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Sampler Platter 05.23.09

by: Jill Richardson

Sat May 23, 2009 at 15:42:28 PM PDT

New York is trying to bring grocery stores to food deserts. Yay! If they find a successful method of doing this, let's hope other cities steal their ideas.
Interested in what Americans ate during the first Great Depression? Apparently beavers and squirrels were on the menu (hat tip to GastroNomalies)
Vilsack plays dumb. Swine flu? Never heard of it. He only knows about the H1N1 flu. Riiight.
Meanwhile, while the swine flu story is over for most of us, it's not over at the implicated Mexican Smithfield operation, which is still very invested in proving its innocence. Especially because its being sued.
Why a school farm? The Atlantic has some ideas.
Ever tried Mongolian cuisine? Most of us have probably never even thought about it. I had the opportunity to try some - once - and oh my god, I turned that opportunity down. When I lived in China I had 2 friends from Inner Mongolia. After a trip home, they returned to Beijing with a "treat" for me - some "Mongolian dairy snacks" as they put it. And that was NOT something I was interested in eating. The "snacks" were approximately the size and shape of Cheetos but they were white and looked moist. And there was no freaking way I was putting them in my mouth. I ate dog and testicles in China, but I had to draw the line somewhere. My friends wanted to see me taste them but I awkwardly explained that I wanted to share them with other Americans so I'd taste them later. Fortunately, the food described in this article sounds a bit more appetizing.
BlogHer is having a foodie conference.
Yay to the Center for Food Safety, who says that reliance on biotech in a food aid bill is a step in the wrong direction.
IATP cleverly writes about "seeing the forest through the corn." With a title like that, you KNOW they are talking about Iowa - and a forest in Iowa that is home to many endangered and threatened species.
In Israel, owls are replacing chemicals to do the job of pest control. Very cool!

Jill Richardson :: Sampler Platter 05.23.09

Tags: Israel, owls, Iowa, BlogHer, Mongolia, Swine Flu, Mexico, Smithfield, Great Depression, food deserts, New York City, (All Tags)

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Sampler Platter 05.23.09 | 5 comments

I visited Mongolia in 1992 (4.00 / 4)

The food was bad. Granted, what was served in the hotel probably wasn't the best traditional Mongolian cuisine has to offer, but my brother and I were grateful for the peanut butter and crackers we brought in our suitcases.

by: desmoinesdem @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 00:08:57 AM UTC

by: you @ soon

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what was it like? (4.00 / 3)

and why were you there? I was obsessed with the idea of visiting Inner Mongolia when I was in China but I read in my guidebook that typically the Chinese love the tours there and the Americans hate them. You sleep in a yurt, and get to do wrestling and a LOT of drinking. I couldn't cope with that much drinking.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 00:49:21 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I love Mongolian BBQ (4.00 / 2)

at least the Americanized version of it. Big buffet tables of cooked/raw ingredients. You take the raw ingredients in a bowl and add sauces from the sauce bar. Then the chef cooks it right in front of you on a huge metal grill that he/she walks around moving your food/sauce with them. Up to 3 chefs at a time work the grill and it's pretty interesting to see them all working. The pictured grill could use some cleaning.

Two laps around the grill and it's ready.

by: Curtis Abbey @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 00:45:44 AM UTC

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We have a couple of those (4.00 / 3)

in our area. My favorite is called Chang's Mongolian Grill, not to be confused with PF Chang's. In the past if we were going out for a special treat we'd go to Chang's. I loved the 'pancakes' and the hoisin sauce. It was the only place I could get good shaved lamb.

I learned to cook ramen and soba noodles very lightly and use them as a side in a meal instead of bread, rice, or poataoes. I cook the noodles untill just barely soft, immediately plunge into cold water, rinse and add a bit of sesame oil. Then when you're done cooking, deglaze the pan with a bit of wine and toss the cold noodles in, tossing until they are coated with the pan juices and heated through. I got the idea to do this from watching them do the cooking at Chang's Mongolian Grill.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 03:33:04 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Regarding the food in the Great Depression (4.00 / 3)

I'd love to get a copy of that book. Harold grew up during the depression in rural Missouri. While my mom and her family were dumpster diving looking for still edible garbage from restaurants in down town Portland, Harold and his family were living on wild game and greens. I love game if it's field dressed properly - butchering can have a profound effect on the flavor of the meat. I've had squirel, it's a dark, sweet meat and very good. The only problem is that young ones are tender, the older animals, not so much. In fact they're so tough the meat will crunch when you bite into it if you teeth don't bounce off.

Harold's sister in law used to cook, then run through the preasure cooker for 15 minutes to tenderize any old squirel. My favorite game recipe is from an old James Beard cookbook, and it's either for squirel or rabbit. At times when I hear that Portland, Vancouver Washington, or the other urban areas around are having nutrea problems, I've seriously considered offering to trap them. The pelts are luxurious and the meat's good to eat. That's why they were brought out here in the first place.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 03:25:10 AM UTC

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Sampler Platter 05.23.09 | 5 comments