Spot Prawn season is here!
I’m guessing that most people don’t think of fish is having seasons. They do. And one of the most delicious seafoods is in season in British Columbia right now and will last another 6 to 8 weeks.
We’ve built a mobile web app at Foodtree to make it easy to find restaurants serving spot prawns and you can even sign up for alerts from the fishing boats. You can visit via the web here, or via your mobile browser at http://fdtr.me/spotprawnfest
If you’ve made your way down to the dock and now are wondering what to do with them, here are a few quick tips:
1. Spot Prawns harvested “live” should be cooked immediately or have their heads removed as soon as possible. Spot prawns have an enzyme that begins to permeate through the tail and turns the meat mushy. Store the tails in the fridge for up to three days with some ice on them. (change the ice at least daily)
2. While prawns can be grilled, baked, sautéed, boiled or steamed, they only require 1 to 2 minutes cooking time and are done when they just turn pink. Overcooking will toughen the prawns.
Here’s a video demo from Chef Rob Clark of C Restaurant, Nu and Raincity Grill
How seriously do you take the provenance of your food?
On the Run: Transparency and Food Manufacturing
There is evidence that the application of industrial, mechanized, factory scale methods to feed ourselves isn’t working. And now, taking a page from collapsing industries like music, some of these factories would like to begin suing their customers. Hopefully, we will see more of this grasping at straws. I see it as a good sign that the pace of change is accelerating.
Mark Hyman, MD: How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life
“The sustainability of our planet, our health, and our food supply are inextricably linked. The ecology of eating — the importance of what you put on your fork — has never been more critical to our survival as a nation or as a species. The earth will survive our self-destruction. But we may not.”
Mark Hyman, MD: How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life.
- This is why Foodtree exists- to connect consumers, producers and food. We’ve got a long, long way to go, but will empower people and food businesses to participate in a healthy, sustainable food system.
Where the blog posts have gone…
I haven’t been blogging as much here recently. I have a few drafts started and lots of ideas. But not much getting done. I apologize. Part of the story is that Jonny and I have started a video blog called FoodtreeTV.
We are up to 75 episodes as of today- here’s the latest- a visit to Surfing Goat Dairy.
Artisan, Artisahn, tomato, tomatoh- Why language matters more when discussing life and death.
When we started working on the database at Foodtree, we discussed sources and products. Realizing that the word product makes it easy to detach ourselves from food, we now have a “product swear jar.” While I’ll avoid boring you with the linguistic determinism of Jacques Derrida, suffice to say that language matters. Yes, there is a debate about exactly how much meaning is conferred by language alone, but the science is beginning to corroborate the philosophical evidence. There are far too many food and wine businesses marketing themselves as organic, local, artisan, and natural when they really aren’t. For example, “artisan.” Wikipedia describes, “an artisan (from Italian: artigiano) is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, household items, and tools. The term can also be used as an adjective to refer to the craft of hand making food products, such as bread, beverages and cheese.” Take particular note of the word craft when referring to foodstuffs (I do take umbrage with the use of products here). Craft is a skill, especially in practical arts. It is often a trade. It is not a commodity. If you have taken steps towards factory-style methods, industrialization or commodification, your products (yes, products) are not artisan.
I’ll refrain from calling out those of you who engage in marketing b.s. and highlight a few people doing things properly: Nick Schade makes beautiful kayaks; Three artisan winemakers ; and Silvio who makes cheese in the Langhe hills of Piemonte from the breed of autochthonous sheep he raises in his own pastures
We aren’t talking about color specificity or semantic games, but actually how we communicate and understand food. Food is a human requirement. No food=death. While it might seem cute or artistic license or even clever, using language to obfuscate the truth about a basic human necessity is wrong.
And thinking of food as merely a product is the beginning of a great disservice, of commodification, and the loss of our very humanity.
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If you are interested in being a lead developer, please Apply Now
If you are interested in being a lead developer, please Apply Now
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