More on the proposed hummus boycott

From the <a href="http://forward.com/articles/133810/">Forward</a>:<br /><div><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><p></p><blockquote><p>"Where are the principled human rights advocates when it comes to the moral crimes of the Arab world? Boycotts and divestments, we are told, are essential game changers. Yet advocacy groups and college students won’t apply them equally wherever human rights abuses are found.</p> <p>"Why aren’t the activists who criticize Israel calling for a boycott of Persian rugs from Iran? What about Egyptian cotton, oil from Saudi Arabia and whatever it is that Syria makes other than trouble?</p> <p>"Now activists are busy using hummus to spackle over the double standards that are abundant when it comes to the Middle East.</p> <p>"Delegitimization can take many forms — some serious, like the denial of Israel’s existence; and others bizarre, like accusations in recent years by some Lebanese that Israel has stolen their traditional hummus recipes. Apparently, Israelis have no authentic connection to the chickpea, which is just a short culinary step away from saying that they have no connection to the land."</p></blockquote><p></p><span><a href="http://forward.com/articles/133810/#ixzz17djSdNth" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153);"></a></span></div></div>

More on the proposed hummus boycott

From the Forward : "Where are the principled human rights advocates when it comes to the moral crimes of the Arab world? Boycotts and...

Baca selengkapnya »

The Politics of Falafel and Hummus

I read recently that Israel haters who are promoting boycotts and other actions are campaigning against the Sabra brand of hummus. They accuse its American manufacturers of donating money to Israeli military efforts. This is part of a broader campaign on college campuses which combines old-fashioned antisemitism with modern Israel-baiting.<br /><br />Currently:<br /><ul><li>At Princeton, a student referendum to ban Sabra hummus failed with 1,014 students against and 699 students voting for the referendum.</li><li>At DePaul University in Chicago, Sabra hummus was removed from the campus dining table at the request of the anti-Israel groups, but last week the school requested that their food service reinstate its sale.<br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Source: <a href="http://forward.com/articles/133747/">Princeton Defeats Attempt To Impose Alternative to Israeli Hummus</a></span><br /></div></li></ul>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/education/04hummus.html">New York Times</a>, reporting on these efforts, quoted Michael Kotzin, of the Jewish United Fund:<br /><blockquote>“As trivial as the determination of what hummus to serve to university students might seem, there are serious ramifications to this issue. It is clear that this action, following on earlier boycotts of Israeli culture and Israeli academics around the world, is but one component of a global assault on the legitimacy of the State of Israel itself.” </blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XSYIAxPuXnw4JVnZBD7LSSHXQhdiapzWDbPwH2m4mLvcaj2sH2coQMhQH6XdDh61osVs9o_-O6rdwyerWy__WuCH2a8EokQrMtKRKiQTs1NcL-LNZbZ0U-7A6sqNtb1PCahKc2nlBKQ/s1600-h/falafel.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137593931089177010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XSYIAxPuXnw4JVnZBD7LSSHXQhdiapzWDbPwH2m4mLvcaj2sH2coQMhQH6XdDh61osVs9o_-O6rdwyerWy__WuCH2a8EokQrMtKRKiQTs1NcL-LNZbZ0U-7A6sqNtb1PCahKc2nlBKQ/s200/falafel.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" /></a>A few years ago, there were flaps over falafel. A false but widely repeated news story stated that the FBI was tracking falafel stands because they were a hotbed of radical terrorism. The FBI website responded with denial: "We at the FBI were surprised to read about a supposed FBI program to monitor the sales of Middle Eastern food products in the San Francisco Bay area in support of counterterrorism intelligence gathering."No one in the FBI had heard of this supposed endeavor, which was widely covered in the press. (I wrote about it in more detail <a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2007/11/falafel-fluffle.html">here</a>.)<br /><br />Further, there's an ongoing dispute over who invented falafel and which Middle Eastern country owns hummus. In a world of so much bad will, even mashed chick peas (fried or dipped) can become completely political.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><span><br /></span></div>

The Politics of Falafel and Hummus

I read recently that Israel haters who are promoting boycotts and other actions are campaigning against the Sabra brand of hummus. They accu...

Baca selengkapnya »

Sausage and Politics

Don't miss this wonderful article in today's New York Times:<br /><h1 class="articleHeadline"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/weekinreview/05pear.html?ref=weekinreview"><span style="font-size:130%;">If Only Laws Were Like Sausages</span></a></h1><a> <img alt="" height="172" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/12/05/weekinreview/05pear/05pear-articleInline.jpg" width="190" /> </a> <p> </p> <br />By ROBERT PEAR<br /><br />The author doesn't merely quote Bismark:<br /><blockquote>“If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.”<br /><br />In other words, the legislative process, though messy and sometimes unappetizing, can produce healthy, wholesome results.<br /></blockquote><br />He interviews sausage makers about how their process differs from that of Congress:<br /><blockquote>“I’m so insulted when people say that lawmaking is like sausage making,” said Stanley A. Feder, president of Simply Sausage, whose plant here turns out 60,000 pounds of links a year.<br /><br />“With legislation, you can have hundreds of cooks — members of Congress, lobbyists, federal agency officials, state officials,” Mr. Feder said. “In sausage making, you generally have one person, the wurstmeister, who runs the business and makes the decisions.”...<br /><br />At Simply Sausage, the bones and other inedible, indigestible, unsavory parts are dumped in a big garbage pail and discarded. On Capitol Hill, stale old ideas are recycled year after year. </blockquote>I'm inspired by new confidence in sausages. But as the article says, I'm afraid that "The legislative meat grinder turns out many strange products."

Sausage and Politics

Don't miss this wonderful article in today's New York Times: If Only Laws Were Like Sausages By ROBERT PEAR The author...

Baca selengkapnya »

Refrigerator Memory

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwZJykGdIRM7a_MPCZnZDobAR_kFlb5kuVhYvcI1W5fM06wBo9N5UysLKW3J8IKnwoIxM93kTSOU7F6_TXsIKaX9nJYSL0w8NMOiVhtyLAjQ5zLrwaw9YmtkkRvgdPtRX6mYAfzAhjEYI/s1600/ge.refrig.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546849989567122546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwZJykGdIRM7a_MPCZnZDobAR_kFlb5kuVhYvcI1W5fM06wBo9N5UysLKW3J8IKnwoIxM93kTSOU7F6_TXsIKaX9nJYSL0w8NMOiVhtyLAjQ5zLrwaw9YmtkkRvgdPtRX6mYAfzAhjEYI/s400/ge.refrig.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 383px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />This GE refrigerator with a motor on top and room to sweep underneath was introduced in 1927, but when I was a small child that's what still stood in a corner of the kitchen in my parents' one-bedroom apartment. I may have mentioned it before, but I just noticed the photo on the GE appliance history website. Inside, the tiny freezer compartment could make a few ice cubes, but ice cream wouldn't stay frozen there.

Refrigerator Memory

This GE refrigerator with a motor on top and room to sweep underneath was introduced in 1927, but when I was a small child that's what s...

Baca selengkapnya »

Follow Up Thanksgiving Photo

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5229514850/" title="joel-aparna by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="joel-aparna" height="429" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5207/5229514850_64aa21d4cb_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Joel was missing from the set of Thanksgiving photos I posted before. So here are our hosts, the turkey chef and banana cream pie maker: Joel and Aparna.

Follow Up Thanksgiving Photo

Joel was missing from the set of Thanksgiving photos I posted before. So here are our hosts, the turkey chef and banana cream pie maker: Joe...

Baca selengkapnya »

Molecular Gastronomy Comes to Ann Arbor

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5224140688/" title="molecular4635 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="molecular4635" height="375" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/5224140688_68f9d9bbcd.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5223542625/" title="molecular4640 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="molecular4640" height="374" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5008/5223542625_cd4ed6a6d0.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Last night I had a nitrogen shake. At tableside, the waiter stirs liquid nitrogen into a hot ice cream preparation (such as you might put into an ice cream maker, I think). The result is a cold mixture of chocolate and other flavors that you drink with a straw, consistency of a milkshake. I guess nitrogen is tasteless, otherwise we'd smell it all the time when we breathed. I thought when molecular gastronomy reached Ann Arbor I would hate it -- but in fact it was fun. The taste? Not much different from most milkshakes.<br /><br />My previous posts on molecular gastronomy:<br /><ul class="posts"><li><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2008/05/futurists-see-future.html">Futurists see the future</a></li><li><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2008/05/moleular-gastronomy.html">Molecular Gastronomy</a></li><li><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2008/11/cookbooks-i-do-not-want.html">Cookbooks I DO NOT WANT</a></li></ul>

Molecular Gastronomy Comes to Ann Arbor

Last night I had a nitrogen shake. At tableside, the waiter stirs liquid nitrogen into a hot ice cream preparation (such as you might put in...

Baca selengkapnya »

Pumpkin Lasagna Recipe by Request

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5065947033/" title="pumpkin4298 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="pumpkin4298" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5065947033_04cbc243c8_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);">PUMPKIN LASAGNA</span></span><br /><br />First prepare a medium-sized pumpkin by cutting it in eighths and removing stem, seeds, and stringy interior stuff. Bake the slices on a cookie sheet, skin down, at 350º until it's pretty soft and you can easily peel off the skin. Cut the peeled pieces into 1/2 inch chunks. You will need around 2 or 3 cups of pumpkin -- if you have extra, use it in soup or make it into a side-dish with another meal. The pumpkins in the photo are the two that ended up in my two recipes of lasagna. <br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Ingredients</span><br />2-3 cups cooked pumpkin as described above.<br />2 or 3 onions, chopped and browned in butter or oil<br />Around 2/3 of a box of no-boil lasagna noodles<br />1 lb. of ricotta or farmer's cheese (ricotta makes a sweeter filling)<br />Optional: additional 1/2 cup of cottage cheese<br />Around 2-3 cups of shredded cheese that melts nicely (for the topping)<br />Sage-flavored white sauce (ingredients below)<br />Sage, basil, salt, and pepper to taste<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Method</span><br />Make the white sauce (see notes).<br /><br />Mix ricotta/farmer's cheese/cottage cheese with sage and basil.<br /><br />Brown the onions. Add sage, salt, pepper, and pumpkin and cook in the butter for a while longer.<br /><br />Generously coat a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with butter. Layer the ingredients as follows:<br /><ul><li>A layer of sauce</li><li>A single layer of noodles, touching each other and covering most or all of the surface and coated with more sauce. (Break noodles to make them fit if necessary.)</li><li>Half of the pumpkin-onion mixture evenly spread over the noodles.</li><li>Another layer of noodles covered with more sauce.</li><li>All of the ricotta/farmer's cheese/cottage cheese mixture spread evenly over noodles.</li><li>Another layer of noodles/sauce.</li><li>The rest of the pumpkin.</li><li>More sauce and noodles.</li><li>ALL the rest of the sauce and a bit more milk if needed.</li><li>The shredded cheese evenly spread over the top.</li></ul> After assembling the lasagna, be sure that all the noodles are in liquid sauce -- if not, add a bit of milk. Before putting it in the oven, let the assembled dish rest for around 20 minutes so that the noodles can begin to absorb the sauce.<br /><br />Cooking time at 400º -- 30 minutes covered with foil followed by 15 minutes uncovered -- enough to brown the cheese. After removing it from the oven, keep the dish at room temperature for around another 15 to 20 minutes so that the cheese and sauce all firm up. Otherwise you will have trouble cutting and serving nice squares (this is true for all lasagna).<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">NOTES</span><br /><ul><li>White sauce ingredients are: 2 -4 Tb butter (can omit butter if browning flour in non-stick pan), 1/3 cup flour, 4 cups milk, around 1 Tb. sage, salt & pepper. Should not be too thick. If you have never made white sauce, you need to look up the standard method of making a roux, adding hot milk, and simmering the sauce.<br /></li><li>To make onions brown better, add 1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar or a pinch of sugar.</li><li>The lasagna can be refrigerated after baking and reheated a day or two later.<br /></li><li>Obviously if you use browned flour only (no butter) in the white sauce, skim milk, non-fat ricotta or farmer's cheese, little butter or oil for browning the onions/pumpkin, and low-fat mozzarella for topping, you can make this an incredibly low-fat lasagna. I did not try making it low-fat.</li><li>I would NEVER use canned pumpkin for this!<br /></li></ul>

Pumpkin Lasagna Recipe by Request

PUMPKIN LASAGNA First prepare a medium-sized pumpkin by cutting it in eighths and removing stem, seeds, and stringy interior stuff. Bake th...

Baca selengkapnya »