I wrote this letter after going out for my squeeze's mother's birthday brunch, to the only restaurant in Vancouver that I know to be able to accommodate my food needs. Regardless of their goal to be food sensitivity friendly and be "a place where the whole family can eat," I still feel othered and upset by the way I must go about getting my needs met. I will send this letter to them in the hopes that they may change some of their practices.
Dear Aphrodite's,
I am someone who values your restaurant as the only one in Vancouver (that I have found) that accommodates my food sensitivities. I recently had brunch in the shop and, while the food I got was great and worked well for my health, a few things still upset me. I hope that you might be able to take into consideration some ideas for how to honour not only peoples' food sensitivities, but also to be sensitive enough for people to feel "normal" or no less valid in their needs than other customers.
Here are some things that would make eating out, for a person like me with serious digestive problems and a longer list of things I can't eat than things I can, a much more enjoyable experience:
1. Make a full list of ingredients available to any person who asks for specific information. This could mean having a menu with full ingredients listed available and giving one to each table, or asking if anyone at the table would like such a list, or having your servers memorize full lists (as someone who has often had a crucial allergens forgotten from friends' and servers' memory, this idea makes me nervous but I understand that for the sake of your chef's privacy, it may feel more secure).
2. When a customer asks to know exactly what is in something, tell them (or give them above suggested list/menu) a full ingredients list, rather than asking what someone can't eat. For many people, being asked this question brings up a lot of guilt and shame at being "hard to feed" and contributes to a sense of otherness. In my case, I know that the list of things I can't eat is so long that the server does not have the time to hear it, and I don't have the desire or energy to say it.
3. All dressings should be mentioned on the menu, or the server should confirm with the customer whether they would like their salad dressed or the dressing on the side. In my case, a simple dressing of lemon and olive oil is often the best option, as vinegars, soy based sauces, and many oils aggravate my condition.
These suggestions are designed to make me feel safer to come to your restaurant to eat. As I mentioned, there are no other restaurants I have found in the city to accommodate my needs, and as you can imagine, because eating out is often central to social activity and celebration, it is very important to me to have positive experiences at your establishment.
Thank you for working food sensitivities into your business plan and I look forward to another delicious meal at the shop soon.
Best,
Fiona
Saturday, 26 January 2013
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
On Sexting and Assumed Consent
sexting, along with sexy emails, are something i am in theory totally down for - they are an extension of our sexual expression and experience, additional ways in which we can engage with each other in hot and enjoyable ways.
that said, i have often felt violated upon receiving these messages; here are some of my thoughts on why that happens and what to do about it.
when we send a sexy message, it is a reflection of the space that we are in: likely kinda horny, thinking about sex and/or about the person we are messaging, and potentially not distracted by or focused on other things such as work, family, self-care, or other aspects of daily life. that's great! but the person receiving the message is fairly likely to be focusing on something else at that moment.
in the same way that we are thoughtful of our partners(s) emotional, physical, and mental mood/desire/consent/space in our face-to-face (or preferred position) intimate time , we need to take these things into account before hitting send buttons.
if i had just had an emotionally heated conversation with my mother and then you and i are alone together, what's the first thing you'd do? probably ask me how i'm doing, we would talk about the situation for a bit (if i needed/wanted to), and then potentially, if body language, verbal consent, or 'vibes' seemed right, we might slowly begin to move towards sexual intimacy. the fact that we are in the same space allows for us to use many tools and levels of intuition to asses each other's boundaries and emotional states.
those same signals aren't inherently present in text land, and we need to be cognizant of this.
if i am having that same conversation with my mother and hear the little 'bring' of a new message, and distractedly read "i was just touching myself and thinking of you," i will feel not only awkward, but thrust into a type of interaction i am not in the mood for and do not consent to.
i truly want sexy messages to be part of my healthy sexual relationships, but i've found that most of the time i am so caught off guard by the sudden assumed intimacy that i feel violated, upset, and disgusted by the person who sent it. i don't want to feel this way at all, let alone about someone that i trust and have generally positive and sexy feelings about!
so here's my plea:
keep being sexy. keep being sex positive and expressing yourself in ways that work for you and your partners, but ease into sexting in the same way you ease into sex. check in on what your message recipient is up to, since you aren't around to see. consider writing something like "i'm having sexy thoughts about you, would you like me to share?"
it might feel awkward and like it wrecks the spontaneity that makes sexting fun, but remember that those are the same arguments that many people make the first time they learn about the importance of explicit consent for physical sex. once you get used to it, it will enhance your experiences and relationships by ensuring that folks feel respected and are accountable to their needs and desires.
Thursday, 6 December 2012
arugula-cucumber-kimchi 'sushi'
today i went to a neighbourhood that isn't normally on my route, and happened upon a place i've meant to check out for years (since they opened).
Granger Grocery, home of Connie's Cookin', is a mini corner grocery store with a super small scale korean kitchen where Connie, a lovely and sweet foodie, makes a different meal everyday and when you go, that's what you get. she also makes her own kimchi and sells it in the shop (see where i'm going here?).
i'm not usually running around town looking for new small businesses- sure, i'm glad they exist (relative to big business) but it takes a personal connection for me to actually care.
back when i worked at a bakery on main street, Jamie (co-owner with Connie of the grocery store/diner) used to come into the shop about once a week and buy 12 loaves of bread. he refused to call ahead so we could be prepared with the bread sliced and packaged when he arrived, and preferred to slow the errand down as he chatted with us about the excitement and frustration of starting his business. taking his time was an important part of his ideal business model. needless to say, if you've every worked in service, people like this are memorable and definitely make the job much more tolerable.
i had mostly forgotten about though, until i started working at the farmer's market where Jamie also regularly orders from the farm i work at. so there he was again, hanging around and chit-chatting. my curiosity was peaked as he mentioned the kitchen element of the shop and promised me that if it wasn't too busy Connie would surely be able to cook me something that would fit my diet.
so today, i was at Heather and 16th for a bodytalk session, and saw this cute looking grocery store. then i saw "Connie's Cookin'" and Jamie's friendly face inside the window. i stopped in.
i'm not going to go on about the character of the place, for that you should check out this article about Connie's Cookin' where someone with a good camera and nice words can give you the picture much better than i.
what i can say is that Jamie and Connie are nice. Connie really cares about food and promised to cook some millet and freeze it so it would be ready the next time i come in, and i agreed to get them some garlic from the farm as they've been too busy to come by recently.
i also bought some amazing kimchi that Connie made. if my memory is correct, she said it has in it nappa cabbage, pear, carrot, green onion, ginger, garlic, and just a little bit of hot pepper. it is fermented, no added sugar, and not canned (ie killed).
so i got home and was hungry and wanted to do something special with my treat.
kimchi sushi:
toasted nori wraps
leftover quinoa and fermented millet porridge (use whatever grains you have, you just need to make sure it's sticky so cook with a lid on and extra fluid/time, or use something porridgy like i did..)
sesame oil
garlic
salt+pepper
cucumber
arugula
kimchi
cook/reheat your grains to get the right texture(sticky, but not too moist. think of sushi rice but it can be more blendy than that). add sesame oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. allow to cool.
take a nori sheet and place on clean/dry counter-top, shiny side down.
spread a thin layer of your grain mix on the nori, about covering just under half of the sheet.
put arugula (or any soft greens will work), cucumber, any other veggies you like, and some kimchi on there too. when it comes to nori wraps, remember, less is more. you don't want it to be too big to get your mouth around, or it's a kinda hard to eat.
roll, starting with the covered side, and when you get to the edge dip your fingers in your kimchi brine and moisten the edge of the nori sheet. then finish rolling it. the moist edge will help it stick together.
i prefer not to cut my sushi, as it's hard to get right without a pretty damn good knife. i eat it like a burrito.
enjoy!
Granger Grocery, home of Connie's Cookin', is a mini corner grocery store with a super small scale korean kitchen where Connie, a lovely and sweet foodie, makes a different meal everyday and when you go, that's what you get. she also makes her own kimchi and sells it in the shop (see where i'm going here?).
i'm not usually running around town looking for new small businesses- sure, i'm glad they exist (relative to big business) but it takes a personal connection for me to actually care.
back when i worked at a bakery on main street, Jamie (co-owner with Connie of the grocery store/diner) used to come into the shop about once a week and buy 12 loaves of bread. he refused to call ahead so we could be prepared with the bread sliced and packaged when he arrived, and preferred to slow the errand down as he chatted with us about the excitement and frustration of starting his business. taking his time was an important part of his ideal business model. needless to say, if you've every worked in service, people like this are memorable and definitely make the job much more tolerable.
i had mostly forgotten about though, until i started working at the farmer's market where Jamie also regularly orders from the farm i work at. so there he was again, hanging around and chit-chatting. my curiosity was peaked as he mentioned the kitchen element of the shop and promised me that if it wasn't too busy Connie would surely be able to cook me something that would fit my diet.
so today, i was at Heather and 16th for a bodytalk session, and saw this cute looking grocery store. then i saw "Connie's Cookin'" and Jamie's friendly face inside the window. i stopped in.
i'm not going to go on about the character of the place, for that you should check out this article about Connie's Cookin' where someone with a good camera and nice words can give you the picture much better than i.
what i can say is that Jamie and Connie are nice. Connie really cares about food and promised to cook some millet and freeze it so it would be ready the next time i come in, and i agreed to get them some garlic from the farm as they've been too busy to come by recently.
i also bought some amazing kimchi that Connie made. if my memory is correct, she said it has in it nappa cabbage, pear, carrot, green onion, ginger, garlic, and just a little bit of hot pepper. it is fermented, no added sugar, and not canned (ie killed).
so i got home and was hungry and wanted to do something special with my treat.
kimchi sushi:
toasted nori wraps
leftover quinoa and fermented millet porridge (use whatever grains you have, you just need to make sure it's sticky so cook with a lid on and extra fluid/time, or use something porridgy like i did..)
sesame oil
garlic
salt+pepper
cucumber
arugula
kimchi
cook/reheat your grains to get the right texture(sticky, but not too moist. think of sushi rice but it can be more blendy than that). add sesame oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. allow to cool.
take a nori sheet and place on clean/dry counter-top, shiny side down.
spread a thin layer of your grain mix on the nori, about covering just under half of the sheet.
 |
| it begins |
put arugula (or any soft greens will work), cucumber, any other veggies you like, and some kimchi on there too. when it comes to nori wraps, remember, less is more. you don't want it to be too big to get your mouth around, or it's a kinda hard to eat.
 |
| ready to roll |
roll, starting with the covered side, and when you get to the edge dip your fingers in your kimchi brine and moisten the edge of the nori sheet. then finish rolling it. the moist edge will help it stick together.
i prefer not to cut my sushi, as it's hard to get right without a pretty damn good knife. i eat it like a burrito.
 |
| ready to scarf by candle light |
enjoy!
Monday, 3 December 2012
Tarts for Breakfast
Or perhaps some pudding instead?
As someone who doesn't eat sugar (including many natural fructose sources) or almost any flour, it can be pretty hard for me to create treats, sweet breakfasts, or desserts that will not contribute to my health problems. That said, it's pretty fracking exciting when I find or develop a sweet treat that fits into my diet.
The following recipe is something I created this past weekend to bring to my dear friend's family's holiday gathering. I can't tell you how good it felt to be indulging in dessert along with the family - there is something so affirming about eating alongside with people, and especially when other people are eating the same food as me (and, needless to say, the opposite is also true: it's very isolating and sad to be unable to enjoy food with the people I love, or to have everyone else indulging in one thing while I have a compensation prize).
If you've read other posts in which I mention the principles of food combining, you will notice that this recipe does not comply with those guidelines. I have realized that my mental and emotional health (intrinsically related to physical health) are so enriched by having 'treats' and eating with people that the minor slowing of digestion caused by 'improper' combining is barely worth blinking at.
SO! here's my recipe for gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free squash tarts/squash pudding:
Squash Pudding:
-enough for one 9" pie OR 12 tarts, plus a little extra to bake as pudding
3 cups purreed sweet meat (or other sweet) squash
3 tb xylitol (more if you eat a lot of sugar, I do not so this tasted plenty sweet to me)
3 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger powder (or fresh ginger)
1 tsp 5 spice
1 tsp salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup kefir*
12 frozen/fresh cranberries (optional - to decorate tarts)
*I use goats milk kefir that I make, because it is the only creamy product I can digest (the fermentation converts lactose into lactic acid which makes it much more digestible, but also gives it a tart flavour). Coconut milk or whole cream would offer a sweeter flavour, so feel free to use whatever works for you.
Tart/Pie crust:
-enough for a 9" pie or 12 tarts
3/4 c quinoa flour
2/3 c millet flour*
1 tb xylitol
1/2 c very cold butter
cold water
* I couldn't find any at a store so I just put some millet through a coffee grinder which I don't use coffee in.
Preheat oven to 450 F
First, cut your butter into small chunks and put it in the freezer. Mix all the pudding ingredients together and set aside. In a food processor, combine flour and xylitol. Take your butter from the freezer and add to food processor. Pulse until it is mixed and crumbly, with small bits of butter throughout. It will look very dry, and perhaps only be a doughy texture at the bottom of the processor bowl near the blades. I added some cold water (only about a teaspoon) and pulsed a bit more. Dump out 'dough' (will still look very dry) onto a plate or directly into your 9" pie plate if you're making it a pie. If you grab a handful of the mixture, you should be able to press it into a clump in your hand (if not, add a tiny bit more cold water and mix in). Press dough into pie plate or into muffin cups. Try to make sure it's evenly distributed without any super thick or super thin spots.
Take your pudding and poor into pie/tart crust(s). Fill them as high as you can without spilling. Add a cranberry to the top of each tart if you like. Pour remaining pudding into an oven safe dish.
Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce heat to 350 for another 25-30 minutes. If you put a clean knife into the center of a tart, it should come out clean. Depending on what size/shape of dish you put your extra pudding into, it may cook faster or slower.
Enjoy as a dessert, a healthy sweet snack, or as part of a lovely breakfast. I the pudding would be extra delicious with some warm carrot cranberry lime sauce on top! Yum.
As someone who doesn't eat sugar (including many natural fructose sources) or almost any flour, it can be pretty hard for me to create treats, sweet breakfasts, or desserts that will not contribute to my health problems. That said, it's pretty fracking exciting when I find or develop a sweet treat that fits into my diet.
The following recipe is something I created this past weekend to bring to my dear friend's family's holiday gathering. I can't tell you how good it felt to be indulging in dessert along with the family - there is something so affirming about eating alongside with people, and especially when other people are eating the same food as me (and, needless to say, the opposite is also true: it's very isolating and sad to be unable to enjoy food with the people I love, or to have everyone else indulging in one thing while I have a compensation prize).
 |
| the amazing spread! my tarts are the ones in paper |
If you've read other posts in which I mention the principles of food combining, you will notice that this recipe does not comply with those guidelines. I have realized that my mental and emotional health (intrinsically related to physical health) are so enriched by having 'treats' and eating with people that the minor slowing of digestion caused by 'improper' combining is barely worth blinking at.
SO! here's my recipe for gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free squash tarts/squash pudding:
Squash Pudding:
-enough for one 9" pie OR 12 tarts, plus a little extra to bake as pudding
3 cups purreed sweet meat (or other sweet) squash
3 tb xylitol (more if you eat a lot of sugar, I do not so this tasted plenty sweet to me)
3 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger powder (or fresh ginger)
1 tsp 5 spice
1 tsp salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup kefir*
12 frozen/fresh cranberries (optional - to decorate tarts)
*I use goats milk kefir that I make, because it is the only creamy product I can digest (the fermentation converts lactose into lactic acid which makes it much more digestible, but also gives it a tart flavour). Coconut milk or whole cream would offer a sweeter flavour, so feel free to use whatever works for you.
Tart/Pie crust:
-enough for a 9" pie or 12 tarts
3/4 c quinoa flour
2/3 c millet flour*
1 tb xylitol
1/2 c very cold butter
cold water
* I couldn't find any at a store so I just put some millet through a coffee grinder which I don't use coffee in.
Preheat oven to 450 F
First, cut your butter into small chunks and put it in the freezer. Mix all the pudding ingredients together and set aside. In a food processor, combine flour and xylitol. Take your butter from the freezer and add to food processor. Pulse until it is mixed and crumbly, with small bits of butter throughout. It will look very dry, and perhaps only be a doughy texture at the bottom of the processor bowl near the blades. I added some cold water (only about a teaspoon) and pulsed a bit more. Dump out 'dough' (will still look very dry) onto a plate or directly into your 9" pie plate if you're making it a pie. If you grab a handful of the mixture, you should be able to press it into a clump in your hand (if not, add a tiny bit more cold water and mix in). Press dough into pie plate or into muffin cups. Try to make sure it's evenly distributed without any super thick or super thin spots.
Take your pudding and poor into pie/tart crust(s). Fill them as high as you can without spilling. Add a cranberry to the top of each tart if you like. Pour remaining pudding into an oven safe dish.
Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce heat to 350 for another 25-30 minutes. If you put a clean knife into the center of a tart, it should come out clean. Depending on what size/shape of dish you put your extra pudding into, it may cook faster or slower.
 |
| they should look something like this, but nicer in better lighting |
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Sweet Cranberry Carrot Sauce (no sugar!) Recipe
Often recipes for preserves are inaccessible to me (see my food/restrictions list in older post), but I enjoy cooking and canning so much that I make them anyway and give them away or sell them. Every so often I find or come up with something that will work for me though, and these moments are exciting.
So when ridiculous amounts of organic carrots and limes fell into my life, I saw an opportunity. This is a recipe I developed 2 months ago when I wanted to go to a pancake breakfast and knew that the toppings would not be accessible for me. I whipped this up and was delighted with the results.
Quantities are approximate, just make it taste good to you. One thing to note is that the high amount of lime and cranberries are what makes it suitable for low pressure/time canning, but if you want it less tart just adjust your canning time or eat it fresh.
My roommate (who is a nurse) helped me geek out about food science by bringing PH strips home from the hospital so we were able to test the acidity and know how to can it appropriately. The PH was between 3 and 4, in other words it counted as a high acid food and could be canned like apple sauce or other fruit.
 |
| canned cranberry carrot sauce with the cornucopia i got from the farmers market on saturday behind |
Makes approx. 3 litres.
Ingredients:
22 cups roughly chopped carrots
2 cups frozen cranberries
a few inches of water at the bottom of your pot (for steam)
***
additional water
3 cups frozen cranberries
1 cup lime juice
zest of 5 limes
stevia powder (I use the green unprocessed kind) to taste - start small! it is very very sweet.
prep:
put your carrots and 2 cups cranberries and some water in a pot with a tight fitting lid. put on medium high heat and steam until very soft (30mins-1hr). use a hand blender (or in batches in a barrel blender) to blend until smooth. add water as necessary to make a saucey texture. I like it thick enough to heap slightly on a spoon, definitely saucey not spready.
add additional ingredients and simmer, adjusting all ingredients to taste.
eat fresh (will keep in fridge a week or so) on pancakes (I found the flavour amazing with buckwheat amaranth pancakes), ice cream, rice pudding... I've thought about trying to turn this into a cranberry carrot pie or combining it with squash for a pie filling.
Let me know how you like it!
or can it!
canning:
water bath:
in water bath canner I would follow directions for apple sauce or other high acid/fruit sauce. sterilize jars in boiling water and fill with hot water until ready to use. place lids in hot water. dump boiling water out of jars and fill with sauce leaving 1/2 inch headspace. make sure the rims of your jars are clean and place lids on and tighten rings to finger tight. put in your water bath and boil about 20 minutes with water 2 inches above tops of cans.
pressure canner:
follow instructions on your canner...
fill clean jars with hot water until ready to use. prepare lids in hot water. dump water from jars and fill with sauce, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. clean the rims and place lids and rings; tighten finger tight. place jars in canner (my canner calls for 3.5 litres hot water, check your manual) and follow canner directions. processing time 8-10 minutes.
enjoy!!
and if you're in vancouver, unceded coast salish territories and want to buy some from me for yourself or for consumer-mas gifts, please get in touch! 250ml jars $5-10 sliding scale. I used all organic ingredients.
Friday, 23 November 2012
CRAFTS FOR A CAUSE DECEMBER 1ST!
I will be selling stuff here with the Purple Thistle Centre!
canned apple butter, apple chutney, carrot cranberry sauce, raw sauerkraut and more!
Crafts for a Cause: Rhizome Cafe's5th Annual Craft Fair to Support Social Justice Struggles
Saturday December 1st, 6-10pm
Rhizome Café, 317 East Broadway, Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
pottery - soap - letterpress - textiles - posters - clothing - herbal teas & salves - knitting - tshirts- paintings- buttons - fair trade coffee - handmade toys - photography - seeds - cards - canning ...
including: no one is illegal * environmental youth alliance * rising tide * fierce green creations * la mano - ethical textiles * sam bradd designs * purple thistle * just jingo * compassion club * cafe justicia * favianna rodriguez * justpotters * claudia segovia * artists against artists * coinspire collective * more...
Free swag bags to first 15 people
$2 entrance fee (no-one turned away)
Partial proceeds from artists' sales are distributed to participating organizations
Partial proceeds from artists' sales are distributed to participating organizations
Food & drink available for purchase.
Fully licenced.
--
Come shop for holiday gifts while supporting migrant rights, youth empowerment, climate justice and more! Peruse socially conscious crafts by local artists, and items created by local organizations to support their social justice work. Rhizome's delicious food and drink will be available for purchase throughout the evening.
Participating artists and organizations include:No One is Illegal: noii-van.resist.ca/
The Purple Thistle: www.purplethistle.ca/
Environmental Youth Alliance: www.eya.ca
JustPotters: www.justwork.ca/justpotters.
Rising Tide: www.facebook.com/groups/
Compassion Club Wellness Centre: www.thecompassionclub.org/
Fair Trade Coffee from Cafe Justicia: www.cafejusticia.ca/
la mano - ethical textiles: www.lamano.ca/
Silkscreening & Linocuts by the Co!nspire Collective: http://coinspire.tumblr.com/
Wood Veneer Prints by Artists Against Artists:
www.facebook.com/pages/
Prints & Calendars by Favianna Rodriguez: www.favianna.com/
Rhizome Cafe T-Shirts and Buttons: www.rhizomecafe.ca/
Letterpress by Sam Bradd Designs: www.sambradd.com/
Photos & block prints by fierce green creations: www.etsy.com/shop/fiercegreen
One of a Kind Toys from Claudia Segovia: www.etsy.com/shop/
and Just Jingo Body Botanicals: justjingo.com/
jennifer faith boundy, ma
la mano - ethical textiles
la mano is:
- supporting the economic autonomy of women and indigenous peoples -
- assisting in the preservation of culture and traditional livelihoods -
- contributing to local community economic development -
- increasing the viability of small scale production -
- ensuring that artisans are paid a fair price for their work -
- supporting communities to maintain a stronghold on their land and on their identities -
- supporting the economic autonomy of women and indigenous peoples -
- assisting in the preservation of culture and traditional livelihoods -
- contributing to local community economic development -
- increasing the viability of small scale production -
- ensuring that artisans are paid a fair price for their work -
- supporting communities to maintain a stronghold on their land and on their identities -
Thursday, 4 October 2012
counter-culture: on demystifying food and resisting capitalist production models
(THIS ARTICLE SOON TO BE PUBLISHED IN SLUG ZINE!)
fermentation.
6 months ago, fermentation was a brand new idea to me. i had tried making kimchi once, and though i think, looking back, that my attempt was successful, at the time i was so freaked out by it that when my fermented treat gave me gas (which i now know to be a sign that it was full of good stuff that my body just wasn’t accustomed to yet) i thought i was being poisoned by evil bacteria and i threw it out.
after some reading about nutrition and healing my inner-ecosystem, i was determined to try again. in perfect timing, 2 members of the community food project eat the rich! which i’m involved in were hosting a fermentation workshop. we got together, talked about the basics of lacto-fermentation, and then dug our hands into some cabbage and made it happen. a week later, i had my first home-made sauerkraut and i was hooked.
from then on, every few weeks i would start a new batch of sauerkraut, enjoying the process of getting my hands all salty and massaging the veggies, experimenting with recipes, watching the kraut bubble and change, regularly googling “can i ferment ____??!” and getting inspired by every new idea. one day, i got home and my roommate said “i wanted to make brownies, but then i didn’t want to eat them all myself, and then i thought ‘MAYBE FIONA CAN FERMENT THEM!’” (er, that was one thing i didn’t try, just by the way)
it was becoming an obsession, or more positively, a passion.
after a few months in which i babbled about fermentation to anyone who would listen and regularly posted fuckbook statuses about the things i was trying, people started asking me if i would make extra for them. i thought about it for a long time, dreamed about having a giant crock and doing large batch, sharing with the world... i was pretty overwhelmed by the idea but excited as well. i sat with it for a long time thinking it was beyond my capacity, until one day i just started. i created a fuckbook group where i would post my most recent brew and asked people to simply comment on my post if they wanted a jar. i have been sold out for 2 months.
it’s easy to think about production and sales as a huge deal, something we need to have large capacity to do. we think about capitalist trading as it normally happens, where the producer is responsible for always making profit, always increasing capacity. fuck that! i want to make healthy food accessible to people, but i also need to do it in a way that works for me. making healthy affordable specialty foods and distributing the small amount of extra that i have is better than being overwhelmed by the idea of meeting demand and not doing anything at all, or, even worse, creating a business in which i work myself into a hate for my passion, and probably compromise quality and care along the way.
i am aware that there is a trend towards small scale specialty hipster food right now, and in some ways i am benefiting from this trend. even a few years back, my obsession would have been looked upon much less kindly than it is now. that said, i want to subvert the trendy new-age capitalism that’s accompanying the new food culture. i am not going to charge high prices just because i can (well... i might hike prices for yuppie events, but only so i can keep charging my community at cost. see you at the culture crawl!), and i do my best to be aware of and transparent about the privilege and class implications of demanding ‘high quality,’ ‘organic,’ or ‘local’ food. i ‘sell’ by sliding scale, am open to trades and i-owe-yous, and am just trying to build enough funds to do things like buy jars, maybe a crock, and... fund my upcoming tattoo, a pint at a time.
2 weeks ago, i led my first fermentation workshop. i felt like a bit of a fraud, being so new to the process and really just getting people together for a conversation and to chop fruit together. our culture really idolizes ‘teachers,’ and i felt like to be one i had to be doing something really complicated. but then, i have no interest in ‘teaching.’ i want to demystify. i want to make things as simple and manageable as they really are. i have no interest in pretending that what i do takes tons of skill and practice and that i am super special for doing it. i’m just passionate about it, and if i can share that, i will. i believe that demystifying skills is key in changing the world (read revolution, anarchy, destruction of capitalism, saving the physical world, etc) - for me, demystifying fermentation took one night in a room with some friends.
so with those lofty goals in mind, i’m going to share the recipe which we made at the workshop. it’s something i adapted from a recipe on someone elses blog, which i have enjoyed myself and had rave reviews from the folks i ‘sell’ to.
a note about lacto-fermentation and sugar: if you avoid sugars because of candida (yeast) issues, fermented fruits should be okay. i know less about other reasons to avoid sugar, but my understanding is that fermentation should negate most of them. why is this? lacto-fermentation happens when the starches and sugars (fructose, glucose, etc) in vegetables and fruit convert to lactic acid by a friendly lactic-acid producing bacteria called lactobacillus. this conversion process alters the nutrient content, pre-digests the food (making nutrients more accessible to your body!), creates enzymes that help you digest, and promotes bacteria that will actually help with issues like candidiasis. it also preserves food, so that a jar of fermented fruit or veggies in your fridge will last months instead of days like raw fresh fruit/veggies. it actually gets healthier (and many say tastier) with time.
Making fermented fruit chutney
for 1 litre jar:
-4 cups chopped fruit, ideally some core fruit like apples or pears and a few other things for colour and flavour (it’s plum season right now!)
-1 cup chopped sweet onion
-1 lemon, juiced
-1 tb grated ginger
-2 tsp kosher* salt (look for any salt without iodine, silicone, sugar... - ingredients should just be salt)
Start by boiling a big pot of water. Once it is boiling, put your big jar and a smaller one that fits inside (for a weight) into the water and let it boil 5-10 minutes. Take out and let cool on a clean surface.
Slice onions thinly, and slice thin wedges of fruit. For softer fruit like plums don’t worry about the size and shape of the pieces. Mix the fruit, salt, lemon juice and ginger. Pack the mixture into your sterilized large jar. The juices should cover the top (press down with your fist) of the solid fruit. Put a smaller jar on top to weight any chunks down (expansion will happen in the next few days, so if you find that the jar is floating and needs more weight, just fill it with water and press down - check it daily and press it down when necessary). Cover with a plastic bag to deter fruit flies, and leave out for 3-6 days (depending how warm the room is and how sour you like it). Taste it, it should be barely sweet if at all, perhaps a bit fizzy feeling, and very delicious. Put a lid on it but don’t seal it airtight as it will continue to expand slightly, and put in the refrigerator. This is better eaten within a few months, so don’t make huge batches and share it with your friends if you have too much!
Basic Fermentation Precautions
1. Sterilize tools as much as possible. Boiliing jars and tools in hot water for a few minutes is a good way to do this. Use glass or stainless steel, ideally. (it can get hot and doesn't off-gas carcinogens)
2. Don't kill your good bacteria! Some things you wouldn't expect will kill your culture (chlorinated water, iodine in salt, bergamot in earl grey tea). Also don't cook it, if beneficial bacteria is what you’re after!
3. If it seems weird, it just might be no good. Use your senses and your brain. Common indicators of problems are: mold, discoloration, funky smells.
Basic Lacto-Fermentation Factors
1. Temperature
2. Time
3. Amount of fermentable material
4. Amount of salt
have fun experimenting!
fermentation.
6 months ago, fermentation was a brand new idea to me. i had tried making kimchi once, and though i think, looking back, that my attempt was successful, at the time i was so freaked out by it that when my fermented treat gave me gas (which i now know to be a sign that it was full of good stuff that my body just wasn’t accustomed to yet) i thought i was being poisoned by evil bacteria and i threw it out.
after some reading about nutrition and healing my inner-ecosystem, i was determined to try again. in perfect timing, 2 members of the community food project eat the rich! which i’m involved in were hosting a fermentation workshop. we got together, talked about the basics of lacto-fermentation, and then dug our hands into some cabbage and made it happen. a week later, i had my first home-made sauerkraut and i was hooked.
from then on, every few weeks i would start a new batch of sauerkraut, enjoying the process of getting my hands all salty and massaging the veggies, experimenting with recipes, watching the kraut bubble and change, regularly googling “can i ferment ____??!” and getting inspired by every new idea. one day, i got home and my roommate said “i wanted to make brownies, but then i didn’t want to eat them all myself, and then i thought ‘MAYBE FIONA CAN FERMENT THEM!’” (er, that was one thing i didn’t try, just by the way)
it was becoming an obsession, or more positively, a passion.
after a few months in which i babbled about fermentation to anyone who would listen and regularly posted fuckbook statuses about the things i was trying, people started asking me if i would make extra for them. i thought about it for a long time, dreamed about having a giant crock and doing large batch, sharing with the world... i was pretty overwhelmed by the idea but excited as well. i sat with it for a long time thinking it was beyond my capacity, until one day i just started. i created a fuckbook group where i would post my most recent brew and asked people to simply comment on my post if they wanted a jar. i have been sold out for 2 months.
it’s easy to think about production and sales as a huge deal, something we need to have large capacity to do. we think about capitalist trading as it normally happens, where the producer is responsible for always making profit, always increasing capacity. fuck that! i want to make healthy food accessible to people, but i also need to do it in a way that works for me. making healthy affordable specialty foods and distributing the small amount of extra that i have is better than being overwhelmed by the idea of meeting demand and not doing anything at all, or, even worse, creating a business in which i work myself into a hate for my passion, and probably compromise quality and care along the way.
i am aware that there is a trend towards small scale specialty hipster food right now, and in some ways i am benefiting from this trend. even a few years back, my obsession would have been looked upon much less kindly than it is now. that said, i want to subvert the trendy new-age capitalism that’s accompanying the new food culture. i am not going to charge high prices just because i can (well... i might hike prices for yuppie events, but only so i can keep charging my community at cost. see you at the culture crawl!), and i do my best to be aware of and transparent about the privilege and class implications of demanding ‘high quality,’ ‘organic,’ or ‘local’ food. i ‘sell’ by sliding scale, am open to trades and i-owe-yous, and am just trying to build enough funds to do things like buy jars, maybe a crock, and... fund my upcoming tattoo, a pint at a time.
2 weeks ago, i led my first fermentation workshop. i felt like a bit of a fraud, being so new to the process and really just getting people together for a conversation and to chop fruit together. our culture really idolizes ‘teachers,’ and i felt like to be one i had to be doing something really complicated. but then, i have no interest in ‘teaching.’ i want to demystify. i want to make things as simple and manageable as they really are. i have no interest in pretending that what i do takes tons of skill and practice and that i am super special for doing it. i’m just passionate about it, and if i can share that, i will. i believe that demystifying skills is key in changing the world (read revolution, anarchy, destruction of capitalism, saving the physical world, etc) - for me, demystifying fermentation took one night in a room with some friends.
so with those lofty goals in mind, i’m going to share the recipe which we made at the workshop. it’s something i adapted from a recipe on someone elses blog, which i have enjoyed myself and had rave reviews from the folks i ‘sell’ to.
a note about lacto-fermentation and sugar: if you avoid sugars because of candida (yeast) issues, fermented fruits should be okay. i know less about other reasons to avoid sugar, but my understanding is that fermentation should negate most of them. why is this? lacto-fermentation happens when the starches and sugars (fructose, glucose, etc) in vegetables and fruit convert to lactic acid by a friendly lactic-acid producing bacteria called lactobacillus. this conversion process alters the nutrient content, pre-digests the food (making nutrients more accessible to your body!), creates enzymes that help you digest, and promotes bacteria that will actually help with issues like candidiasis. it also preserves food, so that a jar of fermented fruit or veggies in your fridge will last months instead of days like raw fresh fruit/veggies. it actually gets healthier (and many say tastier) with time.
Making fermented fruit chutney
for 1 litre jar:
-4 cups chopped fruit, ideally some core fruit like apples or pears and a few other things for colour and flavour (it’s plum season right now!)
-1 cup chopped sweet onion
-1 lemon, juiced
-1 tb grated ginger
-2 tsp kosher* salt (look for any salt without iodine, silicone, sugar... - ingredients should just be salt)
Start by boiling a big pot of water. Once it is boiling, put your big jar and a smaller one that fits inside (for a weight) into the water and let it boil 5-10 minutes. Take out and let cool on a clean surface.
Slice onions thinly, and slice thin wedges of fruit. For softer fruit like plums don’t worry about the size and shape of the pieces. Mix the fruit, salt, lemon juice and ginger. Pack the mixture into your sterilized large jar. The juices should cover the top (press down with your fist) of the solid fruit. Put a smaller jar on top to weight any chunks down (expansion will happen in the next few days, so if you find that the jar is floating and needs more weight, just fill it with water and press down - check it daily and press it down when necessary). Cover with a plastic bag to deter fruit flies, and leave out for 3-6 days (depending how warm the room is and how sour you like it). Taste it, it should be barely sweet if at all, perhaps a bit fizzy feeling, and very delicious. Put a lid on it but don’t seal it airtight as it will continue to expand slightly, and put in the refrigerator. This is better eaten within a few months, so don’t make huge batches and share it with your friends if you have too much!
Basic Fermentation Precautions
1. Sterilize tools as much as possible. Boiliing jars and tools in hot water for a few minutes is a good way to do this. Use glass or stainless steel, ideally. (it can get hot and doesn't off-gas carcinogens)
2. Don't kill your good bacteria! Some things you wouldn't expect will kill your culture (chlorinated water, iodine in salt, bergamot in earl grey tea). Also don't cook it, if beneficial bacteria is what you’re after!
3. If it seems weird, it just might be no good. Use your senses and your brain. Common indicators of problems are: mold, discoloration, funky smells.
Basic Lacto-Fermentation Factors
1. Temperature
2. Time
3. Amount of fermentable material
4. Amount of salt
have fun experimenting!
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