MindfulCast #1 – Fermentation: The Final Frontier

After years of thinking about it, I have finally created a podcast call “MindfulCast”. The goal of this podcast series is to discuss the rewards and challenges of living a balanced life in these modern, urban times. The first episode, Fermentation: The Final Frontier, focuses on a recent Pickling Party workshop hosted by UrbanKitchenSF and Happy Girl Kitchen Co. To subscribe to the podcast feed, check the box at the top of the sidebar!

The workshop was held on a pier under the Bay Bridge…

From left to Right: Todd Gonzales and Todd Champange from Happy Girl Kitchen

Chopping and filling jars

and adding salt water…

Pickled Cherries, Lemons and Spicy Carrots

mmm.. Pretty Pickles…

Kitchen Garden at the White House

“First lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to break ground Friday on a new garden near the fountain on the South Lawn that will supply the White House kitchen.”

Great news! I am still working on my own kitchen garden and it is good to see such a high profile garden!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_garden

Struggling Illinois Farmer’s Hard Choice Cuts Deep

by Ketzel Levine
NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97749721

Reporter’s Notes: Food Safety

Reporter’s Notes: Food Safety

“Here’s another item for President-Elect Barack Obama’s to-do list when he takes office in January: food safety. Especially imported foods. Recent scares over melamine-laced cookies from China and salmonella-tainted Mexican jalapenos have raised stark questions: Who’s monitoring the safety of imported food? And does the system work?”

http://www.kqed.org/quest/radio/food-safety

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What Is This Herb? – Revisited

Some time ago I wrote about a strange herb that I acquired at the farmers’ market. I was told that it was called water mint, but all the photographs and information I found online could not confirm that. Thanks to a blog post over at Pinoy Cook, I think I have discovered what this plant actually is: Water Spinach!

Now to start searching for recipes!

Some interesting historical information about the water spinach here.

Health, Food and Human History: The All-American Banana?

As part of my move toward eating locally produced food, I have cut out certain fruits and vegetables from my diet. In an attempt to have some sort of balance, and in cases where they are available, I will purchase organic and fairly traded varieties of coffee, chocolate, tea and coconut products but have nearly cut out the consumption of all fruit that cannot be grown within California. This includes pineapple, papaya, mango, and of course: bananas.

I’ve recently become somewhat fascinated with the banana. I often wonder why it is so popular. Perhaps it is because the banana is so easy to carry and eat. But the banana is not a local fruit. Not unless you live in South America, Hawaii, or parts of Asia. How did it get here and when? And how have banana prices remained so low, even though the fruit travels thousands of miles to reach our markets and tables?

Not just Organic, but Fair Trade!

Most of us have seen organic produce varieties popping up in supermarkets across the United States. Though knowing how food is grown is extremely important, so too is knowing how the farmers and workers are paid and treated in the process. Finding Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate is becoming easier and easier and I find it interesting that there doesn’t seem to be as much of a movement to engage fresh fruit producers and distributors. I have no doubt there are many challenges with storage, shipping and USDA guidelines though I have not found any specific information as yet. Fair Trade fruit is available now, though can be difficult to find and I have not seen any form of labelling system to indicate that the fruit is in fact Fair Trade.

Below are some resources about the Banana and Fair Trade Fruit:

Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World

Yes, We Will Have No Bananas

The Banana

Banana.com

Fair Trade Banana Cooperative

Fair Trade: Fresh Fruit Program

The State of Food in San Francisco

As many people know, San Francisco is one of the wonders of the foodie world. With it’s melting pot population, coastal location, climate that offers year-round produce and upwards of 10,000 restaurants, foodies are spoiled for choice.

San Francisco Magazine‘s recent issue focuses on food in the Bay Area. Though it’s not my favorite magazine it did definitely have some very good articles this month.

To eat local, kill local With just one slaughterhouse remaining within 80 miles of San Francisco, we stand to lose not only our local beef industry, but our grazing lands as well. Now a thick-skinned herd of ranchers and environmentalists are determined to keep the cows close to home.

The State of the Plate When it comes to dining out, is San Francisco becoming a Valhalla or a Vegas with hills? Josh Sens looks back on a confounding 12 months of meals and takes the measure of a region and its restaurants.

Moth Class What the light brown apple moth—and the pesticide shower it nearly unleashed—taught us about the future of our fruits and vegetables.

Weapons of Moth Destruction How the Bay Area maneuvered to beat back an impending pesticide assault.

Health, Food and Human History: Grains and Beans

One thing that fascinates me to no end is the history of food and human civilization. Throughout history, humans have been developing ways to cultivate and prepare food, sometimes for flavor but more often than not, it seems, for nutrition, digestion and preservation. What I find difficult to get my head around, is the idea that thousands of years ago, humans figured out food combinations that had the most nutritional value. Beans and grains, for example, often form a complete protein when paired together. In the Americas, beans and corn has been a popular combination for thousands of years. Beans, containing all of the amino acids but the one contained in corn: methionine.

Below are some interesting links containing information about the history of these foods as well as recipes:

Mother Earth News: Pinto Beans and Corn
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/1972-01-01/Pinto-Beans-and-Corn.aspx

Food Reference: Beans
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artbeans.html

Veg Paradise: Corn, The A-Maize-Ing Grain
http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch9.html

I’ve also put together a recipe of my own. Sausage and Mushroom Succotash.

Downtown Garden

SF’s Civic Center Welcomes Fresh Veggie Garden

“For the first time since 1943, the first edible garden was planted Saturday at San Francisco’s Civic Center, with the hopes of encouraging residents to eat healthy food.”

http://www.kcbs.com/pages/2588388.php?

California and Water

I’ve been thinking about water a lot lately with the drought and all of the fires that are still burning around the state as I type. I am not the only one thinking about this, of course, and there’s a great, locally produced 30 minute program about the future of water in California:
State of Thirst: California’s Water Future
“Are we in danger of running out of water? California’s population is growing by 600,000 people a year, but much of the state receives as much annual rainfall as Morocco. With fish populations crashing, global warming, and the demands of the country’s largest agricultural industry, the pressures on our water supply are increasing.”

The Foodchain Project..

The Case for Reducing Soy Consumption

As mentioned in my first post on this blog “You are what you eat.. a Vegan Food Activist” I discuss the fact that I stay away from processed food as much as possible. Frankly, this has become even more important to me since then with the top reasons being health: knowing what’s in the food and that is it fresh and full of nutrients, social and economic justice: knowing that everyone involved is getting paid a decent wage and being treated fairly as well as putting money into the local economy, and environmental justice: knowing where the food came from and knowing its impact on the environment.

With this in mind, it can make life difficult when not eating meat. Most people automatically assume that eating soy-based meat substitute products is par for the course and when I tell them that I generally don’t eat those products, they have trouble imagining what I could possibly be eating for a protein. First, I tell them that there are many wonderful proteins available in beans, nuts and grains. Second, though I do occasionally eat organic tofu and soy sauce, I tend to avoid soy products as a rule.

As someone who, first and foremost, avoids processed food, this automatically cuts out soy that is somehow made to look and taste like sausage. I used to be quite impressed with how the companies were doing this. How could you possibly make soy look and taste like sausage? Well.. exactly! The more ingredients on the list, the more manufacturers involved, the more people involved in the process, the more likely it is that the ingredients came from a large variety of sources and locations, and the less information we have available to us for an informed decision.

When walking through a grocery store, take a look at the ingredients of the products you pick up. Especially with foods like crackers and breads; how many of them have some sort of soy product listed? Sure, soy has proven to be one of the most versatile and nutritious plants on the planet and because of this the demand has skyrocketed. We are vegetarians and vegans (or trying to have a more healthful diet), but we still want our meat and dairy. And our soap, cosmetics, plastics, inks, solvents, clothing, alcohol, oil, biodiesel, flour, livestock feed and many other products.

Our desire for soy and beef and exotic woods are the primary causes for the depletion of one of the world’s greatest sources of biodiversity and oxygen: The Amazon Rainforest. Yes, people are cutting down the amazon for soy production.

Keep that in mind the next time you reach for that soyburger.

More information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy

http://www.ajc.com/news…amazon_rainforest_shrinking.html

Video: Mark Bittman: What’s wrong with what we eat

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/263

A 20 minute video from the chef who wrote “How to Cook Everything”.

Organic Gardening on NPR

The Bay Area’s local NPR station, KQED, recently did an hour on local organic gardening. It was a good show and provided lots of information and local resources. I suggest a listen!

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R803101000 

SPOTLIGHT: TerraCycle

 The TerraCycle story…

…is a tale of ultimate Eco-Capitalism. The company’s flagship product, TerraCycle Plant Food™, is an all-natural, all-organic, ‘goof-proof’ liquid plant food made from waste (worm poop) and packaged in waste (reused soda bottles)!

Check out this AWESOME company here: http://www.terracycle.net/index.htm

What is this plant?

So, a couple weeks ago, I started saving coffee grounds and tea to use as compost for my plants. Lat week, I started sprinkling the coffee around and noticed that there was something that had sprouted in the can. I looked around a bit more and found 2 others as well. I knew it couldn’t be the coffee, and I also knew that I had only put one bag of tea in there. I found what was left of the bag and it smelled of Earl Grey tea. So, these three little sprouts have now been planted and are happily growing in the back window. I imagine that they either have to be tea, or bergamot. It’s quite suprising to me that they sprouted in that dark can. But it was warm and damp and full of nutrients – and after steeping in very hot water as well. I look forward to finding out what the heck these 3 little guys are.

What is this herb?

I bought this herb last week at the farmers’ market and was told that it was water mint but, as you can see, this does not look like any photo of water mint I’ve seen so far. The smell is well, frankly, kind of grassy and a bit watery. If that makes any sense! It’s not terribly fragrant unless it’s very close. The taste is a tiny bit minty but, again, kind of grassy! The leaves are very tender and wilt easily. I’m just not sure what this is.  If anyone knows, please leave a comment!

And, yes, I know what grass tastes like…

Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market.

Today we went to the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market. I have avoided this market for more than 2 years. The reasons are as follows: 1) I used to work in the Ferry Building.. and market days were chaotic! 2) the food is not what one might call  inexpensive 3) did I mention that market days are chaotic? So are lines for the bathroom. However, today I felt like properly checking the market out. One of the disadvantages of working during the market is that you never really have time to explore.

Here’s a list of what we bought:

• at least 3 kinds of hot chili peppers
• pea sprout pesto
• almond maple spread
• mixed, sprouted beans
• pumpkin quark cheese
• organic butter
• fennel
• purple radishes
• almond butter
• almond chocolate coffee brittle
• a mossy turtle with a plant growing out of it!
• serrano chili seasoning

Things I saw, did not buy, but will buy in the future:

• organic, brown rice
• jerusalem artichokes
• various organic dried beans

So, as you can see, many of these things are not easily found at your average shop. I intend to make the FPFM an occasional supplement to my existing market diet. We also stopped by Mistral Rotisserie Provencale for lunch. One of the things I quite like about the restaurants and shops at the Ferry Building is that they are very much dedicated to using and selling local and organic food. The prices might be a bit high, and the atmosphere a bit upscale, but their hearts are in a good place. I actually know the owners of Mistral a bit and they are great people. And they make an absolutely kick-ass Morrocan Lamb Stew (Tagine).

So, in general, I give this farmers’ market a thumbs up. At least when it comes to variety and quality. However I find the customers rather rude. People are bumping into eachother all the time and, frankly, there’s less diversity. And more tourists. Also, I wouldn’t really call the atmosphere ‘relaxed’. Sorry Ms. Plaza, I’m not giving up Heart of the City Farmers’ Market any time soon.

Plants can talk! Well, sort of..

I came across this article about plants that can transmit certain kinds of information underground with others of the same type. Just thought it was interesting…

Clever Plants ‘Chat’ Over Their Own Network

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070925095313.htm