It becomes obvious you’ve been busy doing other things when all your blog posts are labeled “older posts.” This seems to be the case for me at present as within the last year the only things I’ve posted were snippets about gluten and gingerbread, neither of which fully encompasses what sweet me has been baking, thinking and tasting since the end of 2009, a year that saw me packing my bags and moving back to upstate New York. And what a move it has become as I enter my second year here.

It has been a long road since March when I popped up to talk about gluten (and how I still love some gluten, even more so with the continued adoration and work with Bread Alone Bakery. Royally spoiled me on incredible loaves, crumbs and crusts…there is no shortage to what a Leader can do.)….A good road; full of baked things, sugar, yeast, flour, farm produce, local eggs, temperatures from snow storms to over 100 degree heat waves…in the rolling greens of the Hudson Valley to New York City, from the Gulf of Mexico home beaches covered in oily tears, through roads I did not know existed but had cute road side stands… and back again. Truth be told, I have no idea where to begin…

Moving back upstate last fall onto the beautiful lands of Paisley Farms . The cottage is perfect, the neighbors divine and the scenery much like a postcard. Really.I write their blog and CSA newsletter. Feel free to join for some of the highest quality produce this side of the Hudson. I’m also blessed to get to play in the fields, watch cucumbers be born and debate the finer points of winter squash in the New York Times.

So in the midst of taking to country life things certainly took over the claire bloggisphere, namely the fact I loathe the word “blog” but aside from that I had to learn to build a fire, walk in snow and perfectly execute macarons. (check those three off the list, thank you.) There was also travel and visits from family still confused why their southern child feels the need to be fifteen states away. There was bread to be eaten from brick ovens, farmers markets to attend and peddle wares; there were lattes to perfect (I make a mean abstract leaf, please see the other baristas of Bread Alone Bakery & Cafe for roses, hearts and maybe your name.) There were local products to launch and articles to write. Birthday cakes to bake, squash pies to make and tons of homeopathic herbs to take. Yoga classes to teach and trips to places I really questioned existing, but the inspiration and holistic spirit I bring to my life of food is starting to feed and grow again. Certainly these are not revolutionary topics to make note of but in light of all that, I got jaded. I still get jaded. I get snarky about the lack of professionalism that laces the internet food blogs. I get perturbed by the fetishizing of the south that is simply home to me, and the lusting after of bacon and whole hog eating. I tune out anything begun or followed by “cupcake” and I’m still wondering why no one else is noticing the sometimes poorly informed vegan wave occurring. Now that my cup of honesty is pouring over, the updates continue.

The spring of last year was spent bouncing around, talking to rabbits and gathering fresh flowers.  Summer’s start with a fresh CSA season, bountiful fields, a full heart and even more rabbits. There was writing for Spezzatino, and I continue to see the food world is so much smaller than it appears… There were the blur of holidays with yule logs everywhere, and the comfort found in winter CSA shares.

…and now, we come to the present. There is snow and ice, freezing temperatures and a claire who wants nothing more than fresh greens every day to keep her spirits up. I juice, make gumbo and roast things daily while keeping my head about me as everyone around me losing theirs to the allure of the master cleanse. I even twitter more! I will be posting plenty the next few weeks as a dedication to myself, my work and my passion for all things good to eat and good to think. The work of my last two years will not go by the wayside, nor will my thoughts on the food world, sustainable agriculture, books I read and movies I’ve watched (they’re all food as subject matter… fancy that?)

So stay tuned, stay interested and stay hungry.

Claire Eats is back in the saddle.

Gluten-free folks get my total support as I know how trying a medical condition that makes you alter your food and eating can be. Here’s a little piece I wrote for all those out there trying to work some gluten-free magic in their own kitchens….

Baking Gluten-Free From a Pastry Lady

Having been a baker for as long as I can remember, my course of real kitchen work started at a Vegan and organic cafe and co-op. There I did a great deal of vegan baking and started getting requests for gluten free items even back in the early 2000′s. Over the course of more health food store baking, gluten-free was needed on the shelves everyday. As more and more people are finding out about sensitivities to gluten and wheat, it is more important than ever to me to share what I have found with gluten free baking. Currently much of what interests me outside of all the pastry I play with day in and day out are gluten free goodies that give people hope in enjoying their favorite treats again in a new safe and gluten free way. Let me share a few tips and background on gluten and baking with you.

Why does gluten matter in baking anyway? Gluten is a protein that is found in mainly grains such as wheat, spelt and barley to name a few mainstream ones. Made of glutenin and gliadin (two proteins), gluten develops when mixed in doughs into a network of structure and cause the dough to rise, swell and develop that chew and fluff we know of traditional baked goods. Gluten is more needed in items like breads and less needed in items like cakes and cookies, where a tender crumb is desired. Baking is relatively simple if you can follow a recipe and use a typical all purpose flout….the issues come when you take the gluten out as many of you out there know.

Simply substituting a gluten free flour will not make a very desirable baked good. A blend of flours, gums and starches is the easiest way to get each of the desired characteristics that mimic wheat flour. Think one for texture, one for structure, one for chew, one for moisture content, etc. I completely support items in stores that are called “gluten free flour blends.” Companies spend time, money and research to achieve a balance in these blends that has been tested for using in traditional recipes. There is no shame in using a major companies hard work for your benefit! There is no guarantee that a 1 to 1 substitution of these will be the same as your old recipes, but play around with these if you want. Here is a flour blend I also use and have had success with many times:

Gluten Free Flour Blend

2 cups rice flour(I use white, brown is more gritty.)

2/3 cup potato starch(not potato flour or flakes)

1/3 cup tapioca flour(sometimes called tapioca starch)

1 teaspoon xantham gum*

*this gum is pricey but well worth it if you plan on baking more gluten free and you will need to add a little more to recipes outside of what is in this baking blend…for example, a cookie might require 1/4 to 1/2 of a teaspoon more xantham gum. Cakes or quick breads need more such as 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon more and breads or yeasted doughs could require up to 1 teaspoon of more xantham gum.

TIPS & TIDBITS!

1. Use a light hand with your flour blends and store your flours or flour blends in the freezer for the freshest products. Bring to room temp when baking. GF items can be hockey pucks and something dry is never that appealing….

2. Look for recipes that are high in moisture to begin with, such as items made with sour cream if it’s a cake, coconut, carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, etc. Breads and cakes that are moist make good options for trying GF. Sugar holds moisture as well, so trying a low sugar recipe might not be the best idea. Natural sweeteners such as turbinado, honey, maple syrup or sweet ingredients like banana can be used as well.

3. Though moisture is important, GF can sometimes be super gummy if an incorrect ratio is used with the GF flours or there is too much moisture. A balance will come with practice and time.

ABOUT: Xantham gum is used to add volume, structure and viscosity when there is no gluten present. It also stabilizes and emilsifys. When used too much will make a very gummy product, that is sticky, slimy and heavy. It does lose its gumming properties the longer it is mixed in the beginning which I saw when making a gelatin free mousse over the past year. It is used in items such as salad dressings to make them come back together when shaken and then served. From corn, if you have a corn allergy as well, avoid this and try a different gum such as guar gum.

4. GF batter and doughs can be gummier and stickier, so make sure to scrap the sides of your bowl down well as you mix and blend. Using a mixer is usually preferred over a spoon as you can get a smoother texture and avoid lumps in your batters.

5. Properly spray, butter or line pans with parchment to insure your products do not stick to their baking pans. Cookies work best on a parchment lined baking sheets.

6. GF items need more leavening also, so increase baking powder and baking soda. NOTE: Don’t forget how baking soda works… it is alkaline and will react with acid ingredients such as buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt, bananas, cocoa and any vinegars in a batter.

7. Speaking of baking powder, make sure you have a GF one. Check other ingredients such as Vanilla and Chocolate chips, as these are NOT always gluten free. Read labels or call companies if you have any questions or concerns. The same goes for vinegars and mustards in your other cooking and/or baking.

8. Increase vanilla and other spices for the best full flavor in your GF baked goods. Find a good gluten-free vanilla and use it as much as you like.

9. Watch out for Oats… there can be cross contamination in the growing process or flour facilities though some gluten free folks can tolerate oats. You know your condition better than anyone else. If you want oats, there are GF bagged oats available, or experiment with coconut chips (unsweetened and dried) or quinoa flakes for a crunch. Puffed rice cereal is also fun to make bars or cookies with for some GF crunch and crisp.

10. There are many flours that some forget about trying out such as Quinoa flour and Coconut flour. Try these if you’re in baking mode!

Other safe options include:

Amaranth flour, arrowroot, brown and white rice flour, buckwheat flour, corn meal, millet flour, chick pea or garbanzo bean flour, potato flour and potato starch, soy flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour/starch and teff flour.

If you include soy in your diet, soy flour is a great option due to its higher protein content. Many of these flours are not ideal on their own and some, such as potato flour (not potato starch) and millet flour really do not do any good in GF baking, ever.

11. Like with regular baking, make sure you have all your ingredients before baking and bring eggs, milks and butter to room temperature for proper mixing. Wash hands and make sure you are not at risk of crossing gluten containing ingredients if you are baking in a kitchen that has not-gluten-free items stored in the same cabinets. Preheat your oven, roll your sleeves up, pull hair back and get set to create!

12. Keep a sense of humor, an open mind and an open palate. These baked goods may not taste exactly like your old ones but they can be just as (and sometimes MORE) delicious as their wheat counterparts. You might not always have success, but trying it will give you experience and the more you see how ingredients work in your own kitchen and in your own recipes, the better luck you will have overall.

Compile a list of safe and great recipes as you find them that you know you can turn to and get the results you desire. Write any and all notes of what you did to make the recipe so ideal. Pastry chefs have to do the same thing when we’re developing recipes so that anyone can make the same recipe again which means ingredients are weighed in grams or ounces and technique is noted accurately from time of mixing to which spoon used or how many folds of a batter. There is nothing worse than getting a recipe perfectly and then never being able to do it again.

Going gluten free is not the end of your baked goodies, but the beginning of a new time and new tastes! My best advice is to stay true to your tastes in the end and accept your condition with an open heart. What I saw the most from gluten free customers was wanting things out of just not being able to have them. So if you were not into cakes before going gluten free, it might not be the most ideal time to want to start eating cakes. I also think finding things that are “accidently gluten free” is a great option. Flour-less chocolate or nut tortes are simple to make and gluten free. Nut flour based cookies and cakes are also gluten free. Meringue cookies, jelly candies or other egg based based custards, mousses and puddings are all sweet, delicious and gluten free treats.

Here is a cake I had early success with and it is delightful with almond extract or made into a lemon cake with lemon juice and zest. This is the simple basic yellow vanilla version. Do not let the mayo frighten you, as it works much like butter or oil and is a secret ingredient in some of the top chocolate cakes used in restaurant desserts. It is also dairy free if you use a good full fat soy milk and Veganaise (a vegan mayonaise.) Also, try to use local and/or organic eggs.

More gluten free baking recipes to come… up next? A gluten free chocolate chunk cookie with a nutty version, too!

Gluten Free Yellow Cake

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease 2 (8-9 inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment rounds in the bottle and grease that as well.

Mix in large bowl with a whisk:

1 1/2 cups rice flour (white is lighter)

3/4 cup tapioca flour

1 tablespoon potato starch

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon xantham gum

Combine in another bowl with a mixer until fluffy and creamed:

4 whole eggs

2/3 cup “mayo” or Veganaise

1 1/4 cups sugar

Have ready:

1 cup milk (dairy or soy)

1 tablespoon GF vanilla

Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk (IE: add 1/3 dry, 1/2 wet, another 1/3 dry, the rest of the wet, and ending with the last 1/3 of the dry.)

OPTIONAL. Coat the bottom of the cake pan with chopped pecans or sliced almonds. This adds a layer of complexity and makes a nice little snack cake that way.

Divide batter between prepared pans evenly.

Bake until fluffy and tests done. The cake will be springy. Do not brown too much as the edges will become dry and hard.

Simply sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with cooked fruits or ice with your favorite icing.

Time to Catch the Gingerbread Man

Gazing over the edge of the counter at my mother’s friend’s home, I could barely reach my arms up enough to break off pieces of a large brown cookie that was spicy and soft. I had no idea what it was, had never had it before and was not even sure if I liked it that much. The icing edges were yummy though as a food centric child, anything that even smelled like sugar was good to me. Reaching up again, intent on snatching a bite to confirm if I liked this “cookie”…

“Do you want some more of that Gingerbread man?”

Whirling around as I had been found snatching cookies, my mother’s friend offered me a large piece which, being shy and silent, I tucked my head back and quickly nodded no. Soon I was picked up and lifted high enough to see the shape of a lumpy, rounded legs and rounded arms of a gingerbread man cookie. Make that “leg,” as I had picked the other one off in my counter level curiosity search.

Leaving that day, I had no idea what a gingerbread man was as I had not ever had a cookie like that before. Certainly not something typical though it is hard to believe that I had been in the dark about such a treat. Gingerbread is one of the oldest recorded confections, dating back to ancient Greeks, Egyptians and early European civilizations with 11th century crusaders bringing back the spice from the Middle East. The bread was not the smiley faced, buttoned chest version we know today but was a molded paste of dough. Made of spices and sugar, then fitted into molds, Catholic monks started making the gingerbreads for festivals making it into saints, religious symbols or motifs. [1] Other shapes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries included the likeness of kings or royalty at times, ladies, lords and other privileged households as these exotic flavorings and ingredients were not readily available to the common man.

Earliest recipes include boiled mixtures of honey, wine, bread crumbs and spices. Sounds pretty gosh darn delicious, eh? I have a feeling I know why the recipe has changed so much. Ginger was found to be a preservative early on and was added to many cookies and cakes to keep these food stuffs fresh, or fresh enough if we stop to think about this original recipe’s final product. The name comes from “gingebras” an Old French word from an adaption of the Latin word “Zingebar,” meaning spice. First applied to a cake version of gingerbread, and cookies even were once called fairings in England in reference to the buying of gingerbread at fairs in myriad shapes. Story has it England required unwed women to eat gingerbread men at the fair like husbands as it would increase their chance of meeting a real man. If it were only that easy ladies. Some other similar yet not gingerbread men versions are listed below.

Versions: compare recipes for a more in-depth comparison:

1: Spekulaius from Rhineland and Holland. As tall as 2 foot figures… Feast of St. Nicholas on December 6th.

2: Lebkuchen: German bar cookies from the Middle Ages that used honey. Probably to replace the Trictle of even earlier times. A Christmas favorite with many variations in specific ingredients.

3: Gingerbread: baked as cake with more liquids, more eggs and not a cookie at all! Usually dressed with a light lemon icing.

4: Molasses Thins: similar to gingerbread in spice composition yet more wafer than cookie.

5: Ginger snaps: Did you say ginger? These pack more gingery punch and crunch yet are still like a spice cookie at times.

As you can see, many a cookie falls into a gingerbread-like category, yet the shape alone keeps the gingerbread man in a class all by himself. Sure, you could make gingerbread women, dogs, trees, houses… but why spoil tradition thats written into story books at this point? In all these years of history, the gingerbread man really has grown up in the public eye. Appearing every holiday season and living a rascal’s tale as the baked child of an elderly couple. Not wanting to be eaten, the gingerbread man runs and runs and runs some more as fast as he can. Tricked by a fox, the gingerbread man meets his fate after trusting the fox to get him across the river. Before even the gingerbread man was born, the Grimm Brothers’ Hansel and Gretel told of two children who discovered a house made of cake and candies which was most likely a gingerbread house since the tale is of Germanic origin. Germany holds the tightest link to gingerbread, where Nuremberg became the gingerbread capital of the world. Germany’s gingerbread was Lebkuchen, which was made by the master baker called the Lebukuchler.

Taking a Dickens -esc turn, the Victorian households valued Christmas and all the goodies that went along with it. This is where my introduction to gingerbreads became more formal and bridged the childhood cookie discovery with flavor and taste of ye ole gingerbread man. My aversion to molasses. was also born out of this dive into the role of gingerbread in the Victorian era. Crafting a traditional Victorian Christmas for a 9th grade English project I was much too overzealous about (hey, I tied baking into a literary class. I could not have been happier doing 50 times more work than was needed,) I set out to make period accurate gingerbread. Obtaining a recipe from the Old Capital Museum in Jackson MS on a (you guessed it) Victorian Christmas tour with traditional ciders, toys and a giant period decorated tree. The recipe was touted as what would have been served during those chilling to the bone cold days in England. Very Dickens -esc to me and I happily whipped up the cookies, heavy in molasses. Strong and over powering, I was not a fan from the first bicep-heavy opening of the jar. What is this black brown sugar-lard, I thought as I poured it into my batter, the heavy aroma taking me back to the taste that almost turned me off from gingerbread during that initial counter encounter so many years before. Baked to a mahogany colored hard round, I was not a fan from the get go with this Victorian approach and almost gave up on gingerbread for good. Oh, they tasted traditional, if that means a spice laden molasses cookie. I wanted a more clean flavor, spiced right, and a more appealing texture somewhere between crisp and soft; not too much chew with a melty buttery pleasure that really spoke of times now and not the gingerbread cardboards of old. Much like fruitcake, I started to wonder if gingerbread men really should be shunned from all holiday baking? Let’s not kid ourselves, most gingerbread tastes like crap. I blame the molasses, too many spices and incorrect baking times but you might have your own concerns to discuss with the gingerbread man outreach association, if there was one of course. Thinking back on the rich and happy life of gingerbread, I could not help but want to bring a refreshed take on gingerbread men and bring him out of holding and onto cookie platters everywhere again.

Personally my favorite gingerbread man is made with less molasses and a little honey to take that heavy bitter taste off. Do not drastically cut molasses in your own recipes though without cutting back on the baking soda (the two work together.) Most gingerbread cookies look great but taste awful if they are too hard or too thin, cutting back some on leavening can help keep cookies thicker. Plenty of spices yet more buttery and less burning spice is best for me, baked to a firm edge with a proper chew with the higher moisture content (comparing to cut out sugar cookies as a reference point here.) These hold their shape and even take well to being rolled thinner and baked a little longer for a more crispy gingerbread person. Also, I think person works better here as those gingerbread cookie cutters are pretty androgynous to me. Gingerbread stars or circles work too, or little farm animals. Ginger-bears seem to also be popular and work best over sized. Dip their arms and legs into white chocolate or dot on raisin buttons half way thru baking. Once you have mastered your gingerbread recipe by playing with spices and molasses, hold it dear and pass it along to your friends. So stop running, sit back with your gingerbread man in hand and catch up with this old favorite made new and worth eating again.

Variations on the Gingerbread Theme: Forgive Me Now if the Formatting is Hard to Read…

[1] Alice Ross. A gingerbread Tradition. The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles. http://www.journalofantiques.com/hearthdec.htm

Growing up, making pancakes meant that we got a box, stirred in milk and eggs with a big spoon and plopped the dough haphazardly onto a skillet. Every little dough bit cooked wether a drippy dot or a pool of batter. Cooked droplets of batter looked more like spetzle than pancakes but with brown bottoms. They never turned out as good as the ones my aunt made on her electric skillet… but the consistency of smooth, almost fake, cakey pancake was maintained. This left so much to be desired and with pancakes being a favorite food I recall taking a self imposed pancake challenge when I was eleven only to be silenced by “the bisquik ones are still better, Claire” coming from my little brother.

Circle around another decade and I am making pancakes close to every morning at a Bed and Breakfast. So easy and so perfect. A few little tricks had me now a pancake pro and happy to have anyone stay over for breakfast. I even played with variations like banana pancakes, blueberry, lemon ricotta, etc. etc. Happily flipping and griddling the pancakes, one would think I spent that decade making batch after batch of pancakes. Not so. Living in pancake making shame (I’ll never make a homemade pancake that is a teen model!) I had spent the time unconsciously researching as the pancake love continued to grow into corn pancakes that made this cornmeal loving girl much too happy, a whole wheat banana pancakes cooked to the size of a dessert plates, and short stacks of pecan studded silver dollars.

“There is hardship in everything except eating pancakes.”

– CH Spurgeon, 1834-1892, preacher

Pancakes by definition should be overwhelmingly easy to make. A few simple ingredients, a bowl and a hot flat skillet? Much like biscuits, they can quickly to made and quickly disappoint. Inconsistent in texture, flavor and color (the browning is important, as it related to protein and sugar content of the pancakes or the quality of your griddle/skillet/pan.) Before falling into total pancake making isolation from making less than stellar pancakes, I did make plenty of mediocre pancakes. Buttermilk ones or just plain ones usually, yet they were never appreciated or enjoyed or gulfed up in the quantities of those that came from a box mix. What was this darn box onto that I was lacking? I wanted pancakes from scratch that were awe inspiring in image, shape, texture and eat-ability.

Making a basic pancake left me with many questions as to how to mix, how many lumps, how many eggs, melted butter or oil, type of flour? In the end mastering the plain could-be-a mix- pancake. Did buttermilk help? It could by requiring less flour in the batter (thicker buttermilk holds it together) as well as the acidity could alter the structure of the pancake and keep it tender. Leavening creates the little bubbles in the pancake batter that rise to the tip and signal the time to flip. The only flip needed as I found multiple flipping was like overworking hamburgers, you play with them a lot and lose that light fresh quality you wanted and end up with a dense life-less disk of cooked batter that looks like it has been at the breakfast bar far too long.

“Pancakes….

Fluffy, milky, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. You also need

a quality maple syrup.”

–Andrew: friend, chef, quality eater

The description above it what makes a darn good pancake yet few can put their names on those specifics. The quality of milk and butter in a pancake does matter. Vanilla or not and salt make a difference. It is those little taste huggers that make homemade pancakes stacks above the boxed ones….A little crispy sweetness on outside, not too thick and heavy yet not too light as to be dry. Sugar helps with this and with no bells, few whistles and only needing a good griddle… perfect pancakes can be born. That decade I did revert to the box a few times and others made homemade ones and still wondered what was happening. At the B & B, I knew that french toast, despite fantastic could not work everyday so I buckled up to my pancake fear and read over tattered recipes. Finding one that could be manipulated easily worked and the answer appeared in the form of another bowl and a whisk.

Folding in the whipped egg whites. It made all the difference in the world. Good local eggs made the pancakes a deeper yellow and whole milk with the melted butter gilded the lily and made them just rich and buttery enough. These do not use as much sugar as some recipes and less leavening due to the egg white whipping. These are not heavy but have been called surprisingly light for a pancakes. Double or triple the batter but know that the first one and the last one will never be that great. Just a fact of pancake making. Getting a good griddle pan really helps, too. Never underestimate the amount you will use it once you get your hands on pancakes like these.

I do not see pancakes as a hard and fast science now either. They are just as simple as I had always wanted them yet now live up to the pancake-as-superior-batter-food status. Demystified by this simple egg action, pancakes and I can now play any time we want. No shame, no boxes. Just perfect pancakes for good maple syrup. Or blueberry syrup. Or sorgum. Before I get carried away, here is the recipe I use every time rarely measured. Half a recipe is plenty for small groups or to eat all by yourself.

Pancakes for Happy Making

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

good sprinkle of sea salt, about a teaspoon

2 cups organic whole milk

4 large local eggs, separated

1//2 teaspoon vanilla, optional

2 to 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar OR brown sugar if you prefer

More butter, Maple syrup, jams, jellies, honey, cream…

local bacon or sausage

1. In a medium to large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the milk and egg yolks (I do all that in a large measuring cup.) Add the vanilla if using. Wet into dry, and stir in the melted butter (make sure it’s not super warm.)

2. Beat the egg whites with the sugar until soft to stiff peaks form. Please do not beat these until they are crispy and too stiff. Fold the whites into the batter. Heat a nonstick griddle pan or large skillet over medium heat and spray pan or brush with melted butter. Scope 1/3 cup measuring cups onto the griddle and start making your pancakes!

3. Cook until bottom is smooth, golden brown and bubbles foam all over the top, signaling that single flip. (2-3 minutes)

Flip.

Admire your great work and sudden rush of accomplishment as side one is the real determining factor. Once you flip, you’re almost finished!

4. Remove from heat to a plate when cooked all the way through and bottom is browned (another 2-3 minutes.) Serve warm with all the other goodies you want to put on your pancakes.

Variations for this can be made (when adding wet ingredients you lessen the milk used)

…by folding in mashed bananas and toasted pecans.

…by dotting with any fresh berries.

…by mixing in pumpkin and spices.

…by adding molasses instead of sugar, adding spices and serving with whipped cream for gingerbread pancakes.

…by dotting with chocolate chips.

…by using soy milk and earth balance spread to make them dairy free.

…subsitute yogurt for half of the milk, decreaing baking powder to half and adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

…by using whole wheat pastry flour, some ground oats, etc. (in the same dry goods ratio)…. using half the baking power, adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda…and use buttermilk for fiber full and tangy pancakes!

Oh pancakes make people happy.

For some people I guess it’s cupcakes but pancakes are so much more happy inducing. Less sweet, more food than pastry. Easily worked into the best brunches, morning meals or evening snacks. Make for friends and family. Make extra for your freezer (layer cooled pancakes with wax paper and place in short stacks in freezer proof zip lock bags…just saying for the times you cannot whip and fold egg whites but still want that delicious homemade pancake meal.)

To all the pancake fans out there, this batch is for you.

Drop your boxes and raise your forks high as we can all claim homemade pancakes that live up to the dream.

]]> http://forthetasteofit.com/2009/11/10/pancakes-a-happy-place/feed/ 5 http://forthetasteofit.com/2009/09/14/classic-ole-brownie/ http://forthetasteofit.com/2009/09/14/classic-ole-brownie/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:38:31 +0000 ClaireF http://forthetasteofit.com/?p=455 Back to school and chill in the air means one thing to me… time for a classic.

When nothing but chocolaty comfort will do, I prefer to reach no further than a big fudgy brownie. Deep and rich, crowded with a haggardly top, I am suddenly taken back to childhood parties, and hugged from the inside out. Brownies have been elevated by many pastry chefs to new levels, while at the same time being bastardized by a world of boxed mixes promising the perfect quick treat. Lost in the shuffle is the classic fudge brownie, in its simplistic glory. The ingredients are few, and this is the one area I stress a little change from tradition. Buy good butters, eggs, and chocolate. Brownie recipes vary so much, with everyone pushing for the perfect brownie, but really, why mess with something that delivers every time, and is quick to make. Brownies are something that scream to be homemade, cut haphazardly, and can I say I love to everyone from 8 to 80.

I spent an incredibly long time trying to find a brownie that would satisfy my boxed brownie eating little brothers. Nope, not it. That was all I heard about most of the recipes I would pour over and manipulate every few days. I finally gave up trying to please him, and settled with my classic. Schools of brownie making and enjoying at the most basic include the cakey, the super fudgy, the in-between, and the not to be missed "optional ingredients" versions with everything from candy bars, to nuts, to bacon in them. I prefer bacon with toast, and my brownies without nuts. Candy-like fudge should be fudge, and cake should be cake. Brownies should be brownies; moist and dense, cut into globs and eaten with your hands. I actually add more salt than some, and do not call for vanilla as the chocolate flavor is intensified by the salt and muddled by too much vanilla (a delicious, but competing flavor. Save that for the cupcakes you can actually make.)
The only thing you need after making these is a big glass of milk, and I will actually say, I prefer the non-milk soy or almond milks. Totally personal preference there, but it is nice to know an old favorite can marry so well with my new food choices.

Classic Fudgy Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8 inch square pan with foil and butter the foil. Set aside.

In a double boiler, or small sauce pan, let 8 oz of chopped semisweet chocolate, and 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted organic butter. Stirring and being careful not to scorch the mixture.

Let cool slightly, and whisk in 1 ¼ cups organic sugar until blended. Then add 3 extra large organic eggs, and ½ teaspoon sea salt.

Stir in ¾ cup of unbleached flour, and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 40-50 minutes until tapping on the brownies gives to a gentle pressure, and insuring the middle is not completely raw.

Cool. Cut. Enjoy.

Other options:
Stir in 1 cup toasted chopped nuts, or sprinkle raw nuts on top as I find some nuts to just steam in the batter and lose much of their glory. Toasting can help that. Any nuts actually tastes great, and I have used it in combination with diced dried fruits as well sticking to the 1 cup addition guide. Dried cherry and walnuts go well. Dried pears make a surprisingly tasty fall treat.

If you must… you can make this recipe more cakey if you must by adding an egg and upping the flour to 1 cup.

For entertaining, line springform pan with parchment paper, letting the edges crinkle as they do. Let the edges of the paper extend at least a few inches above the pan bottom, and spray with cooking spray. Pour in the batter and bake as instructed. Cool and remove the pan, leaving a bakery style brownie "cake" for seriving. Hack into wedges and serve with warm caramal, good vanilla ice cream, or simple in a bowl with warm organic heavy cream mixed with a little vanilla, and/or powdered sugar poured over it. Can we can say luxurious?

Oh the brilliant peach. Ripe and plump, the peach can be virgin like purity cloaked in a temperature sensitive skin. Precious and untouched as it hangs from an unassuming protective tree blushing, the peach hides a soft and aromatic flesh that loves you back once you bring her on down. Possibly the forbidden offspring of royalty in my mind though sadly, the peach is rarely found in the perfection it should be. Russ Parsons made note of this as a reflection of our entire food system's lack of "seasonability" in How to Pick a Peach. We are eating the idea of a peach usually if we buy it in the winter from produce bins across the country. Worst yet is the fact that peaches take very well to be laced with sugar and canned. When buying them in Alabama at road stand during July once I was reminded of what a real peach was. In season, born in the correct region, I was smitten and ate four in the car while driving home.

A bowl full of napping peaches is sitting on my table as we speak. Every time I enter my apartment I am greeted with the sweet perfumed air, which feels much too southern and hospitable for my Brooklyn apartment. My weakness for peaches is much like that of other summer berries that starts with me stumbling upon something amazing during youth and never turning back. Peaches though, are less noble. The only peaches I liked growing up were on the Shoney's buffet, bobbing up and down amidst the slimy can syrup. I usually did not eat them, choosing fresh strawberries and a few hundred packets of sugar, but they looked like they were worth eating as they Day-Glo oranged' at me from their plastic square trough next to the melon slices and marshmallow salad. I would fish one or two out, gum them down in the two to three bites that would display the mealy texture of their naked little bodies. Looking at them from what was almost eye level for me at the buffet then, I remember the peaches looking sad. Today I them in their generic buffet bin like a sad war torn village, some curling up in shame and others spread out in lifeless bodies of what used to be a fruit. Not the only fruit to suffer this fact of big business and mass production, the peach seems to tug on my heart strings the most.

Years began to pass and my mother gave up on that buffet and I again found solace at the Country Club Sunday buffet. (I might just have to stop here and acknowledge my buffet wisdom. This was not planned and I should probably write a long dissection of buffets measured in trips through the lines, long handled spoons and stately presentations at some functions.) There I learned of the peach in a more tasteful, yet just as sugary way. Cobbler. Rich with peaches cobbler; eaten with plenty of crust, off a dinner plate, warm and gooey. Many a day I would nibble a salad, pick at some broccoli, then dive into a platter of peach cobbler. The bowl of peaches I have today might see that fate if I can muster up enough courage to cut them up and lose that late summer smell in their lusty skins. How cruel it would be though to not share my peaches by making cobbler in a big dish, pulling it out of the oven only to see that I would be eating it alone. It does not much transport well and loses the perfect balance of loose to chunky filling that sigh-s as you dig into it instead of gushing all over the plate or sticking so tightly together that you wonder if the crust would have survived just being set over firm jam instead. Chilling cobbler makes for a soggy bottomed dough that dries out on top, and a filling that can chill and congeal to that square school cafeterias have long cut into wedges and called pie. With the cobbler love and dilemma on my hands, no extra jars for making jam and little to no one to share a pie with, what was I do to. It is August, I have achieved the perfect peaches in the right season and am selfishly not wanting to take them further into enjoyment.

The peaches sat until in a whirl of peach scented urgency I grabbed the bowl and started slicing them away to make a quick jam. A texture soft and serene, I sliced them all into a stock pot, juiced a lemon into the mix and poured in cane sugar. The concept of adding equal parts of fruit and sugar to jam destroys my clean conscious when I will later eat this jam with a spoon from straight from the jar, making me keep a conservative hand with the sugar scoop. Sugar does help preserve things so it must be there, serving as thickening gel as well as I throw rules to the wind and add no pectin to the boiling jam. Which became more of chunky preserves than jam. This was the only answer I thought as I tilted my head down and kept slicing. Keeping them to sit and cough out their last few breathes of life in a bowl for my selfish olfactory enjoyment would be doing a disservice to the peaches. They wait all season to make their debut and upstage the just passed crop of berries. With most only knowing peaches in the way I grew up knowing them, a true peach wants and needs to be loved. Admire my beauty, smell my untouched scent and eat me right off the tree as my fuzz gets all over your hands, the peach would say to those naysayer who want nothing more than a fruit cup of little peach cubes. Taste me and know what a peach is supposed to taste like it.

Though I did not personally talk to the peaches, I know that is what they say. Walking through a peach field in that small Alabama town with the stand, it was whispered through the rows. People have to start listening to real food; to good food that needs to me valued. More people would like fruits and vegetables if they were the ones grown from clean deep soil, harvested at the correct time when ripe and full of flavor undeveloped by GMOs or other science absurdities. Into a peach James crawled, and I think I would do the same if in the name of a higher find. Peach flesh messy on my hands and knees, juice dripping all about, it would not be in vain but a crawl to fight for peaches. To fight for all food raped by industrialization really, but first to let the peach stand and speak as an ambassador for fruits. I know a committee of tomatoes and the board for better roots and tubers would not be far behind. Lettuces would stage a protest stomping all the plastic bags that have left them tasteless and rotting in their own liquids.

Staring at my jars of peach preserves last night, I wondered if they were happy in there. Should I have sat down with a kitchen towel draped over my lap and eaten them all? Should I have invited friends over, tossed the peaches with mint or rosemary and served them with grilled chicken? Ultimately the peaches seemed satisfied that they were valued, elevated to the status they deserved. Glass jarred and in my full cabinets is a much more proper burial than the Shoney's buffet of yesterday. Before summer escapes us, or at some point, find yourself a local peach or any fruit in the right place, during the right time, and birthed by the right process.

"Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring and because it has fresh peaches in it" — Thomas Walker

Sticking to the 100-mile diet, or preaching about buying everything at farmer's markets is all worth applauding, yet what is being left out of this picture? "Think global, Eat local" really does not apply unless you actually do think globally. To think globally would push us to consider the other fights going on in food that have been hushed as we push the more reachable or acceptable debates in our own societies. NYC is all about the local movement with upstate New York producing almost every edible we might need. Restaurants have rooftop gardens. Farmers have fans and all seems right as we "vote with our dollars" in the city that never sleeps. The Green Market is alive and thriving. Though, should be so selfish to forget the other fights we do not want to fess up to? Coffee, chocolate, olive oils, exotic fruits, many wines…these are food goods I would bet you use almost daily yet walk around canvas bag clad telling of how you eat food from local vendors. You have gotten half the picture right, and you even get accolades for buying directly from farmers so that 100% of the profits go to your local market sellers. Yet, what other farmers are you using that might get a few cents from all their work and labor? Who might live in communities where clean water and education are luxuries? Who spend their days growing your food and cannot feed their own families?

Though both systems are flawed in that many farmers do not want your money but your time, support and what I call "customer aid" where helping with a crop turn over would be more beneficial than waiting for a solo farmer to harvest an entire crop and you pillage through it at the market, bartering for lower prices on the peaches. Give help where help is needed and wanted. In fair trade, the specific need was found. With food production being a worldwide industry currently, America can easily think with tunnel vision that we are the only people existing. Even our main stream media and news outlets speak of world issues but focus on us. We hear of wars and bombs, death and dealings, yet the day to day lives of people in foreign lands is rarely made much ado about. Food, who has it and who does not along with who is producing which items, can be shuffled under other stories and information. Fair trade sought to help those who were not being seen through the course of middle men, buyers and companies that work together to import and export food goods.

This system started with good enough intentions. Investigating cacao and chocolate for the chapter of "The Reality of Chocolate" I wrote, I started to wonder why people never talked about fair trade anymore. I also realized that people fall into categories in food fights, all connected yet so disjointed, segregated by cause. Judgmental to those in same mind set just called by a different name, though nothing will be achieved if we continue in this better-than system of logic. Fair trade developed a poor name as the practices that should have been put into practice were failing under the many hands reaching up from lineage of production. Coffee started to expose this as it was a staple in our culture and society that is bought, sold and brewed in mass quantities. Finding the source of our coffee and how we obtained it became a very viable place to put fair trade practices to work. The case was the same for chocolate or should I say cacao, the bean that starts the entire process that has become our luxury. ( For the Entire Chocolate Chapter )

As fair trade organizations noticed and responded to these situations, they still push for what they intended to achieve. Like our food system in general, whether home grown agriculture concerns or lands abroad, the problem took about 150 years to get this messed up. It will take us about the same to get it all cleaned up. Buying locally is only going to solve part of the problem unless you stop eating everything else that cannot be produced in your local area. Restaurants will tell you flat out this is not possible and do the best they can. With a food system that so many in other countries do count on as small rural farmers in their own lands, fair trade is an important step to solving food problems that are bigger than just buying locally. If you support farmers in your region with your full amount of pay why not also support farmers at a much larger disadvantage in other countries?

Flaws of our entire food system that combine what bothers local-vores and fair trade supporters rest in the need to have transparency in democracy. Especially aspects that govern food. Practices and prices need to be standardized, with less mystery and hidden agendas in governmental realms. In the end, our goal in food is move the producer and consumer closer together. A noble goal we must fight from all lines of food production. I leave you with these closing thoughts of my piece on chocolate which I think unite all our views into one:

Is all fair in love and chocolate?

This is not a question that can be fully answered as each situation is different with many levels of agreements, individuals and production being involved. Reports differ from source to source and the only real way to see would be to visit the farms yourself (which is possible and I encourage anyone with the piqued interest and means to do so to reach out in this way.) The best we can do is to make ourselves aware of where our food comes from and who might be working hard without thanks. The World Bank reports that an estimated 2.7 billion people exist on less than $2 a day. Fair Trade chocolate (and coffee and nuts and grains to build on a theme and method of conscious consumption) is a decent first step. Sourcing out smaller companies who buy straight from the farmers or work with a single farm is even more worthwhile. Choices like these not only behoove people and the environment, but also your health and well being. The quality of organic chocolate is far better as just taking the time to have an organic product means a little more thought was put into it. With all the talk of beans and bars, farmers and producers, at the end of the day all that is needed is to savor your chocolate from start to finish consciously.

To begin this, and for anyone who finds themselves in Mississippi hot confused and hungry… here is a little of what is going on.

Southern Food Ways Alliance :Great cause who also happen to have a great website with list of food tours with restaurants that highlight what we got right in the south; food.

Rainbow Co Op : Who loves Rainbow? Claire loves Rainbow. The first place I ever really cooked and baked…this spot is where I could find tofu, tempeh, bulk grains, local produce and plenty of other alternative foods way back when hemp was still scary and only hippies were vegetarians. As a little vegan in MS, this place kept me alive and educated. Those were the days…. now I can get sustainable meat if needed, local honey, incredible pickled everything and all the old familiars…while contributing to the great good of a local co-op. High Noon Cafe serves daily and needs love! Go eat Friends!

Greater Belhaven Market: April to December we are blessed with a great local market! Plenty of fresh foods and local vendors. Buying like this gives all the money to the vendor and hey, supports a happy and healthy MS economy. Go local…and mean it.

Tougaloo-Rainbow Sustainable Garden: Get dirty and give back in the gardens. If you do not have a farm or small garden…and even if you do, contribute some hours here. Community farms are about more than just growing food, as their effects are felt throughout entire, you guessed it… communities.

There are times when you start to remember where you come from and know when it is time to go on back.

Though getting myself to Mississippi and a front porch somewhere in the sprawling lands of the delta was not in the cards this morning, I did know I needed to reach into my southern roots. For today, for this week…and certainly for the bag of fresh green beans I picked in upstate NY this past week. Crunchy and crisp, plump with summer suns and a chipper shade of green (if vert was a specific shade of green in translation, this bean would be it,) these are not beans that need much help to taste delicious. I just wanted them to taste southern. I wanted to them turn all melty and soft and a muddled shade of brownish green that said "eat me with a spoon."

Wondering if I should use ham hocks or bacon grease, or really take some liberties and use the pancetta I have in my refrigerator, I reached for my old cookbooks. The ones that are self published, regional and yellow with age. Many a found recipe is tucked into the pages, notes from my grandmother scribbled in between the measurements of others and all echoing of a time gone by. Some of my redneck royalties were there made with cool whips and canned fruits, yet others made me about as happy as could be on a Brooklyn morning. I can't help but want to make chocolate chess pie. And gallons of iced tea. And fry some okra, slice some fresh tomatoes and find some really good mayonnaise for proper tomato sandwiches. When the Southern movement hits, I have to take it and run with it because it holds some honesty for me in the northern-southern-food-love. Southern food is hot right now. Biscuits and greens have made a comeback in the biggest way, and gosh darnit' people like it. Of course they do. We know food and we know good eatin' (some of our waist lines reflect that.) We even have an entire delicious and home grown culture around food. Food for weddings, birthdays, funerals and every day that could have a meal be made. Which, as we all know, is every day. There was a time I tried to deny being all that Southern. I am not sure who I was trying to fool as I was not from Virginia or even a coastal Carolina's town… I was from the pit of the deepest southern state: Mississippi. Oh, maybe I had escaped living on our family's "big house" (a plantation house with wrap around porches) and I never had to run barefoot on dirt roads, but the fact could not be denied. It took getting some used to as well to think that maybe the line between southern debutant and knee slappin' red neck were not that deep.

Flipping through my White Trash Treasury cookbook, I figured someone in there might make beans like a true southerner. Or maybe it is more like a true small town family who has an edge up on all of us in cities with their knowledge of what really matters in life. It is not the penthouse apartments or reservations at waiting lists hot spots that fill us up. Security of family and food is enough, especially when that food is heavy with love and generosity, stirred with humble roots. Speaking of roots, my mind then drifted to turnip greens on Sundays at the country club and their peach cobbler, banana pudding with sticky sweet meringue and the nameless pie that consists of whipped cream and chunks of fruit; much like ambrosia in a pie shell. Put anything like what we call ambrosia in a pie shell and it will make people happy, southern or not. My father used to drive us around his hometown in the panhandle of Florida (still the south in many aspects,) and tell us we were tracing our roots. Despite his articulate manner, he would purposely say ruts'. So tracing our roots we did, seeing the house he grew up and he sand dune he rode his scooter out to before he could drive. Memories that visually took him back, being in that space dissolves time and allows the past to be in the present. Some people go back physically, though I go back in the senses. It might be all we have when hours and days, travel and obligations separate. Smells take you back in powerful pulls, sounds slowly realm you back in and images immediately trigger recollections. I go back in taste, in foods and all they carry with them.

Scoring a ham hock that afternoon, the smell could not be denied, nor could the feel of hearty fat in my hands. A little olive oil, some onions, a smashed clove of garlic and some sweating minutes in a Dutch oven later… the beans met their fate. Eating them with my fingers out of the pot while simmering none the less, I thought more of the south. A place I could deny being from though I had tried. In a moment that felt much like the terrible realization of what "respecting your elders" really means, I appreciated my south and was proud. Proud to know the good of sweet smiles and hello's without agendas. Proud to know the bad as well, with a history that taught me painful truths of human nature, those who have and those who do not, those who give and those who take. So much shame can be built up around one's beginnings, yet with no control over that I feel little reason to worry.

For another year, Mississippi has been named the fattest, most unhealthy state in the country. Adult obesity is highest (32.5%) for the fifth year, and leading the way in childhood obesity (44.4%.) Statistics that are staggering. The result of socioeconomic status, race and cultural norms according to news and media. Yet could unacceptable food products that make it cheap and easy to become obese also be part of the problem? Let's break this down as to why my home state is in such bad shape and what it has to do with you.

I say bad and yet that does little justice to the true crisis my state is enduring. Mississippi, situated right along side its namesake river and the heart of the deep south; where the sun blisters your skin during the summer, the humidity is thick and the people as laid back and sweet as the tea they serve. Going back is heartbreaking to see the rows of fast food restaurants and chain venues dotting the sides of the single main roads in the small towns. Even my birth city of Jackson, the capitol no less, is failing to look much more appealing. Towns that were once farming communities or cotton meccas where gardens were in yards and produce came from the land are not the towns there today. Going back to the same spot my grandfather who showed me what home grown tomatoes tasted like, I realized there was not one spot in that tiny town worth eating. In fact, I cringed at the food choices that ranged from bad to worse. Small restaurants that had national recognition had changed their recipes to cut costs, a difference I tasted on my tongue and in my heart. I rode around wide eyed at what felt like a place forgotten, brushed under the radar of quality control. People were poor. Businesses were abandoned. Population was spare and those left did the best they could. When I finally got through my last breath in an asthma attack of bad food, I started to wonder what was happening.

That was three years ago and my state continues to decline. Around my neck hangs a pendant that in the shape of Mississippi; home sweet home. Some shudder as we both know my state is a source of mockery situated so in earnest and ignorance. An article from the BBC slated Mississippi as the spot for fried shrimp and fat people; where folks are seen eating hot dogs and buying tubs of ice cream. "There simply aren’t many places to stop and buy good food." And that is the truth. The small towns of my south are sprawled out across broad landscapes of flat terrain. One road will lead you through the entirety of a town. Food choice is limited and reflects the community's atmosphere as a whole, at least economically.

Southern food is not by nature bad for you. Sure we like fried things and make plenty of butter and ham hock laced dishes. The fight is not for food item but for quality of item, ingredients and the allure of cheaper more processed fake foods being so easily available in this economically depressed state. The area is a booming market for cheap fast food spots that now shine musty shades of red and yellow in the oppressing Mississippi heat. These restaurants look out of place in a spot where their colors fade and the grease multiples by itself as if to be sweating. This is also the case in many small towns in the United States, not just Mississippi. Sadly though, my state is taking the brunt on the health side with the alarming statistics noted at the start of this piece.

Access to anything is limited in these impoverished areas, including education and healthy food. If you look at the household incomes of my state's inhabitants, it is easy to see that fast food could be their only option. When food that is high in calories and low in nutrition is cheap and you are broke, you will buy these foods for yourself and your family. Your health and your weight then takes the toll. The issue now has to make us think about the price we put on good food. A recent report from the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago showed lower body weight and lessened risk of obesity when the cost of healthy foods (produce) is reduced. Taxes are being proposed for unhealthy foods such as soft drinks and fast food to deter consumers from picking these items in the current economic climate. In order to save money and their health, perhaps their behaviors will change. A result of those changes could be lowed obesity statistics. Though I must ask: What if the local goods of Mississippi were cheaper? What if okra and the farm fresh vegetables I know can grow and thrive in my home state were less expensive than the artificial and fake foods sold from drive thru-s and mini marts? Even if everyone in my state did eat fried catfish and cornbread, had it been made with a quality oil, and the cornbread made without sugars and other additives (we normally do not sugar our cornbread, such a Yankee thing to do)…it could hold a spot in a healthy diet. Real food will always tout benefits over fake food, even when the real food is not the best for your health, it is far better than soda, candy, McDonalds and Sonic. Much like real butter and real cheese is better for you than margarine and fat free cheeze whiz. Fake food makes people fat. It is scientifically proven that people eating artificial sweeteners are more likely to be overweight. It is blantantly obvious then that real food can save us all…even us eating southern delicacies. Where is real food at affordable prices then?

Good nutrition should be a born right and if government is not going to take the steps to make this happen… we have to do so. Yes, you and me and our neighbors and families and friends. People will readily fall into the victim mentality and settle up with another grocery cart full of mass produced foods (usually sugar, fat and factory farm meat packed) at Walmart. Shurggling their shoulders as if to say "this is our only choice." Frankly, this is not going to help make any changes if we start thinking we are but victims to the bigger systems and hold little control. Sounding very much evangelical and idealist, there is really no way around such issues. Mississippi is but a health rattled starting point to wake people up.

Mississippi holds a special place as an important example for the rest of the country at large as it rarely does much good, and yet I fully believe will beat this battle. The state of the segregation beat old mentalities and turned a new leaf. If my bottom of the barrel state at a complete disadvantage can make change, certainly the rest of the country can. You have already seen Mississippi make the case for a state that suffers from little money and little good food (meaning affordable or accessible healthy choices.) Mississippi will take the fall and stand as an example of why we must change the way we supply food, how we price it and where we place it.

Food takes place in the hands, faces and hearts of real people, person by person. It is a subject that must be conquered from by the people eating it, serving it and buying it. Government cannot be seen as the god father and protector as we have seen before the lack of goodness involved, as we watch rules that were unjust and made little common sense be passed and approved over and over. This was case with civil rights in my state and so will be the case for food.