A New Report on Wasted Food in Britain

Here is an interesting story from the Times of London on a new government report that estimates just how much food the British throw away uneaten annually. It's a staggering 1/3 of all food purchased.

LA Times Opinion Piece About the Farm Bill

Daniel Imhoff has written a great summary in today's LA Times of what's wrong with the soon-to-be-passed Farm Bill.

My sister gave me Imhoff's book, Food Fight: The Citizen's Guide to a Food and Farm Bill, for Christmas, and I think it's an extremely helpful book for better understanding the history, composition and consequences of the bill. What Imhoff does not explain, however, is how citizens can come together at the grassroots level to apply political pressure to elected officials to change the Farm Bill and demand better food policies. I'm giving that some thought.

Artichoke and Pea Risotto

Lou made a fantastic baby artichoke and pea risotto tonight. He sauted the artichokes and then finely chopped them before blending them into the risotto with the peas. It was, as you might expect, rich and creamy; a truly spectacular meal.

More About Chez Panisse

After claiming that Chez Panisse is my favorite restaurant of all time anywhere, I thought I might try to find a video on YouTube that would give you some more visuals of the restaurant. Here you go:

Paul Krugman Explains the Rise In Global Food Prices

New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman, devotes his column today to the current global food crisis and the rising costs of foods. It's a sound review of what's going on around the globe.

Oxtails Redux and Rhubarb Shortcake

Lou made Marin Sun Farms Oxtails again last night for Amy and me. This time, he used the recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, which calls for using fewer onions than the recipe he used last time. It also calls for using tomatoes and a splash of brandy. On balance, I think the Zuni version was a little better than two weeks ago. The acidity of the tomatoes was a nice addition this time around. The braising sauce was wonderful with my homemade wheat bread and with the asparagus I blanched and sprinkled with Italian parsley and fresh lemon juice.



For dessert, I modified Scott Peacock's recipe from last month's Bon Appetit for a rhubarb compote. Actually, I made the compote according to the recipe, but I served it with homemade biscuits and whipped cream instead of with the cake Peacock suggests in the magazine. I served, in effect, rhubarb shortcake. I forgot to garnish the dish with sprigs of mint, but the overall flavors were marvelous. The richness of the soft biscuits and the thick whipped cream nicely balanced the tart chunks of rhubarb and the slightly sweet and sour rhubarb syrup. It was a tasty innovation, if I do say so myself.

Dinner in the Chez Panisse Cafe

I convinced Heather and Lou to join me for dinner at the Chez Panisse Cafe last night.

Lou's parents had given me a gift certificate for Christmas (Thank you!), and I have been calling both the Restaurant and the less formal Cafe incessantly throughout the last few weeks to try to reserve a table for spring. I had mostly been asking for a table on weekend nights, and it had not worked. So, literally, at the very end of the work day yesterday Heather sent me an instant message and asked if Lou and I had plans for dinner. We did not have plans, and I immediately thought it would be fun to try to use the gift certificate.

I was in luck. They offered me a 9:15 table, and I took it. We have not been eating until almost 9 on week nights anyway, so I thought it wouldn't be much different than normal. Lou and Heather agreed.

In total, I think I've been to the Restaurant and the Cafe at least a dozen times, and I have never eaten at any other restaurant that has consistently delivered elegant and delicious food with such informed and gracious service. There is no doubt that Chez Panisse is my favorite restaurant anywhere. It is a truly lovely experience to eat there.

To start the meal, we agreed to share a pizzetta with spring onions, sorrel and brandade (dried and salted fish, cod in this case I think, that is then washed and mashed with potatoes and cream). The pizza was cooked in their wood-burning oven.



I tried a cauliflower soup with orange zest and marjoram (it was my least favorite dish of the night) and Lou and Heather split a salad of grilled endive with bottarga di muggine and egg.



For our main courses, I had Northern halibut with Kaki Farm asparagus, potatoes and kumquat relish. Lou had grilled loin of Watson Ranch lamb with artichokes, roasted onions and black olives, and Heather ordered Penn Cove (Washington State) mussels roasted in the wood oven with spinach, peas, and saffron. The flavors of my fish were delicate and perfect: the fish was tender and light, the asparagus were slightly lemony and the combination was just like spring. It was just what I was hoping for.



For dessert, I ordered mint-chocolate chip ice cream with bittersweet chocolate sauce (and a chocolate cookie), which I also tried when we ate in the Cafe with my cousin in October. Lou ordered a Pink Lady apple and Meyer lemon tart with vanilla ice cream. He and Heather each ordered glasses of a 2005 Moscato d'Asti, Bricco Quaglia, Rivetti, Italy. We also brought and thoroughly enjoyed our own bottle of Patty Green 2006 Bonshaw Pinot Noir.

Today's Food News: The Farm Bill and Small Farms in Poland

Carolyn Lochhead explored where things stand with the Farm Bill in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a deadline of April 18th for passing the bill, but Lochhead reports that negotiations for the final bill are going slow.

Also, Elizabeth Rosenthal writes in today's New York Times about the difficulty small, family-run farms in Poland face in abiding by European Union regulations for selling meat, milk and produce. Basically, the EU's health and safety standards are geared towards big farming operations, not family-run farms, so the smaller farms are unable to afford to buy the equipment and make other investments that would bring their operations up to the EU standards. She explores the effect of this reality on family farming and on organic farming in the EU, since so many European family farms operate on organic farming principles.

Reservation Hell at Momofuku Ko

Here and here are two amusing postings by Frank Bruni about just how crazy it has been trying to reserve a table at David Chang's newest restaurant, Ko. I feel for him, sort of. Be sure to read the comments, and here is my take on David Chang.

UPDATE: Here is one more posting from Bruni.

Are Food Price Increases Good For Us?

Kim Severson has written an excellent story for today's New York Times about the possible results of changes in food prices.

She explores a tough issue that has been on my mind, whether higher prices of some foods will lead to a change in the kinds of foods Americans buy and eat or not. She notes that the price of some food--commodities (grain, corn, etc) in particular--has become more closely correlated to the price of fuel and that rising prices for those foods make what had been more expensive foods--grass-fed meats, organic produce, milk and eggs--relatively less expensive. She also explores whether this equalizing of price will change consumer behavior (conclusion: the jury is still out). It's well worth the read if you want a good overview of both the changing economics of food and the possible implications of a change on the health and eating habits of Americans.

UPDATE: Ezra Klein comments here on this story and about the likely effect of an economic downturn on eating habits in general.

Pork Tenderloin with Jesse's Spiced Prunes

Dinner tonight: grilled Marin Sun Farms pork tenderloin with spiced prunes and arugula with grilled green garlic.

Last Christmas, Jesse gave us a jar of spiced prunes, which he made from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. I've been waiting for the opportunity to pair them with some pork, and tonight I decided to grill a piece of tenderloin we bought at the farmer's market on Saturday.

The preparation for the pork could not have been less simple. I rubbed the pork with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary and grilled it for about 10 minutes per side. I ended up cooking the meat medium well, which was slightly more than I would have preferred, but with the spiced prunes, the flavors of the pork and rosemary were still delicious. Thanks Jesse!