And this made me happy...

I had a piece of dark chocolate today and one of the ingredients was "non-gmo soy lecitin". I've never seen this before in my life, but it was encouraging. At least its a start on what we've been talking about right?

This made me sad...

There was high fructose corn syrup in the ketchup I ate this morning... eww. I never noticed before, but I did this week because of our discussions recently

Interesting NYT articles this week

Two VERY interesting stories so far in the New York Times this week about food. The first ran on Monday and is about a restaurant in the Netherlands which is really a lab to monitor food culture, eating habits, diet, and all sorts of related things like heart rate while eating. It is really fascinating how the researchers created this restaurant with all the measuring instruments in places like floor tiles and seat cushions, so it all seems like a normal dining experience. Here's the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/world/europe/26dutch.html?ref=todayspaper
The second article ran on Tuesday and is about traditional food crops surviving in Italy (and all over the world, but the reporter profiled a man in Italy). The article talks about how there are all these traditional crops (called landraces) with special properties and flavors and how many of them are dying out fast because the older generation is growing them and the newer generation isn't interested. It is also interesting to note that the article mentions a United Nations International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. I had no idea there was international law precedent for traditional crops! Here's the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/world/europe/27italy.html?ref=todayspaper

for the seniors...

Barbara Kingsolver has been chosen to be the 2008 commencement speaker. Her most recent book is "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life." Here's the recent article from Duke: http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/11/kingsolver.html.

McDonalds vs. Starbucks

I found this article on msnbc.com about how due to the success of the McCafe McDonalds is planning on selling lattes and other drinks of that nature. Apparently they want to become a beverage destination and not just serve beverages as afterthoughts. So I found this article interesting because I knoww quite a few people with starbucks addictions but cant really see them going to mcdonalds the same way. McDonalds doesnt have the same feel or reputation. Also because I know we have discussed the role of fast food in society, and think this article ties in kind of interestingly. How could expanding into the overpriced beverage market affect the role of the fast food restaurant? Also will people who go to starbucks but dont frequent Mcdonalds start going there for drinks and then start buying the food? I dont know, I just thought this was kind of interesting.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21837962/

Meat. The environment. Bad.

So, I saw this article from the New Scientist while I was doing research for Env 101. The article is basically in line with my reasons for being a vegetarian. I thought I would post a link because it makes some interesting assertions. Like the fact that "a kilogram of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home."
here's the link:
http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/search/homesubmitForm.do

Sound familiar?

I was reading the Chronicle today, and there is an article about the Bioengineering conference held here at Duke over the weekend, and one of the topics was patenting plants and animals like in the movie we watched Monday. They talked about the Monsanto case just as we did. It's good to see that people are talking about this stuff, especially on a college campus where it might be easier to get more people interested. See you all tonight!

Ashley

LINK:
http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/11/12/News/Lawyers.Dispute.Patents.On.Animals.And.Plants-3094496.shtml

Future of Food

Hey y'all.

So, I got bored and was looking up stuff about the video we watched last night for class. I found a website for a conference they held in 2005 to discuss, that's right, the future of food and everything pretty much entailed in the dvd. Here is the link:

http://www.futureoffood.org/

There were a lot of people and of many different professions that attended this.

The info on Wikipedia regarding GM crops also seems pretty reliable - there is a good-sized blurb on the Schmeiser case as well.

GM food info

So before tonight, I would have thought GM just meant General Motors. I am anxious for our conversation next week, as this is a topic that I have given very little thought before tonight. Now, as I munch on my organic (phew!) corn tortilla chips, I am reading up a little bit more on GM foods... here's a pretty realiable looking site with some information: http://pewagbiotech.org/resources/factsheets/display.php3?FactsheetID=2.

Food Related...

Hey all,

So I am planning the Opening Party for the Duke Smart Home (hopefully you guys have heard of it) and my main job has been to research caterers and pick one. Caterers are a topic in and of themselves. However, more interesting to me, we are using compostable, bio-degradable forks and knives instead of plastic ones. I got them from Not Just Paper, which is a store on Main Street between East Campus and Brightleaf Square. It was an awesome store and they have lots of supplies, including eco-friendly stuff that is very affordable (buying in bulk=good). I thought since we've been talking about environmentally friendly food, and food processing, this could be a cool supplement for anyone looking to be more green.

And, by the way, the party Friday is open to anyone and everyone. It's at 7:15 and there'll be free dinner. We're hoping to have the TV's going by then too so we can watch the Bball game. Come stop by if you can! (I couldn't resist... I had to add my plug for the party!)

Baked Oatmeal

So I realize a calorie-dense recipe is not really appropriate for our reading this week... but, it's not fast-food and is delicious when enjoyed every once in a while. If you enjoy the baked oatmeal at the Refectory, you will probably think this is just as tasty. A friend of mine makes it and got her recipe from cooks.com:

1/2 c. oil
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 c. dry oatmeal
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix together oil, sugar and eggs. Add oatmeal, baking powder, salt and milk.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve warm with warm milk.

Enjoy :)

Obesity and Poverty

The reading for this week focused on Hispanic children and how poverty and family structure contribute to their obesity. However, Hispanic children are not the only children that face this difficulty. According to the article listed below, there is actually a higher percentage of African-American children ages 12-19 who are obese than Hispanic children. The children are also not the only age group at risk. According to the article, 66% of adults in America are overweight!
http://www.futureofchildren.org/newsletter2861/newsletter_show.htm?doc_id=422826

Vertical Farming

Hey guys, I was on the internet looking up info on the basketball team when I came across this article. Its basically about how the population of the world is growing and we are not going to have enought land to grow all the crops we need so people are looking into growing crops in sky scrapers. It seemed like a pretty cool idea, though Im not sure how feasible. Perhaps you environmental people know more than me.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21154137/

AnotherThyme

Seeing Ashley's post on Foster's (also fabulous), I'd like to plug AnotherThyme - it's definately a favorite of mine in Durham, and I have been going there (along with the Q-Shack and Elmo's.. the other "musts" of nearly every family visit) probably for the last 6 years or so ago, when my older brother started at Duke. Unlike many other restaurants in the area, it is a bit smaller, and tends to be quieter and nicer for talking around the table. It's dimly lit, smartly styled interior would also make it a great place for taking a date. Another plus is that is has many vegetarian, and I believe even some vegan, friendly options, and the meat is "free range," for those of us meat-friendly eaters. The wine list is also quite extensive, which the parents and those of us over 21 enjoy...

Chinese vegetarians?

I wanted to share this in discussion this evening but I didn't get a chance. Its also not really related to today's topic of food and politics, so it wouldn't have really fit in anyway.
I cooked dinner for my language partner (she's a graduate student in economics from Beijing, i help her with english while she helps me with chinese) and I told her that I was vegetarian. At first she freaked out a little because she had cooked for me last week and thought that she might have served me some meat (she didn't). I pointed out that all of the food she had made was vegetarian, and I asked her if people in China eat less meat than Americans. She said in China they really don't make a big deal about vegetarianism. People don't really classify themselves that way. Its just, the mom makes dinner for the whole family, and if the mom doesn't like meat or doesn't cook meat for some reason, the whole family eats vegetarian. She said there are families where the mom just never cooks meat and those families are vegetarian, but they don't go around calling themselves that.
I thought that was really interesting. Not only does it show a cultural difference in the perception of vegetarianism, it also shows a strong control of the mother figure over the diet of the whole family. There's no arguing with what mom cooks.
The cultural difference here where Chinese people don't really make a big deal of vegetarianism is in stark contrast to the U.S. My dad thinks vegetarianism is a disease, and he attempts to stop it whenever he can. I can imagine that you just wouldn't find people like that in China, because people don't seem to really care whether someone else is vegetarian. That, of course, could go both ways. One could argue that it shows greater acceptance of vegetarianism. One could also argue that it shows they don't care as much about the environment because decisions to be vegetarian are based on mom's personal preference, not on environmental, animal rights, or health concerns.

Foster's Market

Hey guys, I just wanted to point out this delicious place that my mom and I tried this weekend. I'm sure some of you have heard of it before, but Foster's Market is right on 15-501 a little north of Target. The restaurant itself is really simple and not fancy at all, but the food is amazing and the atmosphere is really comfortable. It is just seat yourself, and the food ranges from a cooked, hot meal, to cold salads you can choose to something simple like a muffin or cookie. They also sell old-fashioned candy and sweets and coffee. It reminded me of the "dining experience" discussions we had last week. I would consider Foster's a really unique dining experience and definitely one of my favorites in Durham. It would also be a great place to study and relax. I recommend it!!

At the end of today's class, some people expressed the thought that it would be fun to pick tomatoes. I assume that this comment refers to a one-time event, with them picking a few tomatoes to use in a salad and stopping whenever they wish. However, the topic of tomato picking sparks other thoughts for me.
the following is a link to a Washington Post article about tomato pickers in Florida.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58505-2005Feb27.html
Here is an excerpt from the article:
"If they're lucky, the workers get to spend 12 hours on their hands and knees, filling buckets of tomatoes for 40 to 50 cents a bucket. To make at least $50, they scurry to fill 125 32-pound buckets -- two tons of tomatoes. But if it rains, as it did Friday, work stops. The workers are returned to the parking lot in rickety school buses 12 hours after they left, having earned just a few dollars, maybe none at all."
You might also want to check out this website, which is the website for the Coalition of Imokalee Workers, a tomato pickers' group in Florida that is attempting to fight awful conditions.
http://www.ciw-online.org/news.html
I can tell you from experience that tomato picking is not fun, especially if you have to do it for hours on end in the summer heat. Bushel baskets of tomatoes are not light. The sun is very bright. Tomato plants stems an leaves get green stains all over your clothing, especially if they were recently watered. And tomatoes have to be picked most urgently right after it rains, because they will have taken on a lot of water and if they are left for too long, they will split, which can ruin the tomato and cause it to rot or can just make it unattractive so people wont buy it. The plants are almost always sprayed with insecticide to increase crop yields, even in personal gardens. These insecticides can be dangerous, and there is no way to avoid contact with them, especially if the plants were recently sprayed.
No offense to anyone who has fantasies of picking their own tomatoes and eating them. Just remember what goes into picking the ones that you get from the supermarket or even a local farm.

Monkey Business

I think everyone of you should read EATING APES. Here is a little review summary from somewhere over the rainbow internet:

"Dale Peterson, who has written widely about primates in Africa, makes Ammann's story the centerpiece of his wide-ranging account of the bushmeat problem. Although he shares Ammann's partisan views, Peterson explains why conservationists cannot simply will the end of ape-eating through legislation. Selling ape meat is already illegal throughout most of Africa. But so many people rely on bushmeat for protein, and so many regard it as a delicacy that connects them with their past and their ethnic identity, that game wardens and police officers are more likely to buy bushmeat from a poacher than to arrest him.
Peterson shows, too, how European logging corporations in Central Africa are playing a key supporting role in the growth of the bushmeat trade. They cut roads deep into virgin forest, giving hunters ready access to once-remote habitats. They cut costs by feeding cheap bushmeat to the loggers. And the truck drivers they employ run a lucrative side business in the transport of contraband ape body parts, concealed in compartments under their engine hoods. The net effect is that hunting bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas has now become big business. And the targeted species, already endangered, may be driven to extinction.
With such strong economic and social forces in play, any argument that simply appeals to the repugnancy of eating our closest cousins is bound to be dismissed as ethnocentrism. If the French eat horses, or the Vietnamese eat poodles, who's to say the Africans can't eat apes? Peterson counters that eating apes endangers public health. He cites the work of Beatrice H. Hahn, a virologist at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, who in 1998 traced the AIDS virus to a virus known as SIV, common among chimpanzees. This past June, Hahn and her colleagues reported in the journal Science that the chimpanzees themselves may have contracted the virus by eating monkeys.
Unlike chimpanzees, though, people can clean up their act. If advocates like Peterson and Ammann prevail, apes may someday disappear from the market and the dinner table. With any luck, that will happen before they disappear from the rainforest as well."

Cultural Eating

This past weekend, I went to the beach (near Wilmington) to visit a family friend. It was absolutely beautiful at their summer home and while I was there, I ate fresh salmon, shrimp and deviled crab. It was so delicious and really made me appreciate the coastal food culture that we don't necessarily have elsewhere. Although I love seafood, and we can get good seafood in Chicago, there's nothing like enjoying it at the beach, where the meaning behind it is so much stronger. I thought of this in comparison to the Mexican food we ate last week, which is also very cultural. Ethnic or regional foods seem to be much more enjoyable to me when I have learned the history behind them.

eating and media

I wanted to post this link to a TIME article that deals with anorexia and how it can be perpetuated by the media. We have been posting a lot of recipe ideas on the blog so far, and it kind of made me think of the fact that just like you can get great recipes for just about anything you want to eat from any culture on the web, you can also get justification and support for all sorts of negative eating behaviors.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,169660,00.html

food memory

So, I forgot to post about a food memory over fall break, but I really liked the concept so here is a taste memory I had recently:
I was eating some of that feta cilantro bowtie pasta from saladelia for the first time, which is not very interesting at all, but it reminded me of something and at first I couldn't figure out what it was at all. In the end I realized that it had the same distinct taste that my grandmother's mushroom marinade had, which I haven't had in forever. I used to eat it when I was little, and I think the similarity in taste came from the cilantro.

Dinner Tomorrow 10/15

Hey y'all.

So, Rachael and I will be preparing some Mexican food. This will consist of tacos and tostadas (mainly because I do not have the time to make a more legit/traditional main course; at least not one that I know how to cook that would also be vegetarian/hopefully vegan friendly), Mexican rice, refried beans, chile (kind of like salsa but not chunky), guacamole, and I do not know about dessert as of right now.

So, the tacos will have chicken in them but tostadas won't, because they can't. Y'all will see what I mean tomorrow if don't know what tostadas are, or at least not by name.

What to bring: plates, your own drink, and def napkins.

New Recipe

I was in Savannah, GA visiting my aunt this fall break. And while I was there she made this delicious Cheddar Cheese Soup. It is made with chicken bouillon or chicken stock, but im pretty sure you could substiture vegetable bouillon or vegetable stock. However, this can probably never be vegan. It is very good though, especially if you dip bread in it.

3 cups of water and 3 Chicken bouillion cubes, or 3 cups chicken stock
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup diced green pepper
2/3 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 med stalk celery, diced
1/3 cup butter or margerine
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 1/2 cups milk
4 cups (1lb) shredder sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
*optional 2 oz. jar diced pimiento

Combine water and bouillion in a large pot, boil, add vegetables. Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes (until potatoes are soft)
Melt butter in a heavy sauce pan.
Blend in flour, cook for 1 minute (or shorter, basically as long as you can without it burning) and stir
Gradually blend in milk
Cook over medium heat as it thickens and heats
Add cheese to milk mixture gradually until all is melted
Stir cheese sauce into the vegetable mixture and add the hot sauce.
Cook over low heat until heated through.
Salt and pepper to taste
NEVER ALLOW IT TO BOIL.

Also if you reheat it several times the soup can get really thick but if you just stir in a little milk it thins it out nicely.

I hope someone out there trys this recipe because its really really good! I have plans to make it at least once in my apartment.

I hope you got your Jane Goodall tickets...

So, if you didn't get you Jane Goodall ticket, maybe you can sneak in...but Jane Goodall, of chimpanzee fame, is coming Oct, 16th. Manye people may not be aware that she, like everryone else these days, wrote a book about mindful eating. I bought it when it came out and started reading it on a plane, once, but I usually fall asleep (or some level of torpor), when on planes...it's still on my bookshelf...but it sounds good!!!


"An empowering exploration of the social and personal significance of food consumption reveals the dangers behind many of today's foods, the benefits of eating locally grown and organic produce, and the ways in which everyday individuals can make environmentally responsible choices."







Sorry for posting so much to the blog! I am procrastinating from doing other work!

slow food!

poison/food

In light of next week's discussion about eating disorders and hunger, here is an anecdote some of you may have heard. I am not sure on it's reliability. But tomatoes are in the nightshade fmaily (which is poisonous). And back in the day, before people knew tomatoes were ok to eat, a chef tried to assassinate George Washington via a tomatoes...legend has it, the chef killed himself (prior to seeing the fruits of his failed assassination).

no good industrial hog farm!

I think I've mentioned the Smithfield hog farm in Tar Heel, NC a couple hours away from Duke. It's the biggest in the world. Kills a hog every 2 seconds, or so...Horrible for the pigs, horrible for the workers, horrible for the environment!

Check out their website--> http://www.smithfieldfoods.com/home.asp (pay attention to the corporate responsbility page!)

And here's the human opposition...

http://www.smithfieldjustice.com/aboutthecampaign.php#Main

taste memory

Here is a little blog/podcast about taste memory. There is a long podcast, and I listened to some of it, and it's not really about taste memory, but more generally about enjoying food, and being more aware of local/ sustainable etc.

Here's the link:

http://www.gildedfork.com/podcast/foodphilosophy/2006/05/food-philosophy-6-taste-memory.html

food's a hot topic!

Food (natural, organic, local, slow, earthy) is a very popular topic lately. I was at the regulator, and there are a bunch of books on the subject! I have a problem where I buy lots of books, but don't read them, so I restrained myself from buying them all, though I did get Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kinsolver (with the help of her daughter Camille, who is a junior here!). So I got that, and had Camille autograph it. I don't know if any of ya'll are familiara with is, but I think it's how the family eats all earthy for a while...maybe we should have Camille come in and talk with us (maybe she could even bring her big shot author mom).

check it:

http://www.kingsolver.com/home/index.asp

the food of memories

How funny that Margaret asks us to post about food and memories. Walking back to my central apartment today, I found my thoughts drifting to the months I recently spent in Ireland. And what did I decide to prepare for lunch? "Chips" and sausage, one of my favorite staples from the semester abroad. Interestingly, I did not decide to put on Irish music or look through my photo album as I pined to summon up memories - rather, I put food on the stove! Granted, I was hungry, but it is interesting how closely our memories can be tied to tastes and smells and not just sights and sounds.

Hey y'all. So, here is an article I came across on new york times. It is about a company that is like the leading industry for new foods and beverages. I thought it was interesting as they kind of mentioned how they test the food, send out to other people, have companies come in, and just randomly throw something together and see if it tastes good. Thought it kind of linked in with our discussion Monday about taste buds and such and what some people find disgusting. I personally, do not think I would be a fan of the concoction they mention at the end.

To Eat and Drink What No One Has Tried Before

FOSTER CITY, Calif.

IF Willy Wonka were a real person, he might well be confecting in a white coat at Mattson, a food lab here, just south of San Francisco, home to some of the brightest and most far-out food creators in the country. There are no Everlasting Gobstoppers rolling off a conveyor belt. Instead, this lab is the creative control center for thousands of items Americans eat every day. Whether it’s frozen, cooked or poured, chances are Mattson has had a hand in bringing it to your mouth.

Mattson, which is named for its founder, Pete Mattson, calls itself the largest independent developer of new food and beverage products in the United States. It is difficult to quantify the competition, because some food labs develop only formulas, while others focus solely on preparation and packaging. Mattson estimates it has just a few competitors, and says that none of them provide its range of services.

What sets Mattson apart is its presence across the beverage, fast food and packaged goods industries. Its 70 employees cross-train as chefs, food scientists, engineers and marketing specialists to deliver products for clients like Starbucks, Del Monte and Mrs. Fields cookies. They are inventors as well as entertainers who are committed to innovation, seeing it as critical to success in the vast, competitive and disaster-littered world of food creation.

“In the food industry, your greatest competitive advantage is being first to market,” said Steve Gundrum, president and chief executive of Mattson. “It’s all about speed.”

The company’s imprint is found on a wide variety of products, from the award-winning Mama Zella pizza pie from Round Table to Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice. Dozens more are kept in the secret “trophy room” because of agreements with the companies.

Development in the food and beverage industry is accelerating because people seemingly have an endless appetite for new tastes, and Wall Street demands growth from companies in the food business. According to Mintel, a market-research firm in Chicago, nearly 10,000 food products were introduced in the United States between January and August this year. Most were beverages, followed by bakery goods and seasonings. In 2006, there were more than 17,000 new food products, 63 percent more than in 2000, the firm says.

Mattson turns 30 in October, and to date, Mr. Gundrum says, it has helped get to market 300 product lines, more than 1,000 products, including four varieties of frozen meals for Banquet Crock-Pot Classics by ConAgra. Mattson says it has 300 prototypes in development. Most of the company’s clients are based in America; they generally pay $30,000 to $500,000 to roll out a concept. Food Processing magazine, the industry’s largest publication, will release a survey in October showing that 28 percent of respondents say they use independent product-development labs in addition to internal laboratories to research and develop products.

They do so because many large companies are too “vertically integrated,” Mr. Gundrum said, which means they know all the manufacturing stages about a beverage, say, but may not know how to expand into frozen foods. He added, “They need someone like us to say, ‘No, the best idea is to go here.’ ”

In the 20,000-square-foot Mattson development lab, harmony reigns partly because of the corporate structure. Mr. Gundrum bought the company from Mr. Mattson in 1995 and created an employee stock ownership plan, transferring equity in the company to members of the staff. Employees are offered $1,000 cash if they buy a hybrid vehicle. Mr. Gundrum declined to state the business’s revenues, but said he holds growth to 10 percent a year to maintain the quality of the services.

There are no visible barriers where the employees work. For example, there are no cabinet doors to impede technicians searching for National Starch’s Baka-Snak pre-gelatinized modified food starch; T. Hasegawa’s Natural Wok Oil Flavor No. FC 989800; or the Blue-10 Buffer Solution, used to modify relative acidity. Searching, after all, wastes precious time. The employees practice a genteel form of “shout mail” and interrupt one another to taste a concoction.

“We have become incredibly efficient at looking at something, taking one bite and knowing how to improve it without getting approval from your boss or your boss’s boss or writing a memo,” Mr. Gundrum said. “We just don’t have that kind of ceremony.”

What Mattson does have is a nose for trends. It obsessively investigates popular culture, analyzing not only dietary needs and flavor crazes, but also lifestyle patterns and the Internet marketplace. For example, the company has observed that detailed information on the Web allows people to find out how to create a recipe, say, or crush their own wine. The demand for spicy and sweet is intense, and a move toward more casual dining is indicative of trends like a Caesar salad you can eat with your hands.

To bring these trends home to clients, Mattson often asks them to roll up their sleeves and work on prototypes with the staff when visiting the lab. Some clients, like White Castle, the fast-food chain based in Columbus, Ohio, touch down once a year to participate in what Mattson calls its “trends luncheons.” White Castle has been working with Mattson for four years and attributes the success of its roasted garlic cheeseburger and chicken rings to its work with the food scientists and marketing gurus here.

One day this month, Jamie T. Richardson, the director of marketing for the White Castle Management Company, listened to a presentation on 18 food trends while Mattson chefs served him an eight-course lunch. Each recipe illustrated what Mattson views as the next big craving or a coming retail concept: blueberries are out, and acai fruit (pronounced ah-sigh-EE) is in as a superfood; and specifying provenance, not only on restaurant menus but also on packaged products, is gaining momentum.

Guided by a Mattson chef, Mr. Richardson used a syringe to inject propylene glycol alginate, espresso and sugar into a martini glass of calcium lactate and water to create “javiar” — java and caviar — which he ate on toast as a palate cleanser. “We get access to some of the best minds in the business and resources that allow us to move more quickly and think more effectively,” he said. “Resource-wise, it is not efficient for us to try to replicate this.”

Mattson also does rigorous market testing. A staging area sends as many as 12,000 prototypes — like granola bars, salad kits, frozen pizza and carbonated beverages — to American households annually. (The link to participate is foodcom.com/signup.) Within hours of participants’ receiving products, Mattson provides clients with recorded voice-mail messages that reflect the recipients’ visceral responses to packaging, taste and ease of use.

The future at Mattson is a closely guarded secret, but Mr. Gundrum was willing to describe today’s appetite. “In the past, you had to give up something to eat wholesome,” he said. “Something we’re striving to do is improve the pleasure from really healthy foods. It’s not the next frontier. It’s the existing frontier.”

Fall Break Inspired Fun...

Hey guys,

So I was thinking about Fall Break this coming weekend, and food always plays a major part in my trips home because my mom and I love cooking, watching food network, trying new recipes etc. I've attached a link for one of our all-time favorite recipes. Its from Ina Garten on the Food Network. She's absolutely amazing.

This particular recipe is for "Outrageous Brownies" which are super chocolaty and even have coffee in them. They're really rich, but very good. And here's the funny part... they taste best out of the refrigerator, not from the oven. The first time my mom and I made them, we wanted to try them while they were still hot, as you do with most brownies. We didn't really like them, but put them in the fridge anyways to keep them (Come on, a whole tray of brownies, you just can't let that go to waste!) And then when we tried them later we loved them!! I'm sure this love of the brownies cold relates somehow to taste and the flavors in them, which we talked about this week. I think it also has to do with tecture.

Enjoy!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32314,00.html

my friends food blog

This is my friend emily's food blog. She is an amazing cook and loves food... enjoy!
http://eatinghighonthehog.blogspot.com

Food tonight

hi kiddles,
Just wanted to let you know about the food tonight.
We are going to be having baked mac and cheese (and a vegan mac and cheese for our less dairy friendly friends.)
Salad (with nuts and yummy stuff)
an apple fun dessert
maybe some other stuff

get hungry!
Juliet

Eggs: Disgusting??

My roommate and I are always having a disagreement about whether or not eggs taste good. I love the taste of eggs, but my roommate hates them. She isn't a vegetarian or vegan or anything, she just thinks eggs taste bad. I think she's crazy. I saw this article in the New York Times "Dining and Wine" section, and I thought it fit with this week's theme on taste. It addresses the eggs disgusting/tasty question. There are also some recipes.

1909: Eggs Eli
By AMANDA HESSER
Published: September 23, 2007
In the early 20th century, The Times ran a story on ways to cook eggs for breakfast on Easter Sunday. According to the unnamed writer, the challenge a cook faces in disguising the flavor of eggs “is a puzzle that adds years to his age unless inspiration or accident brings a happy solution.” He apparently never experienced the delight of truffles with eggs or, for that matter, of bacon and eggs. Three decades later, Marcel Boulestin’s book “Eggs” would put the supposed quandary to rest, and by 2000, eggs would become so revered that they would inspire Marie Simmons’s 464-page cookbook, “The Good Egg.”
In the meantime, a temporary solution was offered by John W. Keller, a former city commissioner. His “Eggs Eli” involved rubbing a chafing dish with a garlic clove, then scrambling eggs in it with a mash of Virginia ham and anchovies — just the kind of unfussy, robust dish you might find on the brunch menu at Prune in the East Village.
Among the story’s other overstrenuous tips for masking the flavor of eggs were poached eggs topped with a hops-scented béchamel, President Taft’s campfire omelet (fried trout, salt and pepper) and the Colony Club’s “Eggs Suffragette,” a twist on deviled eggs that incorporated anchovies (the dish, however, didn’t hasten women’s suffrage). Delmonico’s Restaurant, meanwhile, was dismissed as having “failed to evolve any novelty.”
Most inventive of all was Mark Twain’s “Eggs à la Canton, Williamsport, Trout Run and Way Stations,” which instructed you to: “Divest two genuine eggs of shell and claws, being careful to avoid breaking same. If you break ’em, begin again at the top of the recipe and proceed anew. Lay the plumage and cackle on one side, roll the remainder very thin, add baking powder and boil in a pudding bag over a slow fire for a week. Tie with baby ribbons and serve cold.”
It’s difficult to improve on a dish like that, or even one as blunt and tasty as Eggs Eli. I thought Charles Phan, the chef and owner of the Slanted Door in San Francisco, might be up to the task.
Eggs Eli reminded him not of a hearty breakfast after a morning of rowing but of lunches in China, where eggs are served as an entree. “If you told me you got this out of the 1909 Hong Kong paper, I wouldn’t be surprised,” he said.
In China, salted fish, like anchovies, appear at nearly every meal. “They salt the entire sea,” Phan said. For his modern recipe, he added: “I was going to do ground pork and anchovy, but everybody knows that dish — it’s too literal. I wasn’t working hard enough.”
Persistence led him to two dishes served over rice. For the first, finely chopped pork shoulder is mixed with fish sauce, browned in oil and smothered with spicy yellow chives and eggs. Anchovies and garlic appear in the second as the aromatic for sautéed gai lan, or Chinese broccoli. Into each bowlful, you spoon a little rice, then top it with the crisp pork and egg on one side and the gai lan on the other — fat and happy, lean and mean. Tie on some baby ribbons, and you’ll have a meal fit for Mark Twain.
•
1909: Eggs Eli
This recipe by John W. Keller, a city commissioner, appeared in an article in The Times.
Anchovies were a popular ingredient at the turn of the 20th century. It’s impossible to know what the quality of the average anchovy was then. A good anchovy now is plump and assertive but neither too salty nor too fishy. (And whatever you do, avoid the ones with capers.) Lots of cookbooks call for those packed in salt, but Agostino Recca, a common brand found in supermarkets, makes good-quality ones, already filleted and packed in oil, that are fine substitutes.
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons butter
8 eggs, cracked into a bowl
1 tablespoon finely minced anchovy
3 tablespoons finely minced
Virginia ham, or other smoked ham.
Rub the inside of a large skillet with the garlic clove. Place over medium-high heat and add the butter. When it’s nice and foamy, pour in the eggs. Sprinkle the anchovy and ham over the eggs, then begin scrambling them, stopping when they’re done to your liking. Keller, a Yale dropout, adds: “Serve on a Yale blue dish.” But any dish is fine. Serves 4.
•
2007: Crisp Pork With Scrambled Eggs and Yellow Chives
By Charles Phan, chef at the Slanted Door in San Francisco.
You can substitute green Chinese chives for yellow Chinese chives (which are available at Asian markets), but you will lose some of the spiciness.
3 ounces finely chopped pork shoulder
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons yellow Chinese chives cut into 1-inch strips
4 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt.
1. In a small bowl, combine the pork, fish sauce, oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. In a nonstick sauté pan set over medium-high heat, brown the pork until crisp and no longer pink. Add the chives and cook 1 minute more. Reduce the heat to medium, add the eggs and stir them around the pan until the eggs set. Accompany with white rice and gai lan with anchovies. Serves 2.
•
Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) With Anchovies
1 pound gai lan, rinsed and trimmed
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ teaspoon minced garlic
8 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons rice wine
¼ cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons Vietnamese fish sauce
Cooked white rice, optional.
Split the large stalks of gai lan in half lengthwise. Place a large sauté pan over high heat and add the oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and anchovies and cook, pressing on the anchovies with a wooden spoon until they dissolve and the garlic lightly browns. Add the gai lan and toss in the sauce to coat. Pour in the rice wine and let it reduce for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and fish sauce, bring to a boil, cover and steam until almost tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and cook at a lively simmer until the gai lan is tender and the sauce has evaporated slightly. Serve with white rice and the crisp pork with scrambled eggs. Serves 2.
From: The New York Times

Mapleview Milk

I realize half of the class was not at our first meeting. However, at our first class, we did a taste test of milk. Before it's identity was revealed, I chose Mapleview milk as the tastiest and also as the one much different from anything I'd tasted. The milk is bottled at Mapleview Farms in Chapel Hill and is available at almost every grocery store in Durham (Including Wholefoods and Kroger on Hillsburough). Last week I purchased a bottle for the first time. Not only was it the same price as the other brands (1.99), but I returned the glass bottle to wholefoods yesterday and got $1.30 in return for it. I couldn't believe it! So, if I was charged the proper amount both times, Mapleview milk costs only $0.69. So, if you really enjoyed it too, it is local, green, AND cheap :)

People Eating by Themselves

Hey y'all.

So, a couple weeks ago in class we were talking about how we feel the urge to look "busy" while eating opposed to just sitting there enjoying our food in peace without a book or the crossword puzzle or sudoku or something in front of us. I have eaten breakfast twice in the last 5 days, so Thursday and today (Tuesday) and both times I have seen quite a few people sitting there just eating there food. Their backpacks were closed and on the floor. There were no books, no Chronicles, just them and food. It was cool to see. One girl was def jamming out to her iPod and smiling. She looked content. In her own world and could care less. I thoguht it was great. The other few kids I saw were also just doing there thing. Two of the dudes were kind of watching other people. The other guy was faced away from people so that it seemed like he was trying to have his own space even while all the swimmers were at the tables in the middle. Oh, and both times I had breakfast I also made sure to make a conscious effort to not have anything in front of me to keep me "busy". Just food. It was actually quite nice. I totally recommend if you get the chance. I had kind of forgotten what it was like. Ta ta.

Ann Drea

Food and Religion

The discussion in the readings this week was really interesting regarding the Eucharist and whether or not it was considered truly transformed in communion. The tie between the food (bread and wine) and religion (the observance of the belief in Christ's sacrifice) is rather unique. I don't think I ever thought about the fact that the bread and wine are really food before.
Anyway, I thought it was very interesting that the Duke Chapel bulletin from the Sunday service yesterday included a discussion about what is taking place during communion. The explanation, which was on the back of the bulletin, outlined what the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Zwinglian, and Anglican tradition faiths believe is happening during communion. The reading focused mostly on a Roman Catholic perspective, so it was interesting to note the differences between faiths.
Although I found the reading interesting, I was disappointed that it did not explore more the fact that the Eucharist is indeed food. The reading focused more on the question of whether or not the food was actually being transformed into Christ's body through the blessing.

Yummy food... religious ties

Hey guys! This is an article I wrote for the Chronicle two weeks ago, and I know I've mentioned it in class before. I absolutely love the Refectory, its so tasty, and it does fit into our food and religion theme this week as it is in the divinity school, and I always see people from different religions there if they have just come from chapel or something.

Refectory grows in popularity
By: Ashley Holmstrom
Posted: 9/13/07In the cozy lower floor of the Divinity School, increasing numbers of students have sought shelter in the homemade meals and the calm atmosphere of the Refectory Cafe.With music every Sunday night, daily lunch specials, nutritious meals and hot breakfast every morning, the Refectory fills a niche different from other on-campus venues. Opened in September of 2005, it has since transformed from a lunch counter catering to Divinity School students to a full-blown restaurant drawing students and faculty members from everywhere on campus."Refectory food is generally better than most food on campus," said sophomore Dazi Russell. "And it's homemade."Quality and freshness are key components to the Refectory's success, said owner Laura Hall. When she opened the Refectory, it was the first green cafe at Duke, using equipment and serving supplies from other campus eateries.Although the Refectory has been frequented by Divinity School students and faculty in the past, the cafe has found a new following, especially on Sunday nights for Simple Suppers-which began last year-said Jim Wulforst, director of Dining Services. "Last year the Refectory averaged about 150 to 175 students on Sunday nights, but this year, there were over 320 on opening night," he said.Hall added that Sunday night suppers are no longer solely attended by students leaving the Chapel. "Last week we were overwhelmed [by the response]," Hall said. "We've had beautiful nights, great food, and the people have just come out of the woodwork."Wulforst encouraged the Refectory to open on Sunday nights due to a lack of available dining options, she said."We're pinching ourselves," said Hall, who said she is overjoyed at the good responses she has been getting to the cafe this year. She was quick to credit her dedicated smiling staff and said she is proud of the special, unique menu. "I think the attitude of the employees is just extraordinary," Wulforst said. "They go out of their way to make customers feel comfortable and they have good food and top-quality ingredients."Customer feedback is important to Hall, who has a weekly e-mail list that students and faculty can join to receive Refectory updates and menu changes. Over the past couple of years, the Refectory has tried new dishes and now serves those dishes that garner the most positive response from customers. Indian dal, an organic lentil stew containing 90-percent protein, and vegan chili are two locally award-winning popular dishes. The Refectory's dal has been awarded the status of a near-perfect dietary food by the Durham County Health Department through the Winner's Circle Healthy Dining Program, in which the Refectory participates. In addition, their homemade chili won the Bull City Chili Challenge this summer.Hall said organic and locally-grown ingredients have remained important to her. The restaurant supports eight local food-providing companies, such as Durham's LocoPops and the Durham and Carrboro farmers markets. The Refectory now grows its own herbs in a sustainable herb garden on the terrace outside.It also prides itself on its ability to appeal to people with many different sorts of diets, Hall said. The cafe boasts many low-fat, high-protein nutritionally balanced meals and provides for special dietary needs-such as vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. Hall noted, however, that high-carb meals are also offered, such as lasagna, which often attracts athletes.All of Hall's efforts, and those of her staff, have not gone unnoticed by Dining Services, Wulforst said. He added that the Refectory is in the process of being supplied with an updated kitchen and new electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning systems. Once the kitchen is fully operational, Hall may choose to expand business hours if the response remains strong, said Wulforst, who has already asked her to consider hosting dinners for the Focus Program on Thursday nights."A place will be popular because students want it to be," Wulforst said.
© Copyright 2007 The Chronicle

Menu for next Monday, 9-24-07

Hey Everyone! So, on monday Ashley and I are going to attempt to make
bruschetta
chicken and asparagus
roasted potatoes
and
apple pie

So I think you will need to bring a plate, and another small plate or bowl, and a fork, knife, and a cup.
We think that the bruscetta and potatoes will be vegetarian/vegan, and the apple pie should be vegetarian and maybe vegan depending on what is in the pie crust (we are unsure yet).

I hope this is ok with everyone, we are very excited and will see you next week!

Food preparations across cultures

I thought it might be interesting to note that when doing research in an attempt to identify a culture (one alive today or an ancient culture) in which the men primarily prepare the food, I was unable to find one. I thought, after reading the Food and Culture Studies Chapter 8 section on feminism and traditional food preparation, that there must be some culture where men are the primary cooks. The assertion made by Levi-Strauss in the Chapter 2 section that men in the Assinibon plains culture boil things and women cook things on spits outside further encouraged me to look for such a culture. But it seems I was incorrect. If anyone has any information to the contrary I would be really interested to know about it.
I was, however, able to find out that in Thailand, in Mae hong son, one of the northern provinces, men primarily prepare the food for important festivals, usually religious festivals. Women still prepare the food on a day to day basis, but men are in charge of holidays.

Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy? (NYTimes Magazine)

New York Times Magazine
September 16, 2007 (Today)
Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy?
By GARY TAUBES

Once upon a time, women took estrogen only to relieve the hot flashes, sweating, vaginal dryness and the other discomforting symptoms of menopause. In the late 1960s, thanks in part to the efforts of Robert Wilson, a Brooklyn gynecologist, and his 1966 best seller, “Feminine Forever,” this began to change, and estrogen therapy evolved into a long-term remedy for the chronic ills of aging. Menopause, Wilson argued, was not a natural age-related condition; it was an illness, akin to diabetes or kidney failure, and one that could be treated by taking estrogen to replace the hormones that a woman’s ovaries secreted in ever diminishing amounts. With this argument estrogen evolved into hormone-replacement therapy, or H.R.T., as it came to be called, and became one of the most popular prescription drug treatments in America.

By the mid-1990s, the American Heart Association, the American College of Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists had all concluded that the beneficial effects of H.R.T. were sufficiently well established that it could be recommended to older women as a means of warding off heart disease and osteoporosis. By 2001, 15 million women were filling H.R.T. prescriptions annually; perhaps 5 million were older women, taking the drug solely with the expectation that it would allow them to lead a longer and healthier life. A year later, the tide would turn. In the summer of 2002, estrogen therapy was exposed as a hazard to health rather than a benefit, and its story became what Jerry Avorn, a Harvard epidemiologist, has called the “estrogen debacle” and a “case study waiting to be written” on the elusive search for truth in medicine.

Many explanations have been offered to make sense of the here-today-gone-tomorrow nature of medical wisdom — what we are advised with confidence one year is reversed the next — but the simplest one is that it is the natural rhythm of science. An observation leads to a hypothesis. The hypothesis (last year’s advice) is tested, and it fails this year’s test, which is always the most likely outcome in any scientific endeavor. There are, after all, an infinite number of wrong hypotheses for every right one, and so the odds are always against any particular hypothesis being true, no matter how obvious or vitally important it might seem.

In the case of H.R.T., as with most issues of diet, lifestyle and disease, the hypotheses begin their transformation into public-health recommendations only after they’ve received the requisite support from a field of research known as epidemiology. This science evolved over the last 250 years to make sense of epidemics — hence the name — and infectious diseases. Since the 1950s, it has been used to identify, or at least to try to identify, the causes of the common chronic diseases that befall us, particularly heart disease and cancer. In the process, the perception of what epidemiologic research can legitimately accomplish — by the public, the press and perhaps by many epidemiologists themselves — may have run far ahead of the reality. The case of hormone-replacement therapy for post-menopausal women is just one of the cautionary tales in the annals of epidemiology. It’s a particularly glaring example of the difficulties of trying to establish reliable knowledge in any scientific field with research tools that themselves may be unreliable.

What was considered true about estrogen therapy in the 1960s and is still the case today is that it is an effective treatment for menopausal symptoms. Take H.R.T. for a few menopausal years and it’s extremely unlikely that any harm will come from it. The uncertainty involves the lifelong risks and benefits should a woman choose to continue taking H.R.T. long past menopause. In 1985, the Nurses’ Health Study run out of the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health reported that women taking estrogen had only a third as many heart attacks as women who had never taken the drug. This appeared to confirm the belief that women were protected from heart attacks until they passed through menopause and that it was estrogen that bestowed that protection, and this became the basis of the therapeutic wisdom for the next 17 years.

Faith in the protective powers of estrogen began to erode in 1998, when a clinical trial called HERS, for Heart and Estrogen-progestin Replacement Study, concluded that estrogen therapy increased, rather than decreased, the likelihood that women who already had heart disease would suffer a heart attack. It evaporated entirely in July 2002, when a second trial, the Women’s Health Initiative, or W.H.I., concluded that H.R.T. constituted a potential health risk for all postmenopausal women. While it might protect them against osteoporosis and perhaps colorectal cancer, these benefits would be outweighed by increased risks of heart disease, stroke, blood clots, breast cancer and perhaps even dementia. And that was the final word. Or at least it was until the June 21 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Now the idea is that hormone-replacement therapy may indeed protect women against heart disease if they begin taking it during menopause, but it is still decidedly deleterious for those women who begin later in life.

This latest variation does come with a caveat, however, which could have been made at any point in this history. While it is easy to find authority figures in medicine and public health who will argue that today’s version of H.R.T. wisdom is assuredly the correct one, it’s equally easy to find authorities who will say that surely we don’t know. The one thing on which they will all agree is that the kind of experimental trial necessary to determine the truth would be excessively expensive and time-consuming and so will almost assuredly never happen. Meanwhile, the question of how many women may have died prematurely or suffered strokes or breast cancer because they were taking a pill that their physicians had prescribed to protect them against heart disease lingers unanswered. A reasonable estimate would be tens of thousands.

[See the rest of this article at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/magazine/16epidemiology-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin]

Epicurious.com

As I recently shared with you, my roommate, Annalies, is a fabulous cook. She recently introduced me to the website: http://www.epicurious.com, which is the best website for recipes that I've seen so far. If you are already familiar with it, I'm sorry! For those of you who aren't, though, it has thousands of recipes, including user reviews of each recipe as well, and very useful pictures. It also has many fun features including a Recipe of the Day, Food and Wine dictionaries, and various articles and guides. Enjoy!

Loco Like a Fox (News & Observer article)

Makes me want to go back for a second field trip!

Published: May 31, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: May 31, 2006 06:06 AM

Loco like a fox
Mexican-inspired frozen confections draw on local produce
Susan Houston, Staff Writer
DURHAM - The idea for LocoPops was, founder Summer Bicknell would admit, just plain loco. If she had submitted her plan for a grade in business school, "I would have flunked," Bicknell says. "I had a business plan that bore no resemblance to reality."
Yet here she sits on a sunny afternoon, on a bench outside her Hillsborough Road shop, as customers stream past and into the door. She doesn't advertise, doesn't have a Web site, doesn't take credit cards. Yet Triangle residents have gone loco for LocoPops, Bicknell's unique twist on paletas (pah-LAY-tahs), Mexican-style frozen treats on a stick.

Emily and Gail Vaughn of Raleigh are finishing up their second LocoPops outside the store (cookies and cream and strawberries and cream, respectively).

"The plan is you get two small ones ..." Gail Vaughn begins.

"That way you get to try more flavors," daughter Emily finishes.

Emily's sister, a Duke graduate, introduced the rest of the family to LocoPops. Now they are hooked. When her mother visited Emily in Mexico last summer, they sampled the local paletas.

"And she said, 'This is just like the place in Durham,' " Emily recalls.

Inside, a big whiteboard behind the counter lists the 22 flavors available today, evenly divided between paletas de crema (made with milk and cream) and paletas de agua (made with water).

There's also a hand-drawn globe with the slogan, "Blending the traditions of Mexico with the flavors of the world."

"If you want to boil down the concept of LocoPops, it's that," Bicknell says.

The "traditions of Mexico" are seen in the list of "regulars": creamy lime (like a Key lime pie on a stick), mojito, tamarind, hibiscus and mango chile -- a fruity, spicy favorite in Mexico.

"I had the mango chile in Mexico, and hers is just right," Emily confirms.

"The flavors of the world" show Bicknell's facility with flavors. There are two "FUNky" flavors each week (pear cardamom and rosemary lemon last week) and about a dozen "guest stars" such as chocolate chile, coconut ginger and pineapple basil.

And this year, many of the herbs used to flavor these unusual combinations will come from the Durham garden of SEEDS (South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces), a nonprofit group that encourages urban children and teens to get involved in organic gardening.

Nathan Baines, 18, a junior at Southern High School, is one of those teens. Through DIG (Durham Inner City Gardeners), Baines is already tending rosemary, lavender, peppermint, lemon verbena and several varieties of basil that will eventually flavor LocoPops. Spearmint and thyme will follow this summer, when Baines will intern with Bicknell at LocoPops, learning about the business and perhaps creating his own flavors.

His dream, you see, is to be a chef.

Before DIG, "I didn't have herbs and stuff to cook with," Baines says. Now, although he says "people at school, they be laughing" at the notion, Baines likes to grow herbs like rosemary and use them to flavor chicken.

And his herbs will flavor LocoPops. "At first, I said, 'Dude, that's going to be nasty,' " Baines admits. But now he respects the creativity behind LocoPops. "Nobody else is trying nothing like that," he says.

For her part, Bicknell is glad to be a SEEDS partner. Acknowledging that many of her exotic flavors would have to come from far away, she looked for ways to buy local when she could. The ice cream mix for her milk-based paletas comes from Jackson's Dairy in Spiveys Corner.

"It's part of our corporate strategy," says LocoPops partner Connie Semans of Durham.

The partnership with SEEDS is "in line with where I'd like to see the world," Bicknell says.

It was at the SEEDS fundraiser Art Grows in Durham last summer that LocoPops, which will celebrate its one-year anniversary Saturday, made its debut.

The year before that, Bicknell was doing "the corporate gig" in Nashville, Tenn., putting her MBA to use in middle management -- and feeling stuck in a rut. She wanted to do something else, but what? Bicknell confided her frustration to a friend visiting from Atlanta. At the time, they were sharing some paletas purchased from a shop in Nashville run by two sisters from Guadalajara.

"I bet you could learn how to make these," he told her.

"So it's his fault," Bicknell says.

She talked to the sisters who ran the paleta shop and did some research on the Internet. She decided she wanted to learn how to make paletas the authentic way, in Mexico -- even though all the Spanish she knew were the numbers from one to 20.

"My minimum criteria was that I was not going to cross the border until I had a name," Bicknell says. She got that name by e-mail from the publisher of an online journal who had mentioned a paleteria in Tlazazalca, a town in the southwest Mexico state of Michoacan.

Soon, Bicknell had sold her house in Nashville, packed up her two dogs and headed to Tlazazalca. She showed up on the doorstep of the paleta maker, "who realized I was sincere," and spent the next three months as a paleta apprentice.

"She taught me how to make them and let me live behind the shop," Bicknell says. After learning her trade, she spent the next three months learning Spanish.

She also thought about where she wanted to open her own shop. She didn't want to go back to Nashville and compete with the women who had inspired her. She narrowed the possibilities to states on the Eastern Seaboard, eliminating Florida because of its already burgeoning Mexican population.

On the drive through her target zone, headed to New Jersey, she stopped in Durham to buy gas. "And I agreed with myself to stop here again on the way back," she says. She stopped and she stayed, leasing a house and, a few months later, the shop where she would sell her paletas.

"It looks like genius now," she says of the location, about halfway between Duke's West campus and trendy Ninth Street. "But it was just providence."

LocoPops' success, like Blanche Dubois, has also been dependent on the kindness of strangers.

"Something you can't put into a business plan is good will," Bicknell says.



Food editor Susan Houston can be reached at 829-4863 or shouston@newsobserver.com

In Praise of Tap Water

Copyright New York Times Company Aug 1, 2007
On the streets of New York or Denver or San Mateo this summer, it seems the telltale cap of a water bottle is sticking out of every other satchel. Americans are increasingly thirsty for what is billed as the healthiest, and often most expensive, water on the grocery shelf. But this country has some of the best public water supplies in the world. Instead of consuming four billion gallons of water a year in individual-sized bottles, we need to start thinking about what all those bottles are doing to the planet's health.
Here are the hard, dry facts: Yes, drinking water is a good thing, far better than buying soft drinks, or liquid candy, as nutritionists like to call it. And almost all municipal water in America is so good that nobody needs to import a single bottle from Italy or France or the Fiji Islands. Meanwhile, if you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents.
Next, there's the environment. Water bottles, like other containers, are made from natural gas and petroleum. The Earth Policy Institute in Washington has estimated that it takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the water bottles Americans use each year. That could fuel 100,000 cars a year instead. And, only about 23 percent of those bottles are recycled, in part because water bottles are often not included in local redemption plans that accept beer and soda cans. Add in the substantial amount of fuel used in transporting water, which is extremely heavy, and the impact on the environment is anything but refreshing.
Tap water may now be the equal of bottled water, but that could change. The more the wealthy opt out of drinking tap water, the less political support there will be for investing in maintaining America's public water supply. That would be a serious loss. Access to cheap, clean water is basic to the nation's health.
Some local governments have begun to fight back. Earlier this summer, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom prohibited his city's departments and agencies from buying bottled water, noting that San Francisco water is ''some of the most pristine on the planet.'' Salt Lake City has issued a similar decree, and New York City recently began an advertising campaign that touted its water as ''clean,'' ''zero sugar'' and even ''stain free.''
The real change, though, will come when millions of ordinary consumers realize that they can save money, and save the planet, by turning in their water bottles and turning on the tap.