October 2009

Got a Craving for Raw Milk? Blame it on Nina Planck

Every Tuesday morning, the supplier, under cover of pre-dawn darkness, packs up his truck in rural Minnesota to make his weekly delivery. His drop-off site is a nondescript, middle-class home in a Minneapolis suburb, where his regular customers begin to converge around 8:00 a.m. They drive up, park, pick up their orders, leave cash, then return to their everyday lives.

What they’re doing is illegal, but the contraband isn’t cocaine, krugerrands or even Cuban cigars.

It’s milk. Straight from the cow. Whole, non-pasteurized, non-homogenized, non-industrialized, raw milk.

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Photos from Last Night's Event at Lucia's

Here are a few photos from last night's Simple, Good, and Tasty local food event at Lucia's, taken by my talented friend Kate Sommers. (Our recap of the event can be found here.) Kate's blog Les Petites Images features photos and musings, mostly focused on food. For the complete set of photos from last night's event, please see our flicker photo series.

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Now We Know Our Farmers!

Last night's Simple, Good, and Tasty local food event at Lucia's was truly amazing. Sure, there was the menu, created by Lucia Watson herself and perfectly executed in every way. And there was the great service, attentive and generous. There was the opportunity to meet and mingle with an astounding collection of people, just over 60 of us in total. There was the beautiful setting, the terrific organic wine, and the t-shirts that Lucia sent us all home with that said, "We know our Farmers better than we know our Doctors."  But what really made the night so especially fulfilling wasn't any of that.

It was the farmers.

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Want to eat healthier? Add more animal fat, butter, eggs and raw milk to your diet. (No, this is not a joke.)

Forget the politically correct notions about what constitutes healthy eating. Foods devoid of fat, salt, and/or healthy microorganisms are not fit for human consumption, according to the Weston A. Price Foundation.

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What's for Dinner? Soup!

 Kate SommersPhoto credit: Kate SommersThese days, I'm actually kind of grateful that the Minnesota Twins play in a dome. You see, I'm originally from New York, and the members of my family who have not (yet) moved here are going to get another look at our fair city this week during the American League Division Series (go Twins!).

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Recipe for a Fall Cleanse: Calming, Filling, Fat-Burning Kicharee

Usually on Simple Good and Tasty, we’re extolling the joys of eating, relishing and celebrating great food. But today, I’m going to try to convince you to temporarily deny yourself the usual culinary pleasures and join me for a seven-day fall “cleanse.” For one week, we will eat nothing but Kicharee, an Asian dish of split yellow mung beans cooked with basmati rice and spices, three times a day, to be supplemented only by a morning shot of ghee – clarified, melted butter. Oh, and lots of warm water.

I’ll start by answering your first question: No, I’m not crazy. Then, your second question: Because it’s good for you. Third question: Yes, I have done this before. Now, before you ask anything else, let me explain… 

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Last Chance to "Know Your Farmer" at Lucia's This Sunday, October 11

I can't remember an event I've been as excited about as the one I'm co-hosting with Lucia Watson this Sunday, 10/11. The Twin Cities' first official "Know Your Farmer" event, fittingly held at Lucia's, is a chance to meet - and eat with - some of the best, most interesting farmers in our state. Even better, Lucia has designed a menu entrely from the foods these farmers have produced.

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Slim Jim: Almost Completely Food Free!

Photo by Tim Morris, Wired MagazinePhoto by Tim Morris, Wired MagazineSeptember's Wired Magazine features one of the scariest technology articles I've ever read. It's not a look at how our government plans to train digital video cameras on our every move. It's not a piece on robots that are smarter than us, or small kids who can see into the future. It's not about aliens or even Silicon Valley VCs. The article I'm referring to, written, by Patrick di Justo, is much scarier than any of those things. It's called:

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Great Reasons to Eat Something New

People who love to eat typically love to try new food—and for good reason! Exploring the world of flavor isn’t just a hobby. It’s a way of life. Are you a food adventurer?

Great Reason Number 1: It’s easy to start!

My six-year-old nephew won’t eat anything he hasn’t already tried. (He doesn’t have an allergy. He’s just picky.) If this is the rule that guides his choices for life, then when he is thirty he will only have eaten macaroni and cheese, toast with peanut butter, purple grapes, and milk.

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The Local Food Movement Has Gone to the Dogs... and Cats

If you’re a regular visitor to this web site, we'll assume you enjoy the health benefits, as well as the sensual pleasures, of eating fresh, wholesome, locally grown, sustainably sourced food: real food.

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