How many times have you read a study that says to eat more fish in your diet because it’s good for you? But is what’s good for you good for the environment? Over the last 2 1/2 years of food blogging I’ve always stayed true to my healthy cooking ways but I have grown in one key area, which is choosing sustainable ingredients. In my opinion it’s the only way forward to save our food sources and I’m glad word is catching on (no pun intended).

The albacore tuna photos above were taken in Dingle, Ireland where I had the opportunity to speak to the owner of the fishery, which you can read about here. Now, I’m still learning about what’s considered sustainable and I’ll admit it’s not always an easy task. But that’s the point here–I’m choosing to educate myself to make the right choices. Our Dingle trip was back in October 2008 and rereading that article I wrote I realised that these fish were caught with nets, which nowadays is not considered to be sustainable fishing practices. Here I thought just picking the right fish was good enough but the reality is now I need to know how it’s caught as well. Here’s a great article on albacore tuna practices.

Well this article wasn’t supposed to be about albacore but that’s what happens when I start putting my thoughts on paper–my beautiful mind starts racing all over. What really got my attention last night was this piece from the Nightly News about salmon. I love salmon so I was happy to see the word is spreading about farmed salmon. Take a gander at the video:

I’m sure you can guess where I stand and trust me, even I get overwhelmed by it all. But there’s help out there. What do you think? Have we all gone mad or is overfishing/purchasing unsustainable fish a real problem? When you buy fish including at restaurants do you order sustainably or does that factor into your decision making?

Recently my good lady decided to nominate me for a local pioneer program. I didn’t know anything about it ’til I got the email from them the other day. The sponsor of this program is Topo Ranch, which is a local clothing store specializing in organic cotton merchandise. Anyone who knows me knows I cook and live (as much as possible) in a sustainable way. (As soon as they launch organic Heineken I’ll be all over it!) My missus and I have been supporting these guys since they opened here in Venice so I appreciate their support back to me. The pioneer program is outlined as:

“Topo Ranch is seeking people who are at the forefront of American culture enriching our lives through art, food, music, and the green lifestyle.”

Who knew I was enriching lives but I guess my passion for sustainable healthy food is definitely on the forefront of peoples’ minds these days….which is about time. It feels great to be recognized for doing what you do especially on a local level as these are the people I interact with on a daily basis.
Our community here in Venice is pretty close and very eclectic which is what I love about it. Living 5 minutes from the beach and my local also helps. Now, recognizing that this isn’t exactly a Ted Award and knowing I haven’t reinvented the wheel I’m still pretty chuffed to be included in this diverse group of people.

Here are my fellow Pioneers.

BTW Topo has free ground shipping ’til the end of the month. You should defo go check out their gear. Might as well give them a plug, right?

Cheers

Yesterday I wrote about the TED 2010 Prize awarded to Jamie Oliver. With this prize Jamie was awarded $100,000 plus the granting of “One Wish to Change the World.” As Jamie prepares to launch his new TV show, Food Revolution, Jamie’s wish is not surprisingly about food.

“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

This is his acceptance speech. Powerful and worth a gander.

Have you heard of TED?

The annual conferences in Long Beach and Oxford bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).
Our mission: Spreading ideas. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world.”

The coveted TED Prize was given out last night in Long Beach, CA. If only I had known sooner as I would have loved to have been there. This year’s winner is none other than the brilliant Jamie Oliver (you might also know him as the Naked Chef).

“The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED Community’s exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of “One Wish to Change the World.” After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.”

Previous winners are President Clinton and fellow Oirishman Bono, as well some scientists and so forth. The most important part of winning this accolade is getting the wish. To show you significant this can be, Bono’s wish was to have 1 million Americans sign a petition to show they care about world hunger. Seems pretty straight forward, right? From this wish came One.org. How cool is that? That a movement to end world hunger came from simply wishing for it to happen?

Jamie Oliver’s Wish:

“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

Fecking brilliant like.

Who knew that two ‘across the ponders’, one Brit one Irish, would share the same dream when it comes to food. Want to get involved? Sign the petition to challenge our leaders to make change now then leave a message below to let me know you’ve added your support.

Cooking healthy doesn’t have to be hard–Bring it on!

Cheers

Super Bowl Sunday found me exactly where I thought I’d be–near the buffet and in an arms distance from the skull shaped beer bong. I knew New Orleans was going to pull it off just as I knew there’d be good eating to be had. The fete at Van & Kelly’s, the King and Queen of Southern food and the best hosts ever (remember the homemade pizza party?), as usual, did not disappoint. Both teams were superbly represented: Abita beer on tap, popcorn flown in from Indiana, seafood gumbo, red beans and rice (made with beans flown in from Indy), homemade biscuits and homemade French bread not to mention the two stars of the show–the Indianapolis Pork Cutlet Biscuit Sandwich and the Naw’lins Braised Beef n’ Gravy Debris Po’boy. Which do you think won?

Notice our homemade hot sauce made it into the mix!

In lieu of this weekend’s festivities I thought this warning would be apropos, just in case you had planned on making a nice big healthy salad for the buffet. If you’re buying bagged salads and prepacked lettuces, LISTEN UP: you might be getting more than you bargained for. A new investigation came out yesterday conducted by Consumer Reports Magazine, in which random prepackaged lettuces, all within their use-by date including those labeled “washed” and “triple washed,” were tested for cleanliness.

Though neither E. coli nor salmonella were found, “bacteria that are common indicators of poor sanitation and fecal contamination” were, at an alarming rate of 39% of the those tested. How can this happen? There are federal limits on the amount of  “indicator” bacteria that can be legally found in water, milk, raw meats, and processed foods, sadly there is no such standard for produce.

“Results varied widely among samples. Whether the greens came in a clamshell or bag, included were “baby” greens and organic, it made no difference.” (In this case, there went that theory about organic being better.)

I couldn’t have said it better than this, quoted from TreeHugger.com:

“To clarify, just because a sample contains coliform bacteria, this does not mean there is literally feces in your salad–nor does it mean that this bacteria necessarily grew in crap. But high levels of such indicator bacterias like coliforms and enterococcus mean that there’s a higher chance there was some fecal contamination or poor sanitation practices.”

Though you may not get sick from said contamination, I’d say it’s time to think twice about buying those convenient bagged lettuces.

The best thing you can do in my opinion? Buy heads of lettuce, preferably locally farmed and organic and wash them well OR better yet, grow your own lettuce. It really couldn’t be easier — if I can manage it you certainly can! But if you just can’t stay away from the bagged salads, Consumer Reports suggests buying packages as far from their use-by date as you can find and be sure to wash the greens yourself even if the bag says “prewashed” or “triple-washed.” Rinsing won’t remove all bacteria but may remove residual soil. Good luck with that.

Here we are at the end of the first month in this new year, which begs the big question, How’re you doing on your resolutions? Did you know the #1 new year resolution that people made was to eat healthier? I read that somewhere so don’t quote me on it but I’m not surprised. I think we all want to get healthier don’t we? One trick to get there is to know what you eat and that means reading labels. A pain in the ass maybe, but worth it in the end (especially for your ass!)

Here’s a really simple example of why reading labels are important.

Here we have two jams, one regular and one sugar free. Right off the bat which one do you think is the best choice?

Bet you chose the sugar free one, right? I think those advertisers do a great job convincing us anything with the word “Free” in it is the way to go. But here’s why this is bogus:

1. Colour
If it’s possible to look at the products, compare them with your eyes right off the bat. You can see the difference in the colour. The sugar free one is nearly neon in color! I don’t think that’s natural, is it?

2. Labels
Comparing the two labels on the front, the 365 brand (Whole Foods’ line) claims 100% natural, 100% fruit and the Smucker’s brand claims sugar free, sweetened with Splenda and has 80% fewer calories than regular preserves.

Comparing the back labels, well take a look for yourselves:

Though the 365 brand does has more calories, it seems to be more natural with only 3 ingredients, white grape juice concentrate, strawberries and fruit pectin, and it contains no preservatives, artificial colours or flavours. Smucker’s has a whopping twelve ingredients including preservatives and Red 40 (added for colour?), which is apparently not found in regular preserves according to the label. Hmmm….I’d gladly eat a few more cals for natural ingredients vs. all that fake stuff.

3. Taste
I guess you’ll just have to trust me on this one unless you want to do your own taste test but the sugar free tastes like it’s colour–bland with a bit of the sweetener’s aftertaste.

I’ve done this same label review for ice cream, too. Which one do you think hit the spot?

I see a lot of crazy & strange food while surfing the web but these were too brilliant to keep to myself.

I imagine these would make good camping or picnic foods don’t you tink? Here’s how my menu would look (it’s pretty romantic if I do say so myself).

Let’s start with some traditional brown bread

(my granny is turning in her grave right now)

then work our way into a delicious protein-rich appetizer (love the curry flavour!)

Or maybe a little roadkill will get us going.

Next I think I’d fire up the grill to bbq some delicious chicken

or NOT.

Me tinks a burger sounds better.

Burger in a can…I’m going to have to disguise this as best I can and everyone says bacon makes everything better, so…

Of course we’ll need some crisps to go with our burger — I found a lovely array of chips to choose from.

(Actually I think I’ve tried the prawn cocktail crisps and either they were tasty…or I was drunk.)

The flavours below were in a contest to determine which one would be the next introduced to the Walkers line of crisps.
Too bad we didn’t get to taste them here in the States–I’ve always wondered what squirrel tasted like. Would’ve made a great addition to our picnic.

(The Builders Breakfast won the contest. I guess building a tasty gut is all the rage!)

Now if burgers in a can with strange bacon-like stuff on top with a side of crisps isn’t your thing, I’ve got a backup:
HAGGIS. Even Vegetarian Haggis for all of you veg-heads. (Bet you think I’m making this stuff up, don’t you?)

(In case you didn’t know, Haggis is a dish containing sheep’s ‘pluck’ (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal’s stomach for approximately three hours. It somewhat resembles stuffed intestines (pig intestines otherwise known as chitterlings), sausages and savoury puddings of which it is among the largest types.) Wonder what the Vegetarian version is made with….

We need something refreshing to drink don’t we?

Here’s a great snack idea for later when we’ve got the munchies

Now all we need is dessert!

Is that dessert or lunch meat? I can’t tell but I found it at Tesco’s.

This is more like it for dessert

True Spotted Dick isn’t abnormal for those across the pond, but it’s a little off-putting coming a can don’t you agree?

So who’s ready to go camping with me?

DISCLAIMER: I did not make this stuff up, all of it really exists though I’m not sure who’s eating it! If it’s you, do share (not the food, just what it tastes like).

Vegetarianism. What exactly is a vegetarian? You talk to any old school chefs and they’ll balk at the idea of someone not eating meat. My Missus is a veggie but she eats seafood and…..bacon. I know. I gave up trying to figure that one out ages ago. I still pull the piss though. Believe it or not she’s not alone, we know a couple of these types. (The bacon eating variety). Even though she labels herself a ‘fishetarian’ I still find it funny. Back when I was a yut, being a vegetarian meant you didn’t eat any meat, dairy or eggs. Seems the definition has had several rounds of changes since then and the term Vegan started the rounds as the more strict version of vegetarianism.. I found this great article about the meaning of vegetarianism. To quote:

Vegetarian

This is a general term. About 5 percent of the current U.S. population considers themselves to be vegetarian, although a number of varying dietary habits fall into this category. Usually this term refers to someone who doesn’t eat any kind of meat, including beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and seafood. However, there are many people who don’t quite match this description, but still use this label.
These include …

Pollo-Vegetarian
Pesco-Vegetarian
Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian
Lacto-Vegetarians
Ovo-Vegetarians
Vegan
Macrobiotic
Fruitarian
Raw or Living Food Diet

Fruitarian? The first time I heard this term was in the film Notting Hill when Hugh Grant’s prospective girlfriend said picking an apple from a tree was murder. Have we lost the plot? I’ve heard of  Lacto/Ovo….can you just imagine being at a cocktail party and someone asks you why you’re not eating and you say, “I’m lacto-ovo-vegetarian”? Now, that wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility here in La La land but anywhere else, you might get a slap.
While I’m certainly not any of these, I do appreciate delicious food, even ‘vegetarian’ food. I’m a meat eater who loves veg and while having a penchant for stuffing meat, (Mr. Keyes!) I also have a penchant for soy proteins especially seitan. Strange? Not if it tastes good!

Los Angeles, being “The mecca of health and fitness” (according to Gold’s Gym), has a lot of delicious vegetarian/vegan/macrobiotic restaurants around town. I like eating at said restaurants not just because they’re healthy but more often than not, they’re using organic, sustainable & seasonable ingredients, which is a major plus in my book. While I’ve only eaten at a few of these restaurants I thought it worthy to write about them, especially since I hit up two this past weekend.

I mentioned recently about the Real Food Daily restaurant here in LA, which is my #1 go-to healthy place, which I frequent about once or twice a month. I’ve been going there for years and overall I just really like their food even though it’s totally vegan. If only I could learn to cook these soy proteins as well as they do! Tacos, meatloaf, burritos, soups and desserts—everything is meat, dairy and egg free using foods grown exclusively with organic farming methods. The owner, Ann Gentry must be doing something right ’cause the place I go to in Santa Monica is always jointed.

Last weekend we also ate at M Cafe de Chaya in Culver City, which serves macrobiotic food without any refined sugars, eggs, dairy, red meat or poultry. They have everything from sushi to salads & sandwiches to soups and of course healthy desserts. Being a macro eatery they serve fish but I’ll let you read up on that yourself. This was my second time going there and I really liked it, especially their Seitan Katsu Bowl. I don’t know what katsu sauce is but it was tasty!

Another macrobiotic restaurant we’ve tried, which came recommended to me by Meg, a fellow blogger, is actually in my Venice hood. Seed is both vegan and macro and serves delicious curries, tempeh burgers, salads and of course, amazing desserts. Now that I’m thinking about it we’ll have to pop in to try their seitan. I’m telling you, this protein is tasty. Don’t believe me–try it with my jerk recipe and you’ll be sold!

I love having the option of going to a restaurant like these and getting the type of food I want at the drop on a hat. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a drive thru with these healthy, vegetarian & sustainable options?

OFFAL. Animal innerds such as lungs, hearts, livers, kidneys and intestines.
EXTREMITIES. Animal parts you most likely don’t eat such as heads, tongues, brains, tails & feet.

Hence the question: Offal Good or Awful Bad?

The other day while perusing my local “ghetto Ralph’s” grocery store (if you live in Venice you know where I’m talking about) I saw something I hadn’t noticed before. Jarred pigs trotters. I’ve seen the regular trotters in the meat section before but not this pickled variety. I wonder how long these jars keep for? Does anyone really eat this stuff? Then I had a flashback to my yout.

Growing up in Ireland in the 70’s times were tough as our economy wasn’t the may west. If there was ever one thing the Irish learned to do well it was cooking hearty meals on the cheap, after all that’s where Irish stew came from. Surviving on the Island meant utilizing every bit of what you had. This meant utilizing our national animal to its fullest (that part I just made up). Not surprising then that I’ve eaten a variety of animal innerds, such as livers and kidneys. Even had my crack at ox-tail and cow’s tongue. These were cheap parts of meat that brought tons of flavour to stews, pies and puddings. Ever heard of beef and kidney pie? Haggis? (Scottish I know but you get the point). That recipe has it all–sheep’s paunch, or stomach bag, and sheep’s pluck, the heart, liver and lights. (Lights?) In other words, not the stuff you’d be buying generally or….ever. Taking a gander at my Mum’s Mum’s cookbooks dating from the 20-50’s there are several recipes using offal: Calf’s brain fritters, sweetbreads, liver and bacon, stewed ox-tail, Fricassee of tripe, cow heel jelly, and those are just a few of ‘em. Seems the Irish were way ahead of their time in sustainable eating. Who knew?!

Now I don’t know what it was like in the States back then, if offal was as abundant as it was across the pond, but according to my Missus the only thing she was raised around was Menudo, a Mexican soup made with tripe and/or cow’s feet. I’m actually quite curious about what type of offal Americans ate growing up, if any. I know that my clients are not requesting offal, though my specialty is healthy food so my proteins don’t consist of major excitement I’m afraid, apart from the way I cook them of course. Perhaps eating offal is saved for a night out at a new restaurant where bone marrow and mason jarred pates run aplenty. They seem to be all over the shop these days. Sweetbreads have always been around in the posh expensive restaurants but now they seem to be more accessible than ever. Have you noticed the offal comeback? Just yesterday I received an email about Offal Good @ Palate in Glendale, a local restaurant offering offal every Wednesday night and truth be told I did have a tasteen of bone marrow not too long ago at Cache. Nearly everyone at the table had a crack at it and we were all in hog heaven. Perhaps America does like something offal.

Let’s just hope the prices don’t skyrocket now because it’s trendy. After all, these are the cheapest parts of the animal. Anywho the question I have for you is simply this,

Offal good or bloody offal bad?