Chad had already been to Pinche Tacos. Since they are Denver locals and since I had not eaten since Winslow, Az 30 something hours ago, I was persuaded to change the venue. I did insist that Chad pick someplace noteworthy and off-beat. He did not disappoint with Root Down. As he discussed it, early on a Sunday morning, Danielle opened her eyes and exclaimed “I’m up!, I’m up.” She wanted in too.
Even the name is off-beat. With a name like “Root Down” I imagined some kind of eclectic, skater-face-feed where the dudes munch down or root down on great food. It wasn’t that at all. In fact, it was kind of “Duh.”
With an Image the Meaning of Root Down is Obvious
Apparently Root Down is the kind of place where local ingredients like Radishes from the Pecos Street Community Garden are put to good, creative use.
Root Down Aims to Connect the Neighborhood to the Dining Experience
Even the architecture of the building screams creativity.
Comfy & Quirky; and Perfect in Denver
We had a 40 minute wait but were not disappointed with our meals. After a bit of the bottom-less Blood Orange Mimosas (virgin for me), we decided to use a modified Chinese – Family Style dining system and all have a bit of everything.
The Darker Virgin Blood Orange Juice and the Bottomless Blood Orange Mimosa Catch the Sunlight and Shout "Drink Me!"
The first dish out was a unique take on Egg’s Benedict: A Hollandaise & Balsamic Drizzle over Smoked Duck and Caramelized Onion all resting on a cherry waffle.
Smoked Duck Benedict with a Balsamic Hollandaise
It was delicious and a good conversation piece. The next item was another riff on the Eggs Benedict theme: The Root Down. I had never seen a Quinoa English Muffin, and with Mrs. P Chef and Little P Chef being Gluten-Free, I was in on that one dimension alone; but then there was also Iberico Cheese and a Sun-Dried Tomato Hollandaise Sauce. Taking a Mother Sauce to the next level is almost always an interesting idea.
Quinoa English Muffins in The Root Down
Next up was Chad’s Choice: a Pulled Pork Omelette with Smoke Mozzarella, Charred Scallion Sauce, Lime Crème Fraîche and pickled Habaneros. I was very glad we were sharing.
The Pulled Pork Omelette with Greens and Some Savory Potatoes
On the fork, the dish that played well in the mind, suffered slightly. For me, the pulled pork was a bit too sweet and sharp to perfectly compliment the eggs. It was as though it was trying a little too hard to be different and not trying hard enough to be fabulous. Finally, came Danielle’s favorite: The Veggie Burger Sliders.
The Veggie Sliders Did Not Perform as Danielle Remembered Them
At the first bite, Danielle’s look of anticipation turned to disappointment. They had CHANGED the slider of her dreams. And she wasn’t wrong. Apparently, the topping was switched out from a Tomato Jam on her last visit to a jalapeno spread this time. She was very unhappy about it. As for us, the veggie slider was just run-of-the-mill, not day-wrecking. Vegetarian Slider aside, the experience was a good one, as much for the vibe and hip crowd, as for the distinctive food. Thanks Chad and Danielle for the suggestion, the friendship, the visit and the business.
I love a story that begins with an obscure, colorful lead-in such as ”They have been making whiskey here since a buffalo charged the old still” or “It was on fire when I stopped by,” and now I have one of those lead-ins of my own.
A Navajo-Churro sheep herder over in Cortez, Colorado mentioned The Turquoise Room back in 2010. On the Summer Food Drive that year, we visited Cindy Dvergsten of Arriola Sunshine Farm near Cortez to learn more about her breeding and raising the Heritage Breed of Navajo-Churro Sheep.
Cindy Feeds her flock of spring sheared Navajo Churro Sheep
Un-Sheared and Un-Polled, the 400 Year Old Breed Looks Much More “Heritage!”
A Heritage Navajo Churro Ram. Thanks to the Navajo-Churro Sheep Association for the photo.
Cindy was really informative and we had a great time. On the visit she mentioned that a place down in Winslow, Az, The Turquoise Room, occasionally served Navajo Churro Sheep on their menu. The idea struck me as incongruous at the time because all I could recall of Winslow was a small sun-blasted town, where the “Girl My Lord in the flat bed Ford” slowed down and then they all took “It easy.” Because of that iconic musical imagery and some of my own drive-bys, I couldn’t imagine a fine dining restaurant in Winslow, but nevertheless I filed The Turquoise Room away for further exploration.
So the first stop on the 2012 Summer Food Drive was The Turquoise Room, which is located inside the historic, 1930 La Posada Hotel. Driving into town in the Smart-Kitchen-Mobile, I was again struck by the.., the…, the “sleepiness” of the town. Whatever else it might be, Winslow is the kind of place where you can take a picture of the empty main drag (from the middle of said main drag) at 6.30 PM on a Friday night without worrying (too much) about frenetic traffic.
Winslow can be Slow, which is a Win in our book
After months in big cities, I loved it, but became even more skeptical about finding a beacon of fine dining nearby, one which showcased Native American and heritage ingredients. I was wrong to worry.
If you can’t tell from the image above, the Route 66 in Winslow has seen better days. In a form of visual history, The La Posada remains vibrant, close-by the Santa Fe Pacific’s railroad depot, long after the other thriving businesses have moved on.
It's a Good Sign
Similar to many a modern downtown, where most of the business activity has followed the consumer to the Interstate and the suburbs, the old part of Winslow, the 1904 to 1930 part is shuttered and sleepy, except for The La Posada. With its new-age, hacienda style, the La Posada would be at home in the ritziest Southwestern neighborhoods. Things were looking up.
The La Posada has a high-end, new-age vibe worthy of Santa Fe, Taos, or Sedona
The La Posada was one of the last great railroad hotels built along the route of the Chicago to Los Angeles limited: The Super Chief.
1937 Super Chief Provided Service from the Windy City to the Coast. Thanks to Trainweb.org for the photo.
The La Posada was a destination stop and winter vacation spot. The food operations were run by the legendary restaurateur Fred Harvey and his Fred Harvey Girls (the staff uniforms are still “Harvey-esque.”) It continued to thrive as Americans explored Route 66 but with the advent of the freeway system business fell off and the hotel was closed. The building was used for a time as offices for the railroad until it was completely shuttered and eventually sold off.
Luckily, it was purchased and the great old bones were lovingly restored. As the hostess, who advised me to skip the “light lunch” and wait for the full dinner put it, “It feels like your not in Winslow.” She was succinct and had good advice. I had an interesting amble around the 65,000 sq. ft. La Posada while waiting for The Turquoise Room to close from light lunch and re-open for the full dinner at 5 PM.
Newcastle chef, John Sharpe (and his wife Patricia) moved from Orange County, Ca. in 2000 and opened The Turquoise Room, named for the dining car on the 1936 Super Chief. John was intrigued by the history of the hotel and the possibilities of cooking Fred Harvey-style retro dishes with a modern twist using local Southwestern and Native American ingredients like the 3 Sisters: Corn, Squash & Beans. Some of those ingredients are sourced right on site because The Turquoise Room buys Corn, Diné Squash and Runner Beans (when they come in) from the hotel garden.
The Garden at the La Posada; Gourmet and Native American
He has done a great job with the concept and serves 2,000 meals a week. In 2011, he was nominated for a James Beard Award for best chef in the Southwest and in 2009 Condé Nast Taveler Magazine gave The Turquoise Room a 96.9 (the 2nd highest score in the U.S.). I had a chance to speak with John briefly and part of his approach is a subtle marriage of the concepts of the Mediterranean Cooking of Southwestern France with the native cooking of the Southwest. Where the French would do a white Lingot Bean cassoulet, Native Americans would have made a Tepary Bean (white bean) chili stew. Since we only eat at our stops and it was 24 hours since my last meal, I was very curious to explore John’s take on the dishes.
Don't Look at these too Long or You Might Be Loading Up for a Long Ride to the Turquoise Room
My appetizer was a Fried Squash Blossom that bordered on being a Tamale. Sweet Corn pudding on the inside was a great contrast (texture and flavor) to the crispy, crunchy, flash-fried slightly-sweet, beer/corn battered, Squash Blossom. It was worth the 200 odd mile drive and almost worth the $40 price of John’s cookbook. A side note, if you are interested in buying The Turquoise Room cookbook buy it from John’s Turquoise Room’s Website. It is $94 on Amazon. I will be working on my own version, Gluten-Free (for Mrs. P Chef) this summer.
Wafer Thin and a Threat to Your Airway If You Are Not Careful
The Squash Blossoms were followed by a real traditional Native dish, Hopi Piki Bread, made from the ash of hand-ground Hopi Reservation Blue Corn. After several unsuccessful attempts (it is not easy to make the wafer thin bread from a milky batter comprised of water and ashes), John asked Joyce Saufkie of Second Mesa to make Piki Bread for him. Her Piki Bread has a texture like burnt paper, (or like single layers of Phyllo Dough) and a clean bland taste not unlike a rice cracker. I’d put the Piki Bread in the category of “lite” and “interesting.” They eat a bit like a tiramisu, in that, bits of them fly off and try to choke you like the espresso from the Italian dessert. If any experts want to correct my technique, I am game by the way. The Hopi-style, Bad-Dap-Suki Hummus is made with white Tepary Beans grown by the Tohono O’odham.
While I waited for the entrée, the Navajo Churro Sampler, I watched the well-dressed couples drinking and playing croquet on the track-side lawn. It wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine that it was 1936 and I was waiting for the Super Chief after a restful vacation. Today the Amtrak still comes in from the coast @ 8PM every evening, if it’s on time, noted the hostess. I was in a pre-digital mood as I waited for the sampler of locally-raised, heritage, Navajo Churro lamb.
Churro Posole, Churro Medallion and Churro Verde Tamale
I was expecting a gamier meat and was prepared for it but was pleasantly surprised to find that the Navajo Churro was less sharp than regular lamb. I expect this was, in large part, a function of its preparation in a Posole and a Tamale Verde. The 6 oz. unvarnished, well-cooked, (medium) medallion was my favorite. It gave an straightforward taste of the rolling, richer flavor of the Navajo Churro. There was also some elk sausage thrown in for good measure.
Prickly Pear Bread Pudding
Around this time, I was glad I hadn’t eaten in a day and still had room for a taste of the Prickly Pear Bread Pudding. At Smart Kitchen we do a Prickly Pear Picking Party (P4) in the fall because the Prickly Pear Cactus is one of our only truly “local” ingredients in the desert. We are always looking for new ways to experiment with the red “Tuna” fruit or the green “Nopales” paddles. If you have a psychology degree you may be able to see through the preceding as a “rationalization.”
After a 2 year wait, the visit to The Turquoise Room fed the body, mind and soul. If you are interested in award-winning food, history, Native American Culture or all three, I’d stop by when you are playing “King of the Road” on old Route 66.
Now, at Smart Kitchen we are not gardeners for the sake of gardening, though it is nice. We are eaters and cookers, I mean gourmands and chefs, sometimes disguised as gardeners.
Nevertheless, we were excited to see that the US Department of Agriculture has revised its Plant Hardiness Map after 12 years. The new map shows some warming of the lowest lows in many areas meaning that extremes of cold should not kill off that warmer weather plants, even in more northerly climes.
The major drawback in using the map, for us as chef’s, though is that the Plant Hardiness Data Base and Zone Map only relates zip codes to one of 11 defined climate zones. To learn which garden crops grow in each of those climate zones, you then have to correlate the proper plants, zone by zone, using another database like the PlantFinder Database at Garden.org or the What to Plant Now Database at Mother Earth News. Each of those databases has drawbacks for easily finding out which edible plants might grow in any given climate zone or zip code. Sorry, the immediately foregoing is not factually true. Zone 1 is an easy because only 7 plants of any kind, including pine trees, are suitable for the frigid Zone 1. What we should have said is that it is tough for 10 of the climate zones.
Talk about foodie web surfing, wouldn’t it be cool if some database programming type could merge the functionality of the two databases for the use of bored and curious foodies? In a snap we’d know, how far north Coconuts or Dates could grow? Or how far south can one hope to tap a Sugar Maple tree and still expect some sap to flow? I am getting excited about the possibilities but….
Until the Smart Kitchen powers that be offer us more programming time, this blog post will have to be filed under wish lists, unless you, the reader, happen to be a database engineer and want to volunteer to work on a good cause, a project to sooth the souls of the members of the foodie/gardening humanity. If it’s you sleepless in wherever, get in touch with us.
Mickey The Mini Zebu Bull Courtesy of Dragonfly Farms
The American Cattle Herd has shrunk but not in exactly the same way that they shrunk Ol’ Mickey, the mini Zebu bull. Drought management decisions by our Cattlemen has the herd down, in absolute numbers, to 90.8 million cattle and calves as of the start of the year. That is the lowest number of animals since 1952. In fact, if it comes to it, 3.57 of us will have to triple/quadruple up on one animal to satisfy our beef cravings for the better part of this year.
But don’t panic just yet and start calling your 3.57 closest friends to go in with you on a whole steer. Though the actual head count is down, the average weight of our bovines is up meaning our 2012 herd will produce more beef than a comparable 1952 herd. We also import beef and have more vegetarians/pescatarians these days than in those days. If you like your beef, you may want to thank one of the aforementioned “Tarians” for backing away from the picnic and leaving more for you.
That being said, consumption is holding pretty steady but prices are not. Prices for Beef are up 17% from last year and look to go up from here, for at least a while. The number of Beef Cattle Kept for Replacement (breeding) was only up 1.4% to 5.2 million head. We all have some accommodations to make.
One way to stretch your budget is to learn more about Beef (the link goes to Smart Kitchen’s paid Topic on beef in Beginning Proteins) and select lower priced, slightly less tender cuts, not just the familiar and pricey favorites. Smart Kitchen’s Beef Tenderness Chart (free Smart Kitchen content) is a good place to start saving money by moving down from the most tender cuts to the second or third most tender cuts, even into intermediately tender cuts. Another way is to get the most out of the cuts you do buy by cooking them perfectly with the right techniques so that they are tender and flavorful. While this price increase may be bad news for the carnivores, it is survivable by shopping smarter and cooking wiser when you do choose to include beef on the menu. Who knows, their LDL/HDL ratios may even improve?
On the other hand, the little devil butcher on my left shoulder is shouting into my ear that “The correct course of action may be to rush out and get your bits of the herd today, before they are all sold out.” I am fighting him mightily, but if I lose, I’ll save you a place in the line at the meat counter. Oh and don’t worry about Mickey, he’s a breeder and not about to be made into a slider.
The Only Happy Egg Producer (photo courtesy of EverythingEaster.com)
Is it a surprise that twice as many eggs are consumed Easter Week as compared to a normal week? Not here, but it turns out that we, the PChefs, are part of a trend. One we might have to rectify next year. What did we do? We neglected to color eggs this year, relying instead on the time saving, cheap plastic eggs that double as temporary candy safes. We were not alone. For the first time, Easter Demand for Eggs was flat. That is wrong on two or three levels.
Hardboiling and painting eggs is both cooking real food and a great family activity. Second, the new way, as opposed to the old way, involves more sugar and bad candy. Third, we are hurting local egg producers who are hard pressed to make money with rising fuel and commodity prices, in favor of plastic doodad makers.
We are resolving to do better next year and just bought an extra dozen to try and catch up in 2011. We will probably do some Hard Boiling and may get in some Poaching too.
With the advent of the Internet and the Kindle, Border’s found it harder and harder to survive. News of their pending demise gave rise to a personal worry about the little red gift card, I had been toting around in my wallet for the last 3 years. If that generous birthday gift from 2009 were to maintain its value I had to get in there and redeem it.
I was lucky because at our local Borders the culinary section was not that picked over. All books were 20% off and with a Borders’ membership the total discount came to 30% off on every book, with selected titles having an even higher discount. The titles are linked to Amazon, if you can’t get to a Borders to look for them near you.
The first book I picked up was The Food Lovers’ Companion by Sharon Herbst a thick reference that looked interesting. Also in the sack were some biography’s: Appetite for Life, a Julia Child biography, Ferran a bio of the acclaimed chef of El Bulli in Spain who is acknowledged as the foremost restranteur in the world and is a leading practitioner of the culinary magic called Molecular Gastronomy.
Rounding out the selection were some classics, How to Cook a Wolf by MK Fisher, noted for her food writing as literature, The Physiology of Taste by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin and Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Volume II) by Julia Child. I have an old hand-me-down copy of the first volume and have lusted after the second volume for years now. The final purchase was Eating by Jason Epstein, a noted book publisher and gourmand.
A last work thrown into my future book report mix is Heirloom by Tim Stark. I was intrigued by a copy on a visit to the Seed Saver’s Exchange in Decorah, Iowa during the Summer Food Drive (which I have a blog post still to write about) and enjoyed reading it immensely last summer when the tomatoes were coming in. If you don’t know about the Seed Saver’s Exchange, they are a repository of as many varieties of heirloom seeds (those out of favor with the current agri-business) as they can get their hands on. They do a worthwhile service, have an intriguing catalog and are a great place to pass a summer afternoon if you happen to be all the way up in Decorah, Iowa.
Busy as we are launching Smart Kitchen the online cooking school, I am really looking forward to getting into these tomes and blogging a book report of sorts about each. The first will happen, as soon as possible, but certainly after pushing out Lesson 8 to the editor and rejiggering the health & Sanitation section of Lesson 1.
Or maybe better named, Butter Heads, can be seen this weekend at The Minnesota State Fair. If you are curious about 90 pound, 100% salted butter, sculpted busts (heads) you can see 11 of them at the fair. The models will be the finalists of the Midwest Dairy Association’s “Princess Kay of the Milky Way” contest. They have been carving the finalists’ heads at the fair since 1965 but butter statues have been part of the State Fair circuit longer than that. Since at least the 1890’s, when the dairy industry was trying to roll back the infernal, new margarine business, sculptures carved from solid blocks of butter have impressed consumers and fair goers alike.
Try attending the fair if you are interested in butter busts, 4H animals, fried fairway concession stand treats or a good time, but if you can’t and you want to learn how to do some food carving, you can join us at Smart Kitchen.com. Our forthcoming advanced level has some good carving topics.
Locals Brave the 112° Heat for One Thing: Produce!
You go away for a little bit and things change. Luckily, in this instance, they changed for the better. SK Chef & I did a drop by at the nine week old North Scottsdale Farmers Market and were impressed by the turnout, the hospitality and the desert produce.
N. Scottsdale's Air Conditioned Produce Mart
Air conditioning the Produce Mart at a desert farmer’s market doesn’t hurt either. For the AC and in other ways this new Farmers Market is really emblematic of the current times in the Southwest. Vacant real estate, sweltering heat, and novel uses of both to get something growing that serves locriculture, health and foodies can only be a plus. Le Bon Temps Roulet!
We found it interesting to learn how many local farmers existed in, what to all appearances at least, is a suburban desert environment. We were also impressed at the fruits (literally) of their labors. Peaches, Egg Plants, Lettuce, all were looking good.We also had the chance there to reconnect with Cedar Mulligan of Alaskan Pride Seafoods and met a new local farmer: Lila of Simple Farms off of Cactus.
We also got to speak with Merissa Vazquez, the Director of Marketing for the North Scottsdale Farmers Market and one of its founders. She says response has been terrific and that they have a great relationship with the landlord so we don’t need to worry about the market’s longevity. Look for some future posts from the Farmer’s Market, maybe even some ideas from our pending share in a local CSA.
If you want to check out the North Scottsdale Farmers Market it is held Saturday mornings at 9400 E. Shea Blvd. It might look like a rave but its really just a foodie’s party.
