Published: Thursday, February 2, 2012
Food forum
In moderation most of us trust
As a one-time contributor to Judyrae Kruse's wonderful Forum section of The Herald, I feel compelled to respond to the priggish Friday letter, "Forum recipes need lean update," which snidely refers to Forum participants as so many "helper-outers" whose recipes are regular fodder for his sanctimonious amusement.
We foodies know well the truth of the saying "chacun son goût" (there is no accounting for taste). For example, perhaps the writer is content to subsist on tofu and granola, and if so, I'm happy for him that he has that option.
Call me crazy, but I trust the average reader to have the basic smarts to understand whether a given recipe is or isn't the healthiest thing to be eating on a regular basis. I'll be the first to admit that my own recipe (for Spaetzle) is a heart attack waiting to happen -- if consumed on a regular basis. That's why, in the 20 years I've been making it, I do it only around Oktoberfest and maybe during the holidays when, I confess, I throw all moderation to the wind. That said, I enjoy it thoroughly and find that most others do as well, so if it provides a once-in-a-blue-moon moment of decadent enjoyment, or a taste of the old country to someone who misses it, then I'm happy to have shared it.
Anyway, if Ms. Kruse is up for it, then I will gladly take up the challenge and experiment with that recipe to see if I can produce a version of it that's more in line with the writer's exacting nutritional standards. I cannot promise that it will meet with the nutritional schoolmarm seal of approval, but if I can make it taste like something other than glue-paste and beauty bark, I'll present it for her consideration.
In the interim, I encourage the writer to take a more positive approach by actually contributing to the Forum himself instead of sniping from the sidelines. Surely he must have a healthy recipe that will win converts and if so, I will be the first to try it.
Dan Harrity
Lynnwood
We foodies know well the truth of the saying "chacun son goût" (there is no accounting for taste). For example, perhaps the writer is content to subsist on tofu and granola, and if so, I'm happy for him that he has that option.
Call me crazy, but I trust the average reader to have the basic smarts to understand whether a given recipe is or isn't the healthiest thing to be eating on a regular basis. I'll be the first to admit that my own recipe (for Spaetzle) is a heart attack waiting to happen -- if consumed on a regular basis. That's why, in the 20 years I've been making it, I do it only around Oktoberfest and maybe during the holidays when, I confess, I throw all moderation to the wind. That said, I enjoy it thoroughly and find that most others do as well, so if it provides a once-in-a-blue-moon moment of decadent enjoyment, or a taste of the old country to someone who misses it, then I'm happy to have shared it.
Anyway, if Ms. Kruse is up for it, then I will gladly take up the challenge and experiment with that recipe to see if I can produce a version of it that's more in line with the writer's exacting nutritional standards. I cannot promise that it will meet with the nutritional schoolmarm seal of approval, but if I can make it taste like something other than glue-paste and beauty bark, I'll present it for her consideration.
In the interim, I encourage the writer to take a more positive approach by actually contributing to the Forum himself instead of sniping from the sidelines. Surely he must have a healthy recipe that will win converts and if so, I will be the first to try it.
Dan Harrity
Lynnwood
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