Go figure

From a March 10, 2009 New York Times article:

"The former first lady, Laura Bush, insisted that fresh, organic foods be served in the White House, but did not broadcast that fact to the public, according to Walter Scheib, who served as executive chef under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. 'She just didn’t talk much about it outside the house,' Mr. Scheib said of Mrs. Bush."

Hmmm... so while Laura is insisting that only organic food be served in the White House, hubby's policies are almost what one could call anti-organic? Perhaps she didn't mention it outside the White House so as not to upset her friends such as Rush Limbaugh or Matt Drudge?

And why did the American tax payer have to pay for organic food for a White House that enabled or even forced the "common folk" (i.e. us) to eat contaminated unhealthy industrially-produced garbage at times?

I am definitely wining

While I've liked wine for a long while now, I've recently been more "into" certain (and better) ones lately, and being the thrifty person I am, I've been hunting for inexpensive yet good wines. I live in Orange County, North Carolina, so some of my sources won't be applicable for anyone outside of this area.

Where do I get my wines?
1. Hillsborough Wine Company; my local wine merchant with a good selection of great-quality and many inexpensive wines, located in Hillsborough.
2. 3Cups; has some very cool artisinal, organic, and biodynamic wines, located in Chapel Hill.
3. Trader Joe's; has several inexpensive but good wines, located in Chapel Hill.
4. World Market; has a few inexpensive but good wines, located in Chapel Hill.

I'd always rather shop my local store, but sometimes just feel compelled to buy a quantity of inexpensive wine from, say, Trader Joe's, because I don't want to spent more than six or seven dollars for an "everyday wine" for myself.

However, often times my local wine shop can get wine for cheaper than discount places, particularly if I buy it by the case. For instance, my current favorite inexpensive wine is La Vieille Ferme Rouge Côtes du Ventoux, which is $6.99 a bottle at World Market; Hillsborough Wine Company sells it for $7.49 a bottle. However, World Market doesn't give a case discount, and HWC does; so I can get it for about $6.36 a bottle at HWC (a saving of 60 cents a bottle, or almost $8.00 a case -- which definitely adds up after while).

An interesting wine that I came across at Trader Joe's is a wine called La Ferme Julien Rouge Cotes du Ventoux. Its label resembles La Vieille Ferme Rouge Côtes du Ventoux (although it has a goat on it instead of two chickens and the color and font are different), and has the same composition: 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Carignan, and 15% Cinsault. The bottle and cap look alike as well. It's supposed to be made by the same people (the Perrin family, who have a great reputation). Word on the street (well, the Internet) is that it's either a private labelling of the La Vieille Ferme, or a secondary bottling of it, or that it's from grapes from somewhere else on the same vineyard. It does get generally good ratings, with people either saying the two taste the same, or that the La Vieille Ferme is better, or that they're both bad. (I'll have to tray a few bottles and get back to you!) Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator both give the 2006 La Vieille Ferme an 87 rating, in case you're into that.

The only other inexpensive (meaning, under $7.00 or $8.00) wine I really like so far from Trader Joe's is the La Loggia Barbera D'Alba. I've always enjoyed Barbera D'Alba, and while this isn't the best one I've had by far, it is really tasty and is so inexpensive ($6.99 a bottle) that one can't complain. And for God's sake don't get the "Two Buck Chuck" (now at $2.99 a bottle) at Trader Joe's, unless you just don't give a darn what swill you drink...

Yup, I rarely ever post

But I just can't keep up with it!

FDA and USDA drop the bomb AGAIN

Scientists (this time at the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy) have once again found the FDA and USDA to be hiding health-relevant information from consumers. The latest? Many products containing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contain mercury, due to the processing, uh... process. And what's the acceptable level of mercury in American consumers' food and drink, you ask? The answer?: Zero!

Again, hopefully with the new presidential administration in power, things like this will no longer happen, and the FDA and/or USDA will not sacrifice the American consumer so that a few crooked companies can force or keep their products on the shelves.

Read the report, Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup, here.

A great weight (both standard and metric) has been lifted

Hopefully a house cleaning will be undertaken in the U.S. government, getting rid of all (or at least most? Please?) of the ignorantly-idealistic, ill-suited, armchair commando, activist neo-cons who can't differentiate fact from fantasy. Well, hopefully the last eight years will show that their unsuited experiments of fantasy won't -- and didn't -- work. Their small ideas were once untested, but have now been tested - and their follies have been found to be greatly lacking and foolhardy. People so grossly unqualified should not be in charge of anything, much less a post that requires (demands!) intelligence and a comprehension of science.

I call on President Obama to change the course of America's future, and to do what's right for the people of this great country, and the world. Not for what's good for CEOs' annual bonuses, or for the middle-management of self-serving companies that would do harm to American (or world) citizens so that they can be lazy and save a few dollars and assure their stockholders of a profit the next quarter. But for all the others of us out there who will reap the harm caused by them currently and in the future. Because I really don't want three-eyed, one armed, flipper-footed, grossly overweight grandkids.

Biodynamicificationicizing

I think I've finally decided to take the plunge and experiment on my smallest garden plot (about 25 by 25 feet) and prepare it to go biodynamic in 2010.

What is biodynamic you ask? Well, it's "beyond organic" in a sense, and it even kicks it up a few notches on the agricultural side of permaculture. Some aspects of it are a bit nutty in my opinion (it's really pretty much a homeopathic approach to soil), but biodynamically-produced products are friggin' amazing, and taste better than most organic products (and blow the doors off industrial organic). It brings out the terroir to its utmost.

For information on it all, peruse this Wikipedia article, this ATTRA publication, the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association website, the Pfeiffer Center's website, or the grandaddy of all biodynamic sources: Rudolph Steiner's Agriculture Course from 1924. (There are other reputable resources out there also, by the way). You can even get certified Biodynamic® by Demeter USA. Perhaps the most widely-known product that has taken the leap to being raised biodynamically is wine.

Anyway, since it basically takes a whole year to get the system started (I've already met the standards for organic), I won't be able to really "go" biodynamic until Spring 2010, but can prep my garden until I can do so.

I guess it's time to get some additional compost piles started...

A cool local event heads up

This Real Food Real Medicine event sounds amazing. BUT, I won't be able to attend due to the cost of admission. $75 for a student? $100 for a farmer? $180+ for everyone else? C'mon! Oh well, even though it sounds cool, I guess all the well-to-do professors and yuppie foodies will be able to go. Perhaps I'll be able to read about it in some journal one day...

It's February 27 - March 1, by the way.

Chicken update

I thought I'd just put a chicken update out there for all (ahem) to read. So, here goes:

1. My Sussex chickens have all been killed by raccoons. So, I'm going to have to start over, but only better this time. What to do about it? Well, I haven't yet fenced in my property entirely, so I'll either have to do that or keep my flock within a smaller area of electric fencing; also, some raccoons must (will) perish.

2. I've finally become a member of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, and they'll be able to help me with my Sussex breeding program.

3. I'm almost through with my annual chicken slaughtering; all my Buff Plymouth Rocks are in the freezer, and I'm starting on my Delawares. I've had some communication problems with my farmers' market, so I may have them all to myself instead of selling most of them like I intended. It's too bad, too: I raised the birds well, and they've been tasting GOOD.

4. I've made a tentative list of chicks to buy in the early spring: mostly Sussexes, but I also plan on getting a Dominique or two and a Dorking.

On New Years Day...

...myself and two companions attended the Slow Food (Triangle) Terra Madre Recap event in Durham, North Carolina.

The event took place in one of the nicely-renovated Golden Belt Tobacco Company buildings. The event went well in my opinion, and the food was amazing (thanks to the people working the event and to the sponsors, such as Anson Mills of South Carolina).

The crowd there were mostly non-Southerners (a quick poll was taken by a show of hands; I think it was maybe 5%!), and everyone seemed to be quite friendly -- although a few people were hogging the "family-style" dishes of food and not passing them around. I was also a bit put off by the group of children that had turned the area behind my table into a racetrack of sorts, as I couldn't hear the announcer when he or she spoke due to the noise from the kids feet stompng.

Ok, negatives out of the way, the people running the event did a spectacular job, and the food was friggin' amazing. They ran out of collards quite quickly, but there was enough other food to fill the void. The cornbread, rice, and beans were all heirloom products from Anson Mills, and everything had pork in it (there were a few vegetarian options, but I'm thankful the food wasn't focused on that). Drinks were provided (water, tea, coffee), but it was BYOB (and many people did, including the Wine Authority guys who made me envy their line of bottles of wine they were sharing with friends and family).

I went expecting a more "Terra Madre experience" (I for some reason thought it would be local vendors, farmers, and etc., all at tables talking to visitors about their products), so it wasn't a "typical" Slow Food event experience I guess... but it was damn good and I wasn't disappointed. Post-meal, several Slow Food people talked about their experiences at Terra Madre in Italy, but I wasn't able to hear well due to the kids stomping around.

Thanks again to those who sponsored, hosted, and worked the event.