Don't throw It Out...

One of my pet peeves has been food wastage. I am appalled at the
portions served in restaurants and the amount of food wasted,
considering how many people and children are going hungry each day.

A really concise commentary in the Hartford Courant today emphasizes
this, "We obviously have no way of getting that softening head of
lettuce in the back of the fridge to a Third-World country, and if we
could we still wouldn't halt global warming. But we can be more
careful about what we buy and eat. In most major cities, food rescue
organizations save and refrigerate food from participating cafeterias
and restaurants. Cities such as San Francisco compost organic wastes.
Some restaurants are offering smaller portions.

These are relatively easy steps, useful in themselves and helpful in
informing larger decisions on food. Is the subsidy of corn ethanol
substantially hurting the production of food? Do U.S. agricultural
policies hurt local farming around the world? Can we continue to spend
hundreds of billions on wasteful farm bills?

If we remember that food is precious and not to be wasted, perhaps we
can make better decisions across the board."

Read the full commentary at --
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-compost.artjun02,0,3258854.story

Mango Eating Competition In Bombay

"With the arrival of summer and mango season, India's western city Mumbai plays host to the 6th annual mango eating competition. Around 30 people took part, having to eat as many mangoes as possible in 3 minutes. And if they could stomach any more, the winners were rewarded with a fresh box of the fruit. The competition was a part of the six-day Konkan Festival that started on May 06 and ended on May 12," reports Reuters.

Indian Food in London is the Best...

Many agree that London is one of the best places outside India for Indian food of all kinds. Reuters says, "Better ingredients give London the edge over Indian cities for fine Indian cuisine. Better quality meat, fish and vegetables could very well put London ahead of any Indian city when it comes to high end Indian food."

See this video from Reuters--

A Gastronomic Visit to South India?

Have immigrants to the US affected what Americans eat? Sure it has but
it has also spawned new kids of tourism and travel packages. Forbes
reports that culinary trips are becoming very popular. "Though
traditional tasting trips to Napa Valley wine country or the heart of
Provence are still popular, more and more travelers are exploring
cuisine in countries like India, Turkey and New Zealand," says the
magazine.

Forbes says that, "An ambitious tour of four South Indian states, for
example, takes travelers from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
and Kerala in pursuit of the finest cuisine. No meal is spurned:
participants sample the best street food, join community feasts,
peruse spice markets and dine at high-end restaurants. The day ends at
a local four- or five-star Taj Hotels property, which customizes the
tour. Michael Whiteman, of the international restaurant consultant
company Baum & Whiteman, says this newfound culinary bravery,
particularly among American travelers, comes partly from immigration
to the U.S. over the past 30 years."

Read the full article and see pictures of the worlds top tasting trips at --
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2008/03/15/travel-vacation-tasting-forbeslife-cx_rr_0317travel.html

Indian Style Breakfasts...

The Sunday Boston Globe Cooking column by Adam Reid, featured Indian
breakfasts. Nice read and a good collection of recipes--

An excerpt --
"When I say, "A short stack, two eggs over easy, hash browns, toast,
bacon or sausage, coffee, and OJ," you know exactly what I'm talking
about: American breakfast, found at diners from coast to coast. Did
you ever wonder, though, what's served for breakfast in other
countries? Sure, we have a vague notion that the French start their
day with a croissant and strong coffee, but how about in Germany?
Mexico? China?"

For the full article and recipes go to --
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2008/02/17/indian_for_breakfast/?page=1

Food and Memories from India...

Todays New York Times magazine has a really nice article by Kiran
Desai, about nostalgic memories from India.

An excerpt from this piece--
"In the afternoons, as the rest of the family slept the sodden sleep
of a hot climate, I would tiptoe into the kitchen. Saratbhai would be
napping on the even hotter rooftop, among the rows of earthenware pots
he placed there to cool the concrete.

My mother was amused by this interest of mine. She preferred to spend
her time among her books, a collection that traveled all the way from
floor to ceiling. For an Indian woman, her lack of meddling in the
kitchen was remarkable and weird. Saratbhai boasted about it to the
others in the community of harassed, bullied cooks. It gave him
status. He was our kitchen deity.

But now his artistry was being snubbed by a child, by tastes from
abroad that he could not gauge or understand, gleaned from a book he
could not read. An uncertain world where Western was better than
Indian, where the young ridiculed the old — a world for which he
didn't have skills to cope might pour into his kitchen and undo our
home and his dignity within it."

Read the full article at --
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?pagewanted=2&tntget=2008/02/10/magazine/10food-t.html&tntemail0=y&emc=tnt

For Thiru "The Dosa Man" Kumar, the third time is the charm

Kumar, who runs NY Dosa, a vegan food cart at Washington Square Park South and Sullivan Street, won the third annual Vendy Award, which is bestowed upon the city's top street chef vendor. Kumar, who had competed unsuccessfully in the two previous Vendy Awards, finally won for his specialty Pondicherry dosas, a type of filled crepe. He accepted the large silver Vendy cup on Saturday night.

Read the full article at --
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--streetfoodcontest0930sep30,0,3886403.story