Time for a Revolution? Not Quite.

A pair of articles in this weekend's New York Times puts the spotlight back on the ol' hometown and the optimism of the local/organic/anti-agri-business/slow food movement.

First up: Andrew Martin's "Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?", the latest in speculative will-they-or-won't-they-change-the-world journalism. It's not a bad article, it just seems like I've read it before. The only difference? The bits about the Obama Administration. Okay, I'll concede that there's an authentic spirit of hopefulness in the new outlook of many of these foodies and food pioneers -- one that's not related to how well Whole Foods' stock is doing today. While I agree that the new administration brings with it cause for celebration in the local food world, until the political world can reconcile to a holistic approach to food and environment, foodies are simply patching up cracks in the quagmire's façade.

For instance, check out this choice quote from Fred Hoefner, policy director of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, when asked about Michelle Obama's new White House vegetable garden: “We just want to make sure that interest in that symbolic action can be channeled into some of the more difficult policy challenges.”

The point in new Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's plan that'll have the most impact (IMHO) is the placement of fresh, unprocessed foods in school kitchens. Many children in the cities of Berkeley and Oakland relied on free school breakfasts in my day, a fact that I'm sure only increases in times of economic crisis. And having school lunch options with real vegetables that taste really good will go a long way toward changing the eating habits of children across America -- and perhaps their parents' too. After all, when Junior comes home and asks for arugula, Mom's more likely to give it a try, right? And wouldn't you know, the first lady agrees!

Chew on that for a minute, then start reading Mark Bittman's article, "Eating Food That's Better For You, Organic or Not", which I'll cover later this week.

seize the cake: The Return

After a lengthy hiatus from the interwebz (personal crises, no web access in the home and self-imposed blogging moratorium at the day job necessitated the break), I'm back! Didja miss me?

I know I missed the blog. Between the Bacon Explosion, Maple-Bacon Buttercream, and Candied Bacon, I feel like I've missed a lot. And that's just where the New York Times' Dining section and the awesomeness that is bacon intersect! Imagine what else may have gone unblogged! (Okay, no imagining necessary: I made a version of this bacon brittle and the photo below is the only evidence I've got of the process -- bad blogger!)


Well, the cake demands to be seized! Check back very soon for some killer cookies and yummy cupcakes. You couldn't keep me away.

I still don't believe that McDonald's is healthy.

Apparently, one Mr. Chris Coleson of Virginia was able to lose 85 pounds by eating exclusively at McDonald's. My reaction, in brief: Gross.

Though this is no Supersize Me, it's nonetheless somewhat jarring to wrap your brain around the fact that McDonald's is responsible for weight loss as opposed to weight gain. In the aforementioned film, the human guinea pig eats every single menu item before looping back around to the first (which was the Big Mac, of course). In Coleson's case, he confined himself to what he considered the "healthy" menu items. (He claims he chose McDonald's simply because it was "convenient"; also, that his inspiration was a blind Vet and, of course, his kids... anyone else smell a side of crazy? Thought so.)

Watching Supersize Me definitely made me want to investigate the claims made by Coleson a bit more closely, so I surfed on over to McDonald's corporate website. Once there, I was surprised at how accessible all the nutrition information was, but I also found out that a snack size fruit & walnut salad was 210 calories & 8 grams of fat in a tiny 5 1/2 oz. container. Still, avoiding the fried versions of wraps and eschewing the caramel sauce when procuring an order of Apple Dippers (does that need a ™?) might actually be okay for you. Of course, one has to remember the negligible nutritional value of iceberg lettuce, something by which the wraps are notoriously plumped up.

And if you're not lactarded like me, you can breathe easy that a kiddie cone is only 45 calories (?!), with one gram of fat and six grams of sugar. Do I sound like a corporate shill or what? Hey, note that I still couldn't bring myself to tag this entry with "golf clap", and anyone who loses 85 pounds usually merits at least that (relatively meaningless) accolade. Also, after reading the wet blanket the experts put on top of this story, it's not like I want to be accused of encouraging this wretched behavior. seize the cake is 100% anti-artificial flavorings and 95% anti-microwave. (Confession: I simply can't bring myself to preheat the toaster oven and wait 25 minutes for something silly like a Boca Burger. I know, I know, I'm a terrible person.)