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Friday, March 13, 2009

My New Favorite Lettuce

Since I've taken to frequenting the farmer's market that takes place behind my apartment complex twice a week, I've discovered a new favorite lettuce. It's called mache. Very mild in flavor, and it likes to hold on to the soil really well, so washing it pretty intensely is a good idea (otherwise you're in for a very crunchy salad--and not in a good way).

But oh, the reward. It's lovely.

Check out the description of it here. Mmmmmm. I'm guessing I won't be able to find it anywhere in Utah, though, since finding arugula is next to impossible in Utah Valley.


As a side note, I have to say that food here just tastes better all around. I can't deny that I have never eaten a more crisp or flavorful apple than the ones I buy at the market each week. I'm sure the freshness factor plays a big role in that, but I also learned last week that French law prohibits the GMOs from being grown (and sold?? Not sure on that.) in the country.

Does anyone know if organic foods can be genetically modified? It seems like that would go against the concept of being organic, but I guess if they're GMOs that are grown without the use of pesticides, etc. they would still technically be organic?

I know, I'm touting my ignorance... but I don't care. I'm curious. Because frankly, if organic means no GMO's, then I might be willing to pay the extra in price for the extra benefit of great flavor.

(Okay, so the side note turned into the majority of the post. What can I say? C'est la vie.)

2 comments:

Erin said...

Okay, your blog is my new favorite blog. Especially once I get home, and you can still remind me why Paris is so awesome and magical.

It was so nice to meet you today! Thanks for all of your help and for visiting with us. I love making new friends.

(And if you are ever down near Cedar City, let me know. We can go to the one good restaurant there!)

Bill Cobabe said...

I think that organic has to do with the way it's grown, not the organism itself. So a GMO (which really, any human intervention to create a hybrid could be considered a GMO, couldn't it?) would probably still be OK except by the strictest purist.

I heard that ADM patented a rice species and then worked to get entire countries completely dependent on it. Not a bad capitalistic idea - get people hooked on a staple food and then charge them through the nose to eat it... (I hope my sarcasm is clear on that...)

(sigh)

Next they'll be patenting the air we breath. They already sell us bottled water...