The House of Marinara

Wow…. Polyface Farm products at Ellwood Thompson (ET)! What a good move by ET!

I always wondered how ET would adapt when Whole Foods and other quasi-organic stores moved into the area. I thought that bringing in products from the place that helped define the responsible farming movement was a brilliant idea. Staunton is only 90 miles away so it can be considered local. We can thank Omnivore’s Dilemma in helping us understand the ethical practices that go on there. It’s a winner. We know it. We can feel good about it. It’s safe.

There is something nagging at me about this and I’ve only started to put my finger on it. It’s this idea in branding and our societies comfort in it. It’s the idea that Applebees can survive worldwide because Americans find comfort in them and will go there no matter what. It’s the idea that something says lowfat and therefor we should buy it because it is suddenly healthy. Our world lives and thrives on branding and marketing. I think I saw myself being suckered into spending $4+ for a dozen of really small but good eggs.

I don’t blame Polyface for this. I don’t think they begged for the attention. I don’t want to put down ET for carrying their products. I am just disappointed that I was so quick to purchase something because I was brand aware. Truth is that Central VA is full of farmers trying to do things the right way. They just don’t have the reputation thanks to a extremely popular book.

Am I alone here? Does this bother any of you?

I recently smoked a nice brisket and decided to put a little spin on it. I tried using Bourbon Peat as my smoking agent and main flavoring. I have talked about using peat before on this blog and the Bourbon Peat is just another product that my buddy Peter Baker sells.

The Bourbon Peat that is shown above is processed into a very fine strands. It almost reminds me of some smokeless tobacco. What Peter has done here has combined peat and the char from oak bourbon barrels for a new wonderful flavor. Read more »