Brio at Town Square - Food and Whine

A few coworkers and I went to Brio, a Tuscan-themed restaurant in Town Square in Las Vegas.

Overall, the ambiance is very nice. It has very high, impressive ceilings, but that feature contributes to an echo-y (such a word?) character to the ambient noise. Because of that and because of the way that the booths and tables are laid out, it is not the place to go for a romantic dinner.

Which was fine for us. We weren’t interested in romance!

Of course the first thing I looked for was the wine list. The wine list is pretty typical for a restaurant; i.e., big and largely overpriced. But I didn’t expect it to be anything other than overpriced, so I can’t pretend to be shocked. I ordered a glass of 2007 Sketchbook Pinot Noir – Mendocino, which was $7.50. Not too bad, I guess. It came in a Chardonnay glass. More on that little bit of annoyance later.

We were served the customary crusty bread and butter. The butter was especially delicious, and I wish I knew why. My coworker Andrea and I looked at each other wide-eyed when we tasted it. This was a great start.

I ordered just a couple of things. The Zuppa Del Giorno (I think that means “Soup of the Day”) was Cream of Morel for $4.95. Yes, I heard angels sing. Drizzled with olive oil, the earthy mushrooms in the creamy soup were absolutely delicious. I will go out on a limb and say that was the best mushroom soup I’ve had, well, *ever*!

Unfortunately, the Pinot Noir was far too fruit forward to really enjoy with the soup. The soup needed a Burgundy or an Oregon or New Zealand Pinot Noir to complement its beautiful character. The wine was bright cherry rather than black cherry  and it had some berry notes. I was hoping for some earthiness that would pair better with the mushrooms in my dinner selections, but this was a bright, fruit-forward and one dimensional California Pinot Noir. Pinot is usually such a classic pairing with mushrooms, I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed. Not so disappointed, however, that I didn’t drink all of the wine!

The other item I ordered was Brio’s Steak Salad for $14.95. It consisted of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, Gorgonzola, mushrooms, spicy pecans, creamy horseradish, and it was topped with grilled Filet with balsamic glaze. My only criticism of a salad that was otherwise yummy was that the pecans were actually quite sweet rather than spicy and were therefore distracting. Once I carefully separated them from the rest of the dish, I was able to finish it with gusto.

Other items ordered by my group were the Pinot Grigio, Peroni Italian beer, and a Dirty Martini. The food items included Mushroom Ravioli (looked small on the plate but was delicious and surprisingly filling), several pasta dishes, side of grilled asparagus, and lamb chops. The overall consensus was that the food was really good.

We passed on dessert EVEN THOUGH they had several types of crème brulée (regular, pumpkin and eggnog among others), tiramisu, tiramisu cheesecake and more! We were that full.

And now for the wine rant.

My biggest beef is that despite having a big, diverse, and overpriced wine list, luxurious appointments, and an authentic ambiance, they did not have red wine glasses. Apparently, they think that having only Chardonnay glasses is enough. With the prices they charge, that type of arrogance is enough for me to take my wine drinking elsewhere. Not that they would care. After all, my budget adventures are legendary by now!

I did not really expect them to have Pinot Noir/Burgundy glasses – they only have a couple of Pinots on their list – but even a nice Bordeaux glass would have allowed some of the tannins and acidity to blow off of the youthful Pinot Noir, allowing for better appreciation with the food.

I’m guessing that they don’t have a sommelier or wine specialist on staff, or else something as basic as having correctly-sized, appropriate wine glasses available for their wine customers would be a given. And yes, I asked for a red wine glass. As did several other people within earshot. Too bad the embarrassed waiters didn’t have anything to offer other than “the company” only has these glasses available. That’s showing incredible conceit and complete disrespect for their wine customers. I’m pretty sure they aren’t serving, say, Highballs in Martini glasses or Cosmos in Iced Tea glasses. Some knuckle-dragger who has no respect for wine drinkers made this decision and, dammit, they’re going to stick with it. And with the size of the wine list and the prices they charge for their wines, you’d think they’d make the extra effort. I guess not.

Will I go back? Eventually, I’m sure I will, especially if I’m in the area and have a taste for Italian food. The noise, the unusual seating arrangements, and lackadaisical corporate attitude about the wine won’t persuade me to make a special trip. I can go to Mezzo, which is right around the corner – so to speak – from my home, and enjoy great Italian food, luscious, sanely priced wines, and can be sure that my wine will be served in a glass that will enhance my enjoyment and enhance the probability of my returning to the establishment. Maybe just for a glass of wine or two. That will never happen with Brio.

With that being said, I’d give Brio about a B-/C+. Would I recommend it to anyone? Absolutely. In spite of my wine rant, reread what I said about the food. It was yummy.

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Tropical Fruit and Toe Jam - A Yummy Combo?

 

After a long afternoon at a convention at – where else – the Convention Center, Zach (of 2BC fame) and I met for dinner at Mainland, a newish Asian noodle restaurant located in the Palazzo. I will write about the overall restaurant and food experience during another post, but I want to focus on one item we tried during this meal

Durian. The fetid über-fruit of tropical legend.

Yes, folks, they have shakes on their menu, and one of them is Durian.

After all of the hubbub I’ve heard about it, I finally gave in to my curiosity and decided that I just had to have this shake. After all, I reasoned, how bad could it be?!? Apparently, pretty bad.

The bartender sent our waitress Mayela back to us to make absolutely sure that we had indeed meant to order the Durian shake on purpose. Oh yes, we assured her, absolutely. She said that the bartender just wanted to be certain. The Durian has a way of making impressions on people that aren’t always positive, the curious have ordered in the past and not been aware of its, um, *characteristics.*

The shake arrived in a beautifully tapered, Pilsner-like glass. It was the rich color of buttercream frosting, and it was topped with a dollop of whipped cream. Two black straws poked out of the shake and it made a lovely presentation.

That’s where the fun both began and ended.

With a happy smile, I had to sniff it to see if the smell is as bad as “they say.”

You decide.

The nose is somewhat reminiscent of mildewy laundry, faintly funky armpit, inside of an old attic, toe jam, and gym socks. Used. So why would I even be remotely tempted to try to drink something like this? Because I could! And, unbelievably, this was great fun.

The flavor is the dichotomy. The flavor was like vanilla and buttercream pudding with a hint of banana and pineapple. The finish was a little funky (big surprise), but if you didn’t breathe while drinking it, it wasn’t too bad. However, the funk has a way of wafting through the olfactories. It’s absolutely unavoidable.

And then there are the burps.

Overall, the Durian shake is not horrible. It’s definitely not a “date shake”; even sharing with someone with whom you plan to have intimate moments would be revolting. While my dates can be liberally sprinkled with, say, garlic, Durian brings a different mojo altogether. But the burps. Oh my. This is where Durian rears its horrific Halloweenish head. This is where you realize that the rumors are all true. The burps.

My first one elicited an involuntary “Ewwww” from deep inside as the flavored stench made its way up and out. Zachary just chuckled at me. He hadn’t burped yet. And then it hit him.

Every bit of food, every drop of wine, any other thing that you may ingest, will all suddenly be tainted with the essence of semi-digested Durian. How does it smell/taste? Zachary expressed it best: The burp tastes and smells like vanilla pudding, buttercream, pineapple, and banana liberally sprinkled with morgue.

Will I try it again? I may on a dare if there’s lots of money or a future date with George Clooney involved. I may do it if it’s in a different (even stronger!) form. All just for the heck of it. But it’s definitely not something I’d do for the enjoyment. Maybe. Or not. How about you!

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Iron Chef America Rant!

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that I LOVE Iron Chef America. While the program is laregely recipe-free, it does showcase some incredible food creativity and never fails to generate ideas for me to try in my own kitchen. Overall it far superior to its predecessor, the original Iron Chef from Japan.

A friend of mine was recently a judge on ICA which I wrote about on Vegas Wineaux. This was a party, and we had a great time.

With that being said, I have to say that this year, the Food Network has added a couple of elements that I find incredibly annoying. Irritating, even.

Whose idea was it to have the 70s-bad-kung fu-movie sound effects attached to the “Chairman” every time he moves a body part? It wasn’t like that before, and the addition of the noise this year adds nothing but ickiness. Did someone actually think that this was a good idea?!?

The other addition this year is the extended hangtime between “in the words of my uncle,” and “Allez Cuisine!” Once again, that extra time adds nothing to the show. It appears to have been added so that when the Chairman looks at the contestants, it’s a way to showcase the whooshing sounds his head makes as he looks back and forth.

I just don’t get it. They finally got it right - great chefs, incredible competition, amazing production values and attention to detail. Then someone with a Bruce Lee fetish added the sound effects. Maybe somebody in the know can tell me why it was oh so important to add this element of tackiness this year.

But don’t take my word for it; mosey on over to YouTube, do a search on Iron Chef America, and look at last year’s episodes and compare them to the current crop.

My opinion - for what it’s worth - is a single world. Ew.

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Raw Milk Nation

I realized during my trip to California that just because I live in a different state, that in no way absolves me from getting involved with important issues that affect me directly.

One of those issues is the continuing availability of Raw Milk.

Why Raw Milk? Because it’s extremely natural, the only dairy many otherwise lactose-intolerant people can drink without problems, and it’s healthy. Very healthy.

Just to save you a little time … if you’re anti-dairy, don’t waste your time writing me. I’ve heard all of the arguments. And those arguments have nothing to do with this issue. And most are specious and not based on a Raw Milk model. So spare me. And take a look at the Weston A. Price Foundation website. You’ll learn a lot of information about dairy and of the dairy industry. Read Dr. Price’s book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration and learn a lot more.

There is a continuing battle - and I use the word in the same way as describing full out war - to keep clean, certified Raw Milk available to customers who want it in the state of California. Unfortunately, it has been banned in here in Nevada. You can get a gallon of vodka, a carton of cigarettes, a box of bullets and get an abortion on the way home, but if you want Raw Milk, you gotta travel to California, you gotta know somebody (wink wink), or you have to mail order it. Stupid. It’s unfortunate that such laws are made by those who are influenced by those in an industry - where mass, factory production of antibiotic tainted and hormone enhanced milk from cows who don’t have to be certified - whose financial self-preservation comes before consumer choice. Make no mistake about it, the powers that be are influenced by those who have the most to lose - the very powerful dairy industry.

I mean, if they suddenly saw people getting healthy because of drinking fresh, raw, clean milk, then they would lose customers. They would - at the very least - start using better sanitation practices. They may even have to stop the routine antibiotics (which have been accused of causing the alarmingly high rate of antibiotic resistance in humans) or the bovine growth hormones (which have been accused of causing the alarmingly high rates of hormone-sensitive cancers and early puberty in American children) and actually have to start using real husbandry to care for their herds. Just like the Raw Milk farmers do.

I’ve been on a Raw Milk rant for well over thirty years, and still feel as strongly now about having it available as I did then. When the number of certified dairies diminished during the 80s in California and I was forced to give “regular” grocery store milk to my children, I noticed immediately a change in their health. Raw Milk, no asthma or allergies. Grocery store, pasteurized milk resulted in increased allergies, hospital visits, expensive prescriptions. It took me a long time to make the connection.

There are two Raw Milk dairies in California of which I am aware, and I’d like for you to go and check them out.

One, which I just learned about and somehow missed during my trip to California, is Claravale Farm. The owners, Ron Garthwaite and Collette Cassidy, have very high standards of cleanliness, humane treatment of their herds, and for ensuring the quality and cleanliness of their milk. Their herds are Jersey cows. Take a look at their website, read about their milk, and see the battle they are waging. Their web address is http://claravaledairy.com.

The other dairy is Organic Pastures, the larger of the two dairies. I had the privilege of meeting Mark McAfee, the owner of Organic Pastures, when I attended Slow Food Nation in San Francisco. An articulate, passionate man, he is the go-to person for information on raw dairy, and is by far its most vocal advocate. Their web address is http://www.organicpastures.com.

So what does this come down to? I want to choose my own food. And while I appreciate the standards by which such dairies have to conform, I still want this milk available to me. As I said above, it just doesn’t sit in my mind that I can “choose” an abortion, but I can’t “choose” which glass of milk I want to drink. I want Raw Milk available to me, and I think it’s time that the government stopped persecuting and prosecuting raw dairy farmers like they’re drug dealers. In fact, maybe they could take their enthusiasm for this into the drug world and finally clean it up. Leave the clean dairy farmers alone.

It feels good up here on the soapbox. I’d like to toast with a glass of Raw Milk. But I might get thrown in jail.

Before I send you to good, educational links, please take a look at this video from YouTube. This is an interview done with Marc McAfee, the owner of Organic Pastures. And then take a look at the sites where there are links below.

Related articles:

• Is it better to drink unpasteurised milk?
• In the Raw
• Big Brother and Dairy Farmers
• Raw Milk - Panacea or Poison? (great video)

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On the Road to 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:

1. happy girl kitchen co., a certified organic producer of pickles, beets, carrots, ketchup, jams, and more. We

bought some of their pickles and took a great picture of Jordan, who is the happy girl of happy girl! Their website is www.happygirlkitchen.com.

2. Katz and Company, who had wonderful vinegars. They only had samples of two of them on Friday, an Apple Cider and a Sauvignon Blanc, and they were delicious. Of course I bought one of each! You can see them at their website at www.katzandco.com.

3. Ancient Organics Ghee, made from organic butter. Their ghee is rich in fragrance - almost heady - and it is delicious. What is ghee? Ghee is pure butterfat, made by heating hand-churned butter and removing all traces of lactose and milk solids. According to Ayurveda, it awakens the digestive fire, is highly digestible, nutritious, and has its own unique, delicious flavor. It can be used anywhere you would use regular butter – and some places where you might not - and in India, 100-year-old ghee is highly prized and very expensive. The butter that Ancient Organics uses for their ghee comes from pasture-raised cows only. Their site is www.ancientorganics.com.

4. Cowgirl Creamery, where we each purchased a round of their Red Hawk cheese, a triple-cream, washed rind Brie to die for. Incredibly rich and delicious, there was no way that we weren’t going to take some home! The great part is that for an extra $5.00, they supplied a mini-cooler with a freeze pack to protect the cheese in the uncommonly hot weather. Perfect. You can find them at www.cowgirlcreamery.com.

5. A Nagamine Nursery, where they had English Cucumbers which had been picked just the day before. Piles of those went into an increasingly heavy load of great food! They don’t have a website, but they are mentioned and advertised on several organics sites on the ‘net.

6. Organic Pastures Dairy – by far my favorite. I have been an advocate and consumer of raw milk for as long as I can remember. And not just any raw milk, but milk from cows grazed on green grass, treated humanely, and from dairies whose standards of cleanliness and sanitation leave the “regular milk” guys in the dust. Unfortunately for this state and many others, raw milk has been treated with more hostility than marijuana, and it just doesn’t make sense. Oh oh. I feel a soapbox moment coming on!

I had the privilege of meeting Mark McAfee, the owner of Organic Pastures, and talked with him at length about raw milk, ridiculous laws (tell me why states permit cigarettes, but ban raw milk?), and the health benefits of raw dairy. I can’t drink pasteurized milk, for instance, without getting, um, “stove up,” but can guzzle down vast quantities of raw milk with no issues. My two oldest children who are asthmatic, didn’t have problems with asthma as children as long as raw milk was available. Apparently the health of individuals like me or my family is far less important than the bottom line of the industrial dairy complex. Please check out their website at www.organicpastures.com, and read what they have to say.

7. Farmhouse Culture, with their delicious Holy Smokes sauerkraut, was fabulous!! And yes, I used the word “delicious” and “sauerkraut” within the same sentence, because it truly is. Of course, it has more than just fermented cabbage. There were seasonings, peppers, chilis, and onions as well, which gave the kraut a real kick. We each bought a pint and decided that we needed to learn how to make sauerkraut at home. Rod owns a crock handed down to him from his grandmother who made sauerkraut every fall. Their website is www.farmhouseculture.com. Enjoy!

Of course there were many others, and I can’t give a personal review of each and every one, but I wish I could. We stopped at many booths and were impressed with all of them.

Over the course of the weekend, there were wine tastings, olive oil tastings, wine and cheese pairings, workshops on sustainability, and lots more, and we were a little upset that we weren’t able to attend any of them. Since this was Slow Food’s first go at having such an event, you can be sure that I’m going to do everything I can to attend it next year. You can get information on what the events were by checking out their website, www.slowfoodnation.org. And be sure to stop by Valley Cheese and Wine and talk to Bob about it.

This has inspired us to look at doing more to support local growers (more info at VC&W!), grow our own food where and when we can, and preserve our own foods. Cultural, historic, and ethnic foods are making a comeback, and in this day of factory-produced Frankenfoods, it couldn’t have happened a moment too soon.

Yesterday I was considered a health food nut. I’m glad to see that my voice in the wilderness is finally being heeded and added to by so many others all over the world. I feel truly vindicated. And very chic.

As promised, here is the list of the Farmers Market participants:

THE MARKET featured:
Alameda
• Blue Bottle Coffee Company, Coffee
• Charlie Frank’s Pies, Sweet Potato-Peach Pie
• Oaktown Herbals, Herbs
Calaveras
• Loulou’s Garden, Blueberry and Cherry Jam
Chico
• Massa Organics, Medium-Grain Brown Rice
Contra Costa
• Frog Hollow Farm, Peaches
• G & S Farms, Corn
Fresno
• Blossom Bluff Orchards, Elephant Heart Plums
• Marian Farms, Biodynamic Raisins
• Organic Pastures Dairy, Raw Milk and Butter
Kern
• Weiser Family Farms, Potatoes
Lake
• Bodega & Yerba Santa, Goat’s Milk Caramel
Los Angeles
• M & M Peach Ranch, Desert Peaches
Marin
• Ancient Organics, Ghee
• Point Reyes Preserves, Raspberry Jam
• Straus Family Creamery, Cream on the Top Milk
• Three Twins, Ice Cream
• Cowgirl Creamery, Red Hawk Cheese
Mendocino
• The Apple Farm, Fruit Chutneys
Merced
• Koda Farms, Heirloom Variety Rice
• Vista Almonds, Almonds
Monterey
• Far West Fungi, Specialty Mushrooms
• J & P Organics, Strawberries
• Catalan Family Farm, Squash
Napa
• Elixir Olive Oil, Italian Varietal Olive Oil
• Katz and Co (Katz Farm), Orleans Method Vinegar
• Marshall’s Farm Honey, Honey
Placer
• Beauty Ranch, Asian Pears
San Benito
• Four Sisters Farm, Greens
• Pinnacle Organics, Melons
• Coke Farm, Meyer Lemons
• Happy Girl Kitchen, Vinegar Cucumber Pickles
• Hain Ranch, Walnuts
San Francisco
• We Love Jam, Apricot & Plum Jam
• Pan-o-Rama, Bread
San Joaquin
• Lagier Farms, Paw Paws or Bronx Grapes
San Luis Obispo
• Windrose Farm, Heirloom Apples
San Mateo
• Blue House Farm, Dry-Farmed Early Girl Tomatoes
• Iacopi Farms, English and Sugar Snap Peas
• Harley Farms, Goat Cheese
Santa Barbara
• Santa Barbara Pistachio Co., Pistachios
Santa Clara
• Van Dyke Ranch, Dried Blenheim Apricots
Santa Cruz
• A Nagamine Nursery, English Cucumbers
• Route 1 Farms, Peppers
• Live Earth Farm, Berries
• Yerena Farms, Strawberries
• New Natives, Microgreens
Solano
• California Vegetable Specialties, Endive
Sonoma
• Beekind, Herb-Infused Honey
• Dry Creek Peach & Produce, Peaches
• Nana Mae’s Organics, Gravenstein Applesauce and Juice
• Valley End Farm, Rare Melons
• Vella Cheese Company, Dry Jack Cheese
• Grindstone Bakery, Spelt, Rye and Barley Bread
• Gabriel Farm, Pears
Stanislaus
• Fiscalini Cheese Company, San Joaquin Gold Cheese
Tulare
• Bravo Farms Handmade Cheese, Silver Mountain Cheddar
Tuolumne
• Farmhouse Culture, “Holy Smokes” Sauerkraut
Ventura
• McGrath Family Farms, Beans
Yolo
• Capay Organic and Farm Fresh to You, Heirloom Tomatoes
• Full Belly Farm, Heirloom Melons
Yuba
• Apollo Olive

Related articles:

• Slow Food Is Comin’ Out: The Slow Food Movement’s American Debut
• Slow Food Nation: The Pavilion Report
• A Slow Food Festival Reaches Out to the Uncommitted
• Diner’s Journal: On the Scene at Slow Food Nation
• Slow Design Meets Slow Food Nation
• Slow Food Nation’s Sustainable Movement Strolls into San Francisco This Weekend
• Kerry Trueman: Slow Food Nation: Taking America Out To The Foodshed
• Look!: Sustainable Buildings at Slow Food Nation San Francisco
• ‘Slow food’ movement picking up speed

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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:

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Maltitol Syrup, Milk Chocolate Flavored Coating (see product details for ingredients list), Soy Protein Isolate, Casein, Gelatin, Nonfat Milk, Calcium Caseinate, Marshmallow Pieces (see product details for ingredients list), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Palm Oil, Fructooligosaccharides, Unsweetened Chocolate, Tapioca Starch, Cream, Glycerine, Maltodextrin, Salt, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Butter (Cream, Salt), Soy Lecithin, Caramel Color, Sodium Phosphate and Carrageenan, Vitamins & Minerals: Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E, Vitamin E Acetate, Niacinamide, Ferric Orthophosphate, Calcium Pantothenate, Zinc Oxide, Thiamin Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Biotin, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenite, Phytonadione (vitamin K1), Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) and Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) Milk Chocolate Flavored Coating (from ingredient list): Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Sugar, Milk Protein Isolate, Cocoa, Cocoa (processed with Alkali), Nonfat Milk, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor Marshmallow Pieces (from ingredient list): Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Corn Starch, Gelatin, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Gelatin, Sodium Hexaphosphate, Blue 1.

The first ingredient alone is scary.

Naturally, there is a High Fructose Corn Syrup council - HFCSFacts.com, run by the Corn Refiners Association - which widely proclaims the safety and wonderfulness of HFCS.  Unfortunately for them, they are about the only ones who see it that way.  Sources as widely divergent as The Weston A. Price Foundation, Wikipedia, the Mayo Clinic, Dr. George Bray of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, WebMD, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Washington Post are waving red flags of caution against its use. They are warning people for a variety of different reasons, not the least of which its apparent contribution to the obesity and diabetes epidemics.  The Corn Refiners’ sing-song, feel-good proclamations on their website sound suspiciously like the same types of pat-the-beast-on-the-head excuses given by tobacco companies extolling the safety of cigarettes decades ago.

This is worse because this is in our food.  We can go without smoking. We cannot go without eating.  And they - and the other food factory monoliths - are poisoning us for the sake of higher profits.

As I said in an earlier post, cereal is not supposed to be neon-colored, marshmallow enhanced, frosted, puffy bits of mystery wheat.  Cereal is supposed to beige, brown, and plain.  Soda has no nutritional value whatsoever.  And we’re killing our children - and ourselves - by giving them such garbage.  If you speak with your pocketbook, you may see great improvements.

Unfortunately, the big companies often wrap such improvements in some sort of deceptive disguise.  It’s what they do.

This is an ongoing rant, and there will be more.

Related articles:

• What’s Inside: PowerBar Protein Plus (Laxatives, of Course)
• Buying Health Drinks is Not Always That Healthy, Especially When Choosing an Alkaline Food Diet
• What’s Inside: Don’t Let the Algae Sour You on Hostess’s Lemon Pie
• Isabel Cowles: Local Food: Scandal and Slander
• Food producers ask ‘what’s natural?’
• San Francisco’s Mayor Proposes Fee on Sales of Sugary Soft Drinks
• High Fructose Corn Syrup Producers on a Roll

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The Loveable Gordon Ramsay

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.

There’s always a little part of me that’s at least faintly and uncomfortably suspicious of activities that may be going on in restaurant kitchens. I read the Health Department’s Restaurant Report in the Review Journal religiously, and some of the horror stories that are reported are enough to make you want to buy your own cookbook. So when I started watching Kitchen Nightmares, I was instantly hooked.

For those of you who are not familiar with the show, a restaurant’s owners call on Gordon to help them in their business. Some of those kitchens are horrifying. He visits for a week, does lots of swearing, and turns the businesses around. Usually. Sometimes there’s just no saving people from themselves. But he does it by giving them standards that they have to live by in order to survive in this difficult business. And those standards are what have made him a multi-Michelin star winner of international restaurants. None is located here, but a quick trip to the L.A. area will take you to his latest establishments.

There’s an American version of the show, but it somehow lacks the frankness of the British version. New episodes will be airing on Fox Reality shortly, so we’ll see if they improved the show this year.

So there you go, Las Vegas. Gordon’s a chef who is far from a charming, warm and cuddly kind of guy, and who’d cuss you out as easily as most people would greet you with a smile. Yet somehow, his fiercely protective attitude about his good name and high standards are appealing and curiously satisfying in this world of shortcuts.

Even if I can’t afford to go to his restaurants

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Margarine - Plastic on our Bread?

Margarine is undeniably unnatural. Its popularity soared years ago when people started worrying about eating saturated fat from animal sources. Since butter contains saturated fat, it became a nutritional bad guy, and margarine - made from “healthier” vegetable oils - took its place.

The problem is, however, margarine is hydrogenated, which converts it to an unnaturally saturated fat, which is a definite no-no. Unnatural saturated fats are full of trans fatty acids, and those are dangerous to your health. Margarine dramatically increases the risk of coronary heart disease as compared to butter. In fact, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53 percent over eating the same amount of butter.

Let’s take a look at the chemical makeup of margarine. Is it made of good, healthy, natural ingredients? Are the ingredients blended in a form that will be beneficial to your health?

Of course not.

Margarine was created for the sole purpose of making money by using oils that would ordinarily be either used in industry, or discarded because they were unfit for human consumption because of rapid oxidation (rancidity). The application of hydrogen to this liquid oil turned it into a solid, somewhat butterlike form, and with the added steps of deodorizing it (stale fat stinks), coloring it, and adding artificial flavors so that it can taste somewhat butterlike, a new “food” was born. Those in the margarine industry will continue to rail against study after study that finds that this “food” just plain ol’ bad for people. You think the tobacco lobby was bad? They have nothing over these guys.

And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how our heart health started deteriorating at the point where margarine, Crisco, and other hydrogenated fats started displacing butter and other natural lipids as our main source of dietary fats.

So why would you want to use this stuff instead of butter? Butter is made up of cream. Period. (Read labels, though. The “food” industry has ways of messing up natural foods). Go to a store that sells natural foods (Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, for instance), spend the extra money - butter is more expensive than margarine - and buy the real stuff.

You need to check out this video by Sean C., owner of the website Underground Wellness. The young man has amazing insight into today’s modern food industry and how we should be eating for health. And  then do a little investigation for yourself. Please don’t take my word for it. Decide if this factory-made stuff is better for you than what nature has provided. I use butter from cows that haven’t been given growth hormones. Yes, there’s a future rant!

I know you’re still skeptical, but try this as an eye-opener.  Take a dab of a factory fat such as Crisco or stick margarine and put a dollop of it onto the back of your hand.  Do the same with a natural saturated fat such as butter or coconut oil.  See which ones melt at body temperature and which ones do not. Then tell me what you think!

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Why I Hate Martha Stewart

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.

No, I’m not that old. Although there are those who would argue the fact. But in the 1930s, there was a Depression going on. People couldn’t find jobs. People didn’t have enough to eat. Family farms were shutting down. Gasoline was exorbitant in price. Hmm. …… Any resemblance to today’s world is purely factual and not a coincidence. But I digress.

If you filled your gas tank during that time, you often received a gift from the gas station. It may have been green or blue chip stamps. It may have been coupons. It may have been glass kitchen items, ceramic or metal tchatkes, or plastic (that newfangled stuff) items. In this particular case, it was glass. A milky green opaque glass called Jadeite.

Nearly twenty years ago, I was introduced to Jadeite by a co-worker who collected that and other Depression-era glass. I fell in love Jadeite and began collecting a few pieces. Years later, after my divorce and after I had established a pretty nice life for myself and my three children, I would pick up a piece every now and then. I was a “sort of” collector. As a result, I had a few nice pieces that I’ve treasured over the years, including a ***perfect*** Sunkist orange juice reamer that I found at a garage sale (!!!!!!) for $1.00. That is not a typo. And I can only imagine what it’s worth now.

Then along comes that #*&($#& Martha Stewart and her pre-prison show.

At first, I didn’t like her at all. Then one holiday season, she made Eggnog. I mean, REAL Eggnog. With lots of eggs, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and some very serious NOG. She added brandy, bourbon, and rum. In ONE recipe. I LIKED Martha. Especially since she sipped it in front of the camera. The woman had cojones.

Then I began to notice something interesting. In her TV kitchen, she had lots of Jadeite in the glass-front cabinets. And apparently every housewife in America was inquiring about that lovely milky green glass that was in Martha’s cabinets. And the producers probably told them. It’s Jadeite, of course!

And A W A Y Y Y went the prices. Suddenly I, as a regular person trying to add bits and pieces to a small,

much loved collection, was unable to continue to collect because the prices soared ridiculously out of reach.

Why couldn’t she have become enamored of say, Melamine??? Did it *have* to be Jadeite?!?

So that’s why I hate Martha Stewart. In spite of her, um, *incident* with the legals, the prices haven’t changed much. At least not downward. I still can’t afford the pieces I’d like. And that means that Martha has done little to raise my confidence. Not that she cares. Oh well. I’m just not feelin’ the love.

On the not-so-serious side, however, I’ve found Martha to be completely entertaining, even if I’m not a happy housewife or a dedicated crafter. Martha, who was portrayed by Cybil Shepard in a movie, Martha, Inc., has built an incredible empire in spite of her brush with the law. While she is said to be a real, um, *difficult* person to deal with, it’s pretty hard to argue with her success. She has my admiration, even if she’s cornered the Jadeite market.

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