December 15: A Taste of What's to Come

Did you taste any new flavors this year? Did you love or hate them or something in between? Will you incorporate these new flavors into your life?  (Bethany)   

Where have you been all my life?

How did I get this far in life without eating Fingerling potatoes? What the hell is wrong with me? Can I blame this on my parents and get them to pay for the therapy? I am a potato aficionado--to put it lightly--and yet I'd never enjoyed these little autumnal beauties until this very fall. Now, I find myself wishing it was harvest time again...just so I can break out the olive oil, sea salt and rosemary, fire up the oven and roast up more of that potato-y goodness.

That was the big new thing for me this year. Ridiculous, huh? I did get to some new-to-me restaurants...that was pretty fantastic. For example:

Though not new to Mexican food, I spent much of 2011 craving empanadas and found great ones in NYC and at home in St. Paul. I had a Kurdish meal that I absolutely loved. And if this place and it's "Devils on Horseback" were in my neighborhood, I'd likely never cook again.

But tonight, in spite of all the wonderful flavors I've tasted this year, I've got other food-related thoughts in my head.

I attended a luncheon/lecture today and listed to a talk given by University of Minnesota faculty member and director of the Institute on the Environment, Jon Foley. His talk was about about sustainably responding to the agricultural needs of our world, specifically asking, can we feed the world and still save the planet?

It was one of the most troubling yet inspiring things I've heard in quite a while. It made me wish I could go back in time and start my academic career all over again. It gave me new appreciation for the depth and breadth of issues around food, agriculture and global sustainability. It was one of those things that you wish everyone you know could have heard. "You guys! You guys! Come listen to this! This is important! This guy is brilliant!  You've gotta hear this!" It was amazing.

Fortunately, it was a talk (or an iteration of a talk) he gives on a pretty regular basis. And thankfully, a local version of TED Talks captured it...so you can see it too! If you've got 17-18 minutes, I think you'll enjoy this very much...