Quick Bites State of the Sole A June 14 story in Willamette Week revealed that 95 percent of Portland's sushi restaurants receive at least part of their seafood from True World Foods, a national seafood distributor with ties to the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and his highly controversial Unification Church. More commonly known as "The Moonies," Reverend Moon and his followers have been called a cult, with tendrils in the highest levels of corporate America. In the 52-year history of the church, Moon has been imprisoned for tax evasion and accused of brainwashing, personally profiting from the church and marrying hundreds of Japanese followers to Americans in mass weddings, making them American citizens and eligible for the labor force in service to the church. In addition, Moon considers himself the messiah and, among other grandiose endeavors, has sought to unify the world under a single common language (Korean) and dominate the seafood industry. He has nearly succeeded in the latter. Although Moon officially denies ties to True World Foods, CEO and founder Takeshi Yashiro is himself a Moonie and has admitted that a portion of True World's profits goes to the church. The dominion of the self-proclaimed "King of the Ocean" extends to Eugene. Taro Kobayashi, who has been a sushi chef in Eugene for nearly eight years, claims that any restaurant in Eugene that serves sushi undoubtedly gets some of their supply from True World. An EW survey of the six local sushi restaurants revealed that five do business with True World. One could not be reached for comment. Currently a chef at Misako, Kobayashi has also worked at Shoji's and confirms that both restaurants patronize the company. "They have pretty good stuff," says Kobayashi. "Their product is fair-priced and generally fresh. I usually like their seafood more than other companies we have used, but they don't have too much competition." Kobayashi's impression is that True World has cornered the sushi market in particular, catering primarily to Asian restaurants. He seemed surprised, however, at the connection with the infamous church. Although he doubts it will make a difference in the buying practices of the owners at Misako, Kobayashi now feels compelled to investigate the affiliation. "If David Koresh sold fish, would I buy fish from him? Probably not," he adds. Not everyone is so put off by the connection, however. A manager of a local sushi restaurant who asked to remain unnamed sees no problem with the association between True World and the Moonies. "We don't have any problem. Actually they are kind of nice and the service is really good," he says. "We are happy to deal with them." — Martha Calhoon   Grill, Steam, Marinate, Bake! Congrats on joining a CSA! Yep, you are the proud owner of a share (or half or quarter share — after all, you have your own garden too) in a community supported agriculture venture. You attended the "That's My Farmer!" event at the First United Methodist Church last spring, and you're so dang pumped to get that first box of veggies and fruits (and maybe cheese, eggs and/or meat, depending on your CSA) that you can hardly stand it. You win the coin toss with your neighbors to get the box and race over to the pick-up site on your bike. You just can't wait any longer. As soon as you see the tub o' stuff you must open it. Strawberries, check! Rhubarb, check! Lettuce and loose greens, check! But … er … what's this? This light green … thing? Looks kind of like a turnip with alien sea creature fronds. Did something invade the farm? Heck no, that's just kohlrabi. But no need to panic about it — or the beets, eggplant and kale that stymie other folks, says Jen Anonia, gardens program manager for FOOD for Lane County. Every week in the summer, she puts together a newsletter for those about to receive the Youth Farm CSA. She's heard all the freak-outs from friends and neighbors about cabbage, bok choi and other unfamiliar vegetables, so she's got quite a few recipes at her fingertips to soothe the racing brain. Kale — that crumply-leaved, dark green, chock full o' vitamins member of the brassica family — might look intimidating, but Anonia says it's easy to steam kale and toss it with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and lightly sautéed garlic. Eggplant? Anonia doesn't say it, but the very best way to use eggplant might be baba ghanouj (we like the Casablanca recipe from the 7/21/05 Chow!, not that we're self-referential or anything). Finally, alien veggie time. The kohlrabi root can be peeled and chopped for roasting, grilling, steaming or simply grating over salads; its leaves can be cooked just like kale, chard or mustard greens. And then there's the beet chocolate cake … — Suzi Steffen   | Quick Bites | Triple Scoop of New Restaurants | Bye Bye Cabana Blue | Food Bloggers | Mmmm, Breakfast | Coastal Wine & Gormet Sources |