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Sen. Al Franken utters the word “tofu” at Iowa steak fry – no repercussions reported

 

It appears that Al Franken left Sunday’s Iowa steak fry unscathed, according to media accounts.

The funnyman headlined The Honorable Senator from Minnesota served as keynote speaker at a fundraiser for Sen. Tom Harkin, his Democratic colleague, and summoned the courage to raise the vegetarian food that began in China but is despised by many as tasteless.

He said: “Tofu.”

It was in the context of talking about preventative health care. Harkin, he explained to the crowd, is the chairman of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

But Franken was standing in cattle country, home to a cattlemen’s association and beef industry council.

And he uttered it at the famous Harkin fundraiser, which has attracted candidates for the White House. 

Dar Danielson of RadioIowa captures the quote:

Now, of course one way nutritionists tell us that we could prevent disease…is if we ate less charcoaled, grilled, marbled, red meat.

The crowd began to chuckle. Franken continued.

So, please let me be the first to invite you to the 2010 first annual Tom Harkin tofu scheme.

The audience laughed and applauded.

“OK,” Franken said. “It’s a joke.”

As you can imagine, it was a bit of a meat event.

The Des Moines Register notes that of the approximate 1,800 to 1,900 sandwiches served at the event, about 1,200 had steak.

If you think that soybean cake does not go over well in Iowa, think again.

Chef Bev Shaffer writes in The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer that she spent four days in Des Moines at a soybean festival, of sorts, sponsored by The Soyfoods Council – which is headquartered in Iowa.

Apparently, Iowa is one of the nation’s top producers of soybeans.

She and other chefs concocted a range of soy dishes, including tofu parmigiana. Later, at a party, they dined on lemon tofu cheesecake.

She does include some helpful health information – that people should only eat 3 servings of soy per day and balance in a diet helps.

It’s unclear from the article, but I hope The Soyfoods Council included some Asian tofu recipes in the food tour, as well.

I’m biased but there are some great recipes from China.

Getting back to Franken (and only if you have time):

This recent video of him drawing a map of the United States is making the online rounds.

This video, taken two years ago, has audio.