reason #879 why alice waters is my hero.

my wonderful bleeding heart mother is on a mission. at her public elementary school in woodstock, illinois, 30% of her students live in poverty. a staggering portion of her students partake in the schools' breakfast program, too - upon arrival at school at 7:30am (holy christ), the kidlets are fed "breakfast" before class. come noontime, they're fed "lunch."

these "meals" consist primarily of bottled water, soda, steaming hot piles of factory farmed beef and chicken, and morning buns sprayed with "vitamins" (the "bunny ears" are out of control right now, my apologies) so that the kiddies get their proper "nutrients" (last time i promise).

sad part is, these meals, in many cases, are the only times these children are fed in a day. if they are fed dinner, it's usually a bag of chips or mcdonald's.

so mom and her kick-ass teacher friend mary are determined to turn this around. both devotees of the slow food movement, they are attempting to implement a school meal program that involves healthy, natural choices - local and seasonal, if possible - in order to get these kids on the right track for the rest of their little lives. we (snobby foodies) all know that fresh, organic, locally-grown meats and produce are at the heart of a healthy ecosystem, and ultimately, a healthy self.

i told mom i'd back her cause 100%. in the bay area, the slow food revolution seems to have permeated dinner tables and public school lunch rooms alike. i had read that my old elementary school is testing out a lunch program with children's choice, a local outsourced meal program that provides seasonal greens and humanely raised meats in compostable trays. after forwarding that link, i came upon this little gem:

the edible schoolyard. courtesy of my personal savior, saint alice waters.

this ingenious concept was implemented at berkeley's mlk, jr. middle school in the mid-nineties. mid-nineties! that alice is sure ahead of the crowd, isn't she?

not only are the kids eating local, organic produce...they're growing it. right on their playground. you can't get much more local than that.

please take a moment to look at their website. so, so inspiring.

in alice's name we pray; au gratin.

hi friends.

hello fellow foodies out there in blogland! how goes it. so, this is me. i'm 24, living in oakland with my adorable boyfriend and tiny dog. a native to the east bay, i grew up drinking really good wine and noshing at chez panisse with my totally rad foodie dad. in fact, the name for this blog is a take on my foodie dad's generic name for your average strip mall steakhouse: mr. happy steak (ie, "i was on a business trip in charlotte and had a late night new york strip at mr. happy steak."). i was born into a family of hardcore carnivores, save my mother who hasn't had red meat since seeing jaws in the 70s. i recently came out of an eight month stint as a vegetarian. the transition wasn't so bad initially, and since i converted for moral and ethical reasons, the proper motivation was there. however when i came down with a nasty case of pneumonia in just four short days, i knew i wasn't getting what i needed out of my food to survive.

of course i felt guilty when i decided to return to my carnivorous existence. visions of sentient beings at the slaughter fluttered through my head. but after those first bites of fresh, succulent maguro sashimi - i was home. not only did i feel better physically and mentally, but i was thrilled at the realization that i could revisit my passion for food snobbery. with the principles of slow food at the heart of my epicurian journey, i plan on using this blog as a vehicle to document my return to the land of happy steaks.

oh, but there's a catch. i've also been a not-so-but-sorta dedicated member of weight watchers for about a year. this is my third or fourth (i stopped counting) attempt at the program. it's a great program. it is. but i just can't help myself most of the time. food just tastes so good. i'm currently down 10 lbs, and am about 20 lbs or so away from goal. it's a battle. let's see how i do.