Food For Thought in WI: Restoring prairies, bison, and the people who care for them

This Saturday, Sep. 26, 2009, in Madison, WI, the Food For Thought festival will host Michael Pollan, award-winning author of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A natural history of four meals and In Defense of Food: An eater's manifesto. The emphasis will be on eating food in an ecologically-sustainable way. Some may think that a vegetarian diet is the only ecologically-responsible diet for our planet. However, this view can be short-sighted when it ignores the role that herbivores play in ecosystems.
Just as healthy prairies depend on fire for regeneration, they also depend on the animals that graze them. The dung of bison, elk, and deer fertilize the soil and provide specialized niches for soil-maintaining insects and plant pollinators. Without these plants and insects, no vertebrates would exist.
But today, most of our Midwest prairie has been replaced by human development. In efforts to preserve whole prairie ecosystems, conservationists are advocating the restoration of key herbivores as well as endemic plant species. But where will these expensive animals come from and who will manage their care? The economic costs of ecosystem restoration hit home.
Some Wisconsin farmers are taking an active role in restoration efforts. Instead of selling their valuable land to developers, they are turning it over to herds of bison, elk, and deer. But they do more for the animals than simply give them a place to live. The farmers watch over their animals, supplementing their feed, and providing them with veterinary care.
But these farmers must put food on their own tables. And with this, the rest of us can help. When we choose food to buy, we can choose their venison, and their bison and elk meats. Buying their meat means that native prairie herbivores will continue to roam Wisconsin land.
If you prefer chicken to red meat, then consider buying Wisconsin, free-range chickens. These birds fill the niche vacated by the nearly-extinct prairie chicken. Free-range chickens stir up packed soil, fertilize the soil with their dung, and eat grubs that damage important plants.
We who live in towns and cities help with conservation when we economically sustain the farmers who care for vital herbivores. When we buy from these farmers, we are thinking about all of the different kinds of foods on our plates, not just the vegetables.

Wisconsin Badger Tail-gating Party! Adding Badger Spirit To The Food And Tools!

Wisconsin Badger Football Season IS HERE! Time to dress in Badger RED and head for the game. It's tailgate party time! Besides the beer, what will you serve? Here are tips and suggestions for adding Badger spirit to the Game Food and your Tailgating Tools!

Priority #1, serve cheese and sausage. Wisconsin cheese and summer sausage are THE traditional, WI Badger spirit foods. They taste delicious, supply energy for the whole game, go great with beer, (and will slow the rate of alcohol absorption which may be an advantage when the game starts at 11:00 a.m.). Cheese curds and sausage sticks are easy to carry. They are the most conveniently-portable Badger spirit snack. Or take along an assortment of Wisconsin Badger snacks in a basket.



If mobility is less of a concern because you're serving Badger food from a car in a parking lot, then consider flashing a bit of Badger decoration on your tailgating tools. Serve the cheese, sausage, pretzels, chips, salsa, and candied Badger claws on a Badger cutting board. If you're going all-out and cooking State Street brats, cook 'em on a Badger grill with Badger tools. Meanwhile, keep the beer handy and cold in a UW ice bucket. When ready to drink, use your Badger belt buckle/bottle opener to pop the top.

In a few weeks re-filling the ice bucket will be a fine memory. When the game is played in snow and the ice is in the air, showing your Badger spirit is more important than ever. To inspire Badger spirit in your less-hardy companions, you'll need the tools for warmth. Thaw frozen hands by passing around a Badger hot soup thermos. Sip steaming coffee from an insulated, stainless-steel, UW thermos. And don't worry, regardless of the game's score you'll keep smiling because Badger re-usable heat packs are warming your toes.

Wisconsin Beer And Wine: Fine Drinking With Gourmet Artisan Cheeses And Bratwursts

Wisconsin has a well-deserved reputation for superior-tasting beers. A thirsty traveler can find a great Wisconsin beer on any off-beaten path. If you need directions, a helpful guide book is Breweries of Wisconsin by Jerry Apps The guide was so popular that Jerry had to write an updated 2nd edition. Another excellent travel guide for the beer enthusiast is Wisconsin's Best Breweries and Brewpubs, authored by UW-Madison life sciences professor and beer-connoisseur, Robin Shepard. Beer is one of the classics studied at UW. And following years of conscientious tasting, graduating Wisconsin gourmets can effortlessly recommend the perfect beers to pair with Wisconsin's artisan cheeses and bratwursts.
Sadly, in the bright light of excellent beers, our Wisconsin wines are over-shadowed. Yes, some of us grow grapes in addition to corn and soybeans. And some WI horticulturists transform the fruit of the vine into sensational wines. In fact, WI has 21 wineries, less than half the number of beer-brewing establishments, but still a respectable number. And fall is grape-harvesting season, - time to go to a WI winery to sample different wines. Nibble your favorite artisanal cheese as you sip. When the warming glow of good wine and flavorful cheeses elevate your mood, you'll consider throwing your own wine and cheese party.
Inviting friends to enjoy a Wisconsin selection of wines and cheeses is an easy, relaxing, and wonderfully fun way to celebrate the fall harvest. With enough gourmet food and spirits, we won't be cold in Wisconsin for a long time.

Wisconsin Chefs Celebrate Labor Day With An Outdoor Cookout

At Labor Day parties friends and family gather to celebrate the beginning of fall, the resumption of football, and kids going back to school. To mark the season's change, gourmet chefs look for signature foods for summer's last cookout. Here are some culinary choices that Wisconsin gourmets are considering.
First, chefs are deciding whether to serve brats or steaks. Their choice depends on the crowd. Who's coming to the party? Will it be casual or fancy? Are kids coming too? If so, it's best to serve some applewood-smoked wieners beside the fancier meats. The flavor of the sausage buns matters more than their shape. In Sheboygan, Wisconsinites serve brats and wieners on fresh Sheboygan hard rolls. Only to outsiders does a Sheboygan brat look funny sticking out of a Sheboygan hard roll.
Next, the chefs match the meats to complimentary side dishes and salads. Some good choices are German potato salad, or an endive salad with smoked ham, or an out-of-the ordinary, lentil salad. Use fresh peppers and spinach in a cheesy spinach and roasted peppers gratin for a true Wisconsin taste treat.
For dessert, the options are nearly endless. Ice cream is always a favorite summer send-off, especially if the extra creamy, Wisconsin ice cream is loaded on top of fresh fruit pies or cakes. Special-occasion cookies mark the season's change. Out go the day-at-the-beach cookies, in come the Green Bay Packers. Yes, this Labor Day Weekend, everyone will kick off the fall season with great, gourmet, Wisconsin food.