Fresh food underground

New Bread in Town!

2012-02-21T23:14:00.001-05:00

Alex's Russian Bakery will open its doors from 12 - 6pm tomorrow for a trial run. Alex has been selling his Russian-style sourdough bread at RAM and other area markets for the past year or so. This is the first time he will sell his bread mid-week out of his bakery.

Alex's Russian Bakery
1143 S Edgewood Ave.
Murray Hill

Monsanto held accountable for the first time

2012-02-20T20:28:00.000-05:00

French court finds Monsanto guilty

Thu, 2012-02-16 16:07

Pesticide Actio...

On Monday, a French court ruled in favor of farmer Paul François, who suffered neurological symptoms including headaches, memory loss and stammering after inhaling Monsanto’s herbicide, Lasso.

The decision marks the first time the pesticide and biotech giant — the largest of the Big 6 — has been held liable for poisoning caused by its products. Monsanto is appealing the verdict.

Although scientific evidence on the health impacts of pesticides has been around for many years — and continues to accumulate — court decisions like this one are a rare victory for farmers and eaters.

Broken U.S. policies prevent such liability

In the United States, such an outcome is near-impossible. Current federal pesticide policies put the onus of responsibility on farmers, workers and communities to prove causation of harm, rather than on pesticide producers to prove that their products are safe.

As one farmer who recovered from prostate cancer told a Washington Post reporter, proving health effects of exposure to pesticides over time is the equivalent of “lying on a bed of thorns and trying to say which one cut you."

Pesticide corporations have played a powerful role in shaping industry-friendly U.S. policies over the years. From its inception in 1947, our federal pesticide law (the Federal Insecticide Fungicide Rodenticide Act - FIFRA) has been a labeling law with next-to-no exercisable enforcement authority. It specifically protects pesticide corporations from being held legally liable for damages caused by their products, once their products have been registered for use.

Building on 2011 People's Tribunal verdict

In the absence of common sense regulations and public protections, people are holding the pesticide industry accountable in other ways.

In December 2011, PAN International convened an international people’s tribunal to hold the Big 6 accountable for human rights abuses. After four days of hearing testimony, including countless stories of loss of health, life and livelihood due to violations of the pesticide industry, an independent jury of experts from around the world delivered a strong verdict that called for a rollback of corporate control on food and farming.

Although the battle is far from over, it is promising to see the tribunal followed so closely by a victory in the courts. As these seemingly small wins add up, they build a movement towards the fair, safe and green food system that PAN — and our supporters — have always stood for.

A long way to go...

2012-02-14T01:02:00.008-05:00

Incredible as this is, McDonald's is still one of the worst possible places one could ever go for a meal.
Just remember that their ''burgers'' never go bad...

February 13, 2012, 5:18 PM

OMG: McDonald’s Does the Right Thing

By MARK BITTMAN

Mark Bittmanon food and all things related.

TAGS:

FOOD INDUSTRY,GESTATION CRATES,SOWS

There are more than a few improvements McDonald’s could make to better the treatment of its customers and workers, of the animals that provide the meat it sells and of the environment. On Monday, after years of internal and external pressure, the company announced a laudable course of action regarding the sows (female pigs) in their supply chain: McDonald’s is requiring, by May, that its suppliers of pork provide plans for phasing out gestation crates. Once those plans are delivered, says Bob Langert, the company’s vice president of sustainability, McDonald’s will create a timetable to end the use of gestation crates in its supply chain. “Considering that 90 percent [of the pregnant sows] in the United States are in gestation stalls, this is a huge issue,” he says, and he’s right.

This is important for the animals and for the entire meat-selling industry. Let’s start with the sows: a gestation crate is an individual metal stall so small that the sow cannot turn around; most sows spend not only their pregnancies in crates, but most of their lives. For humans, this would qualify as “cruel and unusual punishment,” and even if you believe that pigs are somehow “inferior,” it’s hard to rationalize gestation crates once you see what they look like. (For the record, defenders of the system suggest that crates prevent sows from fighting in group pens. There’s no space to argue that here, but it’s nonsense.)

The effect on the industry will be huge, because in the world of big-time meat supply, there are two kinds of producers: those who sell to McDonald’s and those wish they could. When, in 1999, McDonald’s requested that its suppliers give caged hens 72 square inches of space instead of 48 (72 is still smaller than a piece of 8×10 paper), not a single factory-farmed hen in the country was being raised with 72 inches of space. Yet the entire supply chain was converted in just 18 months, and 72 square inches is now effectively the industry standard.

Switching from gestation crates to group sow housing is more labor- and capital-intensive, requiring changes that will take money and time, so an 18-month turnaround is unrealistic. But it’s likely that within a few years gestation crates will be history for most pork producers, and that’s a major victory.

The struggle against gestation crates in this country is a recent one. In 2002 the Humane Society of the United States worked to enact a ban in Florida, and since then has achieved the same in seven additional states. (Legislation is pending in eight more.) In the meantime, Whole Foods and Chipotle have banned the use of gestation crates in their supply chains. But this move by McDonald’s — the fourth-largest employer in the world, and one of the biggest pork buyers in the country — is to date the most significant step in that direction.

Although there are no guarantees embedded in the McDonald’s announcement (“We’ll assess in May,” said Langert), it would be foolish of it to stall once its suppliers’ plans are made clear, just as it would be foolish of the suppliers to delay. Smithfield, a chief supplier of pork to McDonald’s and the biggest producer in the world, has promised on and off for years to phase out gestation crates by 2017. Its evident lack of commitment has cost it dearly in public relations. Still, it would seem that 2017 will be a logical target date for this change.

The McDonald’s move is supported by the Humane Society of the United States, which has done as much for animal welfare as any group. Paul Shapiro, a Humane Society spokesman, said, “We’ve been talking about this with McDonald’s for years, and to see them sending this type of a signal to the pork industry will really help move the issue forward. There is now no future in gestation crates in the United States.”

There is no real downside here: the McDonald’s move may not be bold, but it’s the right one; its timetable may not be swift but it’s probably the best that anyone could expect. Yes, sows will still be raised in what can only be called industrial conditions and no, the numbers of animals killed for meat will not decrease. But we can expect that this is not simply a P.R. ploy, and that the results will be positive.

Nevertheless, it should not let McDonald’s off the hook for more than a moment. Langert calls the company “a sustainability leader” and it’s in everyone’s interest to hold him to that phrase. When, in December, I visited some company executives — including Langert — at the McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill., I questioned them not only about gestation crates but on the other issues I believe to be important: the treatment of egg-laying hens and chickens; the quality and variety of their food offerings in general; their relationship to the labor force. Most of their answers were less than straightforward, along the lines of “we’re studying that,” or “we give our customers what they want.”

McDonald’s is among the most important food companies in the world, and one could argue that it and Walmart are the true pace-setters: what they do, others will do. When McDonald’s bans gestation crates, gestation crates will go bye-bye. If McDonald’s were to have a hit with a spot-on non-meat offering, you’d see something similar, lickety-split, at Burger King. If McDonald’s announced it was using organic milk for its coffee (as it does in Britain) or cage-free eggs for McMuffins (also a British practice), you’d see that happening everywhere. If McDonald’s were to pay its workers a dollar more than minimum wage, minimum wage in the restaurant industry would effectively go up.

When McDonald’s does the right thing, it’s a game-changer. Let’s pat them on the back today for doing just that: the right thing. But let’s keep reminding them that there’s a long way to go.

Best coffee in town

2012-02-07T23:54:00.002-05:00

Bold Bean is a beautiful and amazing coffee shop. Small enough to be cozy and intimate, big enough to give you the space you need. Just perfect. I go there almost every day, either to quietly study, or just pick up a cup of joe before work. Zack and his father Jay have done an incredible job opening this coffee shop. For more info, please visit their website: http://www.boldbeancoffee.com/about

Scones...

2012-02-05T00:34:00.005-05:00

This post is for Aurica Duca... finally got to write this down, over a cold beer... the scones look like they are floating in space, I know... but it gives you a good idea of how they can come out. They don't need to be shaped into perfect triangles to taste good, they can be messy and delicious. Serve warm...

Ingredients
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 cup rolled oats
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
7 tbsp cold salted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins, or blueberries, cranberries...
1/2 cup walnuts or nuts of choice (optional)

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Mix flours, baking powder and sugar in a mixer or by hand. Add butter cut into chunks... when well mixed, add milk, egg and vanilla. Lastly, mix in the oats, then dried fruit (or fresh berries) of choice, and nuts (optional).

Scoop out big tablespoonfuls of dough and place it on a baking stone (doesn't need to be preheated) or cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden (not brown!).

Don't forget to lick the bowl, spoon and mixer attachment- the batter is yummy! I use organic ingredients, and raw milk. I also sometimes use heavy cream instead of milk. As for the flour mixture, I go anywhere from 100% whole-wheat to 100% all white, depending on whom I make the scones for. This is the ratio I make the most.

Levain Bakery Sofia-Modified Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

2012-02-01T21:25:00.005-05:00

A reader wrote to tell me that she made the original Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe with an extra stick of butter, and won the cooking competition she entered. So I had to try her version- 3 instead of 2 sticks of butter. Since I was at it, I decided to substitute a little of the white flour for whole-wheat flour as well. I knew I'd have to ''taste'' the cookies tonight, so why not turn this into a good-quality carbo-loading opportunity?

Ingredients:

3 sticks ‘cold and cubed’ salted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar – not packed too hard. Just spoon it in the cup(s) and press down lightly when full, sweeping off any extra that runs over.
2 eggs
2 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups AP flour – Spoon and Sweep method. (feel the dough, it should be moist, kind of like cold cookie dough in a tube.. but not super sticky, so you can portion the cookies with your hands)
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4-1 teaspoon baking powder ( I don’t fill the tsp fully, hence the 3/4 tsp)
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks- I usually use half semisweet and half milk chocolate, preferably Guittard...
1 cup walnuts- toast the nuts for more flavor, if desired and/or use any kind of nut you like. I love pecans as well...

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time.. and beat until well incorporated.
Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chunks and nuts.
Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients. Divide into 12 equal portions, **about 4 oz each..
Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven 16-23 minutes depending on how gooey and raw’ish you like the middles (I bake mine at 375 for 18-20 minutes, as I prefer a less raw interior), until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake. Let cool on rack and store what you don’t immediately eat, in an airtight container.

I increased the brown sugar while decreasing the white sugar (1 cup brown sugar to 1/2 cup white sugar), in order to create a more ‘caramel-molasses like’ Chocolate chip walnut cookie.
I used organic butter, organic brown sugar, organic AP (all purpose) and stone-ground whole-wheat flour, organic walnuts and free-range eggs. All these can be found at Grassroots Market.

Squash soup.

2012-01-22T23:14:00.003-05:00

Squash soup has been a staple in our home for years now. It is easy to make, and so comforting and satisfying. This is the recipe I use; I love it because it has no precise measurements, and gives me a completely different outcome every time I make it.

For the main, basic ingredients, I use olive oil, butter, sea salt, a medium butternut squash, and a big yellow onion- 2 or 3 medium-sized ones will do the job as well... they just involve more pealing and crying.

For the ''side'' accompanying ingredients, I use either 1 or 2 potatoes, or 1 sweet potato for a stronger flavor; sometimes I will throw in a small carrot, or an apple, or orange, depending on what I find in the fridge that needs to be used. And heavy cream...

The secret to this soup is to cook the onions just right. Cut the onions into half-moons (C shapes), and put them in a big pot (preferably a thick one), along with enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot, about 3 tablespoons of butter, and salt to taste. Turn the fire to medium and let the onions cook, stirring every once in a while to make sure the bottom doesn't burn, until they are golden. By doing that, I get the full flavor of the onions, which give the soup its sweetness and body.

While the onions cook, I wash and cut the potatoes- no need to peel them, as their skin is nutritious as well. Then I peel (with a peeler), scoop the seeds out, and chop the squash any way I can without cutting myself or getting squash skin under my nail (very painful, not recommended). I also use that time to clean up all the peels and keep the counter clean. When the onions are nice and golden, I throw the potatoes/carrots/apple or orange in, and mix. Then I put the cut-up squash in, and mix. Mixing is very important in order to coat all the vegetables with the butter/oil/salt mixture, and keep them from tasting like ''boiled vegetables.'' I then add water to cover (just like in the picture above), turn the fire to ''high'' until it starts to boil, and turn it to ''low'' to simmer, with or without a lid. I use I lid if I am concerned about a bug falling on the soup (it happens); in that case, I keep the lid ajar so that the soup does not boil over.

I cook the soup for about 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft when pricked with a fork, and turn the fire off. If I have a chance, I let it cool a bit so I don't burn myself while handling it- but that is not totally necessary, in the interest of time. I then put the soup, a bit at a time, in the blender. Once the soup has a nice and creamy consistency, I empty it onto a container or pot. When I am ready to warm it up in order to serve/eat it, I add a bit of heavy cream to it, which makes it taste incredible. Don't let it boil though... very important when using heavy cream. Milk will also do, but really, there is nothing like heavy cream...

New bread in town!

2012-01-17T07:55:00.005-05:00

Sarah and Marcelle have started a new bread company. They bake whole wheat loaves, as well as naan, which they sell at the Riverside farmers market (FRAM) every Saturday from 10am to 1pm.

Each week they make a different type of bread, based on available ingredients. They generally work with a few rotating bases (sourdough, whole wheat, rye, etc.) and vary the methods and additions (herbs, fruits, nuts, etc.) to deliver a balance of consistency and variety.

Their bread is made fresh on the day of delivery, with organic ingredients, and local when possible. This is a typical ingredient list: organic 100% whole wheat flour, brown rice, water, vegan sugar, raisin juice, salt, yeast, pumpkin seeds. No preservatives, stabilizers, dough conditioners, or any other bizarre ingredients.

I signed up for their CSL (Community Supported Loaves), which they offer with the following prices:

Standard four-week subscription is $24 (Tuesday or Saturday).
Every other week (four week period) at $12 (Tuesday or Saturday). Or
Twice a week for four weeks at $42 (Tuesday and Saturday)

If going to the market in search of bread is not your cup of tea, you can easily call Sarah and Marcelle, order your bread, and they will deliver it to your door on their bikes. That service is offered for those who live in the "urban core" (Riverside, Five Points, Avondale, Downtown, San Marco, Ortega etc).

They hope to soon establish a pick-up point at the Beaches Market, also on Saturdays.

For more info, please contact:
Communityloaves@gmail.com
(904) 419-7899.

Quinoa...

2012-01-16T00:34:00.005-05:00

Adding ingredients...

Quinoa is a wonderful, versatile seed. It cooks quickly, and it may be eaten hot as a grain, or cold in a salad.

It is very light, which makes it a perfect dish for lunch. I can eat it and stay awake, as opposed to when I eat brown rice and beans at lunch time, which make me full, heavy and sleepy.

I mostly eat it cold as a salad, with a side of a greens, and/or left over chicken, chick peas, feta cheese, sweet potato fries, meat, boiled eggs, kibies… whatever I find in the fridge that day, basically.

The secret for quinoa of how to cook it properly. I used to just boil it, which made it mushy and unappealing. But then I found out that if I put it in the pot, and let it heat up and toast for a few minutes, it becomes much more delicious, fragrant and appetizing.

Quinoa salad.

I put a cup of dry quinoa in a pot, turn the flame to medium high, and let it heat up as I toss it. When I smell its aroma, I add 3 cups of water to it. The trick here is to immediately cover the pot the second I add the water so that it doesn't splatter, make a mess on the stove, and burn myself. A couple burns were enough to teach me that trick.

Once I add the water, I turn the fire to low, and simmer it for 15 to 20 minutes, until the water has evaporated. There is no need to mix the quinoa while it cooks, as it will only make it become mushy.

When it is done, I let it cool, and then mix it with my favorite ingredients to make a salad: olive oil and sea salt. Then I put in nuts such as raw or roasted cashews and/or almonds, Kalamata olives, parsley or cilantro, red onion, corn... and toss it together. The salad will last for about 3 days, a great deal for about 15 minutes of chopping/mixing and another 20 of cooking, which can be done while I have my morning coffee and get the kids ready for school.

Studying...

2012-01-13T15:13:00.003-05:00

Last May I decided to enroll in a summer class at the local college. I wanted to see if I would be interested in pursuing another career other than that of a professional musician. I called my children's babysitter, who at the time was a college senior, and asked her to help me prepare for the college math placement test. She readily agreed, since for the same pay she would only have to care for one grown-up child, as opposed to the usual quarreling two. Thanks to her guidance and patience, I was able to place into College Algebra, a prerequisite for most science classes.

I had not taken any science in Brazil. I studied in a public high-school, which meant that science labs were non-existent. They actually had existed at some point, since the beautiful old building we studied in had once belonged to a prestigious German High-School. The steps were made of marble, the windows were made of elaborate stained-glass. But everything had degraded, and the labs had been vandalized, or literally burnt down. So no science lab. We memorized periodic tables and such, but it pretty much stopped there, since teachers were often absent and there was no such thing as substitute teachers- we just had no class.

In college, since my major was music performance, there was never a need to study any science whatsoever. It is interesting to go through life without any knowledge of science: math, biology, chemistry, anatomy... I never knew how much I was missing until being exposed to it. It opens up a new side of my brain. A thinking side. I could have used it years ago, when I was in college, to help organize my life and not be completely stressed out of my mind the whole 6 years that it took to go through Bachelor's and Master's of music. It would probably have helped me practice more efficiently as well, instead of emotionally. Divide problems into sections, not be overwhelmed by the entire task.

I have now gone through College Algebra, Psychology Intro, Anatomy and Physiology, and Statistics. Yesterday I had my first Chemistry class, and start Anatomy/Physiology II this upcoming Saturday.

As difficult as it may be to balance these classes with family, work, and exercise... I feel that I have actually improved my mental capacity. I can memorize faster, and process everyday problems into compartments and subdivisions which allow for faster and simpler thinking/problem solving. It is also very satisfying to look at my hands, for example, and understand what my phalanges are doing, what the muscles are capable of, how sensitive the nerves are, and how much of our bodies is still unknown.

I am not sure yet what will come out of all these classes. They are all prerequisites for an accelerated Bachelors of Nursing Degree, which I will be able to apply for next fall if I so choose...

Meanwhile, I will try to be remember to be grateful for the gift that is learning, and enjoy it as much as I can, especially when studying through the night...

Why I cook...

2012-01-07T00:08:00.005-05:00

Getting ready for pizza...

I have heard time and again about how important it is to cook and eat at home. But when I hear about it in the news, it mainly refers to meals and ''family time.'' To tell you the truth, ''family time/meals'' are, for me, one of the most stressful parts of the day.

Cooking, trying to get the kids to eat what I serve them, stopping their fights during the meals, cleaning up after them… why bother to cook, then?

Squash soup in the making...

Cooking is the simplest, easiest, and cheapest way to take care of myself and my family, stay healthy, and lean.

Yes, it takes work, time and planning. But with time it becomes second nature, just like driving a car. No need to consult recipes and how-to books, no need to make fancy and involved meals. Just simple, intuitive cooking of good, wholesome food.

When I cook, I eat foods that I don't normally find in restaurants. Foods that seem to be ''beneath'' restaurant grade, such as collards, mustard, turnip greens… chinese cabbage, cabbage, beets, turnips, beans, brown rice… those are the foods that nourish my body and sustain the health of my family. They cost little, and yet give sustenance. When I cook, I control the quality of the cookware, as opposed to the aluminum pots and pans of most restaurants…

Argentinian Tortilla in the making...

My mother cooked everyday, both in Argentina and in Brazil. But I think she forgot that she actually had to teach us how to do it in order for us to learn. When I came to America, I ate Ramen noodles, hot-dogs, tuna sandwiches, eggs, pizza, pasta… I was constantly sick with colds, flu, and ear infections.

Then, one incredible day, my sister came to visit me and, horrified at what I was eating, took me to the supermarket. We bought a variety of fruits,vegetables, grains and beans, and she started to show me how to cook them. I started to feel so much livelier cooking this way, that I have kept doing it now for 17 years and counting…

Roasted beets in the making...

I wasn't born knowing how to cook. The first time I made a pot of black beans it was a disaster. I poured red wine in it, and it tasted like shit. I had to throw the whole batch away. But I eventually learned how to cook a variety of beans and grains, as well as all kinds of vegetables.

How does cooking my own food affect my health? The kids go to the doctor once a year- for a check up. No ear infections, no allergies, colds or flu. No trips to the doctor for us adults either.

Cooking for me is not a matter of pride or status. I cook because I want my kids to grow up healthy. I will not reject cooking because I am too busy. And I will definitely not reject cooking just because I come from a society where women traditionally belong in the kitchen. I cook because I am too smart NOT to.

Lasagnas in the making...

I cook for my health and for my budget, to make my family happy, and keep them healthy and strong. I cook to bring my friends together. I cook to stay alive and ''full of beans.''

Perfection, Success, and Fear.

2011-12-22T03:14:00.002-05:00

Is there perfection? Is perfection the only acceptable outcome? Am I acceptable at all if I am not perfect?

Maybe seeking perfection is the goal I set for myself, so that I have a challenge to aspire to. Maybe perfection is set entirely out of pure fear. Fear of failure. Fear of not winning a job. Fear of not living up to friend's expectations. Survival instincts. I want to be the best, so that I will be able to succeed and win that job, so that people will accept and admire me.

Part of this desire for perfection is probably brought on by the sheer competitiveness of the music field. There are very few jobs available, and if I am not one of the best, I don't get a job. Simple math.

Part of it could be the fact that I am a foreigner who in the past did not comprehend the language or customs, and therefore was not able to belong in the general group.

Or maybe it was just the very real need to survive in a foreign country. To be able to stay in America, I had to acquire a green-card, for which I had to prove that I was ''irreplaceable'' in my field of work... again, the very real need to ''be the best to survive.''

Most of it was probably beat into me early on by a somewhat demanding and strict father. The fear of disappointing must have been so strong, that it has lingered throughout my life, both as a student and as an adult/professional.

Working out of fear makes me toil for endless hours. It gives me a good, solid, consistent outcome. But it weakens my spirit.

When my motivation comes out of fear, the result is that no matter how hard I work, I always feel bad about myself at the end. Even if I have a successful outcome, it is never good enough. If I have a job somewhere, I could always have a better job somewhere else... If I miss one question out of an entire exam, I beat myself over that one mistake. If I havee an average speed in a race, it is certainly embarrassing. Not smart enough, not fast enough, not strong enough, not good enough.

What is it that makes me constantly beat myself up? Is it fear of not being able to achieve unless I suffer The dread that if I let myself relax, and feel good from an achievement, I will become lazy? Or is it that I like to push myself, challenge myself, but have only learned to do so by beating myself up instead of trusting myself?

This dilemma became all of a sudden clear today, as I challenged myself to a long run: how do I push myself, and yet be gentle with myself? That seemed impossible, since pushing has always meant beating myself up to a pulp.

So in running today, as my legs started to get tired, I decided to tell myself ''trust myself, trust my legs, they can do it,'' as opposed to the ''you can never get past this mileage, this is where you always hurt...'' and ''you need to go faster.''

Didn't push too hard, just listened to my body and kept pace with it. I ended up doing the miles just fine. Instead of pushing and punishing, I pushed and listened.

Maybe the key to success, for me, is to be able to be in tune with myself, which makes thoughts of what others may think vanish. Concentrate on my legs, and be grateful to them for taking me to all these incredible places. Concentrate on my arms, on my body, and see what they can do.

Smile, and let myself take pleasure not only in the process of work, practice, study and training... but in the outcome as well.

Aspartame and sickness

2011-12-12T08:46:00.002-05:00

Robbie Gennet

Writer of words and music, rider of waves, world traveler

Posted: January 6, 2011, Huffington Post

Donald Rumsfeld and the Strange History of Aspartame

Yes, that Donald Rumsfeld, the "knowns and unknowns" guy who remarkably executed some of the worst decisions in American foreign policy and got a medal for it. I have been reading up on this strange chapter in the history of Donald Rumsfeld and have learned two things. One, the chemical additive aspartame is very potentially a cancer and brain tumor-causing substance that has no place in our food. And two, the reasons and means by which Rumsfeld helped get it approved are nefarious at best, criminal at worst. And by the way, that medal that Rumsfeld got back in 2004 was the Presidential Medal of Freedom, also awarded to Tommy Franks, George Tenet and that charming warrior L. Paul Bremer. Evidently, "Freedom" means the right to use your powerful friends in Washington to approve your company's dangerous substance for human consumption and make a fat bonus on the way out the door. So how did aspartame become legal? And more importantly, if it had been rejected multiple times over fears of brain tumors and cancer, why?

Dr. John Olney, who founded the field of neuroscience called excitotoxicity, attempted to stop the approval of aspartame with Attorney James Turner back in 1996. The FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross told Congress that without a shadow of a doubt, aspartame can cause brain tumors and brain cancer and that it violated the Delaney Amendment, which forbids putting anything in food that is known to cause cancer. According to the top doctors and researchers on this issue, aspartame causes headache, memory loss, seizures, vision loss, coma and cancer. It worsens or mimics the symptoms of such diseases and conditions as fibromyalgia, MS, lupus, ADD, diabetes, Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue and depression. Further dangers highlighted is that aspartame liberates free methyl alcohol. The resulting chronic methanol poisoning affects the dopamine system of the brain causing addiction. Methanol, or wood alcohol, constitutes one third of the aspartame molecule and is classified as a severe metabolic poison and narcotic. How's that Diet Coke treating you now?

In the peer reviewed journal, Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Health, Dr. Woodrow Monte wrote: "When diet sodas and soft drinks, sweetened with aspartame, are used to replace fluid loss during exercise and physical exertion in hot climates, the intake of methanol can exceed 250 mg/day or 32 times the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limit of consumption for this cumulative poison." The effects of aspartame are documented by the FDA's own data. In 1995 the agency was forced, under the Freedom of Information Act, to release a list of aspartame symptoms reported by thousands of victims. From 10,000 consumer complaints, the FDA compiled a list of 92 symptoms, including death. Dr. Betty Martini, the founder of Mission Possible International, works with doctors around the world in an effort to remove aspartame from food, drinks and medicine. According to Dr. Martini, aspartame has brought more complaints to the FDA than any other additive and is responsible for 75% of such complaints to that agency. More recently, the EPA found Aspartame to be a potentially dangerous chemical along with BPA, which you've no doubt heard a lot about in the news lately. Aspartame, not so much.

Martini says NutraSweet is a "deadly neurotoxic drug masquerading as an additive. It interacts with all antidepressants, L-dopa, Coumadin, hormones, insulin, all cardiac medication, and many others. It also is a chemical hyper sensitization drug so that it interacts with vaccines, other toxins, other unsafe sweeteners like Splenda which has a chlorinated base like DDT and can cause auto immune disease. It has a synergistic and additive effect with MSG. Both being excitotoxins, the aspartic acid in aspartame, and MSG, the glutamate people were found using aspartame as the placebo for MSG studies, even before it was approved. The FDA has known this for a quarter of a century and done nothing even though its against the law."

So how does Donald Rumsfeld fit in to all this? A little history:

In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle, the chemical company that held the patent to aspartame, the active ingredient in NutraSweet. Monsanto was apparently untroubled by aspartame's clouded past, including the report of a 1980 FDA Board of Inquiry, comprised of three independent scientists, which confirmed that it "might induce brain tumors." The FDA had previously banned aspartame based on this finding, only to have then-Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld vow to "call in his markers," to get it approved. Here's how it happened:

Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president January 21, 1981. Rumsfeld, while still CEO at Searle, was part of Reagan's transition team. This team hand-picked Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., to be the new FDA commissioner. Dr. Hayes, a pharmacologist, had no previous experience with food additives before being appointed director of the FDA. On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, Reagan issued an executive order eliminating the FDA commissioners' authority to take action and Searle re-applied to the FDA for approval to use aspartame in food sweetener. Hayes, Reagan's new FDA commissioner, appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry's decision. It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision. So Hayes installed a sixth member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked. He then personally broke the tie in aspartame's favor.

One of Hayes' first official acts as FDA chief was to approve the use of aspartame as an artificial sweetener in dry goods on July 18, 1981. In order to accomplish this feat, Hayes had to overlook the scuttled grand jury investigation of Searle, overcome the Bressler Report, ignore the PBOI's recommendations and pretend aspartame did not chronically sicken and kill thousands of lab animals. Hayes left his post at the FDA in November, 1983, amid accusations that he was accepting corporate gifts for political favors. Just before leaving office in scandal, Hayes approved the use of aspartame in beverages. After Hayes left the FDA under allegations of impropriety, he served briefly as Provost at New York Medical College, and then took a position as a high-paid senior medical advisor with Burson-Marsteller, the chief public relations firm for both Monsanto and GD Searle. Since that time he has never spoken publicly about aspartame. FYI, here's Rachel Maddow on Burson-Marsteller: "When Evil needs public relations, Evil has Burson-Marsteller on speed dial." Evil, thy name is chemical food additives.

Here's the kicker: When Searle was absorbed by Monsanto in 1985, Donald Rumsfeld reportedly received a $12 million bonus, pretty big money in those days. Also, while at Searle, Rumsfeld was awarded Outstanding CEO in the Pharmaceutical Industry from the Wall Street Transcript (1980) and Financial World (1981)! Imagine that...

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In my research for this piece, I compiled facts and quotes from some various sources in order to best elucidate this issue. I have done my best to include all of them here so you can check out all the evidence for yourself. Much thanks and respect to those trying to alert the public to this dangerous substance.

Here's the timeline of how things went down: http://www.rense.com/general33/legal.htm

On Rumsfeld and Aspartame: http://www.newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive15.htm

Dr. John Olney's letter to the Senate in 1987: http://www.scribd.com/doc/6669992/Dr-John-Olney-Statement-Aspartame-l987

Dr. Joseph Mercola on America's Deadliest Sweetener: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/americas-deadliest-sweete_b_630549.html

Aspartame (Nutrasweet) Toxicity Info Center: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

Check out the wonderful work and research of Dr. Betty Martini at www.mpwhi.com and view her latest piece on the link between Aspartame and birth defects athttp://www.mpwhi.com/aspartame_causes_birth_defects.htm
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Stay healthy! Organic evaporated cane juice (sugar) and sometimes honey seem to be the best sweeteners to use, and in moderation at that....
http://www.certifiedorganicevaporatedcanejuice.com/

Brown Sugar Pecan Pie

2011-12-11T20:38:00.005-05:00

The very first thing I ever tasted when I came to the United States, fresh off the plane and completely unaware of Thanksgiving on a late November evening, was Pecan Pie. It is still my favorite pie, and I love making it because it is so simple: throw pecans, whiskey, eggs, sugar and butter in a bowl, mix, bake, and eat with the Bourbon you bought ''for the pie.''

I love this recipe because it uses brown sugar instead of corn syrup, so it is not too ''ultra'' sweet. Just ''perfect'' sweet. And yes, I do use organic ingredients- except for the bourbon... J.D. of course.

Pat-In-The-Pan Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

8 tablespoons salted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup heavy cream (I use whole milk)

1 egg yolk

Position rack in center of oven. Preheat to 400F. Mash flour and butter together in a bowl with back of fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can also use a mixer or food processor. Drizzle 1/4 cup cream (or milk) over the top and stir, mix or process till crumbs look damp and hold together when pinched. Transfer mixture to prepared 9-inch pie pan. Pat evenly along bottom and sides with fingertips. Prick bottom/sides with fork. Bake till crust is golden brown, 18-22 minutes, pricking bottom once or twice if it bubbles. Whisk egg yolk, then brush inside of crust with mixture. Return to oven until egg glaze sets, 1-2 minutes.

Filling:2 cups (packed) dark brown sugar4 large eggs1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted1 tablespoon Scotch whisky2 teaspoons vanilla extract1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon2 cups pecan halves
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk sugar, eggs, butter, Scotch, vanilla, and cinnamon in large bowl to blend. Mix in nuts. Pour filling into dough-lined dish. Bake pie until filling is slightly puffed and set in center, about 40 minutes. Cool pie completely at room temperature and serve.
The brown sugar/pecan/coconut granola (see How To Make Granola) in the back was made while the crust baked, since it only takes about 5 minutes to mix it, and 15 minutes to bake. Make both together, and save on gas and, most importantly, time.

On exercise...

2011-11-25T20:44:00.007-05:00

Why do I exercise?

I exercise because it gives me strength. It makes me feel good when I have doubts about myself, and start to worry about stuff. It gives me energy when I am mentally tired, and the strength I need to play my instrument well.

It gives me the stamina to climb mountains and swim in the ocean, and the energy to study and remain positive throughout the day.

I exercise because or else I would be in constant back pain from scoliosis, tight shoulders from playing, practicing, studying, and knee pain from one leg longer than the other...

I exercise because I have a very addictive personality. I used to smoke about a pack of cigarettes a day throughout college. I thought it helped me focus... When I was 27, I went to take an audition in Salt Lake City, UT, and found myself short of breath going up 5 steps in the hotel. That is when I realized I really wasn't taking very good care of myself. I didn't advance in that audition. I went into my room, closed the curtains, smoked and drank for hours while I cried my eyes out, and made a pact with myself to change things around.

I started to go to an acupuncturist to detox from smoking, and started to walk every morning. Eventually, I met my husband, who introduced me to running, hiking and biking. I started to practice yoga and felt stronger. I was inspired to learn and experience life other than just my profession and the familiar. And then I started to climb, and confront my most basic fears, such as heights, falling, and letting go.

There is something so fascinating about confronting fears dead on. As hard as it is, when I do it, I feel empowered. I will never forget the first time I swam in the ocean, my very first triathlon, my first climb...

The first time I went climbing, I was so scared that my knees were shaking uncontrollably, and I peed in my pants. Yes, I did. But I kept on going. Not sure if out of anger, or out of relief. I guess I couldn't hit any possible lower point in the embarrassment scale than peeing on myself. So after that, in a way, I was liberated to actually just do what I wanted to do.

First time I went swimming in a "master's swim," I think I drank more water than I actually swam. On my first ocean swim, I was yelled at for not "swimming in a circle" around the buoys. I was dropped on my first road-bike group ride. It was so bad that I called my husband, crying, to pick me up in the middle of some bumfuck place where I'd gotten lost after they (the group) left me. I felt like an idiot when I went running with a friend 10 years older than me and couldn't catch my breath...

So no, it didn't feel "great" the first time I tried anything. But who cares??? I could still say "fuck you, I will not swim in a fucking circle when it's just the 2 of us in the ocean and I can choose to stay closer to the shore and feel safer instead of going around that stupid buoy..." or choose to go to a different, friendly-er bike shop (free promo: think world-famous Drew @ city cycle)...

When I start something as an adult I have such fear of embarrassment and of not doing the "right thing." But really, what the hell is the right thing??? In truth, no one knows. Every one has fears, and low points, and embarrassing moments... everyone is human. So then, I keep on going. I am not the fastest swimmer, runner, biker, or the most experienced climber. But I do it because it makes me feel good, strong, and able to see life from a different perspective... a better perspective.

Down to Earth Farm Is Back!

2011-11-04T11:29:00.001-04:00

Greetings! During the summer (you remember those long, hot, steaming, sweaty, skin-baking months of summer?) we are asked frequently if we are going to be at market. This is my opportunity to explain the growing season of North Florida and that, although we could be growing eggplant and okra, this is the time in an organic system to let the soil (and the farmer's family!) rest. We get started planting seeds again at the end of August and have been working like busy beavers since then tilling, planting, shoveling, bug-squishing.....And now the glorious reward: Harvesting! So it has been more than a few shakes of a pigs tail since we have been at market with our delicious veggies, but we are very happy to be back! Hey, speaking of shaking a pig"s tail (I got an "A" in forced transitions in school) we had a pretty strange encounter on the farm yesterday. Our wonderful new intern, Chris, and I had just finished our day of work and were heading inside when I glanced toward the chicken coop and saw three dark specters silently milling around in our sweet potato patch. Our farm is not exactly way out in the countryside (just ten minutes from downtown) so we are not accustomed to seeing a heard of wild boar traipsing through our land. It took my brain a few seconds to realize what these creatures were and, although they were really beautiful animals, I knew they could make short work of our farm if they were so inclined. So Chris and I, armed with no more than a handful of broken sweet potatoes to use as projectiles, valiantly chased our porcine invaders off our land. Incidentally, these guys weren't sporting tusks so I'm not sure if they are just wandering piggy pets or menacing wild boar. For the sake of our bravery lets call them wild boar.........(check out the pics below, there are two pig pics and one just of our garden) Market this week Our market debut this year will be at a special event called Veg Fest. It is a great celebration of vegetables and a vegetarian diet that takes place in Riverside Park, just a five minute walk from RAM. Veg Fest is an all day event from 10 until 5, but I suggest finding us early as we are likely to sell out. We will be starting back at RAM next week (11/12) and hopefully back at Jarboe Park shortly after that..... Our first harvest will include some delicious greens: Red russian kale, collared greens, bok choi and our fan-favorite spicy arugula. We will also have fragrant bunches of sweet basil and some in-the-pod white and red speckled butter beans (a bit of work, but supremely tasty!) and a handful of colorful zinnia bunches. From our friends at KYV organic farm we will have some crisp and sweet pickling cucumbers, lovely eggplant and gorgeous baby sweet "yum yum" peppers. And we are excited about a couple new offerings that we have. First, we have started growing SUNFLOWER MICROGREENS, and they are absolutely delicious. They have a mild nutty flavor and are amazing in salads or on sandwiches. Finally I have always been a fan of ginger ale, but not that high fructose syrup and "natural flavor" nonsense that they call ginger ale. I love authentic GINGER ALE that is sweet but has a real ginger bite to it. Well we have started brewing it with all organic ingredients (of course), and it is truly an experience for the taste buds. Stop by and try some! Thanks so much for your support of local organic agriculture! In peace, Brian, Kristin, Chris, Olivia and Abigail

Halloween Special: Beets

2011-10-30T22:44:00.008-04:00

Anytime I mention ''beets,'', people immediately recoil in horror and tell me how much they hate canned beets. I agree with them, canned beets taste terrible. Not only that, they are not fresh, and probably contain sugar and preservatives.
But I am talking about real beets. The ones that you choose from a bin, check to make sure that they are nice and firm, and scrape off the excess dirt before you put them in your shopping bag. If you are lucky enough to find them freshly picked, you can also eat their leaves as you would eat collards, mustard or turnip greens: brazilian style of course, finely chopped and sautéed with garlic/olive oil, or bacon (see How to Cook Greens).
Now that you have dared to buy your first beets, lets get bloody. Lightly wash them in order to get the excess dirt off, and put them in a pot with enough filtered water to cover them. Bring to a boil, then bring the fire down to low and simmer for about 1 hour (add water if needed to keep beets covered), or until you can stick a regular knife through them. If the knife does not easily go through the beet, it means it is not ready. If you have a pressure cooker, your beets will be ready in about 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure not to cook them too long (too soft); if they are overcooked they lose their flavor.

Once they are cooked, bring them under running water, or a bowl of cold water, and pass your fingers on their skin. The skin will come out off quickly and easily. If you have cooked them and don't have time to ''deal'' with them, stick them in the fridge (discard the cooking water first!) until you are ready to peal and cut them. These guys on the left sat in the fridge for 24 hours before I had time to prepare them.
This is how they look once they are cooked and peeled.

Cut off the ends, cut the beets in half, then cut them into 1/4 slices (half-moon slices). Why cut them in halves first? So that they don't roll around, and you end up cutting yourself instead.
Now that they are cut, and your hands have a nice red tint to them, put them in a bowl. Add olive oil, salt, and if you wish, chopped parsley. They are ready to eat! If you are preparing them right after cooking them, make sure to let them get cold before you eat them, as they do not taste good at all when warm.

This is how they look when mixed with olive oil, sea salt and chopped parsley.
If you are trying to figure out what on earth you can serve with ''beets'', you guessed it: rice and beans.
They complement rice and beans beautifully well. They make an incredibly cheap meal, which is also filling, and nourishing to your body.

Ask Umbra: Should I wash out my zip-lock bags?

2011-10-25T18:18:00.000-04:00

24 OCT 2011 6:00 AM

Cherry-pick your food containers and leave plastic baggage behind.

Dearest readers,

Once in a while, your separate letters decide to link arms and chant in unison to ensure that they're really heard. Today they are telling me that many of you are losing sleep over plastics and food. But may I gently suggest that your insomnia is misplaced.

Instead of gazing into the darkness and wondering whether you should wash out your zip-lock baggies, you should be chewing your pillow in fury over the fact that a household good could be so bad. The plastics industry, built on the concept of "better living," could in fact be poisoning us all.

The chemicals in some plastics can leach into foods and beverages, and have been linked to respiratory issues, reproductive issues, and cancer. Check out the article "Even BPA-Free Plastic Not Always Safe," which discusses the "estrogenic activity" of various plastics heated in a lab. To quote a dear friend, "big yuck."

As I suggested in my recent plastics from plants column, our primary goal should be to reduce the amount of plastic in our lives. So I hereby challenge each of you, this week, to start cutting the plastic out of your kitchen. Just summarily recycle one item -- and then tell us about it in the comments section.

If you can't part with your plastic, at least follow these helpful guidelines to make sure you're using the safe(r) types.

Now let's see if I can ease the minds of a few anxious readers:

To Colleen in Boston, whose coworker is haranguing her for washing zip-lock bags: Yes, she's right that you are probably using more water than was used to make the bags in the first place. Yes, you're right that you are saving on raw materials, shipping impacts, and landfill space. So feel free to keep rinsing if you wish, and consider it a wash. But I do recommend that you and all your fellow zip-lock reusers -- and there are scads and scads of you, I know -- take your admirable energy and put it into finding alternatives to plastic instead. You might start your search at Reuseit.com or Life Without Plastic.

To Kate in Chapel Hill, N.C., who uses shower caps to cover food in the fridge: I wish I could call your solution harebrained, just for pun, but it's actually quite creative. However, your husband is right that washing these caps creates its own impact. On the question of whether they are dangerous because they're not food-grade plastic, I say food-grade plastics are dangerous enough in their own right. So go ahead and find another purpose for the caps -- and use stainless steel or glass storage containers in your fridge instead.

To Sara in Fond du Lac, Wis., whose work inside a prison means she cannot bring metal or glass containers but who wants an alternative to microwaving her #5 plastic: For you I have boundless admiration, if not boundless suggestions. Depending on the sloppiness of your lunches, I would suggest you look into ceramics, bamboo, or silicone. As far as heating food in plastic goes, there'sheated debate, and as is often the case in these situations, your choice will come down to whether you trust the feds, in this case the FDA. I suppose you could simply eat your meals cold -- but I imagine that's not too appealing in Fond du Lac, especially this time of year.

That's it for now, dearest readers. Promise me you won't fret too much, whatever you decide. We all need to get a little rest.

Polymerrily,
Umbra.

Weekly Grist

Agave: The Nectar of Deceit. ~ Dr. Paul Gannon

2011-10-20T07:13:00.000-04:00

Via elephantjournal.comon Oct 18, 2011

Photo: eamonn

Recently I was at a party and someone brought a cake, touting it as sugar free.
Had someone actually come up with an alchemical mix for making stevia work in baking? My husband is a pastry chef and I couldn’t wait to try this. Anything that may be guilt free to suggest to you all.Oohs and ahhs came from all who consumed the morsel of interest.

I finally got a piece — the cake was so sweet I couldn’t have a second bite. I disposed of it without anyone finding out (I hope!). Later I asked the chickadee who brought it what it was made of, and she said, “agave!”

Photo: Dennis Mojado

“Really?” I said, as I thought to myself, “Agave IS sugar” and bit my tongue, realizing that I do like parties, and I do like desserts, and I do want to be invited back. Far be it from me to be Debbie Downer and judge what we put in our mouths — at a party! But here, judgment takes front seat in this context and forum, as your health and informed decisions for it, is a whole nutter butter snack cracker.

So after the sugar shockwave cake, I was curious. Really? Is agave that great? Is it even a little guilt-free?

For years now we have been led to believe that agave nectar is a good, perhaps even a “healthy” choice, as it is labeled as a low glycemic sweetener (some even label it as raw, which would be impossible to create). What I found shocked me, hence what you are reading now. Agave is actually 70-90% fructose. The very highest fructose sweetener on the market to date (barring pure fructose itself). That is even more than the dreaded high fructose corn syrup receiving hype of avoidance in the past few years, which is 55% fructose. Low glycemic? You bet! Glycemic index is based on glucose, another sugar altogether than fructose. Labeling agave ‘low glycemic index’ is like labeling oranges, “apple free”.

Low glycemic index is something that I have talked about many times before. What is it exactly? Simply that the consumption of the food is less apt to raise glucose levels, and hence will mean less insulin released from the pancreas. Extra insulin release is not desirable and one of the biggest reasons to maintain strength in the face of desserts. Keep your insulin levels in better balance, and decrease your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and high triglycerides.

But somehow along the way, as witnessed everyday when I speak to my health conscious patients, agave became synonymous with a ‘healthy choice’ when deciding what to put in your coffee, tea, or pot luck presentation. This most likely occurred from it being labeled as a low glycemic sweetener. One website even says “Rather than increasing body fats, agave nectar assists in the breaking down of body fats through the gallbladder.” Where are the internet police when you need them?!

Photo: Jonathan Cohen

You see, where the caveat is with agave nectar, and other high fructose products like pure fructose, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup is that fructose bypasses insulin. This means that when the fructose gets into your blood, insulin ignores it, and passes the buck onto the liver — you know, that organ tucked under your lower right ribs that takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’. (we should do a “Love Your Liver Day” where we don’t have caffeine, alcohol, toxins, or fructose!).

Glucose can be used all over the body on the other hand, so is not as big of a burden to the liver. But remember it causes insulin release. Hello, Mr. Moderation!

High fructose corn syrup and white table sugar both have a about the same 1:1 ratio of glucose to fructose. But there are differences that are not readily pointed out by the people pushing the fructose laden products. The fructose and glucose in HFCS and agave are both isolated as their own molecules, whereas the fructose in white table sugar is bound to glucose by one of those high school chemistry class bonds (covalent or one of its cousins) and needs an enzyme to break down the bond between the fructose and glucose. That means more time for Lucy and Ethel to wrap the chocolates. When it comes to supplemental sugar in things though, I am not sure if that extra time (meaning a more gradual absorption of the sugar into the bloodstream) is anything to hang your hat on. All sugar must be looked at with a crooked eye.

The high fructose containing sweeteners like agave and corn syrup are a big health problem, blocking leptin release (the hormone making you realize you are full) causing one to overeat, along with a resume of rat study and human findings implicating these isolated fructose products to fatty liver and the childhood obesity epidemic.

The Corn Syrup Refiners Association has incidentally put in a request to the FDA to change the name of “high fructose corn syrup” and “corn syrup” to “corn sugars”, a move to bunk the bad rap HFCS is getting for its link to abdominal weight gain amongst other evils like childhood obesity and adult onset diabetes in high school students. Change the name to whatever you want, we won’t be fooled. The sugar industry is now fighting that request, as they don’t want anything to do with the baker formerly know as corn syrup, tainting the sweet name of “sugar”.

SO, is white sugar better than agave?

Photo: Uwe Hermann

Let’s say it is the lesser of two evils. The point here, for cute little hippie bakers to the soccer moms of the world, is that agave is not a healthier choice as a sweetener, and not a free dessert, as many have been falsely believing.

On “Love Your Liver Day”, I would choose white table sugar over agave — oh wait, it’s “Love Your Liver Day”, so no sugar at all on this sacred detoxing day. (I anticipate this will be a controversial topic of discussion over milk thistle tea).

Do realize that no sweetener is a health food and something to be used in moderation or avoided completely. Serious health problems will only be made worse by excess consumption of sugars, regardless of the source, whether that be maple syrup, honey, corn syrup, agave or white table sugar. I would recommend that if a person has any liver problems, from hepatitis to cirrhosis, to be adamant about avoiding the fructose sweeteners especially.

Fructose in REAL Fruit

The fructose contained in fruit is part of the levulose molecule, which does not act the same as these isolated fructose sweeteners. It is safer, part of a whole food matrix and absorbed and processed differently than the sweeteners.

The Future

We have to ask, how did agave get such mass acclaim and arrive as a choice in most coffee shops all of a sudden? If we are to believe that HFCS is in fact the villain causing all those lab rats to become obese, and the cause of all those high school students getting adult onset diabetes from their 48 ounce morning sodas, then what are we to make of agave nectar? Can we extrapolate the studies of HFCS to apply to agave nectar? Well, technically we don’t know. But agave looks worse than HFCS from a chemistry point of view due to its fructose content being so much higher.

But one thing is clear. The higher cost of agave nectar, along with its marketing to people who actually know what glycemic index is, means that this is now being tested in a sort of reverse, socio-economic way. Meaning the more money you make, or the more you shop at health food stores, the more likely you would be to buy agave nectar over white table sugar. As obesity is higher in lower socio-economic classes, its use will most likely be more moderate anyway amongst those who choose it, and most likely never affect health too overtly, allowing it to remain on the island.

I can see my grandmother now. Shaking her head in disapproval of this dissertation with a cute little pursed mouth smile, saying, “It’s a pie! Not like you eat this every day!” Well Gram, you aren’t married to a pastry chef. I just needed to know for myself if the white sugar needs to be replaced by agave. I’ll let him stand his ground on keeping the white sugar in the cupboard, and I’ll stick to more important things like keeping chlorine out of the house.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Paul Gannon has been leading detoxification programs for groups and individuals for over seven years. His experience working with hundreds of people in this field has lead him to develop the most comprehensive and effective cleanse program available today. Dr. Gannon earned his Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, which is recognized worldwide as the leader in education and scientific study for naturopathic medicine. Besides offering phone consultations to accommodate your busy lifestyle, Dr. Gannon has offices in Miami Beach and Aspen. Visit his website here.

Levain Bakery Copycat Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

2011-10-09T23:58:00.003-04:00

Chopping semisweet chocolate...

I finally had a chance- and the courage- to make those cookies tonight. Courage because it really took boldness to say ''screw it, I am not going to make a hard pellet ball of whole wheat dough with some chocolate in it; I am going to make a real, delicious, luscious cookie.'' So I chose this recipe, since those are the best cookies I ever tasted. I did my best to stick to the recipe, but of course I couldn't resist screwing up the regulations. I used salted butter, and skipped the salt. Also, in the interest of time, efficiency and, frankly, less dishes to wash, I never took the batter out of the mixing bowl to knead by hand. Just let the mixer do the work. Finally, I made the cookies a bit smaller, so as to eat less. Used a baking stone. They taste amazing, and their texture is heavenly. For more info on them, please see the post: http://www.freshfoodunderground.com/2011/04/levain-bakery-copycat-cookie-recipes.html.

Levain Bakery Copycat Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks ‘cold and cubed’ unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar – not packed too hard. Just spoon it in the cup(s) and press down lightly when full, sweeping off any extra that runs over.
2 eggs
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups AP flour – Spoon and Sweep method. (feel the dough, it should be moist, kind of like cold cookie dough in a tube.. but not super sticky, so you can portion the cookies with your hands)
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
3/4-1 teaspoon baking powder ( I don’t fill the tsp fully, hence the 3/4 tsp)
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (I usually use half semisweet and half milk chocolate AND, a little birdy told me they use Guittard)
1 cup walnuts (Toast the nuts for more flavor, if desired and/or use any kind of nut you like. I love macadamias in these)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time.. and beat until well incorporated.

2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chunks and nuts.

3. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients. Divide into 12 equal portions, **about 4 oz each..

4. Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven 16-23 minutes depending on how gooey and raw’ish you like the middles (I bake mine at 375 for 18-20 minutes, as I prefer a less raw interior), until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake. Let cool on rack and store what you don’t immediately eat, in an airtight container.

If you want a more ‘caramel-molasses like’ Chocolate chip walnut cookie, increase the brown sugar while decreasing the white sugar, so you still have 1 1/2 cups total sugar. (Like 1 cup brown sugar to 1/2 cup white sugar).
I used organic butter, brown sugar, AP (all purpose) flour, walnuts and eggs. All these can be found at Grassroots Market.

Study debunks myths on organic farms

2011-10-07T11:24:00.003-04:00

BY PAUL HANLEY, SPECIAL TO THE STARPHOENIXSEPTEMBER 27, 2011

The results are in from a 30-year side-by-side trial of conventional and organic farming methods at Pennsylvania's Rodale Institute. Contrary to conventional wisdom, organic farming outperformed conventional farming in every measure.

There are about 1,500 organic farmers in Saskatchewan, at last count. They eschew the synthetic fertilizers and toxic sprays that are the mainstay of conventional farms. Study after study indicates the conventional thinking on farming - that we have to tolerate toxic chemicals because organic farming can't feed the world - is wrong.

In fact, studies like the Rodale trials (www.rodaleinstitute.org/ fst30years) show that after a three-year transition period, organic yields equalled conventional yields. What is more, the study showed organic crops were more resilient. Organic corn yields were 31 per cent higher than conventional in years of drought.

These drought yields are remarkable when compared to genetically modified (GM) "drought tolerant" varieties, which showed increases of only 6.7 per cent to 13.3 per cent over conventional (non-drought resistant) varieties.

More important than yield, from the farmer's perspective, is income, and here organic is clearly superior. The 30-year comparison showed organic systems were almost three times as profitable as the conventional systems. The average net return for the organic systems was $558/acre/ year versus just $190/acre/year for the conventional systems. The much higher income reflects the premium organic farmers receive and consumers pay for.

But even without a price premium, the Rodale study found organic systems are competitive with the conventional systems because of marginally lower input costs.

The most profitable grain crop was the organically grown wheat netting $835/acre/year. Interestingly, no-till conventional corn was the least profitable, netting just $27/acre/year. The generally poor showing of GM crops was striking; it echoed a study from the University of Minnesota that found farmers who cultivated GM varieties earned less money over a 14-year period than those who continued to grow non-GM crops.

Importantly, the Rodale study, which started in 1981, found organic farming is more sustainable than conventional systems. They found, for example, that:

. Organic systems used 45 per cent less energy than conventional.

. Production efficiency was 28 per cent higher in the organic systems, with the conventional no-till system being the least efficient in terms of energy usage.

. Soil health in the organic systems has increased over time while the conventional systems remain essentially unchanged. One measure of soil health is the amount of carbon contained in the soil. Carbon performs many crucial functions: acting as a reservoir of plant nutrients, binding soil particles together, maintaining soil temperature, providing a food source for microbes, binding heavy metals and pesticides, and influencing water holding capacity and aeration. The trials compared different types of organic and conventional systems; carbon increase was highest in the organic manure system, followed by the organic legume system. The conventional system has shown a loss in carbon in recent years.

. Organic fields increased groundwater recharge and reduced run-off. Water volumes percolating through the soil were 15-20 per cent higher in the organic systems. Rather than running off the surface and taking soil with it, rainwater recharged groundwater reserves in the organic systems, with minimal erosion.

Organic farming also helps sustain rural communities by creating more jobs; a UN study shows organic farms create 30 per cent more jobs per hectare than nonorganic. More of the money in organic farming goes to paying local people, rather than to farm inputs.

With results like these, why does conventional wisdom favour chemical farming? Vested interests. Organic farming keeps more money on the farm and in rural communities and out of the pockets of chemical companies. As the major funders of research centres and universities, and major advertisers in the farm media, they effectively buy a pro-chemical bias.

Still, the global food security community, which focuses on poor farmers in developing countries, is shifting to an organic approach. Numerous independent studies show that small scale, organic farming is the best option for feeding the world now and in the future. In fact, agroecological farming methods, including organic farming, could double global food production in just 10 years, according to one UN report.

Music and Emotions.

2011-10-04T13:33:00.000-04:00

I have been told by friends and teachers I am emotional. I looked up the meaning of ''emotional'' in the dictionary : ''characterized by intense feeling; (of a person) having feelings that are easily excited and openly displayed.''

My cello teacher, L. Lesser, told me to try to reign in my emotions a bit, ''take a step back'', act ''cold'' when playing. I never completely grasped the meaning of what he was saying. If I could not let myself be inspired by the music, why play? So I continued on, with emotion.

A couple years ago, I prepared for an audition with, amongst others, an excerpt for Mahler 5, which I love. Of all the music I had to prepare for the audition, I felt Mahler was the one I connected with most and understood best, and would be easy to perform.

I practiced the Mahler excerpt with just as much care as the others. When the time came to audition, I walked onstage, conjured up my feelings for this excerpt, and played. It was all downhill from there. The sound was not focused, the timing of the shifts was not right, and it did not flow. Later that day, I received comments on the performance: ''unfocused, dragging, uneven.'' Emotions did nothing for me, or Mahler.

This was not the first time I ''fell'' in a performance. I struggled to understand where I stumbled with this piece. Why could I not execute this music successfully, when it spoke so much to me?

I had learned to use emotion to fly over fear. It seemed to carry me well and to inspire me to deliver the music above technical difficulties. Why was I stumbling in performances? Why did I make mistakes on physical moves that I had perfected through much practice?

I realized it was my emotions that were interfering with my playing. When I dwelt in them, I was not present. I could not listen to the music, react to the sound, or make my next move; and so I would ''trip''- make a mistake.

When I really listen, I experience all the emotions that the music stirs up in me, but what is different now is that I let them go and am able to move forward. Through this practice of attentive listening I am alert to the music, and free to play in the moment.

I walk on stage and prepare to perform a piece that I love. I take a moment to quiet my mind, and listen. As I play, I focus on letting the music speak through my instrument. I finish the piece and stand up to bow. I am grinning, inspired by music, energized by the performance. I am happy my hard work preparing for this event has paid off. I performed well.

Garden, today

2011-10-03T23:24:00.002-04:00

mustard greens,

collards,

rosemary...

nothing fancy.

keeping it simple...

and realistic.

hardy vegetables are...

dark leafy greens...

great for your blood

and spirit...

Is Susan G. Komen Denying the BPA-Breast Cancer Link?

2011-10-03T10:02:00.000-04:00

Critics claim the leading breast-cancer research group is in the pocket of its BPA-happy sponsors.

By Amy Silverstein | Mon Oct. 3, 2011 2:30 AM PDT

Main Content

If you've ever bought something pink to support breast-cancer research, there's a good chance a portion of the money went to Susan G. Komen for the Cure [1], the largest nonprofit in the world solely dedicated to eradicating the disease. Famous for its fundraising races and pink gear, the foundation has been fighting breast cancer for three decades. So it may come as a surprise that Komen has posted statements on its website that dismiss links between the common chemical bisphenol A (BPA) and breast cancer, even while funding research that explores that possible connection.
BPA is found in all manner of consumer goods, from plastic water jugs to receipts to the liners of food cans. Critics have pointed out that Komen receives generous donations from private industries who use those same chemicals in their products, and who also downplay health concerns. Is that what's driving Komen's position on BPA? "Absolutely not," said Katrina McGhee, Komen's Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. In multiple interviews with Mother Jones, Komen executives were adamant that their sponsors have no effect on any of their policy decisions.

"I want to be very clear," said Komen President Elizabeth Thompson. "We are not influenced at all by any subpart of any one of our funders."
And yet, it's hard to ignore mounting scientific evidence that strongly suggests a link between BPA and cancer. The United States' President's Cancer Panel concluded[5] in 2010 that "more than 130 studies have linked BPA to breast cancer, obesity, and other health problems. A number [6] of studies [7] have found that the chemical causes breast cancer in lab animals. In human cell cultures, BPA has caused breast cancer cells to proliferate [8] and has also reduced the effectiveness of chemotherapy[9]. In September, a study by the California Pacific Medical Center [10] found that BPA even made healthy breast cells behave like cancer cells and decreased the effectiveness of yet another breast cancer drug. Frighteningly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says [11] that BPA is in the urine of more than 90 percent of the United States population. Researchers believe this figure reflects continuous exposure to the chemical.
In April 2010 Komen posted an online statement [12] saying that BPA had been "deemed safe." And a more recent statement on Komen's website about BPA, from February 2011, begins [13], "Links between plastics and cancer are often reported by the media and in email hoaxes." Komen acknowledges in its older statement that the Food and Drug Administration is doing more studies on BPA, but also says that there is currently "no evidence to suggest a link between BPA and risk of breast cancer."
Just one of many pink-packaged products whose sales support Susan G. Komen for the Cure.Cambodia4kidsorg [14]/Flickr"I think that's at best, misleading, and at worst, demonstrating really significant ignorance by whoever at the Komen Foundation wrote that," said University of Missouri biology professor and BPA expert Dr. Frederick vom Saal in a telephone interview, reacting to Komen's 2011 BPA statement. "When you think of this as a foundation that's out there supposedly protecting women from factors that are involved in breast cancer, I find that statement to be just astounding."
Komen's chief scientific advisor, Dr. Eric Winer, dismissed the criticisms as inflammatory. "If a woman is particularly worried about plastics, she can avoid plastics in her life," he told me.

"If a woman is particularly worried about plastics, she can avoid plastics in her life," Komen's chief scientific advisor told me.

That's not as easy as it sounds, since the chemical is found in so many products. The list of Komen sponsors that use BPA include the Coca-Cola Bottling Company (which says BPA is safe, but that it is nonetheless looking for alternatives [15] for its canned soda) and General Mills, which still uses the chemical in most canned foods, but did recently introduce BPA-free organic tomato cans [16]. Another sponsor is Georgia-Pacific, a subsidiary of famously anti-regulation Koch Industries [17] and major manufacturer of epoxy resins that contain BPA [18].
Another manufacturing company, 3M, maker of of Scotch Tape, has donated more than $1 million since 2007 and is a member of the American Chemistry Council, a powerful trade group that argues that BPA is safe. Komen also has a partnership with DS Waters, which delivers the type of water bottle cooler that you're likely to find in an office setting, The bottles get a pink cap [19] for the Komen partnership, but Komen doesn't mention that those pink-topped bottles are made from polycarbonate plastic that contains BPA.
Reacting to Komen's April 2010 statement on BPA, Dr. Megan Schwarzman, a family physician and research scientist at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health noted in a telephone interview that "The people who produce chemicals often cite language like that to justify business as usual."
And indeed the American Chemistry Council did use that statement to justify business as usual, with a post [20] on its Facebook page reading, "Leading breast cancer org Susan G. Komen says no evidence to suggest a link between BPA & risk of breast cancer."
In an in-person interview, Komen president Thompson agreed that there are still many unanswered questions about environmental toxins and breast cancer. Komen's chief scientific advisor, Winer, joining in the interview by phone, said that because of those unanswered questions, Komen executives do not yet want to make "definitive" statements about chemicals on the website. In response, I asked: "You don't want to make a definitive statement, then why do you say that BPA, in that one statement [from April 2010], has been deemed safe?"
"I can only say that we've spent hours," said Thompson. "Hours and hours and hours looking at the wording."
Throughout the interview, Winer deflected other experts' criticisms by stressing personal responsibility. "Nothing stops an individual woman from living her life a certain way. And if she chooses to do that, she can do that."

Komen's downplaying of the link between chemicals and cancer isn't limited to BPA; the foundation also lists exposure to organochlorine pesticides, a category that includes the infamous DDT, as one of six "Factors That Do Not Increase Risk." But like BPA, many pesticides have estrogen-like traits. A 2007 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives even suggested that women exposed to DDT as adolescents were five times more likely to develop breast cancer during adulthood.
Komen's position on chemicals' role in cancer reflects a larger debate within the public-health community over the importance of addressing the influence of environmental factors on cancer. Only about 10 percent of cases of breast cancer in the United States can be traced to hereditary factors, research shows. "We now know from just a whole lot of science that environmental variables have a strong influence on gene expression," said Dr. Ted Schettler, Science Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network.
Yet scientists, including the President's Cancer Panel report [21] released in 2010, say that research on the environment and cancer as a whole remains grossly under-funded. "There traditionally has been tremendous resistance to looking at environmental issues. And that's because there are very powerful interest groups lobbying against doing that," said vom Saal.

Ranked in the 2010 Harris Interactive Polls as the second most trusted nonprofit in America, Komen awarded researchers $55 million worth of grants in 2011. Critics accuse major cancer organizations of pouring every dollar into drug studies, but in Komen's case, that's actually not true. In the 2011 research portfolio, a small portion of Komen’s funding is going toward specific environmental exposures—including a $450,000 study on BPA by a Komen-funded researcher who hypothesizes [22] that BPA "causes or accelerates breast cancer."

A small portion of Komen’s funding is going toward specific environmental exposures—including a $450,000 study on BPA by a Komen-funded researcher who hypothesizes that BPA "causes or accelerates breast cancer."

Winer said that before 2011, Komen also decided to fund an approximately $1.25 million panel [23] at the Institute of Medicine on environmental exposures, precisely because of such intense debate around the issue. The results will be announced in December, he said. "If the Institute of Medicine comes forward and concludes that there are statements on the website, or statements that any of us have made that are not accurate, we're going to correct those."
In 2007, Komen funded another review [24] of studies on environmental toxins and breast cancer through the Silent Spring Institute. This made Komen's online statements all the more disturbing to the institute's executive director, Dr. Julia Brody. She says that she wrote to Winer twice about her concerns. "I felt a particular obligation to bring these issues to Komen's attention because the information on the website conflicts in various ways with the findings of the science review that we conducted with Komen funding," Brody told me via email.

For its part, Komen maintains that its close ties with industry are critical to its success. Indeed, the foundation's diverse group of sponsors has helped it invest close to $2 billion in its mission. The money funds projects like national research and free biopsies for uninsured women. "For anyone to suggest that the reason that the environment isn't studied is because, somehow, doctors are interacting with pharmaceutical companies over drugs, is truly an inaccurate statement," Winer said. "And bordering in my mind as a very offensive statement."
Searches of Winer's published research show that he has received grant money from pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Genentech in the past. In an interview, he said he's also served as an unpaid and paid consultant to various pharmaceutical companies.
"I'm less involved from a financial standpoint than almost anyone I know," Winer said. In addition to his work at Komen, Winer is the Director of the Breast Oncology Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical Center. "I actually, for many years, accepted no personal honoraria from any pharmaceutical company. And this is a time, when in fact, what we desperately need are for people in academia and people in industry to work closely together. Because people in industry, or the companies, are the ones that have the drugs."
In any case, some have argued that debates over specific cases of industry influence miss the larger point: That it's the government's job to protect consumers through better regulation of chemicals. But because of gaps in the Toxic Substances Control Act, the EPA has toxicity data on less than 1 percent of the 83,000 chemicals in commerce, according to a widely cited paper [25] published in Environmental Health Perspectives. And the US Food and Drug Administration can't seem to make up its mind on the subject. The agency said that BPA is safe in a draft report [26] in 2008. But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel then broke the news [27] that the FDA had based its draft report on industry-funded studies. (The FDA has since said it has some concern over health risks of BPA.) Even such mainstream groups as the American Nurses Association are lobbying [28] to reform the United States' chemical regulation policy. But until that policy reform actually happens, it's up to consumers to research potentially unsafe, everyday products themselves.
On September 19, after the troubling results from the California Pacific Medical Center study on BPA were announced, Komen's website shows that it updated its "Factors That Do Not Increase Risk" page. But for the pesticide and plastics statements, not a word was changed.

How to Make Granola

2011-09-27T22:07:00.008-04:00

Granola is so yummy, versatile, and satisfying. You can eat it alone, with yogurt, milk, fruit... but it is hard to find one that is made with high-quality fat at the stores. Most store-bought granolas list canola oil as the fat/oil of choice. The problem with canola oil is that, if it is not organic, it is probably GMO (genetically modified organism) canola. And the chance of finding a granola made with pure, organic butter... is just about nil. Organic sun/safflower oils are good fat choices, but not used very often.

Given the stats... I make my own. It takes about 5 minutes of work, and a total of 15 to cook. With these timings, it would be a ''pecado,'' a sin, not to make your own. I get to choose my own ingredients, and make it whichever way I want = power to myself.

I love finding ways to be more efficient. So this is how I ''simplified'' a recipe that I originally found on Epicurious a couple years ago.

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

2. Cut 2 to 3 Tbs (tablespoons) of butter, and place them apart on a 9x13 glass (Pirex) dish. You can find Pirex dishes in most supermarkets, and they are inexpensive. This size works well for me (makes lots of granola, so I don't have to make it often = efficient), but you can use any size you choose, whatever works for you. If you are completely new to cooking, don't bother measuring. Take a stick of butter, use a third of it, cut it up in chunks, and throw it in the glass dish. Or a deep dish made of any other material except Teflon (please refer to past blog posts on Teflon).

3. Place dish in the oven for a couple minutes, or until the butter melts. Take the dish out of the oven, throw some honey on the butter, and mix. The amount of honey depends on how sweet you like your breakfast. I use about 1/4 cup of it, or whatever I'm in the mood for at that moment. You can also use maple syrup, agave syrup... your choice, as long as it is a decent-quality product (aka: not corn syrup!). Again, for those of you who feel utter dread at the mere mention of the word ''1/4 cup,'' just pour as much syrup as you need in order to make your granola yummy.

4. Now that you have a nice butter and honey/maple/agave syrup mix in the dish, throw in 4 cups of oat flakes, or a mixture of rye and oat flakes, and 2 cups of your favorite nuts. I don't bother to chop them, too much work. My favorite are pecans and walnuts, but I also use almonds and raw/unsalted cashews. I also throw in coconut flakes (unsweetened) once in a while, or seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin. I've also used vanilla and almond extract before, but most of the time I forget the extracts altogether, even though they have a lovely scent. Mix everything well, taking care not to let it spill over (easy to do, trust me). If it does spill over, whistle for your dog to come and clean up the mess on the floor.

5. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden. You are done! You can also, midway through baking, take the dish out and stir it, so that all of the oats become golden and crisp. But if you don't have the time or patience for it, don't worry, it will come out just as delicious. Once it is baked, you may add any kind of dried fruit you wish- just don't bake the dried fruit, as it tends to become completely charred.

6. Remember to do 10 minutes of burpees while your granola bakes...