waves, frets, n' discs

I watch Food Network…. a lot…..especially Alton Brown from Good Eats, Feasting on Asphalt, Feasting on Waves, Iron Chef, The Next Iron Chef (do I have to go on?). I like him, I really do. I DVR his shows for later when I need something short and entertaining to watch.

SO when I got wind of the Smithsonian hosting AB for a lecture, I jumped at getting a ticket. So this past Wednesday, I embarked into downtown DC to the National Natural History Museum and entered the auditorium with TheWife in tow. We were definitely not helping make the 25-30 year old attendance tip the scales, but that’s not to say the crowd was full of stuffy, older than the museum itself attendees. I would say that the 30-45 age group ran the highest percentage. But does that matter? Noooooo. Before I tell you what his lecture was on, I want to share one audience question. Someone asked AB how does he get his kid to eat what he makes…. His answer “Do not negotiate with terrorists.” That just makes me laugh.

I would tell you the talk was everything I expected, but it wasn’t. I’m not saying it wasn’t a wonderful talk, I’m just saying it wasn’t what I was expecting. Here’s the description:

“In an evening highlighted by clips from past episodes of Good Eats, Brown reveals his top 10 favorite moments from the early years. In addition, he discusses favorite recipes and more food puns, food trivia, and food jokes than you can shake a wooden spoon at.”

I know you are dying to know what he talked about if not the above. His title “Professor Brown’s Thoughtful Thoughts on the Cooking and Consumption of Foodstuffs.” He spoke on 10 points about food, things that he said, he was pretty sure he knew them to be correct. Oh, this is where the post  gets long…. if you make it through, hooray, if not… its ok.. it was a 90 minute lecture (including questions).

In no particular order, here’s what he spoke about.

Chickens do not have fingers – his point here was that catering foods specific to children have pretty much dumbed down their food IQ’s and created a generation that won’t eat anything real.

Soccer Balls are not food – Americans spend so much time getting their kids to practices and lessons that we’re not teaching them how to provide a meal for themselves out side of the fast food genre. That if you spend time cooking with your kids not only do they learn but that you are actually spending time with them. Go figure.

Nothing you buy is better than anything you cook – aimed at the fact that if you buy it in the store pre-made, something bad health wise has most likely happened to the food, that you can cook something simple at home, and have it taste pretty good and have be a healthy option.

Strawberries and Watermelons – Seasonality…things that only grow at certain times of the year happen for a reason and that having something like the combination of strawberries and watermelon means that someone is altering the growing schedule and thusly altering the food.

Fresh Doesn’t Mean Raw – AB pointed out that in our efforts to eat ‘fresh’ products, we’ve been duped into believing that if its in its raw state at the market, its fresh. In AB’s word, fresh is as close as you can get your product to alive once its dead. So for fish, this means while its on the boat. For veggies, immediately after its been picked. Alaskan salmon frozen in Alaska and defrosted weeks later at your fish monger is raw, not fresh. Chances are those raw veggies at the store, drove in on a truck weeks after being picked… but that farmers market of local farmers… thats raw AND fresh.

Beware Chinese Chili – Prompted by the story of cans of chili bursting on the shelves due to poor canning procedure, AB spoke about how we’ve opened ourselves up to inferior products because we want things on the cheap.

Table Manners – This was funny mostly because he put up this photo of a wolf to make the point that Americans eat to quickly… that we ‘wolf’ down our food. Another message to slow down. He brought up that if you slow down your consumption, you more readily aware of when you are full, then you stop eating so much at once.

The most important tool in the kitchen, Brain – This is self explanatory, that if you aren’t thinking in the kitchen, bad things happen. And I’m not just talking about cutting or burning yourself, but say, adding salt instead of sugar to your chocolate fudge sauce….

Gratefulness make food Taste Great – A reminder that no matter where you are eating, at home, at a restaurant, at someone else’s home, at a fast food joint, that the food didn’t just appear, that the StarTrek materializers do not exist yet, that someone physically prepared that meal for you… and that you should take a moment and be grateful that someone did that for you.

The government can’t make food safe – Here is when AB pointed out that regulations do not stop food outbreaks of bad things… Enforcement and testing stops or controls it… He also points out that federal governments can’t win against a food system that is based on regions and local production.

The last thing he spoke of was that the Food Network chefs do their shows and hope to empower people to get into the kitchen and cook… not just watch them on the idiot box. That’s it… That’s all… only funnier… and live… and alot like his personality on TV… So.. I found it all… Fantastic 🙂