Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Corn Defense!

My good friend Joe Pastry is back from vacation and has written a series of post in defense of corn. After Michael Pollen's book Omnivore's Dilemma came out last year, the blogosphere has been vilifying corn, the people who grow it and the companies that manufacture products made from it. Now they're all weepy because the price of corn has finally caught up to the price farmers pay to produce it and that has driven up the price of corn-based products. And don't give me shit about the subsidy of Ethanol. Farm subsidies have been in place for years (thankfully) and are what allows a farmer to make a living growing something that costs $10.00 a bushel to grow and the market pays $3.00 a bushel to buy.

I'm not a very smart woman and can't really put into words what my heart knows is true. If you've ever read Joe you know that his knowledgeable and prolific posts on any subject that catches his fancy will guarantee that you will understand that subject when he gets through with it. His use of humor and science make it a pleasure to learn. And, boy, have I learned! Everything from MSG (naturally occurring) to the molecular make-up of starch.

I can't tell you how happy I am that this week he's taking on the "corn devil" and I urge you to check him out immediately. (Caveat: scroll to the bottom for the first post and work your way up.) Way to go Joe! And, thank you!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Jay's Chicken

I've told you before about Jay's Chicken. This amazing process was repeated last night at the American Legion's annual Chicken and Sweetcorn fundraiser. (I hope this slideshow thingy works!)