Comments Expat Chef has made

  • Actually, many of the pumpkins I see being sold as "decorative" and oddly sitting outside on the porch on hay bales with faux scarecrows are edible. I have a kind of odd love for winter squash (300 lbs. per year of unique heirlooms in my home). So, imagine how an aficionado such as myself saw the French heirloom Galeux d'Eysines (crazy odd beauty) labeled "Uncle Fester" pumpkin. Hmmm. Here's just a few of the edible ones, photo and listOn This Halloween, have your pumpkin--and eat it, too posted 3 weeks, 5 days ago 5 Responses

  • Nice post, Kurt!

    If you also add in the difference in price KFC has buying in bulk, direct and low cost ingredients ... well, they are making a tidy profit. If we are going to count utilities, then be sure to count theirs and the costs to the environment from centralized processing and trucking that pre-made crap across the country ... etc.

    For the last comment, cooking should not be a thankless job. You are not a drive-thru window. You want gratitude? Make the family cook for themselves for a while, and cook for you. I know there would be an uproar if I walked off KP detail, even though I am the only one around the house with a full time job now.On How I beat KFC's 'family meal' challenge posted 1 year ago 46 Responses

  • Seasonal Cooking

    I hear you! A couple good reads are Simply in Season, and also I just reviewed a book, Outstanding the Field, by Jim Denevan. One to add to the Alice Water's books. I do like Chez Panisse Vegetables.

    Then again, you could spare the trees and find over 200 recipes based on seasonal and local eating at my site. http://expatriateskitchen.blogspot.com. Free.On Umbra on cookbooks posted 1 year ago 16 Responses

  • Hmmm, wiretapping ...

    isn't that Cheney's favorite past time? I do smell a set up. Too bad, this guy could have done some positive things. He made a silly mistake that may cost us all.

    You are welcome in my "kitchen" for a recipe, family moments, a laugh, and some political discussion.

    On What does Spitzer's exit mean for environmentalism, and how is that funny? posted 1 year, 8 months ago 12 Responses

  • Better meat, lower price

    Consider buying a whole beef at a time direct from the farmer. Often this source will be a natural, grassfed (and ethically) raised animal. You can share the beef purchase among extended family or a few families, and get safe meat for less than $3.00/pound steaks and all. Because the animal is not fed grain, the input costs will not go up, unless the demand does.

    You can do the same thing with other meats, buying direct from a farmer. Using less meat, eating more vegetables and legumes will help stretch those dollars even more. Many grains and legumes can also be purchased for less in the bulk aisle. Yeah, one catch, you do have to cook. But you get all the meals from your efforts, leftovers save a lot of money, too.On Rising food prices hit home around the world posted 1 year, 8 months ago 10 Responses

  • Getting back to the Sinclair issue

    It is notable that the use of downed cows has continued for over 100 years, and that we find our food supply back in the same condition that Upton Sinclair documented so long ago. DESPITE the fact that our food safety system was built on the response to Sinclair's writing. Wow, talk about irony.

    100 years after the fact we are still failing to provide a better food system, despite millions in USDA and FDA funding. Part of it is the political ties between the industry and the agencies that are supposed to watch over it.

    Yes worker rights and animal rights are both important, just as important. A whole lot of fixing needs to happen.

    You are welcome in my "kitchen" for a recipe, family moments, a laugh, and some political discussion.

    On Upton Sinclair on downer cows posted 1 year, 9 months ago 20 Responses

  • Between Butz and Bush

    what a rotten legacy we have to recover from. Monsanto is now going after rBGH-free labeling in Kansas, BTW. The bill was introduced to the state senate just one week from end of session, conveniently.On A reflection on the lasting legacy of 1970s USDA Secretary Earl Butz posted 1 year, 9 months ago 3 Responses

  • NPR Rant

    You can view the response of the Eat Local Challenge authors to Amy Stewart's NPR rant over at the eatlocalchallenge.com site.

    Ironically, Ms. Stewart published an article in the NYTimes about the importance of local flower shops. Seems a bit of a contradiction, huh?

    The author of this long distance menu probably missed a much better meal closer to home. Oh well, his loss.

    You are welcome in my "kitchen" for a recipe, family moments, a laugh, and some political discussion. http://expatriateskitchen.blogspot.com

    On Joel Stein of Time takes a poke at the locavores posted 1 year, 10 months ago 10 Responses