Offal Meat

Chris Cosentino is a crazy man. He cooks offal. Offal is the parts of the animal that fall off when the butcher is doing his work. He recently did a dinner at the Astor Center that I was thinking about trying to go to. I didn't, and after watching this video, I'm glad for that. I would never have been able to handle that. Especially the deboned pig's head served like deli meat with the tongue and ears all folded back in.

He has a blog that is still worth reading. I think what he does is fantastic, if for no other reason than the fact that he's the ultimate recycler. I also think it is very much worth reading, at least this bit about humane cow slaughter. These are the kinds of small things that most of us forget are a part of the process. I have to say that I'm in the camp of "if you can't take a look at the pictures, maybe you shouldn't eat the meat". And remember that these are pics of humane slaughter, it could be much worse at some places. Cosentino has a post up about the bad spots that I think is worth reading.

The Food We Eat

Back from Costa Rica. An unbelievable trip. I highly recommend it to everyone--and don't miss the Volcano. I will write more in depth about it as I get more time. In the meantime, check out my Flickr page.

However, I wanted to put up a link to this blog posting about the America's weight problem. I watch a lot of people think they're eating well by getting a salad for lunch, but then get extra ranch dressing and don't think twice. This guy, Ruhlman, writes a lot of good postings about a topic that's become more relevant/important to me every day. If you have a chance browse through some of his older stuff, I think it will raise your awareness (more than some Wilmer Valderrama movie). Even if it doesn't change your behavior, at least you might know the impacts. I can't believe that over the last few months, I've made an effort to eat less meat.

I think the food we eat has major implications on two of the biggest issues facing us today--the environment and health care reform--not to mention my opinion that more government regulation leads to lazier/stupider/greedier citizens with an undo sense of entitlement. I'm not going to get myself worked up right now about either of these (but I almost did), but expect that at some point, I'll be posting more links to relevant and politically charged articles like these:

Bittman on the costs of eating so much meat
Bloomberg on electing a president

I always wondered why people were so ignorant, but I never really cared until recently. I'm really learning a lot these days and, to quote Michael Jackson, "I'm starting with the man in mirror".