sustainable

A few weeks ago, I got a text from my brother-in-law Jeff. He'd just discovered a restaurant he thought I'd love, and the message said, "it was awesome. Put it on your highly recommended list." Jeff has great taste -- I can't think of a time he's steered me wrong -- and I take his recommendations seriously. But Jeff doesn't get all hung up on how his food is sourced the way I do, and I didn't assume that his "it was awesome" meant that I'd feel good about it. I needed to ask.

 The simple act of putting a shovel into the ground and tucking in the first seeds (or seedlings) without doubt means you’ve already decided to do things differently. Feeding yourself – with the efforts of your own two hands and contributions of a mostly organic nature – is an exercise in science, nature, tradition, history, politics and not just a little bit of faith. Not such a simple act, after all. 

A wise friend once said “awareness rocks!” I couldn’t agree more. When I started down the detox path myself, I realized that all of my researching, experimenting and learning about less toxic eating was coagulating into a new form of awareness. If I cared so much about how hard my poor liver was working, I reasoned, I should probably find a way to bring all of this glorious non-toxicity into the rest of my world as well. What we consume certainly plays a big role in how we bring toxins into our bodies, but the air we breathe and what touches our skin matters too. With this in mind, I started looking around my house for sources and solutions.

We're excited to announce the launch of a brand new club in town - ours! Simple, Good, and Tasty - in partnership with the good folks at Mississippi Market Co-op in St. Paul, MN - is launching a book club focused on local, organic, sustainable, fair trade, healthy food books (we can think of about a thousand to start). We think a book club and discussion is a fantastic way to engage the community and get people talking about food in our families, our culture, our homes, and our markets.

Alice Waters Photo Courtesy of Chezpanisse.comHere's a terrific opportunity to eat magically delicious local, organic food, prepared by some of the world's greatest chefs in support of a great cause. If only I had $500 and lived in Washington D.C.! But maybe you do? Check out the recent press release I received from the good folks at Chez Panisse:

The time has come! Dave and Don brought over the pig last night - an 80 pounder from Hidden Stream Farm, purchased from Clancey's in Linden Hills, MN. Within an hour, we had prepared the pig with a bunch of tasty seasonings and enclosed it in a homemade China Box. I think Dave and Don - both experienced pig roasters) are getting sick of my nervous quips, but what do you do when you come face to face with your first dead pig? Frankly, getting to know my food makes me a little bit uncomfortable.

Here are a few pictures from last night's preparation. They're not for the squeamish, but I think they're worth seeing and thinking about. Here goes.

This is my friend Dave Micko, getting the pig ready. In the absence of a table, we made due with an old door from my house, covered with foil and resting on the China Box.

"Take these," Greg Reynolds says, handing me a handful of rubber bands and a clipper. 

"Ah, uh, mmm…," I stammer.

"They’re for the arugula," he offers. Pull 'em out and clip 'em just below the crown. Then rubber band 'em two times around." Maybe Greg doesn’t realize who he’s talking to, or maybe, more likely, he's having fun at my expense.

I had the pleasure of attending the Grand Opening celebration for the newest Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op in St. Paul on Thursday morning. Although I don’t have an “official” count, it looked as if I was joined by about 250 other folks eager to get in right when the store opened to check out the new space. The opening ceremony was brief and to the point, and included words from Gail Graham, General Manager; Nina Johnson, board president; and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

I was lucky to have the chance to conduct a phone interview with ana Sophia joanes recently. Ana is the director of the terrific food documentary “Fresh,” which has taken the Twin Cities by storm this summer and doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon (additional screenings are scheduled for the Birchwood Cafe on their big screen later this month). “It’s been an unexpected and amazing response,” ana says, “just completely grassroots and word of mouth.

I'm very glad to let you know that we've locked in a date, time, and location for our August Simple, Good, and Tasty local food meal. Here are the details:

• When: August 19, 8:00 pm
• Where: The Strip Club, 378 Maria Ave, St. Paul, MN 55106
• Cost: $35 for 3 course meal, not including tax, tip, or booze
• Contact: 651-793-6247 (restaurant), lee@simplegoodandtasty.com (me)

The Strip Club is a cleverly named steakhouse, widely loved since it opened last year in St. Paul. It's in a beautiful space, and I've talked with Executive Chef JD Fratzke several times - he's not only a great chef, but also a superstar of a guy.