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Organic Shmorganic

On my way home from the gym today, I walked past my corner bodega and glimpsed something in the window that made my brain stop whatever it was doing (not much) and go whooooa.  Kellogg's ORGANIC Raisin Bran?! I could not believe my eyes.

Sure enough, shortly after launching Toasteds Organic Harvest Wheat Crackers in June of last year, Kellogg's came out with a line of organic versions of three of their more popular breakfast cereals.  If I wasn't convinced of the usurping of the word "organic" by Big Food before, this is pretty much the nail in the coffin.  As far as I can tell, the effort by Kellogg's was the result of Wal-Mart's decision to claim their piece of the organics market, and, as Melanie Warner said in the New York Times, "because of its size and power, Wal-Mart usually gets what it wants."

Yuck.

Mark Morford of the SF Gate almost perfectly sums up how I feel, if with a little more snark:

Did you know? Did you already understand the real definition? Because that's what "organic" was really supposed to mean, way back when: local, sustainable, ethical, connected to source, pesticide- and hormone-free. But the vast majority of organic product now flooding the market only gloms on to that last aspect (and sometimes, barely even that), to meet the USDA's impotent organic guidelines. Ah, government. There's just nothing like it to make you want to smack yourself in the skull with a brick.

SF Gate: The Sad Death of Organic
New York Times: Wal-Mart Eyes Organic Foods (registration required)

All I Want For Christmas

The New York Times just informed me that Ten Speed Press has released the Chez Panisse 35th Anniversary 2007 engagement calendar.  A worthwhile cause -- $10 from each sale at Kitchen Art and Letters (1435 Lexington Avenue, New York) will be donated to the Edible Schoolyard program -- and pretty pictures?  I'm sold.

I've also been organizing my wishlist over at Amazon for the last couple of days, not that I expect anyone aside from my mom to buy things off it.  It's just that if I don't get myself organized, I'll never remember what I need for my kitchen.  So, I'm curious as to what people's essential kitchen items are.  Any of the three of you feel like sharing?  At the top of my unnecessary-but-awesome list right now are a cooking torch and an egg wedger.

Home Sweet (Juicy, Tart, Rich, Fresh) Home

When my parents moved out of my childhood home, I thought the adjustment would be really difficult.  It was a tough summer, but it was made much easier by the place they ended up.  Westport, Massachusetts, is a beautiful town on the southern coast, just east of the Rhode Island border. 

Places it is not:

• Cape Cod
• Westport, Connecticut

Sometimes that confuses people.

Lots of Massachusetts natives know Westport as the home of Horseneck Beach, and while summer is definitely its most popular season, the area around the Westport and Sakonnet Rivers has an active year-round food community that includes wineries, farms (fruit, vegetable, dairy, alpaca...), orchards, seafood markets, bakeries, and more.

This weekend I made a small pilgrimage to my favorite farm stand, Walker's Roadside Stand in Little Compton, RI (261 West Main Road).  As I said earlier, I can't just mention Walker's without explaining how wonderful it is, so this time I made a point of gathering some goodies to share with you all. 

Walker's is primarily a vegetable farm; the fruits it sells are bought elsewhere with the exception of berries and a couple varieties of melons.  They sell a huge variety of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, herbs, and root vegetables (their radishes and carrots both looked quite tasty), in addition to local strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. 

Like many local farms, though, Walker's is also known for its sweet corn. 

On Tomatoes

My love of the tomato blossomed relatively late in life.  I did that thing kids often do, swearing off the actual fruit (probably without even having tasted it) and only eating its most un-tomato-ey incarnations: ketchup, canned tomato soup, artificially sweetened pasta sauce. 

It wasn't until I was a sophomore in high school that I ate my first slice of raw tomato in earnest, in a turkey sandwich made for me by my friend's aunt on Long Island.  (It goes to show how momentous the experience was that I still remember it so vividly.) By the time my mother's landmark Summer of the Tomato came around, I was finally able to pop one in my mouth in its most naked state without so much as a wince. 

Since then, I've taken it upon myself to make up for lost time.  Thankfully, this season is off to a spectacular start. It began when I was home with my parents, with some startlingly sweet and juicy yellow gooseberry tomatoes from Walker's Roadside Stand in Little Compton, Rhode Island (261 West Main Road). 

(I will keep from saying more about Walker's now; it most assuredly deserves its own post.)

And just today I experienced what can only be described as tomato bliss, in the form of one Yellow Perfection (aptly named) and a handful of red grape tomatoes, all from a farm in upstate New York that I swear the man I spoke to said was called Standard Farm, though I've found no evidence of them online.  And we all know if it's not on the Internet, it must not exist.*

Anyway, the tomatoes needed very little adornment, but I took the liberty of dressing them up with a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and some chopped Anise Hyssop that I got from Pumpkin's Organic Market (1302 8th Avenue, Brooklyn) this past week.  It's a member of the mint family, with a strong licorice scent but very subtle flavor--a very nice alternative to basil.

In hindsight, the tomatoes didn't need even those little additions, so I think I'll polish the rest off tomorrow in their natural state.

* August 21 update: After some investigating, I discovered that the farm is actually called Stannard Farm, and they are located in Johnsonville, NY.