Food, Inc.

I needed a bit of a break from all the elaborate cooking from last weekend, so last night was a very uninteresting leftovers night. But, I haven't had a chance to write about the documentary Peter and I rented last weekend - Food, Inc. It's nominated for an Oscar, and I don't think Blockbuster has that many copies to begin with, so it took me a little while to get my hands on it...but it was worth it.

This movie will totally make you think differently about how you eat, and what you buy at the grocery store. It shows how big meat companies treat the farmers that are contracted to grow livestock for them, and how those farmers treat their animals. It also shows how animals have changed over the years in order to get the most profit out of them, both through genetic engineering, and through how they are fed and unnecessarily medicated with antibiotics. One of the most disgusting things I saw in the movie was a big box of hamburger filler treated with ammonia to kill e.coli bacteria...and they say this filler is put into 70% of hamburger meat in the U.S.

I buy all of my meat from Whole Foods. They have signs at their butcher counter pointing out that their cows are grass-fed and that all their meat is antibiotic free. They have more information online about how each specific animal is fed and treated. I know Whole Foods is also a big corporation, and I've read a lot of debate online about how truthful their claims are, whether their beef is 100% grass fed or grain fed and "grass finished", but I know it's better than buying meat filled with ammonia and antibiotics from the regular grocery store.

I also want to read one of Michael Pollan's books. He was on Oprah a couple weeks ago, talking about his newest book Food Rules. He talks about eating real food, like meat, fish, whole grains, and things that grow in the ground. He also says not to eat things with ingredients that a 3rd grader couldn't pronounce.

Food, Inc. also points out that the CDC estimates 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will have early onset diabetes. That is CRAZY! Anyway...check out this documentary, it's really eye-opening!

Julie & Julia, and Sole Meuniere

I rented Julie & Julia over a week ago, but Peter and I finally got around to watching it last night. We first went to Whole Foods and decided to make sole meuniere, an Ina Garten recipe I've made several times that's really delicious, and so easy. I made the sole with roasted potato slices, and an arugula and grape tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette. So we sat down with our dinners and turned the movie on, and the very first scene is Julia Child being served sole meuniere in a restaurant in Paris!

I absolutely loved the movie. How could I not, it was about all my favorite things - Paris, New York, and French cooking. We kept looking at each other in disbelief at the similarities. First there was the sole meuniere. Julie and Eric moved from Brooklyn to a bigger apartment in Queens, we moved from Manhattan to a bigger apartment in Chicago. They have a cat, and well...we have 2. They even had framed maps over their bed. And I definitely felt Julie's pain with trying to cook meals in small New York City kitchens.

Without further ado, here is the recipe for sole meuniere. It's a light, lemony, flaky fish dish that's so easy to make. This is a variation on the Barefoot Contessa's recipe, I think she used more butter. This is for 2-3 servings.



3/4 - 1 lb fresh sole fillets (you can also buy frozen if fresh isn't available, just follow the directions on the pack to thaw it)
about 1/2 cup flour
salt & pepper
1 or 2 lemons (depending on size), zested
about 3 tablespoons butter
fresh parsley, for garnish

You will probably have to cook the fish in 2 groups, unless you have 2 big skillets, so heat up the oven to 200 degrees to keep the first batch warm while you cook the other one. Heat up the skillet on medium heat. Spread flour out on a plate or cutting board. Make sure the fish is dry, and salt and pepper both sides. Dredge in the flour until both sides are evenly covered. Melt about 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet and place as many fillets as can reasonably fit without crowding - probably 3 or 4. Cook about 4 minutes or so, and flip over when the fish is lightly browned on the bottom. After flipping sprinkle lemon zest on top of the fillets and squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the pan. Cook another 4 minutes or until browned on other side. Place on an oven safe plate and keep warm in the oven while finishing the rest of the fish. Once all the fish is cooked garnish with chopped fresh parsley. Bon appetit!

Xabi likes sole meuniere, too.