As food writers we’re always looking for ways to expand our market coverage. We may do restaurant reviews, write a food-related column or contribute to one, maybe we’re compiling a focused, specialized cookbook or submitting food-related stories and recipes. One technique which has worked well for me is writing interesting anecdotes or short clips to set the scene and then providing a couple or so recipes to finish off the reader’s “experience”. This is especially productive if the article slant is highly unique or very different in some way. This kind of “How-to-catch-it” followed by a “How-to-cook-it” or recipe selection provides more than just the typical run-of-the-mill, Grandma’s hand-me-down recipe story.

Here’s an example of mine excerpted from “Piranha: Deadly and Delicious” published in BRAZIL magazine:

“The Amazon is filled with danger. Soldier ants march by the millions devouring all life in their path. Submerged up to the eyes, Crocodiles lie in wait for the unwary - whatever or whoever that may be. Undulating its 20-foot length beneath the surface, the Anaconda, one of the world’s largest snakes, uses heat-seeking guidance to find its next meal. The barbed stinger in the tail of platter-sized stingrays can inflict a wound that takes months to heal. But none of these carry the fearsome mystique of the voracious Piranha, the perfect killing machine.

They had it even before we knew what was happening. My rod bowed in prayer to something below the tea-colored water’s surface. The six-pound test line danced like a cat on a hot pavement. All hell had broken loose. Beads of sweat rolled down Doris’ back. Her clothes were now a second skin, clinging to her every move. We panted for breath. We had fish on. The silvery oval-shaped body and red belly of a Piranha broke the surface. I reached for it. “Don’t let a finger get near their mouths or you’ll lose it”, our native guide barked.”

The second half of this piece contains four different recipes for preparing the fish, noting what substitutes can be used if they’re not available where you live. The piece sold within 24 hours of querying.

Is there a hunting or fishing specialty in your area? Hunting and Fishing Clubs are great sources for outdoors interviews as hunters and fishermen seem never to tire of telling the story of how they bagged that “big one”. The tightened up, condensed narrative makes an excellent prelude to three or four different recipes for preparing the catch of the day.

Some fish, fowl and game species that are frequently sought after fishing-based pieces include:

Trout

Salmon

Catfish

Eel (Yes, these are often eaten, and they’re delicious too - even considered a delicacy in Europe and Asia)

But for a change, try something a little less common that may well pique an outdoor editor’s interest like:

Pike, pickerel

Shark

Tuna

Turtle (where species taking is not illegal or endangered)

For fowl-based writing try pieces and recipes for the likes of:

Squab (dove or pigeon)

Quail (also pheasant and Grouse)

Duck

Wild turkey

You can also hit the food-writing jackpot more easily with other game-based writing on hunted species including:

Bear (where species taking is not illegal or endangered)

Wild boar

Deer (venison)

Snake (quite common in some areas)

Don’t forget small game possibilities either. They are not only plentiful, but will often be scooped up if local area sportsmen are featured. Good bets are:

Squirrel

Possum (also called Opossum)

Groundhog

Muskrat (also called “Marsh Rabbit”)

You can glean a wealth of preparation methods as well from the hunting, fishing and outdoors club and group members you interview. It’s not only different, but fun. Both hunting and fishing are seasonal in nature so you’ll be able to do a number of pieces every year, all year long as the seasons change.

A variety of available markets exist. The clubs themselves may have a members’ publication you can pitch. Restaurants that feature game cooking, outdoors magazines, Men’s magazines are good bets too. Pitch to seasonal issues of food magazines. Don’t forget teen, children’s, and travel magazines all take unique food-related articles slanted to their readerships. Town and Country, Hunting, Fishing and Adventure magazines will help round out your submissions list.

So by all means do keep up with the restaurant reviews, cookbook compiling and food column writing. Continue to work up Grandma’s hand-me-down recipe stories too. Just expand your thinking (and your paychecks) to include food-related writing of “How-to-catch-it” followed by a “How-to-cook-it” or recipe selection pieces for sporting markets.

“Piranha - Deadly and Delicious” is online at:
http://EzineArticles.com/?id=72722

Prof Larry M. Lynch is a bi-lingual copywriter, expert author and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines. Many of his food-related articles feature themes of “adventuresome eating”. He lives in Colombia and teaches at a university in Cali. To get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website contact him for a no-obligation quote and current rates. For free information on the 5-week online course “Develop a Specialty and Get Published on the Web for Fun, Fame or Fortune”, e-mail your request to: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

[tags]food writer, recipes, cookbook, restaurant reviews, hunters, fishermen, small game recipes[/tags]

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Back in the mists of time, once long ago, we were adventurous cooks and eaters, taking in everything from the spices of the Orient to European starchy comfort food in the course of a day’s eating. Then we were hit by a culinary upheaval in our lives: our children, one by one, arrived.

Our first child agreeably downed mild chicken korma baby puree and we celebrated. Our children would be cosmopolitan in tastes, we would not have to adjust our eating patterns to accommodate fads and fussiness, or so we deluded ourselves. Until he was nearly two he ate everything we offered him, then something in our smug demeanour must have alerted him that he was missing out on a developmental stage. One by one he eliminated most of his previously favourite foods from his diet, until for a while he subsisted on plain boiled rice, plain yoghurt, apples, bananas, potatoes and bread with an occasional piece of plain meat. Note the emphasis on plain! No sauces were permitted to enliven the pure unadulterated ingredients. No foods might touch each other on the plate. Thus began the downhill slope into nursery food.

While we still had only the one child, I managed to cook us a separate adult meal in the evenings. When the second and third joined us I gave up the struggle. One meal would have to do the whole family from now on. No more clearing up a children’s meal only to start cooking again for the two of us, just when I felt like collapsing on the sofa. For a few years I have managed to feed us all with a repertoire of traditional English dishes, most of which had their roots in the nursery. Stews and casseroles were tolerated, as I could pick pieces of meat out for the kids, stir-fries likewise. The favourite was roast chicken with roast potatoes and maybe a tiny floret of broccoli for a bit of colour.

The once over-flowing spice rack, however, became a sad dusty relic of past flavours. Out of date cumin and turmeric faded into insipidity. My husband occasionally would express a wistful hope of something spicy. Memories of Thai restaurants in London tantalised our dormant taste buds.

Recently therefore I have tried to reintroduce a little spice into our gastronomic lives. Nigel Slater’s Moroccan chicken recipe, with a slightly reduced amount of spices, made it past the flavour censors. Another recipe I tried from Madhur Jaffrey’s Cookbook was rejected. Reading through her book, which has languished unexplored on our shelves for years, I found a few vegetable recipes that were simple enough to do alongside a main meal and inspiration struck. A spicy vegetable side dish for the parents. Now I can feed us all the vegetables that the kids won’t eat. Aubergine/eggplant, spinach, peppers with a variety of authentic Indian spice combinations, liven up our anaesthetised palates and embellish the rather dull, plain meals that are all that the children will accept. Maybe one day they’ll be sufficiently intrigued to try the grown-ups’ special dish and then we will take the first step towards the cosmopolitan family gastronomy that we once so optimistically hoped for.

Here is Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe that broke new culinary ground for our family recently.

Neela’s Aubergine and Potato

4 tbs vegetable oil

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Want to get healthy but think it’s hard? It may be as simple as reading a label.

Right now, labels are more misleading than informative. Consumers Union did a nationwide survey regarding consumer’s perceptions of whether artificial ingredients were contained in food labeled ‘Organic’ or ‘Made with Organic’. The results were a startling statement of blind trust and ignorance: 85% of consumers do not expect food labeled ‘Organic’ to contain any artificial ingredients.

With ‘double-speak’ unfortunately being common, can you accurately decipher what a label means? If your health and longevity are important to you, then quickly being able to crack the confusing label code is essential.

Certified 100% Organic

To qualify as 100% Organic, a product must contain 100% organically produced ingredients, not counting salt and water. No Genetically Engineered Organisms (GEO’s) or synthetic fertilizers are allowed. Since a product may or may not display the USDA Organic seal (which is only allowed on 100% Organic products), we suggest if you want 100% organic that you look for the name of a certifying agency: their seal often found on the back of organic products. From growing to processing and packaging, the 100% organic product is additive, pesticide, and GM-free.

Organic

When the label simply states ‘Organic’ this means at least 95% of the ingredients, by either weight or volume, not including salt and water, are organic. It must not contain added sulfites. The remaining ingredients, making up less than 5% of the total ingredients may be synthetic or chemical additives, but must be clearly listed on the ingredient panel. Meeting the 95% gains the product the title of ‘Organic.’

Uncloaking the phrase, “Made with Organic Ingredients”

If a product has the words ‘Made with Organic Ingredients’, it is not eligible to have the USDA Organic seal, yet, may have up to three organic ingredients on the label. It also requires at least 70% of ingredients be grown, processed and packed in accordance with organic standards and must not contain added sulfites. The other 30% of the ingredients can be synthetic, chemicals or color or flavor additives!

The Not So Free-Range

The Federal Drug Administration defines ‘free-range’ or ‘free-roaming’ as animals that have access to the outdoors. This could include chickens merely sitting in a large room with the door open for five minutes, regardless of whether they actually go outside. Read labels carefully if you want animals that live outdoors and forage naturally as it makes all the difference in their health as well as the nutrient value of their meat and eggs.

What’s So ‘Natural’ About It?

Most of us think of ‘Natural’ and ‘Organic’ as one in the same. They are not. While ‘natural’ food can be grown using pesticides and even be genetically engineered, it may not be processed and packed with preservatives or additives.

And you thought that getting healthier had to be hard. Not when you know the secrets to label double-speak!

© Page Remick - All Rights reserved

www.purezing.com

Page Remick is lead reviewer for Pure Zing, the Internet’s only natural and organic products review site. Remick and the PZ team search for unique and artisanal products that are not mass-produced and found on every grocery store or health food store shelf in the country.

http://www.purezing.com

[tags]100% organic, organic, natural food, free-range, cage-free, organic food,certified organic[/tags]

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