Hannah Wallace

Slo Food Nation: Slovenian Tourist Farms

Farm tourism has always been popular amongst a certain type of traveler. But these days, with Michelle Obama planting an organic vegetable garden and the Slow Food movement gathering mainstream momentum, seeking out local, seasonal fare—even while on vacation—is becoming a priority for many food-obsessed travelers.

Staying on a working farm, whether it’s an agriturismo in Italy or a Bauernhofurlaub in Germany is an authentic (not to mention affordable) way of seeing a country: you meet the locals, stay in pristine undiscovered settings, and sample regional culinary specialties. It’s an experience guaranteed to satisfy the curious—and omnivorous—locavore.

Farm tourism is going strong in Slovenia, one of my favorite countries. Read my story about Slovenian kmetije from this weekend's Sunday New York Times. Here are a few photos from our trip to the Škerlj farm last summer to whet your appetite:

 

Homemade pasta with zucchini, zucchini blossoms, pancetta, and parmesan at the Škerlj farm

 

The pool at the Škerlj kmetija, where I spent a good deal of time reading MFK Fisher and gazing out at the Karst landscape

A typical room at the Škerlj farm

Mercury + your health

Mercury is a heavy metal that’s found naturally in the earth’s crust. But there’s nothing natural about the amount of mercury that’s released into the atmosphere these days: 104 metric tons a year, according to the EPA. Coal-fired power plants, which generate over half of the U.S.’s electricity, are the nation’s largest source of mercury emissions. But mercury is also emitted from municipal and hazardous waste combustors, medical waste incinerators, and chloralkali plants (chlorine-producing factories) and it finds its way into our water via the improper disposal of batteries and other mercury-containing products such as thermometers, thermostat switches and even compact fluorescent light bulbs. 

From these combined sources, elemental mercury accumulates in lakes, streams and oceans, where it converts into methylmercury and is absorbed by fish. Large predatory fish—those that live longest and are higher on the food chain, such as tuna, swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tilefish—contain more mercury than small fish. 

But as I report in the June issue of Body + Soul, the list of high-mercury fish is much longer than the FDA would have us believe—and it's not just pregnant women and children who need to beware. Jane Hightower M.D., author of the riveting book Diagnosis: Mercury: Money, Politics, and Poison, discovered through diligent detective-work that many of her patients—otherwise healthy adults—were suffering from mercury toxicity. The reason? Thinking that fish (packed as it is with brain-boosting omega-3's) is healthier than meat, they were eating it (sushi, fresh swordfish steaks, you name it) two to three times a day.

I wouldn't doubt it if Jeremy Piven really did have mercury poisoning. His symptoms—extreme fatigue, dizziness, and neuro-muscular dysfunction—are the very ones that Hightower has seen in her San Francisco-based patients. Once again, moderation seems to be the key to a healthy life. Meanwhile, instead of listening to the FDA, I'll be consulting the Environmental Working Group's sensible, fact-based list of fish to avoid.

Swap 'til You Drop: a Real Simple bartering guide

I didn't need a recession to inspire me to barter—I've been doing it for years in the form of a bi-annual clothing swap. Friends and friends of friends come over with bags overflowing with clothes, purses, barely-worn shoes, and jewelry. We begin in an orderly fashion, taking out one garment at a time and telling a little story about it. ("This is an old boyfriend's sweater. I know it's really cute, but I never wear it anymore—it has bad energy."  or "I bought these pants at a design outlet in Milan but they've never fit right." or a common one: "My mother-in-law gave me these...and they're just not my style.")  But within minutes, the swap devolves into a half-naked free-for-all.

What surprises me every time is how much fun it is—not just to get "new to you" clothes and bags and shoes but to see friends wear one of your skirts with more pizzazz than you ever did. (Also, it's amazing how willing you are to take a fashion risk when there's no financial investment involved. That pink leather jacket? Why not? If you don't wear it much you can always recycle it at the next swap.)

My friend Tara and I just threw a swap last weekend. My goal was to ruthlessly prune my spring/summer wardrobe, and not take much in return. But how could I say no to a pair of almost-new orange Coach loafers that my friend Caroline brought? (Too tight for her, she lamented.) Or the funky vintage Anna Sui pants that Melissa doesn't, for whatever reason, wear anymore? I gratefully took these two items and more. (Thanks, Tara, for the super-soft cotton nightie and the black Old Navy pants.)

 

My "new" orange loafers

My guide on "How to Barter Anything" in the June issue of Real Simple doesn't touch on clothing swaps, but is full of tips on how to barter your skills (or stuff) directly with someone else. (See pg. 145 of the actual magazine for a more complete version; the fun sidebars of swapping "couples" did not make it online.) One thing I learned: it pays to be creative—you don't need to trade what you do for a living. Kevin Simon, a clothing designer based in Venice, California, typically swaps her hand-dyed clothes for massages and other services. Her personal trainer, however, didn’t need high fashion—“she wears gym clothes all the time!” says Simon. “I would hear how busy she was and saw that I could make a difference,” says Simon, who initiated a barter with her trainer by offering to do her laundry as well as pick up her meals at Whole Foods twice a week. A deal was struck. In exchange, Simon gets twice-weekly training sessions.

But I also discovered that much of the bartering trend is happening online. The Internet neatly solves the main drawback of bartering: finding someone who needs what you have and at the same time is offering what you need. (Economists refer to this rare star-alignment as the “coincidence of wants.”) Sites like BizX.bz, Paperbackswap.com, Swaptree.com, and Zwaggle.com bypass this limitation by operating on a points system. Members receive a point (or points) when they give a skill or item to another member. They can then trade those points for another service, book, DVD, or toy with anyone else who belongs to the network. On Zwaggle.com, members earn points (called “Zoints”) which they can then redeem with any of the 15,000 other members spread across the country. The genius of this system is that you can actually find the service, book or toy you need—there’s no settling for whatever it is that your neighbor or friend happens to have.

Time Banks, a social change organization where time is a form of currency, is another big part of the bartering trend. I hope to write about Time Banks in more detail soon. 

Coffee Culture in NYC

When I first came to New York City almost 15 years ago, I was dismayed by how few independent coffee shops there were. I liked Oren’s Daily Roast, and when I moved to Brooklyn, I frequented Ozzie’s in Park Slope. And then there was that strange café run by Moonies in midtown that brewed Green Mountain coffee from Vermont. But other than that, coffee in this city was mediocre at best. I couldn't understand why some savvy entrepreneur didn't open a Pacific Northwest-style café—they'd make a killing. 

Well, a lot has happened over the past 8 or so years, starting with Ninth Street Espresso, Joe the Art of Coffee, and Gimme! (in Williamsburg). But even since I reported my story on coffee cuppings last year, the number of "third-wave" coffee shops here has mushroomed. I can't keep up with the openings, mostly in Brooklyn, but some in Manhattan. (There are also a number of existing cafes that are switching to higher-quality roasters, such as City Girl on Orchard St., which now serves Stumptown.) In short, it's a good time to be a coffee drinker in New York City. (It's about time.)

That was the gist of a panel I was on yesterday at the first ever NYC Coffee Summit, hosted by the International Culinary Center and Edible Manhattan. I spoke about coffee education from the consumer's perspective: how can the typical NYC coffee drinker learn to distinguish between an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and a Brazilian pulped natural of the Catuai variety? How can he or she learn how to make a great cup of coffee at home? My answer: chat up your barista, go to cuppings (and "home brewing" classes), and read coffee blogs.

Here's a list of cuppings and classes offered (mostly for free) in NYC and environs:

• Counter Culture coffee holds weekly cuppings on Friday at noon at Everyman Espresso (136 E 13th St between Third and Fourth Aves) and at 6PM at Roots & Vines (409 Grand St at Clinton St..) In June, they’ll start public cuppings at their brand new New York training facility.

• Café Grumpy has cuppings once a week at both locations—the dates and times are posted on their Web site. They'll also be hosting barista classes and home brewing classe @ the Chelsea location as soon as their back room renovation is complete.

• Joe the Art of Coffee has cuppings the first Monday of every month at 6:30 at the 13th street training facility, but also classes on "How to Brew Coffee at Home." (The next one is May 12 at 8:15 PM.)

• Intelligentsia has weekly cuppings at their new NYC "training lab" but also brewed-coffee tastings (the different profiles from french press vs chemex, for example), espresso tastings (four different single origins in a tasting), food and coffee pairings, plus home brewing classes, latte art classes, espresso classes, and "seed-to-cup" classes. (Daniel Humphries, now Intell's NYC guy, tells me he'll have another coffee and cheese pairing soon—not sure if that'll be under the aegis of the NYC Coffee Society or Intell.)

• Ken Nye tells me that Ninth Street Espresso (which now serves Intelligentsia) will start cuppings and other workshops soon, most likely at the 10th Street/tompkins Square location. 

• Gimme! in Williamsburg has cuppings every so often—but they rarely advertise, so if you live in the 'hood, just ask a barista.

• Stumptown will start regular cuppings at Café Pedlar in Cobble Hill (or is it Carroll Gardens?) soon. (Probably Saturday afternoons.) A few of their NYC accounts hold cuppings: Variety Cafe (one of my new favorites), and Marlow and Sons (81 Broadway in Williamsburg). Lizz Hudson from Stumptown is doing a cupping on May 13 @ Spoon Catering at 17 W. 20th St.

For more on NYC's vibrant coffee scene (and its early history), see Liz Clayton's article in the latest issue of Edible Manhattan.

And finally, for those of you who could use a guide to all these third-wave cafés, check out Anne Nylander and Neil Oney's NYC and Brooklyn coffee tours. (Anne and Neil own TampTamp, Inc., a specialty coffee service firm.)

One more thing: If you're truly obsessed with coffee, James Hoffman's blog is an education in and of itself. Hoffman, who won the World Barista Championship in 2007, is based in London and I can guarantee that he's more obsessed with coffee than you are. He posts about barista championships, food chemistry, roasting and latte art, but don't miss the videocasts of him brewing coffee with the Chemex, Moka Pot, and even with snow. 

Now, it's time for another cup of Ecco Caffé's Fazenda Serra do Bone from Brazil...

Pathfinders in Public Health

I wrote this article about Mount Holyoke alumnae who are spearheading important public health projects before the swine flu epidemic hit.  But this outbreak (just like the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe, and the very real dilemma of antibiotic resistance here in the U.S.A.) shows just how vital preventive measures are—and I'm glad to see that President Obama is focusing on prevention. Since his deputy chief of staff is a Mount Holyoke alumnae, I'd like to think she read this article carefully—particularly the answers these five women gave to my question What would you ask President Obama to do for public health?