Comments on: Four Ways To Add Some Excitement To Your Diet http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/ Respect Your Food. Respect Yourself. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:16:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Mark’s Daily Apple » Blog Archive » Friday Link Love http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3867 Mark’s Daily Apple » Blog Archive » Friday Link Love Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:24:09 +0000 http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3867 [...] Modern Forager gives Four Ways to Add Some Excitement to Your Diet. [...] [...] Modern Forager gives Four Ways to Add Some Excitement to Your Diet. [...]

]]> By: Scott Kustes http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3865 Scott Kustes Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:40:02 +0000 http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3865 Blech...Red Delicious. Your apple story there reminds me of what I think of the swill most people drink as beer, like Bud Light and Miller Lite. Through marketing, people have become convinced that tasteless stuff is "the real deal" and they can't handle the taste of The Real Deal. Migraineur, I just started reading The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved and the author is talking about a trucker he knew that was shipping Idaho potatoes to Maine (I think) and Maine potatoes to Idaho. What a screwed up distribution system. Buy local! Cheers Scott Blech…Red Delicious. Your apple story there reminds me of what I think of the swill most people drink as beer, like Bud Light and Miller Lite. Through marketing, people have become convinced that tasteless stuff is “the real deal” and they can’t handle the taste of The Real Deal.

Migraineur, I just started reading The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved and the author is talking about a trucker he knew that was shipping Idaho potatoes to Maine (I think) and Maine potatoes to Idaho. What a screwed up distribution system. Buy local!

Cheers
Scott

]]> By: Anna http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3860 Anna Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:58:43 +0000 http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3860 For the longest time I couldn't even get my son to eat the apples I preferred to purchase. At preschool every day they had those beautiful, shiny shellacked tasteless and styrofoam-textured Washington "red delicious" apples that the teacher bought in bulk. To my son, *that* was the epitome of an apple and nothing else would do. To me, it was the worst. I wouldn't buy them. I think at the time I was getting some other variety that was usually a creamier color with blush of color on one side, probably Gala. I had to sort through the bin to find the reddest ones to try to tempt him, but I'll bet I ate more of them than he did. Eventually He got over that "red factor" and I don't even buy Galas anymore. For the longest time I couldn’t even get my son to eat the apples I preferred to purchase. At preschool every day they had those beautiful, shiny shellacked tasteless and styrofoam-textured Washington “red delicious” apples that the teacher bought in bulk. To my son, *that* was the epitome of an apple and nothing else would do. To me, it was the worst. I wouldn’t buy them.

I think at the time I was getting some other variety that was usually a creamier color with blush of color on one side, probably Gala. I had to sort through the bin to find the reddest ones to try to tempt him, but I’ll bet I ate more of them than he did. Eventually He got over that “red factor” and I don’t even buy Galas anymore.

]]> By: Migraineur http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3859 Migraineur Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:30:20 +0000 http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3859 Anna, I too would love to get some of those wonderful upstate New York apples. But I can't, even though I live in Massachusetts, the next state over, unless I want to make a road trip. All of the apples in the grocery store here are from Washington state. Not only do they not try to hide it, they even brag about it. You can imagine how disappointing this is to someone who grew up in upstate New York! Our food production and distribution system is so up, it defies description. How on earth did we get to the point where we have to ship apples 3,000 miles to Massachusetts, when NYS, the 2nd largest producer of apples in the country, is just across the state line? Who thought this was rational? I only eat apples in the fall, when my CSA gets them from a neighboring farm and distributes them in our drops. Anna, I too would love to get some of those wonderful upstate New York apples. But I can’t, even though I live in Massachusetts, the next state over, unless I want to make a road trip. All of the apples in the grocery store here are from Washington state. Not only do they not try to hide it, they even brag about it. You can imagine how disappointing this is to someone who grew up in upstate New York!

Our food production and distribution system is so up, it defies description. How on earth did we get to the point where we have to ship apples 3,000 miles to Massachusetts, when NYS, the 2nd largest producer of apples in the country, is just across the state line? Who thought this was rational?

I only eat apples in the fall, when my CSA gets them from a neighboring farm and distributes them in our drops.

]]> By: Scott Kustes http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3856 Scott Kustes Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:06:40 +0000 http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3856 Dan, that's interesting regarding commercially grown herbs vs. the stuff you bought at the market. Migraineur, I had a feeling that I'd get corrected a touch on the CSA thing...I haven't actually started receiving anything from mine. I figured there were probably months of nothing but corn or nothing but apples, but I would also guess that it's still better than what most people are doing. Thanks for the insight on The Joy of Cooking. Anna, sorry to hear about your disappointing strawberries. On the other hand, we had a foot of snow here last week that's just thawed and there's not even a farmer's market open yet. I just signed up for my CSA and deliveries don't start until May. Cheers Scott Dan, that’s interesting regarding commercially grown herbs vs. the stuff you bought at the market.

Migraineur, I had a feeling that I’d get corrected a touch on the CSA thing…I haven’t actually started receiving anything from mine. I figured there were probably months of nothing but corn or nothing but apples, but I would also guess that it’s still better than what most people are doing. Thanks for the insight on The Joy of Cooking.

Anna, sorry to hear about your disappointing strawberries. On the other hand, we had a foot of snow here last week that’s just thawed and there’s not even a farmer’s market open yet. I just signed up for my CSA and deliveries don’t start until May.

Cheers
Scott

]]> By: Anna http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3844 Anna Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:52:26 +0000 http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3844 Yeah, the year round availability of produce is great in California, but it isn't entirely perfect. I would kill for some apple varieties from Upstate NY (the range of varieties is limited here without enough days of cold temps), as well as easier-to-locate and more local availability of pastured meat and poultry sources. And all the strawberries farms around here produce huge, stunning beauties with bland taste and the texture of styrofoam. See, even in CA we have to put up with those built-to-travel CA produce monstrosities, too. Even our CSA strawberries, while a bit better in flavor and smaller than the "showcase" conventional berries, have that styrofoam texture and little juiciness, I guess because it is still a commercial variety berry for selling in stores, not picking and enjoying right away without a long trip or warehouse stay. Yeah, the year round availability of produce is great in California, but it isn’t entirely perfect. I would kill for some apple varieties from Upstate NY (the range of varieties is limited here without enough days of cold temps), as well as easier-to-locate and more local availability of pastured meat and poultry sources. And all the strawberries farms around here produce huge, stunning beauties with bland taste and the texture of styrofoam. See, even in CA we have to put up with those built-to-travel CA produce monstrosities, too. Even our CSA strawberries, while a bit better in flavor and smaller than the “showcase” conventional berries, have that styrofoam texture and little juiciness, I guess because it is still a commercial variety berry for selling in stores, not picking and enjoying right away without a long trip or warehouse stay.

]]> By: Migraineur http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3816 Migraineur Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:45:20 +0000 http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3816 I second Anna on <i>Joy of Cooking</i>, but be careful about which edition you buy. The 1997 edition added a lot of great ethnic recipes (good!) but made room for them by taking out recipes and instructions for basic food preparation and preservation techniques (bad!). I was appalled to see that the new <i>Joy</i> has no information on how to blanch vegetables before freezing. OK, I can understand getting rid of the instructions, complete with line drawing, for skinning a squirrel - most Americans don't want or need to do this any more. But do people really not freeze things? Last summer I had to turn back to an edition from the 70s (which, fortunately, I kept) when our CSA was pumping out more corn than my moderate-carb husband and my low-carb self could cope with and I needed to freeze some of it. I got my 1997 edition on one of those "4 books for a buck" deals in a book club, otherwise I would feel like it was a waste of money. You can find ethnic recipes anywhere these days, but it's getting increasingly hard to find a cookbook that explains how to gut a fish or can vegetables. Seek out a used, good-condition older edition. By the way, speaking of corn, I'm not sure that CSAs are a complete cure for boredom. For one thing, when a crop is in season, you are going to up to your ears in it for a few weeks. Plus, farmers, just like other business people, want to please their customers, and I must say that my CSA pumps out way too much of three foods my metabolism cannot tolerate in any quantity: corn, potatoes, and beets. Other people like them, apparently. My husband and I were given <i>twelve</i> ears one week, in a small, two-person share. I eat maybe one, maybe two, ears of corn <i>a year</i> - it's all I can tolerate, so I give the rest away or freeze them for my husband to eat in December. If I had a house with a cellar, I could cellar the excess potatoes and use them in small amounts throughout the year, but as a city dweller, I simply don't have the space. At least beets can be pickled and enjoyed in small quantities as a condiment. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from joining a CSA, just noting that in addition to broccoli rabe and garlic scapes and other unusual stuff you might also find yourself with piles of starchy vegetables to deal with. ;) Gee, I sound really negative today! I don't mean to. I second Anna on Joy of Cooking, but be careful about which edition you buy. The 1997 edition added a lot of great ethnic recipes (good!) but made room for them by taking out recipes and instructions for basic food preparation and preservation techniques (bad!). I was appalled to see that the new Joy has no information on how to blanch vegetables before freezing. OK, I can understand getting rid of the instructions, complete with line drawing, for skinning a squirrel - most Americans don’t want or need to do this any more. But do people really not freeze things? Last summer I had to turn back to an edition from the 70s (which, fortunately, I kept) when our CSA was pumping out more corn than my moderate-carb husband and my low-carb self could cope with and I needed to freeze some of it.

I got my 1997 edition on one of those “4 books for a buck” deals in a book club, otherwise I would feel like it was a waste of money. You can find ethnic recipes anywhere these days, but it’s getting increasingly hard to find a cookbook that explains how to gut a fish or can vegetables. Seek out a used, good-condition older edition.

By the way, speaking of corn, I’m not sure that CSAs are a complete cure for boredom. For one thing, when a crop is in season, you are going to up to your ears in it for a few weeks. Plus, farmers, just like other business people, want to please their customers, and I must say that my CSA pumps out way too much of three foods my metabolism cannot tolerate in any quantity: corn, potatoes, and beets. Other people like them, apparently. My husband and I were given twelve ears one week, in a small, two-person share. I eat maybe one, maybe two, ears of corn a year - it’s all I can tolerate, so I give the rest away or freeze them for my husband to eat in December. If I had a house with a cellar, I could cellar the excess potatoes and use them in small amounts throughout the year, but as a city dweller, I simply don’t have the space. At least beets can be pickled and enjoyed in small quantities as a condiment.

I’m not trying to discourage anyone from joining a CSA, just noting that in addition to broccoli rabe and garlic scapes and other unusual stuff you might also find yourself with piles of starchy vegetables to deal with. ;)

Gee, I sound really negative today! I don’t mean to.

]]> By: sarena http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3812 sarena Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:26:35 +0000 http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/03/12/four-ways-to-add-some-excitement-to-your-diet/#comment-3812 Oh if the farmers markets in NY were as nice as those in California I would be so happy!! And year round availability too!! Oh if the farmers markets in NY were as nice as those in California I would be so happy!! And year round availability too!!

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