May 23rd, 2009 Newsletter
Bardstown Road Farmers Market Newsletter
Sarah’s Corner
From our friend Sarah Fritschner
As hairs between organic, local, and sustainable continue to be split, consumers succumb to confusion (and guilt trips) about what and what not to eat.
“No matter how carefully I avoided using the word ‘organic’ when I spoke to groups of food enthusiasts about how to eat better,” Mark Bittman wrote in the New York Times, “someone in the audience would inevitably ask, ‘What if I can’t afford to buy organic food?’ ”
Bittman and others continue to press the importance of locally-grown food over organic. For many of us, diverting our eating habits from “normal” American culture is the bigger issue. There are many hurdles between a Big Mac and a with grassfed beef patty between buns made of organic wheat and topped with a slice of organic tomato and a few shreds of organic lettuce, spread with safflower-based organic mayonnaise and ketchup made without high-fructose corn syrup.
The aforementioned expense is one. But there are many others, including eating out (at restaurants or in other homes) and eating for health – if I’m trying to eat five fruits and vegetables a day in February, I will look to Chilean grapes way more than I reach for a stored rutabaga. So sue me.
Making good choices about what we eat, like all of life, is as much about the journey as the destination. You’re not going to peel the American cheese off a hamburger served by your future mother-in-law (if you’ve been raised right) and you’re not going to hell if you buy a green pepper in January. I hope.
The point is we do what we can do, buy in season when we can, write the occasional email to our representatives and keep learning. When the food in season tastes great, so much the better. Hooray for berry season.
Kentucky panna cotta
This is Kentucky panna cotta because we like our strawberries sweetened with sugar. If you want to make the Italian version, add a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a few grindings of black pepper to the strawberries. Very Continental.
1 package unflavored gelatin (1 scant tablespoon)
¾ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
16 ounces sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberry sauce:
2 cups strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
Sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup cold water and set aside to soften for 5 minutes.
In a saucepan, combine sugar, heavy cream and gelatin. Stir over medium heat to dissolve gelatin and sugar. Remove from heat and cool to warm. Add sour cream and stir until no lumps remain. Stir in vanilla.
Spray a 2-quart mold or bowl with cooking spray (or line it with plastic wrap). Pour cream into mold and chill. When ready to serve, dip the mold into warm water for 10 seconds, cover the mold with a plate, then turn the whole thing over. Give a gentle shake if you have to until the panna cotta drops onto the plate. Serve slice of cream with pools of strawberry sauce. Serves 8.
Strawberry sauce: Cut strawberries into small pieces and place in a non-reactive container (plastic, glass etc.). Add sugar and allow to stand at least 20 minutes. Stir to dissolve sugar.