Photo by Mike

Everyone loves comfort food and also classic comfort foods. When you think of something that makes you happy, a warm smile should come over your face. And typically for me, a perfectly cooked steak brings on a smile. Whether your preferred cooking method is searing, broiling or grilling, a perfectly cooked steak is always the centerpiece of the table.  Read More

Photo: Chris Blakeley

It’s no secret that sodium can play a villainous role in our health. We’ve all heard that the average American consumes far more sodium than we should, increasing our risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.   Read More

Photo: The Giant Vermin

Here are some practical strategies for reducing sodium intake from the top sodium bombs in our daily diets.

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Photo: Ryan Morrison

A few weeks back, the NY Times launched an essay contest for readers to answer the contentious philosophical question that puts many food-enthusiasts on edge: is meat-eating ethical? In a social moment of heightened vegetarian, vegan and global warming awareness that have lunged the topic of meat and overall food consumption into the limelight, a few highlights worthy of consideration stood out among the passionate responses.  Considering the current flooding of health-initiatives, complex diets and a focus on farm to table politics, the contest highlighted the sometimes-contradictory and always opinionated debate on the ethics of meat-eating.

One woman who grew up on a farm discusses the most basic levels of interconnection between crops, animals and humans–one that relies on animals to graze the fields upon which they naturally fertilize and that people need to consume to keep in step with a natural order. She stresses the fact that a balanced and healthy life is one in which we should not dismiss part of this self-sustaining cycle where animals need to be eaten, if not for any other reason than to make room on an increasingly crowded planet.  Read More

Photo:Ian Britton

By: Allana Mortell

This week, the FDA announced that in order to obtain antibiotics for farm animals, nation-wide farmers and ranchers now require a prescription from a licensed veterinarian. Reason being, officials hope to reduce the inane amount of human deaths that have continued to result from overuse of these same drugs. The connection between farm animals and the overuse of the drugs stems from the growing bacteria that appears after using small amounts of these antibiotics over time. The biggest problem being that since the bacteria is resistant to any effects of the drugs, once humans are infected with said bacteria, they cannot be treated with routine antibiotic therapy.

Eighty percent of antibiotics sold in the United States are used in animals and at least 2 million people are sickened and more than 99,000 die every year from hospital acquired infections. Though it is unclear how many of these specific illnesses are resulting from agricultural use of antibiotics, the FDA hopes by regulating such a ban, the number of deaths will reduce significantly over time. Read More

By: Cyndi Amaya

When was the last time your butcher recommended a new cut of beef for that extra special dinner you’re planning? Well for a long time, the neighborhood of Harlem didn’t quite have a friendly butcher they could go to for advice. In fact, there hasn’t been a local butcher for a few decades in this neighborhood- until recently. Just a few months ago, Tim Forrester and brother Mark opened up Harlem Shambles on Frederick Douglass Blvd to bring their expertise in all things meat to Harlem.

Besides providing some of the best and rare cuts of meat available, Harlem Shambles not only fills a much-needed void in the community, but their insistence on providing quality natural grass-fed meat also has people putting more thought to where their meat came from.

We caught up with owner Tim for some insight on the new shop and for some great tips on what to look for when buying meat, especially on a budget. Check out the interview below… Read More

Photo: Stu_Spivack

By: Melaina Gasbarrino

We’ve all heard of goat cheese and stepping into the likes of goat milk, yogurt and butter, but which you may not have thought of is adding goat to your list of delicate dinner dishes. Goat meat is becoming more readily available in America as this healthy meat is now being stocked in Whole Foods across the country. With its popularity on the rise, it has us wondering if goat may just be the new chicken?

Taking a look at the facts, goat meat is actually one of the best types of meat out there. Mark Scarbrough, co-author of “Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese” describes goat as very tender and is considered ‘a cross between dark-meat turkey and pork’. With a savory, rich flavor, it’s best served in a moisture-rich cooking method to allow for the firm texture to soften into a whole bundle of goodness. Another key piece of information to note for all those environmentally friendly gurus, goat meat according to Rancher Bill Niman, is actually a ‘great environmental choice because goats thrive on pasture that cows don’t like – so its complementary to cattle ranching’. Read More

Photo: IwateBuddy

By: Dylan Rodgers

My fiance and I just opened one room in our apartment to a European couple to give them shelter as they looked for residence here in NYC.  As I gave them the neighborhood tour, ultimately stopping at the food market, they asked me a question I guess I have always just taken for granted:  “Why is your beef in America so red?  Ours has more of a blue-grey hue.”

The question at first caught me off guard and I thought, “Well surely American beef companies dye their meat to make it more appealing.”  I decided to do a bit of research into the subject and surprisingly landed on a shocking experiment conducted by Benjamin Franklin.

We have all heard the story about Ben Franklin flying a kite with a key attached to it, thereby unraveling the mystery of lightening in 1752.  Well I’m here to tell you about another story; one that happened three years before and altered the world of food forever. Read More

Photo: Charles Haynes

By: Saira Malhotra

Last week the Guardian featured a post entitled ‘Greener Meat: The Offal Truth’. The article was in response to the many discussions that emerged from Sunday’s United Nations: World Food Day. There were questions of why some are eating to the point of obesity while others are starving to death, how the climate plays a role, and how to bring stability to food prices. The nation is becoming well acquainted with these discussion points and Felicity Lawrence of the Guardian, breaks it down in bite-sized portions and demonstrates how we as individuals can make a difference. Read More

Photo: Laura Appleyard

BY EMMA HABERMAN

The choice between vegetarianism and carnivorism isn’t always an easy one. Though some avoid meat as a matter of taste, many people go vegetarian to protest the inhumane treatment of animals as they are raised to be eaten. For those who are squeamish about livestock practices but can’t live without a cheeseburger, shopping options are limited. People living in rural areas may have access to farms where they can easily learn how their meat was raised, but most of America buys its meat in a supermarket. City-dwellers must either settle for grocery store mystery meat, or go to smaller, sustainable butchers, which are, unfortunately, usually more expensive.

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