Revelation in a shell: Eggs are better when chickens live better

Treating chickens more humanely not only improves the flavor of their eggs, it improves their nutrition. But confusing labels make finding the best eggs tricky.

organic-egg

Okay, so this should probably not be so much revelatory as it is common sense. On the other hand, the way you get pearls is by irritating oysters. Still, in a world in which we are increasingly appalled by how industrial farming is abusing animals and our environment in the name of cheap food, chickens get the shortest end of the stick by far.

According to an article in the Christian Science Monitor, “Chickens are perhaps the least protected of farm animals. All farm animals are exempt from the federal Animal Welfare Act, but unlike other types of livestock, chickens are also exempt from individual state laws prohibiting cruelty to animals and from the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.” The Humane Society of the United States gives an equally grim assessment of conventional egg production in our country: “Arguably the most abused animals in all agribusiness, nearly 280 million laying hens in the United States are confined in barren, wire battery cages so restrictive the birds can’t even spread their wings. With no opportunity to engage in many of their natural behaviors, including nesting, dust bathing, perching, and foraging, these birds endure lives wrought with suffering.”

Guilt alone was enough to send me exploring alternatives when it came to buying eggs. But at the supermarket, I was met with two immediate obstacles. First, a baffling array of competing claims—natural, organic, cage free, free range, hormone free, antibiotic free, vegetarian diet… Continue reading “Revelation in a shell: Eggs are better when chickens live better” →

Roasted Lamb Ribs with Rosemary: A marriage made in oven

Caraway seeds give the classic combination of lamb, rosemary and garlic a pungent, anise-like kick. Recipe below.

lamb-ribs

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]H[/su_dropcap]onest. I’m not trying to turn Blue Kitchen into “What I Found at the Farmers Market This Week.” But a recent visit had us picking up about a pound and a half of lamb ribs from the Mint Creek Farm booth—the same people who had sold us the flavorful meat for our goat kebabs a couple of weeks earlier—with no earthly idea how we’d cook them. What we did know was that everything we’d bought from Mint Creek so far had been delicious—and that we were pleased to support the way their animals are 100% grass fed, raised in pastures. Continue reading “Roasted Lamb Ribs with Rosemary: A marriage made in oven” →

Pigging out: The week in pork

It seemed pigs were everywhere last week. On the cover of the Chicago Reader, in front of an old favorite grocery store and, most deliciously, in a glorious bowl of Udon noodles and pork broth in a wonderful new restaurant.

Writer Mike Sula is a self-proclaimed unrepentant omnivore. Working with Chicago’s leading weekly, the Chicago Reader, he undertook “The Whole Hog Project”—a year-and-a-half-long series in which he followed the progress of three young American mulefoot pigs from piglet to plate. Mulefoots, so named for their uncloven feet, are a rare breed; they numbered fewer than 200 just two years ago. Ironically, it is the farming of them for food that will ensure the breed’s continued existence. And it is farmers like Valerie Weihman-Rock in Argyle, Wisconsin, who are undertaking the task. As Sula’s article puts it, she reasons that “raising happy, free-ranging heritage mulefoot pigs for meat made up in some way for the millions of confined swine that live short, miserable lives before they’re churned into Smithfield hams and Spam.”

“The Whole Hog Project” isn’t always an easy read. Sula describes transporting the pigs, whose names he knows, to the slaughterhouse—a small, humane operation where the animals are handled gently, but a slaughterhouse nonetheless. He and others in the project witness their demise and butchering. Then they transport them to Blackbird, an elegantly austere restaurant on Chicago’s restaurant row along Randolph Street. Here they are destined to become a six-course dinner prepared by seven of Chicago’s top chefs.

For me, the central point of the article and the issue is that if we choose to eat meat, we should honor it. Sula references a New York Times op-ed by farmer and author Verlyn Klinkenborg about “the moral necessity of watching, if not participating in, the slaughter of animals he raises.” Reading Sula’s thoughtfully written piece has given a face to the idea of humanely raised meat, or three faces, to be more precise.

Before there was Whole Foods, before there was Trader Joe’s, there was Treasure Island. The venerable Chicago chain was opened in 1963 by the brothers Kamberos with the stated mission of providing “a supermarket that would combine the conventional with the best of specialty, imported and domestic products at competitive prices.” Julia Child dubbed their creation “The Most European Supermarket in America.” Sadly for us, Treasure Island had slipped from our radar screens for a while. Well, it’s back. And here are a few reasons why. Continue reading “Pigging out: The week in pork” →

Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand: A fresh stop for Chicago locavores and food lovers

Chicago just gets it. Quality of life, greener living, supporting local food producers… The latest proof is Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand, a city pilot program and downtown retail outlet for “edible local products, all produced within 250 miles of Chicago,” as their website says. Run by the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with Chicago’s existing local and sustainable food communities, the store just opened October 1. It promises “fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs in season; a full range of condiments, preserves, seasonings and other dry goods items; baked goods and other seasonal items as available.”

We visited this past weekend and found a wide selection of precisely that. Heirloom tomatoes from Illinois, pasta from an Amish community in Indiana… And this gorgeous partially baked pie made with cherries from Michigan, from First Slice Pie Café in Chicago, a self-funding charity that provides access to wholesome food for those living in poverty. We finished the pie in our oven at home and all but finished it off in one sitting [we did have company, I’d like to point out]. There were fresh herbs and produce, dried beans, jams, pickled mushrooms and more from small, independent local producers. One of our favorites, The Spice House, was well represented with a selection of dried herbs and spices.

There were some other surprises too, proving that pride for local food production knows no size. They carry Morton Kosher Salt and Bay’s English Muffins, for instance, both local favorites produced for decades right here in Chicago. And salsas and chips from comparative upstart Rick Bayless’ Frontera Foods.

For farmers and local producers, Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand offers an outlet besides the seasonal weekend Farmers Markets in the city. And even better, they don’t have to be on hand to make sales. But the store’s mission goes beyond selling food. Organizers say that it will “serve as a hub for the local sustainable food industry, offering educational programs and activities, including classes, discussions and seminars, designed to foster interaction between local growers/producers and Chicago residents and visitors.” The store will operate as a pilot program through mid-December this year; plans are for it to reopen full time next spring.

Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand
66 E. Randolph
Tuesday – Friday, 11am – 7pm
Saturday, 11am – 4pm