I’m super excited to be heading to Wanderlust!!! If you happen to be going, let me know as I’d love to meet with you to chat about all things gluten free, so ping me!

I’ll be there armed with plenty of gluten free treats, so if you want to dish a little, invert a little, or just enjoy the view, I’m your gal.

For the remainder of July, I will be conducting a recipe contest!!!

There will be one winner a week and each Friday, I will post the winner’s recipe, fully photographed and presented in the trademark Blackbird style for everyone to see!

The first week’s winner is JAYNE ASTON. Congrats, Jayne, and thank you again for your wonderful contribution.

As a part of the Jason Middlebrook initiative, each submission made to Blackbird Bakery will also be forwarded to Arthouse where each recipe simultaneously has the chance to be a featured item on the menu at the communal potluck dinner to be held on November 20, 2010.

The deadline for submissions is JULY 31, 2010.

Please submit your recipes directly to me at fly@blackbird-bakery.com with the following information:

Your name, the source of your recipe (inspiration, family member, etc.), email address, your hometown, and phone number.

Rules:

Each recipe must have a gluten free component in order to qualify.
Each recipe must call for at least one organic, locally grown vegetable or dairy product; this includes eggs and cheeses. Please provide the name of the farm you source from, so they can get credit, too.
The recipes can be savory or sweet.
Each entry will be tested by me personally, without exception.

Each winner will receive full accreditation from Blackbird Bakery for their achievement and will have their recipe photographed and published on the Blackbird Bakery site.

For week two, each winner will also receive a special box of Blackbird Bakery treats.

Most importantly, each entrant is also in the running to have their recipes in the Arthouse recipe contest, where the winners will have their recipes prepared for the Arthouse communal dinner on November 20th!

This is a very exciting event for all of us to be a part of and I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Jason Middlebrook, b. 1966
Brillo Planter, 2007
American Artist and Sculptor

IMAGINE YOUR WORK HERE!!!!!

“Let food be thy medicine.” -Hippocrates c. 400 B.C
Ancient Greek physician considered the father of Western Medicine.

I just became a proud member of The Slow Food Movement last week for three very simple reasons: organic, locally grown food tastes better, it’s better for the environment and it improves your overall health.

Even though you are buying organic foods at major supermarket chains, it’s been shipped in from places that are thousands of miles away. Living in Texas, most of our organic foods come to us from places like California, Mexico and Washington. This means that the vegetables were picked before they were ripe, and then they were piled into huge refrigerated trucks so they could be driven in.

I don’t know about you, but to me, this just doesn’t make logical sense. Why should we pay more to buy unripe organic foods that have been driven in from thousands of miles away? The costs to truck in your organic goods, both fiscally and environmentally, is counter intuitive to the notion that buying organic means that you are also saving the environment. It’s a slippery illusion but unfortunately it is a real one.

It just seems a whole lot easier, and a whole lot more logical, to buy less expensive organic ingredients the day they are picked from someone right down the road, wouldn’t you agree?

By buying from local organic farms, you are purchasing all your gorgeous vegetables and leafy greens at the height of their ripeness, so you can taste, with great accuracy, the incredible flavors that are the hallmarks of all the fruits and vegetables that we hold dear.

Dalia Sapon-Shevin
Woodcut from the Battle in Seattle
World Trade Organization protests, 1999
Environmental Food Activist, Author and Artist

In fact, a good farmer is akin to a thoughtful wine maker. Their seeds and their vines are the result of generations of meticulous cultivation and over time, each one becomes a representation of the integrity and ingenuity of the person that cultivated it. As smart as we are, however, the quality of the soil plays a very significant role in the resulting harvest. Each plot of soil has a particular terrior or what I like to call earth flavor, which translates to the bold, characteristic flavors of our venerable vegetables and the subtle nuances of a particular grape. This earth flavor is dictated by the mineral composition of the soil, so a local organic farm is going to have minerals in the soil that are specific to the region in which you live.

Research has shown that eating food grown in your region helps provide your body with region-specific probiotics, strengthening your immune system and reducing your allergic reactions to local flora.

Anyone can see that it just makes sense to buy from local organic farms. In so doing, you are no longer robbing yourself economically, environmentally or nutritionally. Instead of acting the part of an environmentally conscious person, embody the words made famous by Ghandi, “be the change you want to see in the world.”

Together, we can change the laws of supply and demand through the way we spend our money and where we choose to spend it. I always like to imagine that the choices I make in life are synonymous to me tossing a pebble into a very still pool. As I watch the tiny concentric waves ripple out from that point of contact, I get to see first hand how my decision is effecting the whole body of water. When the waves lap up on the sandy banks beneath my feet, I smile knowing that that those delicate waves will pass through the world beneath that endless expanse of water, eventually landing on a very distant shore. If we all toss in a stone at the same time, imagine the enormity of the waves we can produce. Imagine the global changes that can be made.

Lynd Ward, 1905-1985
Woodcut From “Mad Man’s Drum,” 1930
American Graphic Artist and Storyteller

It’s been very busy the last couple of months both personally and globally. Personally, well, I’ll keep that to myself and let you guys use your imagination about that chapter, but globally, the focus has shifted from the war in Afghanistan to the war on the environment.

The BP oil spill is obviously the epicenter of the conflict, and I will be honest with you, I am no expert on the subject and will stake no claim as such, but even a lay person can understand that the basic cause of the spill was human negligence spurred on by the most arrogant of aggressors: greed.

Greed can destroy families, friendships and business deals in the blink of an eye, but the situation here is pandemic and is affecting the world at large. I mean, does the fishing industry even have a future? And what does this mean for the future of the oceans?

Paul Greenberg’s eloquent cover story, Tuna’s End, from Sunday, June 27th, addresses these very same questions with his focus centered on the over fishing of the bluefin tuna, which, by association, includes the entire industry.

“Bluefin tuna and all species of tuna are the living representation of the very limits of the ocean. Their global decline is a warning that we just might destroy our last wild life.”

“Appetites continue to outstrip supply. Global seafood consumption has increased consistently to the point where we now remove more wild fish and shellfish from the oceans every year than the weight of the human population of China.”

I know. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read that as well. This backdrop built a very solid platform for the most interesting, if not poignant, aspect of Mr. Greenberg’s article which was the notion of entitlement.

When Greenpeace reached out to Ritchie Notar, a co-owner of the lauded Nobu restaurant chain in 2008, asking him to please consider taking bluefin off the menu, his response was befuddling,

“We are dealing with thousands of years of cultural customs. The Japanese have relied on tuna and the bounties of the sea as part of their culture and history for centuries. We are absolutely appreciative of your goals and efforts within your cause, but it goes without saying that we can not just take what has now all of a sudden been declared an ‘endangered’ species off the menu. It has to do with custom, heritage, and behavior.”

Yes, of course it does. Taken on the whole, this the crux of the article. Just because we have a particular behavior or heritage does not mean we are entitled to maintain these behaviors or customs if the circumstances of the present dictates otherwise; how can we continue to expect what the planet can no longer provide?

The circumstances of today are clearly stating that our sense of entitlement has reached its endgame. The next moves we make as a global community are crucial. Who knows? They could be so crucial that the pendulum could swing in two drastically different directions. If we make poor decisions, it could mean the obliteration of everything we’ve taken for granted, while if we choose wisely, perhaps it could mean the dawning of a renaissance.

Wouldn’t that be grand?

“When BP’s Horizon Deepwater oil rig collapsed into the sea and spewed oil into the only bluefin spawning ground in the Americas, just as the few remaining North American stock giant bluefin were preparing to mate in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Drysdale/Ernest Voller
Minischach
Berlin

“We are all one. The loss of any life only diminishes myself.”
- Jacques Cousteau

The latest shocker? According to the Neilson Company, “the sales of gluten free items has risen 74% from 2004 to 2009.”

What does this dramatic rise indicate? That more and more people are getting sick and having to adhere to a gluten free diet, not because it is the latest fad, but out of necessity.

(Please note that the article is incorrect by saying that you must eliminate buckwheat from your diet. Buckwheat is in fact gluten free.)

If you have been following me for some time now, you will also know that the latest environmental studies have also proven that the by-products of plastics are the leading cause of “most auto-immune disorders, including ADD, ADHD, autism, cancer” and celiac disease. The theory is that over time, these toxic by products have built up in our genetics, creating genetic aberrations that are just now beginning to actualize themselves. The most efficacious treatment for each one of these ailments is a gluten free diet.

Further proof that we must collectively make the effort to cleanse ourselves from the over exposure to plastics by drinking filtered water, storing our foods in glass containers and buying as much of our foods at organic, local farms.

Sadly, plastics can be found in nearly all seafood, especially the bottom feeders, making it toxic to eat. The only way we can hope to repair ourselves and salvage the life of our oceans, is by living more consciously of these very real facts. People, let this be your alarm call. Plastics are destroying us from the inside out and the outside in.

So what can you do? First and foremost please recycle your plastic food containers, say no to the single use plastic bags at the grocery store when you are buying your produce or when you are checking out. Buy these awesome reusable produce bags and no longer buy plastic water bottles. Filter your water and carry a stainless water bottle instead. Not only will you save money-you’ll be making a huge, positive impact on our fragile environment.

Frederic Edwin Church, 1826-1900
Niagra, 1857
Oil on Canvas
Corocoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
American Landscape Painter

ABSOLUTELY everyone must read this shocking article about how plastics are destroying our oceans. I’m sharing it with you after discovering it myself while following The Plastiki Expedition as they finish up the last leg of their epic journey to raise awareness about this devastating reality.

“Out beyond all wrong doing and right doing there is a field. I will meet you there.”

                                                            -Rumi

Here’s a little inspiration for you…

Rene Magritte, 1898-1967
The Beautiful Captive, 1965
Gouche, 29.8 x 45.2 cm
The Cultural Community Collection of Belgium
Belgian Surrealist Master

As I thumbed through my Sunday Times yesterday morning, the only section that grabbed my immediate attention was The Week in Review. Beneath a picture of a rippling, blackened sea was the headline, “The Ahab Parallax.” I immediately flashed a knowing grin as I pulled the section from the heaping bulk and lovingly flattened the fold beneath my thumbs just as a seamstress would eliminate a wrinkle from a fine piece of cloth. Leaning back in my chair, I felt the space around me fill with echos of my undergraduate days and I was no longer alone.

As a literature major, by the time I graduated from the University of Texas, I had read Moby Dick three times. Granted my first read was in high school, I still found it more than coincidence that my most respected professors were also the most insistant that Moby Dick be at the top of their reading lists. I can still see the noble pride on Professor Freeman’s face when he derided a classmate for openly complaining about having to read such a “long stale piece of shit.”

“Excuse me, young man. What was that that you said?” he barked. The boy froze as his arrogance melted from his shoulders, just barely managing to lock eyes with the Professor after a few very uncomfortable shifts and changes in his seat.

“Young man, if you think that Moby Dick is a stale piece of shit, then I can deduce two things about you right this second. One, is that you have never read Moby Dick and two, is that you will fail my class. So don’t waste my time. Get the hell out of my room and don’t ever come back.”

After the poor guy tucked his books into the nook of his arm and shuffled out of the room, Professor Freeman’s face immediately lit up as the door clicked shut.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what you hold in your hands is the greatest novel ever written in the English language. It is THE quintessential masterpiece that is so brilliantly written, it still resonates today, even though Melville penned it in 1851.”

The most obvious parallel that Randy Kennedy has drawn between the novel and the current events of today are “…the daily reminder of the limitations, even now, of man’s ability to harness nature for his needs.”

This is merely one of the many complex themes that Melville employs throughout the novel, but it is a cornerstone of the story, which makes it all the more relavent and all the more troubling. Man’s need to dominate nature is a theme that has only intensified through time, which Mr. Kennedy very aptly states in his piece, even after the warning the Exxon spill gave us, we continued to “push ever farther and deeper” for more reserves of oil.

Ahab had a similar warning after loosing one of his legs to his nemesis, Moby Dick, yet rather than stay on dry land, he stubbornly persisted to to return to the sea to lay his claim to ever more of the precious spermaceti while smiting out his mortal enemy in the process.

“We want our comforts but we don’t want to know too much about where they come from or what makes them possible.”

Mr. Kennedy doesn’t extend the reach of his article beyond the oil spill itself, but I immediately made a corollary. Since plastic is a derivative of petroleum, and since the link has just been made that the by-products of plastics are responsible for causing the rise of auto-immune disorders like celiac disease, autism, ADD and ADHD, may the BP spill be the huge awakener as proof positive for change. Lest we all suffer the same fate as captain Ahab, sailing towards an emminant demise all in an attempt to cling to a way of being that is just no longer viable.

It’s time for a revolution to occur. It’s time to break our ties with petroleum. It’s time to eliminate the excessive use of plastics in our everyday lives.

We’ve been given our second warning. So far, let the record show that the white whale has removed our second lower leg, and we are currently standing on our knees.

Raphael Morghen, 1758-1833
The Last Supper, after Leonardo da Vinci, 1800
Etching and Engraving, 10 1/2 x 36 3/4 inches
The Leo Steinberg Collection
The Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas
Italian Etcher and Engraver

I’m heading out to get more of the mouthwatering greens and summer squash at Boggy Creek, my favorite organic farm right in the heart of Austin.

On the Today Show this morning at 9:00am, Al Roker shared his secret to his dramatic weight loss with Ann Curry and Natalie Morales. About half way through the interview, he reveals that he avoids gluten all together.

On my way up to New York for the BEA, I came across an interesting, albeit contentious, follow-up article in Time Magazine from May 24th by Tiffany O’Callaghan, titled Cancer, Cancer, Everywhere, that again addresses the malignant health implications of environmental toxins, with the by-products of plastic making the top of their list.

I have to say, however, that my reaction to Ms. O’Callaghan’s article was nothing short of enraged surprised. Although she does suggest that we should “drink filtered water and store all our food in glass containers,” to help decrease our exposure to environmental toxins, the clear tonal intent of the article is to quell the masses into believing that we should just “eat more fruits and vegetables in general,” and that everything will be fine.

Well, everything is not fine. The 240-page report clearly states that “The American people-even before they are born-are bombarded continually with these dangerous exposures.” Not only are nearly all of our foods stored or sold in plastic containers, (“more than 80,000 chemicals are on the U.S. market, of which only a few hundred have been proven safe) the plastic bags we use to carry our foods home and the water bottles we tote around are clogging our oceans. So much so, this plastic is breaking down as it tumbles along into tiny filaments that are then being ingested by fish (the bottom feeders especially) filling them with toxic plastic particulates. This contaminated fish is then purchased by consumers, filling us with carcinogens. Over time, the build up of these toxins can cause everything from auto-immune disorders like celiac disease to life threatening cancer.

This article got my blood boiling as I closed the magazine and tucked it into my purse, the plane touching down. Stunned, I gazed out the window to my left, admiring the strength of the rigid wing and as I did so, I couldn’t help but wonder if Ms. O’Callaghan’s editor sat her down as she was assigned her task, asking her if she had ever inserted a hot needle into balloon, just so she could watch it deflate.