A quick web search revealed that my initial impression is widely shared: it's a Top Chef knockoff. But it also has elements of Iron Chef, especially the mystery ingredients and Ted Allen's ultra serious demeanor and body language.
I thought the quality of the cooking didn't seem quite as high as on Top Chef, in fact, there was something about every dish in every round that could potentially have gotten someone sent home on the other show. But I really appreciated the lack of shameless product placement, even to the point that every ingredient was repackaged with a generic looking label. I wondered why they'd set it up that way, and discovered on Ted Allen's blog that it was a deliberate attempt to position themselves as different from Top Chef in that respect. Good move, guys.
The book seems to be targeted towards people who are unfamiliar with sustainable food issues. It offers an excellent, persuasive introduction, with plenty of practical information, suggestions and recipes.
As an omnivore who's trying to convince folks to eat less meat, I appreciated the book's focus on the importance of reducing meat consumption, for personal and planetary health. Bittman clearly loves meat, but he doesn't need to eat it for every meal, or even every day, and that makes him an ideal messenger.
I was curious, so I checked it out. It was pretty much what you'd expect: experts reassuring us that corn syrup is perfectly natural, doesn't cause obesity, and that it's no worse for us than table sugar.
If there's any truth to these assertions, are there still good reasons to avoid corn syrup? For me its cheapness makes it suspect. Having a highly refined sweetener available so inexpensively offers manufacturers a reason to overuse it, and that's going to cause health issues for folks who eat a lot of processed food, even if they're eating something that our bodies assimilate in much the same way as table sugar.
And yet I found it encouraging that corn syrup manufacturers are being forced to run commercials trying to dispel these "myths" about its unhealthfulness. Sounds like the word is actually getting out there.
This is my second winter vending at the University District Farmers' Market. Even though it's probably the busiest market in the city over the summer, it's got some catching up to do over the winter. Then again, this is only their fourth year staying open during the winter, and it takes time to get folks into the habit of turning out in the rain, especially when there's so much less to choose from than there is over the summer.
The fortunate side of this for me is that the market administrators are allowing hot, prepared food over the winter, while they never have and never will allow it over the summer. It's partly a space issue, but it's also because they're concerned that some of the restauranteurs on the street may feel like we're competing with them. In any case, we certainly make it a livelier winter market. Folks stay longer when they can get something to eat.
I just received a copy of the updated version of my first cookbook, "The Accidental Vegan". The first edition was published by Crossing Press, a small, independent publisher in California. A few years ago they were bought by Ten Speed Press, a larger independent company with wider distribution.
An editor called me nearly a year ago and said they'd been looking over their list for titles that had value but weren't selling quite as well as they should, in other words, books that would be good candidates for updated editions. I said I'd love to rework it. We gave it a new introduction, and meticulously updated the recipes to make them more user friendly. We also added about twenty new recipes.
When I wrote the first edition I'd alluded to the fact that I'm not a vegan myself, but I didn't address the issue head on. A number of the reviews on Amazon questioned my credentials as the author of a vegan cookbook, in light of my personal dietary choices. When it came time to write the introduction to the new addition, I decided I might as well come right out with it. There are many good reasons for all of us to eat vegan meals, whether frequently or occasionally, and there are many good reasons for an omnivore to write a vegan cookbook.
It was nice to get the check. It's always nice to get a check. But it was especially exciting to hear that the organization as a whole had done so well last year in spite of the lousy economy. I knew I'd had a good year and the markets seemed reasonably busy, but it's encouraging to know that all in all folks have continued to be willing to support these hardworking vendors.
