My Space has turned into a wonderful marketplace for business. We have found it very helpful for networking and keeping up with Spokane area art, music, food, wine, culture,etc. Stop by, we will be your friend.
The French Cooking Class last Sunday was a blast. The menu was Dijon shallot vinaigrette with French goat cheese over organic mixed green salad, asparagus and gruyere cheese in puff pastry with lemon dijon sauce, roasted chicken with cognac champignon sauce and crepes. The wines were Gentil “Hugel” Alsace white blend and Barton & Guestier Pinot Noir.
The classes are full until Sunday March 9th (Italian) or March 16th (Irish). If you are interested, email dining@latahbistro.com  to request reservations.
The reservation book on Valentines Day is always chaotic. We fill all the seatings around 6 or 7 pm over a month in advance. The early seatings (4 - 5:30) go next, and the later seatings (8 - 9pm) go last. If you are a last minute romantic, we still have some late seatings and with a little early evening creativity you can still enjoy a beautiful dinner with your loved one.
For reservations call 509 838-8338
Every once in while I just have to post a gratuitous food shot. This is one of our latest guest favorites at the Bistro, Cherry Chutney - a unique blend of whole roasted garlic, dried cherries, ginger, mustard seed, and spices. Definitely a must try. We serve it with French triple cream brie cheese and bread slices.
After researching the market, we have produced a simple and delicious catering menu with healthy new meals ideas, efficient ordering and delivery concepts with pricing designed specifically for business lunches and presentations. Call for more information. 838-8338
Normally I keep it pretty light and informative here but every once in a while, when I feel it is important, I feel the need to get on the soapbox and spew opinions. Now is one of those times.
Recently after viewing the documentary, “King Corn“, I was forced to contemplate the economics and health of our food system here in the USA. Since the 70’s we have been working in a direction to reduce the cost of food for the average citizen. According to USDA statistics, Americans currently spend just under 10 percent of their disposable income on food annually, the lowest average of any country in the world. This is remarkable and stands as a monumental achievement. The only problem with this statistic is that it comes with some seriously harmful baggage and a harmful future direction.
Simply striving to provide US citizens with cheap food is an oversimplified goal in the much more complex bigger picture. The goal to provide cheap food, which originated with Ag secretary, Earl Butz in the 70’s has resulted in crop subsidies, small farm consolidation into larger corporate farms, a reduction of seed and food variety, a drastic increase in chemical use, inhumane and unhealthy animal production, an increase in the use of environmentally damaging fossil fuels and a transformation of our eating habits resulting in more diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity. Like I said, “seriously harmful baggage.”
Subsidizing the corn crop has changed the landscape of the Midwest into an 80 million acre sea of large farm corn production that has gone from 80 bushels per acre to 200 bushels per acre. The corn seed that has been engineered for high density planting and high starch content is used mainly for cattle feed and the production of high fructose corn syrup. It has virtually no nutritional value for humans.
Cattle production has profited by the quicker and cheaper method of confined corn feedlots instead of the slower grass fed method. The end result is beef with higher fat and antibiotic content. No wonder obesity is on the rise.
In less than 30 years our cane and beet sugars have almost completely been replaced with high fructose corn syrup. Corn is much cheaper to produce and has found it’s way into almost every processed food item in a variety of forms. Go to the grocery store and look for yourself. Cheaper ingredients and lower nutritional value. You are what you eat.
There is no question that the quest for profits have been the main driving force behind these trends but we need to remember that we, the consumers, control trends with our purchases. If we keep purchasing processed unhealthy food, the system will keep creating ways to provide it cheaply and even more unhealthy. A recent U of W study confirms nutritionally valuable food = higher prices.
What can we do to help reverse this trend? Simple; don’t fall for slick advertising. Send your message to the market by refusing to purchase the processed, corporate produced, bad nutrition foods, and instead buy healthy, organically produced, grass fed, locally grown food. You and our farms will be healthier.