Know Your Food - The New York Times
Know Your Food - The New York Times |
- Know Your Food - The New York Times
- WATCH: Investments Build Out Local Food Security Network - wgbh.org
- Urgent tech overhaul speeds efforts to get surplus food to millions of people who need it - Stories - Microsoft
- Couple finds live caterpillar in their food, says restaurant worker cursed at them when they complained - Fox News
- Sorry, bars: 'Cuomo Chips' won't satisfy New York's food order - Democrat & Chronicle
| Know Your Food - The New York Times Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:30 AM PDT  Good morning. A few summers ago, long before the pandemic came to upend our lives and economy, my friend and colleague Tejal Rao wrote a beautiful column for The Times about how she met the man who would become her life partner. The story was about how he enjoyed oysters — "keenly and quietly, without fetish or hyperbole." I think that's probably the best way to enjoy oysters. I thought of Tejal's column and the marvelous recipe that accompanied it, for grilled oysters with hot sauce and butter (above), because I've been eating a lot of oysters during lockdown, as New York's oyster farms have pivoted from selling mostly to restaurants to selling them to retail customers like me. It changes how you think of oysters, to have them be, suddenly, inexpensive in comparison to what they cost in a restaurant, and to eat a couple dozen a week with your family: off the grill as in Tejal's recipe; on the half-shell with a squeeze of lemon; fried in butter; slipped into chowder. Your relationship with the ingredient changes. Oysters go from being something special, something you'd order a few times a month if you spend a lot of time in restaurants, to something even more special, a product of the waters near home, one consumed, yes, without fetish or hyperbole. Of course not everyone has access to oysters. But I suppose the same feeling can come from water and flour now, from the bread that comes of it, and the pizza. I imagine it's true of yogurt and chile-scallion oil as well. Some of us are making as much as we're buying, and it's a marvelous feeling even against the anxiety and stress of the moment. It's affirming to know your food. It's affirming to cook for yourself. Try to do it as much as you can. But don't just forage for mushrooms and make your own corn muffin mix. You'll find great joy in making new dishes as well. I like this seared zucchini with black pepper and Parmesan, for instance, and this broccoli salad with Cheddar and warm bacon vinaigrette. I could see a peach upside-down skillet cake in your future, with bourbon whipped cream. And also a charred tomato soup with coriander and cilantro. Will you consider pork chops with brandied cherries? Or the cheese buldak the YouTube star Maangchi taught me to make one sunny afternoon in a Montauk motel, which we ate at the kitchen table, overlooking the dunes? You don't even need a recipe, to know and cook your food. The other day I had a fire going for steaks and a big head of cauliflower in the fridge. I trimmed it of greens, put it in a Dutch oven and covered it with an emulsified dressing of minced garlic, anchovies, oil and red-pepper flakes. Then I added a quarter-cup of water, put the top on and nestled it in the coals. (You could use an oven just as easily.) A half-hour later, I had a creamy, sliceable delight on my hands, to go with my steaks. You can do that, too, and ought to. There are thousands more recipes to cook this week awaiting you on NYT Cooking. (Stunning summer fruit desserts! No-cook dinners for a heat wave!) It's true that you need a subscription to access all of them, and to access all the features on our site and apps. Subscriptions support our work and allow it to continue. So I hope you will think about subscribing today. We are here if you need us, if you're troubled by a recipe or if something goes wrong with our code. Just write us at cookingcare@nytimes.com and someone will get back to you, I promise. Now, it's a towering home run ball away from clams and fresh chervil, but Chris Frantz on the Bowery and his early days with Talking Heads, in The New Yorker? That's worth your time. Here's Curtis Sittenfeld on how to write a short story, in The Times, and it's remarkably persuasive. Might take a busman's holiday to Fictionville later this summer. It's annoying that Colin Jost's memoir, "A Very Punchable Face," is good reading. And finally, via Jon Pareles, here's Gordon Koang, "South Sudan." Listen loud, and I'll be back on Friday.  |
| WATCH: Investments Build Out Local Food Security Network - wgbh.org Posted: 22 Jul 2020 11:00 AM PDT  Twenty-six organizations, including farms, school meal programs and food pantries, will receive $3 million in grants through a new food security infrastructure program launched in June, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday. Visiting the Lynn outpost of the Salvation Army, Baker said the funding is the first round to be distributed through the grant program, and applications will continue to be evaluated on a rolling basis. Baker's press conference highlighted issues around food security during the COVID-19 crisis, and Salvation Army officials said it marked a milestone for their organization, which has now distributed 8 million meals in Massachusetts since March. Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said the pandemic has "highlighted how important it is to invest in our local food system and ensure that the food grown right here in the commonwealth especially can be distributed to our residents, to vulnerable populations and to underserved communities." Food banks and pantries have faced unprecedented demand, Theoharides said. She said the state's agricultural and fishing industries have encountered "significant difficulties" but many have responded to increased interest in fresh, local food by expanding their direct sale capabilities. Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said 39 additional vendors are joining the Healthy Incentive Program, which helps families receiving food assistance buy locally grown produce by matching each dollar of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits spent.  |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 09:37 AM PDT "Everything happened in the first month" of the pandemic, says Nikkel. She more than doubled the FoodRescue.ca team to 14 as the crisis worsened, and created a national task force to connect industry leaders, nonprofits, indigenous communities and others to figure out where the surplus and the needs were and match them through the FoodRescue.ca platform. "The whole country got behind this thing," Nikkel says. "This was the one place where people across Canada could access food, groceries and money, and that had a huge impact on how Canada managed COVID-19. And that's because of RedBit."  The software consultancy was able to respond so quickly in part because it already had experience developing with the right tools in Azure. The data collected by FoodRescue.ca goes into a model-driven app in Power Platform, Dynamics 365 is used to manage the system, and everything is based on Azure, Arteaga says. But just as important was the company's process of connecting with its customers and learning the specifics of their needs, he says. RedBit developers had spent time working with Second Harvest employees, donors and agencies, including sorting food and going on truck runs with delivery workers to see what challenges were being faced at every level. With the new platform, a food donor — a restaurant, grocery store or any other food business — can create a donation listing, and then an agency — a food bank or any nonprofit that works with people in need — can claim it. Listings on a recent day included 5,600 pounds of crackers, cereals, meat, fish and nuts; 13,800 pounds of perishable prepared food; 3,700 pounds of baked goods and snacks such as cashews, cookies, noodles, candy, oatmeal and bottled water; and 2,500 pounds of bread.  "And that's just today," Arteaga says. "All this food would have gone into landfills if it weren't donated, which is crazy. We saw tomato sauce and baby formula that was going to the trash because of packaging imperfections, if it wasn't rescued." Arteaga, who has been involved in technology since he was 14 years old, started RedBit in 2003 and began expanding it in earnest about five years ago, with 21 fulltime employees and seven active projects now. With Second Harvest, "you're saving people and saving the earth," Arteaga says. "We're finally getting to use technology to make a difference in the world. We build systems all the time — saving money, making money, automating processes — but this brings fulfillment, when you're in the warehouse and see the amount of waste there is and know there doesn't need to be that waste. So that's why I'm fully invested in this as a human being to use technology for good." Nikkel says RedBit's team worked so closely with hers that she considers them part of her organization. "I almost don't want to know about the tech," she says, "and that's what's great — I don't have to worry about it. I just know it will work so we can keep making sure people can eat and the food's not going to the landfill." Lead image: A Second Harvest driver delivers food to a charity in Toronto.  |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 12:49 PM PDT It's never fun to find something squirming around in your food. A couple in England says they found a living caterpillar in the food they had delivered from a local establishment. Even worse, according to them, an employee at the restaurant "swore" at them when they called to ask for a refund and "slammed the phone down."  Paul Madison told SWNS, "It all looked ok with my first few mouthfuls, but then Emma shrieked and spat her first mouthful out after seeing the caterpillar. We both stopped eating immediately." (iStock) Paul Madison says he and his partner Emma ordered the food after going out for a long bike ride, Southwest News Service (SWNS) reports. BURGER KING CUSTOMER THROWS TAPE DISPENSER AT WORKER OVER FACE MASK POLICY: REPORT "We had just got back from a long cycle ride and fancied something quick," he told SWNS. "We used the Uber eats app and the only place that was delivering at that time was La Vita. I order a large chicken kebab with chili sauce and my partner Emma ordered a medium with garlic sauce." According to Madison, "It all looked OK with my first few mouthfuls, but then Emma shrieked and spat her first mouthful out after seeing the caterpillar. We both stopped eating immediately." Madison says he called the restaurant and explained the situation, at which point, "They said they would send a driver to collect but there was no mention of a refund or replacement. I queried a refund and very abruptly the guy on the phone said I had to do it via Uber eats. I called the restaurant back and explained, now a different man answered and was very rude, swore and slammed the phone down." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He continued, "At this moment the delivery driver had arrived and my partner showed him the caterpillar to which he was horrified and he said he would see if he could get us a replacement. But we couldn't eat at this point." According to SWNS, the restaurant's manager said (in response to the complaint), "After nine years in the business this is the first time a customer has complained of a caterpillar in their food. It's not common. We do wash our lettuce and look out for things like that, but as it's green it can be very hard to spot. We would not have it in there on purpose and would like to apologize for that." FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS He continued, "I was not here on the afternoon the complaint was dealt, but we would have been more than happy to replace it when our driver collected it from them, and we said we would investigate. As they ordered it from Uber Eats the refund would have to come from them, but if the customers calls us we can get it arranged."  |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 11:33 AM PDT CLOSE  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a large foam mountain at his news conference on June 29, 2020. It's meant to depict the state's COVID-19 battle. New York State Team ALBANY – Sorry, bars and restaurants: You can't get around New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's food-with-alcohol order by offering a bag of chips or a few pieces of cheese. The State Liquor Authority updated its guidance late Tuesday to provide more clarity on Cuomo's order, which prevents bars and restaurants from serving alcoholic beverages to patrons who don't order food first. The order, issued last week, is meant to keep patrons in their seats and not congregating in groups around a bar or in an outdoor dining space. It came after Cuomo expressed frustration with viral images of crowded bars in New York City as the state tries to keep its COVID-19 infection rate down. But restaurants across the state immediately tried to find ways around the order, with some offering $1 orders of "Cuomo Chips" or other various small plates, such as a handful of grapes or a single pretzel bite. The State Liquor Authority's said bars and restaurants must sell "sandwiches, soups or other foods, whether fresh, processed, precooked or frozen" to patrons in order to serve them alcoholic beverages. On Tuesday, the Liquor Authority attached a Q&A that tackled the issue of what "other foods" qualify. "'Other foods' are foods which are similar in quality and substance to sandwiches and soups," the authority's document reads. "For example, salads, wings, or hotdogs would be of that quality and substance; however, a bag of chips bowl of nuts, or candy alone are not." The rules are different for alcoholic beverage manufacturers like breweries or wineries, which are allowed to offer chips or crackers unless they have an attached tavern or restaurant. Liquor Authority to bars: Keep patrons seatedThe Liquor Authority urged bars and restaurants to take the purpose of the policy — to cut down on congregating areas — into consideration when deciding what foods to offer. "As a restaurant and bar owner interested in continuing to assist in our shared public health goal, you should not be looking for ways to circumvent the dining or meal requirement nor the purpose behind it, as it jeopardizes the public health and the progress all New Yorkers have made," according to the document. "Obvious" efforts to get around Cuomo's order will be treated as violations, the Liquor Authority wrote. Cuomo has warned in recent days that the state could impose greater coronavirus restrictions on bars and restaurants if they run afoul of the state's current rules, which restrict indoor capacity to 50% in much of the state and require patrons to be seated while they are eating or drinking. The state has not yet allowed indoor dining in New York City. Tavern Association calls for strict policyThe Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association, meanwhile, called on Cuomo to take a hardline approach with establishments that run afoul of social distancing and mask requirements. The association suggested the State Liquor Authority suspend the liquor license of any restaurant or bar that doesn't comply after a single offense. Such a policy would weed out so-called "bad actors," according to Scott Wexler, the association's executive director. "We support Governor Cuomo's calls to enforce physical distancing and face covering protocols," Wexler said in a statement. "Large gatherings at or near bars need to end. Bad actors need to be shut down immediately if they won't comply with the rules." Cuomo last week said the state would suspend the liquor license of any establishment that has three COVID-19 violations. The state could act sooner if a violation is particularly egregious, he said. More: Bars get creative to comply with NY food order. But do $1 menus count? More: Why are NY bars selling Cuomo chips? New rules say no alcohol without food Jon Campbell is a New York state government reporter for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN. Support local journalism We cover the stories from the New York State Capitol and across New York that matter most to you and your family. Please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription to the New York publication nearest you. Check out the latest offer. Read or Share this story: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2020/07/22/chips-fruit-wont-satisfy-andrew-cuomos-food-order-bars/5487952002/  |
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