Habitat to host foodie, Mark Bittman
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Mark Bittman "The Food Matters Cookbook" -
Mark Bittman
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An avid home cook since the late 1960s, Mark Bittman has authored more than 10 best-selling cookbooks, including his "How to Cook Everything" series and 2008's "Food Matters," a no-nonsense volume promoting agricultural sustainability and slow food. But he's probably just as well known for his weekly dispatches for "The Minimalist," the New York Times food column focused on simple, seasonal home cooking.
He also regularly rubs shoulders with celebs, appearing with Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali on the PBS series "Spain ... On the Road Again," and does regular cooking demonstrations on NBC's Today show.
On Tuesday, Mr. Bittman brings his star power to Habitat in the Fairmont Pittsburgh, where he and executive chef Andrew Morrison -- a longtime friend who cooked with him at his wedding -- will prepare a tasting menu for a sold-out crowd based on his latest book, "The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living" (Simon & Schuster, Sept. 2010, $35).
The evening also will include a discussion of how to choose and cook ingredients, as well as the two cooks' philosophies for better living.
In a phone interview from his apartment in New York's Upper West Side, Mr. Bittman gave a taste of his thoughts on responsible eating. They essentially boil down to this: Eat more fruits and veggies and whole grains, and fewer animal products and processed foods. He's also a big believer in buying locally raised foods whenever possible and reading labels.
Q: The latest report from the USDA shows Americans still aren't eating as healthily as they could, with more than 67 percent of adults eating fewer than two servings of fruit and three vegetables daily. Seems like a good time for this book.
A: Just about every study and survey show that people want to eat more fruits and vegetables and are aware of the benefits of eating less meat. They just don't know how to do it. But it's very clear that the answer is less animal product and processed food, and much, much less junk food.
A conservative estimate is that 80 percent of what we eat should come from unprocessed plants, which is such a big turnaround that we won't be able to achieve it in our lifetimes. To say everyone needs to be a vegan is a nice idea, but that's kind of like saying everyone should ride a bicycle. It's simply not going to happen. The challenge then is, how do we move in that direction of eating less of A and more of B?
First Published September 23, 2010 12:00 am
