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Avital Binshtock: Cheese Graders: Experts Name Their Favorite Green Cheeses

2012-02-22T22:52:20Z

No matter how you slice it, mainstream cheese is inefficient fare: Almost 10 pounds of milk are needed to make a typical 1-pound wheel. But you need not forsake your favorite Gouda. Just choose a brand that takes sustainability into account. I asked five experts to name their favorites.

JEFF ROBERTS cofounded the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese. His Atlas of American Artisan Cheese was the first book to comprehensively survey small-scale cheese makers.

"Long before sustainability was celebrated, LAZY LADY FARM in northern Vermont utilized green practices. The farm operates completely on solar and wind power, while the hillside aging caves take advantage of ambient temperature and humidity to make a diverse array of seasonal and organic goat's and cow's milk cheeses. La Petite Tomme, a bloomy-rind disk from goat's milk, is a signature product. The soft surface yields to a moist interior with hints of mushroom, milk, and nuts." $11 for 6 ounces, available seasonally at gourmetlibrary.com

Affineur WENDY WU is the cheese expert for Classified, a European-style cafe and retail chain in Hong Kong known for selling artisan foods. Time magazine named Classified one of its top five restaurants for cheese lovers.

"It's wonderful to see production that follows the rhythms of nature and respects the land. BEAUFORT CHALET D'ALPAGE cow's cheese, from the French Alps, illustrates how those traditions are preserved. In summer, meadows and pastures are perfect for grazing, and herds move up the mountains at their own pace. The cows are not overmilked and only produce enough milk per year for about 300 66-pound wheels. This ensures the quality of the cheese and, just as important, avoids overworking the pastures, which would harm wildflowers and grasses." $19 for 8 ounces, available at gourmetfoodworld.com

JEANETTE HURT is the author of The Cheeses of Wisconsin: A Culinary Travel Guide and two other books about cheese.

"I'm a sucker for aged artisan cheeses, and Bob Wills of CEDAR GROVE CHEESE in Plain, Wis., makes amazing organic and ecologically sensitive products. His creamery is the first -- and still the only -- to use a Living Machine system to treat wastewater on-site. Though I adore Dante, a nutty sheep's milk cheese, his fresh cheeses are equally good -- and since they don't require additional energy to age, they're even greener. He's opening a new sustainable plant that'll use wind turbines for electricity." $10 for 8 ounces

Third-generation dairyman TODD MOORE owns Lucky Layla Farms, an artisan brand in Plano, Texas. Moore is committed to keeping his products handcrafted and his cows hormone-free.

"FISCALINI's Vintage Bandage-Wrapped Cheddar has a beautiful earthy taste with a slight crunch from the tyrosine crystals that form during the aging process. These are true handcrafted cheeses made on a century-old, family-owned dairy farm in Modesto, Calif. The company is vertically integrated, which lowers its carbon footprint since they don't truck milk back and forth. They also run their farm with an anaerobic digester, which produces fuel from cow manure and other waste products." $15 for 8 ounces

MIYOKO SCHINNER is a vegan chef in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as an author, a natural-food developer, and a former restaurateur. Her latest cookbook, slated for publication this summer, is Say Cheese: Vegan Alternatives to Make You Smile.

"I'm a fan of BUTE ISLAND FOOD'S Blue Style Sheese, a vegan alternative to blue cheese. Though it doesn't have the blue veins, it tastes remarkably like the real thing and is the only blue-cheese alternative I've found. It's great crumbled in a salad or with fresh pears and apples. And because it's plant-based, its production requires a fraction of the energy burned by its dairy counterpart." $7 for 8 ounces, available at veganstore.com

Images courtesy of Lori Eanes

CDC Examines Raw Milk's Role In Dairy-Related Food Poisoning

2012-02-22T22:44:00Z

Dairy-related illness is caused more often from raw, or unpasteurized, milk than pasteurized milk, according to a new government report.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that the risk of getting ill from consuming raw milk is 150 times higher than if you consume pasteurized milk, according to the study.

The report also showed that in states where selling raw milk is legal, outbreaks of food-borne illness are more than twice as high than in states where raw milk sales are illegal. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that 20 states currently have some form of ban on selling raw milk.

The findings were an aggregation of data collected on dairy-related outbreaks between 1993 and 2006. During that time period, there were 121 outbreaks, with 60 percent of them from raw milk products.

Not only were there more outbreaks related to raw milk, they were also more serious. The study showed that 13 percent of raw milk-related outbreaks resulted in hospitalization, while 1 percent of pasteurized milk-related outbreaks resulted in the same. The researchers said that the increase in hospitalization may be because bacteria like E. coli O157 were the cause of most raw milk-related outbreaks, which can result in more severe illness. Norovirus and Staphylococcus aureus were the more common causes of the pasteurized milk-product outbreaks, which are comparably mild infections, researchers said.

"While some people think that raw milk has more health benefits than pasteurized milk, this study shows that raw milk has great risks, especially for children, who experience more severe illnesses if they get sick," said study researcher Dr. Barbara Mahon, M.D., M.P.H., deputy chief of CDC's DFWED Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch.

Pasteurized milk is exposed to blasts of heat to kill pathogens, like E. coli and salmonella, that cause food poisoning, TIME reported. But raw milk supporters say that heating the milk also kills the good stuff in milk, such as good bacteria, and proteins and enzymes that help with digestion, according to TIME.

The nonprofit Weston A. Price Foundation, which advocates for raw milk, said that the findings should be taken with a grain of salt, saying that there are very low numbers of dairy-related foodborne illnesses to start with. [You can read their full statement here.]

The Los Angeles Times reported that raw milk supporters point to evidence in some journals showing that raw milk consumption is linked with a lower risk and/or rate of eczema and allergies. However, studies in journals have shown an exact opposite effect.

Anthony Bourdain Announces His First Projects As Book Publisher

2012-02-22T22:42:48Z

Back in September, when it was announced that Anthony Bourdain, star of No Reservations and all-around culinary luminary, was getting his own line of books at Harper-Collins' Ecco, it surprised people in both the food world and in the publishing industry. Today, though, Ecco revealed the first books the new imprint will publish -- and the picks go a long way towards silencing any critics.

The biggest name in the bunch is Roy Choi, a former Food & Wine Best New Chef, of LA's Kogi, Chego and A-Frame. He'll be releasing a memoir-slash-cookbook called Spaghetti Junction: Riding Shotgun with an L.A. Chef.

The other two authors aren't as high-profile, but their offerings are arguably even more in Bourdain's macho style than Choi's. Daniel Vaughn will present Prophets of Smoked Meat, a guide to Texas barbecue legends. And kickboxer Mark Miller will add a memoir, Fight Shark, to the mix.

Cooking, shotguns, smoked meat and kickboxing... as a writer, Anthony Bourdain may not quite be Ernest Hemingway, but he's sure aiming for The Sun Also Rises as an editor!

Kellogg's Creates 'Totes Amazeballs' Cereal From Twitter Suggestion

2012-02-22T22:20:34Z

A lot of things can be "totes amazeballs" (translation: totally amazing): a spontaneous trip to Tuscany, a really special dinner or maybe even an especially good episode of Downton Abbey. Something else to now add to the "totes amazeballs" list is, well, Totes Amazeballs cereal.

This bizarre cereal came into existence after Tim Burgess of British band The Charlatans tweeted his Totes Amazeballs cereal idea to Kellogg's. Soon after, the company responded and created a cereal just for Burgess (as in, there is only one box).

Burgess explains:

I was thinking it'd be cool to come up with a breakfast cereal -- I heard someone use the expression Totes Amazeballs and it sounded like something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- I sent a cheeky tweet saying I'd invented a new cereal.

Totes Amazeballs cereal is a mix of Rocky Road cake, Coco Pops Rocks, marshmallows, shortbread pieces and raisins.

Although this was a one-time only creation, Kellogg's is now getting "inundated" with Twitter requests for the cereal, according to the Manchester Evening News.

PHOTOS: LA Dominates James Beard Award Nominations

2012-02-22T21:58:53Z

The 2012 James Beard award semifinalists were just announced, and Los Angeles was honored many times over.

Among the well-established powerhouses, Patina, Lucques and Providence all have multiple nominations, while chefs Suzanne Goin and Nancy Silverton are both up for the "Outstanding Chef" award.

But it's the "Rising Star Chef" category that've got us excited. 5 out of the 31 new toque nominations are from the Los Angeles area. Up-and-coming restaurants Picca and MB Post have been nominated for "Best New Restaurant."

5 finalists in each category will be announced on March 15, and the winners on May 7 at the annual Awards Ceremony. That means you've still got a little more time to snag a table at the nominated restaurants; after the awards, it'll be near impossible.

Check out all of our local semifinalists in the slideshow below. And for a full list of semifinalists, check out the listing on jamesbeard.org:

Maryland Bill Would Ban Shark Fin Possession, Sale

2012-02-22T21:53:13Z

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland lawmakers are considering joining states that have banned the possession and sale of shark fins.

Shark fins are popular in Asia where they are a delicacy used in soup. However, environmentalists say overfishing is threatening shark species.

House lawmakers in Annapolis heard testimony Wednesday on a bill containing fines of up to $50,000 for repeat offenders. If the bill becomes law Maryland would join California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and Guam that have banned shark fin sales. The environmental group Oceana says Maryland's bill is similar to legislation also pending in New York and Illinois.

The European Union's executive arm said in November that it wants to completely ban shark finning – the practice of removing sharks' fins and throwing the finless creatures back into the sea to die.

Perry Garfinkel: What's the Buzz About at Atlanta's Park 75 Restaurant?

2012-02-22T21:46:08Z

First some facts foodies with their faces buried in shaved-truffle foie gras may not be aware of:

Billions of bees have disappeared in the last decade and, even more alarmingly, scientists have no idea why.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the name given to the latest, and what seems to be the most serious, die-off of honeybee colonies.

The trickle down effect is devastating. Approximately one third of all the food Americans eat is directly or indirectly derived from honeybee pollination, according to the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF).

There's a reason behind the expression "busy as a bee." The winged little fellas have to go through about a million blossoms to make one ounce of honey.

While scientists scratch their collective heads, it's groups like the ABF, individual beekeepers, the White House bees and guys like Robert Gerstenecker who try to put a little bee in the bonnet of the rest of us as to why it's important to ever care about these insects... even if it stings (ok, enough puns, I promise).

For Gerstenecker's part, he has deduced that the quickest way to draw attention is by educating our palates. So, as executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta, he has launched an awareness campaign by setting up two beehives on the hotel's fifth floor terrace, beside several enormous planters where he grows herbs and vegetables and a variety of edible flowers -- all of which end up in some form or another on diners' plates at the Four Seasons' Park 75 Restaurant.

Chef Gerstenecker, a Canadian who grew up on a farm outside Toronto, moved to the U.S. in 1995 and was appalled that even some of the kitchen staff had never planted anything that grew into something they could eat. As for honey, he quickly discovered, they knew even less. In fact even I, who has been contributing to the New York Times for some 20 years about food, health and other trends, was embarrassed to learn:

Seasonality. Honey harvested in spring is lighter in color and has a sweet taste. Fall honey is darker, and pungent to the palate. This is because the variety of the plant blooming in each season produces different nectars.

Regionality. Honey from downtown Atlanta will taste different from honey in Buckhead, only a few miles away. This also has to do with the soils and microclimates that produce different types of flowering vegetation.

Why the brands taste boring. Brands like Sue Bee manipulate honey to make its taste the same from season to season, from region to region, year after year. The masses like their lives consistent. They brands blend honey from the U.S., Argentina, the Ukraine -- wherever they can get the best deal.

Health implications. The natural liquid from bees contains B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and certain amino acids and minerals. It has a healthy Glycemic Index, meaning that its sugars can be gradually absorbed into the bloodstream, rather than the infamous spike effect of processed sugar. Honey contains natural antioxidants. It's a great natural source of carbohydrates. Its natural fruit sugars, fructose and glucose play an important role in preventing fatigue and it's cholesterol-free.

Don't buy it if the label says "organic." Why? Because it's a lie, unless beekeepers can guarantee the bees extract their nectar from pesticide-free plants, which they can't unless they contain the bees in some fenced-over well planted space, as birds are kept in aviaries.

Under chef's watchful eyes and very rarely stung hands, two queen bees and more than 100,000 gentle Italian honey bees live atop the hotel, contributing nearly 200 pounds of wildflower honey that he uses in entrees at the Park 75. The delicate tempura-fried squash blossoms (which come from his home garden and is only available seasonally) are filled with goat cheese and crowned with cherry tomatoes from the hotel's garden, as well as baby zucchini and nasturtium blossoms. It's drizzled with a vinaigrette made with honey and vinegar. It's also used for the salted honey caramels, and on a cheese and house-made Charcuterie plate.

So, yes, buzz on over on rapidly flapping wings.

Arizona GOP Leader: Let Kids Work For $4.65 An Hour

2012-02-22T21:31:01Z

WASHINGTON -- Republican lawmakers in Arizona are pushing legislation that would lower the legal minimum wage for younger part-time workers and tipped workers such as restaurant servers, just as Florida lawmakers are considering dropping their state's tipped rate as well.

In both cases, proponents of the measures are arguing that the wage floor for such employees is too onerous on businesses.

The Arizona proposal, HCR 2056, would amend state law so that an employer could pay a teenage worker $3 less than the current minimum wage per hour if the worker is employed either part-time or on a temporary basis. The Arizona minimum wage is currently $7.65 -- forty cents more than the federal rate -- meaning that many teenagers could end up being paid $4.65 per hour if voters approve the proposal in a ballot initiative later this year.

An amendment to the legislation would also cut the minimum wage that employers must pay tipped employees by more than $2 per hour. The minimum wage for servers and other tipped workers in Arizona is currently $4.65. If a worker's tips don't add up to the normal minimum wage of $7.65, the employer must cover the difference -- a stipulation that would not change with the legislation.

The proposal, which was sponsored by the House of Representatives' majority leader, Rep. Steve Court (R-Mesa), passed through the state commerce committee last week along party lines. Court could not be reached for comment. According to an article by Arizona's Cronkite News Service, Court said at a recent hearing that the minimum wage for teenagers is "causing employers to employ fewer people. It also makes us a lot less competitive."

The amendment to the Arizona legislation is similar to a proposal in the Florida legislature, where the tourism and commerce committee is considering giving businesses the option of dropping the state minimum wage for servers, currently $4.65, in favor of the lower federal one of $2.13. However, if the employer opts for the lower wage and the employee doesn't earn at least $9.98 per hour after tips, the employer would have to make up the difference.

Since the proposal surfaced in the GOP-controlled legislature earlier this month, some Florida lawmakers and businesses have faced a backlash, with worker advocacy groups denouncing it as an attack on low-wage workers and a boon to the restaurant industry. Members of the Florida AFL-CIO have been leaving literature behind on restaurant tables to inform servers of the potential changes, and the group also put together a protest outside an Outback Steakhouse in Miami Lakes. Organizers encouraged attendees to dress in 1980's garb to mock a minimum wage they described as being from an earlier era.

Outback Steakhouse's parent company, OSI Restaurant Partners, supports the Florida measure, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The Tampa-based company, which counts Carrabba's Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill among its holdings, gave more than $120,000 last year to 32 Republicans running for state office.

Carol Dover, president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, told The Huffington Post in a statement that the proposal under consideration has been mischaracterized. "There appears to be confusion as to the legislation," said Dover, whose trade group supports the proposal. "No one is having their wages cut. Employees are being guaranteed 130% of the state minimum wage if the employer elects to offer that option."

But Rich Templin, legislative and political director of the Florida AFL-CIO, argues that the measure would simply let employers save money at workers' expense.

"We believe that many people in the legislature, from both sides of the aisle, once they understand what it's about will not be supportive of this," says Templin. "It really is a pretty despicable idea."

Dr. Gary Ginsberg: A Bitter Sweetener in Baby Formula

2012-02-22T20:52:43Z

New data from Dartmouth College has found elevated levels of arsenic in foods and infant formula that are sweetened with rice syrup. The data demonstrate the gaping holes in the regulation of our food supply, which is not a new story. But there is a new twist here. Rather than the problem being imports from other countries (e.g. see my recent blogs on arsenic in apple juice from China; fungicide in orange juice from Brazil) in this case, it's the domestic product that is more contaminated. Why should rice raised in the U.S. be the problem? Well cotton on to this one.

Major portions of the U.S. cotton belt have been converted over to rice production, so much so that the U.S. south produces 12 percent of all rice on the planet. The majority of rice consumed in the U.S. is domestic. Cotton fields historically received high doses of arsenic-based pesticide and this arsenic is still sitting in the topsoil. When you flood fields, creating rice paddies, the arsenic is mobilized and goes right into the crop. The good news is that it's toxic to rice, causing a syndrome called straighthead disease. That should have been enough to kill the concept, especially since who would want to produce rice with high levels of arsenic, a well known nerve poison and carcinogen. Well, apparently our own U.S. Dept of Agriculture would want to. Their research into rice cultivars that are resistant to arsenic has been a huge commercial success in the southern heartland. They are still doing research to improve rice production in high arsenic soils. To be fair, USDA is also doing research to try to find cultivars that don't become so highly contaminated by arsenic. But this research is not protecting the American public from the bad idea of growing rice on old cotton fields. This is tinkering with the U.S. food supply to maximize profit with minimal thought given to food safety. Its sister agency, FDA, does not even have safety standards for arsenic in rice.

Fortunately, the Dartmouth research points out the dangers of growing arsenic-resistant rice. In this case, they tested products containing organic brown rice syrup, a processed sweetener derived from rice. There is obviously something wrong with the organic label if you can call something grown on high arsenic soils organic. But aside from that, the compounding of mistakes is mind-numbing. Taking a crop high in arsenic and concentrating it down into a syrup and then putting that into baby formula sounds like a terrorist plot on a TV drama. Unfortunately, it's actually happening. And it's even more outrageous when considering that simple sugars and empty calories are a risk for diabetes. This effect is now combined with arsenic, a chemical that can decrease pancreatic function and is linked to diabetes.

The Dartmouth research found two brands of infant formula that contains the rice-based sweetener. The inorganic arsenic concentration in these brands was double the federal drinking water limit and five times higher when you add in the methyl forms of arsenic that also have some toxicity. And the daily dose per body weight for an infant on this formula would be 10 times higher than what USEPA's reference dose for arsenic dictates is safe.

The take home messages at this point are:

Parents of infants: avoid formulas that contain rice syrup; apparently most don't, but read the label. The two brands Dartmouth studied with high arsenic are Baby's Only Organic Dairy Toddler Formula and Baby's Only Organic Soy Toddler Formula, both made by Nature's One.

Everyone else: 1) Rice syrup -- minimize consumption until we know more; a little is no big deal and its not in that many things, but if its in the things you like (e.g., higher end snack bars) you will want to moderate. Since high fructose corn syrup has its question marks, I'd head in the direction of honey or plain old sugar. If you stay away from refined highly sweetened foods to start with you are way ahead of the game. 2) Rice -- imported rice is lower in arsenic; look for whole grain (brown) basmati or jasmine rice, which come from India and Thailand, respectively.

FDA: do more testing, especially of baby rice cereal; as baby's first solid food, its urgent that we get arsenic data on rice cereal from the U.S.

Civil War Museum Details Best Way To Fry A Squirrel

2012-02-22T20:26:09Z

WASHINGTON -- What kind of food did people eat during the Civil War? Period food and dining don't deserve the bad rap they often get, according to George Wunderlich, executive director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md.

In an effort to better understand life during the Civil War, the museum has over the last few years extensively researched the foods eaten by soldiers and folks on the homefront. Diet, Wunderlich explained, is not only a colorful way to understand history, but it's also an important indicator of the population's health and general knowledge of nutrition.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Wunderlich dished on the museum's research projects and gave us a peek into the culinary world around the time of the Civil War.

The Huffington Post: When you say you're looking at what people ate during the Civil War, which people are you talking about?

George Wunderlich: When we think of the Civil War, we think of the men who were in uniform. But there were millions of Americans who weren't in uniform, so [we want to know] what was their health like and what was their diet like.

HuffPost: Absolutely. So, what sorts of things did people eat back home?

Wunderlich: This idea that everybody in the Civil War was eating this disgustingly plain food just doesn't play. Bread puddings of all sorts, game pies ... with pheasant and turkey and duck and venison. This was not an uncommon diet. ... Stuffed crabs, oyster dishes of all sorts were part of a common diet in the major cities throughout the United States. Actually, they were shipping canned oysters and lobster to the western frontier as early as the 1850s, because we have the original cans that show up in steamboat registers.

HuffPost: That's pretty fancy. Doesn't sound like battlefield food, though. What was dining like on the front line?

Wunderlich: We tend to think of soldiers eating salt pork and hard tack ... The other thing we tend to think of is that Civil War people ate this very simple food, not terribly nutritious food, and certainly among the soldiers, that was not an uncommon occurrence. But that doesn't mean that people didn't understand that health and nutrition went in hand in hand.

HuffPost: Did that translate to paying attention to soldiers' nutrition?

Wunderlich: Civil War doctors were notorious for lobbying the armies to send what were called anti-scorbutics, or those foods that would help fight scurvy. Things with vitamin C in them. Potatoes, believe or not, and especially in the peels; onions; obviously citrus fruit when it could be attained. So there was an understanding that a good healthy balanced diet, would, in fact, make a good healthy balanced person.

HuffPost: So health was something people had an awareness of?

Wunderlich: These people had a much more balanced diet than I think we like to give them credit for ... The farm in the 19th century was much more a ecologically sound institution, because they grew various crops in a field rotation. They grew their own fruit, they grew their own vegetables. Basically, you were not only providing for a cash crop, but you were providing for the family for a year. Believe it or not, their diets were pretty balanced.

HuffPost: Off the field, what were the wackier things that people might eat? Have you tried them?

Wunderlich: We've done everything from roasted rat, which was something [eaten in] the prison camps, to more delicate foods. We find people are really fascinated by what people ate and what the recipe looked like. While I don't recommend everyone eats squirrel -- I've eaten it -- it's not bad. It doesn't taste anything like chicken, by the way.

HuffPost: No? What does squirrel taste like?

Wunderlich: It's kind of gamey. It's a little bit like venison that's been in a freezer too long. It's kind of a stronger taste. It's not like possum. Possum is just, ewww. Did that once, too. I'm not going to that again.

HuffPost: Note to self: Don't eat possum. What sorts of people ate squirrel? And why?

Wunderlich: You've got to understand one thing. Squirrel was probably most commonly eaten on the frontier, and it makes perfect sense that that would be the case ... It's an easy food source, and if you're on the frontier, an easy food source is a good thing. Squirrels are pretty much ubiquitous, they're everywhere, they were everywhere back then. It is certainly something that people would eat and did.

HuffPost: How did people cook it?

Wunderlich: Boiling was not uncommon, but it seems like frying was more common. Browning in primarily bacon drippings or lard, which was commonly kept in the house. You've got to make sure that it doesn't cook too fast. That's the bad thing with squirrel, from what we can obtain from our research ... There's not a whole lot of squirrel to a squirrel. The pieces are fairly thin, and if you cook them through too quickly, you wind up with something incredibly tough. So, you've got to cook it a little bit on the slow side with a lower heat.

HuffPost: The museum has recently been posting recipes to its Facebook page, including one for fried squirrel. People have been eating it up (pun intended). Why do you think there's such an interest?

Wunderlich: When we seek to understand what our ancestors went through, some people go out and they reenact history, they put on the uniforms, they go out and eat food of the Civil War encampments, or they go to a local historic site and they do things. But I think we miss just how connected we become with the past when we can taste it ... and it gives me an insight into something that my fourth great-grandfather may have tasted. I can still taste and I can smell it and I can make it. This is a great way to get a deeper appreciation for who we are and what we are.

Flickr photo by niXerKG.

Pawnshops Accepting Wine As Collateral

2012-02-22T20:00:00Z

By Leslie Gevirtz

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some U.S. pawnbrokers are taking liquid assets - literally.

Along with family jewels and fine art they will accept wines as collateral for loans to help ease cash shortages of businesses and people on all rungs of the economic ladder.

"You'd be amazed by how many wealthy individuals have terrible credit ratings," said Jordan Tabach-Bank, head of Beverly Loan Co. in Beverly Hills, California.

"And besides, if you go to a bank, it can take weeks or months to get a loan. When we make a loan, it's usually the same day,"

The pawnshop for the prosperous lends to hedge-fund managers, bankers, lawyers, doctors and even Oscar winners.

"Most people have a vision of pawn shops as sad sites. But that's not the case here," Tabach-Bank said. "I have a lot of people who come in who have a business opportunity and they need an infusion of cash for business purposes."

USGoldBuyers.com, an online pawnbroker with an office in New York, will also accept fine wines, said spokesman Jose Caba, adding that the rich do not always have liquid assets to keep up with their expensive toys.

"That's where we come in," he said. "We don't really want to sell the wine, or any asset that we take in whether it be gold or fine art."

He estimates that about 90 percent of the loans made have been repaid.

But interest rates and length of the loans vary widely.

British-based pawnbroker, borro.com, recently lent $120,000 in exchange for 128 bottles of Chateau d'Yquem, which had an estimated worth of $250,000.

Within the last three weeks, borro.com had taken a case of 1989 Chateau Petrus, valued at about $38,000, for a loan of $24,000, said its Chief Executive Paul Aitken.

Loans were also secured on various vintages of the five First Growths Bordeaux: Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Mouton Rothschild -- top wines regularly sold at auctions where cases fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

Aitken's clientele, whose net worth ranges from $1 million to $10 million, are mostly small business owners with cash flow problems. Financial advisers and wealth managers recommend many of their clients to him.

Britain's Prime Asset Loans, based in Durham, has a specific list of wines it will loan against including the First Growth Bordeaux, Burgundy's Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and, depending on the vintage, Australia's renowned Penfolds Grange.

"We lend up to 70 percent of the value of the wines and the term is usually seven months," said Richard Mews, a partner at Prime Asset Loans. "Investors are using this type of loan more as it is quick, easy and there are no fees."

Credit Municipal de Paris, which has been offering loans against fine wines, champagnes and aged spirits since 2008, can keep more than 90,000 bottles in its 18th century wine cellar.

"Just deposit your bottles against a loan that is immediately awarded," said spokeswoman Florence Marambat, adding that Bordeaux were the wines most frequently offered as collateral.

(Reporting By Leslie Gevirtz; Additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon in Paris; Editing by Richard Chang and Patricia Reaney)

Shark Fin Ban Likely In New York

2012-02-22T19:50:49Z

While Senator Charles Schumer occupies his time by waging war against inhalable sticks of fun, legislators are working on a more serious bill that will likely ban the sale and distribution of shark fin in New York state.

The push follows a string of similar bills enacted by California, Oregon, Hawaii, and Washington in an effort to prevent future slaughter preserve the dwindling shark population left. Several other states have legislation pending.

While the bill is receiving high marks from environmentalists, the potential ban is causing a stir amongst Chinese Americans due to a popular broth created by the fin to serve a traditional delicacy in Chinese culture.

The Wall Street Journal spoke to Dr. Giam Choo Hoo who defended, "Most fins are humanely taken from landed, dead sharks" and said that the ban would be culturally discriminatory because other delicacies such as caviar have not received such negative hype.

But most in the science community, who claim 73 million sharks are slaughtered annually just for the soup, are praising the move. In reaction to the announcement, scientist and senior vice president of Oceana Dr. Michael Hirshfield said, "Demand for shark fin soup is responsible for the slaughter of these magnificent creatures so essential to the health of our oceans. Oceans without sharks are oceans out of balance, which means trouble for everyone who depends on oceans for food, jobs and enjoyment."

Assemblywoman Grace Meng, who represents Flushing, is the daughter of immigrant parents who once owned several restaurants that served shark fin. Meng spoke of her affinity for the delicacy and acknowledged that the ban would be a tough adjustment for the Chinese American community, but stressed, "itâs important to be responsible citizens."

America's Favorite Vodka Brands

2012-02-22T19:47:23Z

The market research company NPD Group has released a survey on consumer vodka preferences. The survey found that men and women have generally the same preference in the top vodka brands, but brand preference varies among age groups.

Among the 33,750 adults surveyed, Grey Goose (18%) is the most popular brand of vodka, followed by Absolut (12%). Smirnoff (10%), Ketel One (7%) and Stoli/Stolichnaya (5%) rounded out the top five, with men slightly preferring these brands over women.

Adults (21+) under 50 preferred Grey Goose slightly more than the 50+ age group. The 21-34-year-olds surveyed went for Smirnoff significantly more than the 35-49-year-olds; the reverse is true in the case of Absolut. Ketel One was significantly more popular with the under 34 crowd.

Grey Goose's number one spot speaks to the success of the company's branding. Grey Goose has been in existence less than 20 years, and in that time has captured a good chunk of the market.

Vodka is the most popular liquor in America.

Check out the results below, courtesy NPD Group:

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Julie Tilsner: Don't Fear the Quinoa: Southwest Quinoa Salad

2012-02-22T19:42:29Z

I didn't even know how to pronounce quinoa until a few years ago,

"KeeNoA," I said. "Isn't that like a super grain the indians used to eat or something?"

"It's pronounced "Keen-WA," said my friend, who watched me silently while I danced around doing my best Karate Kid imitation. "Keeeeen-WAAAAAAA!!!!"

When I was done she added, quite seriously, "It's a very important and very nutritious grain."

Well. That may be. But I was still very wary of our friend quinoa.

In my abject ignorance, it ranked up there with the sorts of vaguely frightening and definitely unpalatable foodstuffs like tempeh and spirulina that uber-healthy sorts eat. And since I've always felt like my love of rice and beans and lentils should adequately pay my rent in the healthy eating food space, I didn't have to go out there into the wild outback of unpronounceable grains.

But then I saw a recipe for something called southwest quinoa salad. And for some reason, maybe it was the lunch hour, maybe it was the photograph, or the mention of black beans... it stuck and plagued me until I broke down and resolved to give it a whirl. Quinoa and everything.

First, I procured a box of quinoa from Trader Joe's.

I riffed on this recipe I found on my latest favorite blog, My Kitchen Addiction:

Here's her recipe, with my changes:

â¢ 1 cup quinoa
â¢ 2 cups water
â¢ 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drainedâ¨ (or about 2 cups cooked black beans)
â¢ 3 ears of steamed corn, cut off the cob (yeah, right. It's Jan. I used one 15-ounce can of corn)â¨ ... or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
â¢ 1 red bell pepper, diced
â¢ 1/2 red onion, chopped
â¢ Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

â¢ Kosher salt
â¢ Freshly ground black pepper
â¢ Mixed greens (optional)
â¢ Avocado slices (optional)

I rinsed the quinoa first. It's very small and light and a lot of it floats. So you have to strain it through a fine mesh.

Cook the quinoa in the water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it sit for another 5 minutes.

While you're cooking the quinoa, chop the veggies and prepare the lime cilantro dressing:

Use the good chili powder, from Little India. Then:

â¢ 1 lime (zest and juice)
â¢ 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
â¢ 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
â¢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
â¢ 1 tablespoon agave syrup ( I used honey)

Mix all the veggies in a bowl, add the COOLED quinoa. Toss with the dressing and refrigerate for a few hours. Serve over greens....

The Drama Teen inspected this. "Are you making fish eggs?" she asked. No, I said. It's quinoa.

She's gotta learn this from someone, right?

I dished this out and passed it around. it looked good to me, but who knows what it tasted like.

Verdict?

"Excellent," said the lovely ex. And then fixed me with a look. "Who are you and what have you done with Julie?"

Audrey, a kitchen goddess, also praised this salad. "I can't eat all that," she said, when I presented her with a plate. And then she finished it all. I was thrilled. Because Audge knows good eatin'.

I'm warming up to quinoa. I'm not so afraid. It's not so crunchy after all. I think I can work with it.

I think next time I'll try this recipe. It includes feta cheese, and cooks the quinoa in chicken broth. A sinful (and flavorful) way to counteract the holy righteousness of quinoa.

Keeeeen-WAAAA!!!"

Tribe Asks Judge To Intervene In Alcohol Dispute

2012-02-22T19:01:45Z

LINCOLN, Neb. — Leaders of a South Dakota American Indian tribe who are suing beer makers, distributors and retailers are now asking a judge to restrict alcohol sales in a tiny Nebraska town that borders their reservation.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe added the request late last week to a federal lawsuit that seeks $500 million in damages for the alcohol-related problems on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The tribe's attorney, Tom White of Omaha, said he will argue that Nebraska officials have failed to enforce their own laws by allowing beer sales that far surpass the amount that can legally be consumed in the area.

Alcohol is officially banned on Pine Ridge, a reservation the size of Connecticut in southwestern South Dakota. Nebraska state law prohibits drinking outside of the stores, and the nearest non-reservation town is more than 20 miles to the south. Yet the four beer retailers in Whiteclay, which has fewer than a dozen residents, sold the equivalent of nearly 5 million cans in 2010.

"The defendants have failed to make reasonable efforts to ensure their products are distributed and sold in obedience to the laws of the state of Nebraska and the Oglala Sioux tribe," White said Wednesday.

The lawsuit says the tribe has "no adequate remedies to protect its federally granted rights" to protect its sovereignty and enforce its own alcohol ban. He pointed to statements by Attorney General Jon Bruning, the state's top law enforcement officer, who has said shutting down the beer stores will not solve the problem.

The lawsuit in U.S. District Court of Nebraska targets some of the world's largest beer makers, as well as their distributors and the four stores in Whiteclay.

Tribal leaders and activists blame the Whiteclay businesses for chronic alcohol abuse and bootlegging on the Pine Ridge. They say most of the stores' customers come from the reservation, which spans southwest South Dakota.

The $500 million lawsuit seeks reimbursement for the cost of health care, social services and child rehabilitation caused by chronic alcoholism on the reservation, which encompasses some of the nation's most impoverished counties.

One in four children born on the reservation suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and the average life expectancy is estimated between 45 and 52 years – the shortest in the North Hemisphere except for Haiti, according to the lawsuit. The average American life expectancy is 77.5 years.

The lawsuit alleges that the beer makers and stores sold to Pine Ridge residents, knowing they would smuggle the alcohol into the reservation to drink or resell.

Matthew Fletcher, a Michigan State University associate law professor who specializes in American Indian issues, said the suit offers a novel approach to a problem that has plagued the reservation for more than a century. But, Fletcher said, "my sense is, it doesn't have much of a chance."

For years, Nebraska lawmakers have struggled to curb the problem, and are considering legislation that would limit the types of alcohol sold in areas like Whiteclay. The measure would require local authorities to ask the state to designate the area an "alcohol impact zone." The state liquor commission could then limit the hours that alcohol sellers are open, as well as ban the sale of certain products.

The beer store owners, distributors and retailers have all declined to comment.