New Farmed Salmon, Angry Liberals, and Other Food News

Options Abound for Those Who Shop by Foot or Pedal by Karen Gaudette (Seattle Times): If there's one thing Seattleites need, it's more gear! Handy tools to make walking or biking to the grocery store easier.

The High Holidays are upon us. Since neither of the Seattle papers have Rosh Hashanah recipes, here are some from the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Chicago Tribune.

Grande Americano, Extra Green by Jacob Leibenluft (Slate): I love Slate's Green Lantern feature, which analyzes in minute detail the environmental impact of small purchasing decisions. The results often indicate that our "green" choices are more closely tied than we expect to our cultural values and how we want to be perceived by others. Today's question: Mug or disposable coffee cup?

A New Breed of Fish Farming by Fiona Morrow (Toronto Globe and Mail): A British Columbia supplier is raising Coho salmon in tanks on land. Nix to the sea lice, ocean dead zones, antibiotics, and PCBs. The only problem is that the carnivorous fish still need to eat lots and lots of smaller fish, the stocks of which are being depleted, too.

The Facts About Corn Sweetener by Marion Nestle (SF Chronicle): The nation's foremost nutritionist explains the hard facts about high-fructose corn syrup, demonized by people like me. Yes: It's just sugar. No: It's still not good for you.

Pickled Fruit Adds Flavorful Touch to Dishes by Lisa Zwim (Boston Globe): Pickled apples? I am intrigued.

At Berkeley Bowl, the Nuts Are off the Shelf by John Glionna (LA Times, via SFoodie): The Berkeley market I consider to be America's best source for produce is also one of America's worst shopping experiences. Going there used to traumatize/excite me -- this is a place where even Michael Pollan gets publicly criticized for what's in his shopping cart. And now an LA Times reporter has written an article about it (truth be told, it feels a little overheated to me, but not that much). In a good show of that "liberal" Berkeley ethic, Glionna has received tons of hate mail and been banned for life from the Bowl.

To the oh, Mary, please file, I add this story.

I went looking for pickled-fruit cooking lessons on YouTube, and instead found this home-made video involving a novel pickle treat. Sometimes I miss the Midwest: