Healthiest City in the U.S.? Burlington

I just learned that according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Burlington, Vermont is the "healthiest city" in America.

Apparently, 92% of Burlingtonians claim that they're in good health, exercise more than average and are less likely to be obese or have diabetes.

Seems like our various enlightened diets are getting some of the credit. According to an AP article: "And though college staples like pizza are common [in Burlington], healthier foods are also popular. Grass-fed beef is offered in finer restaurants, vegan options are plentiful, and the lone downtown supermarket is run by a co-op successful in selling bulk rice and other healthy choices to low-income residents."

Eatin' Down Under: Episode 1

No, I'm not in Australia noshing on Vegemite sandwiches; but my mother, Mary Elizabeth, is. Mom went to the land of the kangaroo late last month to catch the premier performance of her opera, Kiravanu. It's an environmentally focused childrens' opera co-created with composer James Humberstone: He wrote the music, she wrote the words.

I asked her to prepare some guest blogs about Aussie food. Here's one of 'em...

The Proper Way to Eat Vegemite

Some would argue that Vegemite should never be eaten under any circumstances. [ed. note: Suzanne is one of them, blech]

For those less adamant, here is some instruction from the Year Six girls and the co-Director of my opera, Kiravanu:

1) Make toast, and ensure that it is piping hot.
2) Spread it with butter, making sure that the butter melts fully.

At this point, the conventional wisdom divides. Some hold that one should spread the hot, buttered toast thinly with Vegemite and cut it into soldiers (thin strips), while others keep their toast in one piece and dot it with small dabs of Vegemite.

I took the second route, as you can see by the accompanying photo. It was certainly edible, if not something that will awaken me with cravings . . .

- Mary Elizabeth

Guilty Pleasures from Childhood

Thanks to wonders of the Internet, I learned last week that August 25 marked the 50 year anniversary of  the sale of instant ramen noodles, which were invented by late noodle genius Momofuku Ando.

Reading about the creation of this inexpensive convenience food had a Proustian effect on me. I ate ramen regularly as a child, and it even played a role in my imaginative play. My 8-year-younger sister and I would pretend that our mother was Miss Hannigan from Annie, and that we poor starving orphans were forced to subsist solely on gruel (Cream of Wheat) and a thin, brothy soup (Ramen). But what our evil keeper didn't realize is that we LOVED the soup, so we had to maintain poker faces as we ate it so that she would never find out and forbid it to us. Weird, I know.

I also had a very specific methodology for preparing my ramen, which included adding the seasoning packet prior to adding the noodles, in violation of the package directions. Why? Because that way, the starch soaked up more of the MSG-enhanced flavor. When I added frozen veggies, which was often, I dumped them in the pot after the seasoning packet, but before the noodles. And, I shunned frozen carrots and green beans in favor of a blend of peas and corn. When I was feeling daring, I'd mix flavor packets, too. Oriental beef flavor? Hells ya.

Besides ramen, there were only a few processed foods in our household when I was growing up, but there are still a few that provide me with fond remembrances. Here's a list of my favorite, highly processed guilty pleasures.

~ Ramen noodles
~ Onion dip made with Lipton's onion soup mix and sour cream
~ Royal instant pistachio pudding (I detest packaged gelatin, however)
~ Cheetos
~ Bush's baked beans adorned with cut-up Hebrew National hot dogs and cheddar cheese
~ Beef and barley soup, minestrone, and macaroni and bean from Progresso; and Campbell's bean & bacon soup
~ Mrs T's peirogi
~ Canned peaches
~ Cracker Jack
~ Spaghetti-Os with meatballs
~ Kraft macaroni and cheese

Some of these I still eat on rare occasions (Mrs T's, Bush's + hot dogs), and yesterday, for the first time in a decade or so, I was moved to make Lipton's onion dip. I blame my little trip down taste-memory lane (and the resulting belly ache) on ramen-inspired nostalgia.

To satisfy most of these cravings, though, I indulge in healthier facsimiles. Annie's products have replaced the Spaghetti-Os and the Kraft mac, I much prefer fresh peaches to canned, and I make my own delightful popcorn toppings instead of buying boxed 'corn.  There's even an all-natural cheese puff that I enjoy, and organic soups from Muir Glen in flavors similar to the Progresso products of my youth.

Since it's been so long since I had the originals, I usually don't even know what I'm missing.

Alice Levitt's 100

Hi there, Omnivore gourmets and gourmands (Yes, there is a difference, look it up). For those who don't know me yet, I am Seven Days' food intern. Think of me as Suzanne Jr. You may remember me from such stories as Exquisite Corpse, detailing my week as a butcher, and Cart Course, in which I ate from every cart on Church Street. Suzanne asked that I contribute my own take on the meme about which she last blogged. I pride myself on my exhaustive list of animals eaten, but I don't drink, so we'll see if I can compete.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea - Nettles are great, so versatile. I love buying a big bag of them mixed with carrots and frying them up as a side with Asian meals.
3. Huevos rancheros - A bad idea.
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - I have had plenty of alligator. My brother once made me alligator marsala at his late, great Essex restaurant, Feast Market and Cafe.
6. Black pudding - Any kind of sausage is just fine in my book, but "puddings" tend to be a bit grainy for my taste.
7. Cheese fondue - One of my favorite lazy winter meals is microwaving up a personal size container from Switzerland (think fondue ramen) and dipping stale bread until I am lulled into a carbohydrate coma.
8. Carp
9. Borscht - Hot, cold, spicy, sweet. Too many permutations to count.
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich - I prefer Banana and Slim Jim.
14. Aloo gobi - I would only have this at a buffet. If I'm getting Indian, I want lamb or goat!
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses - A cheese that will be added to the "to do" list.
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - I don't drink, but I had a glut of elderberry wine for my story, Pollinate This
19. Steamed pork buns - Fuck yes. I always get a pile of cha siu bao to bring home from Dobe and Andy in Montreal
20. Pistachio ice cream - I like it best with cherries in it
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - Stunt eating. If you're not in college, don't do it.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - A childhood pre-nap favorite. You need a nap after that.
33. Salted lassi - Salted drinks may sound like a bad idea, but I always love them. Try the salted lemonade at Pho Dang and you'll become a believer too.
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - There is no greater pleasure than the last bits of ice cream, jacketed in frozen root beer at the end of an A&W float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea - I grew up around a lot of English people. I always suspected even they drank it only to be polite.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat - Another favorite. I slightly prefer goat to lamb. My local supermarket, the Colchester Shaw's usually carries stew goat. Try making your own.
42. Whole Insects - I wish.
43. Phaal - This is the hottest form of curry. Frankly, I don't know if you can even get it in the US. I've never gone hotter than a vindaloo.
44. Goat’s milk - Tastes like... goat.
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu - I hear it isn't even that tasty
47. Chicken tikka masala - My earliest memory is eating this at Madhur Jaffrey's restaurant in New York.
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - Whenever I am at a gas station back home in Connecticut, I must pick up some. When I can't get those, Sam Mazza's are quite similar.
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I find the Big Mac to be an example of poor food construction. I am more of a BK Stacker girl.
56. Spaetzle - The first time my boyfriend tried this Swiss/German dumpling, he remarked, "This is so good, I can't believe it's not meat."
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips - Dog food. No really. I have only ever eaten them in dog treats. Yes, I eat dog treats. What's your problem?
61. S’mores - I like to make them with a Vosges Naga (curry and coconut) bar
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - This is clay. That is not food.
64. Currywurst - Once again: Sausage good. Curry better.
65. Durian - Don't be a wimp. It's like honeydew. With camembert. Start with an M-Saigon bubble tea, then build. You can get a whole one in Montreal's Chinatown
66. Frogs’ legs - I don't know how I've missed them. Soon, I promise.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis - Stomach, fine. Oatmeal, ew.
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho - Hate it.
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost - This is a sharp Norwegian cheese. This has piqued my interest, so it will make my list imminently.
75. Roadkill - I have eaten a lot of game that could have been road kill.
76. Baijiu - This is Chinese moonshine. I have a friend who regularly brings it back from China. Its very odor frightens me.
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky - I much prefer Yan Yan. You dip them yourself. If you are a man, try Men's Pocky, with coffee flavoring. If you are a woman, avoid it, lest you should grow a penis.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - It doesn't have the stars, but Sona in LA totally deserves them. Check out my blog post about it on www.AliceEats.com
85. Kobe beef - Horribly overrated. I prefer Kurobuta pork.
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse - I cooked it on my George Foreman grill. My boyfriend had indigestion for days.
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam - Coming out of a can makes food better, right?
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa - I had a bunch of harissa at the EatingWell test kitchen, but believe me, they were not adding rose petals
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano - One of my favorites. Jesus, I miss La Carreta.
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta - A specialty of mine.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake - I think I may have in the mists of time, but can't recall. I'm not a huge fan of the texture of reptiles as a whole, but anything for a laugh.

To learn more about me and other weird things I have eaten, check out my website, www.AliceEats.com.

The Omnivore's Hundred

This delightful meme is the brainchild of Andrew Wheeler, who is co-author of a blog called Very Good Taste. Andrew made a list of 100 foods every omnivore should try, from the utterly mundane (s'mores) to the absolutely weird (roadkill).

Here are the rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

I've eaten a respectable 68 of the 100, and there were just a handful of things I don't think I'd be willing to try (whole insects...although I could be persuaded, roadkill and fugu).

Here goes...

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl [was the bowl actually sourdough? I don't freakin' know!]
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat [I've eaten goat, but it was roasted and in tacos]
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini [I prefer dirty vodka martinis]
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost [hate, hate, hate]
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. [The French Laundry. Yah, baby]
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare [if regular old rabbit counts, I'm in]
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam [huh, I think I must have tried it, but I can't remember a specific instance, so I'm not gonna mark it]
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I Feel Like a Winner!

This post, as you will soon realize, clearly falls under the "tooting one's own horn" category, but I hope that's o.k...

Seven Days belongs to a professional group called  the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN). Each year, member papers submit their best pieces to AAN, which doles out a variety of prizes for writing, art, web design, etc. in a variety of categories. The prizes are split up based on newspaper size: We're in the smaller, "circulation under 55,000" group.

Back in January, I selected my favorite food stories from '07, and my editors winnowed the list down to three stories: Shuck & Awe, His Daily Bread and Newfound Ground Round. They submitted them to the competition. A few weeks ago, I learned that I was chosen as one of four finalists.

I was sure I wouldn't win. After all, I am kind of a new kid on the block. Plus, there were fun & snappy entries from the competition, all of whom are excellent writers (you can find links to their stories below) -- but I was really pleased to be chosen as a finalist.

I didn't attend the award ceremony, which was in Philadelphia as part of AAN's annual conference, but a few of my co-workers did. I was convinced I had no chance of winning, so I didn't really think twice about it. I was wandering around the Burlington Farmers' Market, oblivious to the fact that the awards lunch was in progress, when I got a text message telling me that I'd gotten 1st place!!!

If I had to guess why Seven Days won, I would relate it to the breadth of our food writing. A lot of newspapers have excellent critics, but fewer mix up their culinary coverage with features on agriculture, profiles of interesting folks in the industry and occasional silly stuff. I'm really lucky because my editors see that there is lots more to food than just eating.

For information on other Seven Days winners, see Blurt. 

FOOD WRITING circulation under 55,000

First place -- Seven Days: His Daily Bread, Newfound Ground Round and Shuck and Awe by Suzanne Podhaizer
Second place -- Nashville Scene: The Sign of Paradise, Heckuva Job, Chappy and Get Your Goat by Carrington Fox
Third place -- Monterey County Weekly: Miles to Go Before I Eat (PDF) by Mark C. Anderson
Honorable mention -- North Bay Bohemian: First Bite: Sky Lounge, First Bite: Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar and Saint Elsewhere by Carey Sweet

Eating Around the Globe

The other day, a reader sent me a link to a blog called "DeadGod." When I followed the link, I found a series of pictures depicting what families from around the globe eat in an average week, called "A week of food around the world). Each photo shows a family with a week's worth of food arrayed around them. It also shows the cost of that food in their native currency as well as in American dollars.

A few interesting points: 1) The number of processed American products that show up all around the world. In the picture from Kuwait, for example, one can see Ritz Crackers, Pringles, Heinz Ketchup and Kellogg's Cornflakes 2) The lack of fresh vegetables in the first American family's diet (the only one I can see is broccoli). Hello colon cancer. 3) That the family of 6 from Chad lives on the equivalent of $1.23 cents of food a week. 4) The listing of the family's fav foods under each picture.

After examining each photo carefully, I decided I would most like to swap food with the family from Cairo. My second choice would be the Turkish family.

Maybe I should try to figure out what my little family of 2 eats in a week and take a picture. It would be an interesting exercise.

Bad Blogger!

Umm, you may have noticed my sudden disappearance of late, and instead of hoping that you haven't, I figured I'd come clean and tell you what's been keeping me from blogging: the 2008 edition of the 7 Nights Guide to Restaurants and Bars, and exercise.

 

How is our dining guide preventing me from blogging? Well, it's not, really. It's just that part of my job is to make sure we have correct information for the 680+ restaurants that are listed in the guide, and right now, this means making an awful lot of phone calls. (We did send a mailing to each restaurant trying to get them to take the DIY approach, but 426 of 'em didn't send it back!)

Exercise. Getting paid to eat for a living is awesome, until you step on a scale, that is. Since I work all the time and don't have extra cash kicking around for funtastic classes or gym memberships, I finally realized that I had to get my butt in gear without spending any money or leaving my house. How? By using the resources I already have, which in this case consist of a steep staircase. So far I'm doing my new "running up and down the stairs routine" three mornings a week, and it's a doozy. When that part gets easier, I'm going to start carrying partially filled gallon jugs, too. (Got any clever home workout tips? Please let me know!) The bonus is that my cat  thinks this is a really cool game.

Problem is, I do my a.m. workout during the same stretch of time that I used to spend reading the news, checking my email and generally coming up with cool stuff to blog about.

Once the dining guide project starts winding down in a few weeks, I'm convinced I'll be able to manage both exercising and blogging. Until then, I'll probably be kind of inconsistent.

A Must(ard) Read...

Funny NYT bit on mustard a couple days ago. I adore condiments and have a soft spot for mustard in particular, so I was quite amused.

Need more mustard? Check out the website for the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum!

Want some pickles with your mustard? Here's another Bruni condiment post...

(Are pickles a condiment? My sister, brother and I eat 'em like they're the main course!)

What's Your Comfort Food?

Last night, I got takeout from Big Fatty's so that my sweetie and I could relax and not cook (and watch LOST). As I drove home with the smell of smoked meat making my nostrils tingle and my stomach growl, I tried to figure out why I love barbecue so damn much, and why I find it so comforting.

It's not something I associate with childhood or traveling. My only recollection of eating BBQ regularly is from when I went to UMass Amherst, and my dad and I would always stop at Bub's BBQ on the way back to Vermont. In fact, he often told me that he was only willing to pick me up because on each trip he got to sample ribs or chicken and their collection of all-you-can-eat sides. Thanks dad!

Anyway, I haven't yet solved the mystery of why 'cue is on my list of top 10 comfort foods, but here's the list itself (in no particular order):

~ Smoked meat with collard greens.
~ Potatoes in any way, shape or form.
~ Beef pho with lots of herbs and chile sauce.
~ Chicken livers sautéed in butter.
~ Numerous varieties of homemade soup made with my own stock. Like cabbage, kielbasa                 potato and white bean with some dill and paprika. Or borscht with a big dollop of sour cream.
~ Baked beans with hot dogs and melted cheddar cheese. I only use kosher or gourmet dogs.
~ Tom Ka soup: a coconut milk base scented with lemongrass. Delightful.
~ Braised meats with fruity sauces, such as pork belly with cider.
~ St. Patrick's Day dinner: corned beef, cabbage, potatoes simmered with pickling spices and served with tons of butter, mustard and horseradish.
~ Certain pasta dishes. Specifically homemade mac & cheese made with a roux and mountains of cheddar, spaghetti with really big meatballs, and lasagna. (When I  was a kid, I would have included Ramen noodles prepared with frozen peas and corn, with the flavor packet added in the beginning so as to best penetrate the noodles -- they say to add it at the end, but I was a rebellious child. I haven't eaten this in 8 or 9 years).

What are yours? (You don't have to list 10!)