President Obama Has "Off-the-Record" Lunch With Journos, Including One Who Calls The First Lady a Czar

On The Menu: Setting The Record Straight
At the White House yesterday, President Obama had an "off-the-record" lunch with journalists, which lots of people actually knew about, thanks to the modern miracle that's Twitter. The President has had journo lunches--and dinners--before, as a way of better advising the media on his ideas and opinions, rather than having it spun by speculation.

On the food menu: Green salad, halibut and pear tart for dessert.

President Obama's Weekly Address: On The Tragedy at Fort Hood

The White House has announced that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will travel to Fort Hood on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to attend the memorial service for the victims of the shooting that occurred last week. On Wednesday, in honor of Veteran's day, Mrs. Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden will roll out ServiceNation, an initiative to unite the worlds of military and civilian service, by engaging civilians and active and retired military personnel in service to meet the many critical needs of the nation and, in particular, the needs of the military community (service members, veterans, and their families). This week, President Obama's weekly address was about Fort Hood. He noted that Even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America. We saw the valor, selflessness, and unity of purpose that makes our service men and women the finest fighting force on earth...and that make all of us proud to be Americans. The President's weekly address:

President Obama Honors Fort Hood Victims, And How You Can Help, Too

Half-Staff
President Obama spoke briefly in the Rose Garden at the White House today about yesterday's tragic events at Fort Hood, noting that "...there are families, friends and an entire nation grieving right now for the valiant men and women who came under attack." Later in the day, President Obama issued a formal proclamation honoring the victims of the tragedy, and ordering all American flags be flown at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on naval vessels around the globe until sunset on Veterans Day.

If you would like to send a donation to the soldiers and their families at Fort Hood, checks should be mailed to:

Chaplain's Fund Office
Bldg 44, 761st Tank Battalion Avenue
Fort Hood, TX 76544-5000

Checks should be made payable to: CTOF (Chapel's Tithes and Offerings Fund), and the memo line on the check has to state: "Nov 5 Tragedy," or the donation will go to the Chaplains SOS (Serving Our Soldiers) Fund. But you can donate to that fund too....

*White House photo by Chuck Kennedy

White House Recipe: Zucchini Quesadillas

From the Official White House Cookbook...
At the Healthy Kids Fair held on the South Lawn of the White House, guest chefs joined the White House chefs in demonstrating how to make simple, tasty, nutritious recipes. Koren Grieveson, of Chicago's Avec restaurant, demo'd Zucchini Quesadillas, which First Lady Michelle Obama pronounced "so delicious!" after tasting a sample. The gang of visiting school kids liked them, too.

Mrs. Obama's ongoing campaign, the Healthy Kids Initiative, promotes better eating, and during the event, she challenged America's schools to join the HealthierUS Schools campaign, a joint project with USDA that asks member schools to develop better lunch programs, get rid of junk foods from campuses, and add nutrition education and physical activity to the curriculum. (Above: Grieveson, in toque, at work on a quesadilla, while Mrs. Obama and Sec. Vilsack sample her work with visiting kids).

Of course Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was at the Healthy Kids Fair, because USDA runs all the federal feeding programs in America, and he's a big healthy eating proponent too. At the event, he joined Mrs. Obama in discussing food initiatives and eating better. The recipes demo'd highlighted their campaign; all were easy, low fat, and packed with nutrients. (Mrs. Obama holding up a star fruit; she was quizzing kids on veggies)

Guest chef Grieveson currently cooks at Avec restaurant in Chicago, the Obamas' hometown. White House Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass, who is running Mrs. Obama's health and nutrition campaign, cooked at Avec, too, back in the old days before he started working with the Obamas. At the event, Mrs. Obama worked off the extra calories from all the foods she had to sample at the Fair by engaging in some hula hooping on the South Lawn. Other guest culinary professionals at the event included chef Todd Gray of DC's Equinox Restaurant, Ellie Krieger of Food Network; and DC's chef Art Smith, of Art N' Soul, who wasn't doing any demos, but just visiting, because he's taken to hanging out at the busiest and funnest kitchen in America, which happens to be at the White House.

White House Zucchini Quesadillas

Ingredients
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley (optional)
1/2 cup mild salsa
1 15 oz can of beans (white or lima)
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
6 8-inch corn or flour tortillas

Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a non-stick baking sheet and set aside. Heat oil in a non-stick pan on medium heat. Add zucchini, onion, beans, cumin, chili powder, parsley and cook until onions and zucchini are soft. Add half the cheese, and cook until cheese is melted.

To assemble the tortillas, place half on baking sheet. Spread the filling on each tortilla and top with the salsa. Place another tortilla on top, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in oven until the tortillas are crisp and cheese is melted. Cut into quarters and serve warm.

*Related: More recipe from the Healthy Kids Fair: White House Baked Eggs is here; the recipe for White House Baked Apples is here. This week, Kass and Comerford appeared on NBC's The Biggest Loser TV show, and the recipe for the salad they created with cast members is here. Kass's recipe for Baked Chicken, which was served at the Spring Garden Harvest event, is here.

*Photos by Obama Foodorama

The Latest White House Flickr Update: Scary Transparency

In the latest White House Flickr update, Official White House Non Foodie-Photographer Pete Souza's ouevre gets more interestingly foodie. On Halloween, Souza captured the grapevine-costumed performer, above, who was "scaring up" some fun during White House Halloween festivities, when more than 2,000 kids came to the Executive Mansion to trick-or-treat. Which raises the question: Are grapevines scary? Possibly only if they're mashed into wine...and that would be American wine, if it's being served at the White House.


A member of Souza's big shutterbug crew, White House photographer Lawrence Jackson, perfectly captures transparency, in the photo, above, taken on Oct. 28. Cabinet Room of the White House, prior to President Obama's meeting with the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. In a move to ensure further transparency, The White House has just made its visitor records available for public scrutiny. Interestingly, none of the guest chefs who have visited the White House kitchen are on the list. There's been a lot of them; perhaps entering through that secret door that's over by the Treasury building ensures you're not on any official visitor list. Your intrepid blogger is not on the list, either, because media isn't visiting; we're working. Members of the media who've visited would be a very interesting list all on its own.


Another White House photographer, Chuck Kennedy, captured the neat-o Halloween shot, above, from the entrance to the Navy Mess, which is the White House cafeteria. That's one huge pumpkin! The White House had a bunch of giant pumpkins donated for Halloween, incuding a 1,000 pound Presidential Pumpkin, grown by Dan Bowles of Eagle River, Wisconsin.

Related: Other excellent pseudo foodie photos from the Souza Oeuvre Backstage at the Obama White House: On Nov. 3, Souza posted a shot of an excellent Presidential Power Lunch; Oct. 25, Souza was having his own presidential China Syndrome; On Oct. 9, Souza documented Core Relationships; on October 11, Souza captured Special Relationships Through Food; On Sept. 1 he shot Tequila, Pie, and Ivisible Fish; and on Aug. 18, he posted a rare shot of an actual plated dish from the White House kitchen.

White House Recipe: Sam Kass's Butternut Squash and Roasted Apple Soup

When he was still a private citizen and a private chef for the Obama Family, rather than the wonk coordinating First Lady Michelle Obama's food initiatives, White House assistant chef Sam Kass ran a very special soup kitchen in Chicago. "Rethinking Soup" was a lunchtime series at the Jane Addams-Hull House Museum, which offered delicious, free soup and intellectual discussion to all who showed up for the weekly confabs; many of the group conversations were about issues with America's food system. Which is to say, Kass is as much of a whiz at creating soup as he is at crafting far-sighted policy, and he's brought all his talents to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This newly released White House recipe for Butternut Squash and Roasted Apple Soup reflects that...and of course it's healthy and low fat. A food processor or blender is required, as is the ability to scoop hot veggies from their cooked skins. And do add the suggested garnish, as these make for a complicated taste sensation.

Sam Kass's White House
Butternut Squash and Roasted Apple Soup

Ingredients
2 Butternut squashes, quartered, seeds removed
2 to 3 Granny Smith apples, depending on size
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups apple cider or juice
2 cups chicken broth or water, more as needed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg, or to taste
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste

Optional garnish: Dried cranberries or dried cherries, toasted almond slivers and diced apples

Method
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each squash quarter in half and place in a large bowl. Quarter and core apples, and add to bowl. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Rub everything to coat well, and transfer to a large baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil.

2. Bake until apples are soft in center, about 30 minutes. Transfer apples to a plate to cool, and return squash to oven to bake until soft, another 15 to 30 minutes. When apples and squash are cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh into a large bowl; discard skins. Working in batches, purée squash and apples in a food processor or blender. If necessary, add some apple cider to each batch to help purée.

3. Transfer purée to a 4- to 6-quart soup pot. Add remaining cider and enough chicken broth or water for desired consistency. Place over medium-low heat. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice; as soup warms, flavors will emerge. Heat just until steaming, and adjust seasonings to taste. Ladle into warm bowls.

If desired, garnish with dried cranberries or dried cherries, toasted almond slivers and diced apple. Or all of these.

*Kass photo by Obama Foodorama

After Years of Recalls, Do FDA & USDA Really Need More Advice On Dealing With Tainted Foods...From Citizens?

The Grab a Mop! Campaign for Food Safety...
On. Dec. 9 and 10, FDA and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service are holding two joint meetings that are open to the public--and seeking citizen input--to improve hunting down contaminated foods following food borne disease outbreaks. In the presser about the meetings, we're advised that both agencies are building on existing efforts by seeking public input that would help identify elements of effective food product tracing systems, identify current gaps in food product tracing, and suggest specific mechanisms for improvements. Our taxpayer dollars are paying the professionals--scientists, doctors, public health specialists who are well trained--at these agencies to trace contaminated products following recalls. So why should the average citizen be called in for a consult? Aren't these agencies supposed to be bending the curve on food safety? The all hands on deck meme doesn't inspire confidence, especially because recalls remain voluntary. These should be mandatory. (Above: Ag. Sec. Tom Vilsack speaking at the White House recently)

At Tribal Nations Conference, A Sweet Interlude

President Obama spoke at the Tribal Nations Conference this morning at the Department of the Interior in Washington
The historic event, which brought together leaders from all 564 federally recognized tribes to meet with the president and Cabinet Secretaries, was held at DOI instead of the White House due to "space restraints," according to WH spokesman Shin Inouye. After his remarks, the President signed a memorandum for closer consultation between Native American tribes and the federal government during the morning session. He'll return this afternoon for closing remarks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made brief remarks right before the lunch break, and pledged to "expeditiously address" discrimination cases brought by Native American farmers against USDA. (Above: President Obama welcomes tribal leaders at the conference)

Of course, there was a fun foodie element, as well. Two interns from Native American Natural Foods in South Dakota, which makes the award-winning Tanka Bar (a 100% natural energy bar made with tart-sweet cranberries and prairie-raised buffalo) were scheduled to sing tribal songs for the gathered leaders and President Obama. Gerome Gutierrez and Steve "Spur" Pourier, Jr., both Oglala Lakota high school students, are well known at home on Pine Ridge Reservation for their singing voices. Of course, they brought some Tanka bars and t-shirts for the President, too. The company is owned by members of the Oglala Lakota tribe. (Above: Pourier and Gutierrez)

*Read President Obama's full remarks here. All kinds of excellent coverage of the conference is here at Indian Country Today.

*Photo of Pourier and Gutierrez from Native American Natural Foods; President Obama by Getty.

Is That Hayloft Half Full, or Half Empty? Obama and Food, One Year Post-Election

There's The White House Food Movement...and then there's the rest of the Obama administration. With a guest post by Paula Crossfield after the jump...
In the past week leading up to the anniversary of President Obama's election, a recurring theme among food and Ag writers has been to cast a scythe-sharp eye on President Obama's progress in policy. An oft-repeated sentiment has been some kind of variation on "And all we got is a garden?!" There's been an odd assumption, particularly in the sustainable Ag world, that the planting of the White House Kitchen Garden somehow meant that the rest of our Ag economy was going to transform--possibly overnight--from being centralized yet sprawling, industrialized, and dependent on medical and chemical interventions to a magical greeny nirvana. But the administration is dealing with the hard fact that we have more than 300 million people to feed in America, a massive economy of scale...and currently, our basic infrastructure is built around this, and dependent on it. So right now, there's The White House Food Movement...and then there's everything else in the Obama administration's approach to Ag...

White House Kitchen Garden Tours Now Open To All School Groups

The White House announces a swell policy change; beekeeper Brandts joins the school tour lineup, too
Weekly tours of the Kitchen Garden for students are now open to all school groups, regardless of zip code, according to Semonti Stephens, Deputy Press Secretary for First Lady Michelle Obama. In October, the tour program was initially announced as only being available to DC-local groups, but in order to accommodate all the interest, the White House has expanded the program. The tours will be led by White House chefs, and beekeeper Charlie Brandts, overseer of the White House beehive, will also join future tours. (Above: The Kitchen Garden, literally one minute before it was divested of all veggies on Oct. 29, during the big Fall Harvest event)

Stephens says that as of the Fall Harvest on Oct. 29, three school groups had already toured the garden under the new program, with each tour led by Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass. Stephens noted that the White House chefs are all very interested in the garden, and looking forward to leading the tour groups. Since its planting in April, the Kitchen Garden has produced about 960 pounds of vegetables, which have been used at the White House and donated to local social services agency Miriam's Kitchen. The White House beehive has produced about 134 pounds of honey, which was used most recently to make the Spider White House cookies that were distributed to more than 2,000 trick-or-treaters who visited the White House on Halloween. (Above: Mrs. Obama holds a sweet potato at the Fall Harvest, which she'd just wrestled out of its bed)

The Kitchen Garden tours do not include an indoor tour of the residence, and applicants are encouraged to apply as long as possible in advance; for an application and more information click here. Note: On the White House site for the tour application, the form still says that the tours are only available for local students; ignore this--the form just hasn't been updated yet.

Related: Read about the Fall Harvest of the Kitchen Garden here; a history of the garden at six months is here. Photos by Obama Foodorama.

White House Recipe: Sam Kass's Sweet Potatoes and Greens

At the official Fall Harvest of the White House Kitchen Garden on October 29, First Lady Michelle Obama led a group of Bancroft and Kimball elementary school students in pulling about 224 pounds of produce out of the ground and off the vines. Without a doubt, the most impressive crops were the Sweet Potatoes, which were truly huge--about three and four pounds each. Sweet potatoes are a favorite of the First Family, and the White House has just released a new recipe for these, from assistant chef and Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass. (Above: Kass, at the Fall Harvest, with some of the giant sweet potatoes)

Like many White House recipes, it's fairly simple, and very nutritious. It also uses honey, as a nod to the White House Beehive, which Kass has called "one of the greatest achievements of the garden." The greens noted in the recipe have all been grown in the Kitchen Garden, and each provides important vitamins, in addition to being delish. You can use one kind of greens, or all three for a special mix. Goes swell with sustainable fish, chicken, or simply with rice, if you're not in a meaty mood.

White House Sweet Potatoes And Greens

Ingredients
2 or 3 large sweet potatoes
2 bunches of greens (chard, kale or collards)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground gloves
salt and pepper
1/4 tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil

Method
1. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces

2. Heat half the oil in pan over medium heat, and add potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just brown on all sides and soft (about 12-15 minutes, depending on size). When cooked, add spices and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

3. While the potatoes are cooking, wash the greens (do not dry), remove stems and cut leaves into small pieces. Heat remaining oil over medium heat, add the garlic and cook for a minute before adding greens. Stir often and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Combine potatoes, honey and lemon juice with the greens, stir and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

*Photo by EGK/Obama Foodorama.com

Happy Birthday, Obama Foodorama!

Obama Foodorama shares the President's election anniversary; it was started on Election Night 2008, right after the election was "called" at 8:15 PM Pacific time.
In the past year, Ob Fo has had the pleasure of covering the (exhausting!) amount of food and Ag initiatives emerging from the Obama White House, the USDA, and The Hill.

There was no way of knowing when the blog started waaaaay back on Nov. 4, 2008, intending to be a one-post-a-day diary, that First Lady Michelle Obama was going to have a nutrition and health agenda...plant a garden...visit soup kitchens...discuss childhood obesity and school lunches on a regular basis...or that she'd allow her Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford to compete on Iron Chef America, or that she'd actually have a Food Initiative Coordinator, Sam Kass....etc. etc. etc.

A little bit amusingly, despite Mrs. Obama's constant presence on the blog, our celebratory cupcakes this morning were decorated with President Obama's image; these were being sold last night as Obama Election anniversary treats. We're still waiting for someone to create the sine qua non of Michelle Obama Foodie Homage (the Michelle Melt is swell, but it doesn't look like her...).

Thanks so much to all the Readers who sent in birthday wishes this morning...that was a nice surprise!

First Lady Michelle Obama Graces Season Premiere of Iron Chef America; Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford Will Compete

Another first from the Obama White House Kitchen...First Lady reveals "secret ingredient"
UPDATES at bottom of post
First Lady Michelle Obama will make a special appearance on the season premiere of the popular Food Network show Iron Chef America in January, in a savvy move to extend her healthy food messaging to a new audience. Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford will compete on the show in a special two hour "super chef battle." Comerford's teammate is grill master Bobby Flay, who guest-cheffed at the White House for the Father's Day event in June, when he cooked up some lovely steaks with President Obama. Spoiler alert: Mrs. Obama will be revealing the "secret ingredient" that the chefs will use in their televised cook-off, which is a hallmark of the Iron Chef America series.

The Biggest Loser White House Salad: The Recipe

*Scroll down the blog sidebar for more White House recipes
On an episode that aired last night, the cast and contestants from the NBC competition weight loss show The Biggest Loser harvested veggies from First Lady Michelle Obama's White House Kitchen Garden with Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass, then went into the kitchen to "cook" it with Kass and Executive Chef Cris Comerford. (Above: Kass is at right, in the White House kitchen with the Losers)

During the episode, the Losers also met with Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand and Sen. Bob Casey, and the discussion about the devastating social and emotional impact of obesity on teens was very good. Sen. Gillibrand has become very interested in all kinds of food initiatives since being appointed to office, including food safety legislation and efforts to help dairy farmers. A video of the Losers in the Kitchen Garden is at the bottom of this post.

More White House salad recipes: The Winter Garden Salad. The Winter Green Salad With Honey Vinaigrette.

Biggest Loser White House Salad

Ingredients
1 head of fresh lettuce, wash, dry and cut into bite size pieces

1 cucumber peeled, and cut into bite sized pieces

2 fresh in season tomatoes, wash and cut into bite size pieces

¼ red onion, peel and cut as thinly as possible

1 bunch fresh basil, wash and chop into big pieces

4 tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Combine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions in large mixing bowl. In sealable container, combine oil, lemon juice, honey and salt and pepper. Cover container and shake vigorously. Add dressing to salad and serve immediately.

Related: Mrs. Obama's most recent harvest of the Kitchen Garden was on June 4, 2010. Kass has now been promoted to Senior Policy Adviser for Healthy Food Initiatives. He's also hosting a White House video cooking series, Let's Cook. Ed. note, Aug. 2011: Now canceled

White House Chef/Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass: The New York Times Profile

A very good piece on Sam Kass, with some fun personal details
The White House kitchen is having a big media week. Last night assistant chef and Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass and Executive Chef Cris Comerford were on NBC's The Biggest Loser, and Kass also made a cameo in the new HBO documentary on the election. Yesterday it was announced that First Lady Michelle Obama and Comerford will appear on Iron Chef America in January.

Today, a New York Times story about Kass becomes the third ok'd by the White House. Times writer Mark Bittman got the first one for Men's Health, and there was another one two weeks ago that Ob Fo didn't bother to mention due to the fact that it was riddled with inaccuracies. The new Times piece was written by writer Rachel L. Swarns, who knows her White House stuff; she was one of the co-writers of the recent big Times story on Mrs. Obama's family roots.

Laura Dowling, New White House Florist

The White House has a new head florist, Laura Dowling, who has been at work since last week, according to the First Lady's Office, although there has not yet been an official announcement. Dowling "accidentally" outed herself as the new White House rose wrangler this weekend by posting a Facebook update, according to ABC news. Dowling wrote "Laura Dowling is excited and honored to be named the White House florist," and reporters got wind of it. (Above: One of Dowling's creations)

Obesity In The Obama Era: The Biggest Loser Hits The White House

The White House has a very different message than the TV show...and maybe contestants will take it to heart
Tonight's episode of The Biggest Loser, NBC's weight loss competition show, features a segment with the cast members, host and trainers cooking in the White House Kitchen with Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, following a stroll through the Kitchen Garden for some veggie harvesting with Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass. The episode was (obviously) shot before the Fall Harvest of the Kitchen Garden last week, and the contestants are understandably thrilled as they pluck fresh tomatoes, roots, basil and squash, and quiz Kass about President Obama's fave vegetable ("He loves broccoli," is part of that answer). Currently, average cast weight is above 260 pounds, with various Losers weighing far more. (Above, Kass, in chef's jacket, poses with the cast of Loser; host Alison Sweeney is in yellow, trainer Bob Harper is in tie, trainer Jillian Michaels is in t-shirt without logo)

One contestant in tonight's episode notes that "We were invited [to the White House] because what we're doing is showing America the courage to change their life." That's a happy idea borrowed directly from the Obama election campaign, but far more likely, Loser was invited to shoot at the White House because the obese contestants mirror the 34 percent of the adult population over age twenty in the US who are also obese, according to CDC's latest statistics. Obesity has become a major issue for the Obama administration, as the move to reform health care has taken up much of the air in the political room. Obesity and chronic diet related disease are credited with adding billions of dollars of avoidable expenses to the national budget, and the White House and the rest of the administration have been focusing on it intently, with all kinds of hard and soft policy approaches.


On Loser, contestants are put on extreme diets and monitored by trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels for onscreen workouts that would make professional athletes weep. This has been the subject of intense criticism by fitness professionals as inappropriate for obese people; the show has been called "danger TV" for putting the obese contestants at risk. Current contestants have dropped an astonishing and possibly unmaintainable amount of weight in the first seven weeks of this season; one contestant notes in the video, below, that he's lost one hundred pounds. (Above: Loser contestants in the Kitchen Garden)

So certainly contestants can learn from the White House, which has emphasized the opposite of extremism in the current nutrition education campaign, with a series of public remarks made by First Lady Michelle Obama and Kass highlighting this. The White House has a temperate approach to nutrition, and encourages "lifestyle balance," which is understood as making small changes such as cooking at home when possible and eating more fruits and vegetables, rather than dieting--and incorporating fitness as a daily, fun part of personal regimes, rather than attempting the monster workouts on Loser. Thus Mrs. Obama's recent bout of hula hooping on the South Lawn, and the President's pick-up games of basketball.

"The way we approach it, we try not to do diets," Kass has said. "As opposed to just change our lifestyle...a diet means that you're inherently going to fall off it because it's inherently a finite set of time."

Having the contestants cook in the White House kitchen and harvest veggies from the garden with the telegenic and charming Kass is a good opportunity to bring White House nutrition and fitness messaging to a big prime time audience--about 7-9 million viewers in any given week--and it's the kind of message that's much needed, to counteract the possibly toxic, extremist approach that the show itself promotes. It's also a swell way to continue to raise awareness that the White House is very serious about its campaign....

*The recipe for the Biggest Loser White House Salad is here.

Here's a fun clip of Kass with the Losers in the garden:

Sam Kass Swamps The Airwaves Tonight

In addition to having a star turn on NBC's The Biggest Loser tonight, White House assistant chef & Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass also shows up in HBO's new documentary about POTUS, By The People: The Election of Barack Obama, which premieres tonight at 9:00 PM. Kass is bearded onscreen, so watch carefully. And get out your hanky, if you're an Obama aficionado. Someone's crying in every other scene, and you might be, too, because it's pretty moving, even if you lived through the election mania, up close & personal....

The Latest White House Flickr Update: Power Lunch With Pelosi

In the latest update of the White House Flickr, President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were are shown about to have lunch on Oct. 22, in the Oval Office Dining Room at the White House. It's a progressive photo for Official Non-Foodie Photographer Pete Souza, because a wee bit of food is actually present on the dining plates (which are presidential seal china, BTW). Souza is somewhat allergic to full-bore food shots, thanks to the White House policy that discourages photographing citizens mid-bite.

Related: Other excellent foodie photos from the Souza Oeuvre Backstage at the Obama White House: On Oct. 25, Souza was having his own presidential China Syndrome; On Oct. 9, Souza documented Core Relationships; on October 11, Souza captured Special Relationships Through Food; On Sept. 1 he shot Tequila, Pie and Invisible Fish; and on Aug. 18, he posted a rare shot of an actual plated dish from the White House kitchen.

White House Halloween Cookies Made With Honey From The White House Beehive

The charming "Spider White House" shortbread cookies that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama handed out to thousands of invited trick-or-treaters at last night's White House Halloween festivities were made with very locally grown honey: It came from the White House beehive.

It's pretty spectacular that the kids were getting "home made" cookies from "The People's House" with a home-grown ingredient from a part of the garden--the beehive--that has captured the imagination of millions of people. The honey has been used at many White House events, but the Spider White House cookies are certainly the biggest and most high-profile use of the honey to date. (Above: President Obama and Mrs. Obama greet a trick or treater, while White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers (in white wig) looks on; inset is a photo of the Spider White House cookies, during their creation).

Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses was charged with treat-making duties, and he calls the Spider White House cookies an "English-style shortbread," and notes that in addition to using White House honey, the cookies were made with organic flour, organic eggs and "other organic materials." The cookies were in the shape of the White House, with a big black spider piped on to one side, which replicated part of the actual White House holiday decorations; a huge stuffed spider dangled from the North Portico as President Obama and Mrs. Obama, dressed as a post-modern Cat Woman, surprised the local kids by personally handing out treats (the kids had been warned not to expect the Obamas). An assortment of dried fruits--sour cherries, peaches, and pears were also in the cellophane-wrapped treat bag, in keeping with Mrs. Obama's health conscious agenda. Also included: M&Ms. (Above: White House Halloween treat bags)

Using White House honey for the Halloween treats wasn't in any media coverage of last night's events because the White House didn't make an "official announcement" about the honey use. But the AP news service, which has an all-access pass to the White House, made the video, below, about the creation of the Spider White House cookies, and Yosses describes the ingredients, and notes the honey usage. As of the Fall Harvest of the Kitchen Garden, the White House beehive had produced 134 pounds of honey, according to Mrs. Obama's deputy press secretary, Semonti Stephens. The bees are now "asleep" for the winter, according to Stephens. The video:



More on the first Obama White House Halloween: Preparations for the festivities are here; photos from the event are here. Halloween photo via Getty/pool.