Yesterday my client kicked off its national culinary tour,Cochon 555 2010 in Napa. The event showcases five regional chefs, winemakers, and of course, the real stars of the show, five heritage breed pigs, which are used in their entirety, snout to tail. It is a nod to old world farming and the art of butchery. Below, are some pictures of the fun. Cochon 555 will be coming to a city near you. Check it out.
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My friend, Susan Henderson talks about the editing process over at The Nervous Breakdown. Not just the general process, mind you…the editing process she underwent after she got her first book deal, which she describes as all-consuming. While I have yet to receive that prized phone call that my manuscript is sold, as a freelance editor, I can understand a little of what she went through.
I fondly remember when I was an editor at BGCA. For four years, I had the pleasure of writing and editing all sorts of material for some of their 40 national programs. Everything from flashy websites showcasing members’ art, to the latest research on teen character building. It was the only place that offered me an opportunity to work on such a broad scope of projects.
With that said, I understand how editing and changing content unravels the original work. When you’re editing even a 50, 20, or 10 page guide, the smallest change or edit has a domino effect on the rest of the material. There is no one change. The smallest tweak becomes “all-consuming” because it carries over through the rest of the text. That’s what a good editor understands. While it can be maddening, it always works out in the end, and most often, everyone is happy with the final product.
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Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does your meat grow? Forgive my bastardization of the nursery rhyme, but the simple premise deserves attention. It is my hope that we, as a society, are starting to think beyond the shrink wrap and Styrofoam holding the perfectly cut loin, chop and ham, and consider our food, and its life. So, going back to my “embellishment”, do you know how the meat that you’re buying is raised?
I’m writing a guide for a client, on Heritage Breed Pigs, which really has me thinking about farming, animals, ethics and our own healthy choices.
I understand that a lot of people don’t eat meat as a stand on their own strong feelings for the ethical treatment of animals, and I admire that. I, however, am a meat eater. A conscious meat eater, and after writing this guide, I’ve become even more conscious, and I feel compelled to raise awareness of how livestock is raised, and how they deserve humane, and ethical treatment.
While the bloodlines of Heritage Breed Pigs (HBPs) go back hundreds of years, and distinct breeds are grown to produce specific types of superior meat, they are raised by farmers who are advocates for ethical family farming. They are raised in an environment where they are allowed to roam and root free in open pastures all of their lives.They are grown without hormones or steroids…allowed to mature naturally, which takes time and money.
Unfortunately, it costs more to raise HBPs because of the natural way they live. Commercially grown pigs are usually confined, plumped up with hormones and steroids, and rushed to market two-to-eight months earlier as opposed to their Heritage Breed cousins.
Which leads me to another question. How does the meat of a commercially grown pig compare to that of a Heritage Breed Pig? I did a taste test last week, and compared the two side-by-side, taste-by-taste. In my opinion, it’s like eating a handful of Styrofoam packing nuts and a rib eye steak. Just one bite of a well-prepared HBP is a mouthful of smokey heaven with tastes that round themselves out before hitting the back of your tongue with a caramelized fat cap that explodes in your mouth along with the braised juices that nearly makes your knees buckle. It is art.
Unfortunately, this art is endangered of being lost forever. Heritage Breed Pigs are critically rare, but they can be saved. They can be saved by consumption…tried and true supply and demand.
A main message of the guide is to inform the public about these breeds, and how to create a demand for them to ensure that these wonderful animals around for future generations.
Heritage Breed Pigs may be found in butcher shops, farmers markets, restaurants, and specialty food markets. Start asking. Create a dialog. It’s worth a few dollars more to experience a superior tasting hog that was raised in a natural environment.
Below is a picture of a Red Wattle Heritage Breed Pig. An extremely rare U.S. breed, prized for its tender, lean meat, splendid hams and sirloins. Its pork is exceptionally lean and juicy with a rich beef-like taste and texture. The breed displays a gentle temperament, and mothering abilities.
It’s just one of a long list of breeds that are endangered of being lost forever. Pork enthusiasts, conscious meat eaters, foodies, and non-foodies alike, let’s join together and start a dialog. More information about each breed will be posted when the guide is finalized. Until then, experience the taste yourself at a Cochon555 event…coming to a city near you.
Taxi driver’s son. Creative genius. Style icon. Troubled soul. Alexander McQueen dead at 40.
The Washington Post features a beautiful montage of Alexander McQueen’s work. Very sad.
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I went for a run while I was home for the holidays, and did something I’ve never done before. I ran without music. No organ grinds from classic Stones, and no wales from Roger Daltrey…nothing but the sound of my breath pushing out of my lungs, and my feet slapping through the grass as I made my way through the park of my old schoolyard.
While my blood pumped furiously through my veins, my mind was quiet, allowing me to see things that were once so familiar very differently.
While running past my old school house, I saw the water fountain where I drank after recess when I was a child. That brought a realization that I’m still processing today.
There’s a certain peace that comes from history, which offers a sense of groundedness. For me, my happiest moments are times when I feel at peace myself, and the world.
So if Nathaniel Hawthorne, was right when he said, “Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you,” I indeed, was happy.
After snapping the picture of my old school house fountain, I saw a butterfly. It sat with me, along with the happiness surging through my spirit.
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