GMO?. . . I Thought Genes Were What Your Parent's Gave You!

I recently heard someone complaining that fast food and chain restaurants only use genetically modified food. With rising obesity in the United States along with rising obesity in food sizes (I mean seriously, some food I see just looks morbidly obese, yes pun intended), one has to wonder what in the world is going on.
I have heard about genetically modified food science, I have listened to the news stories, but I must admit I haven't truly done my research and consider myself fairly ignorant of what it really is about. There was a lot of scientific jargon, and I had to pull out my college biology and chemistry books for some refreshers, but here is what I have learned:

• All living things have genes located inside our chromosomes (actually remember this from biology class, score!)
• Genetically modified foods are also know as; transgenic crops, genetically engineered crops
• Particle bombardment - use a gene gun (yes that is a real thing) to bombard the cell with small particles
• Only the new cells the scientists have created survive once they encounter an antibiotic or herbicide
• The U.S. Government does NOT require farmers to check the levels of toxic natural chemicals in their crop, the farmers monitor that on their own accord

Those are just a couple things. I know cross breeding has been going on for decades. Heck we cross-breed dogs all the time (Cockapoo anyone?) Some scientists claim that this genetic alteration is just a more precise way of doing what farmers have been doing forever. (Also interesting to note here that with what I read on plants, they are examined to make sure the implanted gene ONLY affects the area it needs to blend with and nothing else). The much fancier word for all of this is, Recombinant DNA technology, or rDNA tech. 

While thinking about mutating our crops and animals seems very X-Men (X-Manimal?) of our scientists, the face that the world demand of food is supposed to double by 2050 (WFO), one has to wonder how we can feed the world without letting science get involved. If we are so concerned about it (which I will admit I definitely am) why can't we just label the food and let people choose for themselves? Actually, that is a proposed law for the California ballot, to label all food that has been GMO'd. There is even a song for all the propositions in California, take a look if you want:

In the United States, we have seen a sharp rise in allergies, asthma, ADD and Autism, among other things. Europe has not seen nearly as much, and the European Union is very strict on what kind of imported foods they accept. According to the European Food Safety Authority, there are no GM animals or products on the EU market (another article read that anything that is .9% or higher GMO'd is not accepted). It does make one wonder. European friends of mine have even noted about all the boxed food we have, whereas, when I have been in Europe, there are fruit stands, butchers and bakeries everywhere - yes, even in downtown big cities like Paris. They eat so much more fresh food than we do, but the EU also seems to make a much better point of making it visible and available. 

Having been invited by Winger's Roadhouse Grill to see how fantabulous their new menu is, I had to ask about the chicken they serve at their restaurants. This is what I was told by the man who goes to the farms and checks on the things himself:

We work with chicken companies that are humane in their treatment of their birds (no force feeding) and we do not allow any growth hormone or steroid use. Therefore we accept that there will be some variance. If our specifications EVER drop below the variance allowed, we refuse product back to the producer.

Good to know! He also claimed that most restaurants like ours do not use GM chicken as well. He noted that people had complained about size; sometimes they were ginormous sometimes small, I asked him to explain.

We buy the largest wings available on the market today and that is called a 6-8 count wing.  There are not very many of this size available and as a result we buy a large percentage of what is produced country wide.  It is true, however, that in late summer and early fall, birds are at their smallest and the wings produced are on the smallest side of the variable size.  This is due to chickens summer diet and their lack of appetite.

I could go on and on about this (really, I did a lot of research, it's really fascinating), but I do not want to drone on forever and potentially bore you all. I have provided the links below to the websites I used to get my information. Feel free to read more if you like. For me, I want my food to be as natural as possible. I guess that makes sense when I love being in the kitchen making everything I can from scratch. So whether you're for GMO or you're GM-No! just be sure you are eating healthy foods with lots of flavor! A little butter and sugar never hurt either.

Sources:
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/jaeger/genetically_modified_foods.htm 
http://www.nepadbiosafety.net/subjects/biotechnology/process-of-developing-genetically-modified-gm-crops 
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-gmo-crop-breeding-methods-20121025,0,3301041.story
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php 
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_37,_Mandatory_Labeling_of_Genetically_Engineered_Food_(2012) 
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml 
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/gmanimals.htm 
http://www.gmo-free-regions.org/gmo-free-regions/gmo-free-retailers.html 

Going Against the Grain: Gluten - Friend or Foe?

Odor. It’s a powerful thing. There are those smells that take you back to your days as a child, walking into grandma and grandpa’s with her freshly-made double chocolate chunk cookies (she always claimed they were ONLY made when you visited). Then there are the odors that, well, since memory can trigger phantom smells, I’ll just say there are other odors that we wish we couldn’t remember.

One of my favorite odors is the sweet, hot smell of fresh bread. France and Italy could over-stimulate the senses in the mornings as their shops open for their first customers. And if you are in the right neighborhood in New York, you know the baker is opening his door at just the right moment, teasing you and tantalizing your nostrils so you can’t help but go in for a bite. Bread appears to be a symbol for friendship, (Amish friendship bread anyone? Check quick bits for a recipe!), of life and of love. Many Christian faiths include the breaking of the bread, symbolizing the body of Christ that one takes into their own. And yet recently, it seems as though bread, flour, pasta, all of those wholesome, heavenly foods have been under attack!

Choosing to be ‘gluten free’ (GF) is so popular today that it almost seems like it is just the latest trend. Hollywood diets, Dukan, nutrition articles (check out this one!) are all telling you to STAY AWAY! How could a food that has been a staple of human history have all of a sudden become a menace?

Go in to almost any restaurant and ask for a GF menu, and most likely they are going to give you one. My new friends at Winger’s Roadhouse Grill also have a GF menu to ensure their flour-less patrons may still enjoy some sticky finger goodness (I was pleased to see the Original Amazing Sauce is GF). Having tested a “life without gluten” myself, I decided to do a little bit of research on what ‘gluten’ really is and why/how it could be so dangerous (Celiacs disease, for example, is an allergy to gluten). Here is what I found:

First let’s cover Celiac’s Disease (CD). This is an actual allergy to gluten in which the body responds by attacking its own tissue causing eventual irreversible damage to the intestines. According to MayoClinic and WebMD, long-term effects of CD can cause weight loss or water retention, to being more severe and causing infertility and nerve damage. This is due to the inability of the villi, which are destroyed in those with CD, to absorb the necessary nutrients the body needs.

Gluten-Intolerance is a different story. Some authors and bloggers that I read think of it as more of a “rich white person trend”. But there is some true science behind it (for some at least). For someone with gluten intolerance, a diet that includes gluten (so bread, pasta, most things with wheat and/or barley) will make your stomach feel like it is tying itself in knots, along with other things that just aren’t so nice to write about so we will stay away from those (look it up here if you really want to know). As I previously stated, I have attempted to go GF myself, having suffered from ulcers since the age of ten (I have been tested twice now with no trace of CD, not even IBS) and must admit I have noticed a bit of a difference. However, I noticed the BIGGEST difference when I stopped buying bread from some big company (and even some small ones) and just made all of my bread at home. Knowing exactly what was going into my bread (and being able to pronounce all the ingredients!) seemed to make all the difference. I saw a quote by nutritionist Joanna McMillan in an article from the Sydney Morning Herald that fit well with my opinion on the rise of evil wheat:

“Some people cannot tolerate gluten and yet suddenly everyone thinks gluten is bad. The truth is; it is modern, refined foods that are causing most of our health problems. Not the individual components of food. We’re missing the point.”

I must say I agree. With all of the things we are putting into our food to make it grow faster, taste “better”, and keep up with the demand of the world, we are losing the quality that once came from true “homemade” food and our bodies are rebelling. Other scientists and nutritionist may claim that, even though we have been eating gluten since we discovered the great combination of ground wheat and water, our bodies just aren’t made to eat gluten (the Paleo diet says it’s just plain bad for you, along with others). Well here I must say, to each his own. Through healthy eating the HOMEMADE way, my body seems completely content and good with gluten.

Have a favorite bread recipe? Post it in my comments section for others! I’d love to add something new to my cookbook. 

Something to Fill Your Soul

Today I write you about something as far from the kitchen as you can get. And yet, it could be seen as close – in a way. For what I had the honor of experiencing today is the reason I am able to make what I make. To buy the abundance of food that I do without any questions, without a man having to be by my side at all times, without food shortages.

Today I had the honor, the humbling and inspiring experience of watching my grandfather be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. If you know anything about our military, or have watched movies like Saving Private Ryan you know the area I am talking about. Row upon row upon row of white marble. Silence filled with a noise nobody can hear but everybody feels reverberating through their soul.

Upon entering I was taken aback by the beauty this place with such sorrow could behold. The view from Arlington Place (Robert E. Lee’s former home), is truly amazing, looking over the Potomac to the many memorial buildings of D.C. You are both fascinated by the people who are there, wanting to shout out the different honors, ranks and dates of those you find, yet your tongue, your body knows better and you take the name and their honor into your heart, for that is what is doing all of the thinking here. You think you can stay strong, and then you arrive at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. To know that a person is there at this soldiers side every day, every hour regardless of the weather, regardless of what else may be going on is both heartbreaking and humbling – yet a smile manages to reach across your face because you know that even the unknown are never alone.

Our Chaplain, Captain Jason Hohnberger, was a truly remarkable man. His words made it almost hard to remember that you were there for a time of mourning. The beauty of the ceremony was endless. From the procession of soldiers cradling the ashes of my grandma and grandpa, to the perfection with which they unfolded and folded the flag to present to the family, to the sound of the salute with rifles and bugle – each moment filled your soul with pride and awe.

While my eyes welled with tears I had to discern what the tears fell for. Was it only for my grandfather or was it something more? My heart told me it was crying not only for my grandfather, but it was crying for the lives of all who laid there, of what they had done, and even more, my heart cried because it knew that even though it wouldn’t personally know the future soldiers that would lay there, deep down it did. For when you gaze upon the endless rows and columns of white you are gazing at the foundation of your past and the creation of your future.

This post is simply a reflection on life and the people we hold in it. How do we hold them close and how often do we reach out and tell them how much we care that they are in our life? Don’t forget about the ones you care about or this wonderful life you are able to live. 

It's Alive! An Adventure in Beer Science

One of my favorite things to do during chemistry class in high school was to take the magnesium strips, place them over the bunsen burner, then watch them flash white as the magnesium reacted to the flame. Yes, I was a bit of a nerd, and yes, I enjoyed watching things explode and bubble over (fortunately I never created a complete disaster of the classroom either).
When Winger's Roadhouse told me they brewed their own beer, well the mad scientist in me had to know just how this was possible!

Even if you are not a beer fan, the process is quite amazing! If you are a science or just chemistry geek, I highly recommend taking a brewery tour (you would never believe so much science could go into a beverage)! Winger's Roadhouse Grill & Bar brews four of their very own, only Winger's could make it, beers, out of Uinta Brewery in Salt Lake City, UT. With Winger's recipe and guidance (as well as their impressive palate for good brews), Uinta did what they do best as true brewmasters and Voila! Winger's Brother's Beer was born!

Now I had heard of hops before, and I knew from years of serving in restaurants that the foam on the top of a beer was called 'head', but that's about where my beer knowledge stopped. Sure I knew that darker beers were much heavier and were supposed to taste chocolatey (um, telling a chocoholic like myself that the beer has a chocolate taste, be prepared for my disappointment as I am expecting my mouth to be filled with the flavors of Lindt - hmmm have yet to find that beer), how much more could there be?

Well, first thing I learned - the hops are not what really gives the beer its flavor range. That comes from the grains (malted barley). I even got to eat a small handful of grains that had an amazing caramel flavor (used for their lighter brews). I also took a nibble on some barley that was for the porters that had a very distinct coffee flavor with a touch of bittersweet chocolate. Interesting, but not nearly as good as the crunchy caramel. All of these grains are mashed in the mash tun (yes, that is their language and machines, not my silly vocabulary replacements) to yield the sugars that will eventually be eaten by the yeast (fermentation!). They let it sit and steep, just like a cup of tea, before moving it to the brew kettle - this is where the hops come in!

Hops do add a bit of flavor, but their main role is to give the beer its bitterness (or lack-thereof depending on your brew) as well as its aroma (provided by aromatic hops). Once this process is over you have a kettle full of wort (pronounced wert so as not to sound like the unsightly thing on the end of a witches nose, at least that's what I like to think).

Now it's time to make the beer alcoholic! Yes, up to this point it's just a brew with some flavors. The beer would apparently taste extremely sugary, and quite syrupy at this point so it's off to the fermentation tanks! Here, yeast is added and it begins eating the sugar (I picture packman at this moment with the yeast traveling around, munching on the little sugar guys). After a couple days you have your true beer - but it's not done yet! With the exception of hefeweizen, which is not filtered (hence its slight cloudiness), the beers must be filtered (a good beer is crystal clear!), put into brite beer tanks, and pumped with a bit of CO2 (carbon dioxide for my non-chem nerds out there). From there, Uinta bottles and ships to their plethora of happy consumers.

For Winger's Roadhouse, Uinta brews the 'Amazing Blonde', a nice, light and crisp golden brew (hence the blonde name), the Hazy Wheat Hefeweizen (look for the unfiltered cloudiness),  the King's Tale Pale Ale (supposedly slightly fruity, guess my taste buds aren't quite mature enough for that one yet), and the Bootleg Porter (argh matey!) which is a bit of heavy heaven. My personal favorites are the Blonde and the Bootleg, I guess they show off my light and dark side, haha.

Perhaps the best (and most delicious) part of my tour was having the opportunity to try a beer fresh from the tank. Coming out crisp and cold, the flavors hit my mouth so suddenly my taste-buds went into overload. A pale ale will never taste the same.

As I left Uinta Brewery, I thought to myself how cool it would be to be a 'brewmaster' (the true title of a beer maker). Perhaps in my next life or the next hobby I pick up (what would go better with homemade food than real homemade beer after all)? For now, I'll pair my beer with a burger from the Roadhouse and find out what else they have to offer me.

I Moo-st know my farmer - An Adventure in Meat

It was a bit scary being asked to leave the comfort of my kitchen, with all of its smells permeating the air, its tastes triggered simply with a slight inhale of the nose. But I was up for the challenge. Winger's Roadhouse had laid claim that they had the best burger around and an actual homemade meatloaf.

"Psh, what restaurant that doesn't have a gazillion stars makes anything from scratch", I thought.

They invited me to try for myself. They promised that they would provide the break that I must admit I sometimes desired, even though cooking in my own kitchen is who I am, what I love to do.

Well, my first night at the Roadhouse, I tried the Roadhouse Burger. Cooked exactly to my liking, (medium-rare), with that juicy pink center oozing its goodness down your jaw as your teeth sink into it. With the touch of Earl's Burger Butter it truly was a five-star attraction. While there was a bit too much bread for my taste (really a bun big enough just for my fingers to touch would be ideal for me), everything else added together perfectly! But as I continued savoring and taking mental notes of each bite I had another thought; "where did the burger actually come from". You see, the other thing that made me decide to leave the comfort of my kitchen for the roadhouse was their claim of fresh, hormone free, 'we know our food' fare. My mission? Meet the meat-makers.

Driving towards Stone Meats I was a bit nervous. Had I really just volunteered to go visit a meat-packing industry? Then my stomach did another flip - oh yeah, I had also asked Burke of Stone Meats to show me where he gets his meat, JBS foods in Logan. Wow, I'm either crazy or stupid, I volunteered to go visit a Slaughterhouse.

Stone Meats, located just outside of Odgen, Utah, used to be your typical mom-and-pop meat shop back when the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker all had their own stores. Papa Stone took one of their sheep one day and made a family feast of lamb chops on the kitchen table (mama stone wasn't all too happy). Papa stone eventually made his own little meat shed, where the residents of Ogden and Pleasant Grove could come and get fresh cuts for dinner. That was when Burke Stone, current owner (with papa still keeping a watchful eye) was two-years-old. Since then, Stone meats has extended past the shed on the side of the house to a good sized facility with a small family of people they work with. Each worker has a smile on their face as they work to process their meats to create ground beef and burger patties of the highest quality.

Burke Stone is a man who knows his meat. An avowed every-day carnivore, Burke was a man I felt slightly more comfortable touring a slaughter house with. As we began our tour, Burke started pointing things out left and right as Oscar, our tour guide, went into the details he knew so well. I had never been in a true factory before and my goodness was it a sight to see. JBS had rows of people, each section tightly fitting 30-40 workers. Oscar told me that each one knew exactly what kind of meat to grab and exactly where to make their cut in order to keep the most, best meat as much as possible. Trust me when I say that if you find out a man who wants to get in a fight works in a factory like this, be sure there are no knives near. Watching how fluidly they moved with their razor-sharp blades was both beautiful and extremely intimidating.

We worked our way through the factory, seeing each and every part of the cow and how it was used (which was impressive, no part was not used for something). I guess we have evolved a bit from our cowboy days where we would simply kill for fun, leaving it for the buzzards. Everything had a purpose, even the "honeycomb" (if you really want to know what area this is I suggest looking it up, it's a bit too icky for my tastes to share). And wouldn't you know - cow tongue is hugely popular in Japan, with JBS having a large export of meat to the islands (Burke also says the tongue makes a mean sandwich, hmmm).

As we got closer to the "kill floor" I had to take deeper breaths. You see, while I love a good ribeye and a juicy burger, I also love animals, so the thought of watching them get systematically stunned made my stomach lurch a little. I kept reminding myself that this is what they are bread for, and with Oscar knowing so much about the animals I felt assured that they were treated well throughout the entire thing. As the bodies grew larger I began to notice a couple cows passing with large chunks of meat already cut out. Oscar informed us that the meat was already cut out due to bruising. You see, if a farmer does not treat his animal well, beating it and stressing it, the meat will bruise - bruised meat = no can eat. Oscar said they had had to travel to farms to warn the farmers that they would no longer use them if their cows did not come treated better. Oscar also told me that while they know the age of every single cow that comes in, some farmers are so good to have an actual birth certificate sent with them with the day, month, time, name of mom, etc. The others will simply have the month and year they were born. I'm not sure that seeing a birth certificate would make it any easier (actually it would probably make it harder to stun them), but it was touching to know, what with all the angst from people against slaughterhouses and big meat companies.

I won't go into detail about the kill floor for you. If you really want to know I suggest finding out for yourself. I can tell you that it really is an amazing thing to see and that the cows really feel no pain. The process is fascinating, and the effort and speed at which the factory workers do each individual job is truly impressive (you would be absolutely ripped if your job was to carve out the pelvic bone!). Doing the tour gave me a great respect for both the farmer and small meat shop owners like Burke Stone, as well as factories like JBS foods who get so much flack for simply feeding a growing world population.

As I returned home, I stopped by Winger's in Brigham City and yes, I enjoyed a burger. And I felt completely confident in eating it, because I knew exactly where this meat had come from and what people had done to get it on my plate. They had tested it to be sure it was free of everything from hormones to e-coli, they had cut it gently but efficiently to ensure this meat was of the highest quality, and perhaps most importantly, they had made sure it came from cows who were treated well.

Winger's Roadhouse can say they know exactly where their meat is coming from, and that just makes it taste that much better. An inch and a quarter of true prime meat!


Interesting fact: The cows at JBS are sprayed with Organic Ammonia at the very beginning of the process, with a concentration of only .75% that kills any e-coli that may have been on the hide. By the time the meat is trimmed down to the perfect cut, barely a trace of this organic chemical is left!