CityMama™

Have you seen Food Inc? If so, how did it affect you?

I haven't really been cooking since Thanksgiving for a couple of reasons. The first is that I've been swamped with work (which is a really good thing for our Little Agency That Could), but the second is because after I saw Food Inc., I've been rethinking everything about what we eat, what companies I want to support, and what I want my kids to know about food.

I want to say that I'm completely done with shopping for food in grocery stores. I want to say that 100% of our produce will come from small, organic farms with sustainable farming practices. I want to say that I'll only buy meat and poultry that is organic, pastured, and from farms who treat their workers with dignity and respect. I want to say that we'll immediately start barrel gardening on our back patio.

I want to say all these things and believe it can be a reality. That my insane schedule and our budget and our values can make this true. I just don't know how possible it will be, but I will try.  This is my intention now and for the new year and forever.

The viewing of this movie (and my subsequent devouring of Joel Salatin's Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal) are just the most recent forms of media that are informing my decision. This revelation has been a long time in the making. First there was Upton Sinclair, John Robbins, Alice Waters, and Cesar Chavez. There was Angelo Pellegrini, Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Barbara Kingsolver. There was Sicko and Capitalism: A Love Story and King Corn.

There was the Slow Food movement and Greens and living in Portland and remembering my own family food values--how I was raised--beginning with all the gardens we had when I was a kid. Wherever we lived, my mom planted a garden. From Hawaii to California to Oregon, our houses had gardens. I remembered eating arugula from our garden in Hawaii when I was just a kid, when no one knew was arugula was. I thought about the running joke in our family about how someone always found a worm in their salad. How my mom always made her spaghetti sauce from scratch. I never tasted sauce from a jar until I was an adult.

It's no trouble for me to shop at my local farmer's market. It's 3 blocks from my house, every Saturday morning.  There is a sustainable beef seller there as well as a fishmonger, and egg, cheese, and olive oil vendors. I just need to do it more. We need to accept that, yes, it's more expensive, but it's a sacrifice we're ready and willing to make.

I am even going one step further. For a week now, I've been researching pastured chicken CSA shares because I will never eat another commercially grown chicken again. I'm even more excited about the sheep's milk, yogurt, cheese, and lamb CSA that J. and I gifted each other for our 15 year anniversary.  We should be getting those first batches of cheese and yogurt in early spring.

If you haven't seen the Food Inc., I highly recommend it, but prepare yourself to be outraged and incensed--even if you thought you already knew how scary the food industrial complex was. If you're afraid to watch it because of what you might learn, all the more reason to see it. None of us can afford to remain in the dark. You will never be able to hear the words Tyson, Cargilll, Swift, Monsanto, and Smithfield without having your blood boil. You will never look a bagged supermarket chicken or spinach or your holiday ham in the same way. After you watch it, let me know.

Of course, all of this thinking about food and where it comes from and how it gets to our dinner tables has me thinking about other things too. Like how my blog might be a platform for more good. How we can all work together to make sure that everyone can afford good, clean, food. I won't stop sharing my recipes or meal-planning with you, but suddenly, that's not enough.

It's a lot to consider at the end of the year when my brain is so full of work and planning for the holidays in addition to keeping the day-to-day details that go along with raising a family in check, but I wanted to share what I've been thinking.  And, of course, I'd be delighted if you shared what you've been thinking, too. Especially if and when you see the movie.

Weekend in Southern Oregon: Antiques and Wineries

I went up to Southern Oregon with a couple of girlfriends—and no kids, woohoo!—this weekend.  Our goal was to check out the annual antiques fair in the hopes of scoring some excellent, tax-free finds.  My personal goal was to have a tamale at the Southern Oregon Grower's Market (mission deliciously accomplished), to relax after a couple of very busy weeks, and to spend time with my brother and his kids which is always a pleasure.

The antiques fair was well-worth it despite the searing heat.  We all found lots of treasures for not too much money.  My favorite find was a copy of Conran's The House Book published in 1974.  I was eyeing my parents' worn copy at my brother's house and even asked him if I could borrow it. Not necessary!  The next day, Alisyn found a copy (with cover!) on an antique store book shelf and after negotiating a 10% discount, it came home with me. 

My brother gifted us moms with belated Mother's Day gifts-- tickets to the Applegate Valley wineries' barrel tasting event so we spent Sunday afternoon at Wooldridge Creek, Troon, and Schmidt wineries tasting their selections.

On Monday we were back on the road heading down I-5 hoping to make it home before school got out, which we did. I came home to a nice, clean house (thanks, J!) and a two hour power nap. It was a great time.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the weekend:

Saturday night dinner: grilled veggies and grass-fed tri-tip from the farmer's market and wild, local salmon caught in the Rogue River by my sister. The yellow bowl holds grilled spring onions, garlic, and jalapeños.

At the Antiques Fair.

20% off Bauer bowls in my favorite colors...

Eat Local Hawaii: Vegetables

This is Kahuku (located on the north shore of Oahu) corn, which is about half the size of supermarket corn. It has tiny kernels and coppery-brown silk. It is sweet, sweet, sweet.

Locally grown spinach is so light and tender it practically melts in your mouth when you bite into it.  It is also super-sweet and bursting with spinach-y flavor. I had it in a salad for lunch yesterday, but this batch was swirled into a pot of garlicky white beans which we ate along with the boiled corn and pan-fried pork chops for dinner a couple of nights ago.

Food, no-so glorious, food

Recently J. and I have been having passing conversations about food, what it costs, and how we want to feed our family. It started because I notice that every time we go to the farmer's market together, he's a total grump (yes, you are @theJB, don't EVEN try to front) when he sees his 60 fresh-from-the ATM machine dollars whittled down to zero dollars in a matter of 20 minutes. It is startling, but since I am the one that normally does the shopping, it doesn't phase me as much. I know what we are buying is exactly what we need and that it's things that my girls will eat. They help to choose our produce and I'm teaching them to support their local food growers, their local community. J. and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye on this subject. In fact, I'm realizing we have two divergent opinions on the matter.

Me:
I like to shop at farmer's markets for organic, locally grown produce. I do the cooking so I should have the most say. I read Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver and don't want to feed my kids genetically modified foods or tainted beef. Plus, rainbow chard makes a pretty picture in the morning sun. See?

Him:
"Giant packs of frozen burritos are BOGO at Safeway! That's 20 burritos for five bucks! That's lunch for, like, two weeks! Michael who?"

"But I like shopping at the farmer's market because everything is fresh and organic,"  I'll say.

"And I like Safeway because it's cheap," he'll counter.

The thing is, he's right. He is. But I want to be right, too. Though, when I find myself noticing the "pretty chard," I have to stop my visual-learning-self and say, "You sound like an idiot."  Shopping at farmer's markets is expensive, hell, it's a luxury, and we live in one of the most expensive communities in the entire country. You can make six figures here and still never feel "wealthy." So how do we strike a balance?

Favorites: Frozen Homemade Organic Greek-style Yogurt

This is a far cry from TCBY. Imagine your favorite Greek yogurt: so creamy and delicious.  Now imagine it frozen. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Sweet.  On many levels.

A very lucky little girl.

"Steakhouse" Salad: Tomatoes, Sweet Onions, and Blue Cheese

This salad, is hands-down, my family's favorite. What's not to love about thick slabs of sweet, juicy heirloom tomatoes; thinly-sliced piquant onions; and crumbles of sharp and salty blue cheese (in this case Stilton and gorgonzola)?

Bunny and Wallie love blue cheese (just like their parents) and by the time I get around to serving this salad, I notice that there are far fewer crumbles on it than I thought...Hmmmm...

Simply arrange the tomato slices on a plate and lightly salt them (just a touch to bring out the tomato flavor; the cheese is salty), top with onions and cheese and fresh ground pepper, then drizzle with fruity olive oil.  We had this alongside grassfed tri-tip from Whole Foods, and it was the perfect complement to the meal.

Farmer's Market Inspiration and Motivation: Fall is upon us!

Last week we trotted off to the farmer's market and were disappointed to learn that for that week only, our beloved market was replaced by a cultural fair. It was all jewelry and candles and pottery and not what we were looking for, so we were forced to duck into our local natural foods for our weekly supply of peaches and nectarines, but it wasn't the same.

The farmer's market was back in effect this weekend ,and because I can feel a chill in the air in the mornings (and our heat even kicked on one day), I was hunting for fall ingredients.

The mesclun lettuces—accented with autumal-colored flowers—looked gorgeous (my camera phone doesn't do it justice) and the fresh okra and golden cauliflower looked mouth watering. Several vendors had heirloom squash out and even pumpkins. Fall is here!

Bunny woke up in the middle of the night last night complaining that she wasn't feeling good, so we decided to make a big batch of vegetable soup today. She chose beautiful dark green green beans, red and yellow chard, curly spinach, and zucchini for the soup. I got a rotisserie chicken, boned it for our lunch then threw the carcass into a large soup pot along with a parmesan rind to start the stock.

We picked up a jar of Happy Girl Kitchen's pesto which will be our "pistou" to top our veggie soup along with shavings of salty, earthy pecorino romano. And on the side, a loaf of freshly baked whole grain bread.

I love the farmer's market when summertime produce is bountiful, and indeed, we are lucky to live in California where we get great produce all year, but I also love it in the fall and winter (our market is year-round) when the pickings are slimmer forcing one to be more creative about what to cook.

Just when I think I can't eat one more leaf of basil or one more heirloom tomato (who could ever imagine thinking such a thing!), fall is upon us with new culinary possibilities. Just in time.

Salad with all kinds of sprouts

After our trip to the farmer's market today (and after our amazing dinner at Junnoon the previous night where I had a delicious plum, mung bean sprout, and peanut salad—review coming soon), I was inspired to make this summery salad.

This salad is chewy and satisfying. It's the perfect "big bowl" meal salad.  My kids really loved this. I think it was the sprouted peanuts (the pink things in the photo).

Place the following in a large wooden bowl:

• 2 handfuls hearts of little gem lettuce
• 2 handfuls of sunflower sprouts
• 1 handful of spicy (or onion or radish) sprouts
• 1 handful of sprouted peanuts
• 1 handful of sprouted lentils
• a handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

Toss with your favorite mustardy vinaigrette. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Serve at once.

Great meals in Honolulu

a local-style lunch: fish, fried saimin, mac salad, rice, and mochiko chicken

I had planned on writing these meals up as I went along, but the beach got the better of me, and I never got around to it. Now the yumminess is just a distant memory, but just in case you ever visit Honolulu, you have to try these places.

Yesterday I was sitting in the hair salon getting my french-fried hair toned down (a month in the sand and surf did nothing for my hi-lites), and the woman next to me was talking about how horrible the food is in Hawaii.  How everything comes with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad, and I thought, "Girl, you have no clue." Then I  I thought, "Mmmmm. I could go for some of that RIGHT NOW."  She was obviously talking about plate lunches which are a local thing, and to understand the beauty and magic of a plate lunch you have to either be 1) local or 2) really hungry or 3) both.  The best place for plate lunches in Honolulu, bar none, is Rainbow Drive-in, a local institution.  Where else can you get a plate of gut-busting beef curry, beef stew, or chili with, yes, rice and mac salad for under $6? Shoot.

For quick snacks, you cannot beat Shirokiya's food hall. Shirokiya is a Japanese department store located in the Ala Moana Mall.  The top floor is a food hall which sells everything from packaged and canned Japanese goods to freshly prepared foods and groceries.  Grab a basket and wander around. Soon it will be filled with inari sushi, freshly fried tempura (sold by the piece), all manner of Japanese pickles, croquettes, assorted bento boxes, soba, you name it they have it or make it. My daughters love Shirokiya because they can choose whatever snack they want.  And don't forget to pick up a pastry or cream anpan at the St. Germain Bakery downstairs.

For sushi, I like to go to Akasaka at 1646 Kona Street, which is an unassuming restaurant sandwiched between a bunch of Korean strip clubs.  Hands down, the sushi cannot be beat. Silky, buttery, generous slices of fish overlap small balls of rice so much so that the end of the slice of fish fans out like a tail on the plate.  That is the way to eat sushi, in my opinion. Lotsa fish, not a lot of rice. I also like to order the chawanmushi there. It's like eating a puffy, custardy cloud.

For Korean food, nothing beats the hustle and bustle of the always-open Sorabol on Keeaumoku Street, near the Ala Moana shopping center.  My favorites there include: the raw fish salad (cubes of raw fish atop a herby mix of fresh greens with a spicy dressing), the fried zucchini and fish "jun", steamed butterfish, and, of course, the kal bi (bbq ribs).  Best of all, it's open 24 hours so you can get your barbecue on anytime.

And back to local favorites, I have to make my way to a Zippy's (Hawaii's version of Denny's) within 24 hours of setting foot on Hawaiian soil.  Where else can you get two eggs over-easy atop fried rice with a side of Portuguese sausage for breakfast?  Or fried saimin with sides fried chicken, kimchi, and macaroni salad for lunch? Zippy's is a beautiful, beautiful thing. And the service is always quick and friendly.

Lastly, it's not really a meal, but for groceries, I like to stock up at Umeke Market (4400 Kalanianaole Hwy.) in Kahala.  They have a wide selection of organic local produce (I practically ate my weight in local greens when I was in Honolulu) and organic meats. They also carry other organic grocery and health items like sunscreen and bug spray. The sad part is that a Whole Foods is going in nearby which almost assures the end of Umeke and the other local health food stores in the area.

I did go back to Side Street Inn while I was there, but I felt they were off their game. It just wasn't as good as the last time, but the pork chops still kick ass.

Local Goodness: Three things I'm enjoying this week

I rarely buy ready-made salad dressing, but I lately, I've been buying Annie's Naturals Woodstock dressing two bottles at a time. It has just enough creamyness and tang without being overly "tahini'd." So good on a chopped salad full of crunchy veggies like cukes, peppers, radishes, and carrots that stand up to the assertive dressing. The corporate headquarters of the Vermont company located in Napa, CA.

GoRaw Flax Snax Crackers. Amazingly tasty and full of flavor. Hits the spot when you need something crunchy/salty. Made in Mountain View, CA.

Home Craft Breads' raisin walnut cinnamon rolls. Dense and soft, and wonderful when toasted in a toaster oven. Not overly sweet. Not sticky. Made in Redding, CA.

All available at Country Sun, Palo Alto.