The recipe is adapted from William Sonoma’s blueberry pancake recipe.  I much prefer chocolate chips:  we’re really just eating giant, soft cookies under the guise of being pancakes.  Forks are usually laid out and then abandoned.

A few recommendations for this recipe, straight from the baker:

• The amount of milk you add is just a guideline.  It specifies 1 ¾ cup but you can add up to 2 cups or as little as a cup and ½ , depending on how thick you want your pancakes.

• Instead of stirring the chocolate chips into the batter (like you might do with cookies), pour the batter onto the griddle and then place the chips in individually.  They will be spaced out more evenly in the final product.

• Slowly melt the butter in a sauce pan on the stove:  it will melt evenly and you’ll avoid splattering butter all over the microwave.

Enjoy & maybe start your own weekend tradition!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 ¾ cups milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, but ¼ cup melted for fryinb

1 ½ cups chocolate chips (We liked Ghiradelli or Guittard)

Directions

1)    In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir until well mixed and make a well in the center.

2)    Pour the eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoons melted butter into the well, then gradually whisk from the center outward, until well combined but slightly lumpy.  Don’t overmix the batter!

3)    Preheated your griddle and brush with ¼ cup melted butter.

4)    Slowly ladle ¼ cup of the batter onto the griddle, centering the ladle over the batter so it spreads out into a circle.  Ladle as many pancakes as there is room, without letting them touch.

5)    Add in the chocolate chips to the top of each batter circle.

6)    When the pancakes have begun to bubble in the center and the bottoms are golden (about 2 minutes), use a spatula to flip them.

7)    Cook about a minute longer, until the second side is golden.

8)    Enjoy!

Created by David Arrick, a former attorney, Butch Bakery aims for that fine line between unique and kitschy.   As Arrick says, masculine cupcakes don’t have to equal baseballs and golf tees.  Instead customers at Butch Bakery select from a series of cupcakes with camouflage or wood grain chocolate discs (to name a few) and alcohol infused cake.  There is no pink frosting or sprinkles in sight!

As a Valentine’s Day surprise for Justin, I ordered a ‘Short Round’ consisting of four alcohol infused cupcakes.  The delivery was delayed by a week due to their overwhelming popularity (a quick look at their website shows that they remain swamped, with current delays of 2 weeks).  All of my interactions with Butch Bakery, both via email and in person, were incredibly positive and friendly.  They make the process of ordering cupcakes online (it’s hard not being able to smell the batter and debate flavors incessantly!) as smooth as possible.

By the way, this wasn’t a completely selfless purchase (sorry, Justin!).  I had to try these unique Butch cupcakes for myself.

The cupcakes arrived nestled in torn paper, looking like mini camouflaged works of art.  I wasn’t sure if the various patterned discs were truly going to be edible, but they ended positively enhancing the cupcakes’ overall taste.

Standard 1: Moist and Flavorful Cake:  The cake stayed moist for several days.  After the delivery, I put the cupcakes in the fridge for 4 hours and when we removed them, the cake was soft and refreshing.  This remained the case even after another night in the fridge.  Our cupcakes had three different cakes:  lemon, vanilla, and whiskey.  The lemon was fantastic:  not overly lemony, reminiscent of lemon meringue.

Standard 2: Fresh, Soft Frosting:  Because the frosting was only half of the topping, it was slightly different from your standard cupcake frosting.  The frosting was tasty and firm.  It served as the glue between the chocolate disc and the cake.  The interior cream was moist and complemented each cake completely.

Standard 3: Visually appealing:  Yes!  The cupcakes were beautiful inside and out. The cupcake was a medium size and perfectly round, adorned with a masculine top hat.

Butch Bakery has managed to find a niche that didn’t exist in Manhattan!  Despite being overwhelmed with orders, their customer relations remained positive and the flavor and freshness of the cupcake was not impacted.  Butch Bakery’s cupcakes are a creative gift that will be appreciated on birthdays and other special occasions.

Final Grade: A

Here are two of my favorites:

If you shop around for chocolate, you’ll stumble across a variety of products and labels.   90% of all cocoa beans originate from about 3 million small farming families.  Fair Trade initiatives guarantee that small farmers and cooperatives receive a minimum price for their product.   The Rainforest Alliance Certified label guarantees that the product was made according to criteria that balance economic, ecological, and social considerations.  Goods must be produced without depleting the natural resources or the surrounding community.  USDA Organic, although an expensive and often controversial label, means that products have been grown and processed according to the USDA’s organic standards.

The current chocolate bar we’ve been snacking on is Kallari.  We sampled a number of different pieces in Whole Foods a few weeks ago and we were excited to learn about what makes Kallari unique.

1)    The Kallari Association is a cooperative of 850 families, both artists and cocoa producers, in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

2)    100% of sales profits on all Association items go back to the cooperative.

3)    The Kallari cacao beans (Cacao Nacional) spend only three months between harvest and destination; these beans come from a single source (unlike some dark chocolates that blend multiple beans).

These days, more and more products are becoming certified as ‘Fair Trade’ or ‘Rainforest Alliance’.  As a consumer, it’s important to learn where your purchases come from and what impact your purchase might have on a community.

Our gum had the label ‘House the Homeless’.  A quick trip to their website reveals Project 7’s platform.  They aim to donate 50% of their profits (a minimum of $105,000) to seven areas of need in the world (founder Tyler Merrick wanted to turn the  7 Deadly Sins upside down):

Build the Future, Feed the Hungry, Heal the Sick, Help Those in Need, Hope for Peace, House the Homeless, and Save the Earth.

Each year, seven non-profit organizations (one from each area of need) are supported by product proceeds.  So, as an example, 50% of my ‘House the Homeless’ gum purchase will be donated to SOS Children’s Villages International.  Project 7 is a two year old organization with a great deal of potential.  They have a creative website, a blog, and a twitter account, if you’re interested in learning more.

Currently, Project 7 manufactures bio-bottled water, gum, mints and T-shirts.

Whoopie pies are currently benefiting from a massive cult following (I’m a cult member).   They’re like a much softer and tastier Oreo: a  sweet sandwich.  I can’t resist!  My two favorite bakeries in Brooklyn, One Girl Cookies and Baked, make delicious whoopie pies, especially chocolate and pumpkin:

Baked Whoopie Pies

Sarah Copeland creates recipes for the Food Network (and tweets @edibleliving).  She recently shared her Red Velvet Whoopie recipe.  So, I gathered my ingredients and gave it my best shot.  I really enjoy baking, but I don’t bake that often because leftover sweets are quite dangerous to have around the apartment.

Writing legible recipes is perhaps even more important than the actual recipe.  In the past, I’ve seen recipes that have looked tempting but were impossible to make due to the jumble of incoherent steps.  Luckily, this recipe was clear and well spaced.

Making these pies completely wiped out every mixing bowl I own!  They were a lot of fun to make, clean-up aside.  The cookie came out really well, both moist and complex (chocolate, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, etc).  I missed the boat on the filling!  It tasted delicious but did not fluff up at all.   In troubleshooting,  my two thoughts are that 1) I needed to mix the ingredients together for a much longer period of time or 2) I could have added more confectioners’ sugar to see if that would have helped the consistency. There’s always next time!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 ounce milk chocolate, chopped
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped

Directions

Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the semisweet and milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 50 percent power until melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Whisk the melted butter, sour cream, eggs, vinegar, vanilla and food coloring in a bowl until combined. In another bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in four equal batches, whisking each batch completely before adding the next. Stir in the melted chocolate.

Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter onto the prepared baking sheets and smooth the tops with a damp finger. Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly pressed, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer until smooth. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla seeds. Sandwich a heaping tablespoonful of filling between 2 cookies; repeat with the remaining cookies and filling. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

On first glance, summarizing a book related to factory farming isn’t really a ‘cheery observation’.  However, successful journalism should be lauded and Niman’s thoroughly researched book serves as influential reading on animal husbandry and how to move beyond factory farming. It’s critical that supporters of the local food movement are aware of how the majority of animals are raised in our country.

As partially expected, Niman talked about similar issues (and even farmers) that Jonathan Safran Foer and Michael Pollan have written about. Omnivore or vegetarian, the messages are the same:  there needs to be a return to pastoral farming and an emphasis on animal welfare, moderation, and accountability.  Each subsequent book about food and animal treatment that I read leaves me with an even greater (though horrifying) understanding of industrial agriculture.  I continue to be motivated to support family farms and humane animal treatment;  I resolve to always ask questions, look beyond the initial label, and see the bigger picture.

In Foer’s Eating Animals, Niman wrote a chapter where she stated:

“Because we’re taking their lives for food, I believe we owe our animals the highest level of existence.  They deserve to experience joy.  For me, factory farming is wrong not because it produces meat, but /c it robs every animal of every shred of happiness.  Being a vegetarian does not relieve me from a responsibility for how our nation raises animals.”

What follows is a summary of information that I found helpful, divided by category.

A Brief Overview:  What Spurred the Rise of Factory Farms?

The rise of factory farm chickens started with an incubator:  one machine with the ability to hatch 52,000 chicks at once.  The consequences: Both chicken mothering instincts AND male chicks were no longer needed (male chicks are simply thrown out).

The incubator led to thousands of chicks and chickens crowded together in tight, indoor spaces.  Drugs were needed to keep the animals ‘healthy’ and so Ren-O-Sal was created and began to be added to the chickens’ daily.  The chickens collectively lost their appetites and so it became common practice to add arsenic, a powerful appetite stimulant, to feed.

During World War II, producing as much chicken as possible was deemed a patriotic act (everyone was expected to produce as much as possible).  This led to rapid expansion of chicken farming in the Delmarva Peninsula.

During the Great Depression, Roosevelt instated crop support and production control.  Following World War II, controls on production were eliminated and crop values exceeded support prices.

Finally, a man named Jesse Jewell completed the final phase of industrialization (for poultry).  Fully supported by the USDA, Jewell created vertical integration in the animal farming world:  he supplied the birds and feed and contracted farmers to supply the land, building, and labor.  Jewell also recycled slaughterhouse wastes as chicken feed.

Industrial animal operations have gained market advantages and lowered their costs by exerting political and economic power.

• They control livestock prices by owning the majority of our nation’s slaughtering capacity.  Individual farmers are unable to get their meat slaughtered unless they enter into contracts with large meat companies, forcing them to move out of the free market.
• Agribusiness avoids paying the true cost of animal production.  They frequently avoid following environmental laws or adhering to regulations.
• Industrial agriculture receives significant public subsidies. 84% of Federal Farm Subsides go to the largest 1/5 of farms (farmers growing commodity crops).

Hogs:  North Carolina and Beyond

By the mid 1990s, North Carolina’s pork industry had grown so rapidly that everyone (advocates, farmers, regulators) was confused about how this had happened.  Determined to find out more, North Carolina’s The News and Observer performed an intense and detailed investigation, ultimately winning a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service Journalism.

The News and Observer uncovered many answers:

• The pork industry has corrupted NC politicians.
• It is now illegal to photograph factory farms.
• The pork industry prohibits the publication of any studies regarding health threats related to the pork industry.

You can read the entire ‘Hog Series’ here.

Pigs obviously excrete a great deal of waste.  At factory farms, this waste is put into giant manure lagoons, full of hydrogen sulfide (H2S).  A concentration of only 50 parts per million can cause dizziness, nausea, headache.  A concentration of 1,000 parts:  death from respiratory paralysis.  As much as 80% of nitrogen in manure lagoons end up in the air as ammonia.  The EPA has estimated that hog operations emit 70,000 tons of hydrogen sulfide gas every year.

According to Niman, multiple factors have led to North Carolina becoming the ‘China’ of pig farming:

• Non existent environmental enforcement
• Cheap land
• Low wages
• Non-unionized labor
• Subsidized grain
• Mechanized methods

Cattle

Cattle and other grazing animals co-evolved with grasslands, making them essential to the grasslands maintenance.  When grazers are removed, grasses lose their competitive advantage and shrubs quickly form.  Maintaining pasture and grasslands benefits the environment:  90% of grass is below ground, preventing erosion by binding the soil.

Niman has legitimate concens with standard modern beef production (read:  feedlots):

• Inappropriate cattle feed
• Drug abuse
• Concentration of too many cattle

Historically, raising cows on grass had been cost effective.  When grain subsidies entered the scene, in conjunction with rising costs of real estate, this was no longer the case.  In the early 20^th century, young cattle were still being grown to full maturity on grass (3-4 years) and only then put in feedlots for fattening.  Now, 6 month calves are put feedlots for raising and fattening.

The US has banned the use of growth hormones in poultry and pork, but not in beef.

In addition, even though cattle are herbivores, the USDA still allows cattle to be fed meat.

Did you know that virtually all veal comes from male dairy calves?   Dairy cows have to have a calf every year to keep their milk flowing.  Male dairy calves have three options.

1)    Become ‘Bob Veal’:  go to the slaughterhouse when they’re 2 days old

2)    Stay in crates for awhile before going to the slaughterhouse

3)    Get moved to feedlots and be raised as beef

Important things to know about Fish

In 2007, half of the seafood consumed in the world came from fish farms.  While fish farming is touted as offsetting the depletion of fisheries (Niman says there is ‘some truth’ to this), fish farming can damage aquatic ecosystems and consume more fish than it produces (through feeding its farmed fish numerous other types of fish).

Fish Farming is directly connected with industrial animal production:

1)    Fish are used as feed

2)    Several types of waste from industrial animals facilities are fed back to farmed fish (creating a potential link to avian flu-migratory birds).

In the US, 80% of total fish and shellfish (90% shrimp) come from outside the US.  China is largest supplier of seafood to the US (Thailand for shrimp).  Both China and Thailand have lax standards for farmed fish and use chemicals to keep the fish and shrimp alive.

Farmed Salmon have been found to contained elevated levels of toxin, due to the contaminants in their food.  In addition, salmon are fed red dye, because they are unable to eat the pink colored krill that they’d eat in the wild.

Things to Remember:

• Choose wild and line caught fish
• Avoid buying imported seafood unless the seafood is from Canada or EU:  there are no regulations on drugs or chemicals in other countries
• Seafood Buying Guides:  Monterey Bay Aquarium, EcoFish, Clean Fish

Other Information

The Certified Humane Label:  This label is designed for big agribusiness.  A farm can be deemed as ‘humane’ with minimal effort.  The label doesn’t ban metal crates for sows, doesn’t require access to the outdoors, and allows liquefied manure systems.  The label is paid for on a per-animal basis by the very operations being certified!  Because the program heavily relies on revenue from the animal operations, how can it be objective?!

Animal Welfare Approved (AWA): A far superior program and label.  AWA can only be applied to non-industrialized farms, as these are the only farms that can be truly humane.

Avoid the word ‘natural’: According to the USDA, natural=”minimally processed”.  Smithfield has this label.

In Righteous Porkchop, Niman states that the USDA acts as if food industrialization is merely economic Darwinism—inevitable.  She loudly proclaims this to be a myth, citing that it is less expensive to raise pigs outdoors and that grazing dairies produce milk at a lower cost than confinement dairies.

What about the argument: ‘Industrial Agriculture is Needed to Feed the World’?

Niman angrily asserts that this argument tries to turn the moral equation around.   She has never seen a shred of proof that industrial meat is feeding the world’s malnourished.  In actuality, more resources are required to produce human food from animals than from plants.  There are also specific links between hunger and industrial animal production, such as small farmers losing their land to big agriculture and thus succumbing to poverty.

According to Marion Nestle, the greatest unspoken secret of US food system is overabundance:  global food production has outpaced population growth. Every year the world produces enough food to provide 4.3 pounds of food per person per day.

Useful Books to Read

Gail Eisnitz:  Slaughterhouse

Charles Clover: The End of the Line