On the Road to Slow Food Nation

Slow Food Nation

First, we had a day of travel and a day of wine. And then we went to Slow Food Nation ‘08.

We were only able to attend one day of SFN, but that day was packed with interesting things to do and see.

Slow Food? What exactly is “Slow Food”? It is diametrically opposite of “Fast Food,” which is being shown to be a major contributor to many of the chronic, epidemic health issues that Americans face today.

Slow Food Nation is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco and was founded in 2007. It is a subsidiary of Slow Food USA and part of the international Slow Food movement, which was founded in 1989 in Italy.

Slow Food Nation aims to inspire and empower Americans to build a food system that is sustainable, healthy, and results in delicious food. It is a grassroots movement with members internationally that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.

Slow Food wants to reconnect Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils, and waters that produce the food that we eat. It seeks changes in food policy, production practices, and market forces so that equity, sustainability and pleasure exist in the food we eat. And contrary to popular opinion, “pleasure” is a part of natural food consumption. We are so accustomed to the taste of over-processed, over salted factory food that we’ve lost the ability to enjoy the pleasures of real food.

Slow Food’s members include culinary professionals, food enthusiasts, farmers, food producers, educators, and students. Slow Food USA aspires for a world in which all people can eat delicious food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it, and good for the planet.

That’s a lot, and thanks to SF for providing the preceding information to share. By the way, we have a Slow Foods member in our community and that is Valley Cheese and Wine, which should not be a surprise to those who frequent it. Their selection of artisanal, small-producer, and raw milk cheeses (no Velveeta or “cheese food” here) and their relationship with organic producers in our region show their commitment to eating well.

But I digress.

We took BART to the Civic Center station in San Francisco. When we arrived, we walked the block from the BART stop, hoping we were going in the right direction. We knew we were in the right place from the signs and Slow Food Nation banners everywhere. Because of our schedule, we wouldn’t be able to attend the events that would be taking place over the weekend, so we enjoyed the Market which had farmers, vendors, producers, and food artisans purveying their wares. Here are some that made a big impression on us: Read the story »

Why I Hate Martha Stewart

My Jadeite Coffee Jar

Okay. Technically, she’s not a “celebrity chef,” per se, but she’s famous. And she cooks. And she’s on TV. But! She doesn’t have a restaurant with tiny portions at exorbitant prices, which, therefore, doesn’t make her an official “chef.”

But because she’s famous and cooks, she’s landed on my “Celebrity Chefs” page. But I hate her. Why?

It all began in the 1930s.

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The Loveable Gordon Ramsay

Hell's Chef, Gordon Ramsay. What a Man.

Actually, I feel that I’ve been living in oblivion for quite a long time. I hadn’t really heard of Gordon Ramsay until I switched to satellite TV and caught him on Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America. I was instantly hooked.

Imagine my surprise when I realized that this SOB was the same chef on Hell’s Kitchen, which I had watched once and felt the chef guy was a jerk and who the hell was he anyway?

Gordon is not your kinder, gentler chef. Far from it; he’s abrasive, brusque, profane, and curt. He doesn’t suffer (cooking) fools lightly. His lack of patience is legendary. He’s often disrespectful of other professional chefs, thinks vegetarians and vegans suffer from psychoses, and holds very few people in high esteem.

I think he’s great. Why? His standards. Period.

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What is Kimchi?

Kimchi is a vegetable dish, most often presented as a side dish in any Korean meal. Kimchi is made by fermenting cabbage. Napa cabbage is generally the main ingredient, and the dish is usually fermented in brine with garlic, scallions, and ground pepper. It is usually finished with a hot chili sauce.

Kimchi is the most common Korean banchan (side dish) eaten with rice along with other banchan dishes.

After fermenting for a period of time at an appropriate temperature in a sealed container, the mixture of ingredients is turned into a nutritious food which is rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fiber. If you have ever made sauerkraut (or have seen it being made), the similarity is unmistakable. Unfortunately, foods with such distinct flavors have lost favor in today’s fast-food, superbland factory food.

This cookbook, Nourishing Traditions, offers an amazing history of food preservation and fermentation as well as recipes you can try in your own kitchen. It is well worth the read, and a simple perusal of the contents will stimulate your interest in natural ways to preserve food, which is what our ancestors used in the days before BHT and BHA.

They Don’t Care if You Die as Long as You Eat Their “Food”

Don’t for a moment believe that the brightly colored packages and boxes lining the supermarket shelves are filled with healthy, nutritious food that is good for you and your family.  They’re not.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The advertising gymnastics that the big factory food giants perform daily are amazing to me.  It begins in the morning with ads about “fiber.”  This fiber you can stir in water and it will disappear, and, therefore, you don’t have to worry about actually eating or chewing something that will be good for you.  This way, you don’t have to be bothered with using your teeth to eat, say, an *apple* that will take care of what ails you.  They apparently want you to believe that their concoctions are better than Nature. And it gets worse.

A quick perusal of just about any label on just about any package will present you with a laundry list of ingredients that you would never put into your own recipes if you were preparing the food at home.

For instance, let’s take a simple protein bar.  You can make them at home with whey, nut butter, egg (yolks and/or whites), nuts and seeds, natural sweeteners, and oats. Natural, delicious ingredients that won’t hurt your body.  It may take a little time, but a quick trip to the natural foods store will supply the ingredients.

On the other hand, Slim-Fast Protein Bars contain the following:

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