What a honey of a mess!  It's getting so complicated in the food markets to know what you are REALLY eating, or not.  If you like honey, or if you are just interested on how complicated and tricky food distributors/producers can be......check this article out:

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/

I soooooooooo apologize for neglecting our blog for so long.  Life just keeps getting in the way of things I want and need to get done.  That's my excuse....it's the best I have.


I just came across this clip and, SERIOUSLY, it tells the story of WHY France is so well known for their fine cuisine and their outstanding reputation in Food Culture. 


We actually visited one of these schools that has a similar program in a small community and it was incredible how the program is managed and the food presented.  It takes school lunches and school cafeteria workers to a whole new level!!

Enjoy!  Bon Apetit!



http://www.wimp.com/schoollunches/

We know what we like and, what we like is good food!  How we love to go to our favorite restaurants, over to grandma's or enjoy that Sunday family get-together.  We have our favorite's no matter where we go and the grocery stores are packed with more choices than we can take home at one time.  Variety is everywhere around us and we love it!  Soon, that could all come to an end.  Sorry, I have a link to another article to alert you to a growing threat to the foods we eat and food's availability, in general.


It's the Bees.  Maybe you've heard of Collapsed Hive Syndrome already, but I know there are many people who have never heard of the crisis and how alarmingly threatening it has become to the food supply of our planet.  Please,  read over this article and understand, it is by the food consumer becoming more aware of food production practices, such as how pesticides are used, and then becoming politically involved, we have a chance to slow down the incidence of Collapsed Hive Syndrome and, hopefully, to reverse this dangerous trend.  At the rate it is happening, we have little time left.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8306970/Einstein-was-right-honey-bee-collapse-threatens-global-food-security.html

Bon Apetit!

I can only apologize for not attending to my blog lately.  We are dealing with many issues related to my parents' health and keeping up with managing their affairs.  It's a bit distracting from all the other things I would like to be doing.

Chef Roland is keeping quite busy working with a local non-profit in developing their baking/culinary program for rehabilitating persons.  It's an awesome program.  We have managed to work in a few outside projects and I will hopefully have pics up soon.  In addition, we will be involved in some private culinary classes, some culinary presentations and helping with our church to develop their concept for gardening/culinary/food preservation classes.  Though we live in a very rural area, I can't believe how many opportunities keep popping up in the most unexpected places. 

We are also looking at the possibility of collaborating with two local venues to present culinary classes to our immediate community, with the idea that we will possiby start our own small cooking school nearby.  Lots going on.

In the meantime, I am persisting to find what I can regarding the GMO/hybrid/Mansanto connection.  I hope you find the link I've included to be interesting regarding an article that ran in the NYTimes.  As you read the article, especially take note of the reference to how Mansanto is brought into this article.  I really wish their could be some kind of public pressure that could be organized and brought to bear on Mansanto and the FDA.  Any political activists reading this???

I would love to hear back from some of you as to what your thoughts are on this most important subject of GMO labeling. 


http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/why-arent-g-m-o-foods-labeled/?ref=dining

Bon Apetit!







 

I came across an article this morning that really got me to thinking.  For instance, I've always had the understading, in my limited knowledge, that when there was a glut of something on the market, it would bring the price of that item down.  I understand, as with any production, you want to make the best money you can for your efforts, and the better the profit margin, the more you like it.  So, after reading this article, I see that when the US markets had an excess of dark chicken meat, they sold outside of the country.  I guess I would have liked to have seen that commodity come down so that more Americans would have access to it and buy it.  When I was a single mother with three children, I had to be highly selective when it came to meat purchases which were the costliest.  And, chicken/turkey legs were where I could get the most real food for the most affordable price.

The other aspect of this article that really deomonstrates how we as consumers affect these kinds of decisions is that we(as the public) indicated that we didn't really want to make significant purchases of dark chicken meat.  I can only speculate why that might be.  Possibly, we perceive dark chicken meat to be 'poor peoples food'?  Just a thought.  So, the people who had the buying power rejected the dark meat, and it went to overseas markets.  Interesting.

Then, I noted that the dark chicken meat is actually higher in nurtritional content than the white chicken meat.  So, it would seam that it didn't matter what the real value was of the chicken meat, it was the 'look' and perception of the white meat that made it more desirable over the dark meat which was lost to the market.  I wonder if there's anyone who studies these kinds of things???

Maybe it would be the psycho/sociology of food and how it affects the public food market?  Now, there's a thesis for some brave soul!

Here's the link that got me going:

http://www.delish.com/food/recalls-reviews/what-to-do-with-dark-chicken-meat?GT1=47001

Bon Apetit!

Remember, should anyone have as problem with what I post, I, Elaine Parny am solely responsible for what appears in this blog.  Alot of people have said to me, "I don't care for politics".  I'm here to tell you, you better get political TODAY when it comes to the food you eat because your choices are going to be getting fewer and fewer.  Case in point, please look over the links I've posted to see how the seed industry (seeds being where most plant food originates), is being taken over and dictated by Mansanto and the government.  Read and decide for yourself :

http://survivingthemiddleclasscrash.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/the-multiple-ways-monsanto-is-putting-normal-seeds-out-of-reach/

http://earthfirst.com/seed-savers-exchange-saving-and-sharing-non-gmo-heirloom-seeds/


http://www.survivalistseeds.com/Heirloom_VS_Monsanto.html

http://hubpages.com/hub/Heirloom-Seeds

http://www.survivalistseeds.com/Monsanto___Food_Prices.html

http://wethepeoplecolorado.com/blog/?tag=heirloom-seed


http://www.thegardengranny.com/monsantos-monopoly-on-seeds/