Category: Philosophy of Food

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Terroir And Smoke: Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 And Smoked Catfish Étouffée With Readings From Sir Albert Howard, Aldo Leopold and Eliot Coleman.

Islay.  The name conjures salt water-spray off the North Atlantic, peat bogs rich with all that decays, limestone, spring water, geese and thrushes.  And whisky.  Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg on the southeast shore of the island.  Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila to the northeast.  Bowmore, Bruichladdich and Port Charlotte around Loch Indaal in the middle of … Continue reading Terroir And Smoke: Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 And Smoked Catfish Étouffée With Readings From Sir Albert Howard, Aldo Leopold and Eliot Coleman.

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Bluefin Tuna to Palm Oil: Sustainability is the Word: Three Books And A Blog.

I’m almost through reading Carl Safina’s seminal text Song for the Blue Ocean, which surveys the state of Bluefin Tuna in the Northeast of the United States, salmon in the Northwest, and coral reefs in the Pacific.  More than fifteen years ago Safina’s voice artfully, evocatively raised an alarm about the real thought that needs … Continue reading Bluefin Tuna to Palm Oil: Sustainability is the Word: Three Books And A Blog.

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Gastronomic Dreams: From Brillat-Savarin to Jorge Luis Borges With A Number Of Stops Along The Way.

A dog barks, the Lute Suites of Sylvius Leopold Weiss drift through an open window, and I pour a Stone Brewery Russian Imperial Stout and light an Alec Bradley American Sun Grown cigar. I’m sitting on my back patio in the evening, contemplating the life of the gastronome.  Actually, this could also be the opening … Continue reading Gastronomic Dreams: From Brillat-Savarin to Jorge Luis Borges With A Number Of Stops Along The Way.

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Savoir-Vivre: Some Thoughts On Culture In A Bowl

This afternoon I’m drinking a Wasatch Devastator Double Bock (creamy, malty, yeasty and bananany) as I simmer diced onion and bacon (Revival Farms) in charred leftover bits of sirloin (Augustus Ranch). Grounded in the kitchen?  Dwelling and being.  I stir the pan and think through rural America, national parks, salmon on the Columbia River, returning … Continue reading Savoir-Vivre: Some Thoughts On Culture In A Bowl

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“Dad, It Tastes Like Blood!” Alchemy And Briny, Smokey Crustaceans And Suids. Oh My!

The Hermetic science par excellence is alchemy; the famous Emerald Table, the bible of the alchemists, is attributed to Hermes Trismegistus and gives in a mysteriously compact form the philosophy of the All and the One. That which is above is like that which is below . . . . And as all things have … Continue reading “Dad, It Tastes Like Blood!” Alchemy And Briny, Smokey Crustaceans And Suids. Oh My!

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Forest, Farm and What Will Be Left.

Two articles that dovetail with their concern over land, sea and sky–how we restore what has been damaged and how we farm what we’ve run into the ground.  Ecological and agricultural concerns synchronized. http://www.drb.ie/essays/the-restoration-drama http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/07/01/327248504/the-great-fish-swap-how-america-is-downgrading-its-seafood-supply?ft=1&f=1053 Continue reading Forest, Farm and What Will Be Left.

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A Journey North To The Underworld Via The Cattle Of The Feedlots and Madonna’s Vine

Much like Odysseus’ ship ploughing through Mediterranean Sea, my rented white Toyota Corrolla sails along the navigable waters of I-75, heading straight toward my meeting with the dead.  An exact simile, maybe not–but it’s the spirit of metaphor that counts.  I took the above photo while driving near or right at the speed limit of … Continue reading A Journey North To The Underworld Via The Cattle Of The Feedlots and Madonna’s Vine

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From Monstrous Omelettes To A Giant Horse To Little Fish And A Dark Night Of The Gut.

I can’t eat another omelette.  Seriously, my first morning in Michigan I digested a Polish Omelette at Lake Breeze Restaurant in Harrison Township, then yesterday morning I polished off a Gyro Omelette at Leo’s Coney Island off Gratiot–six eggs in two days plus mystery meats, cheese and a scattering of vegetables. Look at it!  Amazing … Continue reading From Monstrous Omelettes To A Giant Horse To Little Fish And A Dark Night Of The Gut.

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Traveling Through Food Wastelands, Blended Scotch, Uncle Tupelo, And Onto Good Soil.

I’m reading a Chili’s Too menu at Bush Intercontinental Airport as the Bosnia/Nigeria World Cup game buzzes overhead and travelers from the states and the rest of the known world whisk in for a few sips of sacred water and then dash back out for their gates.  I’m flying Spirit Airlines tonight which means I … Continue reading Traveling Through Food Wastelands, Blended Scotch, Uncle Tupelo, And Onto Good Soil.

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Wilderness, Good Oak, And Moby Dick

In Chapter Three of The Unsettling of America, “The Ecological Crisis as a Crisis of Agriculture,” Wendell Berry pointedly defends the primacy of “wilderness” within the conservation movement in America. What has to be acknowledged at the outset is that wilderness conservation is important and that it has a place in any conservation program, just … Continue reading Wilderness, Good Oak, And Moby Dick