Today is Blog Action Day! One day out of the year for blogs large and small to take a moment and voice their opinion on climate change. Whether you blog about sports, news or food, it’s time to take action. Like a million raindrops all coming together in one massive wave, each blogger out there can help make a difference by taking action and posting a blog. Climate change is real and it affects us all.

A Foodies Guide to Taking Action

Grow Your Own- Besides doing it for economical and health benefits, (which alone are staggering) grow something from seed and learn just how much energy, time, water and nutrients are needed for just one plant. Then, imagine if you were taking care of one cow; think about the increased energy, water, space and food necessary to nurture it, verses plant food or fertilizer.

Eat Local: When you eat local, you are already making a difference in climate change because you are reducing your carbon foot print. Think about the distance your farmer drove to be at your local farmers’ market and compare that to the  planes and trucks responsible for delivering your average grocery store produce and other goods from all corners of the world. Think of the huge impact we could all make just by eating one meal a week from a local farm.

Eat Less Meat: According to Mark Bittman’s article in the New York Times titled “Rethinking the Meat Guzzler”, perhaps the best hope for change lies in consumers’ becoming aware of the true costs of industrial meat production.
For many of us, our parents and or grandparents felt that it wasn’t a meal unless there was meat on the table. That way of thinking is unsustainable. We don’t have to all become vegetarian overnight. Take a cue from Meatless Mondays-a non-profit initiative to reduce the meat consumption by 15%- and learn some tips from Michael Pollan, an advocate for climate change in conjunction with sustainable food production.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Nordaq Fresh Water
• The Herbfarm
• The World Without Fish
• Filtering For Good

Categories:	Environmental	Leave a Comment
Tags:	Blog Action Day • climate change

I grew up in a charming and picturesque resort nestled at the base of the beautiful Cascade mountain range in Central Oregon. The Deschutes river flows wide and calm through the resort, and nearby you’ll find the Little Deschutes tagging along like a younger sibling. So you can see it was aptly named Sunriver.

We moved there from the Bay Area when I was around five, my parents wanting a more wholesome place to raise their children. We frolicked in the lakes and rivers in summer and skied the powdery slopes of Mt. Bachelor in winter. Best of all, we drank crystal clear mountain water fresh and cold from the tap.

Some people say you can’t taste water, but after growing up with clean water I certainly can. Too often water tastes metallic, too “minerally,” or like you’re drinking a swimming pool. When your thirst needs to be quenched, that’s fine I suppose, but outside of Sunriver I prefer my water well filtered.

One thing I had never considered, until recently, is how the taste of water affects the flavors of food and wine. I don’t know why this never occurred to me. I mean, if you brush your teeth you know that then drinking a glass of orange juice is going to taste horrible. So why would it not dawn on me that salt, minerals, and chemicals in water could alter the flavor of the wine I so carefully selected?

I sat down with Chef Jason Wilson of Crush and Sam Giertz, CEO North America of Nordaq Fresh, for my first ever water tasting. Nordaq Fresh is a purification system that filters impurities and unwanted flavors from tap water while preserving the water’s natural salts and minerals. Sam suggested that I cleanse my mouth first with the Fresh water, so I swirled it around a bit. The best way I can describe this water is simply “neutral” – just the way I remembered my Sunriver water, only much better. I took another sip, then I tasted the nice chilled Chardonnay that Jason had selected. Very nice. I did the same with the tap water, then tasted the wine again. Good, but not great. I mean, it was a lovely wine, of course it would taste great, right? But I could definitely taste the difference. We repeated this process again and the distinction was remarkable. The flavor of the wine had much more pronounced depth than I could taste with just plain tap water.

It was like the water gave the wine Dolby surround sound.

In 2007, Thomas Keller was invited to attend a culinary event in Stockholm where he was first introduced to the Nordaq system. Seeing the potential for its application in his own restaurants he had the system installed in The French Laundry, Per Se and Buchon. Now, more fine restaurants around the U.S. are following suit and having the system installed.

But it goes beyond taste. Nordaq Fresh is  water with a conscious. Because the filtration system comes with water bottles (and beautiful sleek and sexy ones to boot) restaurants are significantly reducing the amount of glass they are recycling. Jason says he has saved roughly four thousand bottles per year (about five thousand pounds of glass) from recycling. Beyond that there’s the elimination of the transportation of bottled water from production plant to restaurant to recycling center.

To me, that alone makes everything taste better.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Blog Action Day
• Foodista Makes Front Page of New York Times Dining Section
• Italian Grandmothers Take Over a Restaurant on Staten Island
• The Bohemian
• Naturally Thin From Bethenny Frankel

Categories:	Environmental • Interview • Restaurants	3 Comments
Tags:	crush • filtered water • Jason Wilson • Nordaq • Nordaq Fresh • purified water • seattle • Thomas Keller • water

Nestled amongst the wineries in Woodinville, Washington is The Herbfarm, a charming restaurant that dishes up local food and wine in an exceptional nine-course themed meal. I’d always wanted to dine at The Herbfarm, a place known for its exquisite seasonal cuisine, and I was like a kid at Christmas when we arrived at the quaint cottage-like restaurant. We entered the foyer and gazed around the elegant and eclectic surroundings.

Oh, the evening was sure to delight!

Since we arrived early we snuck upstairs to the impressively stocked Chef’s Library that overlooks the dining room, and watched as owners Ron Zimmerman and Carrie Van Dyck, along with their amazing staff, prepared for their guests. It was like watching a culinary ballet: plates delicately laid out neatly in rows awaiting the edible art that would soon be placed upon them, glassware lined up to perfection, candles lit, tables checked and double checked.

More guests arrived and we gathered near the fireplace, a stunning hundred-year old tiled marvel, grabbed a glass of wine and followed Carrie out to the garden. The garden was clearly in its winter hibernation, but it was obvious that in productive months it’s certainly something to behold. Carrie held a small basket in her arm and told us about the various herbs they grow much of the year and use in the kitchen, she then passed around small clippings, such as winter savory and scented geranium, for us to smell. We moved on to the “recycling center” – a tidy little pigpen (sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?) that’s home to Basil and Borage, two adorable Vietnamese potbellied pigs that are part of the kitchen cleanup crew.

We returned to the restaurant for our eagerly anticipated meal. We had chosen European-style seating, a communal table of four couples, as opposed to a single table. Our thoughts being that a spectacular lengthy meal should be shared with others who are equally as passionate about food. We chose wisely. At our table were three delightful couples, two of which had flown in from other parts of the country for The Herbfarm culinary experience.

The attention to detail is, in a word, extraordinary: tiny individual picture frames containing the names of the guests, crystal and silver goblets (six in all for each!), flatware meticulously placed, beautifully printed menus to whet the appetite.

Once we were seated, Ron welcomed his guests and introduced the staff, which was wonderful as it created a connection between diners and hosts, something you rarely experience in a restaurant. But then The Herbfarm is no ordinary restaurant. Our hunger grew as Chef Keith Luce and Sommelier Lisa Longren walked us through the menu and wine pairings.

I can barely contain myself. Does life get any better?

Our themed meal, “A Menu for Two Hearts” (it was Valentine’s weekend), started with an aphrodisiacal herbal champagne cocktail – in case we weren’t already in the mood. The gentleman got a “Greek” verbena hastata, the ladies a “Mayan” turmera aphrodisiaca – both of which were house-brewed herbal extracts poured from a tiny glass vial into Brut champagne. Divine! It was paired with our first course: “A Nibble for a Valentine,” a beautiful trio that consisted of that morning’s egg and sunchoke custard with smoked steelhead caviar and chives, a Kumamoto oyster with white sturgeon caviar and salsify cream, and a salt herring and potato terrine with radish and English thyme. Simply beautiful and delicious.

Next, we were given a scrumptious dish “White King and Black Truffles,” a marriage of line-caught Alaskan Ivory King salmon with truffled leeks and brown butter froth, paired with a 2007 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Blanc (Oregon).

For our third course we delighted in “A Sausage Sans Suggestion.” The “sausage”, similar to a country-style pâté, was made of Mangalitsa ham, fois gras and Stokesberry Farm chicken accompanied by Puy lentils, beets and red cabbage with cracked mustard, and served with a 2006 Pierre Noir Gerwurztraminer from Washington’s Columbia Gorge.

Giddy with food-induced pleasure we moved on to course four, “The Wild Roll,” a roll of pasta and wild Yellowfoot and Hedgehog mushrooms with root vegetables and King Boletus broth, pleasingly washed down with a 1999 King Estate Pinot Noir from Croft Vineyard in the Willamette Valley (Oregon). We were so blissfully content we dug in before photographing, but this should give you a taste..

Course five brought us “For the Love of Lamb,” or as this dish made me exclaim, For the love of all things Holy! A gorgeously prepared potato-and-savory-crusted lamb rib-eye with Zataar-spiced carrot purée and a lamb bacon. And to further tantalize our tongues, a 2006 Betz Family Winery Meritage “Clos de Betz” from Washington’s Columbia Valley.

Next came the cheese course, or as the clever chefs named it, “Oh, You Cheese.” River’s Edge Full Moon goat from Oregon’s Coast Range with a house-made pancetta-garlic flatbread and dried fruit compote.

To round out the evening’s fare, and to prep our bellies for sweet things to come, we were served Cupid’s Ice Cream Cone. A wonderful yogurt ice cream scented with rose geranium (we rubbed this between our fingers in the garden. Something you must grow in your garden – spectacular!) scooped into a little cone. The perfect palate cleanser.

Last but not least came “Of Things to Love.” Oh, yes, indeed. A bittersweet chocolate separation cake with rosemary ice cream, a caramel crêpe with salted butter and winter fruit marmalade, and a Sekel pear-walnut tart with candied wild cranberries and créme fraîche. Lord have mercy.

After a lovely coffee and tea service, “A Selection of Small Treats” arrived just in case our bellies weren’t completely full (there’s always room for a chocolate truffle or two!). All paired with a 2006 Sineann late harvest Syrah called “Old Ball and Chain” – a clever selection indeed for a lovers evening!

It was a magical night. The Herbfarm presents cuisine beyond food, it’s art and poetry that inspires all of one’s senses. Truly an event to experience.

For more on The Herbfarm, and to discover the week’s current menu click here.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Perfect Scrambled Eggs
• Blog Action Day
• 10 Foodista Food Reads
• Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
• Sauteed Chicken with Mushrooms and Cream

Categories:	Chefs • Cookbooks • Environmental • Restaurants	1 Comment
Tags:	carrie van dyck • local • Organic • restaurant • ron zimmerman • sustainable • The Herbfarm • washington • Woodinville

Photo by: Stewart

I’m an omnivore, but I do have certain rules around what I consume. For example, I’ll never eat anything I’ve ever had as a pet (although twice I inadvertently ate horse in France and Japan), I won’t eat primates or any endangered species, and I prefer not to eat threatened species (but will if necessary to avoid an awkward moment at a dinner party). Or bugs, I won’t eat those either. I always thought I was doing pretty good following this code, but admittedly never really taking the time to research the fish I consume.

Until I saw The End of the Line.

The End of the Line, the first major documentary about the catastrophic effect of overfishing our oceans, premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival. Filmed over two years, the film follows investigative reported Charles Clover, who penned a book with the same title, as he comes face-to-face with celebrity restaurateurs and politicians who dismiss the havoc they are doing to our oceans.

Yeah! to Jamie Oliver who has removed all reference to bluefin tuna from his books after being told of the devastating effect.

Boo! to Nobu, who refuses to remove Chilean sea bass and bluefin tuna from his menus even after repeated requests to do so.

According to an international group of ecologists and economists, “If we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048.” Hi-tech fishing vessels leave it impossible for fish to escape, and the demand for cod in the early 1990’s led not only to the decimation of that species off the coast of Newfoundland, but the fishing industry as well.

“Overfishing is the great environmental disaster that people haven’t heard about,” said film producer George Duffield. “Just last week, a global conference about bluefin tuna stocks saw almost no media coverage in the U.S. We hope this film really sounds the alarm. We can fix this problem starting right now.”

Who is responsible? Consumers who continue to buy endangered fish, politicians who blatantly ignore the repeated requests of scientists, fisherman who continuously fish well beyond the set quotas, and the global fishing industry that is dragging its feet in response to an approaching catastrophe.

But this doesn’t mean that we need to stop eating fish and frequenting our favorite sushi restaurants. It means that we need to be well-informed and ask questions: where does this fish come from and how was it caught? Make sure the fish is from sustainable fisheries. We also need to reach out to our politicians and let them know how we feel. Let them know we need to reduce and control the number of fishing vessels across the world, protect large areas of the ocean and stop using destructive nets that destroy the ocean floor and its inhabitants.

After viewing the film (tears literally streaming down my face in parts) I vowed to only eat sustainable seafood. We can no longer hunt our fish into extinction.

Ask before you buy: only eat sustainable seafood.
Tell politicians: respect the science, cut the fishing fleet.
Join the campaign: for marine protected areas and responsible fishing.

Lay claim to your piece of the ocean (2 hectares each!)

Fish Facts:

1 billion people rely on fish as an important source of protein. (www.panda.org)

According to the UNFAO, about 70% of our global fisheries are now being fished close to, already at, or beyond their capacity.

As many as 90% of all the oceans’ large fish have been fished out. (www.panda.org)

Government subsidies of over $15 billionn a year play a major role in creating the world’s fishing fleets. (www.panda.org)

A Greenpeace report states that 40% of the world’s oceans should be placed in natural reserves. (www.msnbc.com)

Japan has caught $6 billion worth of illegal Southern Bluefin tuna over the past 20 years. (www.abc.net.au/)

In 200 tuna long liners set set 1.2 billion hooks catching untold numbers of turtles, seabirds and sharks. (www.ejfoundation.org/page270.html)

15 species of sharks have seen their numbers drop by 50% in the last 20 years. (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/)

Illegal fishing is worth up to $9 billion a year. (www.illegal-fishing.info)

52% of fish stocks are fully exploited. (www.msc.org)

Possibly Related Posts:

• The World’s Most Neglected Wines (Part One): Australian Riesling
• Salmon with Chanterelles and Slow Cooked Tomatoes
• Blog Action Day
• Celebrating Chanterelles
• Eating Local in the Northwest

Categories:	Environmental • Fish & Seafood	10 Comments
Tags:	bluefin tuna • charles clover • chilean sea bass • Film • fish population • fishing • rupert murray • Sundance • the end of the line

We Americans have an unhealthy relationship with water. Bottled water, that is. We think we’re being healthy and sporty by carrying our fancy little bottles of mountain-spring-flown-in-from-France water around, but in actuality we’re harming our planet.

Bottle by bottle.

While at the Sundance Film Festival we stumbled upon a fun little watering hole. Nope, not a bar (although we did hit those too!), but one sponsored by Brita and Nalgene. The two companies have teamed up to create the FilterForGood campaign: a pledge we can all take to reduce our bottled water waste.

How much are we contributing to our landfill waste in plastic bottles alone? According to FilterForGood, “Enough to travel from Earth to the Moon and back 10 times if laid end to end.” And, folks, that’s just us Americans! We can do better. If you still need more reason to give up the bottle, watch the documentary Flow. Bet you’ll no longer leave the water running while you brush your teeth.

Take the pledge today to refill your reusable bottle! We did…

After taking the pledge, conscientious consumers fill up their complimentary Nalgene bottles at the Brita water bar.

Possibly Related Posts:

• A Chance to go to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen
• Blog Action Day
• Oktoberfest
• When Foodies and Photographers Come Together
• Next Up for Drinking Lessons Robert Hess

Categories:	Environmental • Events	Leave a Comment
Tags:	Brita • filterforgood • FilterForGood.com • Flow • Flow film • Flow movie • Nalgene • Sundance Film Festival • water filters