The Daily Show did this very funny take down of the Park Slope Food Co-Op last night. There is a conflict at the Co-op over whether or not to carry Israeli foods because buying food from Israeli is at the expense of Palestinian human rights.
My feeling is that the individual, not the collective, should make up their minds as to what they want to buy or not. It will be interesting to see what the Co-op's final decision is....
This just in: Last night the Co-op voted down the idea of an Israeli food boycott 1005 against to 653 for.
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Introducing: The Bacon Milkshake
Just when you thought the unnatural obsession with bacon couldn't go any further fast food chain Jack in the Box has introduced the above. I'm surprised it is garnished with fake cherry and not a piece of bacon, but I guess that might push the food costs up too high. Turns out that what gives this milkshake it's flavor is bacon fat not actual bacon. I wonder how long before you see the local version of this on a menu in Williamsburg? Made from sustainable Heritage bacon? 5,4,3,2,1....
These shakes are only available in certain markets : The South and the West coast so if you live somewhere else you are going to have to wait or make your own. Funny thing about this recipe is that mostly it's a maple shake with some bacon fat thrown in for good measure.
And just in case you want more bacon with your bacon, here is one a commercial for Jack In The Box that is truly horrifying (at least to me)...you may now eat the bride? For real, watch:
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Stephen Colbert's First Campaign Ad
A must watch and oddly related to the below post - he's so brilliant.
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Monday, January 9, 2012
Jasper Hill Farms: Making Harbison Cheese
This little film shows what goes into making one delicious round of Harbison cheese. It really makes me appreciate how labor intensive the process is and how worth it - it is to purchase local farmstead cheese. The craft and quality is just the best. My favorite is the guy in the woods making the elm strips: incredible.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Goose Burgers
Here is the latest installment from the Perennial Plate folks. Basically about what makes an invasive species and how to deal with them. What till have the credits for the highlight of the video. Oh and can I just say Goose Burgers are now very much on my radar they look amazing!
The Perennial Plate Episode 85: Goose Dilemma from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
The Perennial Plate Episode 85: Goose Dilemma from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Occupy Wall Street Farmers March
This is s a very moving video of the occupy wall street farmers march that took place December 4th was made by the folks at Food Democracy Now. The footage of the farmers and supporters giving speeches (with a microphone) is at La Plaza Cultural where Neil and I have out community garden plot.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Be Veg?
The video below is about an ad campaign running in the Toronto subways called: Be Veg.ca.
I was vegetarian for a decade and believe, as Michael Pollan does, that people should have a plant based diet and that CAFO's are horrible things that need to be eliminated. I do not think that means you have to be a vegetarian or a vegan, I think that means we all need to eat less meat and know where our meat comes from. All I want to point out her eis that is some middle ground options, a lot of vegetarians eat fish, dairy and eggs there is a lot of gray area which I feel it is important to point out.
It's unrealistic to ask people to make a drastic change in the way they eat and not present them with the alternatives, which are: Eat local, sustainably, compassionately raised, food for straters - eliminate the factory from all your food not just the meat/dairy/egg part.
Grass fed Cows live longer and happier lives and are making a invaluable contribution to the lives of the farmers who raise them. As do the chickens, two animals that would be extinct if it were not for farmers. Yes factory farming is disgusting inhuman and totally not acceptable, but to suggest the best way to battle it is to not eat any animal products is, to me, not realistic. It is an option and one that many people are taking being vegan is an option,which if fine and good, but it's not for everyone. And if you want to still eat some meat or animal products in your diet there are ways to do it humanely.
Our diet has developed over decades, cheese is a way of preserving food so it last longer so we can have something to eat in the winter and to use al the left over milk the cows are producing. If we were to truly only eat food from farms, if we were to ask every time we went to a restaurant: Is your meat from a farm or a factory? Then ask what farm? Or say: Oh I don't eat factory meat then more and more food vendors would start supporting sustainable agriculture and more and more people would start eating it. This seems to me to be more of a sensible transition....but before anyone makes a decision they need to read Wendell Berry, Joel Salatin, Michael Pollan and in particular Richard Wrangham's: Catching Fire.
It is so important for us to be compassionate to animals, and the factory farming of them is disgusting, but that is not the entire story it is only part of the story and most people don't seem to realize that Farmers have a had go of it and need to make a living, animals have been an intrinsic part of agricultural life for centuries. They provide free fertilizer (allowing us not to have to by chemical fertilizers), they mow the lawn, eat larvae, maggots and insects that would otherwise be hazardous to the crops or annoying to both people and animals and their eggs and milk provide important food sources that can either sustain the farmer and her family but also be sold at market. And these are only some of the things farm animals can provide. The important thing is to make the distinction between factory farming and real local family farming. Animals and humans had developed over the years a symbiotic relationship they depend on us for life as we do on them. Chickens and cows would become extinct if it were not for humans keeping them safe from the wolves in the woods. And vegetables would not thrive with out there help either. So to suggest we should just abandon them because they are cute and have intelligence and feelings is to me simplistic and narrow minded. The issue at hand is how can we get back to a more sustainable compassionate way of farming that doesn't involve CAFO's and businessmen crunching numbers treating life like a commodity.
Oh and for the record lots of other cultures eat dogs, the market I went into in Hanoi had pet dogs running around all over and cooked ones for sale in the food stalls.
I admire any campaign that takes on the evils of factory farming, but I think that there are other compassionate options than "going veg" and that the conversation needs to be expanded to include them.
I was vegetarian for a decade and believe, as Michael Pollan does, that people should have a plant based diet and that CAFO's are horrible things that need to be eliminated. I do not think that means you have to be a vegetarian or a vegan, I think that means we all need to eat less meat and know where our meat comes from. All I want to point out her eis that is some middle ground options, a lot of vegetarians eat fish, dairy and eggs there is a lot of gray area which I feel it is important to point out.
It's unrealistic to ask people to make a drastic change in the way they eat and not present them with the alternatives, which are: Eat local, sustainably, compassionately raised, food for straters - eliminate the factory from all your food not just the meat/dairy/egg part.
Grass fed Cows live longer and happier lives and are making a invaluable contribution to the lives of the farmers who raise them. As do the chickens, two animals that would be extinct if it were not for farmers. Yes factory farming is disgusting inhuman and totally not acceptable, but to suggest the best way to battle it is to not eat any animal products is, to me, not realistic. It is an option and one that many people are taking being vegan is an option,which if fine and good, but it's not for everyone. And if you want to still eat some meat or animal products in your diet there are ways to do it humanely.
Our diet has developed over decades, cheese is a way of preserving food so it last longer so we can have something to eat in the winter and to use al the left over milk the cows are producing. If we were to truly only eat food from farms, if we were to ask every time we went to a restaurant: Is your meat from a farm or a factory? Then ask what farm? Or say: Oh I don't eat factory meat then more and more food vendors would start supporting sustainable agriculture and more and more people would start eating it. This seems to me to be more of a sensible transition....but before anyone makes a decision they need to read Wendell Berry, Joel Salatin, Michael Pollan and in particular Richard Wrangham's: Catching Fire.
It is so important for us to be compassionate to animals, and the factory farming of them is disgusting, but that is not the entire story it is only part of the story and most people don't seem to realize that Farmers have a had go of it and need to make a living, animals have been an intrinsic part of agricultural life for centuries. They provide free fertilizer (allowing us not to have to by chemical fertilizers), they mow the lawn, eat larvae, maggots and insects that would otherwise be hazardous to the crops or annoying to both people and animals and their eggs and milk provide important food sources that can either sustain the farmer and her family but also be sold at market. And these are only some of the things farm animals can provide. The important thing is to make the distinction between factory farming and real local family farming. Animals and humans had developed over the years a symbiotic relationship they depend on us for life as we do on them. Chickens and cows would become extinct if it were not for humans keeping them safe from the wolves in the woods. And vegetables would not thrive with out there help either. So to suggest we should just abandon them because they are cute and have intelligence and feelings is to me simplistic and narrow minded. The issue at hand is how can we get back to a more sustainable compassionate way of farming that doesn't involve CAFO's and businessmen crunching numbers treating life like a commodity.
Oh and for the record lots of other cultures eat dogs, the market I went into in Hanoi had pet dogs running around all over and cooked ones for sale in the food stalls.
I admire any campaign that takes on the evils of factory farming, but I think that there are other compassionate options than "going veg" and that the conversation needs to be expanded to include them.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Urban Composting Toilet
Today in my inbox I got an email that contained an article about a rainwater toilet and then from that article there was a link on Urban composting toilets. As an urban guy who has delusions of one day owning a small building in an urban center (preferably NYC) where I can garden, can, dry, rain water collect and of course compost, in short: do all those fun off grid activities.
I was curious just exactly how unpleasant composting toilets were. I don't have an issue with them but I think it could be weird for guests at a dinner party where if they need to go to the bathroom it's more akin to using kitty liter....this video was very instructive. The thing I found most interesting was that it takes a full year for your composted "humanure" to become dirt you can then use in your garden. Urine can be mixed with water and used as a nitrogen rich fertilizer post hast (this particular toilet as a urines diversion system so it is separated out). In the end I think I would maybe go with the rainwater toilet first....the thing that you realize about human composting toilets is that it is kind of misleading to call them "urban" as you need a house with a back yard and a fair amount of space to make this work. It's also labor intensive so if you were old or otherwise infirm it would be challenging.
Still, it's interesting and it's good to know people are actually living what they believe. Our use of potable water for things like toilets is not something that can go on forever as fresh water is increasingly becoming a precious resource.
I was curious just exactly how unpleasant composting toilets were. I don't have an issue with them but I think it could be weird for guests at a dinner party where if they need to go to the bathroom it's more akin to using kitty liter....this video was very instructive. The thing I found most interesting was that it takes a full year for your composted "humanure" to become dirt you can then use in your garden. Urine can be mixed with water and used as a nitrogen rich fertilizer post hast (this particular toilet as a urines diversion system so it is separated out). In the end I think I would maybe go with the rainwater toilet first....the thing that you realize about human composting toilets is that it is kind of misleading to call them "urban" as you need a house with a back yard and a fair amount of space to make this work. It's also labor intensive so if you were old or otherwise infirm it would be challenging.
Still, it's interesting and it's good to know people are actually living what they believe. Our use of potable water for things like toilets is not something that can go on forever as fresh water is increasingly becoming a precious resource.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Straight Talkin' Cooking Help
My friends Michael and Kurt both tipped me off to this video and this woman who runs a cooking school in San Francisco called Tante Marie's. I like her focus on what top drink, basically saying: if your guests are drunk it won't matter how good or bad the food is. And then at the end of the video her classic advise: Just put the Fucking Turkey in the oven!
I spent most of my time when I watched this video having kitchen envy. Also I think although realistic she might have mentioned that Heritage breeds of Turkey cook up better and have less dry breasts because they aren't force fed in a factory in order to give them huge white meat breast....just saying, there is a way to increase your odds at making a more successful turkey, buy one that is from a farm not a factory and odds a good meal go way up. This coming from the guy who made ravioli for Thanksgiving.
I spent most of my time when I watched this video having kitchen envy. Also I think although realistic she might have mentioned that Heritage breeds of Turkey cook up better and have less dry breasts because they aren't force fed in a factory in order to give them huge white meat breast....just saying, there is a way to increase your odds at making a more successful turkey, buy one that is from a farm not a factory and odds a good meal go way up. This coming from the guy who made ravioli for Thanksgiving.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Harvesting and Eating Insects
This guy is great and he is talking about one of my favorite topics: eating bugs as a source of protein.
He makes really good points and is very funny. In all of the people and articles I have posted about here, over the years, who eat bugs none of them ever do anything with the bugs to disguise their bug like appearance....he talks about lobster and it's true lobster (and crabs and shrimp, etc) look like bugs of the sea - but mostly when we eat them all the legs and shells and heads are removed (mostly no always, but we've have a long time to know how good they taste so there appearance is less of an issue, not so with bugs) - removing a lot of the ick factor of eating them. If you did the same thing with bugs (remove all the bug like features) if you through just the meaty bits into a pasta with herbs and tomato sauce, say for example, you just have chunks of "meat" not a 12 legged winged bug with big eyes (or whatever).
There was one guy who I remember now made baked goods with bugs and chocolate coated them, but he never altered the shape of the bug - you always knew what you were eating. I mean wouldn't you have a better sales pitch if you sold ground water bug "meat" rather then selling: Fresh Whole Water Bugs?
So my challenge to all you bug eaters out there send me some recipes (with pictures) of bug food that doesn't look like bugs.
The Perennial Plate Episode 78: Eating Insects from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
He makes really good points and is very funny. In all of the people and articles I have posted about here, over the years, who eat bugs none of them ever do anything with the bugs to disguise their bug like appearance....he talks about lobster and it's true lobster (and crabs and shrimp, etc) look like bugs of the sea - but mostly when we eat them all the legs and shells and heads are removed (mostly no always, but we've have a long time to know how good they taste so there appearance is less of an issue, not so with bugs) - removing a lot of the ick factor of eating them. If you did the same thing with bugs (remove all the bug like features) if you through just the meaty bits into a pasta with herbs and tomato sauce, say for example, you just have chunks of "meat" not a 12 legged winged bug with big eyes (or whatever).
There was one guy who I remember now made baked goods with bugs and chocolate coated them, but he never altered the shape of the bug - you always knew what you were eating. I mean wouldn't you have a better sales pitch if you sold ground water bug "meat" rather then selling: Fresh Whole Water Bugs?
So my challenge to all you bug eaters out there send me some recipes (with pictures) of bug food that doesn't look like bugs.
The Perennial Plate Episode 78: Eating Insects from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Cooking By Heart
My friend Jane sent me a link to a video food blog done by a friend's son who is also a documentary film maker (I hope I have that right) Cooking By Heart is dedicated to passing along family food traditions and recipes. The videos are very lovely, personal and of the three I've watch so far each one has an older person teaching a younger person how to make a recipe that they are passing down - they are very personal, informative and really inspiring.
Cooking by Heart: Asha Janardhan's Bise Bele Bath Masala Powder from alana lowe on Vimeo.
Cooking by Heart: Asha Janardhan's Bise Bele Bath Masala Powder from alana lowe on Vimeo.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Dan Rather Takes on the EPA and Bee Colony Collapse
Fascinating. Worth the watch. Basically: GMO seeds are behind the massive kill off of honey bees.
The guy from the pesticide trade union pulls out the old pesticides are curing world hungry line of bull. No they don't they create bigger markets for companies like Monsanto and Bayer Crop Science. Period, full stop.
Bee Aware from Greg Stanley on Vimeo.
The guy from the pesticide trade union pulls out the old pesticides are curing world hungry line of bull. No they don't they create bigger markets for companies like Monsanto and Bayer Crop Science. Period, full stop.
Bee Aware from Greg Stanley on Vimeo.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Caught in the Crossroads
Cambodia holds a very special place in my heart, after many trips to SE Asia when I owned my SE Asian import store I think Cambodia was the place that most captured me. This video is about the largest wildlife area in Cambodia, often referred to as the Serengeti of Asia, and how stupid development (the unnecessary building of roads) is jeopardizing the wildlife. Worth the watch really fascinating I think, made by the amazing people at the Wildlife Conservation Society:
Friday, May 6, 2011
Florent: Queen of the Meatpacking District
Florent was a New York City institution. Not only was it always a party when ever you went the food was actually good as well. I loved it and some of the high points of my life where spent there. I've written about it here extensively. During the final year of Florent a documentary film was made about the Florent phenomenon and I have been dying to see it since it was finished, I am super thrilled to be able to announce today that the movie: Florent: Queen of the Meatpacking District is having it's New York run at Cinema Village starting May 20th!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Grocery Store in Japan Survives Quake
Like everyone else in the world I have been glued to my computer screen watching the news about the devastation going on in Japan right now. In all of the video I have watched this one below capture my attention in a way that most of the others didn't - this is taken insider a grocery store - so there is one reason I was interested, but when you watch it the thing that amazes me is that the employees instead of fleeing or running to a doorway or under a table all try and prevent the goods from coming off the shelves and being broken....which would have been the last thing I would have thought about if it was me working!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Bompas and Parr: Jelly Artists
Jelly Artists Sam Bompass and Harry Parr
Yes and when I say Jelly I mean Jello, gelatin, jiggly colorful stuff our mom's used to add canned pineapple and shredded carrots to. A few days ago a friend of ours reappeared after some absence, she is a British artist who has relocated stateside from London and was in town for a conference and she joined us for dinner at our place on Saturday night.
At some point in the evening Jane mentioned her obsession with making and eating jellies.
I was perplexed and not really sure what she was talking about, I mean she couldn't be talking about jello molds, right? Not British artist Jane?
Indeed she was, but as it turns out these are not our mothers jelly molds.
When you peeled the Clementine you had a black and white striped clementine shaped jelly.
Aparently in Europe gelatin you buy at the store is of a much higher quality and has a much purer flavor or lack of flavor then what we have here. By adding fruit juice or ginger extract or booze or whatever have you, the taste is pure and clean and you are able to create subtlely flavored, brilliantly colorful and whimsically shaped edible art from it.
Today I got a link from her on Facebook for the website for the masters of Jelly Bompas and Parr.
And lookee here what I found on You tube.
And if you want more...
Friday, February 11, 2011
Perennial Palate: Milking a Goat and Making Cheese
Watching episodes of Daniel Klein's series Perennial Palate is to my urban mind like watching a fantasy cartoon when I was a kid at my Grandparents house on a Saturday morning. Here's this young man who is trained as a chef who decides to take a year and live in rural Minnesota and explore how to truly live sustainably by engaging in the process of raising/growing/hunting/butchering and cooking his own food.
I love watching Perennial Palate but I always walk away with the same thought, which is most people on the planet, including me, live in cities, so how can we do this here? Can we do this here? This particular episode was encouraging as the goats live in a small studio apartment out back and seem to not need a tremendous amount of space to roam around in. I can seen them living in one of the boulevard parks in my neighborhood on the Lower East Side. Maybe in the summer we could take them up town to help mow the great lawn in Central Park. Or maybe they would be happy living on the roof of an old industrial building that was now an urban farm?
I posted about Mr. Klein's ambitious project when it first started, but people (the press) seem to have rediscovered him these week as I see that the Huffington Post is going to be featuring him on a regular basis and it was on Grist that I saw this video and where they also have the recipe for the goat cheese. City dwellers need not despair, even though we can't have out own goats we can buy goat's milk and make this cheese (sans the adorable goat interaction). We just have to put on our boots and coats and go over to Saxelby and get a few gallons of Goats' Milk.
The Perennial Plate Episode 47: Stelline & Stellita from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
I love watching Perennial Palate but I always walk away with the same thought, which is most people on the planet, including me, live in cities, so how can we do this here? Can we do this here? This particular episode was encouraging as the goats live in a small studio apartment out back and seem to not need a tremendous amount of space to roam around in. I can seen them living in one of the boulevard parks in my neighborhood on the Lower East Side. Maybe in the summer we could take them up town to help mow the great lawn in Central Park. Or maybe they would be happy living on the roof of an old industrial building that was now an urban farm?
I posted about Mr. Klein's ambitious project when it first started, but people (the press) seem to have rediscovered him these week as I see that the Huffington Post is going to be featuring him on a regular basis and it was on Grist that I saw this video and where they also have the recipe for the goat cheese. City dwellers need not despair, even though we can't have out own goats we can buy goat's milk and make this cheese (sans the adorable goat interaction). We just have to put on our boots and coats and go over to Saxelby and get a few gallons of Goats' Milk.
The Perennial Plate Episode 47: Stelline & Stellita from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
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