Food for thought: Totally gross

I could try to come up with a more eloquent title for this post, but this story really is totally gross. Veg(etari)an friends, you might as well stop right here, unless you’re willing to subject yourself to a story that includes “aerosolization of brain tissue.”

This story from the New York Times about a strange disease plaguing some people who worked in pork processing plants reads like a story from Eric Schlosser, though it’s not. The description of the way the brains were removed from the pigs’ skulls made me gag. I’m impressed that the company moved fairly quickly to halt the procedure that seemed correlated with the strange illness the workers developed, but it seems like yet another reason to avoid factory-farmed meat. Even though there’s no evidence that actually eating the pork has caused any problems, the toll on these workers is problem enough.

Do vegetables bust your grocery budget?

Back in June I wondered where our grocery budget actually went, what proportion of it went for meat compared to produce compared to dairy, etc.. I kept track in July and discovered that it was, in fact, produce that ate up the largest chunk of our budget, averaging just under 35% of our total grocery expenditures for the month.

I used to be the “salad girl” at work–I ate a salad for lunch almost every day, topped with some kind of fat and protein (chicken, nuts, cheese, olives, etc.) for some staying power. I grew up eating salad with dinner pretty much every night. It sounds weird to say it, but I have actually intentionally cut back on my salad consumption in an effort to eat more seasonally, locally, and affordably.

Even with this change in diet we are still very lucky to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables; in July we purchased and ate 27 different kinds of produce ranging from the most expensive item, a 20 lb. Oregon-grown watermelon that cost $6, to several items that were under $1 like sprouts, green onions, and even tomatoes (ah, summer!) The variety and relative affordability of produce is not something I take for granted. It’s one of the many reasons I love living in the Pacific Northwest.

All this thinking about produce was triggered by a MedlinePlus article about Americans’ ability to afford a healthy diet that caught my eye this morning. I didn’t even realize there were new dietary guidelines that suggest nine servings (about 4.5 cups) of fruits and vegetables a day. For some folks, according to the article, following this guideline could mean spending up to an unrealistic 70% of their food budget on produce. When dietary guidelines are this out of reach for some people it makes it a little hard to take them seriously.

Nevertheless, in addition to paying more attention to my calcium intake, I’m going to pay closer attention to my servings of fruits and vegetables as well. I’ll keep an eye out for any great deals on (hopefully organic) produce and I’ll keep you posted.

Mastering the mashed potato

While I ostensibly read the New York Times for important things like news, I really love the almost obsessive articles like this one about perfect mashed potatoes.

Mashed potatoes might seem like one of the simpler dishes on the Thanksgiving menu. It’s true that the list of ingredients is short, but since they’re on nearly everyone’s list of favorites, everyone is a critic. Garlic, yes or no? Are lumps desirable or disastrous? Some peel before boiling, some afterwards. My mom made “Potatoes Josephine,” a 50/50 mix of rutabaga (or was it turnip? parsnip?) and potatoes, once or twice before it was voted off the Thanksgiving island.

Aside from matters of taste, there’s some chemistry at work here. While you might not need to follow the exact formula outlined in this Popular Science article, there are a few steps you can take to avoid the tragedy of turning your potatoes into glue minutes before you’d hoped to have dinner on the table. The NYT article alludes to a trick I just learned last year; heating the (drained) potatoes to remove extra moisture just before mashing will give you fluffier mashed potatoes. I’m not the only one who didn’t already know that, am I?

Unless you have a family tradition from which you must not stray, I recommend taking a look at a few recipes for mashed potatoes. It might seem silly, but on a day like Thanksgiving when there’s so much going on in the kitchen sometimes it’s nice to have the details handy. It might even let you comfortably delegate the mashing task to someone else (and yes, I am a kitchen control-freak but we are talking about mashed potatoes here.)

Oh, and for the record: garlic sometimes, but not on Thanksgiving, lumps mean there was no box involved, peel beforehand, and I liked Potatoes Josephine just fine.

Mark Bittman will make your life a little easier

While I (obviously) like to cook, I’m always happy for a little inspiration. Mark Bittman’s article “Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less” in today’s New York Times is a wealth of quick & easy ideas to help head off the “oh, let’s just go out” moment that comes when it’s still 90 degrees outside at dinnertime.

There are plenty of meals on the list I’ve made before (like pasta with fresh tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil, or quesadillas) but I have to admit #19 “Chinese tomato and eggs” combines ingredients I have never thought to put together. After cooking some garlic in peanut oil, you stir in some chopped tomatoes and then beaten eggs, all scrambled with some soy sauce. Sounds like it might be good over rice.

I like eggs–they’re inexpensive protein and they cook quickly. I buy the “Omega-3″ eggs at Costco where they’re usually $2.45 or so for 18. That’s probably why #89 “Pasta frittata” also caught my attention. This recipe is a “cake” of pasta, browned in a pan with garlic and olive oil, then cooked with beaten eggs and Parmesan cheese. Yum.

I’ll probably actually make #69 a little more complicated than necessary. Bittman recommends you “[b]uy good blintzes,” but I think I’ll make them myself (both because it would be more budget-friendly and because I don’t think there’s anywhere to buy blintzes here.) Blintzes are a yummy “breakfast for dinner” item I haven’t made for ages and they’re perfect for berry season.

Finally, #90 “Thai-style beef” looks like a good way to make salad for dinner a little more interesting. Pork or chicken are also listed as options for this recipe, made by frying up your meat of choice in some peanut oil with garlic, red chili flakes, basil, fish sauce, and lime juice. Unless the salad this tops is already made I think this will take longer than 10 minutes, but it sounds like a tasty, quick recipe all the same.

There really are 101 simple recipes in this article and I’ve just highlighted a few that sounded good to me–be sure to check out the article itself and choose your own favorites to add to your repertoire. The heat may have subsided for a few days in our part of the country, but summer’s not over yet!

Politics at the dinner table

I’ve gained about five pounds since the beginning of the year. I can’t blame our new grocery budget for all of it, but we are eating a lot more non-perishable foods and more starches like potatoes and pastas. I’ve noticed when I browse the grocery ads each week how much of the food on sale is highly processed. It is unfortunate that the cost of food is inversely related to its potential to nourish, but it’s not an accident. An article in the New York Times written by The Omnivore’s Dilemma author Michael Pollan explores the history of the farm bill, a piece of legislation that affects not only the United States’ food supply but the food economies of much of the rest of the world as well. The farm bill is from a time when being poor also meant going hungry, and while hunger certainly still exists, being poor is now also associated with obesity.

Adam Drewnowski, the researcher cited in Pollan’s article, has been forward-thinking enough to publish at least some of his articles in open-access journals like The Journal of Nutrition. In “Food choices and diet costs: an economic analysis” (co-authored with Nicole Darmon) the authors point out that while there is some evidence that the higher cost of a healthier diet is “perceived rather than real”, the “current structure of food prices is such that sweet and high-fat foods provide dietary energy at the lowest cost”. When the lower cost foods are also more convenient and taste good it’s no wonder we’re getting fatter.

I’m lucky that I’m not particularly fond of “grill flavor” and that I like (and have time) to cook. I’m lucky I’m just on a budget rather than flat-out poor with children to feed. I do think we can eat well on $75 a week, but I find it fascinating (and important) to consider the politics and business decisions that influence my weekly trip to the grocery store.