LVC weekend

Eve, Renato, and Dr. Norton: Norton Endowed Book Fund Presentation

Eve had a great trip to PA (June 7 - 10) to receive an award from the Lebanon Valley College Alumni Association for her contributions to her profession, and to also participate in presenting the an endowed book fund to a favorite professor, now retired. My friend/fellow alum Renato and I worked on the project for a few years. Also, appreciated seeing some other old (as in long-time, hey, we are not old!) friends (including Laurie and her new baby, Karen, Greg). We had a good time doing it these last few years, and the weekend was a great time.

See another picture of us presenting the book fund here and other LVC weekend photos:
http://www.lvc.edu/alumni/alwknd07/photos.aspx?bhiw=1259
Eve, Renato, and Dr. Norton: Photo #2.

Know your food: alert, alert, alert!

I heard an NPR story the other day about food that comes in to the US from China. Any food that is even slightly processed has a very high chance of having products from China in it: asorbic acid, garlic granules, various other chemicals used in mass food production.

In light of the recent pet food scare when public authorities assured us it would not turn up in human food, but instead it turned up in pork, shrimp, chicken, farmed fish food and more, this is a very important issue about which we should all get more educated. Read this article, or listen to the archive, and if it does not scare you into buying local and organic, then I don't know what will. But, I wonder if the organic brands out there (Safeway, Whole Food and Wild Oats organic and non-orgnanic brands) also use food products from China. If so, I guess I have to move to the boonies and grow my own food. (I am not joking...!)

My immediate reaction to this story is, I am going to contact various food manufacturers and ask them where their ingredients come from. If they say China or that they do not divulge this information, I will never buy their product again. It is not an issue of trade protection, but a straightfoward issue of food safety. It is also an issue of cultural differences in that Americans assume they are getting food that has been prepared and sourced in a way that is culturally and acceptable to them (and from a cleanliness standpoint). Most of the time, although we are not aware, this is not the case. And, it seems we are eating what I'd surely call non-food products (petroleum, lead, plastics). Even in doses that are "not harmful to humans", I have to say, 1) I don't believe it, and 2) even if true, sorry, but I don't want to eat plastic. Very, very scary.

I am also going to hook up with a local, organic producer of fruits and vegetables who delivers door to door, whatever is in season, on a weekly basis. When it is that easy, we really have no excuse not do it.

I wonder if other cultures (France others in Europe) have these types of problems with their food sources. Probably to some degree, but I don't know if it is this bad (?).

Find the NPR story text and audio file at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10410111

Recipe: Southwest Rub for Grilled Meat

Southwest Rub

2 TBS chili powder
2 TBS packed brown sugar
1 TBS ground cumin
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce OR bottled BBQ sauce
1/4 ts ground red pepper

Combine all ingredients in small bowl. Press rub evenly onto beef. Trun occassionally to avoid burning. Makes about 1/4 cup.

Almond-Lemon Tart

From Denver Post and "Mostly Martha"

Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 cup unsalted butter

Filling:
1 cup almonds or hazelnuts
1/2 cup almond paste
1/2 cup sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:
Place flour, powdered sugar, extract and salt in a food processor. With the motor running, slowly drop in the butter about 1 TBS at a time. Process until a ball of dough forms on top of the bade. Remove from the processor and press into a greased 12-inch removable bottom flan pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven just until the crust sets, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Place almonds, almond paste and sugar in a food processor and process to grind the nuts. Stop the machine and add juice, zest, eggs, cream and extract. Process to blend well. Pour in the cooled crust and place ni a 350-degree oven.

Bake 20-25 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting and removing a knife - if it comes out clean, the filling is done. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.