johnnyhongkong says…

Lots of culinary stuff to catch up on:

I’ve been meaning to blog this for a while.  Time Magazine has this great photo essay on what people buy and eat from different cultures around the world.  It’s real fascinating stuff my obsession with shopping lists aside.

Been watching the Summer batches of the food reality shows – Top Chef, Next Food Network Star and Hell’s Kitchen – all of which Mary Milan wanted me to submit for.

The new batch of kids of Top Chef doesn’t grab me; The Next Food Network Star has aped Top Chef’s format and none of their contestants are compelling; and Hell’s Kitchen is, well, Hella Staged, as I just cannot believe that anybody with cooking/restaurant experience can be so lost during service.  Still, as I’ve mentioned before, I dig Gordon Ramsay in his quiet moments.  Anthony Bourdain’s been blogging The Next Food Network Star over at Michael Ruhlman’s blog.

So the government is still trying to get more pomo with the organic label by watering it down even further.  Now as you know, I’m no fan of corporate organic and Whole Foods but for the love of god can we stop diluting the organic label as it is?

Pending legislation proposes that casings from the processed intestines of conventionally raised swine and cattle be labeled as “organic” ingredients.

Are you fucking kidding me?

I’m not even talking about the intestines or whatever, I can give two shits about eating that stuff (it’s quite good, by the way).

My frustration is purely at a linguistic and meaning level.  Using a conventional ingredient in something labeled “organic” just makes me crazy.  The spirit of the organic label was that the product with the label was not messed around with, grown in pure conditions and while not necessarily more healthy for you, it could be trusted for negation; that it didn’t have all the crap in your conventional food.  Now, I’m not so sure.

And besides, pig shit is “organic” but it doesn’t mean that I want to eat it.

Take action! 

And finally, we had some Copper River Salmon tonight.   It was good but like I mentioned last year, I don’t know what the big fuss is.  So it’s nuttier than your regular sockeye salmon.

And yes, we bought that bitch ass fish from Whole Foods.

I hate myself.