Well, everybody, if food is love, hold onto your pickles for this one. According to the Washington Post, "NBC
has nixed a new Super Bowl ad from the animal rights activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals because the
ad is too sexually explicit." My fave, the Behind the Scenes video is below, the banned commercial
is here:
The unsung heroes of the food world have to be honeybees. Unsung, that is, until hives began mysteriously dying. Suddenly,
faced with the fact that more than a third of our food production requires pollination, the mystery became the buzz of the
media world.
The problem was finally pinpointed to American Foul Brood (AFB) — a contagious disease that
wipes out entire colonies. While scientists work feverishly to figure out a solution, the first line of defense is still early
detection.
That's where this dynamic duo steps in — William Troup, a Maryland Apiary Inspector, and a
3-year-old female black Laborador Retriever named Klinker.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture sent out word
last week that Klinker has been certified to sniff out AFB in honeybee colonies. The release, forwarded by Julie Oberg of
the MDA, says that "A trained dog can inspect 100 honeybee colonies in 45 minutes. An average human inspector can inspect
45 colonies in one day." Sweet! This winter, the pair are sniffing out hives across the state, while the bees are dormant
and more likely not to sting.
Klinker was trained by the Maryland State Police and replaces an 8-year-old yellow
Lab, Thorne, who just retired. This program marks Maryland as not only the first state to use canines for AFB detection, but
also as the only state to maintain dogs as part of the inspection program.
While it was extremely difficult to
limit ourselves on bee puns, and we know plenty of people who could barely have controlled themselves, we're not done
with this story yet. Protecting our food? Now that's
a story! We're looking forward to doing an extended story with this pair, and passing along what we discover to ChesapeakeFoodie
readers. The first question, of course....why 'Klinker'?
This month's phrase? La Cucina Povera:
The cooking of the poor. Using whatever you've got on hand, in the pantry (or fridge or freezer) and using every scrap
of it.
Mark Bittman's article, "Fresh Start for the New Year" in the New York Times talks about taking stock (and
control) of your pantry. And what's in and out for your shelves. Out with aerosol oils and salad dressings, for example?
Hear, hear! Get yourself a great bottle of olive oil instead.
We're currently exploring the benefits of beautiful
beans — yes, good old-fashioned dried as well as canned — and info will be coming up soon on ChesapeakeFoodie.com. Especially served with meats that don't cost a fortune.
Take a class! Need to stretch your abilities a bit
in the kitchen? Chesapeake College has continuing education classes. Download the schedule here and check out the listings under "Culinary" (page 49). Tuscan Cooking, Soups and Breads, Pasta and Sauces, Vertical
Food(?!). By the way, good luck with figuring out when to register.
If you can save up the scratch, here's
a good way to sample your way through more than 200 wine producers. The Maryland Wine Association alerts us that The Washington,
D.C. International Wine and Food Festival is coming up February 14th and 15th. Tickets run $125 for "Grand Cru"
access, $85 per day. Here's the website.
Meantime, if you have your own po'folks thoughts and ideas to share, pass them along!
The unsung heroes of the food world have to be honeybees. Unsung, that is, until hives began mysteriously dying. Suddenly,
faced with the fact that more than a third of our food production requires pollination, the mystery became the buzz of the
media world.
This month's phrase? La Cucina Povera:
The cooking of the poor. Using whatever you've got on hand, in the pantry (or fridge or freezer) and using every scrap
of it.