Blog #8: Recipe

Greek Garlic & Lemon Roasted Potatoes

• 3 lbs small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Coarse salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 lemon cut in half
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp fresh dill

Set up grill for indirect grilling (when charcoal is ready, either move it all to one side or to each side leaving ample room down the middle of your grill), or if using gas grill, heat to medium. Can also be roasted in oven at 350 degrees.

Place the potatoes in a roasting pan and toss with olive oil, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, salt, and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over the potatoes, then place the rind halves on top. Set the roasting pan on the side of the grill that doesn't have any charcoal or in the middle if the coals are on either side of the grill. Cook potatoes with the grill covered until brown and tender, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours, stirring from time to time. Stir in the butter during last 10 minutes of cooking.

Remove lemon rinds and bay leaves. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper, and serve.

Homemade Mac and Cheese!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large egg
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper

Topping:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.

I Love Fried Chicken

BUTTERMILK-SOAKED FRIED CHICKEN
	Prep Time: 10 minutes Marinate Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4
	BUTTERMILK-SOAKED FRIED CHICKEN Ingredients 1 1/2 cups cups buttermilk 3 teaspoons Lawry's® Seasoned Salt 2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken, cut into serving pieces 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's® Seasoned Pepper Vegetable oil for frying Directions 1. In large, resealable plastic bag, combine buttermilk with 1 teaspoon Lawry's® Seasoned Salt. Add chicken; turn to coat. Close bag and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes. 2. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade. In another large, resealable plastic bag, combine flour, remaining 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt and pepper. Add chicken, one piece at a time, and shake to coat well. 3. Meanwhile, in deep 12-inch skillet, heat 1-inch oil to 365°. Add chicken and cook, turning twice, 25 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Drain on rack or paper towels.

pasta

2/3 cup Flour

1 egg

1 tsp oil

1/2 tsp salt

 mix with a little water, keep adding a little water till all sticks together, knead 10 min. let rise 10 min. then roll out with rolling pin slice thin. add to boiling water. takes a couple minutes to cook

Past & Present

Both of my parents have always been pretty good cooks, so growing up I got to eat a pretty good verity of good meals. However, its not the most fancy or expensive that stands out to me. The meal that I remember being the most excited for growing up was something my mom called Japanese Noodles. When I was a little kid I thought it was amazing! Still a good meal, now I can see how its made and what goes in to it. It turned out to just be top roman noodles and some chicken breast or left over steak thrown in and then some stir-fried veggies, a hard-boiled egg and some soy sauce.

Now that I have grown up, my tastes have expanded and I can cook for myself. It is funny that my previous favorite dish was something called Japanese noodles, because now I work in a japanese steakhouse as a hibachi chef. Now that my parents don't do all of my cooking for me, I have a new favorite Japanese dish that I can make. My favorite thing to make is the halibut, but it's not complete without the other parts to the meal, so I will just go through the entire meal. Starting with the fried rice that starts as just rice with some handashi butter pepper and diced veggies. Through that on the grill and add more butter, sesame seeds, diced green onions, then stir till rice is steaming. Then add our house mustard sauce and some soy sauce and mix until evenly dispersed and serve. Then throw on the veggies, consisting of zucchini, white onions, carrots and mushrooms. Mix them sparingly with butter and sesame seeds until charred nicely, then add some house ginger sauce and soy sauce. mix it together and serve as second course. Before the halibut goes on the grill, it must first be boned and butter-flied. Then dry off the fish and coat with corn starch. Then coat the grill with melted butter and set the halibut in the butter. Once it starts getting a nice crisp layer on the bottom, add some diced green onions to the top and flip the fillet over onto a new pool of butter for the other side. At this point, add fresh squeezed lemon, then let set for another minute until crisp on the other side. Last, add a little bit of soy sauce and then flip over for a final second of sear on the lemon/soy side.

It's funny how much my tastes have developed over the years. I think its cool that my favorite dishes have always been japanese oriented but have matured so much. I really love cooking, so its cool that I get to make this dish on a regular basis.

Credibility

The site that I found to be the most credible/reliable would have to be the tinyurl one. The reason I chose this one would be because it is a scholarly article that is written by an author with a PhD. The author has no reason to have a bias for or against genetically modified organisms. The article was written with intent to educate and not persuade in any way. It is a very clear article that is mostly up to date but not certainly. The order of the next two sites was much more difficult. Personally, I would not say that either of them are very reliable. If I had to put them in order, I would have to say that saynotogmos would be next reliable and in last place would be monsanto. The deciding factor for me on these two was the fact that monsanto is a .com vs. the .org. Although they both have a serious bias, monsanto is trying to sell their product. Marketing can really skew information to make it more appealing. Monsanto's website was created by people that work for monsanto and with the intent to make their product look as positive and appealing as possible to their potential clientele. They only mention the good things about genetically modified organisms without addressing that there are adverse affects from their product. Although the saynotogmos is not a .com and isn't trying to sell anything, I believe they really are trying to sell something. They aretrying to sell their idea. The page was created by volunteers in Texas. That tells us that just about anybody could have volunteered and written whatever they wanted on there. That doesn't come across as reliable to me. There is a clear message to stop GMO's, so it is clear what their intent is. Also it appears that they are targeting the general public which also concerns me. If they are just trying to get anybody to jump on the bandwagon, they might just say whatever it takes. I have never had any issues with eating genetically modified foods. I have been eating them unknowingly for as long as I remember. To my knowledge, I haven't suffered from any illnesses due to the genetically modified foods thus far, so why should I be concerned? I feel like any ill-affects that they may have, our bodies have adapted to and built a tolerance against them. The only reason I could come up with for the USA to not want to label the GMO's on foods, was just being afraid to change the status quo. Since the sticker has never been on products before, it will alarm people when they start seeing it on things. Being that our country is corporately run, they don't label them so that their sales won't suffer.

Lutz, C. Greg. "Genetically Modified Organisms: A Continuing Controversy." Aquaculture Magazine 27.4 (2001): 8. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 May 2010.

Which is best

When choosing a site to reference in your work there are many things that you have to look at. The who, what, when, where, how, and why are all determinates of reliability of the source. It is up to the individual to personally break down the source search for these determining factor, when doing so this leads to everyone having a different opinion on ranking the sources. When I personally compared these sites my primary focus on finding the most reliable was find which source had their information clearly stated (author, dates, contact info, etc.). Due to this criteria I gave myself when ranking these sources the order from best to worst would be, tinyurl.com/2f7kzr, http://www.monsanto.com/products/science.asp, and http://www.saynotogmos.org/.

The reason why I felt the tinyurl.com was the most reliable source was because tinyurl is the most

qualified when it comes to the determinates of how reliable something is. Everything is just placed

in front of you and is yours for the taking. It is an education based site, which primarily focuses on

getting accurate information out about their subject. While getting this info the fact that this article

was written in 2008 comes out which gives more of a validation. The currency may determine

validation because with data always changing, your references and sources always need to be

up to date it so it shows the most current findings. Another reason why tinyurl is the most reliable

is because all information is meet and if you cant find it there they have direct links to other

sites where you may find your answer.

The reason why I felt that saynotogmos.com was the least reliable source was because when looking

at it, it looks like a random person just threw this together. If i had the time I could of created

a more legitimate cite than this. Though this site has lots of information you have no type of

validation. No author, no references, I have no idea where their facts where taken from.

For all I know they could of made up all those facts. Also information that they do have is extremely

cluttered which makes things hard to read. With all these factors of reliability not meet plus more

I would recommend not using this site if researching for anything.

Blog #7: Authoritative Information

Most Reliable: I consider the Scitable website to have the most authoritative information. The fact that it has a clear author and that she is also a Ph.D. makes the article more credible. It covers point-by-point aspects and issues associated with genetically modified foods. Within the article there is a table that presents examples of genetic changes in various products. The article covers the current and potential use of GMOs, the risks and controversies – including economic, philosophic/religious, and natural issues, the history, and future research. Overall it appears to be a generally well rounded article.The article is from 2008 so it is not too dated. The author cites many resources and they are listed clearly at the end. The audience targeted seems to be people who are curious to know about what GMOs are and how they affect them.

Least Reliable: For me it was a tie for least reliable between the Monsanto website and saynotogmos.org. Due to my own bias I think that if I had to choose the least reliable I would say Monsanto because they just generally scare me. I believe these sites are tied because they both have a clear agenda.

For Monsanto it is to sell a product and inform people about what they do in terms of biotechnology and how it is safe and efficient way to approach agriculture. Their website was very clear and easily navigable. In addition to the text, there are embedded videos with some man (CEO?) going over the points presented. I think these videos were attempting to give the information a certain authoritative aspect but I was too distracted by the man’s vague information and poor presence on camera. There is however, no discussion of unaltered food and the company clearly has a biased towards its own product and technology. There is no way to tell how old this actual article is but the website overall has been updated in 2010. The content seems to target investors to the company giving them a little background on the basic concepts behind breeding and biotechnology.

For saynotogmos.com the authors are attempting to convince readers that GMOs are not safe. In their mission statement they state that they support “mandatory labeling, long-term independent safety testing, more stringent regulation and full corporate liability for damages resulting from the irresponsible introduction of GMOs to the food supply and environment.” After reading that I totally agree with their mission, which is not to necessarily ban all GMOs but to allow a consumer choice and government regulations on foods produced by these bioengineering companies. Nonetheless, the information is incredibly biased; just look at the title of the website. I found this site to be the least navigable and I believe that a revamp of the layout would boost their legitimacy (in a visual sense, readers will naturally consider it more credible) to the average web surfer or researcher. The website has updates every year up to 2010, so the information is definitely up to date. It is nice that you can look back and see change and development of information regarding GMOs over time. The audience seems to be, put bluntly, “liberals” who want to reinforce their beliefs by reading a bunch of articles. <--I’m not hating, go liberals!

1. Genetically modified foods really freak me out, but I’ve come to realize it is almost impossible to completely avoid them considering products are not labeled. But I do understand that genetic modification is not a brand new science and that it is beneficial in the growth of agriculture.

2. There is no reason a person should not know where their food comes from. So I think it is ludicrous that the FDA does not require labeling, especially if all of Europe does. *But I guess it’s just us Americans trying to be rebels with no universal health care and no labeling of GMOs. (*sorry that is kind of annoying)

Gerdes, Louise. Humanity's Future. 1st ed. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Print.

Blog #7

I felt that the most reliable site was the nature.com one.  The author of this one had credentials. She had a Ph.D. This cite was somewhat recent and everything was cited. It showed where the information came from and it showed a little of both sides. The monsanto site is trying to sell their products, it is a lot of information about the science of there product, but it is going to be biased because it is trying to sell you something. The author is the company behind it. The information is current, and intended for people to buy from them, it is pretty clear and easy to use. I would say the the saynotogmos was probably the least reliable it was  confusing to navigate through and it was a bunch of just links to other sites it seemed there wasn't a particular author. it is current but it seems to be more of a blog with just people against GMOs.

I personally am not stoked to eat genetically modified food and would definitely appreciate all food that are genetically modified to be labeled. There is some things I feel were made a certain way for a reason, and I'm not sure why but I think we need to be careful about all the changes we make in our world. I feel like we all should be able to know what we are eating by simply reading the package in a grocery store. I think we should follow the Europeans on this one and everything should be labeled. I think that by the FDA refusing to put it on packaging it makes me even more cautious about GMOs. 

Koch, Kathy. "Food Safety Battle: Organic Vs. Biotech." CQ Researcher 8.33 (1998): 761-784. CQ Researcher. Web. 25 May 2010. /cqresrre1998090400>.

Blog 7

The first site I reviewed was the Monsanto site. The Monsanto company seems to be the author of the website as well as this particular page. The purpose for posting the information is simply to inform potential customers about the breeding and biotechnology of Monsanto's products. I would assume the author has a bias because it is a company trying to sell a product so obviously they are going to talk up the product. It looks as if the information has been kept up to date as of 2010. The intended audience would be anyone looking to invest or purchase Monsanto seeds, such as farmers or investors. At the bottom of the page there is contact information including a website, email, phone numbers, and an address. For me the design of the website was familiar and easy to use. I feel that this website is credible because it is a large corporation, however it is still biased and makes me want to get customer testimonials about the product.

The next website was the Scitable one. This website seemed the most reliable to me for the following reasons. The author has a PhD and has also been cited. There is a works cited page at the bottom. Even though it was published in 2008, it is still relevant information. The article seems relatively unbiased as it is mostly facts about GMOs. The intended audience seems like it would be anyone interested in the subject matter, particularly people into science. There is no contact information for the author, just for the website. The design was very clear and easy to use.

The last website I looked at was saynotogmos.org. The first thing I noticed was how confusing the layout was. It looked like there was just a site full of links to click on and no particular author for the website. After clicking the contact link I found out that the website was maintained by a bunch of Texan volunteers who are concerned about their health and GMOs. Although this is a noble cause, this isn't a site I would use as a source unless I could prove that their information was correct through another source. This also leads me to believe that there would be extreme bias in the site, especially when the bottom of the website says "Genetically Engineered Food is Corporate Bioterrorism". Although the website is updated as of 2010, it seems to me that this is the least reliable/authoritative of all the websites in this assignment.

1) Just the concept of GMOs kind of grosses me out, but I always try to look at both sides of an issue. It seems like a very unnatural way to produce food and from what I hear can have many health risks. However, GMOs can be beneficial (if used correctly) to help solve world wide hunger by being able to increase the availablilty and amount of food.

2) I can't really think of any good reason as to why the FDA wouldn't demand that food be labled as containing genetically modified foods. This seems like something that should be of high importance to consumers. I know that I would want to know if I'm eating something that was mutated or altered in some way.

Lutz, C. Greg. "Genetically Modified Organisms: A Continuing Controversy." Aquaculture Magazine 27.4 (2001): 8. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 May 2010.

Food Inc

Food Inc brings out the issues that no one dares to touch. There are many laws as we have seen in the video that can affect you personally, but in Food Inc brings these issues to life. After watching this video I think I that my perception on food has just been flipped. Its videos like this that make me want to just turn into a vegetarian, but at the same time the lifestyle that I have lived up to this point in time will be hard to change.

When watching one issue that was brought to my attention is the monopoly of meat in our world today. With the fast food industries running everything from beef, pork, chicken, potatoes, and even apples. With this being controlled by monopolies you would think if you don’t eat their food you want be affected right, WRONG. All the products produces are affected by these monopolies. In order to make all the meats taste the same everything has to be combined into one, and while monopolies get what they want, I guess you can say is the meat that we eat is sloppy seconds.

This brings me to my next point of how these industries handle themselves in our society. Though these industries may create jobs, it is also causing conflict between those hurt and those in power. In the beginning African Americans took these jobs, but as time goes on we see outsourcing happening which creates cheaper labor. Illegal immigrants are brought into work, which is seen as acceptable because it’s cheap and they’re not doing anything else besides prepping the meat for American consumers to eat. The thing that I find funny is how this continues to happen, but the meat industries continue to devalue these workers. In Food Inc. they say that the pigs that were being bread were more of a value to them than their workers.

To sum all this up I can use one ward CAPITALISM. Capitalism is defined in the Webster dictionary “an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market” (Wester, 2010). Seeing that we are brought up in a capitalistic society people fell that its only right to have every aspect of life based on it. Which bring me to my last statement of only the strong will survive and if our society keeps on this pace its only a matter of time till our life expectancy declines and we continue to die off earlier than expected.

Food Inc.

This movie reinforced the things I knew in the back of my mind.  It gave me the images to place with the things I knew were happening. It is so sad and just makes my stomach feel sick. One of the things that really got to me in this movie was the child that died from e coli, even after something as tragic as that, the big companies still didn't change and I know that it is just so much all about the money, but someone that has the power to change things has to have a heart. The US already has so many problems with the generations to come, that if something as simple as the food we eat isn't taken seriously the country as a whole is just gonna go down the drain.  We need to ban certain things that are causing way more harm then good, and we need to make it so farmers doing it the right way can survive and function. It is so sad that it really isn't even possible right now to revive our country and get back to before we were ruining our food. We are just rely on it all too much now and it is so sad that it has come to this. Chickens that can only walk two steps before falling down, is just a sickening thing to think about. Genetically modifying them just so they have more of the meat that we like to eat. I feel like they were created the way they are for a purpose. It is just all so wrong and sad.

"CDC Report Shows Success in Fighting E. coli O157:H7." Press Release. CDC, 15 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 May 2010. .

Blog 6: Food Inc

Like many documentaries I have seen about our food industry, this one angered and upset me in many ways. It is almost hard to begin listing off everything in Food Inc that shocked me. I think one of the biggest things that impacted me was how much control and power our government and the big corporations have over everything. For instance, the many examples of how high profile government leaders are also tied to top positions in the FDA or other food companies. I thought this documentary would be focusing more on the slaughterhouse aspect of food production and was surprised when I saw it went more into the business side of things. However watching the animals at the slaughterhouses always makes my stomach churn and want to swear off meat forever.

The part about that woman's little boy dying from salmonella was heart breaking and upsetting. I admire her for trying so hard to get Kevin's Law passed but felt sad that it still hasn't happened. It truly is horrible that people are dying from our filthy food and the industries still aren't doing anything about it! Another part that bothered me was how slaughterhouse companies are abusing and manipulating their workers. For example, the one in South Carolina that will bring in illegal immigrants to work who then get arrested for being there illegally. I just can't believe that these companies are getting away for incidents like this every day.

After watching Food Inc, I have a new outlook on America's food. The end was really inspiring and made me want to start buying organic, or at least start paying more attention to what's in my food and where it's coming from. It was uplifting to hear that WalMart had started selling healthier milk due to customer demand. This means that it's possible for the average customer to demand healthy/organic food. Even making little changes to my diet, like buying food locally, would make me feel like I'm doing something to help correct this twisted system. Who knows, maybe someday we will go back to our roots and start eating directly from the Earth again and eat the foods our bodies were intended to.

United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Challenges and Opportunities Facing American Agricultural Producers. 109th Cong., Washington: 2007. Print.

Blog #6: Food Inc.

Food Inc. was a very interesting film, it repulsed me in two ways: first, the treatment of the animals and second, the corporate industry in and of itself. I was flabbergasted to hear how corrupt the food industry actually is. It seems completely wrong for there to be three or so major corporations in charge of our entire food supply and that how they exploit farmers across the nation. I really can’t comprehend how any government official could know and even be in cahoots with such a system. Well… I can comprehend it because I know that it goes on in the food industry as well as the pharmaceutical industry and I’m sure many more. But it disgusts me that people with so much power care so little about the greater good. In the film they showed the story of the family who had to choose between healthy food and the father’s diabetes medication. When I was listening to their story I was so sad because they are being detrimentally affected by two of the, in my opinion, most evil industries. It hurt me to hear that in paying for the medication and eating fast food their youngest daughter was likely to be diagnosed with early onset diabetes. And if in the future the daughters remain in the same income bracket (with the assumption that the system does not change) the process will repeat itself. I was shocked to hear the statistics that 1 in 3 American children born after the year 2000 will be diagnosed with diabetes, and 1 in 2 for minority children.

When they compared the food industry with the tobacco industry, I felt that kind of ray of hope considering the downfall of the tobacco industry. But I still felt kind of doubtful about the whole thing because if you think about it, the tobacco industry had a pretty large market, but they had nowhere near the market of food. Everyone eats food, you can’t just not, but not everyone smokes. This difference I think is very integral to thinking of the industry because to me, it reflects how big, influential, and basically all controlling industry it must be if they affect every single person in the country. When the film talked about Monsanto and the soybean operations, I couldn’t believe what I heard, that 90% of the soybeans in the U.S. are their patented gene… Are you kidding me? That just seems creepy and unnatural. And then of course how all the farmers are being sued for the wind blowing over Monsanto patented soybean pollen.

When watching the part about the actual animals, I shielded my eyes a few times because it just made me sick to see their living/pre-dying conditions. The filth of the chicken, cow, pig farms was awful and to think how easily E. coli can develop. The mother’s story was really heart wrenching and you wonder why corporations will not do anything to literally clean up their industries. I really did not know how little the USDA and FDA did for the safety of the citizens. It’s really hard to think about our government not caring enough about its citizens to make their primary source of living safe.

I could say a lot more but I think I’ll end this. I hope that the food industry will be reformed for the future generations.

Robbin Shoemaker, et al. United States Department of Agriculture. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Economic Issues in Agricultural Biotechnology. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. AIB762 64 pp, March 2001. Web. 10 May 2010.

food inc

Food inc was quite the eye opener for me. I had no idea that so much of our grocery stores could be traced back to a few corporate labels. When I go grocery shopping I notice labels from thousands of different companies and locations. Products that make claims about how healthy their food is. I had no idea that such a high percentage of foods contained some form of corn or what was once corn. When one ingredient is required for almost every food, that company has a monopoly over the entire farming industry. Soy beans are the same way and their are almost no public wild soy beans anymore. They are being genetically modified so that the company can own the seeds and have all the rights to them. Now that corporations own most of the seeds, they can dictate prices and other farming conditions. It's gross what it has turned farming in to.

Especially when you look at meat farms, specifically chicken. The farmers have no choice but to cooperate and run their farms exactly how the corporation that they signed their contract with wants them to. So when they ask the farmers to expand, they have no choice but to take out a loan for another $250,000 chicken house. Their $18,000 salary cannot possibly afford all of these equipment upgrades that the corporations require. I can't believe the dead end the farmers are in these days. The cows lived in even worse conditions than the chickens, up ankle deep in their own dung. It's no wonder so many cases of e-coli are showing up, and new types are developing.

Another interesting part of the movie was where they were talking about how the work force used to be predominately white people and now is turning to the latino population. The large corporations are funding for immigrants to come to our country and work the dirtiest jobs for the cheapest prices. Being that they are illegal, they have no say in their work conditions or pay they get. I thought our country was trying to work on the illegal immigration issue, but apparently they are just trying to make it look that way on the surface while they turn their head for corporations. Pretty weak.

Farmers Market

I always love going to the farmers market. I try to go every weekend I am in town, for me lately its been a little bit of a different experience, because I recently started selling things there, I make feather earrings and hemp jewelry and a couple other things. So I used to take time and kinda wander around and look at things but now I just kind of buy what I came to get and then go back to selling. 

The environment at the farmers market is always very enjoyable, and it is always nice when the sun comes out and everyone is happy bustling around getting what they need. There is kids playing music and for me I just sit there and make my jewelry and watch and listen to everything around. There is such a wide arrangement of people, families, older couples, young couples, children, and college students. And each type of person brings a different element to it.

The thing I noticed most through out the day, was when I got there it was drizzling and kinda gray and everything was just going along, then the sun came out and everyones mood lightened, and it changed the atmosphere of the whole market. It is such a colorful place and I think it is such a great atmosphere because it is hard working people proud of what they have made or grown, accomplishing something. When people have worked hard and are successful it is a great feeling and the people that are buying the products are part of that. They are thankful for what these people do, and the sellers are thankful for their support.

This time I bought carrots and I made morning glory muffins, and they turned out real good.

Holben, David H. "Farmers' Markets: Fertile Ground for Optimizing Health." Journal of the American Dietetic Association110.3 (2010): 364-365. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 May 2010.

Blog #5: Farmers' Market

I always loved going to the Farmers’ Market at home with my mom. I always thought it was really nice to be able to go and see tons of different foods on display so beautifully sans packaging and being greeted by un-uniformed smiling faces along with those of your neighbors. Going to the Bellingham Farmer’s Market reminded me of how great it is to be in such an environment.

At the market I decided to purchase organic and local mushrooms, chèvre, lettuce, and shallots. Looking around and searching through the different vendors whose goods sometimes overlapped was exciting and felt like kind of an adventure. For my cheese I stopped at the Gothberg Farms’ stand and had a great time trying the different types of cheeses. Interestingly enough, I had already had the chance to try their cheese after purchasing some from Metropolitan Market in Seattle. After buying the cheese, I went through the market and found my produce.

For my recipe I decided to make a mushroom and chèvre tart accompanied with a green salad with shallots and vinaigrette. I had been planning on making this in the near future and this little excursion to the Farmers’ Market gave me a great excuse. The tart was made from puff pastry covered with goat cheese and topped with sautéed mushrooms and shallots. I made a light vinaigrette for the salad composed of: wine vinegar, a little lemon, thyme, olive oil, and salt and pepper. The meal was very fresh and “spring-y,” and my roommates and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I’m really glad that we had this assignment because it finally got me out to the Farmers’ Market for the first time in Bellingham and I am looking forward to going again!

Mead, Nathanial. "The Sprawl of Food Deserts.."Environmental Health Perspectives 116.8 (2008): A 335. Web. 3 May 2010.

Blog 5: Farmer's Market

After reading about this assignment, I was more than thrilled to visit our local Farmer's Market. My roommates and I love to go on Saturdays, especially if the sun is out. When I go to the Bellingham market I naturally compare it to my home town market in Olympia. I think that the one here is very good although I wish they had some live music. I like it because of all the different types of people you see. There are a lot of families as well as college students and senior citizens. It really is a great way to get outside and enjoy the local and cultural Bellingham scene.

When roaming the aisles at the market, I found it enjoyable but also overwhelming because there were so many stands offering the same things. So what better way to find out what I wanted to buy than by sampling everything I could. Personally I have always been a huge cheese fan, especially goat cheese. So naturally this is where I was drawn to and what I choose to buy for this assignment. A stand with a sign that read Gothberg Farms is where I ended up talking to a lady named Rhonda for awhile. She seemed thrilled when I asked about her product and proceeded to tell me all about her cheese while I sampled the different kinds. She said her cheeses are produced from a small herd of LaMancha dairy goats. The goats are fed a healthy diet, housed in clean facilities, and treated extremely well. Everything they make is 100% organic, natural, and delicious. The different cheeses I sampled included feta, chevre, and gouda.

For my feta cheese recipe, I chose a simple yet scrumptious meal - Orzo with Feta and Tomatoes from the Food Network website. For those of you who have had orzo before you know it's a rice shaped pasta and relatively easy to make. But let me tell you, the feta was the perfect way to add a rich and flavorful taste to the otherwise bland orzo. This dish was quick and easy to make and my roommates all loved it. I will definitely be visiting the market again soon to pick up more of this fabulous cheese.

Kramer, Kyle T. The Magic of the Market. America 201.10 (2009): 9. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 May 2010.

Farmer's Market

Although it wasn't my first time going to the farmer's market, it had certainly been a while. I have been a few times with my parents when I was younger and only once since i've lived in Bellingham. It wasn't all unfamiliar but at the same time no two farmer's markets are the same. They always have a few interesting characters doing/selling all kinds of stuff. I found a vendor selling some fresh produce and ended up walking away with some avocados, an onion, a jalapeno, and a tomato. The vendor assured me that all of her produce was locally and organically grown. I have a few friends that have always bragged about their homemade guacamole. I have to admit, I have never liked guacamole until trying a few of these homemade varieties. Although it wasn't the most difficult thing I have ever whipped up, it was definitely fresh, organic, and delicious! I chopped up the onion and diced up the tomato, jalapeno, and cilantro. Then I added a little lime juice, salt and pepper and then stirred it all in with my mashed up avocados. All i needed was chips and I had a great snack! Turns out my friends were that bragged about how great they were for making delicious guacamole are really not so talented after-all. My roommates were the only other people that got to try it and needless to say, it was gone in under an hour.

Shivani, Vora,. "A Virtual Farmer's Market." A Virtual Farmer's Market. 32.3 (2010): 107. Academic Search Complete. Web.

Blog 4: You Are What You Eat

I believe the statement "you are what you eat" is one that causes us to look critically ate ourselves and our own eating habits. Although it is not something that I think of often when picking out food, it is still an interesting statement for me to ponder. I agree with a lot of the posts in that it is extremely difficult to eat healthy, organic food while being in college. As much as I would like to, my budget will not allow me. If I think too much about some of the nasty stuff I eat I get really grossed out. Even yesterday as I was picking out milk in Fred Meyer this girl next to me told her friend that the milk was so cheap because there was pus in it. I almost put it back, but cheap is cheap. I do make it goal to eat healthy and inexpensively at the same time. Fresh vegetables and fruit are things I always keep an eye out for, but meat is rarely on my list due to the expense. I rarely eat fast food just because it really grosses me out as well as soda.

If you switched the statement up to "you are what you ingest" it makes me feel worse. Like many college students, (and being that I'm 21 of course) I like to go out and get a few drinks. I know this probably isn't great for my body or brain, but I do it anyways. This also goes for coffee, which I enjoy on a daily basis. There are many things that we get in the habit of ingesting, especially at this time in our lives. I like to tell myself that later down the road or when I have a family I will be able to make better, healthier food choices. But until then, I'll have to deal with the limited food options I have.

Mudry, Jessica J. Measured meals : nutrition in America. Albany: SUNY Press, 2009. Print.

Home Grown

If we are what we eat, then we had darn well better eat pretty well! There are a lot of different ways to look at that. I often times think of that saying before I choose to or not to eat something. Our bodies have so many needs from water to protein, vitamins, grains, vegetables, everything! That's why i feel it is important to eat a broad spectrum of food. I feel like vegetarians aren't getting some of the nutrition needed, or for instance some people who culturally eat the same food repetitively. Many people have rice every day with every meal. Apparently it's been working being that its not a very new tradition. I would say a lot of people eat in the same fashion, following the patterns of their family and people around them. My parents have always tried to influence me away from processed food. It is much healthier to eat natural and preferably organic foods. Growing up I was like any kid and hated vegetables and loved sweets, which made it tough. However, as I have grown up, I notice myself following more of what i was shown when I was growing up.I try to eat as much organic food as possible. What enters our body should be something that naturally came from our planet. There was a time a long time ago when all animals (including humans) ate only organically. Then we decided to start adding things to food that make them less healthy. I don't quite see the logic there. In the process, all of these processed food are being shipped all over the world for more damage to our planet. Organic foods are much more locally based which is also better for the local economy. It isn't easy to strictly eat organic, I am far from it, but it's good to try to as much as possible. Everybody benefits in the long run and we're all healthier people for it.

BLog #4: You are what you eat

The statement ‘you are what you eat’ is an interesting concept to ponder. I understand that in believing this concept I am a very strange mix of things. In general I am a terrible (unhealthy) college student. I smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and participate in many of the things that you would associate with that lifestyle. When I think about exercise I feel kind of bad about myself. I love being healthy and working out, but basically I am just too lazy. During the summer I work out every day but when I return to school I just stop and give up. Doing it is not hard but I lose all motivation.

In addition to being this “unhealthy” person, I am also a conscious eater, and I enjoy eating organic, local, and whole grain foods. Every morning I eat a pretty balanced breakfast consisting of a combination of some of the following items: yogurt with frozen or fresh berries, granola, grapefruit, green tea, english muffins, cream of wheat, eggs, etc. After breakfast I take a multivitamin, Vitamin C, and fish oil. I follow these with my prescription and cigarettes (ahhhh!!!). Generally, I start off my day pretty well nutrition-wise, but come dinner it’s not always too good. Throughout the day I often forget to eat, but I am a water addict so I am always hydrated. I enjoy foods with stories and meaning behind them and I think a lot about the recipes that I make and I like to utilize the ingredients and styles my mother uses in her own kitchen. But at times, like a stereotypical college student, I get lazy and sometimes all I want to do is order a pizza or go to McDonalds. And I choose these relatively cheap and easy alternatives because I simply enjoy them and I don’t try to deny it. In dealing with and discussing fast food I feel no reason to stigmatize it because the way I see it is ‘what the hell?’ I might as well eat what I want and what I will enjoy at the moment because I know that fast food is not the only cuisine in my repertoire. So, I’ll just say it… I love fast food!

In taking prescription medication (*not recreationally) I experience a conflict with the ideals that I was raised with and my own personal opinion, which strangely enough are congruent. My family definitely frowns upon most, if not all, prescription medication. I am definitely not a proponent of the drugs but in my case they make my life easier. I am pretty hypocritical when I discuss prescription medication because generally, I take the opposing side and then am forced to confront the fact that I myself am a prescription drug patient.

Combs, Gerald. The Vitamins : Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health. San Diego: Academic Press, 1992. Print.

I am what I eat

The quote stats that "you are what you eat". This process for me began when I was just a little fetus inside of my mother’s stomach. When she would eat things when pregnant with me it would nourish my body and influence the future me. After birth this process continued, I continued the lifestyle of slowly becoming what I eat. When a child I would be force to eat things like chicken, pork, beef. I had no option because I was young and it was the responsibility of my parents to install a great eating habit when young so when I got out on my own I would be good. This is exactly what happened. As I got older I begin to be more dependent on myself regarding what I ate. With more say so I begin to investigate what I put in my body, becoming more knowledgeable of how a particular food would affect me. Through this investigation censors went up and I became a more chases of what was put into my body. I begin to take things out of my diet like some pork products, seasonings, junk food, and anything else that would have to dramatic impact on my health. As I continued to watch what I ate, I also begin taking vitamins and sports drinks becoming more aware of what my body needs to maintain itself due to the hard lifestyle that I live. Seeing that I’m an individual who is active in terms of fitness, there are certain requirements that need to be meeting in order to maintain that figure. Some of the things I do personally are drinking lots of water for hydration purposes, eat lots of fruit, drinking lots of milk, eating fish and red meat, and the list goes on and on. Without these item I may not be what I am today, it makes me who I am which can be defined as “I am what I eat.”

Jacobsen, Kathryn H. Introduction to global healt. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Pub, 2008.

"That's what happens when you only eat orange food"

When it comes to the statement “ You are what you eat”. I’ve always thought of it as health wise. I have heard that said so many times throughout my life and I have never really stopped to think about its meaning in depth.

            I guess I always just figured it meant that if I ate too much I would become overweight, or if I ate junk food I would become weak and unhealthy, and that by eating healthy food and the right amount I would be the way I was supposed to be. 

            I remember when I was younger around five or six, I liked to eat a lot of orange things, like carrots, oranges, macaroni and cheese, goldfish crackers, and so on, and I saw a girl that was literally orange, I looked at my babysitter and whispered “oh my goodness, that girl is orange, why is she orange?” and she look at me and said “that’s what happens when you only eat orange food”.  From then on I tried to add more color variety to my food. Now looking back on it, it must have just been a bad fake tan or something, but at the time it had quite a drastic effect on my eating habits.

            I feel like at this point in my life I eat almost as healthy as I can. Often I would rather eat healthier, I would like to always eat organic and only eat the meat of animals that were treated right (well as right as an animal can be to be raised to eat), or eggs that are free range. At this point in my life as a college student I just don’t have the money.  I really wish I could afford to buy certain types of food, but right now it’s just not really an option.  When you look at it at the store it doesn’t seem that much different but when you look at your receipts from a couple months it really adds up fast. I hope in the future to have my own garden and grow my own vegetables, and maybe raise a couple chickens, just for eggs and such, and hopefully eventually ill be able to afford to buy the certain types of food I would like to be eating.  I think that is probably an issue for a lot of people.  I can feel it to when I eat unhealthy; I feel it in my energy level and just my overall experience of each day.

Wood, Rebecca T. The new whole foods encyclopedia : a comprehensive resource for healthy eating / Rebecca Wood ; illustrations by Peggy Markel. 2ndnd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 2010. Print.

Park, Milton. Consuming symbolic goods : identity and commitment, values and economics. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.

            

harvesting

If you harvesting your own food, I believe that yes there will be a stronger connection to the source of food opposed to buying in a convent store. When harvesting the food the connection will be stronger primarily because of the connection that you form with the harvesting item. I have been taught that if you work for something; putting your time, money, or energy into getting it, there seems to be more personal value. I can mostly relate this to my person life in terms of cooking. I ask the question is there a stronger connection between you and the food if you where to cook it personally vs. a fast food restaurant to cook it for you. In this situation I would say that when you cook your own item you know the process that the product went through to get to where it currently is. Spending your time to prepare it specially for your own specific taste. You know how you like it and that’s the way it will end up after personally prepared. If you go to a fast food restaurant, you have no idea of the process of preparing your food. You have no input and the presentation of your item will be different every time. You won’t have your specific taste that you like satisfying all your needs in terms of nutrition.

Another aspect of harvesting can been see as maintenance of your own meat; meaning the killing, cleaning, and eating of an animal. Personally I would be more likely to eat my own meat then those that are pre packaged. You have no idea what they do to their meat in preparation for packing. By partaking in your own personal system of producing meat you know everything about it and if something where to happen to you, you may be able to pinpoint where it came from. But by not preparing it yourself you have no idea of what you’re eating.

What I personally find funny is how on a box of cereal, mac & cheese, or any other pre boxed item the have the products that it was made from. If you look at some pre package meat items there is none. Why is this?

Books

Doorley, Tom and Johann Doorley. Grow and cook. Irish Books and Media Inc, 2007.

Drinkwater, Carol. The olive farm : a love story. Vision Australia Information and Library Service, 2005.

Blog #3: Harvesting Food

I would definitely think that growing, hunting, and gathering your own food would give you a stronger connection to what you are eating. First hand I really only know of the gardening aspect because of my mother’s garden. Although I have had some glimpses of the hunting and fishing aspect. My mother’s family comes from the Midwest and she has always talked about how my grandfather grew up and continued hunting with bow and arrows, fishing, and collecting wild mushrooms during her childhood. Those things sound pretty foreign to me seeing that I had a pretty urban childhood growing up in Seattle. My uncles dabble in the hunting, but fishing and mushroom hunting are still pastimes of theirs.

The connections talked about in those articles all seemed really powerful and important, but I really don’t think I could ever be a hunter. Buying meat in the grocery store is kind of hard for me because I’ve grown up eating organic meats – even if they aren’t that much better – but being a college student with limited funds, I often buy meat that I would not be served at my dinner table at home. I do indeed lament over the fact that sometimes I have to make a bad meat decision, but in a way knowing how badly an animal was raised make me feel a connection with the source, however this connection is one of guilt and sorrow.

I do believe that hunting is moral and that people should have the right to choose and pursue the food that they want, especially considering the environmental and economical gains. Ideally no food would be wasted and the revolutionary neo-American-hunters could change the system and all harmful animal practices would stop, leaving a harmony of hunters and farmers.

In reaction to Steve Rinella’s plan of a feast based on Escoffier’s Guide Culinaire, I say right on! Although some of the things I was reading didn’t quite sit right with me I would be more than happy to attend the dinner oblivious to the procurement and preparation of the food.

Redman, Nina. Food safety : a reference handbook. 1st. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Print.

O'Connor, Jack, and George Goodwin. The big game animals of North America. 1st. New York, NY: Outdoor Life, 1961. Print.

meataterian?

I would have to say that harvesting your own food certainly gives you a stronger connection to it. I would compare it to having to earn your allowance and appreciating the toys you can buy with the money you worked so hard for. vs. if your parents just put the toy in front of you at the request. If you take the time to grow food, water it, nurture and so on, then the time invested in them will make you fully appreciate every bite! My mom was a huge gardener and always had some fresh vegetables so I really grew to appreciate her efforts. On the other end of the spectrum, my dad is a hunter and brother is a fisher. I would say I have grown to appreciate where the food comes from and have a new value for it while I'm eating. I would definitely say its a good thing in most instances but I don't think it's very realistic to eat harvested food for everybody on a regular basis. I think I would be less likely to eat meat if I had to butcher every animal I ate just because of the inconvenience. However, if all food had to be harvested entirely, I would definitely eat far more meat. I think hunting is certainly moral, people have been doing it since the start of people. Buying the meat for sale doesn't mean that your saving the animal that you would have to kill. Two wrongs don't make a right and if everybody did harvest their own food, then less would be produced for the masses.

Griffith, Chris. Food Sustainability: Diverging Implications. Bradford, England: Emerald Group, 2004. E-Book.

Seymour, John. The Self-Sufficient Gardener: A Complete Guide to Growing and Preserving All Your Own Food. Garden City, N.Y. Doubleday, 1979. Print.