Inhale your food

Taking the "intellectualization" of what ought to be an extremely simple process (in this present instance case "eating") one step further into absurdity is LeWhif, a system that turns food into a vapor that you inhale through a pipe. I kid you not. This makes pancakes in a can look like soul food.

Food bloggers' charcuterie project goes viral

Originators of Charcutepalooza Cathy Barrow and Kim Foster in Tuesday's Washington Post. 

Charcutepalooza, which started when Cathy and Kim decided to invite bloggers to prepare and blog about recipes from Ruhlman and Polcyn's Charcuterie has turned into a contest with a grand prize trip to France and a couple of hundred contestants. I don't know if it's still possible to join, if you are interested click the Charcutepalooza button on my sidebar and visit the site to see what's up.

 I'm one of the judges of the contest entries and am serving as an advisor to the group and will be appearing on Twitter chats to answer questions. To monitor the Twitter activity of the group in Twitter search for and follow the #Charcutepalooza hashtag.

To read the Washington Post article visit

Food bloggers' charcuterie project goes viral

A Hunger Artist Speaks

Your's truly is going to be a guest on a panel to discuss food writing in the electronic and digital age (that's now, by the way :-) at the International Association of Culinary Professionals Annual conference in New York, February 18-19th at the Astor Center. I'll be there on the 19th with hunger artistry on tap. Yeah, it'll be like a hunger art keg party!

IACP NY Regional Conference

Start Date	End Date	Location
18 Feb 2011	19 Feb 2011	New York, NY USA

Registration is now open Don't miss this exciting IACP New York regional event, featuring informative speakers, sessions on food writing and the Chefs Move to Schools initiative.  IACP members and their guests will enjoy early registration and $99 preferred pricing through 2010. Open registration at $149 begins January 1. Below are the featured sessions and special events planned for the weekend: Friday, February 18 Plenary Session 1:  Chefs Move to SchoolsInvited Speaker:  Assistant White House Chef & Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass Plenary Session 2:  What's New, What's Next Submit your most pressing food world questions and see what happens at a Presidential-style debate. Evening Networking Reception Saturday, February 19 Each programmatic track will include either 1 long and 1 short breakout session or 3 short breakout sessions. Track 1:  Food Writing in the Electronic and Digital AgeOrganized by Andy Smith - the follow-up to last spring's food writing workshop. Track 2:  The Foods of New York Organized by Cathy Kaufman - Chair, Culinary Historians of New York and Secretary - The Culinary Trust Track 3:  School FoodOrganized by Phil Gutensohn - The French Culinary Institute Track 4:  Farm to Table: Urban and Rural FoodwaysOrganized by Alexa Van de Walle - Trustee, The Culinary Trust and  Karin Endy - Chair, The Culinary Trust Optional events include:  Dine around the city on Friday and Saturday, with special access and pricing at leading eateries for conference attendees Organized by Tony Garcia - Cambridge Marketing Group International IACP members and their guests will enjoy early registration and $99 preferred pricing through 2010. Open registration at $149 begins January 1.  Register now! For sponsorship opportunities contact karin@theculinarytrust.org.

Charcutepalooza!

More than 100 bloggers have signed on to prepare one recipe from Ruhlman and Polcyn's (or is it Polcyn and Ruhlman's?) Charcuterie per month and, of course, blog about their experiences. That a bunch of people would do something like this is not, in itself, remarkable -not to me anyway. What got my attention is that all of these people seem to be sharing information on FaceBook and Twitter.

So my interest piqued, I contacted Kim Foster who is one of the organizers of this charcuterie cure and cook-fest, and offered to help. No way, I said, did I have the time or the desire to make the recipes at home, but I would like to do something.

So, long story short, I'm an advisor. My first advisory session is on Sunday, 16 January (tomorrow!) at 9PM on Twitter.

If you want to join Charcutepalooza visit Mrs. Wheelbarrow to sign on. To participate in the Twitter conversations around the event include the #Charcutepalooza hashtag in your tweets.

Mrs Wheelbarrow's Kitchen —

Ridiculous Marketing Language

So how stupid do businesses think we are that they think we are credulous enough to believe that it's important that a "Family Farmer"  grew the fruit used in something  that is clearly an industrial product produced by a subsidiary of a gigantic corporation? I suppose the answer is
So stupid that we are not even aware that almost all  farms are owned or operated by someone who is a member of a family.
So stupid that we don't know that "Artisan Lettuce" and "Artisan Bread" made in a mechanized factory are logically impossible.
I suppose there are more serious things going on in this crazy world to worry about. But I find the subject of truth in advertising to be as funny as it is infuriating.

True Sous Vide Magic

Today I received my sous vide set-up from Fresh Meals Solutions and was so excited to get it that I set it up immediately and began cooking straight away. Here are a few photos of the set up and my first attempt to cook something in it.

The sous vide device and thermometer with needle probe

Gumby and Pokey: My first meal to be cooked in the new device

Watch out Keller, I'm catching up on you!