Mark Bittman | The Rambling Epicure

Wendell Berry Interview, by Mark Bittman

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, March 15, 2013 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

There’s probably no better short overview of Wendell Berry‘s views on agriculture and sustainability than Mark Bittman‘s interview of Berry in The New York Times in 2012.

Wendell Berry speaking in Frankfort, Indiana

Here are a few excerpts about agriculture and sustainability:

“That’s one of Wendell’s recurring themes: Listen to the land.”

“If you imitate nature, you’ll use the land wisely.”

“The two great aims of industrialism — replacement of people by technology and concentration of wealth into the hands of a small plutocracy — seem close to fulfillment.”

Mark Bittman (Photo credit: rebuildingdemocracy)

“You can describe the predicament that we’re in as an emergency, and your trial is to learn to be patient in an emergency.”

“[N]o great feat is going to happen to change all this; you’re going to have to humble yourself to be willing to do it one little bit at a time. You can’t make people do this. What you have to do is notice that they’re already doing it.”

“I’ve been thinking about that question about what city people can do. The main thing is to realize that country people can’t invent a better agriculture by ourselves. Industrial agriculture wasn’t invented by us, and we can’t uninvent it. We’ll need some help with that.”

Read The New York Times entire article here.

Not to miss: Bittman on Thanksgiving as a model for Sustainable Cooking

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, November 24, 2011 Permalink 0

Don’t miss Mark Bittman‘s “Thanksgiving as a model for sustainable cooking” in The New York Times.

The one thing that is different about Thanksgiving is that we are less wasteful. For the rest of the year, Americans have a record for throwing out at least 40% of their food, while even before Thanksgiving we are figuring out what do do with all the leftovers. Perhaps we should make this our model for the rest of the year.

…The holiday also contains a solution to one of our greatest problems today: our eating. We’re finding it incredibly hard to feed ourselves the way we want. It’s not, as many think, because food is so expensive or we’re so short on time, but because we have a perspective on cooking that impedes our getting real value from our ingredients, or the most from our time.

On Thanksgiving, though, we get it right.

Click here to read the rest of this very important article.

Thanksgiving: The thanks we have to offer in these hard economic times

Published by Jonell Galloway + Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

Despite the gloom and doom we hear in the financial news, despite the news about obesity and general unhealthy eating in the U.S., there are things to be thankful for, and this week, it’s perhaps more important than anytime in our lifetimes to remember them.

The food world and eating habits were certainly worse 10 years ago than now. Awareness was less. And above all, hard economic times do not necessarily mean bad times for food. People starve during wars, but during hard economic times, they often tend to go back to basics. They raise vegetable gardens and chicken; at the moment we’re witnessing urban gardens popping up all over the country. They think before they buy, before they throw something in the shopping cart, and that often leads to healthier eating. Fresh, simple, healthy food will always be cheaper than processed and junk food. And then we have a Super First Lady in Michelle Obama is going all out for the future of our children, even planting a vegetable garden as a good example for them.

These are things to be thankful for, but once again, Mark Bittman’s list is better than mine, so I suggest you continue reading. Click here to read his heart-warming, thoughtful list.

Brisket and Love: A Tribute to Beatrice Beckenstein Levine, or “Granny Bea”

Published by Jonell Galloway + Monday, October 3, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

Rosh Hashanah beef brisket brings back so many fond memories. It makes me think of how by mother-in-law would start preparing the brisket and the feast days before we arrived. The children were accustomed to eating European food, and in their earlier years had serious misgivings about brisket.

Granny Bea’s brisket was saucy like this one, but the sauce was not beer. It was made with carrots and onions that had been slow-cooked to the point that they formed a sweet sauce, “making it healthier,” she would say.

It was all made with such love and we felt that love in the air as we ate; it created a bond so strong that it will stay with us forever. Every time I hear the word “brisket” I remember the good old days, when she was alive, when we received all her love through her food and her loving, gracious manner, and tried to give it back to her as nobly as we could. Now we can only do that in our thoughts and prayers.

And now when the children hear “brisket”, I can see on their faces that they too feel that love, that bond.

Food made with love and shared in a spirit of love does that to you. Food helps you transmit your love; it also teaches you how to receive love.

This is dedicated to my mother-in-law, Beatrice Beckenstein Levine, the apple of my eye. I love(d) you, and I think of you every day and my heart still gets all warm and I shed a tear or two, and a taste of your brisket comes to my mouth. I’m going to ask for Granny Bea’s brisket once a week when I get the heaven.

Click here to read Mark Bittman and Daniel Meyer’s version of an up-to-date beef brisket.

Braising Brisket – Perfect for Fall and Rosh Hashanah
Eat: Mark Bittman: Bye, Bye, American Pie, The New York Times
Mark Bittman Explains ‘How To Cook Everything’
Central Texas Dry-Rub Brisket

Food News Daily: September 27, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Permalink 0

Mainstream Anglo Media and Press

Nigel Slater’s classic salsa verde recipe, The Guardian

Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?, The New York Times

Small Factories Take Root in Africa, Wall Street Journal

For Rosh Hashanah, honey, you have options, Los Angeles Times

A new generation of student cooks?, Is the accepted wisdom about students being uninterested in cooking still accurate or is it a myth kept alive by those who graduated years or decades ago?, The Guardian

Asian snack time is all the time, The Seattle Times

Munch ado about Doritos, one man’s iconic snack, The Washington Post