mark bittman is a smarty party

i like mark bittman. he's funny and smart and likes to cook simple and tasty food. i often check his blog; i've watched his multiple pbs shows; i have both of his how to cook everything books; and, late last night, i caught him on "spain: on the road again" (gweneth paltrow, awfully and inexplicably, is a part of that show). if i grew up to have half the career and smarts of mark bittman, i would be a happy lady.

here, he talks about agribusiness, localvores, the history of food, and the environment. (it's full of stats too, e.g. i didn't know we kill 10 billion animals a year in the united states for food.)



years ago, i was a vegan, then i was a vegetarian, and now i'm an omnivore. i try to eat well. some people might say i'm fussy. but i know what i like, and i like things that are tasty. it makes me happy. last year, i had the best meal of my entire life at a bar on the side of the road in the canary islands -- dishes of grilled pork, squid, beef, and vegetables with no sauce or frills (a little lemon, salt, and pepper and that was it). i'm salivating just thinking about it now.

i long for the fresh, simple produce and meat of europe, cheap food that didn't travel miles to get to the market. back in the states, even though i don't have a lot of money, i still put high value on quality ingredients. i'm a goodie foodie who tries to eat smart, well, and with joy. more on this later, but i wanted to post the 20-minute talk bittman gave at ted a few years ago.