Is Organic the new Kosher?

Working in the food world, Organics seemingly have taken the place in customers' (that would be anyone who eats!) minds as the ultimate "better for you" foods.  It reminds me of how Quality Assurance really took the food world by storm:  in my mind it began with Kosher.  

Kosher, the fact that food preparation was being observed by an overseer made folks like me believe that it was healthier and safer than other foods, when, in fact, it might not have been.  

Whatever the case, I think that Organics, with strict regulations set by our government seven years ago, have overtaken the nation by storm.  It's funny that in order to qualify for organic certification, a grower/processor/manufacturer must have plenty of cash on hand to foot the hefty bill it'll cost.   Most of us believe that it's "nutty, crunchy hippies" who are making all of this organic stuff, but read a little Michael Pollan and you might just buy into his factory farm concept--corporate America jumping on the bandwagon to make more money.  Is this under the guise of health or pure capitalism?  

I don't have the answers, but I do know that I buy organic produce for my family.  I admit that I buy rBST-free milk, opting to save money.  Yet I buy organic Stonyfield yogurt, so all reasoning just got thrown out the window!

I do draw the line at organic meats simply because my pocketbook isn't quite that deep, unless we're talking Applegate Farms hot dogs.  Hey, if you've simply got to have a hot dog, this is the dog you want.

I'm getting off subject somewhat--tangents everywhere, now let me try to come full circle...Organics as the new Kosher.  Yeah.  There are more regulations governing Organics now than ever before.  The FDA seems to have found its niche of what they could successfully control and regulate.  This is a far cry from the USDC or USDA inspectors' jobs of monitoring;  this requires reams of paperwork and a system of traceability that we hadn't experienced in the food world previously.  Kosher is strict, but it always operated outside of the govermental world.  

Obama is talking about making our food safer.  Well, why not regulate ALL food production the same way that Organics are regulated?  Wouldn't this be a viable starting point?  Let's "Kosher" the food industry one baby step further...

Caulini

There are certain foods that come to mind when you go back to some of your fondest memories.  Foods like cauliflower or brussels sprouts--foods your mom wanted you to finish, but you were too stubborn to, so you sat there until they were cold, colder, coldest.  But flash forward to 2009 and you recreate those unpalatable unpleasantries by roasting them with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  

Now the transformation is complete.  Your childhood is truly behind you and, yes, you have become your mother (you knew it was inevitable, but you were hoping to stave off the ravages of this brittle reality for a bit longer, weren't you?).  So finish your veggies.

To perfectly finish your veggies, it is essential to take your basic ingredients (said veggie in question, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper) and follow a few basic steps:

It begins when you hear the sizzle of the veggie hitting the hot olive oil.  Your senses are awakened with the pungent aroma of garlic.  You're reminded to flip on the exhaust fan lest your kids stream out of their rooms, pinching their noses and whining, "P.U., what stinks!?"

What stinks, indeed?  It's the bloomin' stinkin' rose that stinks and your mouth is watering in anticipation.  Just writing this entry makes me long for some piping hot brussels sprouts, complete with char marks, roasted in a pan on the stovetop with plenty of garlic.  Pardon me while I have a "Calgon, take me away" moment all to myself.

Last week, in the NY Times, there was an entry about roasted cauliflower sandwiches--the subtle crunch and heady roasted flavor described therein made me giddy with excitement.  

Okay, so cauliflower isn't among the top 10 (or even top 100) ingredients in today's culinary [translation:  trendy] environment, but give me a pristine head of cauliflower, a bag of brussels sprouts, a bunch of earthy beets and I'm a happy girl.

Mediterranean Delights

It isn't often that your senses are assaulted by an all-too-familiar feast that simply leaves you reeling.  That was what I experienced the other day when I was cracking open jars of  items in the midst of development--or so I thought.  We twisted open one jar, heard the 'pop' signaling all was safe, plunged our spoons into the opening and let our taste buds go to work.

This was a chunky concoction of roasted cauliflower, tahini, olive oil, herbs and spices.  The al dente texture made for a truly unique culinary experience for the flavor was recognizable as a cross between homemade hummus and baba ghanouj.  Crunchy hummus--what a novel idea.  

The creation of this item came about due to an overabundance of cauliflower.  What do we do with it?  The growers wanted to move it, the price was right, the factory was near humming in anticipation of roasting so many of the white heads, but what is the final product?  Well, when in Turkey, eat as the Turks do--roast it, add olive oil, some herbs and spices and a little tahini to round out the edges.  Voila!  A new item is born.  The adage 'necessity is the mother of invention' rings true yet again.

Once the jars are filled and the pH tested, the product is ready to come to me again for more taste testing.  It passes with flying colors, having developed more of a savory top note.  

We delve into the other jars of samples and are not nearly as elated as we were with the first product.  This first product, this roasted caulflower-tahini thing, what do we call it?  It needs a name; a simple name--none of this flowery, descriptive crap that doesn't mean much.  Cauliflower + tahini = Caulini.

How do you go about marketing something that no one has ever heard of, let alone tasted?  Ah, therein lies the rub, my friends.

This is where sheer luck and a little wit come into play.  You make up a name, somewhat descriptive, but, in reality, a veritable sniglet describing the very things you are tasting, and then tout it about as if everyone and their brother knows what it is.  Pity the poor schmuck who has the audacity to ask the question, "Caulini?  Huh?  What is that?!"

"Gee whiz, you've never heard of Caulini?  What are you, some armchair traveler?  Some poor sap who learns by watching food shows on tv, but has never really experienced the thrill of ordering something crazy off the menu of some new joint that everyone has been raving about?"  Who wants to be ridiculed?  Better to shut your pie hole and breathe in this new word.  Caulini.  

A food so simple, so pure, so tempting.  You'll want to spread it in a pita stuffed with turkey and lettuce, put a huge dollop of it on your antipasti platter, savor it with chick peas and olives with a fresh fig or two on the side, and if you really are daring you'll eat it on its own with a nice glass of vino verde or pinot grigio.  Dig in, there's always more where this came from.