http://gatherroundtable.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by Gather Round the Table en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:50:14 GMT 2010-01-02T13:50:14Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964631&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace It used to be simple. You’d hear “Beef: It’s what’s for dinner ® ” and you’d grab a steak or some burger or a roast, cook it and eat it. No questions, no fuss. . . . Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:40:10 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964631&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-12-27T18:40:10Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962736&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace This holiday brings family and friends together like very few others. Thanksgiving and Passover do as well perhaps, but that's about all (with which I am familiar) that has the ability to strengthen . . . Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:38:23 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977962736&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-12-25T15:38:23Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977910794&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. ~Cicero Celebrations of the harvest have existed for as long as civilization, for indeed it was agriculture that . . . Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:35:42 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977910794&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-11-20T21:35:42Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977874156&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace First of all, if you will indulge me for a moment in a bit of confessed food snobbery, I just have to get this off my chest. Scampi is shrimp. It is not a recipe, not a method of preparing shrimp . . . Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:12:25 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977874156&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-10-28T15:12:25Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977874099&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace When beginning their preparations for the coming holidays, and considering desserts, most Americans think immediately of pumpkin pie.  Allow me to suggest a second, perhaps more truly American . . . Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:51:52 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977874099&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-10-28T14:51:52Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977817911&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace All across the country this past Labor Day, folks gathered for picnics. That's no surprise, of course. After all, it was a holiday, and the weather was grand across nearly the whole continent. But there . . . Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:48:12 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977817911&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-09-18T19:48:12Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977792608&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace In 2006 Al Gore and Davis Guggenheim shook the world awake with their Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth . Now a film every bit as jarring has been realesed, about a subject that threatens . . . Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:21:04 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977792608&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-08-29T19:21:04Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977766543&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Wine was not invented in France (though I've known Frenchmen who would dispute that), it was first cultivated in what is now Georgia -- the Republic, not the state. But the Phocaeans who founded Marseilles . . . Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:55:23 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977766543&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-08-07T17:55:23Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977758877&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace We could hear the bellowing long before we could see the bovine perpetrator, a new mother cow who had somehow managed to get on the wrong side of the barbed wire fence from the herd – and therefore . . . Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:19:24 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977758877&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-08-01T13:19:24Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977742770&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Grinnell Heritage Farm is 152 years old. Andrew Dunham is the fifth generation of his family to work this land about 50 miles east of Des Moines. He is a direct descendant of Josiah Grinnell, founder . . . Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:58:40 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977742770&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-07-19T22:58:40Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977713727&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace   The chefs of “Lambstravaganza.”   The best part about my work with Slow Food USA is getting to experience new people, places, and especially great foods. . . . Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:02:44 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977713727&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-06-17T18:02:44Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977698407&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Nobody likes hypocrites, despite the fact that everyone is a hypocrite to one degree or another: the smoker who tells her kids not to smoke; the closeted politician who works against gay rights; the police . . . Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:00:34 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977698407&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-06-01T22:00:34Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977677298&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace I had the pleasure the other day of visiting ZJ Farms , the anchor of Local Harvest CSA, which is one of the biggest in the area. Farmer (and pillar of the local food scene hereabouts) Susan Jutz . . . Fri, 08 May 2009 15:02:48 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977677298&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-05-08T15:02:48Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977655083&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace In a recent op-ed , in The New York Times gravely informed its readers that free-range pork is deadly stuff. Despite evidence that incidence of trichinosis is very rare in the US—about 40 cases . . . Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:51:47 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977655083&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-04-13T21:51:47Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977652134&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Early-spring walks in the Iowa woods are rewarding on their own. But while you  enjoy those first few sunny days after a nourishing spring rain, why not look for things that can feed your belly as . . . Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:12:42 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977652134&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-04-10T16:12:42Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977645410&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Just because April Fool’s Day just went by doesn’t mean you have to be tricked into thinking that everything you hear about wine is true.  Fear not, one fool is ready to debunk some of the most . . . Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:58:16 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977645410&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-04-03T12:58:16Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977643586&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace There is a hidden tribe that exists in the middle of the North American continent.  Unlike his “civilized” or “modern” cousins, the native Iowa Gardener prefers to obtain sustenance for his family . . . Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:44:17 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977643586&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-04-01T15:44:17Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977628374&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace The thing to get out of the way right off the bat is that Meritage is not a French word.  In fact it’s not precisely an English word either.  It’s a made-up marketing word, and its correct . . . Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:26:26 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977628374&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-03-17T18:26:26Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977608897&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace On a recent morning, I heard a report on Morning Edition that jolted my attention from an extremely delicious cup of shade-grown fair-trade organic ultra-correct joe. (Public radio and fancy coffee: . . . Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:27:47 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977608897&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-02-27T18:27:47Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977593495&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Undeterred by the thorough trouncing he received last time he threw down the gauntlet, the Colonel has placed it gingerly at my feet once more, with another altogether apocryphal advertisement that . . . Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:50:38 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977593495&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-02-13T15:50:38Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977583333&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Like so many, I have very high hopes for the new administration.  I expect a new deal that looks to new frontiers, offering us a great society with a chicken in every pot in a shining city on a . . . Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:40:55 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977583333&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-02-03T15:40:55Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977565023&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Keep up with the world of cuisine with the upbeat, in-depth, at times outrageous "Gather Round the Table" with outspoken Real Food advocate Kurt Michael Friese.  With 30 years of experience . . . Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:04:19 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977565023&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-01-16T16:04:19Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977559428&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Recycling is a hassle. Let's face it, separating our garbage into distinct categories is a drag at the least and can sometimes feel downright foolish. You stand at your sink peeling the label of . . . Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:36:34 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977559428&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2009-01-10T22:36:34Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977549295&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace It is an unusual custom we’ve developed here at the end of the Gregorian calendar: we decide we’re going to change something, usually about ourselves, because the planet is a particular place relative . . . Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:28:49 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977549295&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2008-12-31T14:28:49Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977535117&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace This is the holiday season in just about every culture. I was born and raised a Unitarian Universalist , thus of the Judeo-Christian background, so in my house it's Christmastime. For some folks, . . . Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:21:18 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977535117&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2008-12-14T16:21:18Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977510139&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace In the 11 years between the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution, arguments raged over the future of the nascent nation. One involved the naming of a National Bird. Writing . . . Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:22:37 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977510139&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2008-11-18T16:22:37Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977494676&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Recently, the American public was issued a challenge by the folks at KFC (formerly "Kentucky Fried Chicken," but "fried" just didn't sound healthy ). The fast-food joint argues . . . Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:55:15 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977494676&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2008-11-01T14:55:15Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977476508&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace October is a bittersweet time for gardeners. We like to grow things, see them flourish, and that is certainly what they are doing now, as the dwindling daylight reminds us of autumn’s approach. The sweet . . . Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:09:36 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977476508&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2008-10-13T21:09:36Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977471539&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace When I was growing up in central Ohio, school began right after Labor Day. This was advantageous compared to today's August start, and not just because of the longer summer break. The extra time also . . . Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:57:58 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977471539&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2008-10-08T14:57:58Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977448018&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace It's going to take me more than just a few days to fully understand the effects and implications of the first Slow Food Nation , held in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. The brain power on . . . Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:23:33 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977448018&grpId=3659174697246535&nav=Groupspace Kurt Michael Friese 2008-09-13T17:23:33Z