Hey Y'all.
Brace yourself for the end of foodie-ism. could it really be true?
The rise and fall of the fat bastard is coming to a strip mall near you!
This economy will sort out the players from the payers...we hope.
To be continued...

Been a long Tie, been a along Tine, Been a long tim, Been a long ti.

I am just getting restarted after a long winter, spring and summer of weirdness, political angst, economic anxiety, social frustration and general wudufu ism.
No a lot of clarity for blogging--but the mountain air has done its work!

I just finished a beautiful LONG hike around the trails at Mohonk with my beautiful SHORT wife. Have you ever done it?
It was my first time---just like the NYer who has never been to Statue of Liberty or the LA er that has never been to a 'ollywoood studio, I am a Hudson Valley resident for 16 years and I have never DONE Mohonk, until today. I have been here as a guest chef a nd for a few fundraisers, but i have never DONE it as a tourist.
Do it. It is a real treat.
Their website doesn't do this place justice.
Til later.

Take it Easy and
Enjoy a Clean Food Lifestyle
Presented to Ulster County Mental Heath Associates
Ric Orlando 4/2007

I have cooked a million meals and after the first 500,000 I noticed that there was more to making food than just skill and technique. There is sensibility and conscience. I want to share that with you. My mission is to get you to love to cook---to get you to use your hands and to connect---to get you to think about that connection between your mind and your soul and your body and your food and the world around you.
You know we have developed a pretty hectic life-style these days and the comment I get the most often when I speak publicly is "I'm in too much of a hurry to cook" and "What do you have that's quick and even I can make?" and "Can you show me some of your professional shortcuts?"---frankly, what I'm going to tell you is more therapy than cooking secrets.
Cooking is not where you should be cutting corners. I figured this out all by myself because running a restaurant and cheffing with three school aged kids and a loving wife in law school is pretty complex, too.
When I ask people what the rush is---why do you need to have a meal started, cooked, eaten, over and done within a half hour I'm told the same story----"I get home from work, and I'm too tired to cook so we have something quick and then I veg out and watch some TV until I crash."
Let me tell you a story that most of you must already know though sometimes it is good to hear it from somebody else! I too have a TV and I turn it on occasionally, usually late. I have something like 400 channels---and on these 400 channels, 390 of them are showing incredibly stressful material.
When I lay in bed and flip through the electronic guide I find murder, mayhem, revenge, more murder, rape, controversy, horrible news, bad mannered pundits interrupting each other, disinformation, lies, deceit , conceit, propaganda, and more depressing violence. The amount of stress inducing programming on television is so out of whack with reality that the idea of rushing through an unhealthy chemical laden supper just to "veg out" to the content of 21st century television is so far from relaxing--it is inconceivable!
As a health oriented chef I am often asked questions like "What can I do about my blood pressure?"---"What am I doing wrong, what should I be eating?" Well, there is a simple answer. If you are choking down processed food just so that you can get stressed out by a triple homicide adventure show---I needn't go any further---you know the answer already, don't you? Do you need a picture? Prioritize, baby!
Let's start again. Let's say you got home at 6 and you were done with dinner by 6:45 because you microwaved some processed--but low-fat---counterfeit food and then you plunked in front of the television until you became comatose ---you are never winding down. There is no chance to let the day go. You are never connecting to your physical and sensual world. You need to play with your food sometime during the day! If you are not giving yourself the opportunity to use your senses of touch, taste and smell, you are missing a great ingredient of your life. Reestablishing that part of your life to create simple but wholesome food will help you to relax. It will bring you down to earth. Doing it as a hobby ---a little gardening a few weekends a year, a dozen dinner parties a year is nice, but a daily escape is better. My prescription for peace of mind is to spend some time in the kitchen every day
Try to actually make dinner at least 4 days a week--- where you hunt and gather---actually shop for ingredients to prepare a meal and then sit and relax and enjoy it with someone who you can speak with. When you prepare the meal by touching--- cutting the vegetables, washing the fish, trimming the meat, feeling your hands in the grains ---you are getting in touch. The more you use your hands, the more whole you become and the more whole the feeling you have for eating and cooking becomes. Then instead of saying that you are in too much of a rush to cook because you want to watch TV and chill, that evening melts away into a relaxing pleasure. When you get home, put on some music. No commercials, no news. You are going to miss anything real. Once a day is enough news for anyone--and now with these news update tickers on the bottom of the screen, we are hypnotized! Give it a rest. And skip the ads, please. They're just there to make you feel inadequate anyway, so give 'em a break, too.
So where were we?---oh yes, you've put on some music and you have laid out some ingredients---now spend a half an hour making a fresh meal. Maybe your kids or partner can help. Take your time---be a European--- and don't plan on eating until 7:30 or 8 pm. Now, when you eat, linger for an hour and digest. Talk about things, not just the bad things but the amusing things too. Then by 9 or 9:30 if you are ready to turn on the tube, you've already unwound. Wait 'til you see how absurd that channel guide looks like once you have let some of the sap out of your spine. This really is the ultimate therapy. Using your hands and your soul and your mind to create sustenance takes such an edge off of life. The nutritional advantage of making your own food is crucial also. When you combine fresher and cleaner meals, made from scratch with patience and meditation during the preparation and the eating of the meal, all of your life improves. Now try it--a little wine, a little dinner---it is not unreasonable--that is the healthy choice---it is a worthy life-style choice.
Cooking is like therapy---it's like taking a bath!




Some basic tips to help you lead a CLEAN FOD lifestyle.

1. READ INGREDIENT LABELS!
2. Avoid the following like the plague---high fructose corn syrup AND hydrogenated oils.
3. Avoid buying anything with more than 6 ingredients.
4. Understand that you get what you pay for. A 11.95 prime rib diner is not going to be “Clean Food”
5. Don’t eat food from places that sell gasoline. Need I say more…
6. Don’t buy food from machines. The exceptions are PURE chocolate bars—plain or with almonds, PURE nuts, salted or not or simple, unflavored potato chips.
7. Get off of “meal” bars. Eat an apple instead. Get it?
8. Keep a water or unsweetened ice tea and bag of sunflower seeds, almonds or good quality trail mix in the car to avoid being tempted by the drive thru.
9. Don’t drink soda—ever.
10. Make your own iced and hot teas. Explore the huge array of teas available at the health food store. Teas like Rooibus, Ginko, Mate and Green are cheap and great for you! Bring your own tea bags around in your purse. Make a pitcher and fill a water bottle with it to keep it your desk.
11. Try healthy sweeteners if you need to sweeten your food. Agave syrup, honey and stevia are all great alternatives to the chemical sweeteners on the market. Also, unstripped Turbinado sugar is also readily available now.
12. Make food at home and bring it to work. Italian tuna packed in oil, homemade chicken salad, Brown rice salad and leftover steak wraps will make your co- workers jealous! Reuse the plastic conatiners your Chinese food take out came in!
13. Cook and Eat clear soups and broths. They slim you and when home made, are super healthy.
14. Try to eat a salad a day. Skip the gloppy dressing and use oil and vinegar or lemon. 95% of prepared dressings have high fructose corn syrup in them.
15. Avoid all cheap fried foods. They are almost always full of hydrogenated fats. Many breadings actaully have the hydrog built right in!
16. Avoid Cheap Egg Sandwiches, Home Fries and Diner eggs. They are almost always cooked in hydrogenated oils. Ask a cook what the cook their eegs in---Kaola Gold, Mefry?---hmm--This stuff is like semi melted crisco---it's gross!!!Remember the “you get what you pay for” rule!
17. Don’t over do the grains. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing! Get at least 66% of your carbs from fresh fruit and vegetables and you’ll feel a lot better. Fruits and vegetables are water soluble and help to cleanse your body!
18. It sounds cliché, but try eating raw vegetable sticks-without dips --while at your desk.
19. We all have stress response and need to feed it. Don't restrain yourself---Retrain yourself! When stressed, drink herb tea, eat raw veggies or chew on a cinnamon stick. This will keep you from devouring junk food, soda and cigarettes.
20. Don’t stress over what NOT TO eat. Think wisely and clearly about what TO eat!
21. Don’t buy all of your groceries at once!
Keep and exciting pantry of dry goods; oils, vinegars, organic stocks and broths, grains and condiments on hand. Purchase your meat/fish and veggies daily. Keep them fresh and buy only what you need. Make it part of the hunter ritual! When you frequent the same loca laces, they actually learn your name and take care of you.
22. Eat what is in season. So you love roasted corn and tomato salsa. But it is January and the tomatoes are like tennis balls and the corn is non existent. Go online and find a recipe for polenta with sundried tomatoes. Use common sense, In Europe, eating seasonally is the norm. Get excited about the first local asparagus! Shop locally to get a feel for what is really in season.
23. Avoid food in fancy packages.Aside from oils, vinegars, canned tomatoes and condiments, I can’t think of anything else that is good food that comes in a package. Packaging food usually means preserving it!
Meats, Fish, Vegetables, Fruits and Grains are all “bulk” items!
24. Enjoy the process! Most of all remember---you want CLEAN FOOD!
Ric Orlando

Since so many of you have asked, here is my take on the Trans Fat ban in NYC Restaurants.

The current movement to ban Trans fat in New York City is a huge victory for the general public. Though I fully support a trans fat ban and hope they are banned world wide, I disagree with the legislation designed to punish the small fry--- restaurants and cafes, for the misdeeds of the big fish. This is just the tip of the iceberg. If trans fats are to be eliminated from all foods as I believe they should, a composite approach is needed.

According to one estimate, up to 40% of the items in an American supermarket contain trans fats. In restaurants, the number of items that contain trans fats is also very high. I am sure most of us have eaten trans fat numerous times in the last week. Some of the culprits are prebreaded foods, fried foods, doughnuts, processed cheeses, butter substitutes, fryer oil, griddle oil, frosting, muffins (even “healthy” ones), scones, breads, desserts, ice creams, pies, tarts, wraps, salad dressings, tortillas, rolls, imitation cheese (that runny orange stuff served on “nachos”), puff pastry, cannoli shells---the list goes on! How did you fare? If you eat out, I’ll bet you have a little trans fat almost everyday as does most of America. This is because the hydrogenated vegetable fats which provide most dietary trans fat are a mainstay of the food industry - a cheap bulking agent perfect for churning out inexpensive processed products, with a long shelf life and a luxurious 'mouth feel'. Trans fat (and high fructose corn syrup, check these pages in 3 or 4 years for they are the next to go) is the processed food behind processed foods.

Most restaurants and cafés that offer food at inexpensive prices have to rely on prepared foods. Prepared foods allow restaurants to keep prices down by extending shelf life and eliminating costly labor. If a restaurant owner, small mom and pop deli, pizza shop or diner can order from their distributors pre-made foods that don’t spoil rapidly and the price is cheaper, that is what they will do to survive and compete. It’s only natural. But legislating the end user, the restaurants, is absurd. It is like filling the candy bowl with sweets and warning your toddler not to eat any. If the legislators really wanted the products off the market they would ban them from the source.
Since trans fat is proven to be a nemesis that ultimately costs our nation billions in heath care dollars, the developers of the stuff, the corn and soybean industry, should be held accountable. So why is it that the ban has been directed at the end retailer? It is an absurd premise. Why wasn’t the logical step taken, to go after the manufactures of the fats. The answer is a simple; because trans fat is a byproduct of the byproducts of America’s most powerful corporations, Cargill, Monsanto and ADM.

Supermarket consumers can know if a food contains trans fat by looking at the ingredient list on the food label. If the ingredient list includes the words "shortening," "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil", “margarine” or "hydrogenated vegetable oil," the food contains trans fat. In the food service industry, it should be getting easier, but it isn’t. The ingredient lists on wholesale packing is sketchy. Some labels are on the bulk case, and some are on each package within the case. Packaging laws to provide better labeling for restaurant products have been updated, but it is still very iffy.
To an immigrant business owner whose second, or third language is English—what does this mean: “may contain one or more of the following; hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated cottonseed, soybean, corn or sunflower oil”. Try to get the information from a salesperson or distributor. It is almost impossible. I have visited the websites of the #1 and #2 food distributors to restaurants in the Hudson Valley ( Sysco and US Foods) to obtain ingredient information on their products. Neither of their web ordering catalogs lists ingredients, though both have a dedicated line for this. The message was simple, “Ingredient information not available at this time”. How in the world is a small businessperson supposed to adhere to the rules, when the multimillion-dollar companies supplying them don’t come clean. Combine this with the marketing---every week there are scores of “money saving” or “profit increasing” items on sale that are by and large foods with trans fats—and the small business person must be certainly flummoxed. Any reasonable person would have to conclude that if there were really a trans fat ban in restaurants, the developersof these products would be the first to be regulated. But it is not happening because of the obvious. The player with the biggest lobbying budget wins and the restaurants are literally on the bottom of the food chain in this regard.

Ric Orlando
Chef-Owner
New World Home Cooking Co.
Saugerties, NY
Author of We Want Clean Food, CF Press 2004
www.ricorlando.com

Hot Stuff and Halliburton.
By Ric Orlando
I am making fiery Thai chile relish today. I don’t really have plans for it, but it will last until I can squeeze a nice Thai special onto the menu. Gotta sell out of catfish first.
I encountered a nice bag of those sharp, red bird chiles in the “Herb Box” in New World’s walk-in cooler. They have a beautiful, numbing heat. I remember picking them up at Lee’s Asian Market in Albany last week. I threw them in the box and forgot about them. Now here they are. My frugal chef’s brain immediately cues my internal worker bee to use ‘em up before they go bad. So as I am peeling the shallots my eyes tear and the paper cut on the soft pad of my forefinger burns like a bee sting. The radio in the kitchen is always on in the background. I am listening NPR in a room full of Latin cooks who don’t understand of word of it. I am the boss. I listen to the news. They think I am smart.
Strong aroma of shallots. Intimidating bowl of chiles. Amigos blocking the sound out. Dick Cheney lambasting liberals. He says we are giving in to Al Qaeda by not backing Idiot Bush’s escalation of their war in Iraq. The sound bite is short and nasty. I start to slice the tiny peppers into concise rings, discarding the stem. If you leave the chiles in rings, they go right through you when you eat them. It is a weird but satisfying kind of cleanse. Am I the only person on the planet who wants to throw punches when Cheney speaks?
So he was the head of Halliburton. Now he’s running our government and giving all of my tax dollars to Halliburton. Remember the $400 toilet seat scandal back in the ‘80s? That was Halliburton. Remember when the Senate and Congress worked so hard to convince us that the Government couldn’t do anything right? Back in those foreboding '80s they duped us all. Our congress privatized our military. So now instead of Government engineers and army cooks we have Halliburton. Dick Cheney’s former company is doing all of the work for 20, 30, 100 times as much money as it costs to have the Government do it. No bids. No audits. I put the chiles in a bowl with the shallots and cover them in smelly fish sauce and a squeeze of lime. I offer a bite of the red chiles to Armando, an El Salvadorian prep cook. He looks scared and backs away as if from a snarling Doberman. Is he scared enough to hand over his taxes to Halliburton’s shareholders? Is he afraid that if we don’t keep enriching the Chinese bank accounts of Cheney’s friends, the evil sandpeople will come and blow up our National Monuments. Armando is blissful, clueless, doesn’t even know where Iraq is, probably hasn’t ever seen a map of the Middle East. But he knows that the hot peppers will burn him on impact today and he knows that he will regret it tomorrow.
So when Cheney lies to terrorize us, don’t we think about the burn that’s coming? How he and his neo-cons want to break our government. How they want us all in fear. I think about crispy black bass drizzled with the chiles and shallots and the smelly fish sauce. That will be my Friday Night special. Crispy Black Bass with an Intimidating Red Chile Relish. 23.95. Bass is expensive. Maybe I’ll add a little Thai basil to sweeten it up. That oughta sell.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!



A Primer on Healthy Fats

What is so GOOD about Fat?

I am just a chef --- and as a chef I am in constant contact with food. The food that I am in contact with has been changing at an alarming rate over the last decade. Finding food that is not made with genetically modified ingredients, that hasn't been injected with chemicals and hasn't been sprayed with stabilizers is getting quite challenging. My mission is to convince you that there are definite health benefits to seeking out and eating what I like to call Clean Food. Clean Food means food that has been grown, harvested and prepared in a traditional manner. Real Food is Good.

As we venture forth into the jungle of health information, there is one reoccurring truth that continues to surface through the marketing muck. The truth is that the traditional diets of regional peoples are the healthiest diets of all. Are they low fat, low calorie, high carbohydrate diets like the one the FDA recommends for us? Not exactly. The healthy, ancestral diets of the world are based on fresh local ingredients in balance and harmony with the seasons. Clean fats combined with fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes is the optimum diet. Thinking about food in this way is the healthiest approach possible.

Many of my recipes contain a fair amount of fat, yet all of it is unprocessed, "good" fat. Most traditional diets contain considerably higher amounts of fat than our own FDA recommends. They also contain more calories. Our bodies need fat and a fair amount of it to operate properly. Fats carry the vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats are found in every single cell of the body. Why do you think they are called Essential Fatty Acids? The challenging task is learning the difference between good and bad fats and then learning where to get good, clean fats. We all know that extra virgin olive oil is a great fat. We know this because there is published evidence that the Mediterranean diet is a "heart healthy" one. Consuming a tablespoon of cold pressed olive oil daily not only increases your HDL or "good" cholesterol but it actually lowers your LDL or "bad" cholesterol.
What are we doing that is so BAD?

Until recently, many cultures traditionally used cold pressed oils. Grapeseed, peanut, corn, coconut, sesame and palm oil are prevalent in the diets of some of the world's most vibrant people. Unfortunately, technology and the global economy have brought higher yield processed oils to the far reaches of the earth. More and more, the statistics indicate that a rise in cardiovascular disease is directly related to the worldwide distribution of American processed foods and food processing technology. Are we a help or a hindrance?

Here are some stunning statistics. Americans have one of the highest rates of Type II diabetes per capita in the world and the numbers are rising yearly. Over 15.3 million Americans suffer from this disease which leads to heart disease in many cases. The evidence that our processed food culture is the culprit behind this unfortunate statistic is only now trickling into our media stream. Sadly, other countries which have embraced our fast food, processed fat culture are experiencing a similar rise in circulatory diseases. The rise of juvenile obesity in China directly correlates to the rise in sale of American soft drinks and fast food in that country. We Americans don't fare very well in the cardiovascular world over all.

Sure, through our technological advances we've learned to prolong life in those who are afflicted with heart and blood maladies. But maybe we are missing the point. Maybe we should be addressing the reason so many of us are becoming sick in the first place. Over 40% of the deaths in America are due to disease of the cardiovascular system. Countries which have maintained their traditional diets have a much lower ratio of heart and circulatory illness.

In Brazil, where traditional cuisine includes abundant meat dishes seasoned with raw palm oil, the percentage of deaths due to diseases of the cardiovascular system is only 28%.

In Peru, where the traditional diet of grass fed meats, native corn varieties, legumes, vegetables and chiles has remained the same for centuries, the percentage of deaths due to diseases of the cardiovascular system is 13.8%!

My conclusion is that our dilemma in America has nothing to do with eating fat or lean foods. It has to do with eating processed foods, especially processed and hydrogenated fats. It is the commercial processing of fats which creates bad fats.
What is a processed oil and why is it UGLY?

When commercial oil is processed for human consumption it is combined with caustic acids. The introduction of the caustic acids removes the beneficial free fatty acids. The oil is then filtered, degummed, bleached, deodorized, scented, stabilized and colored. Often, synthetic antioxidants are added to replace what was lost in the refining process. Lastly, a defoamer is added before it gets to market. The oil is often sold in clear containers even though sunlight and florescent light destroys most of the remaining advantageous fatty acids.

The process of hydrogenation is intended to create a solid fat with smooth, rich mouth-feel. The hazard lies in the process of shattering fat molecules into smaller parts which are much more easily absorbed into our intestines than are fat molecules in their natural state. Additionally, all of the essential fatty acids are destroyed in the processing, leaving an indigestible product.

A quick walk through a modern American supermarket will reveal to you that the staggering majority of the foods we are sold contain processed and hydrogenated fats. Just about any deep fried food is fried in processed oil, also. So, if the FDA means that we should consume less of those foods, I agree. But without essential real fats, we become out of balance and our vital organs and blood cells will begin to break down.

On the question of animal fat, I have arrived at a similar conclusion. There are distinct differences between good and bad animal fats. Animals raised on the pasture get adequate exercise. They are grass and green fed without processed feed, antibiotics and growth hormones. When this is the case, moderate intake of their fat is a healthy and beneficial addition to our diets. When the animals are raised in boxes and are fed processed fats themselves, such as genetically modified high yield corn and soybeans, they pass these unnatural, damaging fats right into your body when you eat them.

An animal raised naturally on a diet of organic vegetation and insects contains elusive and vital minerals and nutrients from the earth. Those wholesome nutrients become assimilated into their fat, flesh and eggs for we humans to consume. It is a REAL and healthy chain of events. This is what nature intended for us. Immune system invigorators like Selenium and CoQ-10 are found in abundance in grass fed meat and free range eggs. The same cannot be said for commercial grain fed meats and eggs.

The same is true for seafood. Farm raised seafood is also fed high yield grains to fatten it up more quickly. Hence, we consume more of the same when we eat farmed seafood. Wherein wild seafood subsists on a diet of mineral rich plankton (or smaller prey who have eaten it) and pass it to us via their fat and flesh. This is the real deal.
As you prepare the food you choose to cook, file the info I just gave you. Real food can't be wrong. We are not smarter than the infinite wisdom of our ecosystem. We can't improve it, either. We are a part of it. Buy the cleanest food you can. It is a small investment in yourself and your family

I just blasted an email to update y'all!
I am bringing back the Wine and Food Pairing Dinners
at New World Home Cooking for 2006-2007!
They are now called
“The Chef’s Having Fun” Dinners
I cook and pair the wines
and you relax and enjoy
—easy!
I am making it my business to have time to focus on the events that make me happy!

Woo-hoo!

We have constructed a schedule for this winter which includes…

Savoring Apulia November 17th
Our 10th annual Champagne Dinner December 14th
Our First Hot Luck “Hell” night on January 12th
( where the course get hotter and hotter as the dinner goes on!)
A Cajun Wine Dinner and Lecture February 9th
(complete with a recipe book held the week BEFORE Mardi Gras weekend!)

And more to come…

Here is what is next!

Savoring Apulia
Poetic Food and Wine from the “Heel of the Boot” of Italy

Friday, November 17th
6:30 PM
A tasting menu complete with wines
$69 per person plus tax and tip

I made my first visit to Apulia in 2006, visiting my wife Liz’s family in historic Gravina.
We also stayed for a few days in a Trullo overlooking the Adriatic. That’s it above—Trullo Montezuzzo.
We cruised the hilly highways in our Opal convertible searching for wonderful food.
Though I can’t deliver all of the people and personalities
we encountered, I can bring you my interpretations of their food.
Like a perfect poem, Apulian cuisine is simple in preparation but complex in effect on the soul.
Its impact on me will last a lifetime.
We are importing as many ingredients as we can to truly
recollect the flavors as I experienced them.

Menu and Wines

Three courses of Antipasti
The Best Apulian Olive Oil, Semolina Bread, Cerignola Olives, Marinated Anchovies,
Grilled Eggplant, Lambascione, and the great Apulian cheese Burrata

Salume of Apulia - Bresaola, Spada, Mortadella, Salami et al

Insalata di Frutta di Mare
With squid, octopus, mussels and langoustine

>Wines
Botromagno Gravina Bianco (Greco-Malavasia)
D’Alfonso dal Sordo Casteldrione ( Montepuciano, Sangiovese and Uva de Troia)


Three Traditional Tastings
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rapini
Favas and Chickory
Stuffed Cuttlefish
> Wines
Bombino Bianco “Catapanus”
Amano Primitivo


Three Modern Tastings
Apulian Lamb with Olives
Rabbit Agrodolce
Fennel Gratinata
> Wine
Tormoresca Boca di Lupo (Cabernet and Aglianico)

Cheese Course
Fresh Figs, Caciocavallo and Vin Cotto
>Wine – Noci (Walnut Liqueur)

Dolce
Sighs – Olive oil pasty puffs filled with espresso custard
Ric’s Home Made Limoncello
Espresso

Reserve Today


To find some great Apulian ingredients visit
http://ingredientsgourmet.com



New World Home Cooking Company
1411 Route 212
Saugerties, NY 12477
845-246-0900