Photo: Images_of_Money/Flickr

Beef is as American as apple pie.

So, in essence, argues Alex Loud below. But high-quality beef is not a dinner — or a school lunch — option for many Americans due to price. This leads us to the crux of the issue behind the so-called “pink slime” controversy.

In my last post I alluded briefly to the battle over Pink Slime (or “LFTB” for Lean Finely Textured Beef, if you’re inclined to be precise). I want to say a bit more about it now. The debate over the stuff — if you can call it a debate — has in the last few months taken on that farcical you-couldn’t-make-this-crap-up quality that typifies much of our public discourse these days.

By way of a recap, the anti-Slime movement began with a call from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to label LFTB as an ingredient in foods (it’s currently considered ground beef). From this, the Pink Slime story was picked up by the blogosphere, which then gave way to the involvement of the network news shows. It’s at this point — perhaps not surprisingly — that everything went batsh*t crazy.

In less than two months we’ve seen competing websites, news stories, experts, scientists, government officials and celebrities all spouting wildly divergent views. LFTB maker AFA has filed for bankruptcy while the company that invented the stuff, Beef Products Inc., has shuttered three plants, laying off thousands of workers. The Governor of Iowa has even demanded a Congressional investigation into the slandering of the Slime (not into the safety or nutritional content of LFTB, mind you, but who’s been saying mean things about it). More…

Photo: Elizabeth Hathaway

As all of us website-surfing, blog-reading, iPhone users know that, in this digital age, it is almost too easy to stay in touch with Mom. Since I moved to New York City six months ago, not a day has gone by when my mom and I have failed to exchange text messages, emails or a quick phone call.

But this does not starve off homesickness. I’m grateful I can call my mom when I’m standing in a crowded Trader Joes on Monday night and ask her what to buy. But then she’ll tell me she’s in the middle of taking salmon off the grill or putting a chicken in the oven, and I’ll wish I was back home at the kitchen table. People say you can find anything you’ve ever wanted or needed in New York City, but I can’t find my mom’s cooking.

So, on this beautiful sunny weekend, with summer right around the corner, I felt a pang when I checked my email and saw a picture sent from my Mom of one of our oldest family recipes: Rhode Island Clam Chowder. The newspaper article shown above, published in May of 1965 in the New Haven Register, features my Grandmother talking about her family tradition of making clam chowder based on of her own mother’s recipe.

Both of my grandparents grew up on the island of Jamestown, RI, where they had to take a ferry to school everyday. More…

Photo: clevercupcakes/Flickr

In honor of Mother’s Day, our neighbors at Here & Now asked listeners to share recipes that have been handed down over the generations. The response was overwhelming.

Here’s to our moms, the world over. Happy Mother’s Day!

Photo: ketrin1407/Flickr

LOCAL BITES

Tea, Anyone?
Well, not just anyone. Your mom, perhaps, in honor of Mother’s Day? Show you’re thinking ahead: Thursday, June 7, a proper Afternoon Tea will be served on vintage china at the Commander’s Mansion, Watertown, complete with imported clotted cream and jam. Tea will be followed by a book reading/ signing with local author Katrina Avila Munichiello, author of A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time. Hats are encouraged, but not required. Guests to be welcomed by the Gilded Harps. Tickets $24/pp.

New Couple in Town
On May 15, Finale Desserts will host a Craft Beer Tasting at the Park Plaza Hotel, featuring a selection of beers paired with seasonal desserts. Bryan Green, representative from the Great Brewers Guild, will discuss the variety of beers and how they pair with each dessert created by Executive Pastry Chef Nicole Coady. Here’s one pairing, to whet your appetite: Duvel Golden Ale with Fresh Fruit Tart. Tickets: $19.99/pp. To make a reservation, call 617.623.3233.

A Watershed Moment
Whole Foods continues with “Do Something Reel,” a monthly series of provocative documentaries about food and environmental issues. “The Apple Pushers” inaugurated the series in April. This month’s film is Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West, directed by Mark Decena, narrated by Robert Redford and produced by his son, James Redford. Watershed is available for viewing at the festival’s website and on Whole Foods’ Facebook page. $5.99/viewing through the end of May. More…

Photo: uhltank/Flickr

On this day in…

1886
Coca-Cola is first sold to the public at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, GA.

(© 2011 Michael V. Hynes)

The Backstory

Perhaps this fact is less surprising than it appears on the face of it, but the history of Coca-Cola, the beverage, intersects with the history of Prohibition and that of soda fountains. But this needs explaining. More…

Formalities aside (photo: Luigi Crespo Photography/Flickr)

Ever since the presidency of John F. Kennedy, America has gotten glimpses of life at the White House for a First Family with kids. Caroline and John Kennedy, Jr. were super young and left abruptly, as we well know. Amy Carter came with her parents to Pennsylvania Avenue a decade later, followed by Chelsea Clinton a decade after that. With the Obama daughters Malia and Sasha, we’re back again with a First Family in residence at the White House.

There’s extraordinary privilege involved for the children of our presidents, but undeniable challenges as well — not simply for them, but also for the President and First Lady as they define together what family life will be like in that very particular setting.

Below, PRK contributor Anne Fishel speaks with reporter Jodi Kantor of the NY Times about the Obamas’ commitment to a perfunctory but increasingly challenging activity for many American families – eating dinner together. More…

Photo: ktylerconk/Flickr

Food news at WBUR touched on some controversial issues today.

Tom Ashbrook of On Point hosted an hour-long conversation about the future of food with Josh Schonwald, a journalist, indoor aquaponic farmer in Chicago, and author of The Taste of Tomorrow: Dispatches From the Future of Food.

Schonwald’s main thrust is that science shouldn’t be considered a ‘dirty’ word when applied to food production, especially if we plan on adequately feeding the 9 billion mouths (estimated) that will eventually grace our planet. We’ll need a changed palate and a changed attitude towards food — especially as it relates to genetically-modifed agriculture.

Is this alarmist? Is this necessary, even — meaning, will we need to enhance our food with nutrients in order to ensure enough nutrition for everyone? Listen to the conversation here.

Next up, Robin Young of Here & Now spoke with Gene Logsdon, long-time farmer and author of Holy **: Managing Manure to Save Mankind. As unpalatable as it may sound to some, Logsdon reminds us that the pitchfork-wielding farmer takes animal waste and turns it into the food that sustains us. That virtuous cycle — grazing animals and letting them fertilize the land for more crops — makes manure our greatest and most misunderstood natural resource. Finding ways to turn all our waste into fertilizer is crucial to our survival, Logsdon argues, and he sees a future when companies might actually pick up refuse from homes and sell it to farmers. Listen to the interview here.

Less controversial than enthralling, oyster farms in Duxbury, MA, pump out fabulous-tasting, environmentally-friendly bivalves. Radio Boston co-host Meghna Chakrabarti visits Island Creek Oysters with chef Andy Husbands of Tremont 647 in the latest installment of the show’s “Farm to Fork” series.

Photo: SheriW/Flickr

LOCAL BITES

A Mother’s Day Tea
Starting with a selection of recipes from Barre, MA, that date from the turn of the last century, the ONCE kitchen kids are going to recreate a classic afternoon tea. This means cakes, cookies, sherbet, tisanes and finger sandwiches – of course! – all served on Mother’s Day, May 13, 4-6pm at Naga in Cambridge. Tickets are $45/person for treats, beverages and a hand letter-pressed card on which to create your personal culinary heirloom to share with a loved one far away.

A Quiet Brunch, Kids in Tow
Aura Restaurant at the Seaport Hotel, which specializes in elegant dining for moms and dads with structured activities for the waynes, has it in spades this Mother’s Day if brunch (11-3pm) is what you’re after. The Kids Place 4 Fun will help kids of all ages make special Mother’s Day crafts, and Jewelry by Karel will be on site if more gifts are needed. Tickets are $55/adult; kids under 12 eat for free. To reserve call 617.385.4300, or go to OpenTable.com. Read the details and menu here.

Food Hugs
The tagline of Eat Boutique is “Food That Hugs You Back.” For Mother’s Day, they’ve got a box of handmade goodies that your mom savor in her own sweet time, hand-written card, included. Here’s a hug, Mom! More…

Photo: GranniesKitchen/Flickr

On this day in…

1885
Good Housekeeping begins publication.

(© 2011 Michael V. Hynes)

The Backstory
We in New England can proudly claim Good Housekeeping, that icon of a women’s interests magazine, as our own. The magazine was founded May 2, 1885, by Clark W. Bryan in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

In 1910, the headquarters of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) formally opened. This included the Model Kitchen, the Domestic Science Laboratory and the Testing Station for Household Devices, where those products vying for the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (with its 2-year limited warranty) met their glory or their doom. More…

Photo: CraftSuds/Flickr

From our neighbors at Here & Now, today we hear that American beer drinkers are turning more and more to craft beers.

Been to your local liquor store lately? Have you seen the assortment of beer available? According to the Brewers Association, Americans’ consumption of beer actually  dropped a little more than a percent last year. But you wouldn’t know that looking at all the choices.

Turns out that while Americans may be drinking less beer, in general, they are drinking more beer from small, independent brewers. There are now more than 2,000 in the country, and they employ more than 100,000 people. Retail sales were up 15%. This week beer makers from across the country are gathering in San Diego for the annual Craft Brewers Conference, and to get ready for American Craft Beer Week later this month.

Julia Herz, craft beer program director at the Brewers Association and a certified cicerone, tells Here & Now host Robin Young:

There are now more than 140 beer styles and 13,000 plus beer labels in the marketplace. I think you’ve got a localization in our culture going on, people getting back to being more informed about what they consume and enjoy. Look on the restaurant level, the same thing is happening with beer. And supporting your local brewery is becoming very important to many beer lovers.

Listen to the report with guest Julia Herz, craft beer program director at the Brewers Association.