No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is a key. THAT is a Gummy Bear from World’s Largest Gummy Bears. And it’s local in Raleigh, NC.

No trip to Carolina Beach would be complete without a trip (or two…or three) to the famous Britt’s Donut Shop where the same glazed donuts have been made for over 70 years. One of the top donut shops in the country, these melt in your mouth in a way that should be illegal.

My friend Philippe made his famous Shrimp Provencale with jumbo shrimp caught off a captain’s boat that morning. Yet throughout this relaxing, wonderful trip, I kept thinking about meat.

Here, you may pause. Beach, sand, shrimp…meat? What am I talking about?

Some of you may recall my ongoing dilemma about meat. While Zomppa Tsering has been supportive about my potential in becoming a vegetarian, I am still an omnivore. I have read about CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) and factory farms and have watched videos like MeetYourMeat. (warning: video is graphic).

Julia Whitty of Mother Jones reports that global meat production is expected to double over the next four decades, with negative impact on air and water pollution, diseases, and pathogens. Leslie Hatfield of EcoCentric wrote a great article comparing CAFOs with sustainable pork practices.

So in lieu of meat, I have recently been trying more soy-based products (I am allergic to some soy). But even eating some of these products make me nervous.

• Does soy have long-term negative effects? Andreas Moritz reports that soy – especially those from genetically modified plants – can increase risk of cancers and thyroid disorders among other issues.
• Are veggie burgers really better than meat? The Cornucopia Institute has reported that most non-organic veggie burgers contain hexane, an air pollutant and neurotoxin.
• Is it false advertising to suggest soy milk has the same nutrients as regular milk? The National Milk Producers Federation says no.

But I haven’t been content with only soy-based products. I still craved meat – but was it OK for me to eat it? A couple weeks ago, I finished the book, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, which reminded me that while I eat animals, I had never watched an animal being slaughtered for my consumption. So on the Friday before I went to the beach, I visited the Homestead Harvest Farm in Wake Forest, NC. Owned and operated by the extraordinary Jan Campbell, her Animal Welfare-approved farm is a place where her chickens, ducks, and turkeys roam freely, behaving as animals do, and maturing naturally as animals should. When it came time for the processing, I observed how Jan gently stroked each chicken and talked to it through the entire process to keep it calm. The process is quick and thoughtful, and done with extreme care. She honors each life.

It was with this experience that I found myself sitting on the beach, contemplating my dilemma. Folks like Jan Campbell and farms like Homestead are as far away from CAFOs as you can get. If more people treated animals the way Jan Campbell does, our meat would be more humanely raised, healthy, and delicious.

Why do factory farms exist then? So many questions, not enough answers.

As I debated with myself about my consumption of animals one early morning on the beach, I saw a rather unusual sight.

A crab eating a jellyfish. The cycle of life and death continues.

A cycle we should honor.

]]> http://www.zomppa.com/2010/07/28/contemplating-meat-on-a-nc-beach/feed/ 5 http://www.zomppa.com/2010/07/21/photo-of-the-day-start-young/ http://www.zomppa.com/2010/07/21/photo-of-the-day-start-young/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:24:17 +0000 Belinda http://www.zomppa.com/?p=6236

An old cookbook recovered from my parents’ home.

I’ve never really been one to eat very well.  Vegetables are only recently making an appearance in my diet as I discover the beauty of sauteed zucchini and summer squash with red onions, wild mushrooms and a whole lot of garlic (thanks Mom!).  Ever since working at Jaleo I’ve had an affinity for sauteed spinach with apples, raisins and pine nuts.  And I am proud to say that my son (2 years old in a week) loves vegetables, could eat them all day!  That must have skipped a maternal generation because my mother is the only person he could have gotten that from.  My daughter, on the other hand, is a different story all together.  Luckily (or maybe not) she succumbs to peer pressure and will eat well if other kids are eating well.  Hhhmmm…could we replicate that?  We could start a revolution based on peer pressure to do good things instead of bad…hhmm!???  But despite my new found love affair (ok slight exaggeration) with vegetables I still need my ICE CREAM fix on a pretty regular basis.  Maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to quite shed my 2nd baby weight…one day!  So to all you mom’s out there, and dad’s too, go ahead and have ICE CREAM for dinner whenever you want.  I won’t tell:)!

Is there something in the water?

Maybe, but not everyone is swayed or convinced of its baby making power.

Most people agree that humans were built with certain ‘hardware,’ allowing us to make more humans.   But what about the ‘software’?  Specifically, the sub-conscious layer of thinking  – that loudly obnoxious, or for some, muffled banging called Biological Clock?

A very good girlfriend recently suggested that she experiences no such ‘clanging.’ – that this so-called biological clock never turned itself on in her.  In addition, she expressed very little concern about her body (or mind’s) ability to turn the clock on OR when it might do so.

Does this make my friend a human anomaly?  Did my friend sub-consciously, yet vehemently reject the societal pressures for women her age to have babies and subsequently silenced (or broke) her biological clock?  Why does she possess the ‘hardware’ but not the ‘software’?  And why do some women possess the ‘software,’ but lack the ‘hardware’?  Is my friend-sans-biological-clock somehow liberated in a way that women who want children (and all the good, bad and ugly that can come with it) are not?   Can she be liberated from something she has never wanted?

It is unclear and I am no closer to answering these questions than I was before I started this metaphysical, biological and hypothetical debate in my head.  However, my friend’s situation continues to interest me greatly, most likely because I think I might have drank too much of the ‘baby making’ water.  My own biological clock has and continues to be quite clamorous…almost deafening.  Even after two children.  It is L-O-U-D…like the sound of a sustained blow horn.  Curious thing, really.  Should I try ignoring it?  Give in to it?

For the time being, I’ll concentrate on eating these super delicious and simple-to-make eclairs.  Eclairs don’t make my head hurt.

This recipe comes, straight up, from the food network website.  Thanks Gale Gand!

Peace out, cupcakes. Peace out, macaroons. Peace out, whoopie pies.

The next big trend: alfajores, traditional cookies found in Peru and other South American countries. These are made by Mistti, an up-and-coming Latino-owned and -inspired gourmet bakery, laced with dulce de leche, chocolate, pecans…amazing doesn’t begin to describe them.

Fresh Corn Chowder

Serves about 6

1. Stand corn on end. Using chef’s knife, cut kernels from 4 ears corn (you should have about 3 cups); transfer to medium bowl and set aside. Grate kernels from remaining 6 ears on large holes of box grater, then firmly scrape any pulp remaining on cobs with back of knife (you should have 2 generous cups kernels and pulp). Transfer to separate bowl and set aside.

2. Sauté all of the pancetta in Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, turning with tongs and pressing down on pieces to render fat, until cubes are crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the pancetta to a paper-towel lined plate. Reduce heat to low, stir in butter and onions, cover pot, and cook until softened, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add stock. Add potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, milk, grated corn and pulp; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add reserved corn kernels and heavy cream and return to simmer; simmer until corn kernels are tender yet still slightly crunchy, about 5 minutes longer. Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper to taste and top with reserved pancetta. Serve immediately.

This lovely doughnut muffin – yes, doughnut and muffin – from a Durham bakery, Scratch. They started out at the Durham Farmer’s Market and now have a great little shop on a pedestrian street. These are so rich and lovely. You don’t need lunch!

Hummingbird joy.

As a mom of a child with food allergies, holidays (and quite frankly, most celebratory and social events) also trigger a certain level (although over time this level of anxiety has diminished) of anxiety.  Whether it is a July 4 BBQ or a birthday party, I am constantly faced with the challenge of preparing wheat-free, egg-free, nut-free and most everything-else free cakes, brownies, cookies and cupcakes.

Many times I will call the host and ask “So, have you decided on what you plan to offer as a treat for the kids?”  Other times, I make a guess as to what to bring.   I would like to think that besides being driven by my child’s well-being and safety, I also am driven by the idea of helping my child and other children understand more about food allergies, acknowledge their differences and accept them.  As I prepared treats for a BBQ this weekend, I realized that I also just want my child to fit-in.  Unlike the maestro of the Boston Pops, my goal is to help orchestrate a non-event.  From BBQ chicken (having pulled the host aside to ask about each ingredient in the rub) to the cupcakes, I want my child’s transitions to be seamless.

During the last several years, I have tried quite a number of approaches:

(1) “Match Treat” approach – I would call up the host to find out what the treat is and even what color is the frosting. The goal? Typically is to prepare a slice of cake that perfectly matches the main dessert.

(2) “Reasoned Treat” approach -  I usually don’t call the host in advance for a copy of the menu.  Instead, I just make assumptions.  For example, if it is a birthday party, there is a greater likelihood that the main treat will be a cake rather than cookies.  The challenging aspect about this approach is the unpredictability.  I attended a couple of birthday parties armed with vanilla frosting and food coloring in case I had to “mix-to-match” on the spot.

(3)  “Kid-a-li-cious Treats” approach – Instead of baking a piece of cake for just my son, I make treats that all little ones can enjoy.  Although not effective at a birthday party (picture the scenario: Hi, I prepared a cake for your little one’s birthday party just so my kid and your kids can enjoy the same treat), it is a wonderful approach for every other event.

Which one are you? Over the years, I have come to lean more towards the “kid-a-li-cious” approach because it helps with that seamless transition.  Most importantly, the “kid-a-li-cious” approach has a certain flexibility built-in where you  no longer have to uncover the main treat in advance.  Instead, I prepare whatever I like with the idea that my kid and other children will enjoy it!

This July 4 weekend, I prepared butterfly-shaped and ice-cream cone shaped cupcakes using my Nordic cast iron pans.  Unlike the other talented  and lovely contributors to Zomppa who prepare exquisite baked goods from scratch, I am more of a cake mix “plus” type.  You should check out Gluten-free Goddess for awesome recipes from scratch!  I found a cake-mix that is easy to make and very tasty.  In addition, I often will add pure maple syrup, brown sugar, tapioca flour and a touch of fruit juice (i.e., apples or peaches) to the ingredients.

The cupcakes are excellent 90% of the time.  They are fluffy and light – slowly melting in your mouth.  The remaining 10% are less predictable…well, the cupcakes taste more like mini french baguettes (I think it is the tapioca flour – too much of it gives it a gummy consistency!)

Well, regardless of whether your approach is the  “Match Treats”, “Reasoned” or “Kid-a-li-cious”,  I salute you because of your efforts (however tiresome) to normalize your child’s experience and bring that child happiness.  My son’s eyes light up every time I tell him we are going to prepare treats for his friends.  He wants his friends to love his mommy’s cupcakes….I mean, is there a kid who does not share this desire?

At the BBQ this weekend, my butterfly cupcakes were gaily displayed for curious little fingers to capture.  I can’t tell you if the kids ate them or not, but I can tell you that my little guy didn’t even notice…he just seemed content that he can bring something special to the party!

Happy July 4!