Red Herring

Lunch yesterday was excellent. I could leave it at that. But I won't. The sun was out today and I have a glass of bourbon at the ready.

We ate a Basque Ranch center cut, bone-in, pork loin. Last week, Carol handed it to me and said "here, take this home and cook it for lunch next Friday". I became familiar with Basque Ranch when Pastaworks started carrying their products. The ranch brings in a number of protein products. The owner delivers fresh hook and line caught Chinook when the season is open. Basque Ranch is earning a reputation for a new American breed of cattle, the Red Cascade. They feed their animals the Triticale they grow. But lunch was pig.

The menu wasn't particularly difficult; roast pork loin with gray shallots, late peppers and potatoes in a clay pot in a wood fired oven. Green beans, applesauce, and fresh grated horseradish root. First course, a Mediterranean saag, of sorts, inspired by Patience Grey.

Yes, the wood oven and the clay pot are not standard today but still, this dish is easy enough in any situation, with any equipment. Especially with this pork. The fat cap on the loin was 2 cm thick, the tender still attached. The rest of the ingredients were fresh.

Meanwhile, a story is running around town about a certain "local" pork producer (?) who is selling IBP (Iowa Beef Product) pork as their own "local" label. This producer, "X", sells at area farmers markets and to retail stores and restaurants. People trusted "X"'s direct marketing and sales. And the businesses that trusted "X" passed that trust along to the customers. Gee wiz, betrayal has a long lame gait.

This kind of sloppy practice is crazy making and it makes me mixed up and mad. Then I remember working with Greg Higgins on issues around farm direct, good practices and building solid relationships. I think about the stupid useless noise in the media and how fast, ridiculous unfounded stories rip through our fragile communities. And how quickly we follow the stories and start talking trash. Then, I remember the great producers that fill my freezer and pantry. I read the hands and eyes of the people I buy from. I listen to how they talk about their food and the stories they tell about their production. I try to remember to talk to producers instead of about them and rely on taste, smell and mouth feel.

So please, accept my apology. I am sorry for leading you astray with stories that grow by their existence and steer us away from the good things worth mentioning. I am sorry for spoiling a terrific lunch by talking about bad meat. I'll try to remember my manners and talk about good things, like Basque Ranch pork.