Dija Know… Joe’s Restaurant Newsletter -129 August 2016
Tomayto, tomawto — the local tomatoes are taking their time.
♦ We jumped the gun. We promised you tomatoes by Aug 1st. Darn, they have their own agenda – just ask the farmers. Last year tomato season started in mid July. This year? Nope! As you probably remember, Joe’s uses only local heirloom organic tomatoes for our Margherita Pizza and Caprese Salad. All I can say is, hold on. Because once they arrive, it will be worth every day you waited.
♦ DiJa Know? – the FDA seems to have lost its way. I want to trust our FDA, I really do. And it is true, they used to have a good record of protecting us. But when the carrot (power and/or money) is tempting enough, protecting “we the people” seems forgotten. Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) is becoming more and more important. The safety of what we eat and in fact everything we consume should not be taken for granted. Not everything the FDA approves is safe. New drug submissions often are not tested for sufficient time durations, on relevant populations (humans, not just mice) using proper parameters for scientific tests. It’s public knowledge there are now countless lawsuits against the makers of drugs. See a daunting list here: drugwatch.com/lawsuits. And conversely the FDA can drag its feet forever in approving perfectly safe therapies used successfully in medical applications elsewhere (like Europe.)
Recently Robert Califf was appointed commissioner of the FDA. I very much want to believe that he will effect wise and careful decisions on our behalf. His history however indicates he has difficulty with the concept of “conflict of interest.” At Duke University Bob Califf’s research projects were funded by and his salary paid by Merck and Eli Lilly. Unfortunately this trend does not start with Mr. Califf. A lawsuit has been filed against Margaret Hamburg, former FDA head, (along with her husband hedge fund manager Peter Brown). It charges them with collusion, conspiracy, and racketeering to conceal deadly risks and protect profits from the sale of Levaquin, an antibiotic. Larry Klayman, a former federal prosecutor, filed the lawsuit. The current death toll from Levaquin reportedly totals more than 5,000 people, with tens of thousands more debilitated with life-threatening, chronic complications. (http://ahrp.org/former-fda-commissioner-charged-in-federal-racketeering-lawsuit/)
These are harsh charges and it makes me very uncomfortable to report them. What I’m saying is that without the FDA, even underperforming as it currently does, we would be in deep trouble. What is needed however, is to bring the operations standards waayyy up; bring transparency to the FDA; bring in people who are immune to bribery, whose first mandate is the highest good for we the people. Dr. Mercola comes to mind or Dr. Marc Micozzi (http://drmicozzi.com)
In the meantime, caveat emptor in all that you consume.
♦ Friday August 5th from 7:30 – 11am, Richard Eeds returns to Joe’s, broadcasting the Morning Show live on Hutton FM 101.5. Richard does a comprehensive job of keeping New Mexicans abreast of the times. And each 1st Friday of the month he does it live from Joe’s. During the broadcast get a surprise discount on your breakfast! Just ask.
♦ Good news!!! Our bathrooms are in the first stages of being completely refurbished.
♦ Sometimes health can be really simple. A longtime friend of ours was recently diagnosed with HBP and given a prescription. He took it a couple of times and reported he felt “terrible”. So he stopped it. Someone shared with him that deep breathing and changing just one eating habit had worked for him. He tried it – he started deep breathing whenever he remembered to do so and cut down on the white carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, sugar). Bingo! Blood pressure down and weight down. Simple? Yup!
♦ Local artists. David Marks and his acrylics on wood panels – – “ancient splendor decaying over time” – – are displayed in the Red Room. Michael Michuta has a couple of new oil paintings displayed along the ramp. Bill Todino’s striking photographs are now hanging in the main dining room. All works are for sale – just add it to your food tab! Bill will be hosting an opening reception for his works here at Joe’s. Watch for the date soon.
♦ Sheila will be opening a wellness center soon in Santa Fe near Joe’s. Very briefly, as you may already know, we have worked with a franchise company for 6 months to get something started here that addresses bone loss and muscle atrophy. We finally decided that, although the technology* was great, working with that franchise was not a good fit. However, the journey lead me down a road of research into bone health and the importance of addressing it by non-invasive and non-drug means. Along the way we met health professionals travelling the same road. They introduced us to additional exciting and effective tools that even NASA is using. We are working on a synergistic system. One that will help us be our best at 40, 60, 80 and beyond. It’s all in the works. If you wish to be kept apprised of the progress, fill out the card and give it to your waiter. (or email: sheila@DancingBonesLLC.com )
* osteogenic loading. See biodensity.com
♦ Roland and I, being horse lovers, must give mention to a wonderful event HIPICO (heart of the horse) going on at the beautifully renovated Horse Park at the end of Airport Rd until near the end of September. Be sure to catch Linda Tellington-Jones a former Pojoaque resident and world famous horse trainer/healer. Free and fun! Hipicosantafe.com/
♦ ❤ Joe’s fresh dark French chocolate truffles are a perfect gift for any and all of your loved ones, especially when gift boxed in our 4 or 6 truffle boxes. Mocha or hazelnut? Ask your waiter.
♦ One of Sheila’s favorite summer desserts is a recipe Roland developed when he was Executive Chef at Orso Toronto. Campari Grapefruit Granita. A light refreshing and elegant sorbet finish to a summer meal.
♦ A happy horse story. Our horse was recently diagnosed with a serious eye condition. The vet was, as always, compassionate, helpful and supportive. He suggested surgery to remove the eye. He intended to work on Beau with a local surgeon. But at that very time, the surgeon was busy having a baby! The delay forced me to try other ideas. I’ve previously written here about peptide bioregulators as being rather effective! So I used them for this condition on our horse. They are tissue specific, so each does a specific job. As well, I was loaned a new PEMF technology device (pulsed electro-magnetic field) to help Beau. I used both the peptides and the PEMF device for this eye condition. Oh my! It’s close to a miracle. The eye did not have to be removed. Beau is happy. We are happy.
♦ Some of the farmers & ranchers who supply Joe’s: They get their seeds from heirloom seed banks, family and friends, their fertilizer from animals and compost and their agronomic advice from tradition: Monte Vista Organics, Jacona Farms, Green Tractor, Camino de Paz, Synergia Ranch, Romero Farms, Shepherd’s Lamb, LaMont’s Buffalo, Eve’s Ranch, Susan’s Sprouts.
♦ Why are we at Joe’s so annoyingly persistent about this “buy local” stuff? Many factors are out of our hands when it comes to our food supply. Most of what ends up on the American dinner table derives from a shockingly few giant agribusinesses. Their reach is long- from designing the (GMO) seeds to planting, fertilizing, processing and shipping. We as consumers cannot with confidence hand over the entire stewardship of our food to these few multinationals.
Our passion here at Joe’s is for a local sustainable food supply – food produced by growers who are accountable for what they grow. KYG – Know Your Grower. We are able to look our local farmer in the eye and ask him about his growing practices or even visit his operation. This gives us the confidence that we are eating food that is healthy, wholesome, non-genetically engineered, often better than organic, humanely treated and minimally processed. It is grown with a smaller energy-use footprint and transported short distances. We cannot divorce human health, the economy, ecology, personal (perhaps spiritual) satisfaction or honorable work from food. Food is fundamental. What we eat, where it comes from, the stewardship of food animals, the nurturing and building of soils – all these factors affect us at a cellular and visceral level. Santa Fe is fortunate to have one of the very best Farmers Markets in the nation. Here at Joe’s we offer this bounty to you, keeping dollars in the community. In the interest of transparency, in 2008 Joe’s spent $30,000 on local foods. In 2009, $60,000. Each year since 2012 we have far exceeded $100,000 per annum (over 30% of our purchases).
Land, economy, health – inseparable.
♦ Joe’s will give you $10. What’s the catch? Well the way we figure it, if you cut out the middleman by NOT using a credit card, we can give that back to you and then some. Credit cards costs the retail merchant about 3-5% and extra time & paperwork. Now let’s be real – in today’s world one cannot function without a credit card. But there are still (legal) alternatives that reduce our dependency on the Big Banks and actually save us all money. We have a couple of suggestions: (1.) Joe’s Check List – If you are a “regular” and wish to pay by check, please ask your waiter to get you on the list. (2.) Joe’s gift card – purchase $100 gift card with cash or check or silver or gold coin, get a $10 free bonus! Your $100 gift card will actually buy you $110 worth of meals at Joe’s.
Giggles:
l This may be the wine talking, but I really, really, really, really love wine.
l The Revenant (movie) – an epic tale of one man’s desperate journey to do whatever it takes to finally win an Oscar.
l Nature abhors a vacuum, but not as much as a cat does.
Joe’s Dining
2801 Rodeo Rd (at Zia Rd) Santa Fe, NM 87507
505-471-3800 www.JoesDining.com
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