Eat at Joe's!

Pie On A Stick

From Luxirare: pie suckers.  [Thanks, Peach!]

Second Harvest At Local Farmers' Markets

Phil at The Archer Pelican remarks on farmers' markets in Carrboro and Durham sending their leftover produce to feed the poor.

Our Pizza Comes With A Topping Of Juche

When North Korea destroys the decadent west, thank Kim Jong-il some things will survive, like pizza.  But hopefully carding will keep the pizza wheels away from any wacky underage North Korean spies who try to buy the dangerous weapons.

_Cat and Girl_: "Grace"

[click through for source]

"Heavy is the head that wears the sausage crown…"

From Picture Is Unrelated:

For those of you wondering, I'm guessing the "Zion" headband refers to the Kosher Zion Sausage Company of Chicago, which is apparently no longer around.  

W00+!

Wow — the Raleigh News & Observer linked to me off their food blog.  Look down the sidebar on the left for "Local Food Blogs." 

Thanks, folks.  :)

What. The. ƒ$¢Κ.

I present:

Fancy Fast Food

[Via Michael.]

Blowed Up Real Good

Experimental cook blows hands off trying molecular gastronomy

"I've seen finer lettering on necks."

Like Duncan Hines, not Betty Crocker

This is not a joke: Oscar Meyer, the third person in his family to run the family meat business (now part of Kraft), is dead at 95.  Would that we had more successful family-owned businesses and fewer conglomerates.  

Zomg

Well, this one had too much cheese, not enough sopressata bits, and could have used a bit more mustard.  OTOH, it was #3 of 3 loaves: they went very quickly.  :)  No flash on this picture, so the color balance is different, FWIW.

Salami Bread

Or perhaps I should say "JLMBBC bread -- 100% bread flour, sweet sopressata, and crushed flax seed."  :)  Click to enlarge in a pop-up:

George's Garage Gone for Good?

Giorgios Bakatsias shuts George’s Garage door for good

I have to say that as much as I like most of Mr. Bakatsias's restaurants, George's Garage was my least favorite.  The place was often a zoo, and very noisy.  I didn't like the food selection.  A lot of things were overpriced.  I never used the takeout side.  There was a while when I went for their beer specials to drink with friends, but that was about it.  It seemed like more like someplace to soak Duke students than anything.  But, if that kept George's other places open more, in particular Vin Rouge, then I was all in favor of it.  

How Local Is Local?

Speaking of local food:  How do you know your "local" food is really local?  If you grow it yourself, you know.  If you buy it from a farmer, you know.  If you buy it through a CSA or at a farmers' market, you can feel pretty confident, I guess.  If you buy it at a grocery, you maybe can't be so confident.  And when you buy it at a restaurant — say someone says the asparagus or beef in their stir-fry is local — how do you know?  Eventually, you have to trust someone, but as the chain gets longer and longer, the web of trust extending from your mouth to the land — that local dirt — gets more and more tenuous.  If Frito-Lay buys potatoes from someone 300 miles from their factory, then ships their potato chips another 300 miles to you, is that local?

In my opinion, this is the organic problem all over again.  The "USDA Organic" definition has already been causing backlash for a while, and it's still going on.  It's probably resulted in more use of terms like "biodynamic," and maybe to a lesser extent in the interest in truly local food, and in the web of trust it implies.

Suggestions, O Gentle Readers?  Whom do you trust, and how do you do it?  Are we reduced to that supposed quotation from Stalin: "Trust, and verify"?  

Local Awesomeness: Lemon Balm Sorbet

In case it hasn't been clear from previous posts how much I like the refreshing nature of sorbets, and how easy they are to make:

Lemon balm sorbet by local SEEDS/DIG teenagers a hit at Farm to Fork 

References:

• SEEDS (South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces)
• DIG (Durham Inner-city Gardeners)
• Farm to Fork 
• lemon balm 

These teenagers grew the herbs for their sorbet and made it themselves.  How's that for local food?  And it impressed the Farm to Fork folks, who are mostly local farmers, restaurateurs, and food workers.  I think that's pretty cool.  

If you like ices, sorbets, granitas, &c, I'd also suggest digging up a copy of

• The Curious Cook by Harold McGee

It's out of print, but worth the effort, even if for no reason other than his article called "Fruit Ices, Cold and Calculated."  Its several pages of simple tables should get you started on making ices from most any common fruit, and some other foods like coffee and wine.  You want Chapter 10. :) The tables are easy, and allow you to pick a fruit, then look up how much sugar you need for the type of ice you want. McGee may also recommend a little lemon juice, if you want, to balance out the sweetness from the sugar you'll need to get the texture of ice you desire.  

For your extra credit project, I can add one piece of advice to McGee's wisdom: substitute about 25% plain corn syrup by volume -- less, if you like -- for his sugar recommendations in the softer ices like sorbets.  The corn syrup will improve texture by making the ice crystals smaller, while also making it slightly less sweet.  There aren't many good culinary reasons for keeping a bottle of Karo syrup in your pantry, besides making pecan pie and perhaps sweetening mixed drinks: putting it in sorbets is a nice extension to your culinary repertoire.  (By the way, I believe I stole this piece of advice from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.)

Now, go to the farmers' market, a fruit stand, or a local grocery store.  Buy the best, cheapest fruit they have in season.  Go home and make some sorbet.  You'll need an ice cream freezer -- 20 years ago, mine cost me about $20.  You may also want a blender for some stuff.  And enjoy. :)

Did I ever post about that blackberry sorbet I made last year?  Hmmm....

Edit:  By the way, I'd forgotten that Varmint has been making really cool ice pops at home.  I never got myself to buy any molds, but I always wanted to give that a whirl.