Ain't No Big Thing

Well, the Farm Bill has been voted upon, and the Kind-Flake amendment was rejected. I participated and voiced my opinion. I feel better about it than I would have if I had received those emails and deleted them, or put them aside for later. If I need to call my representatives in the future, I have the information and I know how it works. For today, that's going to have to be enough. I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing-- buying organic, supporting local farmers-- and anticipating the next opportunity to speak out.

Heartwarming

I want to thank Alison at Cleaner Plate Club for doing such a fantastic job with her Farm Bill post. As usual, it was well researched, positive, and full of helpful links and accurate information. Seeing that she had responded so quickly and so well to the issue just about brought tears to my eyes this morning. I had goosebumps. Power to the e-people!
Great job Alison!

Here are pictures of the petition we all e-signed being presented:

My Favorite Recent Photos

Farm Bill Vote is Tomorrow

My chef friend writes:
It has come to my attention that our Representative, Mike Thompson [(202) 225-3311 in DC or 226-9898 in Napa] does not support the Kind-Flake Fairness Amendment to the Farm Bill.

The current Farm Bill perpetuates subsidies to large corporations like ADM and Cargill, the net result of which is mega farms, corn syrup in our foods, diabetes for our kids, and no help to local, sustainable farming. Without exaggeration, this is a massive, pervasive problem that affects the health of all Americans and the health of the planet.

This is your chance: this only comes up every 5 years. You can help to keep food producers in our back yards with this amendment. You can help support local agriculture and an end to mindless subsidies for multi-national companies.

The bill comes up on the floor tomorrow. I encourage you to call Representative Thompson and others immediately and ask that they support The Kind-Flake Fairness Amendment to the farm bill. Here are three links that explain the amendment.

http://www.azcongresswatch.com/?p=3358

http://www.mulchblog.com/2007/07/the_new_york_times_onthe_antir.php

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-25-2007/0004632581&EDATE=

Thank you for your time.

Vincent Nattress
Executive Chef
Meadowood Napa Valley

PS: Call Nancy Pelosi too! (202) 225-4965 or (415) 556-4862

I'm not usually a caller-inner, but I did it. There are hundreds of amendments to the bill, so be prepared to tell them that it's the one that supports funding for organic farms. I called the Washington office of both representatives. My friend Karen used to work for a senator, so I know that these things do get logged. If we all call, hopefully it will help.

Fessing Up

I should note that I wasn't always the organic food eating, fancy cooking machine that I am now. I have not eaten chain fast food of any kind for at least 3 years, maybe more. I don't remember the last thing I ate, but I don't eat it any more, not even in airports, not even in foreign countries. Especially not in foreign countries. But I grew up on plenty of McDonald's and Taco Bell.

I remember when Taco Bell had two things on the menu: tacos and burritos, and two choices: meat or bean. Meat came in the yellow paper wrapper, and bean came in the white. It was delicious back then, a welcome treat. Back then (I won't say how far back then, but people who can now buy liquor weren't born yet) it was real food. Beans were beans. Cooked, seasoned, probably even a little lardy, but they were beans. Tortillas were tortillas. Meat was meat. Did you know that their beans have been made from reconstituted dehydrated bean powder for years? Who knows all the additives that are put into the stuff? Not to mention the daily mountains of waste generated from all of the disposable plastic and paper cups, straws and paper, and the disposable plastic and paper containers the pre-made food is shipped in before they dump it in the fryer or the cannibal-sized "bean" pot.

But as a kid, Taco Bell was a delicious, and probably nutritious treat. Note that I do not say "Taco Bell Food". No, when you "go get Taco Bell," you go get Taco Bell. They also gave out cartoon character and superhero glasses. Real glass. Pint-sized. Those lasted forever, and when they broke, besides being heartbroken, you could also recycle them.

In elementary school, my class went on a field trip to McD's, and we had a wonderful time. I can still conjure up that perfect balance of pickle, ketchup, and onion on the little burger I made myself. I have many fond memories of meals there with my grandparents. That was our date restaurant of choice when they took me out for a bite. When the arches still came through the ceiling into the lobby.

Lately, McDonald's has placed ads in magazines, aimed at mother types, claiming that they care more about your child's nutrition than you do. That's right, because little children will ask for fries and chicken McGarbage and sodas and sweet treats, even if Mommy takes them in there with the intent to get a salad for herself and apple slices and milk for them, which McD's has so lovingly and conscientiously provided. Once they have these pleasant McDonaldsy feelings about the place (gained from winning an epic battle of wills with Mommy in a public place, no doubt), they'll return there as teenagers and adults with newfound freedom and eat all the crap they want. It's easy, it's available, and it's cheap. Yeah, and admittedly, it does taste good. As long as you don't think about what's in it.

I don't know how to make a burrito taste like a fast-food burrito. (It's that SAUCE, that vinegary red enchilada-sauce-ish stuff. I don't know how they do it. And the metallic, finely pre-shredded cheese substance.) But I do know how to replicate a fast food burger. Not a fancy burger, just a plain, small burger. Just to keep you out of trouble if you happen to have a craving.

Faux Fast Food Burgers
Ingredients
Hamburger, formed into small patties
Small store-bought white buns, no seeds
White onion, finely diced
Dill pickle
Ketchup
Mustard, yellow
Salt

Tools
Pan
Knife
Parchment paper and/or kitchen towel

Method
Prepare your bun top: a scant teaspoon of finely diced white onion, about 2 tsp of ketchup, 1/2 tsp mustard (optional) and 3 slices of dill pickle.

Cook your burger in the method of your choice. Make sure the patty is no bigger than the bun, so that it is smaller than the size of the bun by about 1/2 inch all the way around when finished. If you grill, don't let it get charred. I prefer to make a thicker burger and then slice it in half horizontally, using one half of the meat on each burger. The important thing is to keep the meat to bun ratio low. Salt the burger on both sides.

Place hot burger in bun and quickly wrap in paper, then in kitchen towel so that the heat of the burger steams the bun. If you have a microwave, you can also put the wrapped burger in for 10-20 seconds.

Leave it there for a few more minutes and then see if that doesn't taste almost like the real fake thing.

This Week in the Garden

Summer Personified

This time of year, beautiful tomatoes are in everything. This was part of our weekend breakfast: eggs over easy on buttered toast with drippy slices of fresh tomato from the garden and a couple of basil leaves. Now that I've made pesto again, we'll spread the toast with the green paste before the egg goes on and then top it with the tomato. I can't give you an exact recipe for pesto, because I've never used one, but here is how I make it:

Basil Pesto
Ingredients
6 garlic cloves
Approximately half a bag or 4 oz of pinenuts
(though you can use almost any kind of nut and it turns out just fine)
Basil- 2 bunches or as much as you have
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Salt- just a pinch

Tools
Food processor

Method
1. Peel garlic, place in food processor, spin until all of the garlic is stuck to the sides
2. Add nuts, spin until there are no more big chunks
3. Add basil, filling the bowl. If you have lots, you may need to do this more than once.
4. Pulse several times to get the leaves to start falling into the blade zone at the bottom.
5. While you are doing this, drizzle olive oil into the top of the processor slowly. The basil will start to incorporate into the nut/garlic mixture. Continue until you've blended in all of your basil leaves and you have a wet paste.
6. Add some cheese, blend, then check your savory balance. If the cheese wasn't salty enough, add more cheese, or if it is already thick enough, a little salt.
7. Use your spatula to spoon into small air-tight containers and freeze for long-term use or refrigerate for short term use.

Note: this pesto is not "blanched" meaning the basil is not put into boiling water and then pressed dry before blending. What this means is that it will only be vibrant green when first opened. I don't recommend using it on pasta unless you don't mind it turning brown. Better on tomato sandwiches, salads and cold dishes, or stirred into winter soups. If you want to serve on pasta or gnocchi and keep that vibrant color, you will have to blanch the basil. If you open a container in the fridge, press plastic wrap down on the surface or pour a little extra olive oil over the top to keep the air out.

Nerdy But Useful

I bought a little container of these fun colored binder clips at Staples. I loved the bright colors. I use them in the kitchen to close bags of sugar, flax, flour, nuts, whatever. They are also good for hanging little notes on the fridge magnets. I keep them in the drawer with my leftover produce rubber bands, also used to secure small packages, and my permanent marker for writing the dates on potentially mysterious things. Did you know that you can mark on glass with a Sharpie pen and just rub it off later? You could draw little pictures on people's glasses at a party instead of those dumb little wine charms. Sorry if you are a wine charm fan. They are dorky. But people, including myself, can be depended on to lose their drinks. And who am I to talk, anyway?

No. No. No.

Microwave Panini? Please, I beg of you, do not buy these things. There is something so anti-panini, so absolutely insane, about going to the store to get frozen, pre-packaged sandwiches already impressed with toaster marks, then popping them into the microwave at work. It's like buying microwave toast, or biscuits in a can. Ingenious food science, yes, something to feel good about? No. Just read the labels.

Get some nice vegetables, some slices of turkey breast or whatever, a little cheese, and toast your own sandwich. Put a little arugula on it, a drizzle of balsamic or a little Dijon mustard. It's going to taste so much better than these. You can get this basic George Foreman grill for twenty bucks, or you can use two frying pans and weight the top one with a can, the way Mama used to. Or, if you don't care, buy these things, call it a meal and break my heart. Crack open a can of Spaghettios while you're at it.

But what, you ask, am I going to do for a quick nutritious lunch at work? Well, you could always do the Burrito Factory. We used to do this on the weekends sometimes when we were both working outside the house. You'll need two packages of medium-sized flour tortillas, parchment paper (or foil, or plastic, but I don't want you microwaving those), a can or two of black beans, spiced to your liking, some salsa, creme fraiche or cheese if you like, and if you'd like meat in your burritos, boil up some boneless chicken thighs with a little onion. If you have kids, especially teenagers, enlist their help-- and make twice as much.

Mike and I would get all of our ingredients together and make a little assembly line: warm tortillas on the stove top (for easier folding), stack squares of parchment paper, open all of your cans, stir up the beans in a saucepan, and put spoons in everything. Put one tortilla on one square of parchment, place a couple of spoonfuls of beans, one of meat, salsa, cheese. Fold over one side, then the ends, then the other side, and roll the parchment tightly around it. Stack all of your burritos on a plate, tightly rolled. You can refrigerate just like this, or place in a zip-lock bag. Tasty, nutritious, wholesome, and best of all, fast. They heat up quickly and nicely in a microwave, a toaster oven, or even on a panini grill. You could do the very same thing with sandwiches if you wanted, making up a week's worth of your sandwich of choice on a Sunday afternoon, and just pack your own greens for inside. Maybe the office would be willing to go in on a little grill, and you could grill up your own homemade paninis, too. That would make me very happy.

Summer Wines

On warm summer evenings, nothing hits the spot like a cold rosé or crisp white wine with cold marinated vegetables, Tuscan Cold Supper, and/or a green salad. All of these wines are dry, as opposed to sweet. Even better, these top out at less than $20.

Here are a few summer wines I've tried and liked lately:
Manifesto! Sauvignon Blanc- not only is this a zingy, tasty, not too over-the-top Sauvignon Blanc, but it's made by a very nice person.
Hendry Rosé- juicy strawberry flavors, excellent ice cold on a warm afternoon
Etude Rosé- ditto
Fortitude Rosé- a little bit edgier than both of the above, though still refreshing, with a bit of citrus and pith on the finish. Mike's favorite.
Verget du Sud Rosé de Syrah- no hard edges, food-friendly acid. This was great with our paté and Greek salad last night. Each of the pink wines above was made from a different grape. Worth a taste test to try all four.
Hirsch Veltliner #1- tangy, minerally, crisp. Funky label, screw cap. (Mike HATES this label.) In fact, I think most if not all of these wines are in screw cap. Handy for a picnic or the beach.

Wow. This is Wrong for So Many Reasons

I picked up this link to Jezebel from Neatorama. Scroll down to the big picture and wait for the animation to load, then look at all the photoshopping it took to make a beautiful, normal woman into a magazine cover girl. That isn't even her real arm in the back! Her front arm has been reduced and extended-- if it was real, her arm would reach to her knees!

Wine Country Restaurant/Food Highlights

I can't say enough good things about Uva Trattoria. Yes, it's Italian, which may be passé to you if you prefer restaurants where they play with your food before you eat it. What I love about Uva, besides the unpretentious but well-made food, is the wine list, with plenty of interesting Italian white wines for summer, and the service, which has that friendly spark that is missing from a lot of restaurants. The staff, for the most part, is perky and knowledgeable. They care. They move through the room swiftly and with purpose. We have been there three times in the last two months, and the food and the service have been excellent. Live jazz plays in their lounge next door almost every night of the week. **Uva has had a change of ownership. Though the food is mostly the same, the service is no longer as attentive and perky. We have stopped going.

A short list of some other favorites to try while you're here:

Buster's Barbecue, Calistoga- Super-casual, the best barbecued tri-tip sandwich ever. Avoid the hot sauce unless you like your head to spin and your lips to throb with pain. We get a side of the hot sauce to dip in so we can flirt with danger.

Zuzu- A tapas restaurant. Vibrant, interesting seasonal flavors in a Spanish style. Small plates for lots of sharing. Eclectic wine list.

Pearl- Unboring comfort food. Well-edited menu, gorgeous fresh oysters. Service is attentive, warm but not fawning. Always a good experience.

Bistro Jeanty- (Watch out-- site has loud French accordion music!) Traditional French bistro, some favorites include the Foie Blonde, Escarole Salad with Poached Egg, Croque Monsieur with a glass of rosé at the bar. Tomato Soup en Croute in wintertime. Don't let the Lamb's Tongue Salad scare you away. The large table in the front room is a community table, so even if you haven't made a reservation, you can sometimes still find a spot in this cozy little restaurant.

Celadon- The sometimes quirky menu has a definite global flair, with lots of intriguing choices. Fun cocktails. I do not, however, recommend having a martini here as the gin is shaken within an inch of its life. The arctic ice pack could be revived with the bergs floating past the olives. Owned by the same people that own the underwhelming and overpriced Cole's Chop House.

Bouchon Bakery- I don't want to love it, but I do. Beautiful, rich, quality pastries and breads. The cheese danish is out of this world. If you have that and a double espresso for breakfast, you'll be fueled through dinner time and then some. Except for the sugar crash.

Napa Valley Olive Oil Company- Skip the touristy place across the street from Rutherford Grill that stores perishable products in the front windows and go all the way into St. Helena, down to the end of Charter Oak Ave. to the little white barn. Don't let the screen door slam as you breathe in the aromas of cheese, olives and dry salami. If you speak Italian, you can practice here.

Jimtown Store- On the way to Geyserville and Healdsburg, this is one of our favorite stops. Lots of neat little toys to poke around in, old-fashioned candies, hip linens and kitchen stuff, great picnic food, espresso and more things than I can name. At least one thing that will make you laugh. If you are feeling decadent, go straight to the refrigerators on the right and get yourself a container of their homemade chocolate pudding and a spoon. And then find someplace to sit while you slip into a pudding-induced reverie.

The Chronicle had a good article about picnicking in the wine country. This link is to the article about Sonoma, but there are links to Napa and even San Francisco picnic spots, with information about a bunch of good places to pick up a picnic.

In Sonoma, on the square, we often go to The Wine Exchange. (Update: what a loss! This shop is now closed!) This cool, quiet spot is a good break from the crowds, even on a weekend. We head straight for the little bar in the back and try one of the five unusual beers on tap, but they pour wines as well. Huge imported beer selection. They know what they are talking about, so this is a good place to ask wine questions and pick up a bottle or two. Cold whites, pinks and bubbles in the fridge for your lunch in the park. The tasty Basque Bakery is just a few doors down, unfortunately it's usually crowded. Nothing like a cold glass of chablis and a potato tart, though...

Yes, Even the Leopard Platforms

Good place for it. Put those back and get something sensible, would you?

The American Dream in a Nutshell

Leave it to good ol' Pacific Union College, home of the squeaky clean Adventist education, to make that final leap and remind us why higher education is worth it. All the Cinnabons your little heart desires. This was posted above the escalator in a mall.

Hot Town, Summer in Modesto

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

Summer in Modesto. Bare, bright cool mornings already simmering with potential heat. Tempers rising with the temperature through the day. My sister and I, newly relocated from the more temperate Salinas valley, would crawl, sweating, from our beds in the middle of the night and awaken in the bathtub, or on the cool linoleum, during the weeks-long, triple-digit heatwaves. I remember opening the refrigerator, half asleep, looking for something to cool me down, and finding a giant open can of pineapple-orange juice and guzzling it straight from the can, sweet, metallic juice running down the sides of my neck. I also remember falling asleep, limp and sweaty, holding a glass of ice water or juice on my chest and being awakened by the shock of cold liquid spilling into my ears when I nodded off and my grasp relaxed.

This was Modesto, and this was the 70s, the height of the energy crisis and a drought. Air-conditioner use was severely restricted by my dad. This meant no air-conditioning at night, or during the day when no one was home. Except someone, meaning me, did get home at 3:00, at least an hour before my dad got home and the automatic timer turned the air on, so sometimes the house was positively sweltering. We were reprimanded many times when Dad got home and the air was still on 70. (Because if you turn it down really low it gets cold faster, right?) Our elderly neighbors, Ray and Vi, kept their house so cool, all the time, that the neighborhood kids would look for excuses to go and visit them, even if it ended up being standing in the doorway for just a minute, feeling the cool air rush past.

We spent a lot of time on the lawn on the shady side of the house when it was put in, drinking gigantic cups of iced tea or diet coke (it's no wonder I can't have caffeine any more!) But as the sun began to go down in the evening, and bedtimes no longer applied (9 o'clock for as long as I can remember) relief began to filter through the air.

Running through the sprinklers was a neighborhood affair. (Because you should only use the sprinklers at night or in the early morning, to thwart excess evaporation.) We kids would run through any sprinklers that belonged to our immediate neighbors, and then maybe take a lap around the block, dodging prickly black crickets flooded out of their hiding places, sidewalks still warm from the day's sun. Sometimes we'd freeze our t-shirts wet and later creak them open and use them to cool the backs of our necks. I think we also froze someone's bra, maybe all of our bras, after a sprinkler session at a slumber party.

At school, air-conditioned to the point of being chilly, recess was a matter of navigating scalding blacktop, rubber mats and hot metal bars. There wasn't really any shade on the playground. All-important was timing your rush to the eight-spigot drinking fountain just before the lines formed, waiting for your turn at the mountain-cold water, and drinking as much as you could, sometimes until your head hurt, or until the yelling started to escalate behind you. If you got the timing wrong, you were ushered back into class clammy and parched. I had a special strategy of carefully folding a brown paper towel from the bathroom into a one-inch-wide strip, wetting it, and placing it behind my collar band, under the collar itself, to keep myself cool.

Sometimes on the weekends or in summer, we'd walk from our house to the local school's pool, barefoot, learning over the course of the first week of summer to bear the heat of the sidewalks themselves, but dashing across the hot asphalt or walking on the white stripes of the crosswalk to cross. The pool was designed for therapy in the school's programs for disabled children, and it was therefore covered and slightly warm at all times. The relief it provided from the heat was more from the diversion it provided, and the relative coolness of walking back home in a state of evaporation.

When I was around 11 or 12, a little girl named Rhonda who lived a few blocks away invited me to come swim in her pool. Almost no one in my neighborhood had a pool. In the next development, the houses were slightly larger, the yards slightly more accommodating, and that's where Rhonda lived. We spent our time mostly in the shallow end, submerged to our waists, replaying songs from Grease over and over on a little tape-recorder at the side of the pool and making up dance routines, copying the movie choreography of Summer Lovin' or Greased Lightnin'. (Did any of those songs not end with n'?) Neither of us was destined to be a cheerleader or a dancer, but oh, those afternoons were bliss. (oh!...those su-u-mmer ni-iiiights...) I still don't remember why they ended, but they eventually did.

In high school, we could finally get out on our own in the evenings, and I still remember how wonderful it was to be able to be out at night, sleeveless, sitting on a park swing or driving with the windows down, the smell of warm peaches in the air, freedom and limitless potential all within our grasp like fruit on a tree.

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

More summer here.

Plum Upside Down Cake

This turned out great. I loved the way the tart skin of the plums offset the mild sweetness of the cake. This is the recipe I used, but any pineapple upside-down cake recipe would work. Just pit and halve the plums and place them cut side down on the butter/brown sugar mixture. If you use peaches, pit and slice them and arrange the slices prettily in the bottom of the pan. We served this with vanilla ice cream.

Plum Upside-Down Cake

For the topping
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8-10 ripe red plums

For the cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk

whipped cream or vanilla ice cream as an accompaniment

Make the topping:
In a small bowl stir together well the butter and the brown sugar and spread the mixture evenly in a well-buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pan. Arrange fruit evenly on the sugar mixture.

Make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Into a bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the cinnamon. In another bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately in batches with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating well after each addition. Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly, and bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, run a thin knife around the edge, and invert the cake onto a plate.

Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the whipped cream or ice cream.

(Gourmet, April 1993 Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe)

The Famous Crust Recipe

Since it's still summer, and there is still much fruit to be eaten, I present to you my mother's famous pie crust recipe, courtesy of Crisco. Fortunately, there is a non-hydrogenated, non-gmo, non-transfat, organic alternative product: Spectrum Naturals makes it. I'd be really interested to try the coconut oil shortening version. Maybe for a coconut cream pie?

Classic (Crisco) Pie Crust

Ingredients
8, 9, or 10-Inch Single Crust
1-1/3 level cups all-purpose flour
1/2 level teaspoon salt
1/2 stick or 1/2 level cup vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons cold water

Preparation

1. Combine flour and salt in medium bowl.

2. Cut in Crisco using pastry blender (or 2 knives) until all flour is blended in to form pea-size chunks.

3. Sprinkle water, one tablespoon at a time. Toss lightly with fork until dough will form ball.

4. Divide dough in half, if making double crust. Press between hands to form one or two 5 to 6-inch pancakes. Flour dough lightly. Roll into circle between sheets of waxed paper on dampened countertop. Peel off top sheet. (Or, if rolling without waxed paper, fold dough into quarters. Then unfold and press into pie plate.)

5. For single crust, trim one inch larger than inverted pie plate. Flip into pie plate. Remove other sheet and press pastry to fit. Fold edge under. Flute.

6. For double crust, flour each half of dough. Roll into circles between sheets of waxed paper on dampened countertop. Peel off top sheet for bottom crust. Transfer bottom crust to pie plate. Remove other sheet and press pastry to fit. Trim edge even with pie plate.

7. Add desired filling to unbaked pie crust. Remove top sheet from top crust. Lift top crust onto filled pie. Remove other sheet. Trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top edge under bottom crust. Flute. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake according to specific recipe instructions. For single baked pie shell, heat oven to 425ºF. Thoroughly prick bottom and sides with fork (50 times) to prevent shrinking. Bake at 425ºF for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, follow baking directions given in that recipe.

8 or 9-Inch Double Crust
2 level cups all-purpose flour
1 level teaspoon salt
3/4 Stick or 3/4 level cup vegetable shortening
5 tablespoons cold water

9-Inch Deep Dish Double Crust or 10-Inch Double Crust
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening
7 to 8 tablespoons cold water

Last night, I made a plum upside-down cake with the juicy, drippy lot of Santa Rosa plums from the last two veggie boxes. We'll have it for dessert when Monty comes over tonight. I'll post it after I taste it.

Why I Love Mark Morford

Oh, if you do not know the joys of this irreverent San Francisco Chronicle columnist, you soon will. (Adult subject matter warning!)

Here's a bit from his previous column:

It's a simple enough equation: The more superfluous work you do on the outside, the less you intuitively think you need to do on the inside, on the personality and the touch and the lick and the feel (which, by the way, explains the absolute sexual deadness of most fashion models -- which, if you've never had the displeasure, is much like having sex with a wall).

The great truism remains: By far the sexiest and most desirable (and yes, also the most successful, at least spiritually and emotionally) people I know actually do very little beauty work overall to get that way. They know the mix. They intuit the right balance. They seem to understand the biggest secret of all: Sure, enjoy the potions and regimens and silly luxurious exterior fluff. Just don't actually live there.

Oh yeah...

...and we have a dog. Tugboat. He's 10. He's in charge of kitchen clean-up (especially mixer projectiles and granola rubble) and enforcing workday lunch breaks. And pretending he's not begging at the table.

At Least Three Weeks in a Plastic Box

Why is my blog called "rgdnapa" instead of something cooler and more clever, like crust.com, or toomuchzucchini.com? I started my design blog in January of this year, because I was frustrated with having a website that I couldn't just hop on and change whenever I wanted. I worked with a web consultant who set up a system for me that didn't address my need to post new pictures of my current work, change pages, etc.. I paid her anyway, but I still didn't have what I wanted. Then I came across blogger, and I thought I'd check it out. I put up my business site, resource graphic design became rgdnapa, and voila, here I am. Still working on learning enough about the web to make a better website. I have to-- it's printed on my business cards.

When I realized how easy blogging was, I thought I'd test the waters with a personal site, too. I didn't really have a specific goal in mind, I just figured I'd write about what was interesting to me, what made me happy, and I hoped that in the end the pieces would make up a composite of who I am and what I do. I didn't really intend for it to be so much of a food site, but that's how it worked out. I'm enjoying it. It's really gratifying to know that I'm sharing recipes with people all over the country. Good food, made from fresh things, is central to health and happiness for me.

Sometimes I wish I was irreverent and wickedly clever, like dooce, but that's not who I am. My husband Mike and I made a deal when I started doing this that it wouldn't be about US, so I don't write about the fact that I like to read in bed and he doesn't, or that he likes the shades closed during the day and I like them open, or that one of us watches too much TV (in my opinion). If any of those things were true, you wouldn't hear it from me.

At first, I was hesitant to tell people about the blog. It was a secret journal. Then I told one or two of my very best friends. Slowly, I opened it up to other friends, but only people that I would tell the same things to in person. I know, I know, it's the www for Pete's sake, but really, people who know me don't just find this site by accident. Now, if you google me, you get this. So it's out there now. If you're reading this, and you run into me on the street, it's ok to say you read my blog. All five of you. So, who am I?

I am 40...ok 41. My biological clock went off a few years ago-- I must have hit the snooze button, so no, I don't have any kids, and I've finally stopped saying "yet..." at the end of that sentence. But I love kids, and I love to spend as much time with them as I can. I'm married to a really super guy. Because he is a property manager, we have lived on beautiful winery properties in the Napa Valley for a little over ten years. It's a sweet gig if you have the skills for it, which he does.

By day, I am a graphic designer, dealing mostly with wine point-of-sale materials and media kit type stuff, but I enjoy doing lots of small jobs for individuals, like logos and business cards. I used to work for a great big prestigious wine importing and marketing company. I also work for a small winery, doing their materials and generally helping out a couple of days a week. For fun, I paint watercolors, mostly of fruits and vegetables, and take pictures. Lots of pictures. These days, they are mostly of flowers. I'm an ok artist, hopefully getting better all the time. Sometimes I even do something worth putting a frame around. I love my life now. It's very fun.

I read a lot (because without kids, I have a lot of time to read). I hate mysteries, I love quirky books, and I always pick a book by the cover and then read the description. I love to cook. I'm not a vegetarian, but because we subscribe to a local CSA and get a big box of vegetables and fruit every week, I have to find ways to use them up. It's not easy for two people to get through the box in just seven days. Some weeks, I curse turnips, or cucumbers, or aaaack! leeks! But as the seasons slowly turn, each new thing is exciting. Some things are downright beautiful.

When I was born, I was about a month and a half early and weighed a little under 4 lbs. (3 lbs. 13 oz.) Plenty of smaller babies have been born since and lived, but that was pretty small back then. I was put into a plastic box with a feeding tube. When I picture that, I picture a hamster licking at a steel waterer. It was not like that. My mom told me once that every time she'd come to see me (she had to come to see me, because she had to leave me at the hospital) I'd have squirmed around and pulled the feeding tube out. When she told me this, I said something like, "that's because I was trying to find my MOM," which I hope did not hurt her feelings. From time to time, I wonder how that experience has shaped who I am.

Notes on a Pie

Tuesday's pie is good, but not great. The crust is very tender (perhaps a little more kneading and a little less water?) and combined with the delicate flavor of the white peaches, the effect of the whole pie is a little bit muted. It's definitely good enough to eat, and pretty to look at, just not the best pie I've ever made. I'm going to go for a shortening crust (does anyone know of an organic Crisco, or is that an oxymoron?) and yellow flame peaches, or maybe rhubarb! next time.

Zucchini casserole was good enough for Mike to eat for breakfast and lunch. More zucchini-using resources, including an intriguing dark chocolate-zucchini bundt cake, can be found in this awesome new veggie cookbook I just bought:

Anyone for Pie?

Well, the flat of peaches that my friend Tyla picked up for me was ripe, ripe, ripe. They were white peaches, too, very tender and delicately flavored, so I decided to whip up a pie. I used the all-butter crust recipe, minus the sugar. I usually do include the sugar, and the crust is excellent, but sometimes it browns too much if the filling takes a long time to cook, as in pumpkin pie. Since the prescribed cooking time was 2 1/4 hours, I left it out. My mom's crust recipe was always flour, Crisco, salt and water, so I am not too worried about it. For filling, I used one of the recipes from Food and Wine this month, which is as follows:

Peach Pie
(This was for Peach-Raspberry Pie, but I don't have any raspberries.)

3 3/4 lbs peaches, peeled (never!) and sliced (10 cups)
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
pinch of salt

Bake at 375 degrees for 2 to 2 1/4 hours
I turned the oven down to 300 in the last 20 minutes of baking, as the crust was looking just right. I also added a bit of cinnamon, mostly because I was close to out of sugar, but I did have some cinnamon sugar already mixed up.

Do not forget to put a piece of tin-foil or a foil-covered cookie sheet under summer pies. They can be juicy. This recipe was for a "deep dish" pie. My dish is pretty deep, so I can only imagine how messy this pie would have been with the additional 3 cups of raspberries in the original recipe.

And a few more things to do with zucchini and other summer squash:

6. Zucchini bread and muffins, of course. Do not attempt, as I did, to sneak extra zucchini into the batter.

7. Grate or shred fresh zucchini over salads.

8. Stir grated zucchini into risotto at the very end.

9. Ratatouille, which I mentioned before, is also great on pizza. The store-bought cornmeal crusts are great with ratatouille, soft goat cheese, and pesto.

10. If you have ratatouille on hand (because if you have squash and eggplant like I have squash and eggplant, you are going to make a lot of it this summer!) just putting little bits on baguette slices with a nugget of goat cheese is a quick, tasty appetizer.

One of yesterday's zucchini casseroles:

Battle: Zucchini

I don't know if you remember the humongously giant zucchini I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Well, we had another one-- gosh darnit if those things don't triple in size when you're not looking. It served as a sculptural piece on our dining room table for a couple of weeks, and tonight I finally dismantled and cooked it. It was at least a foot and a half long, and at least 10 lbs.

Now it is zucchini pancakes and zucchini casserole. The casserole was made without a recipe by scooping out the central seedy bits and cutting the remaining flesh into wide sticks, then shredding them in the food processor with a little bit of torpedo onion. The shredded zucchini went into cooking-sprayed aluminum pans, was sprinkled with shredded cheese (whatever I had in the cheese drawer, which was ends of parmesan, gouda and smoked gouda- good!). Then a mixture of egg, milk, salt, pepper, flour and a pinch of baking powder was poured over it. It's baking now, at 350. I'll let you know how it turns out. Smells good now.

The rest of the zucchini was shredded, mixed with 1 egg, flour, s&p, baking powder, per the instructions in this month's Food and Wine for Wolfgang Puck's Potato Pancakes, except with the zucchini substituting in for the pancake. Pretty damn good. That was dinner.

Tomorrow morning, when the white peach pie cools, and the casseroles are out of the oven, I will give you a picture. For now, here's the recipe for the pancakes. I'll bet they'd be just as good with potatoes, but when's the last time you had a ten pound potato to use up?

Wolfgang Puck's Potato Pancakes
2 medium baking potatoes (1 lb.) peeled (or shredded zucchini!)
1 small onion
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1-In a food processor or box grater, coarsely shred the potatoes and the onion. Transfer to a large, clean kitchen towel and squeeze dry

2- In a medium bowl, mix the shredded potatoes and onion with the egg, flour, baking powder, 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of black pepper

3- In a large nonstick skillet or on a griddle, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Drop 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet and flatten with the back of a spoon to make a 3-inch round. Make about 5 more pancakes and cook over moderately high heat until golden on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture. You should have 12 pancakes.

4- Arrange the potato pancakes on a platter. Serve warm, with dill sour cream or creme fraiche, smoked salmon and caviar.

Five other ways to use an overabundance of fresh zucchini:

1. Toss with balsamic and olive oil, roast in the oven. Store refrigerated. Today I had a panini sandwich with roasted eggplant, zucchini, pesto and provolone for lunch, and it was deeeelicious.

2. Dice and add to corn-tomato salad. Its flavor is so neutral that it blends into any salad.

3. Julienne and marinate with thinly sliced red onion in rice vinegar and olive oil. Add to chilled cooked angel hair pasta with halved cherry tomatoes from the garden or toss with parmesan and top a green salad.

4. Cube marinated, roasted zucchini and mix with goat cheese and fresh herbs. Stuff small zucchini or eggplant with the mixture, top with parmesan and bake. Excellent vegetarian entree.

5. Ratatouille! Thank you, Disney, now everyone can pronounce it. I will post my ratatouille recipe later this week, as we have just gotten our first eggplant and peppers in the veggie box. It's a good one. Go buy some herbes de provence, and I'll meet you back here. Ratatouille is a great topper for risotto, pasta, a filler for sandwiches, and it freezes well enough to bring back a bit of summer in the middle of winter. Plus, it's great with rose!

Are You Satisfied?

A chef friend wrote me today asking for my support in signing a petition that seeks to gain equal federal support for organic farming. Here is what the petition says:

Are you satisfied with having just 3% of the fruit you eat free of potentially dangerous pesticides? How about 2% of vegetables? Or less than 0.02% of corn?

Right now, those are the percentages of organic produce available in grocery stores.

Fortunately, the EWG Action Fund is working with Congress to make sure organic farmers get their fair share of federal funds to improve access to healthy alternatives.

You can help right now by signing the EWG Action Fund's Grow Organics petition. Their goal is 30,000 signatures by July 15!

If you would like to read the articles in the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times, including information about the petition, which needs 8,000 more signatures by July 15th, here they are:

Chronicle

NY Times (via Environmental Working Group)

Indispensable II Plus Pie Crust

Two of my favorite kitchen implements are my Graham Kerr "Bash and Chop" aka pastry scraper, ruler, scooper, butter cutter, etc., and my mother's 40+ year old wooden rolling pin. When I have a stretch of time and a flat of fruit before me, and I'm going to make a nice, big pie, these are my two best friends. I don't use the Graham Kerr thingy to chop and then scoop-- usually I use a small chef's knife-- but you could use it for that. It's just not as sharp as a knife. It is good for smashing garlic, which you could then chop and scoop with it, but I like to keep the garlic smells far away from my pie crusts. I used it to cut the shortbreads I made a few weeks ago.

I bought it originally because of my childhood fondness for Graham Kerr's PBS television show, which I mentioned in this post. (By the way, don't forget to use the "show older posts" link at the bottom of this page if you want to see a lot more of the stuff I've written.) I have had it since college, and it's come in very handy.

When I left home at 19 (it's funny to think of it that way, because home had already sort of left me-- my parents divorced, my mom and sister moved out, my room was empty, my dad recarpeted and repainted the house and it smelled like we'd never been there) but anyway, when I left, I took with me my mother's "cookie bowl," cookie fork, rice steamer, and rolling pin. I still have everything but the cookie fork, which was too bendy anyway.

If you have too much summer fruit, and a good stretch of time, here are a couple of good pie crust recipes. Different fruits require different amounts of thickener and/or sugar, so you're on your own there. All of the food magazines on the newstands now have at least one pie recipe, so there are plenty of reference materials available. Nothing better than a pie cooling on the counter. Except maybe warm pie with vanilla ice cream. I am picking up a flat of peaches today, so we may just have a peach pie this week. I plan to make a couple of peach or plum upside down cakes for birthdays next week as well, and will post those.

Flaky Pie Dough
Food and Wine Magazine, August 2007
makes enough for one 9 1/2 inch deep-dish, double crust pie

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" dice
1/4 cup lard (or crisco) frozen and cut into 1/2 cubes
1/2 cup ice water

Method
In a food processor (or with a fork) mix the flour and the salt.

Add the butter and lard and cut in (with a food processor or pastry blender) until they are the size of peas.

Drizzle on the ice water and pulse just until the crumbs are moistened.

Press the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly smaller than the other.

Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
(I go ahead and roll out my lower crust and press it into the pan before I chill it-- it is easier to manage.) I haven't tested this recipe yet.

Here's one I have tested, from Fine Cooking, August-September 2001:

All Butter Pie Crust

Ingredients
8 oz. 1 cup cold unsalted butter
9 oz. (2 cups) all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold water

Method
Same as above. As I mentioned, I roll my crusts to full size first, press the bottom crust into the pan, and chill both crusts. It's much easier than trying to roll out a cold dough. Fine Cooking suggested filling the pie, putting the top crust on, and chilling the whole thing. You might try that, too.

Tuscan Cold Supper

Today we went to Oakland, to the Rockridge area. Rockridge Market Hall is a much smaller version of the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco. Just a few shops, but interesting food and interesting wine. At the pasta shop, a popular place, we picked up some San Daniele prosciutto, Tuscan and Genovese salami, Laguiole and Pecorino Antico cheeses, and next door at the wine shop, a bottle or two of wine.

When Mike and I went to Italy several years ago, there were days when we felt overwhelmed by travel and language difficulties, so we would tromp out to the local salumeria and market in search of dinner. Once back at the hotel or apartment, we'd unwrap our treasures and see if we'd gotten what we guessed or expected, munching salty, cheesy bits with a shared bottle of wine in the kitchen or on the balcony. Since then, "Tuscan Cold Supper" as I call it, with a big green salad, is one of our favorite dinners when the weather is hot.

Over the River and Through the Woods

On Tuesday, Mike and I drove up to South Lake Tahoe to see what was what. We are happy to report that Gma and Gpa seem to be doing well. We went up with the intent to work, clean-up and help out, but there was no helping to be done. Well, there was a little, but neither of them would let us lift a finger. They seemed grateful for the company and we all enjoyed talking together.

The one thing Grandma did do was let me "help" her make her famous Banana Cake. I am not kidding when I say it is famous. If you know my grandma, and if you're lucky and she likes you, you can get on her list for cakes. Not everyone gets one. And if you ever call it "banana bread" you are immediately off the list. She has been making them for years and years, and always has bananas blackening in the kitchen and loaves wrapped in plastic, bagged and labeled, for her next distribution run. Before my grandfather got a color printer, he used to print the paper labels in black and white, and they'd sit and hand-color them together with colored pencils.

The labels, and the cake, have evolved over the years. Though she makes jams, mango cakes and a few other things now and then, Banana Cake is still my grandma's specialty (without nuts, though she will make one with nuts or even chocolate chips if you ask her nicely enough). She has always said that the recipe would go with her when she goes, though occasionally she threatens to give it to other people.

One evening about a month ago, I was on the phone with her, and she just recited it to me, out of the blue. Thank goodness I was in my office and not driving in the car. I grabbed a piece of paper and scrambled to take detailed notes. This was a very big deal. Now that I've seen her make it, I realize that the recipe is only part of the story. Sorry, but I can't give it to you, so you just have to trust me that it's very good. Maybe if you're nice, I'll let you taste it.

Skunk'd

We returned from our friends house late Friday night, a little bleary-eyed and sleepy, and Mike let the dog out. The minute the dog walked back into the house, we knew from the pungent and sulfury aroma that he'd been sprayed by a skunk. Up close, the odor was like very strong sulfury onions mixed with funky musk. Some people describe it as rotten eggs and garlic. Sometimes, when you smell it along the road or in the woods, it's a sort of familiar and not totally unpleasant smell. In close quarters, it is a smell that repeatedly assaults the nose. It does not diminish. With some smells, pleasant ones, repeated smelling dulls the effect. Not so with skunk.

I hopped on the computer and looked up the Mythbusters episode where they tested skunk smell remedies. Tomato juice was listed as "plausible" though not particularly effective. They also tested beer, and a commercial preparation. The formula that was shown to work was 1 qt 3% hydrogen peroxide, plus 1/4 c baking soda, plus 1 tsp dish soap. By the time I came out of the office, Mike already had all of the tomato products in the house blending in the food processor. I offered my findings, and we quickly made up a batch of the solution as well. Mike headed into the shower (it was after 11:00 pm by then) with his arsenal and the confused dog.

I went to bed. During the night, I woke up several times with the smell still in my nose. We guessed too late that the skunk had sprayed the bushes just outside our bedroom window and we'd been pulling more smell in with the fan all night. When I got out of bed, Mike was asleep on the living room sofa (to try to get away from the smell) and the dog was on several layers of towels in the kitchen, without his collar on. In the bathroom, the shower walls were still speckled with tomato bits and decorated with dog hair. The floor was littered with hairy plastic cups and tomatoey containers.

Two days later, the smell is pretty much gone from the inside of the house. The dog is exceptionally fluffy (Mike used my shampoo on him instead of dog shampoo) and ejecting hair like an abandoned chia pet, but he doesn't smell like anything. (Except maybe Axe body spray, which Mike used to nuke the last whiffs of skunk on his collar.) There is a faint whiff of skunk on one of my totebags, which he must have brushed against on his way in. It is hanging outside on a hook until the smell fades. Other than that, we are almost smell-free.

Thank You Momtoellis!

I don't know who "momtoellis" is, but she submitted this great recipe for Cuban Black Beans II to allrecipes.com, and they are DAMN GOOD. Since I had a half a bag of pre-soaked, pre-cooked garbanzo beans in the refrigerator from the Two Bean experience, I turned it into Cuban Garbanzos, but you really could use any kind of bean. I recommend a red or yellow pepper, or both colors. I also had some Niman Ranch ham on hand, so I cubed some up and added it to the pot. We've had this cold the past two nights, and it is deeeelicious. Really hits the spot with some crusty bread for dipping. It would also be great in the winter as a hot soup. It smelled a little too peppery as it was cooking, almost burnt, but once it cooked and then cooled for a while, the flavors melded together.

If you made it with black beans, you'd probably want it to be hot, too, with tortillas. But with white beans, it might be good cold, just like we've been having it/them. I'm contemplating mixing part of it with the leftover stale french bread for a nutritious panzanella (what? you've never had panzanella?) for tomorrow.

Actually, these beans remind me of a guy I used to know in the restaurant business. He'll remain without a last name, since part of his story includes drug possession and dangerous behavior, but if you'd met him, you'd know exactly who I'm talking about. Todd was a charmed southern boy whose father was somehow involved with a famous upper crust golf resort in West Virginia. I forget how. Todd himself was a line cook, one who for the most part was able to take the inferno-like heat and daily beating of saute side with a wink and a smile. And maybe a faceful of "bad arugula on line" now and then during one of the chef's moments. He took it all in stride.

Todd's stories were well-told in that charming, meandering southern way, and generally involved a fun but illegal activity--such as driving 100 miles an hour cross country while polishing off a fifth of bourbon-- or worse-- and a narrow escape from justice. The one I remember best involved said trip, said bourbon, and an extra joint that happened to be in his pocket when he was pulled over. At sometime in his curiously Tater-Salad-ish past, Todd had not quite slipped through the fence of another legal backyard, therefore I believe there was a warrant out for his arrest as well. But that could have been another story.

As Todd was led, Yes Sir, No Sir, to the jail cell, most likely in handcuffs, he asked to use the restroom. Now, people with jails know that people in jails do this sort of thing, so it was almost a miracle that his escort was distracted for a perfectly timed split second. The joint was slipped surreptitiously out of his pocket and into the urinal without being detected, and Todd was miraculously released with a "you get on outta here" slap on the wrist.

Now, I am decidedly not southern, so I was able to encapsulate that story for you in a paragraph or so. When Todd told it, it took exactly the same time as it took him to chop onions, garlic, red and yellow peppers, and cook a delicious pot of tiny white beans-- from scratch. I mean dried, unsoaked (albeit tiny) white beans. As he talked, he kept adding more and more ingredients, punctuating the story's highlights with a squirt of ketchup here, a drizzle of maple syrup there (I think?), salting, seasoning and layering until I was as fascinated by what these beans might taste like as I was wondering what the heck he was going to do next, to the beans and in the story. And gol dangit, they were the best beans I've ever tasted in my life. I've tried to replicate them ever since, and this Cuban recipe has something of their flavor.

Todd, if you're out there, I hope you're still going strong.

**Ok, I couldn't resist. Yes, I googled him. He's the executive chef of a swanky club, I won't say where. Got a picture and everything. And his eyes are nice and crinkly from all of that smiling and storytelling. I recognized him instantly. What a nice ending to the story. Hi Todd!

All's Quiet

Gma and Gpa are safely back at home as of yesterday. Their neighborhood is ok, but there is quite a bit of soot and ash around. Did I mention that on the day they were evacuated, they had burning embers on their deck? Nice. We will continue to keep tabs on them, but things are good for right now.

Sunday night, we had a great time with our friends Vincent and Tyla, and their daughters Maggie and Molly (alas, their restaurant Roux is no more). One of the highlights of the evening, apart from seeing our long-lost, hardworking friends, eating fruits from the garden, and all the great food, was the rattlesnake that Maggie walked past. It was well camouflaged, but it was still less than a foot from where she had just passed.

A good time was had by all. Except the snake-- he/she was quickly relocated.

Breakfast, Anyone?

George gave me a little basket of apricots from his tree (sorry, Jen! eat all the fruit you can handle next week!) and we had some leftover sourdough bread from last night, so this morning we had warm apricots over french toast with creme fraiche. Here's how you make Creme Fraiche. (Again, my apologies to Karen for leaving off all of the proper accents. It is too much of a pain. My only complaint in 20 years of mac use is that they don't use ASCI codes. That and the failure to communicate with PCs until recently. Yes, that. But that was it.) Eh-hem. Anyway, here is how you make Creme Fraiche:

1/4 c buttermilk
2 c (or whatever you have) heavy cream
Put together in a container. Leave on top of refrigerator or on counter overnight. Stir. Put in fridge.
Do not pay five bucks for creme fraiche again. It is great on waffles with real maple syrup.


After breakfast, I remembered that I heard on the radio that a huge amount of garlic is being grown in CHINA for U.S. distribution. Not for California! I thought. Gilroy, California is the garlic capital of the world. Sure-e-damn-nuff, I checked the ORGANIC garlic label and it was grown in flipping CHINA. You gotta watch your labels. Just because it says organic, does not mean that it wasn't grown in the second most polluted country in the world and FLOWN all the way here. Or put on a container ship. Either way, something like that can take a bite out of one's righteousness. You've got to watch that Trader Joe's. I think a lot of people think that Trader Joe's goes out of its way to make things wholesome, organic and good for you, but what they go out of their way to do is make things cheap, fill a market niche, and above all, make money. As the saying goes, always reserve a little skepticism for anyone who's trying to sell you something, no matter how nice they are. (Ok, maybe there isn't a saying exactly like that.) There is nothing wrong with making money, just don't let them lull you into a false sense of security.