What's Cooking Uncle Sam? - Treasure Trove of Vintage Food Posters

I found this glorious WEBSITE for Foodys and those who appreciate graphic arts, history and political posters. I tell you, there are treasures there. Just hit the Preview buttons and enjoy.

"Food. We love it, fear it, and obsess about it.

We demand that our Government ensure that it is safe, cheap, and abundant. In response, Government has been a factor in the production, regulation, research, innovation, and economics of our food supply. It has also attempted, with varying success, to change the eating habits of Americans.

From the farm to the dinner table, explore the records of the National Archives that trace the Government’s effect on what Americans eat."

Antibiotics in Our Food

Click Me!

“If we are not careful, we will soon be in a post-antibiotic era,” Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC’s director, said in a media briefing. “And for some patients and for some microbes, we are already there.”

Some very bad bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics. The Center for Disease Control has released a new report  Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States 2013.

A number of these antibiotic resistant bacteria result in food borne illnesses. Antibiotic use in food animals can result in resistant bacteria, Campylobacter for example, that can spread to humans through the food we eat. Remember what Mom told you: Wash your hands!

The CDC warns us:

The use of antibiotics is the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world . Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs used in human medicine. However, up to 50% of all the antibiotics prescribed for people are not needed or are not optimally effective as prescribed .

Antibiotics are also commonly used in food animals to prevent, control, and treat disease, and to promote the growth of food-producing animals . The use of antibiotics for promoting growth is not necessary, and the practice should be phased out . Recent guidance from the U .S . Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes a pathway toward this goal.

It is difficult to directly compare the amount of drugs used in food animals with the amount used in humans, but there is evidence that more antibiotics are used in food production . 

What can you do to help with this serious health concern? The CDC answers many questions HERE. One way, and an increasing popular way to protect yourself and your community from antibiotic resistance, is to become a Vegetarian and/or reduce your consumption of commercially produced meat. The money quotation from the article:

Q: How can I prevent antibiotic-resistant infections?

Only use antibiotics when they are likely to be beneficial

A: By visiting this website, you are taking the first step to reducing your risk of getting antibiotic-resistant infections. It is important to understand that, although they are very useful drugs, antibiotics designed for bacterial infections are not useful for viral infections such as a cold, cough, or the flu. Some useful tips to remember are:

1. Talk with your healthcare provider about antibiotic resistance:
   • Ask whether an antibiotic is likely to be beneficial for your illness
   • Ask what else you can do to feel better sooner
2. Do not take an antibiotic for a viral infection like a cold or the flu.
3. Do not save some of your antibiotic for the next time you get sick. Discard any leftover medication once you have completed your prescribed course of treatment.
4. Take an antibiotic exactly as the healthcare provider tells you. Do not skip doses. Complete the prescribed course of treatment even if you are feeling better. If treatment stops too soon, some bacteria may survive and re-infect.
5. Do not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else. The antibiotic may not be appropriate for your illness. Taking the wrong medicine may delay correct treatment and allow bacteria to multiply.
6. If your healthcare provider determines that you do not have a bacterial infection, ask about ways to help relieve your symptoms. Do not pressure your provider to prescribe an antibiotic.

World Food Day Poster Contest 2013

You can see more World Food Day Posters on their Facebook Page. And you can vote for your favorite young artist there. The posters below are my choices. Maybe you have a young artist at home who would like to enter their work in the contest for 2014? Enjoy.

Small Space Spiral Herb Garden

Spiral Gardens are the new hot idea for small space gardening. You can tuck one of these small gardens into the most unlikely tiny spaces. This technique is particularly suited for growing Herbs. Nothing tastes better than fresh Dill or Basil. 

You can use all sorts of  things to make the spiral from the grand to the mundane. Use bottles, bricks from an old building, river stones. You will get lots of building instructions and information at The Micro Gardener. As is usual for me, I just winged it when I made my spiral garden. Turned out just fine.

These gardens are particularly suited to Herbs. Choose one tall imposing plant like Zucchini for the center. Trust me, no family needs more than one Zucchini. Or maybe one lovely Okra. Do not forget that elevated beds need extra watering to do well.   

Vintage Photographs - Old New York City Restaurants

I have found another fascinating Blog about old New York City entitled Eater.

You can find collections of fabulous vintage photographs there. It has been a very long time since a slice of Pizza cost 25 cents. 

The Blog also provides food industry news, reviews of restaurants and job listings in the local food industry.

You can also find photographs from a time when Coney Island was the happening place to go in New York.

And you can see what passed for Fast Food at the turn of the century.

A Park for Fruit and People

I found the City Farmer News website which covers all aspects of sustainable farming. I have been envisioning turning the many pocket parks in Philadelphia into mini fruit farms, so I was cheered on when I saw that I am not alone in my thinking. I love the idea of a Fruit Park which is at once a source of corporal and spiritual nourishment.

 Grand Opening On Saturday, January 5, 2013 At Del Aire Park

Press Release
Dec 26, 2012

The trees were planted with the support of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission Civic Art Program and the guidance of Fallen Fruit, an artists’ collaborative founded by David Burns, Matias Viegener and Austin Young, whose mission is to unite communities through the creation of sustainable public art projects. Del Aire residents planted 27 fruit trees, eight grape vines, more than 60 trees were given away to neighbors. Once the trees bear fruit, all park visitors will be encouraged to pick from the new edible landscape at harvest time. Within three years, the trees are expected to be completely sustainable and drought tolerant.

Egg Money

photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post

It is not so easy being a Chicken farmer. This young woman is doing it. Shelby Grebenc has been raising chickens for both eggs and meat at her family's Adams County farm. In this 2011 photo, she holds Chipmunk, one of her Americana hens.

http://www.denverpost.com/style/ci_21967690?source=pop

You may be tired of reading about Chickens but I am probably not going to stop. Hey, it is my Blog.  My Babcha helped raise a family of six with her chicken and egg money in the early 1900s. All they had was an acre in the country. I think I really may get some Hens. Ever had a fresh country Egg? Delicious. 

Ms. Shelby has plenty of peppery and wise things to say about Life, Salesmanship and Chickens like this:

"If you want sustainable, wholesome, pasture-raised organic, hormone- and antibiotic-free food, you have to support it. You can not get these things by talking about it and not paying for it. The next time you shop at a farmers market, think about what it cost me to grow it. Don't ask me to take less and then tell me you can get it cheaper at a big-box store. I know you can — but it will not be as fresh or as good as what I have, and you won't make me cry."

A Fish Grows in Brooklyn

Photo by Stefano Giovannini

First, my apologies to Betty Smith.  I know a good title when I read one. So I stole yours.

I continue to find articles about brave new sustainable farms in big cities.  I favor this adventure in feeding ourselves that is urban agriculture. I love Fish.  I use lots of Herbs. Will the Fish and Herb Farm be the latest in trendy restaurant decor?

Fish fuel farm! Bushwick’s Moore Street Market to boast ‘aquaponic’ garden

BY DANIELLE FURFARO

The Brooklyn Paper

Yemi Amu believes that fish poop can change the world — or at the very least change an abandoned Bushwick lot into a thriving farm.

She and her partner Jonathan Boe have spent the past year setting up small aquaponic gardens — closed systems that use fish feces and water to feed plants — and now they’re planning their masterwork: a fish poop-powered urban farm at the Moore Street Market in Bushwick.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/47/all_williamsburgfarm_2012_11_21_bk.html

“It saves water and you don’t need a lot of space,” said Amu, who is constructing the urban oasis under the moniker Oko Farms. “You can do more than you could do with a soil-based garden and you get both fish and vegetables.”

This fish is a species of Tilapia, a freshwater fish which is very suited to aquaponic farming. Unlike carnivorous fish, tilapia can feed on algae or any plant-based food. This reduces the cost of tilapia farming, reduces fishing pressure on prey species, avoids concentrating toxins and makes tilapia the preferred "aquatic chickens" of the trade.

Growing Rice in Africa

I am interested in growing good things to eat.  My interests range from backyard herb gardens to farmers and farming globally.  I found this press release from the United Nations reassuring.  I wonder about the world food supply and the effect of global warming on the earth.  I wonder how many rice farmers in Africa are women.  And I love Rice.

http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/164713/icode/

19 November 2012, Rome - Global rice production for 2012 is forecast to outpace consumption in 2012/13, resulting in an upward revision of 5 million tonnes in 2013 closing inventories, according to a new forecast by FAO's  Rice Market Monitor issued today.

"Compared to last year, world rice carryover stocks are expected to rise by 7 percent, or 10 million tonnes, to a new high of almost 170 tonnes, marking the eighth consecutive year of stock accumulation," says the RMM. "As a result, the world rice stock-to-use ratio is forecast to rise from 33.6 percent in 2012 to 35.5 percent in 2013."

Learn how to cook rice with pictures and directions for the beginning cook at this this wonderful blog:

Lazy Woman's Red Cooked Beef

I eat a lot of vegetables and beans for conscience, health and because I love them. But I would not describe myself as a Vegetarian entirely. Sometimes in the Winter, I long for some succulent fatty braised Beef.

Red Cooked Pork Belly

I hate all the browning required in traditional braised Beef recipes. It is time consuming and it messes up the stove bigtime. I also possess a slow cooker which is an American invention I appreciate. So one day when I was busy tidying the hovel, listening to music and not feeling at all like doing any serious cooking, I did this good thing that my family likes a lot. I Red Cooked a Chuck Steak. Oh yummy.

Red Cooking is a Chinese culinary technique for braising/stewing. Wikipedia has an excellent description of classic Red Cooking. If you go there to learn more, please give $5.00 to their fund drive if you can spare it. Wikipedia is an excellent resource. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_cooking

Classic Red Cooking usually involves soy sauce and varied Chinese flavorings that I do not always have in the pantry. I always have soy sauce (chief ingredient in red cooking), garlic, molasses, and some form of vinegar or white wine. So I threw this nice looking Chuck Steak (larded with pieces of garlic) in the slow cooker on the lowest temperature and added 6
tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons Vinegar or Wine and 1 tablespoon Molasses and went away for hours. I came back to delicious succulent brown braised Beef. 

Note: Chuck is the most flavorful of Beef cuts and it can be quite fatty. Fat equals flavor. I often cook this a day ahead, chill it in the refrigerator and remove the fat before serving. Feel free to double the "sauce" if your Chuck Steak is large. Just keep the same proportion of ingredients. And if you have a slice of fresh Ginger, throw it in the sauce. You can also add Sesame Oil (just a smidge as the flavor is very strong) toward the end of the cooking time if you have some. This Beef will perfectly good if you do not. 

Beans? Oh the horror of it all.

O tempora! O mores! - Cicero

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The notion of putting beans in chili has been a sensitive topic as long as competitive cook-offs have been around. So this year the International Chili Society is saying: let's do both. For the first time, the International Chili Society will have traditional red chili and bean-optional chili categories at its 46th world championship event, which returns to West Virginia starting Friday.

I have always had beans in my chili. I am originally from New Jersey. And I like beans. This is like the no-grated-cheese-with-seafood-sauce controversy. That is, no controversy at all. I don't know about other Italians, but I always add grated cheese to any kind of pasta and/or pasta sauce. Everybody has a chili recipe. I am sure the purists will groan about mine.

Plum Street Chili

1 and 1/2 pounds of coarsely ground Beef Chuck

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 small Onion, chopped

4-5 cloves of Garlic, chopped 

1 15 ounce can of diced Tomato (I prefer tomato sauce but my Jesse likes the tomato chunks) 

1 15 ounce can of Red Beans ( 2 cans if you like Beans)

1 whole Chipotle Pepper in adobo sauce, deseeded and chopped

Ground Cumin, one tablespoon or to taste

Your favorite ground Chili Powder, one tablespoon or to taste (optional)

1/4 teaspoon Cocoa powder or instant Expresso powder (optional)
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

One Bay Leaf (optional)

Warm the Olive Oil and saute the chopped Onion until transparent. Add the Garlic and then the Chipotle Pepper and saute for another minute. Go slow and just warm in the Oil. Essentially you are creating a flavor base.  Add the Cumin, Chili Powder, Cocoa or Coffee powder and Bay Leaf. 

You cannot get Chili grind Beef in Pennsylvania. I settle for a lean coarsely ground Round or Chuck. I saute the ground Beef in my wok so it browns quickly. I leave the meat in little chunks so the chili has texture. You do not want to mash the Beef.

Add the Beef to the flavor base, saute a minute or two longer. Then add the Tomatoes and the Beans. Simmer the chili until it is reduced and thick as you like it.  Chipotle Peppers add a lovely hot and smoky flavor to Chili. Serves 5-6. 

World Food Day Poster Contest 2012

MAYSHA MAHFUZ  Bangladesh - First Place

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