Lunchline Lunchlady: 07/01/2007

Monday, July 30, 2007

Video Nation-Foodometer

Friday, July 20, 2007

Farm Aid Coming To New York City

Help keep family farmers on their land, join Farm Aid

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Here's an article I wish I'd have written about cooking every day for a family

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/dining/11batt.html?ex=1341892800&en=6131420c09d75726&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

This article speaks volumes about preparing ahead, making simple things like roasted chicken, rice and greens ready to work with ahead of time, cutting out labor and effort to feed a family real food. Hats off to an easy to read how to.

Advertising Junk Food Makes for Heavier Kids

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118402733235161571.html

It doesn't take much arguing to determine that kids who sit in front of the television and watch junk food ads will most likely crave and ask for the food they see advertised on television. This end result can be seen on America's playgrounds as the incidence of childhood obesity increases exponentially.

Let's start going after the food manufacturers to stop making kids think that action heroes and cartoon characters have anything to do with food. Food does not come in neon green, royal blue and pink.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no purist, but food coloring and additives are one of the reasons kids have a problem with the color and taste of REAL food.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Been away a long time...

Thoughts on food abound. Always. What to cook. Who to feed? How to cook it? Who to include in the meal? The more the merrier.

That is what food is all about. Bringing people together. And aahing over the taste. And looking at the colors and smelling the smells. Food for the sake of being grateful to have the choice, the selection and the availability to relish real, good food.

It doesn't take much to make a meal from scratch. Just some time, some effort, some taste buds and curiosity.

Try to cook fish this week that you normally wouldn't cook yourself. Look up recipes to help with the preparation.

Tackle a vegetable that you don't know much about. Go to a farmers market and ask a farmer how to cook it.

Introduce your spouse/girlfriend/child/friend to an exotic food item that you know they've never tried.

Try a restaurant that you've never been to before.

Step outside your comfort zone and see how much fun exploring the world of food is. Your taste buds will thank you.

2006 Princeton Packet Editorial--Farm markets fill the void of Jersey past

June 16, 2006: Back in the days when New Jersey really was the Garden State, you couldn't drive more than a few miles without coming upon a friendly roadside stand offering corn, tomatoes, blueberries and other fresh produce in abundance. Even today, there are pockets of farmland around the state, particularly in South Jersey, where passers-by can pick up fresh fruits and vegetables straight from the source. In some cases, the roadside stand sits right on the farmland — and customers are encouraged to head out into the fields themselves, baskets in hand, and gather their own bountiful harvest. But here in Central Jersey, much of the farmland that once graced the landscape has given way to suburban sprawl — and what little agriculture is left doesn't readily lend itself to a bustling roadside business. Instead, many of the remaining farms have transformed themselves into boutique businesses, specializing in organic products — which, loosely translated, means they're generally healthier (and more expensive) than what you get in the supermarket. If the days when one could pick up a couple of dozen ears of sweet Jersey corn for a buck are long gone, the opportunity to shop for farm-fresh produce here in the heart of suburbia has, fortunately, come knocking in recent years. First in West Windsor, and then in Montgomery, one of the region's least attractive sights — an idle parking lot — has been turned once a week into a thriving farmers' market, offering a wide array of fresh goods to a steady stream of satisfied customers. The West Windsor Community Farmers' Market began its third year of operation about a month ago. Open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the market is located in the southbound Vaughn Drive parking lot of the Princeton Junction train station off Alexander Road. This year, the West Windsor market features 10 farms selling conventional, organic and specialty Asian vegetables, bedding plants, fruit, fresh-cut flowers, grass-fed beef and pork, eggs, poultry, pot pies and other farmer-produced products. Also available are fresh and locally made breads, pastries, tarts and croissants from an area bakery, as well as hot coffee, cold drinks and sandwiches. The Montgomery Friends Farmers Market opened Thursday. Now in its fourth year of operation, the market is located in the parking lot of the Princeton North Shopping Center, just south of Route 518 on Route 206. It is open from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays, and will run through Oct. 26. The Montgomery market features fresh fruits and vegetables — both organic and conventionally grown — as well as flowers, honey, bread and baked goods, poultry, organic popcorn and sweet and savory pies. The market plans a number of special events throughout the summer, including Kids Celebrate Summer, Red White and Blue Barbecues, special recipe days, special guest days, coupon days and more. These markets do more than turn acres of unsightly asphalt into fertile fields of fresh food. They promote New Jersey agriculture, which helps keep farms in business — which, in turn, helps keep farmland out of the hands of developers. Perhaps more important, they help provide a sense of place, a communal island in a sea of subdivisions, a spot where friends and neighbors can come together — or just bump into each other — and share a few moments in a pleasant outdoor setting. Fast-growing suburban municipalities like West Windsor and Montgomery have too few such places, which is a large part of the reason West Windsor is seeking to redevelop the area around the Princeton Junction train station, and Montgomery has similar designs on the former North Princeton Developmental Center, now known as Skillman Village. But those projects are years away; in the meantime, these seasonal farmers' markets are a welcome enterprise — doing their part, in a small way, toward building a sense of community. And doing so, we might add, most tastefully.

Lunchline Lunchlady