Will I burn on re-entry?

Nearly a new season, still about twenty degrees outside. I’ve seen daffodils, crocuses, and early rhododendrons blossoming. On a walk last weekend, I also saw nettles that were about six inches tall. And our tomato seeds are sprouting; I admire their tenacity in this damn cold weather! I’m looking forward to starting some flower seeds, basil, and other herbs indoors soon.

It’s been an interesting and intense Winter quarter at school, and it’s nearly over. My master’s thesis, Knowledge, Values, and Action for Sustainability: Environmental Education for the 21st Century is off to the printers. I wrote an interdisciplinary unit centered around early economics concepts titled Wants and Needs: Investigating Local Contexts. I took a series of workshops on tribal sovereignty and Native American history in Washington. I participated in an amazing seminar on democratic education, with great readings from bell hooks, Alfie Kohn, Steven Wolk, and Ira Shor. I also learned quite a bit more about how to plan and implement transformative multicultural education curricula. Looking back over the quarter, there is much to be celebrated.

On the other hand, I have also at times felt stifled, constrained by structure, made too cautious by my very public work and actions. The solution? Root Down, a new publication that I’ll be anonymously publishing as .pdf via the web. Heck, I may even revisit past shenanigans  and start an actual, physical mailing list for a zine made of paper and ink. I’m very excited to re-enter the world of independent publishing, with content and context of my own choosing, outside of the dictates and mandates of my educational/professional life.

I may burn out on the process before too long, but I am committed to publishing an initial issue with articles, essays, and artistic nonsense on education, politics, and ecology. There’ll probably be some gardening, foraging, and cooking stories in there, too. If you’re interested in checking it out, drop me a line (or leave a comment) and I’ll put you on the list.

Take care, I hope to post again soon…

I Always Listen to Public Enemy when I Make Curry

Hello folks. Despite the cliche it has, in fact, been a while. A wide variety of events, both visceral and ephemeral, have happened/occurred/taken place/been since my last post oh…a couple of months ago. When I began this humble project my goal was to post something new once a month. Let’s make that my blog-centric resolution for the new year of ’09. There will be others…

So the holidays have come and largely gone. Oh, and a national election. And some serious economic troubles. The garden was put to rest long ago, save for the remaining beds of rocket, carrots, chicory, chard, and herbs — all of which having been blanketed in no less than 16″ of snow recently. Speaking of which: hot maple syrup poured over a compact ball of snow is really, really good.

A bit late, perhaps, but keep in mind the sense of meaning and connection that imbue hand-made gifts. Roasted, spiced nuts, jams or chutneys, granola, cookies, hot sauce, hand-written recipe cards — there are a lot of great gifts that can come from your kitchen and garden that manage to be more than grabbing something from a store shelf.

Although that has its merits, too. One gift I gave this holiday season (to Leslie) is the new cookbook How to Eat Supper. It was written by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (host of The Splendid Table on NPR) and Sally Swift. It’s the kind of cookbook I like: more than a collection of recipes, it’s full of useful advice, wonderful stories, and subtle politics. I modified the recipe for Chicken Curry with Gentle Spices last night (subbing coconut milk for yogurt and carrots and broccoli for chicken) and it was amazing. Though I am no fan of copyright law, or the concept of intellectual property in general, I won’t write out the recipe in full here. But I did want to mention a couple points of technique for making Indian curries that eluded me as a novice but have since become essential:

(1) Roasting and grinding whole spices. I can’t say it better than my favorite celebrity chef Mario Batali: “Go directly to your spice cabinet and throw all of your spices away. Because the last time you made Bengali curry was five years ago, and there is no curry left in that curry.” In other words, the freshness of your dried herbs and spices matters no matter what the dish or cuisine. Dry pan-roasting (with no fat, in a non-stick or preferably cast iron skillet) for a couple of minutes (shaking or stirring constantly…the wafting aroma will tell you when) on medium heat does wonders for cumin, fennel, coriander, clove, and other wonderful curry spices. Thrift an old coffee grinder to dedicate to spice grinding, or get down and dirty with a mortar and pestle. Looking at that jar of stale “curry powder” in your drawer or cabinet? As PE said, “Can’t trust it.” Pitch it and find a shop that sells spices in bulk; you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.

(2) Time. Making a rich, flavorful curry takes time. Using yogurt or coconut milk for that savory goodness? You’ve got to reduce it, cook it down, the way you would wine or stock, to intensify the flavor. Additionally, you must saute your curry paste until the sauce “breaks” (the oil separates from the rest of the sauce). As Lynne says, thoroughly sauteing the curry paste sets up the foundation of the dish.

Let’s go back to that election. I know a lot of friends (readers of this here blog) were/are pretty excited about an Obama presidency. Some of you even hit the pavement for him. First, I’d like to offer heartfelt support for the fact that you cared about something enough to contribute your time, energy, passion, and creativity to making it a reality. That we need more of, and I hope your lives are richer for having supported and participated in a process that you found meaningful. As a radical, the election of Obama (and of greater Democratic majorities in the House and Senate) fills me with little hope. I could offer my thoughts and opinions, informed by history and an analysis of our economic and political systems, or I could forget all of the bigger picture stuff and look at the nitty gritty of his administration-to-be. Since it’s still pretty early, let’s do a shorthand version of both:

(1) The election of a black man as president does not negate the systemic reality of racial inequality and injustice. Here is a link to a poster on Obama from those ever-irreverent and sometimes insightful folks at Crimethinc.

(2) Let’s be real: he’s basically a moderate Democrat. If you’re a liberal and you cheer the election of liberals, you would probably be more excited about someone like Ted Kennedy or Bernie Sanders getting elected because their politics are simply more progressive than Obama’s. I hope that some of his cabinet picks have raised your eyebrows and pulses: his Secretaries of Education, Agriculture, and the Interior are all very conservative and have histories of supporting a lot of things that you are probably against such as:

• Duncan: Privatizing public schools, supporting military recruitment in middle and high schools.
• Vilsack: No friend of organic farming, being an avid supporter of genetically engineered crops and chemical and energy-intensive industrial agriculture.
• Salazar: Support for off-shore oil drilling, preventing government action on climate change, preventing higher fuel-economy standards, increasing federal subsidies for oil corporations.

And, um…anyone not interested in imperial wars…should probably be…uh, concerned…about Clinton as Secretary of State.

Yes, I am excited about the possibility of a “green New Deal” and also about the impending passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. But, to paraphrase Gabriel Teodros: We’ve [still] got a lot of work to do.

Hey Mr. DJ, Keep Playin’ That Song; Or, Why Michael Pollan is the Shit

“This, in brief, is the bad news: the food and agriculture policies you’ve inherited — designed to maximize production at all costs and relying on cheap energy to do so — are in shambles, and the need to address the problems they have caused is acute. The good news is that the twinned crises in food and energy are creating a political environment in which real reform of the food system may actually be possible for the first time in a generation. The American people are paying more attention to food today than they have in decades, worrying not only about its price but about its safety, its provenance and its healthfulness. There is a gathering sense among the public that the industrial-food system is broken.”

-Farmer in Chief: An Open Letter to the Next President

Michael Pollan is an outstanding writer. He has what I consider to be a sufficiently radical critique of the industrial food system. That this letter is addressed to the president speaks to his nascent liberalism:  why not address this to the people? Regardless, this article is amazing. If you’ve not yet picked up The Omnivore’s Dilemma or In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto yet, I highly recommend reading this article. It critically analyzes so many crucial aspects of the problem (and provides some inspiring solutions) and is written in clear, accessible language. Distribute and discuss widely, yo!

Fall arrives…

Leslie and Ann get down and dirty.

The first full day that Ann and Carmen, Leslie’s parents, came into town we headed out to our local mushroom hunting spot. With the recent rain and chilly air, we knew that the forest floor would be alive with bright splashes of orange: chanterelle season had arrived. The four of us and Toby headed out into the woods, beneath overcast skies, and collected a pretty serious bounty of about three pounds of chanterelles. We enjoyed them all week in a hearty chanterelle and rice soup, a delicious goat cheese and rocket pasta, and an amazing frittata loaded with fresh herbs. Interestingly, I found only a small handful of chanterelles. Near the end of the excursion, though, I happened upon about a dozen very large white chanterelles in a small 10′ x 10′ area. I’d never found them before, so was pretty excited to give them a try. I found them to be equally as tasty as chanterelles; lacking the subtle apricot flavor of their orange brethren, they made up for it with a nice meaty texture and substantial girth.

Elusive and delicious.

We’re going to head over to the Puget Sound Mycological Society wild mushroom show at the UW Horticultural Center in Seattle on October 11-12. It’s been really cool in years past…

I’m still working on a granola bar recipe that works. I made some blueberry-pecan granola last weekend that was really good, though.

Listening to or reading news of our economic and political systems, I sometimes start to feel less an active agent and more like a spectator. One way that I combat feelings of powerlessness is tending the garden. It may seem a dawdling hobby from the outside, but it all depends on how you see yourself in those moments of quiet connection or intense labor with the soil. After all, we need to develop skills and knowledge that will enable us to break free from the exploitative and oppressive relationships engendered by capitalism. Sharing the knowledge, skills, and stories of emotional connection and impact is really what this blog is all about. We’ve got a lot of work to do to create viable alternatives to the current order of things if we’re going to change the world. And, yeah, growing vegetables (and learning how to identify and forage mushrooms) is part of that work.

Are you ready for systemic financial collapse?

Gleaning Blueberries

I could not be happier about this late burst of summer sunshine and warm temperatures. Our “fall” garden has been launched pretty successfully with lots of spinach, chard, rocket (spicy!), and winter squash. Cucumbers are still going strong, patty pan squash, carrots, herbs, onions…even some the tomatoes we started from seed back in, oh, early March have started to ripen. They may make it yet.

Finnriver's Blueberry Fields

To celebrate the end of the season, Leslie and I headed out to Finnriver Farm for their end-of-the-summer blueberry gleaning. It was about a forty-minute drive out across the Hood Canal bridge into the beautiful Chimacum Valley on a clear day last weekend. They had an open invitation to pick all of the organic blueberries you care to, with half of what you pick donated to food banks in Jefferson County. Subverting capitalist food production or alleviating its excesses, thereby helping to prop it up and prolong it? A worthwhile debate, to be sure, but it was far from the front of my mind as I scoured the seven-foot high rows of bushes for ripe, delicious berries. Not only was the weather perfect and the labor satisfying, but there were puppy dogs roaming around, lots of families, and a roving troupe of bluegrass and old time folk musicians picking and singing. It was unbelievably nourishing for the body, mind, and spirit.

We hit up a small, awesome farmer’s market on the side of the road on the way to Port Townsend. We picked up some heirloom garlic varieties, sweet corn, potatoes, peppers, and more. In PT we stumbled on the annual Wooden Boat Festival, wandered through an arts and crafts market, heard some great Caribbean music and ate huge sandwiches in the sunshine. All and all, a perfect end of summer day.

I’ve got some things on tap for the next couple of posts. Jessica Joy sent me a request to work out a recipe for granola bars or (get your Anglophilia on) flapjacks. I’m going to see what I can do this weekend on that one. The fall mushroom hunting season started recently as well…

Garden Density: Trashcan Potatoes

Get Vertical

Okay, so Leslie got this tip from a fine gentleman at the local nursery last spring. Instead of your traditional trench method of growing potatoes, which can take up quite a bit of space to get high yields, go vertical. It’s called the container method. The container method makes hilling easy and takes up less space. Plant your seed potatoes in the bottom of a tall container, like a clean garbage can (I’ve also seen people use chicken wire or other fencing wrapped into a cylinder). Put about 6″ of soil in the bottom first, then spread out your seed potatoes. Keep adding soil as the plants get taller. After the plants flower, you can grab your first “new potatoes” from the soil; they’ll be tasty, but won’t store or keep long. At this point, stop watering the plants to help the tubers get nice and fat. After the leaves start to brown and the stalks wilt, give them two weeks to finish developing and pull ‘em out. These are your keepers, more or less, depending on the variety you are growing (some keep better than others). We just started harvesting the fingerlings and yukon golds we planted in May. Homegrown (or any local) potatoes have an unbelievable flavor. It’s deep, complex, and nutty. I mean, you never really knew a potato could taste so good…but they do.

In Full Effect: Naan Bread Pizza

Pizza + Morimoto Soba Ale = Good Eats

So, after catering a large Indian wedding for my friend Karina and her newly-christened husband John…okay, wait. My friend Ryan and I cooked over two hundred pounds of food for this wedding. It was insane. But I’ll post more on that soon. Regardless, staring down some of the leftover ingredients afterwards, like infinite naan bread, I was craving anything but more Indian food. So I cracked a Morimoto Soba Ale from Rogue (big ups to Oregon microbreweries!) and got to work.

Base:

4 pieces of naan, quartered

Sauce:

Barbecue! Make your own or…I used Rufus Teague’s Blazin’ Hot (yow!)

Toppings:

12-16 oz. tempeh (multigrain is tastiest)

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 med. red onion, diced

8 oz. + sharp cheddar

couple handfuls of green onion

herbs you like (i used fresh rosemary and oregano)

garlic (as much as you like, i used six cloves)

sea salt and cracked pepper

…pre-heat oven to 350 degrees…

(1) Heat canola oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet until shimmering/near smoking.

(2) Rough chop tempeh and throw it in. Stir fry until browned.

(3) Turn burner down to medium. Throw in onion, bell pepper, herbs, salt and pepper to taste.

(4) After veggies are appropriately browned/softened, throw in the garlic for 45-60 second and stir (until fragrant)

(5) Arrange naan bread in a single layer on a baking/cookie sheet. Spread barbecue sauce on naan, and apportion cooked toppings on the pieces.

(6) Top with cheddar cheese and green onions, and crack additional pepper on top.

(7) Heat in oven until naan is warmed through and cheese melts (10-12 minutes is good). If desired, you can turn on the broiler for 3-5 minutes towards the end to brown the cheese.

Yeah, it sounds weird because it is in fact weird. But it’s good. Give it a try, experiment. Two nights later we grabbed some chard and spinach from the garden, threw it together with fresh jalapenos, onions, garlic and a Mexican flavor profile (cumin/coriander/chili powder/cilantro) and dipped pieces in sour cream and Cholula. It…was…good…..so very good…mmm….