Dija Know… Joe’s Restaurant Newsletter -157 Autumn 2021

◆ At this writing, Thanksgiving is just ’round the corner.
If you are planning to serve Joe’s famous heat and serve dinner (full meal or à la carte), please do not dilly dally. It always sells out early. And this year presents more challenges on our end to pull it off . But we will do our best as always to make your Thanksgiving meal delicious, delectable and delovely! Reserve ASAP.

◆ Joe’s now has booze! Keeping aligned with our buy local, eat local philosophy, we are pouring only locally distilled gins, whiskeys, vodkas, rums and “tequilas”, in addition to wine and beer of course.

Our LOCAL distillers are Tumbleroot, Taos Lightning, Santa Fe Spirits and many more.

◆ Our fantastic local artists: in the upper dining room are the works of Jenny Gabrielle and Bill Alger, displayed on the ramp wall are the paintings of returning artist Suzanne Kelly and the giant pieces in the Red Room are the works of Conrad Schwable. They’re all for sale. (The paintings, not the artists!) Gift giving holidays are coming. Need I say more?

u Plants taking a toll on animals. If you are a vegetarian, you may be killing more animals than you think you are saving. I too, went that route three times in my life – crazy for animals and broken-hearted at their treatment. But sacrificing my health by avoiding the nutrients available

only from animal foods, was not the answer. There is no perfect answer.

But plant-based diets are definitely not bloodless. At least 55 sentient animals die to produce 100 kilos (220 lbs.) of plant food. (ordering the vegetarian meal? The

conversation.com, Dec 15, 2011)

Temple Grandin is one of my heroes for creating specially configured animal pens and chutes in stock yards that ease the animals’ anxiety.

Mono cropping (no redemption even if “organic”) rapes the soils, destroys finely nuanced, mostly invisible ecosystems.

Regenerative agriculture (actually called “mixed farming” back in the day) is a fledgling movement to restore the balance. Look up Joel Salatin’s harmonious way of farming, integrating all that nature offers in a beautiful dance for ethical food production. Polyfacefarms.com. Then there’s Allan Savory (who lives in ABQ!) who is a pioneer in regenerative agriculture.

I had to re-think my vegetarian leanings. Maybe others will too.

uCholesterol is not the problem. In the last newsletter (Summer 2021) I addressed the importance of saturated fat for the proper functioning of the human body. Now, same subject, different aspects.

To start, let me repeat two quotes regarding cholesterol:

“The more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the lower people’s serum cholesterol. We found the people who ate the most cholesterol, the most saturated fat, the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active.” Dr. Wm. Castilli Director of the Framingham (Mass.) Heart Study.

And from Dr. Mary Enig , world renowned lipids researcher, (I call her the queen of fats) “The idea that saturated fats cause heart disease is completely wrong, but it has been published so many times over the last 3 decades that it is very difficult to convince people otherwise…”

It frequently (if not always) comes down to asking the right questions.

How about – What is cholesterol? Is it produced in the body? If it is produced in the body naturally, what functions is it responsible for? If it’s responsible for certain bodily functions, why are we told it’s dangerous and must be kept below certain levels?

How come my granny (or great granny) cooked with lard and butter and ate the gristle and fat on her meat and had no heart disease?

When did “high” cholesterol become such a prevalent “health issue”? When did statins* became a household word? [ *Statins are the most prescribed med in the world and a billion dollar industry. Big pharma is now working on cholesterol-reducing meds for kids. (consumerreports.org, 2013 “Should children take statin drugs.”)]

Those are some questions to ask.

What about the PROACTIVE questions? Like – What am I doing or not doing, eating or not eating that is causing my doctor to think my cholesterol is out of whack?

What do I need in my diet and lifestyle to support glowing health and absence of heart disease? Does being in periodic ketosis help reduce arterial inflammation?

The answers have always been right in front of us. Get off the crap that is advertised as food, eat real food local and organic if and when possible, grow your own food if you can, do exercise (the right kind, please), get the weight off, drink lots of water, make sure you get all essential nutrients and add whole food supplements to cover any deficiencies, enjoy your work your friends your life.

And yup, take drugs when absolutely necessary to address an acute condition. Then get off them ASAP. Drugs are toxic to our bodies long term. And they will cause deficiencies and interfere with your body’s natural functions.

There is no quick fix. Basic health education is up to us now. The fundamentals of human health education are glossed over in public schools in favor of social issues and furthermore, Coke, MacDonald’s and KFC have the privileged locations near (or in!) many of our schools.

Let’s dig down to the real causes of our health problems. One of the best-researched books on the subject – The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz.

The answers are out there.
We just have to ask the right questions.

uWe are losing our language. I was about to throw out an old Merriam Webster dictionary the other day. I halted and kept it. One word I have resisted since it entered common usage is “server”. What’s wrong with “waiter”? Really? Think about it. There is nothing gender-biased about “dancer”, “baker”, “gardener” etc., etc. So why pick on the word “waiter” to eliminate from usage? Waiting tables is a dignified, time-honored and fun profession. I vote let’s keep the word!

uIf you have dairy, egg or gluten sensitivities, and are craving that occasional chocolate treat, try our deep rich bittersweet incredible chocolate brownies baked by the incredible Sharon. Oh my!

uA Tuesday night tradition at Joe’s – it’s Spaghetti and Chianti Night. $44 for two will get you Caesar Salad, Spaghetti with homemade Bolognese and a great 1⁄2 liter of Chianti. Wadda deal! The Bolognese sauce is made with our grass-fed-and-finished beef, slow-cooked in the traditional Italian fashion.

u Ivermectin. (Should you be one who still trusts the loudest voices, skip this.) Someone recently asked me what I thought of Ivermectin. I said, OMG, I couldn’t live without it. I didn’t intend it literally, but in current context, there was more truth in my answer than I realized. We have of course, given Ivermectin to our horses since 1992. Then gave it to our dogs. Then I got curious, found it had been developed in Japan in the 60’s for human use especially to combat tropical parasite damage in humans. So, the humans in our family have used it since the late 90’s. No big drama – just routine. And that’s the truth (thhhpppppt!) PS – don’t get the fake apple flavored brand. The horses hate it and Roland does too.