Mothership Meals and Satellite Saucers: Brooklyn Food Conference

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Brooklyn Food Conference

I went to the BFC yesterday, and was totally overwhelmed (in a good way), and came home buzzing with Brooklyn love.

First we saw the chickens which were on display at PS 321, and i talked to Declan of the Red Hook Poultry Association.

My kids had to leave to go to a birthday party, so I went on alone to my friend Sarah's milk panel. She had Anne Mendelson (who wrote the fabulous and James Beard-award-winning book Milk), Sally Fallon (of Weston Price Foundation), Dante Hesse from Milk Thistle Organic Dairy, and Sam Simon, another dairy farmer, who started Hudson Valley Fresh, a dairy cooperative.

The milk panel was fascinating. All the panelists agreed that whole milk was best, and all of them (Anne Mendelsohn a little less enthusiastically) agreed that dairy products were essential to good health. Sally Fallon said that even in Asian cultures, where dairy products are not regularly consumed, that bone broths are an essential daily food.

The most interesting thing I learned was this about organic milk: Dante Hesse, the organic farmer, said that a major pitfall in his opinion in the organic statutes is that cows on an organic dairy farm can never ever be given antibiotics. Once they're given antibiotics, they have to leave the farm. This creates a problem for the organic farmer whose cow needs antibiotics. Do they sell the cow right away? Or do they wait and see if she heals on her own or with homeopathic/alternative remedies. He said very candidly and bluntly, "Or do you wait and wait and finally give the cow antibiotics, and then she dies anyway because you waited too long?"

Of the huge dairy conglomerates, Dante recommended Organic Valley, which he said was a real cooperative made up mostly of small farms.

Another interesting thing: Sam Simon said that milk is a global commodity, and its price is set in Chicago, somewhat mysteriously. Large dairy farmers are heavily subsidized; small dairy farmers are not, which is one reason small dairy operations have expensive milk.

Anyway after the milk panel I went to the Chicken Farming workshop. Owen Taylor and Declan Iforgethislastname were showing slides, passing out bagged samples of chicken shit and generally psyching everyone up for the idea of backyard chickens in NYC.

On my way out I passed through the Exhibition Hall, which was packed with tables on holistic parenting, bio diesel, jewelry, veganism, parent activism, composting, and just about everything else. It was vibrant and amazing. I love Brooklyn.

Here's some coverage from the Times.

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The Mothership Method

(Or, how to sit down for dinner with your family without completely losing your mind)

It would be great if kids AND parents wanted boiled chicken and baby carrots every night for dinner. But, too bad, we picky parents want spicy, exotic, fun foods, and our kids want, well, sorta lame foods.
Here's the solution: break it down. Serve the dish deconstructed, and let everyone put their own dish together at the table. Sort of like tapas, or smorgasbord, or tacos. Or how in some parts of China you get a bowl of rice, and everything else is in the middle of the table and you take what you want for your own little bowl of rice. That way everyone gets to eat what they want, parents don't have to nag their kids, and kids get to feels some ownership over their meals. Plus, kids get exposed to the look and taste of the foods you hope they will one day love. But it's not just tacos. You'll be amazed at what can be served with the Mothership Method.

Ten Tips to Get Through Dinner Without Having A Nervous Breakdown

1. Accept That Kids Are Picky. No need to freak out on your cooking ability, or look at your kids like there is something wrong with them. It's called "neo-phobia", and it's just how they are, especially from ages 3-6.

2. Serve Meals Broken Down. Even grown-up meals like coconut curry or linguine with clams can be served in their elements, making them more appealing to kids. Grown ups can assemble their own jumble of deliciousness at their own plate while kids take on the pared-down elements.

3. Push if it Works, But Don't Nag If It Doesn't. Some kids are okay with being expected to taste everything on their plate. Others aren't. I think it's okay to push kids -- but not if you're turning dinner into a battlefield.

4. Suggest a Smell. Smelling a new food is easier than tasting it, and can sometimes provide a kid with the information needed to take that scary first bite. But don't confine smelling to new foods. Smell favorites, too, and help them develop their sense of smell by making a game out of it.

5. Don't Ask "Do You Like It?" Instead, try, "What does this remind you of?" or, "Would your cousins like this?" or, "Does this taste salty or sweet?". Asking if they like it or not gives kids too much power and ends the conversation. Besides, we don't care if they like it! We just want them to keep tasting it until it is familiar.

6. Don't Get Frustrated. Imagine being in Taiwan, or Nairobi, or Rome for the first time. Would you eat everything on the local menu? New foods are scary and gross. Our kids need time to learn about the foods that we eat.

7. No SubstitutionsThis is family dinner, not a diner. You, in all your wisdom, have provided foods that are healthy and delicious and appropriate for your children. There is something on the table for them to eat. Period.

8. No Snacks Before Dinner. This can be the hardest with our hectic schedules and hungry kids. But children who come to the table hungry are more likely to eat than cause trouble.

9. Put Peer Pressure To Your Advantage. School children are more likely to accept new foods if the alpha girls in their group accept them. Swap healthy food ideas on playdates.

10. Involve Your Kids In Cooking, Shopping, and Gardening. The more experience kids have handling and preparing a variety of foods, the more likely they are to eventually accept the foods. (But don't get upset if they help you make a complicated wonderful meal, and then refuse to eat it.)