rancho_gordo

Interesting. He says to use a food processor. I'll try it tonight but I'm very doubtful. Grinding and mincing seem like different activities. He's the one who recommends rinsing your roasted peppers under running water to clean them. The skins go down the sink, along with some precious flavor.

Sorry- I'm in the process of growing organic starch corn suitable for this but it won't be ready for months. Oddly, I just tried using the KA meat grinder and I hate to say it, but it doesn't work. It's too coarse. Maybe you could do tamales but I don't know. I put the masa through twice on the finest setting with no luck. My next batch I used this: It worked but what a pain in the rear! It also took two passes but the masa was great. I see why the arrival of the modern tortilleria liberated Mexican women! I have two metates coming and I'll report on that technique if you like. I think my long term goal might be to see if I can offer an organic, or at least quality Maseca like product.

This thread inspired me to get out my KA attachment. It's pretty amazing and cheap. I can see using this and the pasta attachment more than the mixer function.

No- do the runner cannellini or cellini. Both are big and creamy. Marrows are light and delicate como le ali di una farfalla, like a butterfly's wings. Just a note, a runner cannellini is not a cannellini. They're two different plants. Mmmmm......

Thanks all and hello Lucky Girl. The whole world wants Gigandes/Gigante this year so I think you're going to have a hard time finding them and if you do, you will pay dearly. There's also Runner Cannellini and Cellini, both large white runners that aren't as big as the Gigande but they're also not as potatoey; they're more buttery and creamy.

I was watching an old Pepsi commercial from the 1960s (remember Joanie Sommers and For those who think young....?) and laughed at the small cups of soda the actors were drinking. Easily two servings per can. But if you had half a can once or twice a week, with full cane sugar, you wouldn't need the diet version. I don't think it's a good idea to replace water or wine with all these chemicals and fizzy water. I have noticed it's mostly very large people who drink a lot of Diet Coke and other diet drinks. Calories or not, I don't think it really helps with weight loss. I should add I've managed to become a very large person without the aid of sodas. My demons are worth getting fat over!

Randon thoughts: -I think it's most often used now as part of a 7 grain breakfast cereal. -There's a thread here, I think in the Mexico section, on allegria, a candy made with popped amaranth and held together with agave "honey". I think docsconz even got a photo of a cook popping the amaranth on a hot dry comal on his seminal thread on his Mexico culinary tour. -I made a soufflé from The South American Table that was delicious. -Lorna Sass' great new book has some ideas as well.

My second appearance on In Wine Country was on last week. Here's a somewhat simplistic guide to making beans. Link. Remember, the camera adds about 50 pounds. Don't argue with me. It's a fact!

I'm sure the eggs are worth it, it's just I have chickens so I can't imagine paying that much. I also know the hierloom breeds shut down for winter and for me, the near-Biblical heat wave we had last summer killed three of mine and left two no longer laying eggs. I don't know the logistics of the $8 eggs (which have come down to 7 by the way.) The problem is most of the produce at the market is medium priced but the 7 dollar eggs and 3 dollar peaches are what people remember and talk about, not the $1.50 chard. On the subject of the market, there is now a rice grower called Massa. He was new and I bought his brown rice to be nice. I hate brown rice if I allow myself to think of it. I was wrong. I hate crappy brown rice. This stuff is nutty and moist and pure pleasure to eat. I still can't get over how good it is. Be sure and check him out the next time you're there. Of course, rice and beans are a natural match!

As a native son of the Golden West, I can tell you Richman was pretty typical of people from the East Coast who come out here with almost a chip on their shoulder and end up frolicking nude in the California sunshine. Well, not quite, but I think he was all set to debunk the ferry building and just got caught up in it as so many do. It's a lovely space and it's hard not to be charmed, especially on a clear day with the boats in the bay and the occasional good musician. I know outsiders want to make fun of the growers and vendors who have philosophies about their food but we're sincere about doing the right thing and growing food well. it sounds funny on paper but when you're confronted with it, along with the flavor, it's different. When I talked with him, he seemed more surprised at himself that he was getting excited about beans. He was very nice and enthusiastic. As someone who has traveled a lot to Italy and a bit to New York, I find the discussions of price pretty bizarre, aside from the $8 eggs. That one is for Mr. Ripley!

I'm just thinking aloud here but mabe the change has to come from the wealthiest and work its way down, at least in our country. To start, only the wealthiest can afford to buy the free trade coffee or the organic vegetables. In the case of food, the trickle down has now affected even Wal-Mart. And as gross as the Wal Mart model is, it's better than it was and if we keep trying, who knows, they may be buying locally within a generation. That's why it's so defeating to make fun of the well off who are trying to do the right thing and at least listening to the conversation. And the more I look into this, it's not the price of vegetables that's going to send anyone to the poor house. Vegetables were the first wave and the prices seem to be stable or coming down. It's now the proteins that seem so out of whack. Again, I'm thinking out loud here, but I'd imagine small producers would have a hard time keeping up with government standards that are geared towards a large slaughterhouse.

from the Chronicle today: I'm embarrassed to say that it's true I said "You go, girl!" to Alice Waters. I don't think I've ever used that term before, even in jest. I just got caught up in the moment.

They're probably one of my biggest accounts. I just squeeze into Cafe 150 but there's also American Table which specializes in regional American food and all my beans are new world so it works out great. there's also Euro, which is new and in talking to the chef and hearing his ideas, I think it's going to be killer.

I was actually posting to talk about a conversation I had with Alice Waters today, but I'll address the apology first. I met him, he stands by what he wrote. It's not a translation problem. All of Slow Food USA signed off on it. They read it and saw no problem. I think it's neat that he is sorry that I am offended but he should be sorry he goofed, even just this once. I will give him credit, in person, he did not play the language card. And I only found out about the meeting with Petrini and Lesser (Slow Food USA head) that morning as I was unloading. I don't know how far in advance CUESA knew about it. I've also been shown the internal memo that Lesser wrote where she claims I'm spreading vitriol on the internet. Honestly, these people need a Dale Carnegie course, and quick. I've loved the intelligent back and forth over this subject, especially here but also on most of the blogs and forums covering this. I haven't deleted a single comment on my blog. It's been intelligent, civil and I've learned a lot. Even devotay, who I think believes nothing will make me happy or shut me up, has interesting things to say. I still maintina a simple, "we goofed on this one" would have done it. In fact, it still would help. Here's what I pray is my final blog entry on this:

Related to all this is the Becks and Posh website which does a price comparison between her purchases at the market and Safeway. It's eye opening.

Are these these the black beans from Spain? I bought them in Europe and they were ok at best. They're black but they really have more in common with kidney beans. The closest thing I've tried would be Black Valentine but BV's I eat on their own. The tolosanas I wouldn't. I'd cook or serve with meat, etc.

Today there was a sweet young couple shopping the market. They were in their early 20s, obviously not so wealthy and they were carrying around some tomato starts and some vegetables and considering a bean purchase. I looked and them and thought, How great, here's a new generation excited about food. They were too young to have much experience in the kitchen or garden but if they were on the fence, all they would need is to read Petrini's book to plant the suspicion (or confirm it) that they were getting ripped off and that the cognoscenti were laughing at them. To me, that's the crappiest part of all this. Today at the market was hysterical. Some of my regulars took me to task for calling them "dowdy" while others asked if there was an actress discount. Two people brought me wine and another customer came up with this: Slow Food is making this worse by their silence. the story is building steam rather than losing it.

I'm almost at a place where I can separate SF from Petrini, even if Slow Food USA can't. I think the potlucks, the discussing food politics and information gathering are all valuable tools. I also think their role as Gabriel blowing the horn is great. But they're one of many groups, not even the most important. And clearly they have some management problems. All they had to do was say, "We're sorry. We screwed this one up." and this thing would probably have blown over. Instead, it's building steam. Instead of an apology or an excuse, they just smile blankly and say (literally this happened), "We're the biggest organization of our kind, you know." Hello??!? Calling Dale Carnegie!

I added a post about meeting Petrini on my blog. It's mostly the same stuff we've gone over here so I won't reprint it. RG blog about Slow Pt 2. After all this, I still think Slow can do a lot of good, but again, they need to let each country figure out the best way to fix their own problems. I think the well of Carlo Petrini is only so deep.

From today's San Francisco Chronicle: My favorite line is from Erika Lesser: "It's definitely awkward." My other question is, if Slow Food Nation is going to be all regional products, how is it different than the ferry building or the farmers market itself? Jam producers or cheese straw makers that can't get in to CUESA?

Well, ultimate, who knows? I don't think their goal is to save all the world's seed. But they do want to save certain heirloom varieties that are in danger or are failing but represent a food tradition worth preserving. But do they physically have a seed bank somewhere?

I had someone respond on my blog about all the good things they do, and I agree it's possible to admire them and still be critical. But she mentioned the arc of taste and seed saving. I am curious about the seed saving. Does Slow actually have a seed bank or are they supporting organizations like Native Seeds/SEARCH and Seeds Savers Exchange? Where is the Slow Food seed bank if there is one? I'm not being smug; I really don't know.

I've been trying to prepare words for days but I really want to seperate my feelings towards the man I met on Saturday and the message. He was very nasty and wouldn't listen at all. I'm still trying to figure out what he was saying. We had a group of Slow Food kids/teens/young people here from Italy who were touring the world, learning about wine making and sustainable food practices. This was in Napa (which has a great SF group, by the way) and they met with me and some locals and it was distrubing how not on board these kids were. One claimed if she wanted tropical fruit in the alps in Decemeber, she was going to pay the price and enoy what she wanted. I'm not so hardcore that I wouldn't do the same but I was surprised that we were arguing with them about sustainable ag issues. Theyu also had no natural curiosity about anything. My impression was these were probably the kids of the clientele you describe, but of course I don't know. I'm no longer a member of Slow Food. If they ask me to participate and it's a chance to share my heirloom beans or push my native foods agenda (which doesn't mean no Old World food, just learning and saving New World varierties that are in danger), I certainly would. I think best thing they do is bring like-minded people together and eat and talk and plan how to make the very best food possible. But this is a local thing.

Maybe I'm naive but it seems organic prices are settling down a bit. A lot of small growers have abandoned organic certification while continuing the practices (another reason to shop at a farmers market so you can know your grower) and if you buy seasonally, I don't think it's all that much more expensive. I wonder if some of his disdain for the market and ferry plaza has something to do with the fact the neither Petrini nor Slow Food had anything to do with its success. The building is a justifiable source of civic pride for San Franciscans and the Bay Area as a whole but it grew organically, so to speak, long before Slow Food's manifesto hit our shores. Slow Food is planning a big event called Slow Food Nation to regionally show off food producers but I'm trying to think what this event can offer that a Saturday at the ferry plaza can't. I was invited to participate in Slow Food Nation and my uncanny intuition tells me this invitation will get lost in the mail. Petrini met with four farmers who sell at the market, all of whom had been to one or both Terra Madre conferences. I was one of them and it didn't go well, to say the least. He has a very short fuse and he reminded me of a politician who surrounds himself with Yes-men or a Michael Jackson type that has been protected from the outside. He was the opposite of the charismatic speaker I'd heard about.

that's Sue, the founder (along with her partner Peggy!)