Joan Menefee has never been a picky eater. She and her husband live in Menomonie, Wisconsin, where they tend gardens in two counties and eat plums and grapes in public parks.

Whither generics?

Private labels just aren’t as cool

By Joan Menefee

December 1, 2008

At the risk of looking petty, I am going to report a recent conversation.

Me: Look at that funny white label. Doesn’t it remind you of generic beer cans we used to see in the supermarket when we were kids?

Husband: Huh. You’re right. I wonder where those generics went.

Me: I think they became “Our Family” or “Kroger’s.”

Husband: You’re thinking of private labels, not generics.

Me: Aren’t they the same thing?

Husband: (shrug)

I know, I know. I, too, can’t help but marvel at the pure romance of this relationship. You should hear us get going about dog food.

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Born and raised in the Bronx, Harriet Fasenfest has lived in the Northwest since 1978.

She teaches classes on food preservation at Preserve and lives happily with her husband and children in Portland, Oregon.

Busy work

Homemaking is no small thing

By Harriet Fasenfest

November 26, 2008

So here is the truth: When I am working at a full clip and doing all the things I set myself up to do in the home, I can easily work six or seven hours a day. Of course there are break times and nap times and days I choose to do nothing. But what I am really noticing is that I am very busy in the home making a home, particularly in a manner I feel is responsive to the issues of the day.

It may seem bizarre to be so fascinated with my work schedule, but I am. But it is not just my work. I’m thinking about the entire system of home economics, what it takes and whether re-evaluating the means and methods of doing so can offer solace and solutions to the conditions of the world economy. In essence, I’m wondering how political and transformative the personal can be, or, to use the vernacular of another day, if being “a good little homemaker” will finally, truly, be good and not so little a thing.

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Cynthia Lair has been a member of the nutrition faculty at Bastyr University since 1994. She also stars in the humorous online cooking show Cookus Interruptus.

A locavore’s stuffing

Stuffing by touch and taste

By Cynthia Lair

November 24, 2008

Years ago, Holly was my daughter’s kindergarten teacher at the Seattle Waldorf School. She became one of my best friends. We take lots of long walks and like to do things like garden and cook together. Holly is an intuitive cook, rarely using a recipe.

The third year that we made stuffing together, I decided that I had better write it down. I loved the way Holly made the whole dish by touch and taste. She often takes a bite and proclaims, “Needs more sage.”

One of my tiny parenting triumphs was getting my daughter, as a resistant-to-everything 15-year-old, to help make the stuffing. Now it is ritual that she lends her hands to the task.

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Anne Zimmerman works for a small family-run winery in McMinnville, Oregon, and is writing a book about the food writer M.F.K. Fisher.

Movie food

Sneaking cookies into the movie theater

By Anne Zimmerman

November 21, 2008

I’ve been going to the movies a lot lately. I go to escape from the world — from a stressful period at work and from the bad economic news that seems to be on the front page of every paper. The movie theater is alluring because it is cool and dark. I can sit alone for a couple of hours, absorb myself in the problems of other people, laugh or cry a little. I walk out of the theater, and the world can’t help but look a little bit newer and shinier. It’s a good thing.

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Cindy Burke is the author of To Buy or Not to Buy Organic and recipe writer for The Trans-Fat Solution.

Welcome to the peanut-free lunch

Alternatives to PB&J

By Cindy Burke

November 19, 2008

When Allison started first grade in September, we received a note that said her classroom would be a “peanut-free zone.” To avoid problems for nut-allergic students, all peanut products would be taboo — not only in treats brought for the entire classroom, but even in individual student lunches.

Her classroom is not unusual in banning all peanut products. At many schools across America, the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich — that childhood lunchbox staple — has been permanently banned.

I wouldn’t want to endanger any child’s health, so I strictly follow the peanut-free rule for school lunches. I have a lot of sympathy for parents of children with severe food allergies. But I have to admit that my first thought when I read the note was more selfish than sympathetic.

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Wendy Cohan is a registered nurse and gluten-free educator. Her book, Gluten-Free Portland: A Resource Guide, is available through her website.

A gluten-free Thanksgiving

How everyone’s favorite holiday can be gluten-free

By Wendy Cohan

November 17, 2008

Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday, and I’m not alone. Many people appreciate it for the genuine feelings of thankfulness and generosity the day inspires, and for its relative lack of commercialism. And the food — it’s nearly everyone’s favorite meal, classically American, carbohydrate-rich, and satisfying on so many levels.

The Thanksgiving meal is also a kaleidoscope of color, with the bright orange of yams or winter squashes, the crimson of cranberries, the bright green of asparagus or green beans, and the rich earthy colors of roasted turkey, stuffing, and gravy.

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A former AOL blogger and editor, Sarah Gilbert is a freelance financial writer; she keeps chickens; and she’s a beginning urban farmer. She lives with her three small boys and husband in Portland, Oregon, and keeps her own blog, Cafe Mama.

The church of local food

A religious experience at Wordstock

By Sarah Gilbert

November 13, 2008

He had such kind eyes. Not the eyes of an imperious chef. And I, who had never eaten in his restaurant but felt that I knew him and his oeuvre so well, had made one of those connections that an audience member can sometimes make with a speaker. I know this because when I speak, I find them, someone whose gaze is comfortable to meet. A simple understanding: one is there to listen, the other to hold forth, and both of you are in the same room, metaphysically speaking as well as, yes, literally.

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Born and raised in the Bronx, Harriet Fasenfest has lived in the Northwest since 1978.

She teaches classes on food preservation at Preserve and lives happily with her husband and children in Portland, Oregon.

The lost art of householding

Urban homesteading means reevaluating your appetite

By Harriet Fasenfest

November 10, 2008

Editor’s note: Harriet Fasenfest was featured in a recent New York Times piece on root cellars.

Now that I am locked and loaded for winter and the rain is giving me permission to consider life from the inside out, I’m on to the next part of this experiment: planning meals from all the stuff in my packed pantry, freezer, and root cellar.

Managing this is not as obvious as it might appear. More than one food preserver will admit to never eating some of the stuff he has so carefully prepared. Marge, my now-retired partner in Preserve, offers many cautionary tales, such as, “If you don’t like applesauce, don’t make it.” Easier said than done, Marge. When you have lots of apples to contend with, and applesauce is oh-so-easy to make, you inevitably end up with lots of jars staring you down come April.

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Alex Davis co-wrote Dinner at Your Door with Andy Remeis and Diana Ellis. She formed her first dinner co-op in 2003, with no family nearby from whom to mooch great dinners. Her sassy ad copy has appeared in Bon Appétit, People, BusinessWeek, and Sunset.

Why I love my dinner co-op

Somebody else cooks and delivers

By Alex Davis

November 6, 2008

What a blessing and responsibility to be the weeknight cook in your family. On a good night, you’re inspired — you’ve got fabulous ingredients and are ready to rock the kitchen with a certain meal you know everyone loves. But when the fridge is empty and you’re out of ideas, it’s a whole other story.

Wait a minute! You’re a great cook. A crafty, engaged food shopper. You love recipes, grow your own herbs, and care about nutrition. So why do you run out of steam around midweek? Your problem isn’t weeknight cooking. It’s TOO MUCH weeknight cooking.

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Cynthia Lair has been a member of the nutrition faculty at Bastyr University since 1994. She also stars in the humorous online cooking show Cookus Interruptus.

White House vegetables

Time to put a garden at the White House

By Cynthia Lair

November 4, 2008

Several groups are gathering e-signatures to petition our next commander-in-chief. Their common goal? To get the next president to encourage better energy usage and better eating habits (and hence better health) by putting in a kitchen garden at the White House.

It isn’t a new idea. John Adams tended his own garden at the White House. Some past presidents have planted fruit trees; others installed a greenhouse. And then there was Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous Victory Garden, which was mirrored all over the country during World War II.

The history of what has taken place on the White House lawn, including the current putting green, can be found in a video posted by Eat the View, one of the citizen groups asking our 44th president to plant a garden on the grounds of the White House. Another group is the Who Farm, aka The White House Organic Farm Project, a nonpartisan, petition-based initiative.

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