I was sent this video from multiple people last week.  It is from an exposé by ABC 7 (WJLA - Washington DC).  They tracked down the source of many of Whole Food's brand 365 Organic (by looking at the label on the back) and found that many come from China.  It appears as if the footage aired in May 2008. 

The video raises several questions.  Can organic certification be trusted in China?  What's better, organic produce flown in from half way across the globe, or a little FDA approved pesticides on produce grown locally?  If the "California Blend" of frozen vegetables comes from China, shouldn't they call it the "Chengdu Blend"?  Why are people just circulating this video now?

I know that I love the deli section of Whole Foods and have been known to drop some coin on a gourmet lunch every now and then.  I don't think Whole Foods sucks, do you?  What are your thoughts?  If you had to choose only one... would you go with local?  Or, organic?

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I was watching Daisy Cooks! on PBS the other day and my mouth began to water as Daisy Martinez made her Chicken Chilaquiles.  Daisy was so excited that she was dancing around and singing "Chilaquiles, chilaquiles"!  Her enthusiasm inspired me.

Last Friday we were going to attend a pot luck dinner party at a friend's house and I couldn't wait to make this recipe.  With only a few minor adjustments I followed Daisy's method.  This recipe takes some time; however, you could easily make a quicker version by using tortilla chips and your favorite store bought green enchilada sauce. 

This homemade tomatillo sauce is very refreshing when you use cilantro and mint.  I decreased the mint and increased the jalepeno in order to give it more of a kick.  Feel free to play with the proportions to make it to your liking. Here is the recipe I used or you can view Daisy's original recipe on her website: 

For the sauce:

• 1 ½ pounds tomatillos, peeled, washed and cut into chunks

Click to read more ...

This week wraps up after some really bad meals at work.  A bug or a bout with food poisoning left me "driving the porcelain bus to Ralph's house" one night - yes, I'm looking you square in the eyes Pizza Hut.  We always blame the last thing we ate but I've been told GI bugs can take 24 hours to incubate.  Nevertheless, never again!

More delicious Mexican food (naturally I suppose, since the US stole California from the Mexicans), some really good sushi, some amazing Italian food with really dark photos (I didn't want to disturb our neighbors), and more candy and soda than I normally consume.  Everything in moderation I suppose... even moderation.

One oddity I threw in there was some In-N-Out ads coming from my car's radio.  I looked down at the clock on I-5 one night to see on the display "HUNGRY?" - I thought, "As a matter of fact, thanks for asking."  Then I saw "FRESHNESS."  This is where the artist and song title normally are shown.  It took me a minute to realize that I wasn't being spoken to by a higher being a la Steve Martin's character Harris K. Telemacher in the movie LA Story.