Last week, for instance, I went on a business trip to Austin, Texas. If you’ve never been to Austin, it really is a fun town. In fact, in some ways it really reminded me of my hometown of Chapel Hill, NC: maybe it’s that ‘Keep Austin Weird,’ vibe that gels with the ‘Paris of the Piedmont,’ designation of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, I don’t know. Regardless, there’s definitely a similarity there, and I liked Austin almost immediately.

When we first got to Austin, we had lunch at a restaurant near our hotel called Jo’s Coffee. The food was just okay, but the vibe was great and I had some fancy Mexican sparkling water:

Tipo Chico

The next notable culinary adventure we took was to a restaurant called Jack Allen’s Kitchen, where we were invited to a #GoTexan tweet-up and 4-course wine dinner (to support Texas wines).

The first course was probably my favorite: an Herb-Crusted Fried Green Tomato with a Smoked Water Oak Farm Ricotta Cheese Pico:

Fried Green Tomato

It was paired with the 2009 Fall Creek Vineyards Chardonnay.

Next came a Spicy Gulf Jumbo Shrimp and Strawberry Salad with Animal Farms Arugula and Blistered Serrano Vinaigrette:

Spicy Gulf Jumbo Shrimp

This was paired with the 2009 McPherson Cellars Rosé of Syrah.

The main course of the evening was a Sous Vide Strube Ranch Waygu Tri-Tip, served with Texas Kitchen Pride Portabellas and Oak Hill Farms Blackberry Demi:

Strube Ranch Waygu Tri-Tip

This was my favorite pairing of the evening– the 2009 Messina Hof Cabernet Franc from Cedar Crest Vineyards:

2009 Messina Hof Cabernet Franc

I actually liked it so much that we rushed to Spec’s (the local liquor store that closes promptly at 9:00 P.M.) to buy a bottle to share at our BYOB dinner the following night. It wasn’t quite as tasty, but it was still pretty good:

2009 Messina Hof Cabernet Franc

Our final course of the evening was a called a peach “tart,” — even though it was the consistency of a key lime pie. There was no wine pairing with this course, but the caramel sauce was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the peaches:

Peach Tart with Caramel Sauce

The next morning, we went to a local joint called Juan-in-a-Million (they won us over with their cute name) for some breakfast tacos. Lord knows how we managed to finish ‘em, but we each got 3. I chose the Machacado with egg, tomato, onion and chile jalapeño, the Migas with onion, tomato and cheese, and the Chorizo with beans:

Breakfast Tacos

As long as you only have breakfast tacos like, Juan-in-a-Million years, you should be okay. Any more frequently than that and they’re gonna have to wheel you out of there.

I also discovered this tasty green pepper sauce in the Google Austin cafeteria. I picked up a bottle to bring back to New York, but they confiscated it at the airport:

Texas Dew Drops

Some TSA employee is now happily dousing his breakfast tacos in it. Le sigh.

We saw this yummy looked food truck, The Peached Tortilla, outside the Google Austin office, but we were still too stuffed full of breakfast taco to partake:

The Peached Tortilla

(Next time, Peached Tortilla, you’re mine.)

In the afternoon, our lovely hostess (Google Places’ Austin Community Manager, Whitney Francis) took us to Barton Springs, Austin’s swimming hole. We didn’t have time for a swim, but it looked so darn cool and refreshing that I just KNOW I’ll be heading back to Texas:

Barton Springs

Finally, on our last night in Texas, Whitney took us to The Salt Lick Restaurant, a Texas BBQ joint in Driftwood, Texas, not far outside of Austin. On the way there, I educated everyone about the various different styles of BBQ in the Southern United States, via the BBQ song, from fellow North Carolinians, Rhett and Link:

While the restaurant is BYOB (it’s in a dry county), there’s a vineyard there and they recently opened Salt Lick Cellars, where we did a tasting flight:

Salt Lick Cellars

We started with some bubbly, then tasted a bit of one of my childhood favorites, hot pepper jelly (it’s great with crackers and goat cheese):

Hot Pepper Jelly

Finally, it was time for the main event: BBQ. Remember, Texas BBQ is all about beef– brisket, ribs and sausage, mainly– and boy, was it delicious:

Texas BBQ

We ate nearly a metric ton of beef. My favorite parts were the burnt ends (the crunchy little pieces of brisket). The mustard-based sauce they served alongside it was pretty amazing as well.

Finally, it was time for a night cap back at our hotel, The W. I had a cocktail called the Rio Grande:

Rio Grande

I can’t quite remember what all was in it, but it was tasty (and strong!). We got up to fly back to New York at 4:15 the next morning– oof! — but, mark my words, Austin: I’ll be back.

My inspiration came from wanting to use up some of the Hungarian smoked pork loin my mom had shipped to me:

• 1/4 cup each lentils, red kidney beans, black beans, lima beans, Great Northern beans, Garbanzo beans, Pinto beans, yellow split peas, and green split peas;
• 2 quarts water;
• 1 pound ham, cubed (or, in this case, smoked Hungarian pork loin);
• 1 large onion, chopped;
• 1 clove garlic, minced;
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt;
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper;
• 1 (16 oz) can tomatoes;
• 2 tbs green chile peppers;
• 1 lb. fresh greens (I used a mix of collards, turnip and mustard greens, as well as some spinach);
• 2 tbs. Mushroom base (optional);
• Crushed red pepper (optional).

First: soak the lentils, beans and peas in water to cover in a large saucepan overnight.

Drain.

Add 2 quarts of water, ham, onion, garlic, salt and pepper; mix well. Add mushroom base if desired.

Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in tomatoes.

Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the greens (and don’t make the mistake I did: always be sure to trim out the greens’ tough stalks!), they’ll cook quickly.

Add some crushed red pepper flakes if you like some heat, like me.

Ready to serve!

How easy was that?

From the Hungarian Farmer’s Almanac Anno 1674:

“Buy salt for the summer and put the carp into the lake.”

- Source: George Lang’s Cuisine of Hungary, p. 33.

Let’s talk about the photo above. That’s a little dish called Meat Pocket. It sounds simple enough, and it is, but when that Meat Pocket is made of Mangalitsa, it’s also INCREDIBLY delicious. Epic, even (do you SEE that crispy pork skin and the juicy deliciousness underneath?!).

We all swooned. I might I have even gone back for thirds. Don’t judge me.

(P.S.: I  find that Meat Pocket is even more delicious if you sing its praises in the style of Jim Gaffigan’s riff on Hot Pockets. Though, to be fair, the Meat Pocket and the Hot Pocket are not even in the same stratosphere when it comes to actual food quality… but the joke still makes me laugh.)

Also? We made headcheese. With blood in it. If you like blood sausage, you’ll love it.

Oh, and blood sausage? Yeah, we made that, too.

… unfortunately, I failed to snap a good picture of it, so the photo above shows the mixing of what was my favorite sausage: Mangalitsa with cheese! I think there may have also been venison in the mixture? Regardless, it was delicious. Cheese, like Mangalitsa, makes everything better. So, the two of those together: even better than you’re imagining right now. Times ten.

We also rendered pork cracklins’. Sprinkle some sea salt on these and they are, in fact, life-changing. Especially while they’re still hot. I might have gained 3 pounds that weekend entirely thanks to these. Or it might have been 5 pounds. Maybe.

This is whipped lard. You can use it in so many different ways. Think about using it in any place you’d normally use whipped cream.

… Did I just blow your mind?

Did I mention we made sausage?

Yeah. We made that.

(It was GOOD.)

Then Christoph showed us how to cure our meats. Did you know that if you make sausage from an animal on the same day that you slaughter it, you don’t have to use any nitrates? It’s true. That’s why people often schedule their lives around the pig hunt or when they plan on slaughtering their pigs – you want to go from live animal to finished products as quickly as possible.

(Did I ever tell you that my grandparents met at the village feast on the night of the wild boar hunt? It’s true. Maybe I’ll tell you that story sometime. Also? I recently found out that I have Mangalitsa farmers in my family tree – only a few generations back! Who knew?)

There was a lot of laughter. Plenty of ‘That’s What She Said!’ jokes and other shenanigans. And, while not everyone is pictured in this one shot, I think you can tell by the faces that made the frame that we had an amazing weekend: we may be exhausted and looking rough, but we’re all full and happy.

What a great way to spend a weekend, truly: having a new, unique experience with strangers, working together, cooking together, dining together, drinking together. You won’t stay strangers long, and you may even make some friends for life.

(Awwwww.)

To close: you may leave the farm behind, but Pigstock will never leave you. Whether it’s through the knowledge you’ve acquired or the relationships you’ve forged, an experience like this really sticks with you.

Just ask my dog, Alfie. He was simply TRANSFIXED by my Mangalitsa-infused tennis shoes.

P.S. Want more from PigStock, Day 3? Click on over to my Flickr.
P.P.S. Want more Mangalitsa? Live in New York? Head on over to new FoodShed Market in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn (my neighborhood!). Michael from Mosefund Farm will be there selling Mangalitsa every Sunday until the weather warms and he heads back to the New Amsterdam Market.

In each city, five notable chefs compete offering their preparations of five heritage breed pigs (each chef is paired with one exceptional hog; five wine makers are also on-hand). The winners  from each city (determined by the judges and also by the crowd) are then offered the chance to compete at the Grand Cochon, which takes place each year during the Food & Wine festival in Aspen.

To say that Cochon 555 was fun would be a huge understatement. It was truly one of the most unique experiences I’ve had so far in New York, and it was absolutely the best night of eating I’ve had thus far in 2011 (though a trip to Anella in Greenpoint this past Saturday night did prove quite tasty).  The delicious cocktails provided by the good people at St. Germaine didn’t hurt, either (see above).

We started off in the VIP area with oysters, caviar and some delicious charcuterie from DeBragga (DeBragga Partner and COO George Faison and his wife, Stephanie, were on-hand serving up some really lovely stuff. I thought their lardo was delicious).

Happily, Thomas Schneller (also of Hungarian descent) from the CIA was there with his students. Here he is giving a butchery demo on how to debone a whole hog for porchetta:

Then it was time to feast. Judging by the caliber of product and talent in the room, we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed. We started out at Chef Brad Farmerie‘s table, where the stand-outs to me were the delicious cocktail of cochon-washed cachaça with skewered bacon and these delicious miniature black pudding pies with an incredibly flaky crust. I thought his sweet blood pops with chocolate and crushed peanut (I believe that’s what I was eating) were tremendous as well (below).

Next we went to visit Chef Bill Telepan. As he’s part Hungarian as well, it was only fitting that he had been paired with the Mangalitsa from Mosefund Farm. Chef Telepan prepared two delicious plates for us, the first with probably the very best blood sausage I’ve ever tried (I believe he said it was his nagymama’s recipe) and the next with perhaps the most perfect little biscuit in existence (made with Mangalitsa leaf lard, of course). His pork belly with radish and rye toast was also phenomenal and really reminded me of my grandfather’s cooking. Eating from Chef Telepan’s table was like a flood of taste memories from my childhood, only elevated.

While Chef Telepan and Mangalitsa may not have won the event, they certainly did not disappoint. Best of all, Chef Telepan was incredibly personable – it was truly a pleasure meeting him, and I can’t wait to visit his restaurant (Telepan) later this week (and hopefully chat a bit about Hungarian wine).

Next came Chef George Mendes’ creations (see above). While he and the rest of the team from Aldea had a number of dishes, to me the knockout was their pate. It was hands-down the most delicious, smoothest pate I have ever eaten. I didn’t get a shot of that particular pate, but here’s a snap of a more rustic country pork terrine with a white port gelee.

By this point, we were nearly stuffed, but not too stuffed to sample the fare prepared by Chef Peter Hoffman of Savoy (see below).

At Chef Hoffman’s table, they were serving up a plateful of porky favorites using a Berkshire hog – sausage, cabbage, potatoes and lots of other good stuff. I was also happy to meet some members of Chef Hoffman’s team later in the evening, and I have to say: they are a really friendly group of folks. I’ve always been a fan of Savoy (I used to work in SoHo and would go to there whenever I had the chance) and I will definitely be making a point to stop by there again soon to taste the delicious local, seasonal fare that Chef Peter Hoffman and his Chef de Cuisine, Ryan Tate, are preparing.

Finally, we came to Chef Sean Rembold of Marlow & Sons, which is one of my favorite restaurants. In all honesty, I can’t even remember what I ate here – I was so full at this point! Luckily, I snapped a shot of the menu to help remind me (above).

Then, finally (and with very full bellies), it was time to vote.

While the ballots were being counted, we enjoyed some AMAZING pork and waffles prepared by Chef Bobby Helen and the rest of the talented team from Resto, where we’d later enjoy the afterparty. Seriously, folks: pork and waffles. Let me say that again. Pork. Waffles. Get into it.

Then, the moment of truth… drumroll please…

… In the end, victory went to Chef Brad Farmerie and his very happy crew from Public. I have to say, their menu was definitely the most eclectic in terms of flavor profiles… and who doesn’t love inspired cocktails, food on a stick and miniature pies (pies are the thing right now, you know)?!

((( Applause )))

… We then scooted over to Resto for the afterparty, which was really intimate and lovely. Also? They have an adorable restroom (see above). I’ll be back for brunch. And some more of those waffles!

PS. Want to see more of my photos from Cochon 555? Click on over to my Flickr.

Let’s start with butchery. As you’ll remember from my last post, the first day of Pigstock involved pig slaughter – all in all, I think we killed 7 hogs. On the second day, it was time to break the pigs down so we could cook them and make products (such as sausage, headcheese, etc.). Since there were about a dozen of us there, we each had a half of a pig to butcher.

(… this is where we admire Christoph’s awesome chainmail glove. Be jealous.)

To see how Christoph breaks down the whole half pig, click on through to my Flickr (this includes how to prepare a ham, Spanish-style). For more information on pig butchery, check out this instructional guide posted by Heath Putnam, who raises Mangalitsa hogs in Auburn, WA. His blog, Wooly Pigs, is a great Mangalitsa resource.

Now, on to a few more things I learned at Pigstock. Take, for instance, the glands pictured below (like humans, pigs have glands in many different parts of their bodies).

When you’re butchering an animal, pay close attention to how the glands look. If they’re dark (like those pictured above), that means that the animal might have been under stress of some kind at some point (maybe it got into a fight with the other animals; this is common). The point is that you should pay attention to the meat when the glands are dark: in some cases, you may not want to use all the meat. If you do, you’ll want to pay extra attention to how it’s prepared.

On to some more… delicious… revelations from PigStock:

That’s scrambled eggs… with pig’s brain and parsley. It’s good. So good, in fact, that I think you deserve the recipe. Check it out:

*

Mangalitsa Brains with Eggs

Brains

Eggs

Fat (Mangalitsa lard, butter, or oil)

Onions, chopped

Salt

Pepper

Parsley, chopped

Peel the brains. Season them with the salt & pepper. Heat your skillet, add and heat the fat. Sauté the onions, add the brains (they’ll cook quickly). Pour in the eggs and scramble according to your favorite method.  Top with parsley.

*

That’s a traditional Austrian recipe, courtesy of Christoph and Isabell Wiesner, our amazing instructors (brains are a traditional dish in Hungary, too, obviously).

If you need exact measurements for the ingredients, I’d check out a recipe for scrambled eggs with calf’s brains. The going ratio seems to be 1 egg to approximately 1 ounce of brains. As is often the case in my kitchen, though, here I’d just wing it. Trust your gut, so to speak.

OH: Check back soon for PigStock Day 3: Sausage, Headcheese and Curing, Oh My!

]]> http://www.yallhungary.com/2011/01/19/im-big-on-the-pig-part-iv/feed/ 1 http://www.yallhungary.com/2011/01/19/im-big-on-the-pig-part-iv/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YallHungary/~3/liDgLSsVLZU/ http://www.yallhungary.com/2011/01/09/im-big-on-the-pig-part-iii/#comments Sun, 09 Jan 2011 22:43:25 +0000 budapestbelle http://www.yallhungary.com/?p=1198 So, here’s the thing: editing pictures takes a really long time! I tried to start editing all my photos from Pigstock 2010, but then I realized that I’d never get them up on the blog before… 2012. So, instead, I’ve decided to present them to you in all their unedited glory.

This group of photos comes from our first day at PigStock. We all arrived at the farm early on a chilly morning in mid-November. As we waited for everyone to arrive, we sipped on hot coffee and got acquainted with the Mangalitsa pigs.

Once everyone had arrived, it was time for introductions (incidentally, I can tell you that this was a fantastic group of folks – and I’m happy to call them my friends after sharing a truly unique weekend with them). Pig slaughter would be next– but first, we drank a toast to the soul of the pig, as is the tradition in Austria. Never mind that it wasn’t even 8 A.M. yet – tradition is tradition, after all.

Below are the cartridges you use to kill the pig. I don’t want to get too graphic here, but I’ll say that after Christoph demonstrated the technique on the first pig, pretty much everyone was like “Oh, like in No Country For Old Men.” (I haven’t seen it yet myself, for what it’s worth.)

If you shoot the pig properly, it’s pretty much dead instantly. The next step is for someone to “stick” the pig quickly in the neck with a knife, while someone else catches the blood as it drains from the animal’s body. During this process the pig “sticker” kneels on the pig’s body and pumps its leg to help extract the blood (the blood will be used in blood sausage, head cheese, etc.).

The next step is to remove the toenails and bathe the pig in a tub of hot water so you can remove all of its wooly hair – and let me tell you, the hair on the Mangalitsa is incredibly thick and coarse. This is really quite a process. A chemical is used to soften the hair, and then these scrapers are used to remove it from the body.

After a fair amount of hair (and mud) has been removed, the pig is transferred to a large table, where it’s further cleaned by scraping off hair (using the metal scrapers and thick-bristled brushes) and the dead outer layer of its skin (like exfoliation, in a way). Wherever the hair is especially tough, a blow torch is used to burn it off. Steaming hot water is also washed over the pig periodically to aid in the cleaning process.

Once the pig is clean enough, rope is tied around its back legs (around the ankles) and it’s carefully hoisted up (by a tractor, in this case) so it can be slaughtered. The rest of the process is pretty graphic – the removal of the organs, etc – so instead of posting all those photos here, I’ll let any interested parties click on over to my Flickr, where you can see the entire process in detail.

There’s certainly nothing glamorous about pig slaughter. It is what it is, I guess– but that’s how it’s done. I myself removed the organs from one of the pigs and I’ve got to say, it was pretty incredible. First of all, I was struck by how ENORMOUS the lungs are (they’re HUGE) and of course by how surreal it was to be elbow deep (literally) inside a creature that was just alive not long before. Of course, all of us omnivores have blood on our hands, whether we’ve actually participated in the slaughtering process or not.

After a long day of hard work, we were all exhausted. It was high time for wine.

And, of course a tour of the cellar (look at those beautiful hams!)…

Then we went to feed the piggies who needed special attention (the ones who get bullied by the other pigs, or just need some extra acorns).

Finally, it was time to feast (on Mangalitsa, of course. Delicious.)…

… and reflect on what was truly a unique day.

Still to come:

- I’m Big on the Pig: Part IV (butchery and offal)
- I’m Big on the Pig: Part V (sausages, headcheese, leaf lard, etc.)

As many of you know, a few weekends ago I attended PigStock 2010 at Mosefund Farm in Branchville, NJ. Since then, several of you have asked me about my experience: what was it like to spend 3 days on a farm learning how to slaughter, clean, butcher, cook and make products out of a Hungarian Mangalitsa hog?

In short, it was incredible. Not only did I meet some of the loveliest human beings that exist in the world (shout-out to my PigStock classmates!), but I also got to take part in a truly unique, if bloody, process. Somewhat surprisingly, it didn’t make me feel at all uncomfortable about being an omnivore (as I’ve written previously, I’ve made my peace with eating animals– still, you never know how the experience of killing another living creature will affect you). As I’ve tried to explain to some friends recently, participating in PigStock actually made me feel much more comfortable with the circle of life that we’re a part of as omnivores.

(Of course, that sentiment is tempered with one huge caveat. Put simply: if all of my meat were raised, slaughtered, butchered and prepared with the same amount of respect and care that was given to the six hogs who gave their lives at Mosefund Farm’s PigStock, I would have no reservations about eating meat. Of course, we all know that this is not the case, and so those of us who are conscientious omnivores must make an effort to vote with our food dollars.)

In the end, I found that there’s something incredibly empowering about taking responsibility for your own food choices. If you eat meat, I’d really encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and take it upon yourself to experience the act of animal slaughter (as well as everything else that happens after slaughter, but before that delicious sausage gets on your plate at Sunday brunch). Yes, it gets messy and yes, there will be things that you did not expect. Yes, it is exhausting work and it may make you uncomfortable at times– but, if nothing else, it will make you think and, if you ask me, that’s generally a good thing.

Happily, if you experience something like PigStock, you’ll also learn a lot about your food. I love that I now know where the tenderloin is located on the pig, and when I ate one recently, I explained it to all of my curious dining companions– so now they know, too. I especially love that my freezer is now full of rendered Mangalitsa leaf lard and, when I bake a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie in a few weeks, I’ll use it for the crust. If you go the holiday party in Brooklyn that I bring that pie to, you’ll be happy about that leaf lard, too. Promise.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be editing the thousands of photos I took over the 3 day event and blogging even more about the process, including step-by-step accounts of how we slaughtered, cleaned, butchered, cooked and prepared the pigs.

If that process interests you, you’re in store for a real treat.

On the other hand, if graphic images of this nature disturb you, you may want to skip my next few posts… though, of course, if you’re an omnivore, I’d challenge you to keep on reading, even if the photos make you a bit squeamish.

Still, don’t worry, I’ll be blogging about plenty of other things in the coming weeks and months, including soup, pies, canning experiments and much, much more. So: Y’all Hungary?

This just in: a fun quiz on CNN to test your knowledge on all things culinary and Southern, i.e.: how much you really know about Hoppin’ John?

I myself scored 9/10. Can you guess which question I missed?

(Hint: if I were to re-take the quiz after my upcoming weekend at Mosefund Farm, I’d probably get it right!)

P.S. 1 – Thanks to my big brother, Zoli, for pointing this quiz out to me!)
P.S. 2 – The lovely fried chicken image comes to us from Thom Hackett.

Ted Sorensen passed away yesterday at the age of 82. Having been busy with Halloween activities yesterday, I only found out about his passing today, via this fascinating obituary from The New York Times. Today being All Saints Day (widely observed in Hungary) and the night before the midterm elections (here in the U.S.), Sorensen’s passing hit me especially hard. It also made me think about something that I’ve been meaning to write about here for some time now: why I’m gradually going organic with my food choices.

I realize that the connections aren’t immediately obvious. Let me back up for a moment.

Ted Sorensen was one of President Kennedy’s speechwriters and counselors. He was an incredibly gifted wordsmith, credited with ghostwriting much of Kennedy’s memoir, Profiles in Courage, as well as with authoring significant portions of Kennedy’s iconic 1961 inaugural address. Not to mention the fact that, at 34 years old, he penned a letter Kennedy sent to Khrushchev, helping to bring the Cuban Missile Crisis to a close.

In short, Ted Sorensen was one of the greats of 20th Century American politics. His work should be required reading for anyone with an interest in political speechwriting,  a field that I was passionate about pursuing at one point in my life. In college, I spent three and a half years working on the Presidential Recordings Program at the Miller Center of Public Affairs where, along with other students, it was my job to transcribe and annotate the secret White House recordings made by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. I spent hours listening to these tapes, recording every utterance. I knew all the voices on the tapes, and felt an intimate connection to the people behind them: Kennedy, Johnson, McNamara, Rusk, Salinger, Stevenson– and, yes, even Sorensen. He, too, was one of the Best and the Brightest, and I was moved when I learned of his passing.

That said, those that know me well also know that I’ve become somewhat disillusioned with politics in recent years, what with its soaring rhetoric and seemingly empty promises. This isn’t something that’s isolated to any particular administration or party, it’s just a fact of life. It is what it is: the way of the world is much more practical (and complex) than some of our favorite speeches would have us believe, and I find that understanding this has made me somewhat apathetic. Money talks, it’s true. Since I have relatively little of that, I’ve grown silent, at least compared to my formerly vocal, idealistic self.

There is one set of issues, however, that has started to ignite the political fire within me again– and this is the group of issues surrounding food, farming, obesity and health in this country. I was reminded of this recently while attending a screening of the movie Fresh at Ger-Nis Culinary & Herb Center here in Brooklyn.

As Fresh so clearly illustrates, our country’s food system is in crisis, and the factory farming industry is one of the major players in this equation. After the screening, there was a frank discussion amongst the guests, most of whom were Brooklyn-based chefs and restaurateurs (I’m fairly certain I was the only food writer/blogger there– it was quite a treat). In the end, it seemed to me that an understanding was reached: individuals represent another big player in this equation… and we can all do better.

What does this mean, exactly? For starters, it means choosing organic foods over conventional ones, choosing sustainable over unsustainable, choosing local whenever possible and practical.

It can also be argued that not everyone can do better, of course. Lots of folks are just struggling to make ends meet, especially in this economy– and organic foods cost more. Plus, organic foods aren’t always readily available in a lot of areas of the country.

That’s all true– but, as I finally accepted after watching Fresh, it’s not all true for me. As difficult as it is to scrape by as a twenty-something here in New York City, I still have choices when it comes to my food. Plus, as someone who spends quite a lot of her free time thinking, reading, writing and talking about food, I feel I must do better with my food choices (even if that means giving up other indulgences as a way of expanding my food budget).

When I think of my food choices now, I hear echoes of that famous Ghandi quote, about being the change you wish to see in the world. The jaded, former politico in me cringes when I read that sentence– still, I do try to do better, with each trip to the grocery store or farmer’s market (albeit grudgingly, at times).

While I’m rarely one to get up on my soapbox these days, I’d challenge you to do better, too, if you’re able to do it financially (if I can do it,  chances are you can do it, too, trust me). You may not be able to do it all at once, and that’s OK. It’s fine to start where you are– but, if the state of the food system in this country troubles you, please: start voting with your food dollars. Start with meats, eggs, then dairy. Then take a look at your produce choices, pantry staples, even your restaurant and take-out choices (organic chicken in that Pad Thai? Unlikely…).

For my part, I vote for chicken: organic, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, air-chilled, free-range, family-farmed chicken– even heritage breed when I can find it. I may pay about twice as much for it as I used to pay for conventional chicken but, after reading Eating Animals, I know it’s worth it.

Incidentally, it’s delicious, too.