Regulating a Farmers Market

The <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-marketwatch-20101105,0,3946012.story">L.A. Times</a> is reporting on the fraught issue of regulation of farmers markets:<br /><blockquote>"Shannon Reid, a market manager for Raw Inspiration, a nonprofit organization that runs 18 markets in Southern California ... told the regulators [from the California Department of Food and Agriculture] that she had caught a vendor repackaging produce from Mexico for sale at one of her markets but had been discouraged by her organization from reporting such violations to authorities. She said that her employer later retaliated against her after she did so anyway."</blockquote>I am aware of less-serious accusations and ideological quarrels about what is local and self-produced food at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. This makes me think about how difficult it must be to police farmers who claim to be the producers of what they sell. Produce from Mexico is obviously beyond any gray area of local produce. <br /><br />Issues of what can be claimed to be organic also plague produce sellers. If cheaper produce is mislabeled, its sellers can offer it more cheaply than the real thing, as organic produce is so much more expensive to produce and bring to market.<br /><br />As a consumer, I can only hope that the regulators are vigilant and honest, and will be receptive to evidence of fraud -- in the L.A. case, the accuser had photos of the vendor repackaging tomatoes, and further, the same vendor had been caught out at similar misdeeds in the past.

Regulating a Farmers Market

The L.A. Times is reporting on the fraught issue of regulation of farmers markets: "Shannon Reid, a market manager for Raw Inspiration...

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Is there such a thing as pumpkin lasagna?

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5144435088/" title="lasagne by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="lasagne" height="541" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/5144435088_6c305801b3_o.jpg" width="555" /></a><br /><br />Pumpkin leftovers are a challenge. I made pumpkin soup on Halloween weekend because the pumpkin just looked too good to be a jack-o-lantern. Around half the roasted pumpkin was left from that recipe.<br /><br />Today I was thinking about pumpkin ravioli, which seems generally flavored with sage and a white sauce. However, I'm too lazy to fool with all that filled dough. It seemed to me that it should be possible to use the same family of foods and flavors in pumpkin lasagna, so I googled it and found that lots of people have thought of this before. I'm not surprised.<br /><br />I proceeded, using what I had in the house and getting some ideas from this blog post from Sweden: <a href="http://themuffinmyth.com/2010/10/12/roasted-pumpkin-lasagne/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to roasted pumpkin lasagna">roasted pumpkin lasagna.</a> The essential lasagna layers between the ready-made sheets of pasta were a white sauce (made from browned flour, sage, and milk), farmer's cheese (close enough to ricotta), the roast pumpkin cooked with oil/butter and browned onion, and various cheeses that I had on hand.<br /><br />The result -- which you see in the middle of the picture -- was quite delicious. We ate quite a bit and also have some in the freezer for another dinner.<br /><br />UPDATE: I made it again, with slight variations, and we served it the night before Thanksgiving. Here is a real recipe: <a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2010/11/pumpkin-lasagna-recipe-by-request.html">Pumpkin Lasagna Recipe by Request</a> as I promised to several people.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);"><br /></span></span>

Is there such a thing as pumpkin lasagna?

Pumpkin leftovers are a challenge. I made pumpkin soup on Halloween weekend because the pumpkin just looked too good to be a jack-o-lantern....

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Joan Nathan at the Book Festival

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCdDy2uvLuIwLkKXj6Nit4tiYARJpEa29_Vk5DqqwcOYJtBT2JE1vdyOBB93e99a33RF8zOBmaeFrmAiV9cYxGtA941O1_CSG8M2E5Vy1dSy-0Vl2xFAxGEXbHWjEmjxAi6lq_YP2Kuh8/s1600/bookfair4533.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534757346356819042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCdDy2uvLuIwLkKXj6Nit4tiYARJpEa29_Vk5DqqwcOYJtBT2JE1vdyOBB93e99a33RF8zOBmaeFrmAiV9cYxGtA941O1_CSG8M2E5Vy1dSy-0Vl2xFAxGEXbHWjEmjxAi6lq_YP2Kuh8/s320/bookfair4533.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a>Joan Nathan's presentation this evening about her book <span style="font-style: italic;">Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous</span> was in the form of an interview with Ari Weinzweig, co-owner of Zingerman's Deli. The two have known each other for many years, and are both very effective speakers, so the audience had a feeling of being in a very interesting discussion between two lovers of food. Especially French food. The discussion ranged widely, covering not only the food, but also the history and origins of the Jews of France, their general reticence, and especially their tendency for a long time to avoid discussion of their Holocaust experiences.<br /><br />The two speakers had a rather detailed discussion of the Jewish quarter of Paris, the Marais, in which Jews settled some time in the Middle Ages. I especially enjoyed their conversation about two delis owned by the the Finkelsztajns -- now ex-spouses. Florence Finkelsztajn -- whose deli both speakers prefer -- gave Joan Nathan a recipe for her <span style="font-style: italic;">pletzel</span>, a type of biali, on which her deli serves a delicious pickeled beef sandwich. I know I've eaten in the Finkelsztajn deli, but I think it was prior to their divorce when there was just one store. I definitely realize that my experience of Paris and my reading on French Jews has ranged widely, but is very out-of-date.<br /><br />Before tonight's presentation, a local caterer served an amazing buffet of desserts made from Nathan's recipes, including cheesecake and several other cakes and tortes. The book has been available only since last Tuesday, so this must be a remarkable baker. I hope to find an excuse to make some of the recipes soon.<br /><br />It was most enjoyable.

Joan Nathan at the Book Festival

Joan Nathan's presentation this evening about her book Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous was in the form of an interview with Ari Weinzweig...

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A Perfect Description of a Banana

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQHxLlq5sS6IsIVRi6H3UASMaY68avU7G1LlINF4BvQdv78s2Ccf9SmUTzqTPFmkpMfxKl3hTRJmgw03m6xM5TGNm71tZE-UrXSSOMtLhUr51Yh2sAVn7yoLsgfyKJmZe9WNvd7eiBYCZ/s1600/rozchast.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534680146290431698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQHxLlq5sS6IsIVRi6H3UASMaY68avU7G1LlINF4BvQdv78s2Ccf9SmUTzqTPFmkpMfxKl3hTRJmgw03m6xM5TGNm71tZE-UrXSSOMtLhUr51Yh2sAVn7yoLsgfyKJmZe9WNvd7eiBYCZ/s200/rozchast.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 112px;" /></a>Many of you know me personally, and probably therefore know that I hate bananas. Well, in today's New Yorker, I found the most perfect description of bananas that I've ever seen, Roz Chast's article "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/11/08/101108sh_shouts_chast">Bananas</a>" accompanied by the lovely illustration at right.<br /><br />For example, Chast says:<br /><blockquote>"I am disgusted by bananas’ texture. Compare the texture of a banana—mushy, baby-foodish, almost what you would feed a sick person—with the brisk athletic crispness of an apple. And, please, not one of those bulk apples you buy in a plastic bag. Those are mealy and they give all fruit a bad name. It’s no wonder so many kids don’t like fruit, if that’s the only kind of fruit they’ve ever had. I mean like a really good Macoun or Honeycrisp."</blockquote>This is the best description I've ever heard. Exactly how I feel.<br /><br />And about banana peel. She mentions a person eating a banana, slowly --<br /><blockquote>"But watch how the peel starts to drape over the hand. Now the banana is halfway eaten. The peel is now draping over the entire hand. Finally, the person finishes the banana and is left holding this disgusting peel, which is quickly turning brown and smelly! It’s not like an apple core, which you could throw out a car window and think, even though you’d be kidding yourself, Maybe an apple orchard will start here. Or an orange peel, which you wouldn’t throw out a car window, but at least it smells nice. ... The banana peel is garbage of the worst sort, the kind you must get rid of right away. You need to walk quickly to the nearest trash receptacle, throw it in, and then nonchalantly walk away, all the while giving off psychic vibes that you know nothing about it, that it’s somebody else’s peel."</blockquote><br /><br />I recommend reading this if you hate bananas. Or if you love bananas and want to know how a banana hater feels. And now don't tell me I'm the only person in the world who hates bananas except for Ladelle.

A Perfect Description of a Banana

Many of you know me personally, and probably therefore know that I hate bananas. Well, in today's New Yorker, I found the most perfect d...

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My New Cookbook

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0307267598/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link"><img alt="Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France" border="0" height="300" id="prodImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pvuQxddoL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><br />Published last week, Joan Nathan's <span style="font-style: italic;">Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France</span> is now number four on amazon.com's French cookbook bestseller list -- behind 2 editions of <span style="font-style: italic;">Mastering the Art of French Cooking</span> and one other book. It's quite beautiful, with many color photos and historic illustrations.<br /><br />I spent quite a bit of time reading the narrative parts of the text and looking over the pictures this afternoon (while simultaneously watching the Jon Stewart rally on streaming video). After also looking at the ingredient lists for the recipes, I expect I'm going to have fun trying the recipes. The background on Jewish life and cooking in France is quite enjoyable, though not very detailed. Nathan's recipes represent a wide collection from Jewish cooks she interviewed. I was a little surprised because she did not seem to search out historical recipes from earlier eras: just to find those that still maintain an active place in the living repertoire.<br /><br />Nathan will be at the Jewish Book Festival in Ann Arbor Monday night to promote the book. I'm looking forward to hearing what she has to say about it, and assume she'll tell some more tales of the people she met and the homes, shops, markets, and restaurants she visited.

My New Cookbook

Published last week, Joan Nathan's Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France is now number four on amazon.c...

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Candy

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FfQuFtDwyaDLgcgHBZXYg-plW8eJXnTMACBoqWAPttlssiNl-FZp-UgMRm4kNqD5XawklJ8xV0R7Qn-0a0tO3oGicugYhibojSEjURM7wHO8uhOVOU92QG6qtjxyNsjNJwSqGNQjChLy/s1600/halloween4481.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533194010944958898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FfQuFtDwyaDLgcgHBZXYg-plW8eJXnTMACBoqWAPttlssiNl-FZp-UgMRm4kNqD5XawklJ8xV0R7Qn-0a0tO3oGicugYhibojSEjURM7wHO8uhOVOU92QG6qtjxyNsjNJwSqGNQjChLy/s320/halloween4481.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a>I always buy Halloween candy that I like, especially little Butterfingers, Snickers, and Hershey's minis. This year I also mixed in some peppermint kisses that are made of that waxy not-even-chocolate white stuff with chips of peppermint. I think they were technically early Christmas candy.<br /><br />To my surprise, several food writers are taking this stuff seriously. Or sort of seriously: examining the calorie content and comparing nutrition in peanut M&Ms to the nutrition facts about other candy that didn't have that nice peanut protein (<a href="http://calorielab.com/news/2010/10/28/halloween-candy-nutritio/">here</a> and <a href="http://calorielab.com/news/2010/10/26/unhealthy-halloween-candy/">here</a>). Or describing the taste of the candy with words like "floral" or "toasty, nutty notes." In <a href="http://www.salon.com/food/sacrificial_lam/index.html?story=/food/francis_lam/2010/10/27/halloween_candy_taste_test">Our taste test of fine and foul Halloween candies,</a> the author, normally a super-serious food writer at Salon.com, vacillates in just how serious he's taking the taste test.<br /><br />I'm going to give a couple pieces of candy each to several hundred kids dressed up in costumes, whose mothers might let them eat it -- or whose mothers might eat it for them. The next block over from us will be closed to car traffic to encourage and protect the trick-or-treaters. This will probably cause even more than the usual hundreds to show up here. I'll be glad to see them. I do not think that the nutritional value of one or another kind of candy is at issue. And if I gave them little boxes of raisins, it would seem mean-spirited. Also, I would miss my minimum annual requirement of Butterfinger bars.

Candy

I always buy Halloween candy that I like, especially little Butterfingers, Snickers, and Hershey's minis. This year I also mixed in some...

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Do You Like Butter?

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5112243153/" title="halloween4399 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="halloween4399" height="481" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1403/5112243153_e5e22ab20c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />Miriam and Alice are almost ready for Halloween with their costumes: sticks of butter.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5112841788/" title="halloween4424 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="halloween4424" height="544" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1239/5112841788_996e95602d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5112242721/" title="halloween4452 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="halloween4452" height="498" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/5112242721_cd3849717c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />The Jack-o-Lanterns are also ready to light. A maze made of bales of hay was a fun place to play while we were also picking out all the pumpkins:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5112841642/" title="halloween4430 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="halloween4430" height="508" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1108/5112841642_3eb4c89a6b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>

Do You Like Butter?

Miriam and Alice are almost ready for Halloween with their costumes: sticks of butter. The Jack-o-Lanterns are also ready to light. A maze m...

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