cookiesinheaven

Between 2003 and 2006, FDA food safety inspections dropped 47 percent, according to a database analysis of federal records by The Associated Press.

That's not all that's dropping at the FDA in terms of food safety. The analysis also shows:

-There are 12 percent fewer FDA employees in field offices who concentrate on food issues.

-Safety tests for U.S.-produced food have dropped nearly 75 percent, from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 last year, according to the agency's own statistics. - AP

Labels: inspection, safety

Labels: blogs, Foodies

Want a taste of Melbourne?
How long have you got?!

This is a city where there are as many styles as there are chefs, with a culinary diversity as rich as anywhere around the globe.

Many of Melbourne’s precincts have a culinary character all of their own, from the Greek atmosphere of Lonsdale Street or Carlton’s ‘Little Italy’, to the wide choice of Chinatown around Little Bourke Street. - That's Me!bourne

Fill your glasses ... with the Yarra River. Melbourne could soon be drinking Yarra River water from the heart of the city as the State Government scrambles to boost the city's dwindling water supplies. Melbourne Age.

Labels: Australia, Curtis Stone, Melbourne, Take Home Chef, TLC

without a little King Cake, chicory coffee and beignets and cajun/creole flavored blogs.....

Looka! (aka The Gumbo Pages)
Metroblogging New Orleans
Survival of New Orleans Blog
NolaCuisine
Do You Know What It Means (to Miss New Orleans)
Tim's Nameless Blog
Your Right Hand Thief
Third Battle of N.O.
Wet Bank Guide
Traveling Mermaid
Squandered Heritage
NOLA-dishu
Moldy City
Humid City
Building Big Easy
Da Po' Blog
Confederacy of Dunces
Gentilly Girl
The Katrinacrat
Yat Pundit
b.rox
Blagueur
and of course, NOLA.com (the Times-Picayune) with the infamous "Bourbo-Cam!"

Labels: blogs, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, NOLA

Labels: Ansel Adams, Internment Camps, Japanese, Manzanar, WWII

President George W. Bush:

• Recipes from Laura Bush, includes baked potato soup, guacamole, vegetable soup, and cowboy cookies
• The Swift Report: White House Dish: Chef Not to Laura’s Taste — a.k.a. her dislike of Chef Walter Scheib III
  

President William Jefferson Clinton:

• President Clinton’s Chicken-Broccoli Enchiladas

• President's Clinton's favorite "secret" Porterhouse Steak with Béarnaise Sauce and Onion Rings

President George Herbert Walker Bush:

• Barbara Bush’s Barbeque Chicken
• NO BROCCOLI RECIPES!
  

President Ronald Reagan:

• Macaroni & Cheese
  

• Hamburger Soup

• Anything with Jelly Bellys!
  

President Jimmy Carter:

• Jimmy Carter's Peanut Butter Pie
  

• Jimmy Carter's Peanut Butter Brittle
  

President Gerald Ford:

• Betty Ford's Chinese Pepper Steak
  

President Richard M. Nixon:

• Pat Nixon’s Meatloaf

President Lyndon B. Johnson:

• LBJ Ranch Pickled Okra
• Pedernales River Chile

President John F. Kennedy:

• Jackie Kennedy’s White House Hot Fruit Dessert Recipe

• Jackie Kennedy's Creme Brulee

President Dwight D. Eisenhower:

• Mamie Eisenhower’s Fudge Recipe

President Harry S Truman:

Labels: politics, Recipes, White House

Labels: Flamenco, Guitar, Music, Ottmar Liebert

Oh, Mario! Oh great one! They shut down Molto Mario--only the smartest and best of the stand-up cooking shows. Is there any more egregiously under-used, criminally mishandled, dismissively treated chef on television? Relegated to the circus of Iron Chef America, where--like a great, toothless lion, fouling his cage, he hangs on--and on--a major draw (and often the only reason to watch the show). How I would like to see him unchained, free to make the television shows he’s capable of, the Real Mario--in all his Rabelasian brilliance. How I would love to hear the snapping bones of his cruel FN ringmasters, crunching between his mighty jaws! Let us see the cloven hooves beneath those cheery clogs! Let Mario be Mario!

Labels: Bourdain, Food TV, Mario

Labels: Asian, Chinese, New Year

Dear colleagues, friends and supporters,

I was humbled and honored to be among nine journalists, all formerly on the staff of the Santa Barbara News-Press, given a National Ethics in Journalism Award several months ago by the Society of Professional Journalists.

The SPJ, after an independent investigation of the extraordinary events in Santa Barbara, awarded the honor to a group of us who felt forced to leave the paper last summer because of concerns over the ethics of management decisions involving news coverage. Our group, the SPJ citation said, "opted to risk their livelihoods rather than remain in a position where they felt their journalistic ethics and professional credibility were being violated."

Amid the ongoing exodus of dozens of professional journalists from the News-Press, the paper’s owner has filed a flurry of legal threats, claims and lawsuits against people who dared to speak out or report about what was happening in the newsroom.

In response, a group of prominent local attorneys formed the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech Rights, to help level the playing field for journalists who found themselves bludgeoned by legal attacks by Ampersand Publishing, owned by billionaire Wendy McCaw.

I am one of those journalists, now facing a $25 million arbitration claim filed by the company.

Colleagues and friends put together a web site - http://www.jerryrobertsandfriends.org - to help the Alliance help me and other journalists fight back.

Please take a few minutes to review the events at the paper by reading the stories on this site. And then please make a donation to the Lawyers Alliance for Free Speech Rights, in defense of the values, standards and ethics of public interest journalism.

Thanks for your consideration.

Jerry

Local blogs have been covering this story -

Blogabarbara
edhat
craigsmith
Santa Barbara Independent Media Blog

Labels: Jerry Roberts, Journalism, Santa Barbara

Steve Ells, founder of the red-hot Mexican-food chain, on his aim to make the focused menu as all-natural as possible, and why it's worth the expense.

Steve Ells, founder and chief executive of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), is not a man on a mission. He's actually on two of them: one, to run the hottest fast-food chain in the nation; two, to offer what he terms "food with integrity" to the mass market. - BusinessWeek

Labels: Chipotle, Fast Food

Labels: blogroll, Los Angeles

Labels: Photography, Smoky Mountain

The corner of Anapamu and Chapala is a buzz of activity, as chef-restaurateurs Suzanne Goin and David Lentz prepare to open their new restaurant, The Hungry Cat, at the end of March. Suzanne and David have a sister restaurant in Hollywood also called The Hungry Cat that will be two years old in March, and Suzanne owns two restaurants in Los Angeles, Lucques and A.O.C., with a separate partner. In an interview in their new space last week, David explained how on a wedding anniversary a few years ago they stayed at the San Ysidro Ranch and had a revelation that it would be great to open a restaurant in Santa Barbara. “The Hungry Cat almost fits Santa Barbara more than it fits Hollywood,” he says with Suzanne adding, “We love the pace, vibe and architecture here. This building is what we were looking for. This is what we love. We’re excited to be up here.” - The Montecito Journal

Suzanne Goin began her culinary career in 1984 when she interned in the pastry kitchen of the legendary restaurant MA MAISON as a high school senior. Leaving her native Los Angeles for Brown University late that year, she discovered the award-winning restaurant AL FORNO (chefs George German and Johanne Killeen) and began her career in earnest. Along the way to graduating with honors in history from Brown, Suzanne worked at Los Angeles' top rated L'ORANGERIE over the summer and at the Roux brothers LE MAZARIN in London while studying at the London School of Economics.

In 1990 Suzanne headed back to California to work at Alice Water's famed restaurant CHEZ PANISSE in Berkeley. Suzanne was chosen twice to travel with chef Peggy Smith to Bordeaux to cook at VINEXPO as a representative of California and CHEZ PANISSE. After two years at CHEZ PANISSE, Suzanne followed her dream of working in France first at Didier Oudill's two-star restaurant PAIN, ADOUR ET FANTASIE , then with Alain Passard at his three-starred ARPEGE in Paris and finally at the fourth arrondissement's favored PATISSERIE CHRISTIAN POTTIER. - How to Cook Everything

For David Lentz, the professional kitchen was love at first sight. While in college, the former drama major decided to take classes at a nearby culinary school. Smitten with the hands-on nature and rigorous lifestyle of a chef, Lentz never looked back. He was the executive chef at the China Grill’s Las Vegas location, and also completed a stint at LA’s Campanile before heading the kitchen at Opaline. At the Hungry Cat, which he opened in 2005 and co-owns with wife/fellow chef Suzanne Goin (of Lucques and AOC fame) - Star Chefs

Labels: Goin, Hollywood, Lentz, The Hungry Cat

Among his many interests, the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), took a great interest in food and tested many varieties of seeds and fruit varieties. For over 57 years in his 1,000-foot long kitchen garden he tried 70 different species, 250 varieties of vegetables and also over 150 varieties of 31 different types of fruits, keeping copious notes on all.

He experimented with different imported seeds plus varieties of peas, beans, cabbage, asparagus, and tomatoes, just to name a few. The Lewis and Clark Expedition also sent bean and salsify seeds to him. Every two weeks during the growing season, lettuces and radishes were planted to provide the leafy salads he especially liked. Cabbage was also a popular vegetable. As a minister to France, he enjoyed French cuisine and had French trained chefs in his kitchen. He also imported different foods such as Italian olive oil, and French mustard. Macaroni and vanilla were also introduced. If we check some of the food labels today, we are still purchasing imported items such as these.

A wine connoisseur, Jefferson was also a wine advisor to presidents Washington, Adams, Madison and Monroe.

...In 1809 he began planting and serving a new variety of fruit, the “Tomatas.” His daughter, granddaughter and chef developed many recipes using tomatoes. By 1824 tomatoes became a popular addition to the table because it was thought they kept one’s blood pure throughout the summer’s heat.

Jefferson was a strong advocate of testing new crops and incorporating crop rotations that we still practice today. - The Prairie Star

Thomas Jefferson acquired a taste for continental cooking while serving as American minister to France in the 1780s. When he returned to the United States in 1790 he brought with him a French cook and many recipes for French, Italian, and other au courant cookery. Jefferson not only served his guests the best European wines, but he liked to dazzle them with delights such as ice cream, peach flambe, macaroni, and macaroons. This drawing of a macaroni machine, with the sectional view showing holes from which dough could be extruded, reflects Jefferson's curious mind and his interest and aptitude in mechanical matters.

Thomas Jefferson also designed an improved version of the dumbwaiter. - About.com Inventors

Labels: Biscuits, Foodies, President, Thomas Jefferson, Vegetables

It's vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel.

...."I'm not afraid to say it. dessert has a well-known liberal agenda," Colbert said in a statement. "what I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case."

Labels: Ben and Jerry's, Colbert, Ice Cream, Vanilla, Vermont

In ancient times a distinction was made between a substance that increased fertility versus one that simply increased sex drive. One of the key issues in early times was nutrition. Food was not so readily available as it is today. Undernourishment creates a loss of libido as well as reduces fertility rates. Substances that "by nature" represent "seed or semen" such as bulbs, eggs, snails" were considered inherently to have sexual powers. Other types of foods were considered stimulating by their "physical resemblance to genitalia"

It's important to realize these food substances were identified (documented) by the likes of Pliny and Dioscordes (ancient Greeks) first century AD and later by Paul of Aegina from the seventh century. Later more credence was given to foods that "satisfied dietary gratification".

Other foods deemed to have these aphrodisiac qualities were derived from mythology. Aphrodite, the love goddess was said to consider "sparrows" sacred because of their "amorous nature" and for that reason were included in various aphrodisiac brews.

Labels: aphrodisiacs, Chocolate, love, valentines

New Mystery Ailment Devastates Honeybee Industry, Already Devastated by Mite Infestation
A mysterious illness is killing tens of thousands of honeybee colonies across the country, threatening honey production, the livelihood of beekeepers and possibly crops that need bees for pollination.

Researchers are scrambling to find the cause of the ailment, called Colony Collapse Disorder.

...The country's bee population had already been shocked in recent years by a tiny, parasitic bug called the varroa mite, which has destroyed more than half of some beekeepers' hives and devastated most wild honeybee populations.

Along with being producers of honey, commercial bee colonies are important to agriculture as pollinators, along with some birds, bats and other insects. A recent report by the National Research Council noted that in order to bear fruit, three-quarters of all flowering plants -- including most food crops and some that provide fiber, drugs and fuel -- rely on pollinators for fertilization.

Mid-Atlantic Apiculture

Penn State University Entomology Dept.

American Beekeeping Federation

Labels: Honey

High fashion is going granola. But not the grunge of hippie yoga wear and grainy hemp T-shirts typically associated with organic clothes.

Think soft soy dresses, cropped organic terry jackets and slim-fit organic denim jeans to pair with stilettos, not flip-flops.

Consumers worried about ingesting harmful pesticides have long been purchasing organic foods. But the philosophy is slowly hitting mainstream clothing retailers as experts warn about the dangers pesticides pose to the environment. -LATimes

Ford took to wearing a suit made of soybean protein fiber that he invented himself and called “soybean wool.” His Model “T” could run on ethanol, and he even built a car with plastic parts and upholstery of vegetable origin. - City Barbs

Labels: Clothing, Edamame, Fashion, Organic, Soy, Tofu

Organic Bouquet offers the finest floral gifts sourced from growers that are committed to the highest social and environmental standards. Our flowers are grown and harvested using practices that aim to improve the quality of farm working conditions, minimize damage to ecosystems, conserve biodiversity, and enhance environmental quality for future generations. Each bouquet in our collection is hand selected and shipped fresh from the farm, ensuring optimal product quality upon delivery.

Labels: Bear, Chocolate, Environmental, Flowers, Gift, Organic

Crack open a bottle of Argentine wine and the chances are it will have come from Mendoza - a province bordering Chile famous for its spectacular snowy peaks, adventure sports and pristine blue skies. The province produces 70 per cent of Argentina's wines, as well as olives, fruit and preserves and is a magnet for tourists seeking to get back to nature and enjoy the good life.

But the rugged, red-hued hills in San Rafael, in the heart of Mendoza, are also home to a long-mothballed uranium mine and a plant to concentrate the mineral ore into yellowcake. With world uranium prices that have doubled in the past year and Argentina planning a big expansion of nuclear power to stave off growing energy shortages, the government's atomic energy agency would love nothing more than to restart operations, which it says have been proven both safe and clean.

However, a powerful coalition of vineyards, organic farmers and local businesses is up in arms, warning residents that their water, air and soil are at risk of being poisoned and their livelihoods, export markets, tourist industry and health could be ruined.

...waters in the Tigre stream, which flows through the mine and into the Diamond River that supplies semi-arid San Rafael with drinking water, contain up to 75 micrograms of uranium per litre - which he said was more than twice the levels permitted in the US, Canada and Australia.

....Material to be treated at the site - where cows occasionally wander in from nearby farms and a couple of ducks swim on waste water dykes - includes piles of rubble containing low levels of uranium and pools and evaporation dykes containing uranium, arsenic, radium and acid residue.

In addition, there are 5,223 metal drums, buried in trenches, that contain uranium-tainted waste from the plant in the province of Cordoba that converts the yellowcake into uranium dioxide to fuel Argentina's two current nuclear power plants. - Financial Times

The wineries in California and the United States could be in serious trouble, as well, but for a different reason....

Global warming could spell disaster for much of the multibillion-dollar U.S. wine industry.

Areas suitable for growing premium wine grapes could be reduced by 50% — and possibly as much as 81% — by the end of this century, according to a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - USA Today

Labels: Argentina, Pollution, South America, Vineyards, Wine

• Discover great recipes in unique ways
• Create your own food page
• Have "Roger" the Recipe Robot (aka Food Prediction Algorithm) learn about your tastes and predict recipes you will like or dislike
• Show off your personal creations and get feedback as well as honors
• Meet other foodies (aka food lovers) and see what kind of foods they are into
• Share & Discover great places to eat in your home town
• Stem the flow of boredom by using the "Recipe Stumbler" to explore recipes related to your favorite foods. (This is a great feature if you're stuck in the office all day and need to waste as much time as possible.)
• Explore food by taste, mood, photo, ingredients, uniqueness, rating, and your compatibility
• Organize your recipe collection with the Recipe Manager
• Join/Create a Group of like-minded foodies
• Experiment and collaborate on a dish with other members
• Create your own food TV Show!
• Learn how to be a better cook by osmosis. No promises.

Labels: Foodies, Recipes

Labels: Calendar, Holidays

"Raised on California’s central coast, Jessica has always appreciated the honesty of artisanal foods, the purity of organic ingredients and the simple process of creating a product by hand from start to finish. She began experimenting with chocolate in 2001, making a few truffles laced with local delicacies as gifts. Today she continues to wander the Farmers’ Market in search of fresh herbs and ripe fruit to create sumptuous flavors like dark chocolate orange, tangy meyer lemon and white chocolate lavender that reflect the vibrancy of Santa Barbara’s coastal bounty."

• dark chocolate earl grey
  dark chocolate truffle infused with earl grey tea, rolled in vanilla scented sugar
• dark chocolate orange-ginger
  dark chocolate truffle with candied ginger and orange zest, rolled in cocoa
• white chocolate green tea
  white chocolate truffle infused with green tea, rolled in vanilla scented sugar
• white chocolate meyer lemon
  white chocolate truffle flavored with meyer lemon zest, rolled in meyer lemon infused sugar
• dark chocolate rosemary
  dark chocolate truffle infused with fresh rosemary, rolled in cocoa
• milk chocolate star anise-thyme
  milk chocolate truffle infused with star anise and fresh thyme, rolled in cocoa
• white chocolate passion fruit
  white chocolate truffle with passion fruit juice, rolled in vanilla scented sugar

Labels: Chocolate, local, truffles

• Trappistine Quality Candy (Mount Saint Mary's Abby, Wrentham, MA)
• Trappist Cheese (Abbey of Gethsamane, Trappist, KY)
• Monestary of the Angels candy and pumpkin bread (Los Angeles, CA)
• Trappist Preserves (St. Joseph's Abbey, Spencer, MA)
• Chocolate-Covered Fruitcake...aka "Fraters" (Holy Cross Abbey, Berryville, VA)
• Trappist Holy Orders Coffee (Our Lady of the Andes Monastery, Meridia, Venezula)

To a Trappist, work is a form of prayer. In fact, the cycle of public prayers the monks chant seven times daily is known as the Work of God, or Opus Dei in Latin. Trappists also pray privately at intervals throughout the day, encountering God through the ancient monastic discipline known as lectio divina, or sacred reading.

Labels: Breaking Bread, Monks, Spirituality, Trappist