Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Also, the documentary "Food, Inc.", which features both Pollan and
Schlosser. Some of the scenes of factory farming aren't for the faint
of heart, but that's the point: the further we've gotten removed from
the reality of farm life and food production, the less we know. And it
really does seem to be how They -- Tyson, Monsanto, et al. -- want it.

Joel Salatin of the ultraorganic Polyface Farms, about which Pollan
devotes a large chunk of "Omnivore's Dilemma," has a passionate and
articulate appearance in the documentary, and much more in the extras
of the DVD.

<http://www.foodincmovie.com>
  

    

Thank you, Darya, for the explanation, which is entirely satisfactory.  
Nothing against a penchant!

Thank you particularly for the recommended books, and also to Scott, for 
recommending the film.  Although I hate cruelty, I'm not squeamish, and 
really do want to know.

I recognize that I'm an oddity, having been raised in the 1950s while this 
switch to processed foods was finding its legs.  Due to the ages of my 
parents, their devotion to fresh, tasty real food, and their skill as 
cooks, I was not introduced to processed food, certainly not to junk 
items, and never even to school lunches.  Well, by your definition, 
I ate some processed food:  there was flour, baking powder, and such.  My 
mother had a grain mill, but didn't always use it.  

So, personally, I'm an outlier, wondering why anyone would make or sell 
such items as food or befoul their body and insult their taste buds by 
ingesting it. 

I look very forward to my education!
  

    
One good reason is that some of the junk food does taste GOOD.  All
that research and science and focus groups have actually produced stuff
that tastes more like cherries than cherries, cheesier than most
cheeses, more buttery than butter, and combine sugar and fat and salt
seductively.  When done 'well', it really is delicious.  And, it's
easily available and cheap.  

I do make crackers that I definitely prefer over anything I can buy*,
but it's very disappointing to spend the time, fill the cookie jar with
them, and then moments later, it's empty again.  

*<http://www.well.com/user/debunix/recipes/Saltines.html>
  

    
Wow!
  

    
Those look great, Diane. I checked out your recipe page; I'm going to
try my hand at your Apple-Pepper-Cheddar rolls. 
  

    

> I consider all bread or ANYTHING made with flour or sugar to be processed
> food

Some may think of this as a controversial statement, but I see it as an ex-
cellent example of the sort of clarity I get from reading you, Darya.  I am
in the process of changing my lifestyle to include less bread - it's always
been a go-to snack for me in the afternoon.  I've been deleting sugar from my
life gradually for years, and now I have to add other carbs to my elimination
campaign.

Your ability to distill these issues into a few simple rules is what makes
<http://www.summertomato.com> such a valuable resource.  Thank you, from the
bottom of my refurbished heart.
  

    
Thinking about that is one reason why I eat a lot less pasta than I
used to.  Things that I once would have eaten over pasta, or soups that
would have been finished with pasta, I am now more likely to finish by
putting over or adding a cooked whole grain.  The pasta e fagioli I
was preparing this weekend, for example, became beans with buckwheat
instead.  And I adore my lentil-spelt soup now as much or more than the
german lentil soup that inspired it.

<http://www.well.com/user/debunix/recipes/LentilSpeltSoup.html>
  

    
Nice, thanks!

We are consuming more quinoa around here.  I love it!
  

    
wrt response 53 above from debunix, i think the taste issue is huge. to me,
most conventionally-grown produce -tastes- like wood pulp. so why would one
want to voluntarily eat something that tastes like wet cardboard?

i remember observing when i lived in nyc in the 80s, how people after work
would stop by the salad bars then popping up at the corner korean grocery
stores --- and dumping what looked like 1/2 cup of (to me) revolting salad
dressing on what they bought. and i knew it was in part because the produce
had no taste --- in contrast to say, the market-garden tomatoes i could get
on the weekends out on shelter island.

i have been buying organic since the 80s, and local and seasonal as that has
gotten easier to find. and when i step out of my ecotopian bubble, and say,
taste an apple bought at the local grocery store in exurban new jersey ---
it tastes like wet paper towels. why -would- someone -want- to eat that?

the injunction to eat healthy --- well, if it doesnt taste good, who can
stick with it?

i was on jury duty a year ago, and a few times was stuck with the county
cafeteria. the produce was dismal --- so, bad me, i ate my once/year bag of
m+ms. because i wanted something that actually had some taste. and the
tasteless + midly sour oranges for sale wouldnt cut it.
  

    

The kitty litter I use is made from corn and it's great!  Smells good, too.

It's the only corn item I have in the house.
  

    
@wickett For a second there I thought you were admitting to eating
kitty litter ;)

@loris I think you absolutely nailed it with your comment. What really
changed it for me was the first time I went to the farmers market and
tried all the produce. I thought lettuce was lettuce, an apple an
apple. Boy was I in for a shock (and treat). It changed my life.

@debunix I've been doing exactly the same thing. I eat pasta
occasionally, but not as a staple. My latest favorite pasta substitute
is beans. A couple years ago I discovered the heirloom beans from
Rancho Gordo and fell in love. The are AMAZING! I made a puttanesca
using chickpeas instead of pasta and it was to die for. Great recipes
btw :)

@tnf You're too sweet!!!! xoxox
  

    

> I thought lettuce was lettuce, an apple an apple.

Per Michael Pollan, the grocery-industrial complex has labored to make that a
fact by drastically limiting the number of varieties cultivated and marketed
in this country.

How many people are aware of how many wonderful varieties of potatoes and
tomatoes there are in this world, for example?  And Pollan says there is
basically one species of broccoli in the main stream.  etc.

> beans instead of pasta

Maybe <reet> will share the amazing broccoli rabe and cannellini beans recipe
she uses.  Not sure where it came from, but we love this dish!
  

    
Much appreciated if she does.  That sounds great.
  

    

I, too, am nuts for cannellini beans.  Just made a stew with the beans and 
mustard greens and ham; also containers of cannellini bean-pumpkin-and 
kale soup are stashed in the freezer.  Pumpkin really gives them zing.

debunix, thanks for the photo and recipe for your crackers!  They look and 
sound absolutely delicious...albeit time-consuming.  I just checked our 
oven and, yes, it makes it to 550 Fahrenheit (I bake my bread at 500), so 
someday soon I'll try it.

Agree about pasta.  It's too dull to bother to eat, never mind that it 
just doesn't satisfy or satiate.

Agree about "standard" varieties.  Even though it's late in the season, I 
just planted some golden beets.  Also, we had been confused about a citrus 
tree in our backyard.  it was introduced to us as a lime.  The fruits taste 
limey, but are a bright, beautiful yellow.  We're closing in on a variety 
of...lime.
  

    
Funny all the talk about cannellini beans. I just had some with
chorizo, squid and peppers from our local Bi-Rite market. Yum!

I think handmade pastas are often worth eating. It's just the dry
store bought stuff that I don't bother with.

@wickett are the limes sweet? Sweet limes are often yellow. 
  

    
As I understand it limes when ripe are actually yellow but they sell
them green in grocery stores for differentiation from lemons. Of course
really ripe limes are sweeter, they are ripe.
  

    
>>>>
 Agree about pasta.  It's too dull to bother to eat, never mind that it
 just doesn't satisfy or satiate.


Nooooooo! Says this ITALIAN GIRL. Life without pasta isn't worth it. To me.

That said, we've cut back the fequency of pasta focused dinners.

The broccoli rabe/canellini recipe includes pasta, BTW.
  

    
I was given a ripe lime to eat once, as a joke.   It looked just like a
tangerine, and the skin even came away easily like one.   But when you bit
into a segment, it was a lime, for sure.
  

    
Ripe limes look like tangerines?  I never knew that.
  

    
Nor did I.

Oh, I forgot that the broccoli rabe and cannellini beans recipe also includes
orecchiette.
  

    
Over time I have cut the orecchiette amount in half.
  

    

Enjoy your pasta!  I have never made pasta myself, but, yes, the 
difference between homemade and store-bought dry sticks is remarkable.

Aha, the limes were green; when ripe they are yellow and *sweet*!  They 
are also softer than green ones and far more juicy.  Thank you!

We also have a clementine tree (as best I could identify it), and they are
very peelable.  Not so the limes.  

This year we went a bit overboard planting mustard greens.  I almost need 
a scythe to cut them down!  Inspired by this topic, I'm cooking them al 
dente and popping into the freezer, so we won't tire of them now and will 
enjoy them when we need our green veggie vitamins in winter.  

Again, inspired by this topic, I'm going to take my crutches out of the 
closet and brave a farmer's market instead of relying on the Berkeley 
Bowl.  Crowds, standing, and sun make it hard for me, but perhaps I can 
manage it.  
  

    
I'm wasn't talking about regular limes that are just riper, but a
different variety of limes called sweet limes. That is what it sounds
like you have. They're great in cocktails!!

As for fresh pasta, I don't make it myself but there are wonderful
Italian delis that sell fresh pasta that's probably much better than I
can ever make.

If you're in San Francisco I recommend the handkercheif pasta with
pesto al Genovese at Farina in the Mission. It's to die for.
  

    

We got some great fresh pasta from the popup general store last week.  It was
delicious fresh!  Instructions were to dry the unused pasta for later use.
We'll see if it's as wonderful in that form.
  

    
it isn't as simple as "fresh pasta good, dried pasta bad." italians use 
different pastas for different things. no italian knowledgable about food 
would say that dried is inherently inferior to fresh. (rule of thumb, tho 
there are always exceptions: fresh with oil- or cream-based sauces; dried 
with tomato or meat-centric sauces.) 

<http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/noodles-pasta-and-grains/dry-pasta-vs-fresh
-pasta-whats-the-difference-047888>
<http://www.mangiabenepasta.com/types.html>
<http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/food/dried-vs-fresh-pa
sta-10000001609408/>

(first link has the most detail.)