OK, now I feel doubly lied to.  Not only did the Food Network insinuate that the First Lady would play a key role in their White House Iron Chef, but now it turns out that the produce used in the cooking segment was not the same produce picked in the White House garden by the famous chefs.

At the beginning of the two-hour special, the chefs were shown picking sweet potatoes, broccoli, fennel and tomatillos from the White House garden. Then the chefs were seen walking into Kitchen Stadium, produce in hand. One problem: The show is filmed in New York City.

“Due to the production delay between the shoot at the White House and the shoot at Food Network, the produce used in Kitchen Stadium during the ‘Super Chef Battle’ was not actually from the White House garden,” said Food Network spokeswoman Lisa Krueger in a statement to The Talk.

Instead, the chefs used replacement produce, though only the same types of fruits and vegetables picked from the White House garden.

Replacement produce!  You can’t replace the Secret Ingredient on Iron Chef.  When you specifically name the ingredient to be produce from the White House garden, you can’t substitute fare from your local Whole Foods.  It’s like replacing Beluga with your local sushi takeout roe.  They may both be fish eggs, but no one is going to spend $5K for a kilo of sushi roe. Now I just want to slap Jane Seymour for each time remarked on how unbelievably “fresh” the produce tasted.

Additionally, this was just dumb.  It’s a 3 hour trip from DC to NYC, there is no reason why they couldn’t use the same produce if it was planned properly.  Or they could have filmed in DC.  Either way, this was a pointless lie, and an obnoxious one at that. The Food Network may have been served extra helpings of viewers for its White House special, but how many viewers are now left with a sour taste in their mouth?

I, like many foodies across the nation, was super pumped for the special White House Iron Chef that was broadcast this past Sunday night.  Sadly, I left the table wanting something more.  For anyone that has been following the exploits of the Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden, there wasn’t much new information.  Yes, Bobby Flay informed us that sweet potatoes are Mrs. Obama’s faves, but how many times are they going to gush about the pounds and pounds of produce the garden has dished up?  How many times are we going to get the same tour of the White House acreage?  Foodie bloggers across the country have already beaten this story to death.

No, I tuned in, because I was curious to see FLOTUS at the tasting table, rubbing shoulders with the other judges, smacking her lips at the amazing creations, and dashing the hopes of world famous chefs when she dismisses a dish as being under seasoned.  At least that’s what I thought we were getting with the advertising “…and a special guest of national importance…”.

No such luck.  Instead we got Nigella Lawson, Jane Seymour, and Natalie Coughlin. Really?  They couldn’t even get Bo Obama to lick some crumbs up off the floor?  Insanely dull and disappointing considering all that hype.

The show did pull in some mega numbers, the show’s biggest in its 8 seasons, but how many patrons left with a bad taste in their mouth?

Talks about healthy lunches, reading, and getting exercise:

So I was all excited to go down and check out the opening of the White House Farmers Market this afternoon.  Yes, its yucky and rainy, but hordes of people showed up, many in their work clothes, indicating they snuck off for an hour from the job just to come check out the kickoff.

The White House farmers market was your run-of-the-mill farmers market.  Except for the secuirty line, metal detectors, and lots of serious guys with little wires coming out of their ears. Other than, perfectly normal.

I, of course, forgot to charge my camera, so instead I got a single shot off of my blackberry.

That’s Michelle, Secretary Vilsack, and Mayor Fenty speechifying for all us farmer markets groupies.  But don’t take my work for it, go over to Obama Foodaroma for the good shots.

And its coming soon - opens next Thursday!

Some times politicians aren’t just talk.  Turns out the Obamas meant it when they said they wanted a White House Farmers market.  It has been reported that the First Lady has submitted an application for a street closure about 1 block away from the White House for Thursdays between 1pm and 8pm.

The time a place have some good advantages. The farmers market would still be extrememly close to the White House, but far enough away to make the Secret Service happy.  The block in question doesn’t get much traffic anyways because it dead ends into Lafayette Park, which is on the other side of Pennsylvania in front of the White House.

The Park provides good spill over for crowds.  The timing will also keep the crowd situation down.  DC is largely a tourist weekend stop, so having it on Thursday should cut down on roving bands of ameteurs photographers.  Plus, DC is chock full of weekend farmers markets, having one during the week will create more options for the residents.

You have to give the First Lady props - she talks about changing our diet in real terms that people can understand.  Inspiring to moms and home cooks every where.

So Obama wants a farmers market outside of the White House.  I figured it was so overplayed I wasn’t going to write about it here.  Even if this endeavor comes to fruitition, do you really think anyone is going to be rubbing elbows with Barack over the best bunch of kale?  Secret Service must already be developing stress ulcers.

That being said, people are getting (overly) excited about this idea.  And everyone has an opinion.  Even Ben Buchwalter from Mother Jones, who seems to think he has the recipe for success.  As he claims, all Obama has to do is:

Booths must provide free samples. And I’m not just talking about peaches. A farmers’ market has got to be more than a place for people to buy produce. Consumers need to roam freely to get a feel for the lay of the land before making buying decisions. Free samples of bread, veggies, and hummus-type spreads make this possible.

Don’t try to sell me $8 eggs. Yes, it’s important to buy products that come from humane farms. But some studies have even shown that cage-free eggs may not be “all they’re cracked up to be.” And you can find organic, humane eggs for a reasonable price.

How about some hot meal options? After a good hour of farmers’ market roaming, I tend to work up an appetite and a red pepper just doesn’t cut it. But farmers’ markets are often tempted to bring in chains so that they can charge higher booth fees. Including Chipotle or Panda Express is a quick way to destroy the market’s legitimacy.

And throw some live music in there for good measure. But President Obama, resist the urge to go for star power. I don’t want to see Bono and Mary J. Blige headlining the main stage at your farmer’s market. Like the vendors at the market, the live musicians should be locals.

So let me quickly explain why Ben should not quit his day job and open a stand in Dupont Market.

1. Nobody has to provide anything, and trust me no one wants a bite of raw onion.  But product samples are always welcome. BTW - I’ve yet to find a local farmers market that sells homegrown hummus.  This is DC not Tel Aviv.
2. I agree on the eggs.  Its true that DC area farmers markets are over priced and its the most obvious in the egg prices.
3. Apparently you, unlike me, has never tried to beg the fresh crab cake guys to cook up a serving for me while I shop.  They won’t do it.  Requires all sorts of licensing that’s just not worth it.
4. Live music is always fun.  Can I recommend Bonjour, Ganesh!?

The First Lady invited the Bancroft schoolkids down to the farm to pluck some goodies.  The kids pulled up a feast including:

• 73 pounds of lettuce
• 12 pounds of peas
  
• 1 cucumber

They also served some baked, not fried chicken.  Sadly, we district folks aren’t allowed to raise our own chickens so there was no poultry assassinations to behold.  The White House claims to have harvested over 225 lbs of food so far from the garden.  I admit it, I am so jealous.  My little community garden plot just can’t compete.

Our fair Senator from Missouri tweets today:

Claire McCaskill Tweet

But when are they getting the puppy?