tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24526352357506716032024-03-13T14:37:18.343-05:00Rubus-RaspberrySoil. Food. Culture.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-70254013482310045102012-01-14T13:31:00.000-06:002012-01-14T13:31:01.777-06:00New Site!Rubus Raspberry has moved. <br />
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I am working on a new blog; Same name, new site: <a data-mce-href="http://rubusraspberry.com/" href="http://rubusraspberry.com/">http://rubusraspberry.com/</a>. I will have a little more room to expand. I have a good start but I still need to work out some kinks. <br />
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I want to thank you guys for reading the blog, I think you're awesome!Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-48714406413434186942012-01-11T01:11:00.000-06:002012-01-11T01:11:19.965-06:00French Toast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_2HpT8Gd8DVAihU9lSsOmqAO6BwK_OAYRg9ai4SgBe1v-mSGKxjb-lM9jFP4jUViYOIfiD7dhyphenhyphenED8Go92NamoUNpzjSYhn4-TTmyE6L9t8gAvHeeB0jG-_kD4L53Gc9xblEvxhLiRERU/s1600/DarkDays_11-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_2HpT8Gd8DVAihU9lSsOmqAO6BwK_OAYRg9ai4SgBe1v-mSGKxjb-lM9jFP4jUViYOIfiD7dhyphenhyphenED8Go92NamoUNpzjSYhn4-TTmyE6L9t8gAvHeeB0jG-_kD4L53Gc9xblEvxhLiRERU/s320/DarkDays_11-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It was down to two recipes this week for the <a href="http://urbanhennery.com/2011/11/darkdays/">Dark Days</a> Challenge: French Toast or Chicken Alfredo. I chose the french toast and I'm thinking of doing the chicken alfredo next week. I did make a run to the co-op for bread and bacon. I got the bacon from Pastures A Plenty and the sourdough bread from New French Bakery. <br />
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I am a pancake man and I have always been a pancake man... or boy when I was younger. I have made french toast a time or two in my life but I normally stick with pancakes. I might just have to switch over to french toast. It is a lot easier to make and it feeds that same craving. I made the batter for the bread with some half&half and 2 eggs. I cut the bread into 1/4" slices and dipped it into the batter. It cooked pretty fast. While doing that I baked the bacon at 350. When I cooked all the french toasted I cooked a couple eggs for the fun of it.<br />
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I normally don't eat breakfast and I haven't had a fried egg in a long time. It was a very nice treat. The sourdough was wonderful! The bacon topped with some local maple syrup...yum. Amara even had a couple slices of the french toast.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0Eu90SBBxnA_FyU6c9dSQme3ATq5MaJv_12gGfAUYH4bAd3I_l27_inxqnQ18gZ9uv20LLOh6vP9lBzOoVcUyS0i3LIIJh75Vk4-VKgVdKPg9vGdb7DJEiabjlTwj3zMWYT44tkDfuCQ/s1600/IMG_2430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0Eu90SBBxnA_FyU6c9dSQme3ATq5MaJv_12gGfAUYH4bAd3I_l27_inxqnQ18gZ9uv20LLOh6vP9lBzOoVcUyS0i3LIIJh75Vk4-VKgVdKPg9vGdb7DJEiabjlTwj3zMWYT44tkDfuCQ/s320/IMG_2430.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-9910621799349174872012-01-05T09:56:00.009-06:002012-01-05T15:02:56.564-06:00PastaGrowing up I would ask my parents to make lasagna and they always told me no. I asked why and they said it was too difficult to make. As an adult, I have never made lasagna because I thought it would be too difficult to make. You have: meat and sauce and noodles and cheese and more cheese and baking and left overs... Well for one of my Dark Days post I would like to make a lasagna from scratch. Well, as unprocessed as possible; meaning I need to make my own noodles. I guess I won't try to make the cheese...this time!<br />
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I found a couple videos on Youtube to make your own pasta. Man, there are some fancy pasta makers out there! I don't have a pasta maker, so I am doing it by hand. This year I really would like to get two things for my kitchen. 1. A Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Yes... I know, it is a must have. I need the ice cream maker attachment too... I have some wild ideas! 2. A dutch oven. A Lodge cast iron 7 quart dutch oven to be specific. I do most of my cooking on cast iron. <br />
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Back to the pasta. The recipe is like 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 egg and salt. Mix the flour and salt, add a beaten egg and mix up until it makes a ball. Then knead for a couple minutes and roll out to as thin as you want. Finally cut it into noodles. Simple stuff. I made pasta once like this and I can remember not being too impressed.<br />
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I think it's funny that when we think of pasta it's always the cheap dried crap down the grocery aisle. You can pick up a pound of dried pasta noodles for a buck. There is the whole wheat kind or the fancy imported kind for around two bucks. That's it. It seams like they all taste the same. I have never known anyone to regularly make their own noodles.<br />
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If you can get a recipe that works for you, think of some of the possibilities: Stuffed ravioli- OK, you could do a traditional thing like spinach and olive oil. BUT what if you got crazy and did a wild green and wild mushroom stuffed ravioli. Or another possibility- You are at home you want a spaghetti and you don't have noodles. You would have the know how to make a quick batch of noodles. (Not to mention Asian stuff or soups!)<br />
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My noodles turned out. They were a little too thick. They would have made a good noodle for an Alfredo, but not for spaghetti. I thought I rolled them out pretty thin... I will need to experiment with different flours too. I cooked them for 3 minutes and tossed them with some butter, olive oil, salt, pepper and Parmesan. It made for a quick meal and a good first attempt on noodle making. I am one step closer to that local lasagna. Maybe I should have my parents over for dinner that night...Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-6286751050168635572012-01-03T14:14:00.005-06:002012-01-03T16:25:57.759-06:00Roast Chicken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PpQ5XqDdk7A/TwNmrghqk1I/AAAAAAAAANo/wJzVwmat9L4/s1600/DarkDays_11-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PpQ5XqDdk7A/TwNmrghqk1I/AAAAAAAAANo/wJzVwmat9L4/s320/DarkDays_11-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://urbanhennery.com/2011/11/darkdays/">Dark Days</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I have had two chicken in my freezer for months. One that I processed last summer and the other one I got at the co-op late last summer. Buying local meat can get expensive. Buying whole chickens makes more sense than buying a cut up chicken or chicken breasts. But then you are left with a whole chicken you need to cut up or cook. Let's face it: The more an animal is processed the easier it is to eat. If I had to cut those short ribs off a cow carcass last week there is no way I would have enjoyed them. <br />
When planning this meal I knew I had all the ingredients. One of the cool things about eating locally is that your pantry, freezer and frig fills up with local food. I didn't have to make my lovely trip to the co-op to make this meal. <br />
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Roast Chicken! That's where I started. I know you need a chicken, a oven, a pan of some sort, some butchers twine and some spices. But how long does the chicken cook and at what temperature? That's where my idol, Anthony Bourdain comes in. He made a 'Techniques Special' for No Reservations. I did a youtube search and found the roast chicken clip. Thomas Keller walked me through how to simply roast a chicken. Then I went to my kitchen to put it to practice.<br />
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I did it a little different than Thomas Keller did. I cut up some veggies to roast with the bird. I cut up a carrot, two onions, and three potatoes...all local. I added them to my cast iron cooking pan. Then I added some butter and a drizzle of sunflower oil. Then I went to cut the wishbone out of my chicken and found it was already gone. I rinsed it out and seasoned it generously with salt and pepper.<br />
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I plopped the chicken on top of the veggies and went to find my butchers twine. No luck! I have three young daughters that like to make girly things, such as necklaces and bracelets. Stuff I don't understand being a raised with no siblings. So somewhere a pretty little doll is wearing my butchers twine. I use the butchers twine to truss the chicken so the bird evenly cooks. You basically tie the legs and the wings into the body. Finally I tossed it in my oven at 400... without being trussed! <br />
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I took the wonderful-ness out of the oven and set in on the counter. It cooked for about 45 minutes. It smelled and looked done. I put a thermometer in it and it was at 180, so it was plenty done. I picked at a few potatoes while letting the chicken set for 10 minutes. I cut off a breast and plated some veggies. At this point is when you are happy you took out that wishbone. Taking the wishbone out helps get those wonderful breasts off the bird easier.<br />
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I sat down at the table and gave out nothing but grunts of approval. It was very good. It was up there with the braised short ribs. What made it so good was the quality of the local free range chicken and the butter I put over the veggies.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-64329431182765298982011-12-31T03:13:00.014-06:002011-12-31T04:47:29.855-06:002011 BooksGrowing up I didn't like to read. I still don't like to admit I like to read. It was my goal this year to read 12 books. I just might have done it. I want to share the books I have spent time with this year. Some are field guides and cookbooks so I can't say I read them cover to cover, but I used them well.<br />
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Top to bottom...due to size:<br />
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Folk Medicine- D.C. Jarvis.<br />
I will save you from reading this one. He basically says that one drink will make your health a ton better. Seriously, if you have any heath problems- try it. The drink is: 1 cup good water, a tablespoon of raw honey and a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar. Drink it regularly for at least a week. I have the apple cider vinegar and honey on hand at all times and use it when I feel like I should.<br />
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Peterson Field Guides- Medicinal Plants and Herbs AND Edible Wild Plants.<br />
These books go hand in hand. I've gotten some good recipes and ideas from these books. Every time I read from them I become a more educated forager.<br />
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The Forager's Harvest- Samuel Thayer.<br />
Samuel has two books and a dvd. Dude-is-it! He lives in Wisconsin and he forages. He has a ton of knowledge and experience. <br />
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Stalking the Wild Asparagus- Euell Gibbons.<br />
This is a classic foraging book. He is a old dude that has a lot of practical information. A must read for foragers. The first copy came out in 1962.<br />
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Farm City- Novella Carpenter. <br />
Super funny book! Novella lives in the hood in Oakland, CA. She squats on land and made a true urban farm. Wonderful book!!! I had to re-read this book this year, it was too good. I made Kristina read it too.<br />
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Stealth of Nations- Robert Neuwirth.<br />
I haven't gotten all the way through this one, I'm reading it now. It's about the informal economy.<br />
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Healing Secrets of the Native Americans- Porter Shimer.<br />
This is a pretty basic book of Native American healing herbs and healing traditions. We have a lot to learn from Native Americans.<br />
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The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Moments AND Wild Fermentation- Sandor Ellix Katz.<br />
The first book is a must read for anyone reading my blog. Must read! Title says it all.<br />
The second book is a 'cookbook' for live cultured foods.<br />
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Guerrilla Gardening: A manualfesto- David Tracey<br />
Practical ideas on how and why to guerrilla garden.<br />
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Hunt, Gather, Cook- Hank Shaw.<br />
This book has a lot of hunting, foraging and cooking information. It's a good book to expand your food horizons.<br />
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Nourishing Traditions- Sally Fallon.<br />
Buy it!<br />
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The Herbal Medicine-Makers Handbook- James Green.<br />
Herbal Medicine.<br />
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Seed to Seed- Suzanne Ashworth.<br />
Shows you how to save seeds from your vegetable garden. This is knowledge we all should have.<br />
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The Locavore's Handbook AND Botany, Ballet and Dinner from Scratch- Leda Meredith.<br />
Leda is a locavore that lives in New York City. The first book is a good guide to being a locavore. The second book has stories and recipes- I really enjoyed this book! After reading 'The Locavore's Handbook,' I did a search for locavores in Minnesota and found: <a href="http://www.mnlocavore.com/">mnlocavore.com</a>. This is a great blog for practical resources and recipes on local Minnesota food. <br />
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A website worth putting out there. <a href="http://www.danielvitalis.com/">Daniel Vitalis</a> is a very good looking guy that lives in Maine. He gained popularity from youtube. He has started a few projects the past couple of years. He does a lot of talking about rewilding yourself- becoming closer to nature. Almost a step past foraging. He is a little different but I like hearing him talk. He has a lot of videos on youtube and interviews at <a href="http://www.oneradionetwork.com/category/daniel-vitalis/">oneradionetwork.com</a>. He does sell a few products, so I keep that in mind when he is talking... <br />
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Here are a couple books I want to get for 2012.<br />
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Novella Carpenter has a book that just came out called 'The Essential Urban Farmer.' I think it's more how-to than stories, but I will support anything Novella does. <br />
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Daniel Klein has a movie out! 'What Are We Doing Here?' Watch the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW20gHstfzU">trailer</a>. Dude is awesome! The more I find out about him... he blows me away. A must see movie. Daniel also does <a href="http://www.theperennialplate.com/">The Perennial Plate</a>. <br />
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I am looking for suggestions on books or documentaries about food related stuff. What are some of your favorites?Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-27109182117122354712011-12-28T00:58:00.006-06:002011-12-29T00:31:42.466-06:00Braised Short Ribs (Part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iPjVZ9dfbFc/TvlFm6H-rRI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/RFiS8DR8gzI/s1600/ddc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iPjVZ9dfbFc/TvlFm6H-rRI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/RFiS8DR8gzI/s1600/ddc.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://urbanhennery.com/2011/11/darkdays/">Dark Days</a><br />
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Part 2 of 2. <a href="http://rubus-raspberry.blogspot.com/2011/12/co-op-wha-haha-part-1.html">Here</a> is part 1. <br />
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The Braised Short Ribs<br />
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I bought less than 1.5 pounds of the short ribs so my recipe isn't as big as what I'm going off. I used 3 pieces of bacon and cooked them in a 5 quart, heavy bottom pot. As the bacon was cooking I covered the short ribs in spelt flour. <br />
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I then browned the meat in only the bacon juice. I took out the meat and added some butter. I got local hand rolled butter, so I really don't know how much I put in... maybe like half a stick!? By that time I had a medium carrot- diced. Along with a small onion and a shallot- also diced. This is my first time cooking with a shallot. I added the veggies to the pot to start to cook them.<br />
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When the veggies were looking slightly browned I added my homemade wine. The wine I have is naturally carbonated, sweet and low in alcohol. I brought that to a boil and added my non-local spices- thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper and two bay leaves.<br />
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At the point I ran to my chest freezer and grab a pint of turkey stock from the local Thanksgiving turkey and put that in the pot. When that just came to a boil I added the short ribs and put in the cut up bacon pieces, covered and set in my oven at 350.<br />
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The liquid was very dark. It was looking wonderful when I put it in. The recipe says to cook at 350 for 2 hours and turn the heat down to 325 the last 45 minutes or so.<br />
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Just after I put the pot in the oven I remembered I didn't add a pepper. While at the co-op I was thinking BBQ sauce and I found dried local peppers. Lately I have been craving smoked peppers in a dish, so I wanted to add a dried pepper to this dish. I took the pepper out of the bag and it sounded like a rattle. I cut half of it up and put it in the pot saving as many seeds as I could. By spring I should have a lot of seeds. I want to plant those seeds to see if I can get more peppers. I don't know the drying process, but it is worth a shot to see if the seeds survived. As a locavore that buys legit food you need to be thinking of getting food in the future AND for a decent price. I paid $2.99 for those peppers, if they grow I could potentially have peppers for years. (Not including the cost of growing and preserving them.)<br />
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I made the mashed potatoes. Then I took the short ribs out 2.5 hours later. These things are no joke. They looked awesome and smelled wonderful. I laid down some potatoes, the short ribs with some of the veggies and that sweet, sweet juice. Let it cool and dug in. I might need to go back up to the co-op for more short ribs. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8-xkof3-nao/TvpEAR4vXFI/AAAAAAAAALQ/4Zcl1wfQg6o/s1600/IMG_2342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8-xkof3-nao/TvpEAR4vXFI/AAAAAAAAALQ/4Zcl1wfQg6o/s320/IMG_2342.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-10543575067667654642011-12-28T00:57:00.004-06:002011-12-28T01:11:30.023-06:00The Co-op... Wha Haha! (Part 1)The Co-op...Wha haha haha haha!!! <br />
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Part 1 of 2. <a href="http://rubus-raspberry.blogspot.com/2011/12/braised-short-ribs-part-2.html">Here</a> is part 2.<br />
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For those of you that don't know, I am doing a local eating challenge called the <a href="http://urbanhennery.com/2011/11/darkdays/">Dark Days</a> Challenge. Once a week I need to prepare a meal from sustainable, organic, local and ethically raised food- then blog about it. My first few post were a challenge due to the Daniel Fast and my cooking skills were not able to shine.<br />
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I feel I have been taking the easy way out by going to the co-op and buying what the co-op calls 'local food,' making a so-so dish and blogging about it. This week was a bit more fun. I was able to buy some meat; My Daniel Fast is over.<br />
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The past few weeks I have had "Braised Short Ribs" running through my head. I have never had them or made them. I have just felt inspired to make them. I love BBQ ribs! Love them! With this type of rib I feel they are more Asian?! Maybe? At the co-op I bought the short ribs, more sunflower oil, spelt flour, butter, carrots and some hot peppers- all local. I was thinking I was going to make a BBQ sauce to cook the ribs in. I was trying to think of what I had that was local to make the sauce. All I was missing was some vinegar.<br />
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From watching Food Network I knew I would have to slow cook the short ribs in some sauce. I just needed to know: what type of sauce, how long...etc. When I came home from the co-op I looked up recipes for braised short ribs and found an awesome one at <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/braised-short-ribs-heaven-on-a-plate/">The Pioneer Woman</a>. This recipe did not have any type of BBQ sauce, but I could work with all ingredients. I am adapting this recipe for the short ribs and using her recipe for creamy mashed potatoes to complete the meal.<br />
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After looking at the recipes, I found I was a few ingredients short. So, I went back up to the co-op. On the drive up there I knew I had <i>all of the ingredients at home</i>, but they were not local. I was planning on only buying only two of the ingredients using the other two non-local ingredients because I didn't want to pay for their local counterparts.<br />
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I like my co-op, but every time I say the word "co-op," my wife cringes. She knows the food is better for you, but she also knows it costs twice as much. I have put A LOT of thought in becoming a locavore, but realized it is something I cannot do at this time.<br />
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I have been married for ten years and I have three daughters. I have a few points with this. (1.) All five of us will not always agree on food. (2.) The money will not always be there to get sustainable, organic, local and ethically raised food. (3.) This diet is something my wife and I have to be in complete agreement with.<br />
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Becoming a locavore is not something to take lightly. There are responsibilities. You will need to eat seasonally, preserve food, grow <i>some</i> food, FORAGE, visit farms or farmers, do a lot of meal work yourself and be a very thorough planner. Did I mention you need mad discipline? <br />
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That's why I'm saying I have been doing a very basic job getting my food. I have been going to the co-op, buying food that has the "buy local" sticker next to the price tag and cooking a simple meal. I feel I am not taking the responsibility in gathering my food. I know there is a ton more to eating local. I want this challenge to mean something. To go through the dark days of eating locally means preparing extensively for the dark days.<br />
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I have some preserved food. We had a garden last year and I knew I had to save as much as I could. We have pumpkins, tomatoes, wine, pickles and jams. If I knew I was going to go through the winter months as a locavore, my spring, summer and fall would be filled with doing as much as I could to make these dark days as pleasant as they could be. <br />
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When I got to the co-op I did buy all four ingredients I needed for the meal, so beyond the seasonings it will be a local meal. When I got home I looked in the fridge and found the non-local ingredients. I was a bit irritated by feeling I was wasting resources, but understanding the motions of eating locally. I told my wife and she had a 'thanks for wasting our precious money' laugh.<br />
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<a href="http://rubus-raspberry.blogspot.com/2011/12/braised-short-ribs-part-2.html">Part 2</a>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-61375214205152404522011-12-26T21:10:00.013-06:002012-01-03T14:27:10.818-06:00One YearIt's been a year since I started this blog. I feel it's a good time to evaluate what I have posted and where I would like to take this blog.<br />
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Looking back at my posts I like the realness in them. I write what's on my mind and I write what I want. I like the recipes and the questions I ask.<br />
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What I have questioned with this blog is if I write too much. Like I just need to be told to, "Shut the F up." Like I have too many questions, too many ideas, or views... I can't be the only one with the questions I have. I can't be the only one that struggles with diets. I can't be the only one that is sort-of weird. I can't be the only one that wants to write stories from their life. I know I'm not the only one, but are there people around <i>here</i> that feel that way?<br />
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I question if I should sell out somewhat (to myself) and get more professional photos and a more professional looking blog. Do more home cook recipes and restaurant reviews. You know, come over to the center a little bit to be pleasing to a larger group of people...<br />
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I feel I have some good ideas for future posts. I want to look into unconventional meat: rabbits, pheasants, geese, bison, lamb, goat, duck. Stuff that I can get at local small farms. Daniel, dude from the <a href="http://www.theperennialplate.com/">The Perennial Plate</a>, did such an awesome job his first season (And second season). I could not even being to compete with him. Most of my ideas come from his video series. I would love to buy a whole lamb carcass. Go to a bison farm. Catch a wild bird with a net... dude is awesome. I even called the rabbit farm he visited a year ago to get a tour and to buy a few bunnies. LTD farm, where I got my turkey, was one of his videos. And on top of all that, homeboy can cook. He ain't no home cook! <br />
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Other ideas! I have to do a Laarb redemption, no question!... More foraging... More homecook stuff... Interviews. I would like to do a interview, but I don't know how to get it on the blog- I have very little experience interviewing... Chicken n' waffle party...<br />
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I would love to do some illegal stuff too! Like trying to buy raw milk... Sell pizzas straight out' my kitchen. I was thinking this next summer I could make 20 pizzas from scratch and sell them one night for cheap. I would need help from a few of you. By helping me make the pizzas or coming over and buying them. I really want to encourage the informal economy when it comes to food... I want to try some guerrilla gardening stuff. I would need help with that also...<br />
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Grow more medicinal plants...<br />
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Doing some sort-of fast. Like a local only, or FORAGE AND GROW only fast- Thanks, <a href="http://ghosttownfarm.wordpress.com/">Novella Carpenter</a>! She does illegal things and swears! Her and Anthony Bourdain are my two biggest influences for this blog; FYI... <br />
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So I have ideas... We will just have to see how things go. I just don't know if my ideas are too much, or if they are worth trying to do. I am not trying to be a clean, professional, appeal to a large group blog. I am slightly different and I am seeing I need some encouragement, but I'm excited for 2012.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-84233754660204812842011-12-21T12:38:00.003-06:002011-12-22T09:38:47.624-06:00Sweet Potato Fries and Butternut Squash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-2hNWS1PPupfJ0Lg-NTg-MopPdJTQuaeFPGjodJid5NRq7IGTVzUa4XLV9zckae_xUi68Q1mPDV73163InA9zYWYksLOVIfYUY_dD8GuiiLN-VJuL5kkgITQRnGJcxtNr8wnmatsRYHE/s1600/DarkDays_11-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-2hNWS1PPupfJ0Lg-NTg-MopPdJTQuaeFPGjodJid5NRq7IGTVzUa4XLV9zckae_xUi68Q1mPDV73163InA9zYWYksLOVIfYUY_dD8GuiiLN-VJuL5kkgITQRnGJcxtNr8wnmatsRYHE/s320/DarkDays_11-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The third <a href="http://urbanhennery.com/2011/11/darkdays/">Dark Days</a> post, nice! The first two posts were a challenge and I felt like the recipes sucked because of my <a href="http://rubus-raspberry.blogspot.com/2011/12/local-food-and-fasting.html">Daniel Fast</a>. This will be the last week of my Daniel Fast! I am making a lunch for myself with a butternut squash and a sweet potato. I will be slightly breaking my Daniel Fast with some local maple syrup and frying the potatoes. I bought the sweet potato and the butternut squash from the co-op; they had the "buy local" sticker next to them. They are both local with-in the rules of the challenge. <br />
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I cut the top half of the butternut squash off and used it in a soup for my last Dark Days post. I like to roast the lower half of the squash. I just cut it down the center. I leave all the guts and seeds inside. I typically eat everything including the skin.<br />
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With the sweet potato I tried something new. I normally cut the potato into fries and bake them for a half hour, take them out, mix them up and put them back in the oven until brown. I have done this several dozen times and I never REALLY like them, so I will finish them off by frying them in some sunflower oil.<br />
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To get started I cut the potato into 1/4"x1/4" fries and let them soak in cold water for a few hours. I drained the water and coated them with sunflower oil and spread them out on a baking sheet. I then roasted them at 350 for 40 minutes.<br />
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During this time I cut the squash down the center. Slightly oiled a baking sheet putting the squash inside down and roasting it at 350 for 45 minutes while cooking the sweet potato fries. I took out the squash when it was the color I like. I took out the fries when the bottoms were starting to brown and set aside.<br />
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I pan fried the fries in the sunflower oil. This is one of my first times using that type of oil and I found out it has a lower smoking point than what I am use to.<br />
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The fries turned out awesome. The texture was very good; soft in the middle and a crunchy outside. Sweet and yes, salty... I had to salt them! The squash was very good too! I poured some maple syrup on it and salted it. It's been a while since I've had a squash, so it was a nice treat.<br />
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</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-4186102378715066132011-12-19T17:24:00.003-06:002011-12-20T00:45:47.919-06:00LaarbSoil. Food. Culture.<br />
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The culture I have written about here has been about a broad group of Americans, which is not what I originally envisioned for this blog. I have become more and more interested in exploring the diverse groups of people that live in the Twin Cities. Food is a huge way you can explore a culture but I can't explore culture solely by eating at a restaurant. I need to be more involved with that culture.<br />
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Asian culture has had my attention for the last 12 years. With all the books I have read on Asian cooking I will not start to really understand Asian food until I get in the kitchen with an Asian. <br />
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In Saint Paul we have a large Hmong population. Hmong culture is very interesting to me and I have slowly been learning more about it for years. I have one of very few Hmong <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Heart-Hmong-Kitchen-America/dp/0816653267/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324113092&sr=8-1">cookbooks</a>. It is a great insight to the Hmong kitchen and culture. I work with three Hmong guys and I love to ask questions about their culture.<br />
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One day I had a very nice conversation with a co-worker. He told me a brief history of the Hmong people and their language. I asked this co-worker if there were any Hmong restaurants around. He told me you have to go to the Hmong markets to get real Hmong food.<br />
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As a sort of Bizarre Foods challenge, my co-worker asked if I have very eaten stomach. I told him I was very unadventurous when it came to meat and told him I have not. He then told me about a dish called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larb">laarb</a>- (I am spelling it the way he told me to.) It's pronounced: La. It's made with tripe. I told him we need to go out and have some laarb. <br />
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Yesterday he sent me a text saying he would pick my wife and I up some laarb. When I got to work and he had the laarb AND another staple dish of his culture, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Som_tam">papaya salad</a>. I gratefully took the gift and told him my wife and I would have a wonderful lunch the next day.<br />
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The next day I made some rice and Kristina picked up some egg rolls at the Asian market up the street. I warmed up the laarb to just above room temperature and the papaya salad to room temperature. Kristina dished out a little for us both. I took a cellphone picture of my wife and I with the food and sent it to my co-worker thanking him for the treat.<br />
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At this point does it really matter what I thought of it? No it doesn't- I'll tell you why. My co-worker gave me this special treat so I could learn more about his culture. I cannot take these national dishes and say anything but good about them- It would be like saying bad things about Hmong culture. I could easily wrap up this post singing the praises of this laarb and papaya salad meal.<br />
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With that being said- I feel you deserve the truth. The truth isn't about Hmong culture or Hmong food. It is about me and how I enjoyed my gift. I want to view myself as a Anthony Bourdain wanna-be. If he can eat what he eats and tough it out so can I, right? There are a few differences between Tony and I. 1. He is paid well to travel the world eating food. 2. The cook is in his face waiting his reply. 3. There is also a camera in his face and he has a reputation to uphold. I didn't have the same pressure to chew, swallow and smile politely. <br />
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I sat down to my plate of white rice, laarb, papaya salad and a egg roll. Kristina dug right in and I cut a small piece of tripe. I loaded my fork with rice, burying the tripe and put it in my mouth. I tried to chew. I got my teeth around the meat and started to press down until juice started to come out of it. I envisioned the intestines and juices. I ran to the garbage almost barfing all over my kitchen. I couldn't get it out of my mouth quick enough.<br />
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I sat back down to try the papaya salad. I thought, 'This is just fruit and vegetables, I can do this.' It didn't hesitate and put it in my mouth. I chewed and tasted like very hot spice and fish sauce. I ran back to my best friend the garbage can, gagging along the way. I not a big fan of really spicy stuff and I have never liked anything from water. My co-worker did warn me the salad was spicy. With a follow-up that he did not think it was all that spicy.<br />
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I sat back down to the table with tears in my eyes from gagging. Kristina was like, "WTF; Mr. 'It's an honor to eat this food?' You're spitting out the Hmong culture!" I was in shock to my reaction to the food. My wife is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionary_Kids">Missionary Kid</a> from Taiwan and she is more tolerant to food then I am. I am a giant wuss! She was able to eat a descent amount without any bad reactions. <br />
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When my co-worker asks, I will tell him. 'My wife and I enjoyed the meal. It wasn't what we are use to. It was a different texture and spicy.' I will politely leave out the part with the gagging and the spitting and the garbage can and the rising out my mouth... My co-worker doesn't know about the blog!<br />
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If you are asking, 'What about the Daniel Fast?'I have a rule where I can break the fast if I am invited to a meal or a special occasion. <br />
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The laarb was a gift and an honor to receive. I am very appreciative to my co-worker for showing me more of his culture. Through this I realize things aren't as easy and cut and dry as they seem. I do hope I can go to a Hmong market with my co-worker to try more Hmong food. If that happens I will be more emotionally prepared to try different foods.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-49750487456315971592011-12-14T16:30:00.001-06:002011-12-15T00:20:11.322-06:00Dark Days Soup #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPCBnmmzxkGK2YpSY8Xi7AKVJvrLzZDF-_nVV74JGpUjT3A2-aiWHR8AdqfgwP35L3yHjYk-1TrLH4J-9OXTglCw2sI_T3MuZOOY36DL3S3P9EyDkqcw8r-602qxrEb8YXQ99Ywz05Say/s1600/ddc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPCBnmmzxkGK2YpSY8Xi7AKVJvrLzZDF-_nVV74JGpUjT3A2-aiWHR8AdqfgwP35L3yHjYk-1TrLH4J-9OXTglCw2sI_T3MuZOOY36DL3S3P9EyDkqcw8r-602qxrEb8YXQ99Ywz05Say/s1600/ddc.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Hey! Guess what?! I have OIL! Not just any oil, local oil! I got some Wisconsin sunflower oil. Let's face it, my last soup sucked. I did have 5 bowls of it and it was a meal for me. It wasn't the best soup I have ever made. I was not prepared going into the first week of the <a href="http://urbanhennery.com/2011/11/darkdays/">Dark Days</a> challenge. My wife told me it was just a "base" to add other things to. It was missing a lot.<br />
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I did the same thing this week as last week. I went to the co-op and looked for the "buy local" stickers and bought everything I could with the intention of making a soup. The first thing on my list was the oil; I had to saute stuff. I also picked up a bag of onions, carrots, purple potatoes, dried black beans, wild rice, purple cabbage... I had a bag of rutabagas, homemade wine, a frozen tomato from the garden... I think that's it...<br />
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I sauteed one onion in the sunflower oil, added a diced carrot ten minutes later. Then I added a half of diced rutabaga and 3 small diced purple potatoes. I let that cook for a couple minutes. Then I cleared the bottom of the pan with some homemade <a href="http://rubus-raspberry.blogspot.com/2011/09/wine.html">wine</a> from grapes from my yard. Added 4-5 cups of water. Then I added the black beans and wild rice. I let it cook for an hour or so then I added a small amount of diced cabbage and the diced tomato and let it cook for 15 more minutes. <br />
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Everything is <a href="http://rubus-raspberry.blogspot.com/2011/12/local-food-and-fasting.html">Daniel Fast</a> friendly and local...wait... I did add salt and pepper to the soup. I read some other blogs and not everyone was 100% local like I thought the challenge meant, so I added them. AND the wine is not Daniel Fast friendly, I remembered after I made the soup. <br />
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The result: It needs meat! I have really been craving ham. This soup and the last soup have not had the soul of a soup with meat. It does need more seasonings as-well. I really wanted to put a bay leaf in the soup or other herbs. The only herbs I have from the garden are lemon balm and chamomile. So I have some hunting to do for local dried herbs.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-89542197899862947402011-12-06T16:11:00.004-06:002011-12-08T14:49:55.097-06:00Vegetable Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHo0N9RoO4oX1IYCSYe6hbJhKYTyuZMcnf5-vMq1aPUgqgOfRkN4l1hA-SR1y9k_20RSdxyGDY3t4df-LIEk415EsN7Vi7YBbZRp5HDI1dvkyZ5WX5aHrBt-0nC5HT9itspbcSzTXh2nZ/s1600/dark+days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHo0N9RoO4oX1IYCSYe6hbJhKYTyuZMcnf5-vMq1aPUgqgOfRkN4l1hA-SR1y9k_20RSdxyGDY3t4df-LIEk415EsN7Vi7YBbZRp5HDI1dvkyZ5WX5aHrBt-0nC5HT9itspbcSzTXh2nZ/s1600/dark+days.jpg" /></a></div><br />
For my first <a href="http://notdabblinginnormal.wordpress.com/dark-days-challenge/">Dark Days</a> post I decided to take the easy way out. I made a soup! For the next few weeks I am on a special diet where I cannot have meat or dairy. That makes these first few Dark Days posts interesting.<br />
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I went to my local co-op, Mississippi Market and bought the veggies for the soup. I got a small onion and a butternut squash from Wisconsin Growers in Mondovi, Wisconsin- 101 miles away. Then I picked up a 3 pound bag of assorted root veggies (carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas and sunchokes) from Harmony Valley Farm in Viroqua, Wisconsin- 185 miles away. <br />
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A note about local food. My co-ops definition of local is: Products grown, made or processed by a business owned and located in MN, IA, WI, ND and SD. My definition is 250 miles, I believe the Dark Days Challenge is 200 miles and hardcore locavores is 100 miles. You should be able to drive to the farm and back in a day. <br />
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I was planning on sauteing an onion in butter, but I can't due to the Daniel Fast. Then I thought I could just use olive oil, my main oil, but realized that's not local. I decided not to make a trip up the my co-op to find a local sunflower oil and I will not be sauteing that onion. I was planning on putting wild rice in my soup. I have Minnesota grown wild rice. When I looked into the company on the package I found they are part of a corporation that is "America's leading brand of rice." Unless I know that corporation is farming sustainably the rice is not going to be a part of my soup.<br />
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</a></div>I cut up all the veggies and put them in a stock pot with some water. I brought it up to a boil and let it simmer for 1.5 hours. It's also interesting what I didn't add to my soup. When I make soup I will put celery, garlic and spices in it. I just bought a thing of bay leaves yesterday for soup that I wasn't able to add. When using local ingredients you need to know where they come from. To Dole, who produced my celery, and McCormick, who produced my bay leaves, these are cooking ingredients not plants. We need to remember that most of what we cook with was living at some point in time, not just seasonings. <br />
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After simmering for 1.5 hours I let the pot of veggies cool slightly. I strained out the vegetable chunks and set aside some of the liquid for vegetable stock. I then used a blender to puree the vegetables and added them back to the liquid.<br />
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OK, so it's not my favorite soup. If I could have added some ham, butter and cream it would have been awesome. Or SALT! This is a simple soup and it is good by itself. With my first post for the Dark Days Challenge I see that I will need to do more planning on certain types of ingredients like oil, meat and dairy. None the less, this is a local meal!Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-17585488627842167382011-12-06T11:10:00.001-06:002011-12-06T12:39:30.235-06:00Local Food and FastingI recently signed up to due a local food eating challenge. It's called the <a href="http://notdabblinginnormal.wordpress.com/dark-days-challenge/">Dark Days of winter eat local Challenge</a>. The basic's are simple. Once a week, prepare a meal from a local, LEGIT sources and blog about it. All the ingredients need to be local and sustainably raised. Cool, I'm down with that! I'm all about legit, local food. I can cook. I have a camera and a food blog...right? The challenge goes from November 27th, 2011 through March 31st, 2012. Eighteen meals. Eighteen blog posts. I not fully clear on the nuts and bolts of posting, but it seems like there is a lot of nice locavores that could help me out.<br />
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I am doing the Dark Days Challenge because I was challenged. An awesome local food blogger sent out a challenge and I responded. I want to eat local food and I honestly think it is one of the best lifestyle changes you could make. But it's hard! You need to change the way you see your food source. Convenience and instant gratification are not as available. I wanted to challenge myself to make ONE meal a week. That's the point of this challenge: To get the word about local food out and encourage local eating. <br />
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I recently weighted myself... Dude, not good. My lack of discipline has been gaining on me. After I saw my weight I ran out and bought a juicer. I had nothing but juice for four days. Today the thought of having another pint of juice makes me want to puke. So, I added some more food to my diet by doing <a href="http://danielfast.wordpress.com/daniel-fast-food-list/">The Daniel Fast</a>. The Daniel Fast is: fruits, veggies, whole grains, water, nuts, beans... No: dairy, meat, sweeteners, additives... I am doing The Daniel Fast to clean out my body. I have been eating way too much crap food and drinking like 50 oz of pop a day... Yeah! I am trying to lower cravings for sugar and crap food. <br />
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I plan on doing The Daniel Fast until Christmas. This makes the Dark Days Challenge interesting. I went to the co-op today to get whole wheat for The Daniel Fast and I bought some local veggies for a soup. I had a hard time buying local food at the co-op. I went by the "Buy Local" sticker next to the price tag. I got a onion, a butternut squash and a bag of root veggies for soup. I plan on cutting them up and throwing them in a stock pot with water for an hour and a half. Then taking a picture. Seriously? It seems pretty half-assed to me, but I have 17 more post to do. And this needs to be something I will do for local food outside of the challenge.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-86921846674608719592011-11-21T22:53:00.006-06:002011-11-22T07:39:00.025-06:00Living The Turkey's DreamI got up early, dressed in several layers of clothes and gathered my large cooler, homemade ice and large baggies before heading out to the <a href="http://ltdfarm.com/">LTD Farm</a>. I gave myself plenty of time to get there on the icy roads. I drove east on 94 to Baldwin, WI and took a left. After making several left and right hand turns on a dozen slippery and hilly dirt roads I found myself in front of a home being greeted by a dog. Parking in a very small driveway I got out on the foreign soil of a Wisconsin farm. Khaiti came out of her house. Seeing her photograph several times reassured me I was at the right place.<br />
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We made introductions and Khaiti brought me out back where I met Andrew who was hard at work. She gave me a quick overview of the farm and brought me over to meet the turkeys I have been watching grow on facebook. The turkeys were broad breasted white turkeys, a common domesticated turkey grown for Thanksgiving.<br />
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Khaiti and I talked about their 39 acre farm, while Andrew fought with the water hose in 20 degree weather. I wanted to take in as much in as I could, asking questions about what the animals ate and how the harvesting process worked. I knew how the basics worked. I saw an awesome <a href="http://www.theperennialplate.com/episodes/2011/11/episode-36-giving-thanks-to-turkeys/">video</a> of turkey harvesting at LTD Farm done by The Perennial Plate in 2010. The way things went that day was very similar to the video.<br />
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I was able to choose a turkey, I got one of the black ones and it was a boy. Khaiti covered the bird with a heavy paper bag that had a small hole cut at the bottom so the head could stick out. She walked it over to a small patch of hay started to lay the turkey down, calming it. She didn't give me a choice in cutting the turkeys neck and I didn't ask to do it. I was able to hold the turkey. Khaiti held the turkey's head and very calmly and respectfully cut its neck. Khaiti continued to hold the turkey's head and I held the very powerful bird until all the life went from its body.<br />
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Andrew then brought the turkey over to a small building and hung the turkey up by its feet so we could all pluck the feathers. I was the only customer there the whole time, which was such a treat. I was able to ask questions and get to know the couple a little bit. I let them know I'd love to have a small farm like what they had; they were very encouraging. Plucking the feathers was a long process. By the end we were standing in a large pile of the dark feathers.<br />
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Andrew then took the bird down so they could gut it. They asked if I wanted to, and I hesitantly said sure. They were ready to go, having done this several times. I quickly said they could do it and they got to work, showing me what was what in the turkey. Khaiti pulled the heart out in about two seconds and put it in a bowl. Andrew took off the head, leaving the neck. Khaiti then pulled out the liver showing me how healthy it was from the vegetables and organic feed the turkey ate.<br />
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I helped wash off the turkey and put it in a cooler to lower its temperature. I grabbed my good innards and put them in a baggie along with the turkey's feet for stock.<br />
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While the turkey cooled down Khaiti took me to see the rest of their animals. They have goats for milk, ducks for eggs, pigs for meat and the turkeys. I have rarely been on a farm and it was nice for me to watch the animals. I couldn't help but to smile when Khaiti and I walked up to the pigs and they got really excited to see her. The pigs were pretty young and the looked really cute and cuddly. The pig's 'pen' was very clean and littered with large holes the pigs were taking turns digging. <br />
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Khaiti and Andrew are trying to be as self sufficient as they can be. They have vegetables and perennial plants they give to their CSA share holders. What they don't use themselves goes to the animals. Then the entire farm's waste is composted and put back into the soil. All their animals looked very happy and had plenty of room to be animals. <br />
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Khaiti and Andrew are a young couple living the dream. They are both hardworking and they have a passion for what they do. They have a respect for their land and a love for their animals. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to see their farm. <br />
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Khaiti helped me load my turkey into my car. I shook both of their hands when I said goodbye and left the farm with a very quiet spirit.<br />
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On the way to the farm I couldn't stop questioning our culture's view on food. On the way home my questions were silenced. I felt at peace. I understood that what I have been longing for is a connection with ethical small businesses. I have been fighting the Monsanto's and the Purdue's in my head. It was time for me to see people live my ideals I only hope to achieve someday.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-87453120126849400992011-11-19T02:34:00.004-06:002011-11-19T02:43:37.381-06:00McMeA video of animal cruelty popped up on my facebook feed today, three times! <a href="http://www.mcdonaldscruelty.com/">Here it is.</a> It shows a factory farm where McDonald's gets their eggs. A lot of the comments on the post have been anti-McDonald's, some of the have been pro-vegan.<br />
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I am not pro-McDonald's, but they are not the problem, I am; Most of us are. All restaurants that sell animal products, unless you know they buy from sustainable and ethical farms, treat their animals like products and not animals. I don't buy ALL my animal products from local farms. Because of that I am indirectly promoting the abuse of these animals by buying that Egg McMuffin, or that fancy breakfast at the upscale place in my town.<br />
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Do I like the abuse of animals? Of course not. But it's not that big of a priority of mine when I am hungry or when I want to have a nice sit-down meal with my family. It's easy to turn my head to the treatment of animals because I don't see it. <br />
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By not buying my animal products at a farm where I have a relationship with the farmers and where I am able to go see the farm, I am lowering the animals worth. I am not viewing the animal as a gift, but as a right. I am not thinking of the animal's sacrifice, I am thinking how cheap I can get my meal. <br />
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I have killed two animals in my life, both chickens. One of them went to the farm where I went through the chicken processing class and one, from that same class, has been in my freezer for months. I am still too emotional to eat it.<br />
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I am scheduled to harvest my Thanksgiving turkey this Sunday at a small, sustainable and ethical farm. I have been thinking about cutting that cute little animal's neck for the past six months. I absolutely do not want to drive one hour to Wisconsin to kill a turkey with a knife in 20 degree weather early in the morning. But it is not a choice of mine. I have eaten meat guilt free for 32 years. That turkey deserves my respect. I will look it in the eye and give it my absolute thanks for giving my family a very special meal before I take its life. It is a huge gift for this small farm to open its doors and have their customers help harvest animals. <br />
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I haven't seen that many suggestions for preventing the abuse of animals. McDonald's said they are not buying eggs from this farm anymore. But where are they going? How many eggs does McDonald's sell a day? Will the farm they are going to, be able to keep up with the demand for eggs without lowering the animals worth? And if they are able to keep up with the demand, that means they are a large scale farm that is already selling to large companies. So is the animal an animal, or a means to make a product? And, where are the beef cows, dairy cows, broiler chickens, fish and pigs in all this?<br />
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Can our culture not eat as much meat, and spend more money on the meat we buy? I can buy a whole broiler chicken for less than $7.00. That's crazy! How can farmers make a profit? Can we give up multinational companies that treat animals like products and support small businesses that have soul? Can we be accountable for gathering a portion of our own meat; hunting and/or raising and harvesting?<br />
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I eat meat and it is hard to transfer to eating locally, sustainably and ethically. I need to eat less meat. I need to cook more and I need support. I want you to come out to a farm to help me harvest a chicken or a turkey. I don't want to feel weird telling people, "I am killing my own Thanksgiving turkey this year!" Can we form a supportive community that loves our land, animals and culture?Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-8056729816240188342011-11-15T15:40:00.001-06:002011-11-15T15:55:47.396-06:00Plantain SeedsI have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major">Plantains </a> all over the yard. I have been wanting to forage throughout the year so I was looking for a way to put these plants to use. I read in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Secrets-Native-Americans-Practices/dp/1579123929/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1321305960&sr=8-3">Healing Secrets of the Native Americans</a> that Plantain seeds can be used in a tea for weight loss and lowering cholesterol. I was all over it and I went out and gathered seeds from the yard. The seeds are also high in fiber and a natural laxative.<br />
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It's fun foraging for stuff. You need to have an eye for what you are looking for. The Plantain does not look the same now as it did in spring or summer. Today my yard was covered in leaves. I recognized the stem with the seeds standing up. I put my thumb and pointer finger at the base of the stem, pinched it lightly and pull my hand up gathering the seeds. I then put them in a bowl. After gathering the seeds I went through them to take out any unwanted debris. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfkfZr6Pd5LJCXx6h2QndD4Gb6bVLY8Kz1zwkXG3Jh45Si4B0MlcDL9HLbWLsf5eXx8HNicCSzlMAymHVqjd1FGw3oaHmHxsFWEzbmSfWHrc8V0hX9LEoWMQZzFGkzJte-tRjYJzHwuBt/s1600/IMG_2196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfkfZr6Pd5LJCXx6h2QndD4Gb6bVLY8Kz1zwkXG3Jh45Si4B0MlcDL9HLbWLsf5eXx8HNicCSzlMAymHVqjd1FGw3oaHmHxsFWEzbmSfWHrc8V0hX9LEoWMQZzFGkzJte-tRjYJzHwuBt/s320/IMG_2196.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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The book says to put a teaspoon of the seeds with the husks in a cup, add a cup of boiling water and let cool. After it is cool drink the liquid with the seeds. Do this a half hour before you eat and it will help with caloric intake and high blood sugar levels. When you have to drink a teaspoon of seeds, it feels like a lot of seeds; I was able to get it down. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFRUQ66PD1kbxk1lzYPEmgqAMHeqj8NfPifkqCZXA4xTNDUHuOmUadfamnmX6nDcFlgL7ZWpU-gPweFUgK_BSMFMkqbge6DRUoZZ1oP1YwIq4Qf9p5jRpQgUuYG-1DVfMKt1CyTTBF0cA/s1600/IMG_2202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFRUQ66PD1kbxk1lzYPEmgqAMHeqj8NfPifkqCZXA4xTNDUHuOmUadfamnmX6nDcFlgL7ZWpU-gPweFUgK_BSMFMkqbge6DRUoZZ1oP1YwIq4Qf9p5jRpQgUuYG-1DVfMKt1CyTTBF0cA/s320/IMG_2202.JPG" width="179" /></a></div><br />
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This is the first time I have had this type of tea and I don't know what to expect. The plant is edible but does it help with weight loss? I need to be in touch with my body and how the plant effects me. I will need to use my whole half pint jar of seeds and go from there.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-9617175055752930612011-11-09T10:31:00.006-06:002011-11-09T11:22:55.277-06:00Home CookingI call this a Food Blog but I have reviewed my posts and I don't have much of anything for everyday home cooking recipes. I like it like that! I make a good pizza but there are a lot of good recipes for pizza out there. I feel I wouldn't be sharing the recipe so much as the experience of making it. <br />
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Last year I have a different view of this blog. It would be more foodie, more mainstream: Food Network meets Anthony Bourdain-ish. I could give you a good pizza recipe but I would have a strong urge swear or make fun of someone in there. <br />
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I want to write what I am inspired to write. Lately that has been foraging, political, non-Food Network stuff. We gave up our cable TV this past spring so I can't hang out with Alton Brown and The Barefoot Contessa. If I did have cable this blog may have a different feel. <br />
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It might just be the time of year but I have thinking more of cooking comfort food. Onions, carrots, garlic, celery, potatoes and meat. We have some guests today and I am making a pot of soup. Let me tell you what I will be doing.<br />
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Lentil Soup<br />
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1 envelope of onion soup mix<br />
1 quart of homemade chicken stock<br />
Water- eyeball<br />
3/4 cup lentils<br />
1/2 cup rice<br />
1/2 cup wild rice<br />
2 large heirloom tomatoes frozen and diced from the garden<br />
Carrots- eyeball<br />
Celery- eyeball<br />
Spices...basil- oregano- thyme- parsley- salt- pepper- eyeball<br />
Dash of apple cider vinegar<br />
1 pound of diced bone in ham<br />
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Toss everything in a stock pot and cook for an hour or soTomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-43493096318491949712011-11-07T18:27:00.004-06:002011-11-08T10:48:48.385-06:00Dandelion Root TinctureThis past summer I asked the question, "Can I provide myself medicine from foraging for plants instead of going to the drugstore down the street?" I take a handful of different medicines along the course of the year. It's all real basic stuff: Ibuprofen, antacid, athlete's foot spray and 24 hour allergy pills. <br />
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With "herbalist" recipes it's easy for people to roll their eyes and not give them much credit. I have a handful of books with plant identifications and the plant's medicine in them. It's easy to look at these books from a Boy Scout or survivalist point of view and view them as novelties, discrediting them for any "real life" situations. Using plants as medicine is new to me and I question a lot of stuff including, how to make medicine and does it work.<br />
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I have taking some chances and made medicine from a few different plants. It hasn't always been exactly the way I expected it to be, but I have been surprised to find results.<br />
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A tincture is basically a plant that you let soak in vodka for two weeks. There are some rules like: a certain amount of alcohol to a certain amount of plant material and a certain amount of time. I want things to be simple and I am exploring so I roughly followed those rules.<br />
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I read somewhere that dandelion helps with heartburn and I kept that in back of my mind until I was in a position to make medicine from it. With the dandelion root, I roughly chopped 1/4 pint of the roots and added 1/2 pint of alcohol and let it sit at least two weeks, strained and added to a dropper bottle.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pOqmYc_KtSNBChlv4HA0-dDQH2ZYZjXqXlIPbnKoSNBAA3UYnKVYtDjJO7axzFmcQnPQKMZCsxpdv4i7XGnSwJ0IuqrgRZamvJlo0i6oUfZFkSx-pfFyFPGfyQpvhXbJDgPcBskf-kxo/s1600/IMG_2182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pOqmYc_KtSNBChlv4HA0-dDQH2ZYZjXqXlIPbnKoSNBAA3UYnKVYtDjJO7axzFmcQnPQKMZCsxpdv4i7XGnSwJ0IuqrgRZamvJlo0i6oUfZFkSx-pfFyFPGfyQpvhXbJDgPcBskf-kxo/s320/IMG_2182.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I want to add one thing to that. You need to commit to buying good vodka. That is where the faith comes in. Good alcohol is expensive. Of course local/organic is the best but, you need to buy alcohol in a glass bottle. Alcohol in plastic takes things from the bottle and that's not good. I bought 100 prof in a glass bottle. Vodka is typically 80 prof and that is the minimum alcohol content for tinctures. <br />
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I found a glass dropper bottle at the co-op and put an ounce of the tincture in that. I have been using three droppers full in eight ounces of water to combat heartburn. The stuff taste pretty hardcore: strong alcohol and dandelion root, but it works and I made it!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytc1SECmwFBO9f3f-_jrR8mfixz0jiKA2SvLOIWXdHfoj_KmbBff06jZe58auxikOOTFYu1ZABgu6NvdUxjWN66RO1BzXJlDAKlLL-7NyxQzt0RVbtAsk_GJjbYAZotOE7j5o2zJLuf2B/s1600/IMG_2180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytc1SECmwFBO9f3f-_jrR8mfixz0jiKA2SvLOIWXdHfoj_KmbBff06jZe58auxikOOTFYu1ZABgu6NvdUxjWN66RO1BzXJlDAKlLL-7NyxQzt0RVbtAsk_GJjbYAZotOE7j5o2zJLuf2B/s320/IMG_2180.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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Well, I keep on asking myself if I could distill my own alcohol- Isn't that illegal? I don't know the process, at all. If I could make some hack alcohol distiller to make tincture- I would. None the less this is a victory!<br />
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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.punkdomestics.com/content/dandelion-root-tincture" title="Dandelion Root Tincture on Punk Domestics"><img src="http://www.punkdomestics.com/sites/default/files/badges/Badge200.gif" width="200" height="200" alt="Dandelion Root Tincture on Punk Domestics"></a></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-28057929311814430912011-10-31T23:10:00.000-05:002011-10-31T23:10:10.212-05:00Occupy YourselfThis past year, with learning about our unethical food system, I really began to question our government. How can our government allow international corporations, like Monsanto, to treat people and our environment so poorly? Why aren't our food system issues a bigger part of the 2012 Presidential campaign?<br />
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People need to know about the unethical corporations and corporate greed. You need to see the environmental and political effects of these corporations. That's what the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) demonstrations are doing. Showing the world a group of people are sick of the way things are being run and they want changes to happen.<br />
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With my feelings toward Monsanto I had to asked myself- what products does Monsanto have that I am consuming? A lot! My diet has been crap, I know it and I have not been able to get off my fat ass to do anything about it. I am supporting Monsanto! Not with my heart, with my actions.<br />
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My question is this: How do corporations, good and bad, effect your life? It's a deep question! Cars, clothes, medicine, food, entertainment, etc... Are there any goods you buy that are <i>not</i> tied to a corporation? <br />
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Without HUGE policy changes in our country, corporations will not change without without a huge grassroots campaign. This means taking steps back from their products. Is that possible? What would something like that look like?<br />
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First and foremost not everyone would be on board with it. A small group of people would honestly live a life off the corporate grid and some people would do a very half-assed job at it. We would need to be a lot more "locavore." We would need relationships with people who made the products we use- farmers, tailors, herbalists, carpenters, performers, etc...<br />
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If we think about those people who live off the corporate grid, what do we think? They're outside the cultural norm. <br />
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I put two and two together when I was thinking about this stuff. I want this blog to be: from scratch, local and creative. I want to see how I could live without the help of corporations. Look at my past posts; I made a drink from roots in my yard, I buy eggs from people in my neighborhood, I eat weeds, I sign up to kill farm animals with the guidance of local farmers, I want to make my own medicine... Yes I am outside the cultural norm, but I have a hunger to see what I can do myself. <br />
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We need to ask ourselves some hard questions on how we really want to live our lives, what we buy and our desire to be free from corporate corruption. <br />
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The businesses run by corporations provide us something huge: convenience. We can go to the store to buy ready to use goods. That's huge- That is America! It is very difficult to free ourselves from that convenience.<br />
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I don't think we need to completely go off the corporate grid. We would need to know good and bad corporations and we would need to give credit to the ethical corporations out there. <br />
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What would it look like to START to life off the corrupt corporate grid? We would need a deeper sense of community. Get out and start relationships in your neighborhood. We would need to develop skills or multiple skills to help ourselves and our community. We would need to be able to buy and sell used goods. We would need to be more active in the informal economy. We could barter for services. We would need to give back to our community with volunteering. Most of all we would need to draw back our materialism. Our culture loves stuff. It would be very difficult to deny ourselves some goods. We live in America, it's our right to have too much. <br />
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Unethical corporations and government can suck it. But it is going to be a huge, long battle to fight them. I am not saying we need to be all-in with leaving the corporate grid, but we need to take a closer look at some of these issues.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-57886650460215535272011-10-06T01:16:00.003-05:002011-11-08T10:49:54.296-06:00Dandelion Root Beer<div style="text-align: left;">I just made some real, honest, non-alcoholic dandelion root beer! In the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Fermentation-Flavor-Nutrition-Live-Culture/dp/1931498237/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1">Wild Fermentation</a> by: Sandor Ellix Kats, I rediscovered a recipe for ginger beer and I asked myself: How can I do this with what's around me?</div><br />
Last year I made Sandor's ginger beer. It didn't go as planned. Come to find out I let it ferment way too long, like weeks too long, and I had a one gallon glass bottle explode. I was hit with a piece of flying glass and I had one gallon of sweet ginger juice flood my entry way and go down into my heating vents.<br />
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This year I followed the same recipe, but with the ingredients that were around me. Instead of ginger root, I used dandelion root. And no, I didn't buy the roots at some fancy store. I went out to the yard with a spoon and dug them out of my soil. The rosette of the dandelion plant is still in the grass, even if the stem and the flower are not, making them easy to spot.<br />
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The first step was to make a starter: 1 teaspoon of the diced dandelion root and one teaspoon of sugar. I want to be local, I want to do things myself, so for the sugar I used a mixture of local honey and local maple syrup. I mixed them because I didn't have enough of one of them to make the brew. You put the root and sugar in a pint jar with one cup of water. Let that sit on the shelf with a paper towel over the top to gather wild yeast for a few days. The second day I added a teaspoon of maple syrup and a teaspoon of dandelion root. By the third day it was bubbling and ready to go. Continue to add the sugar and roots everyday or two until it starts to bubble. This process collects wild yeast. Yes, there is a big debate on types of yeast to use...I'm doing this one, you could do another.<br />
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I had to then brew a tea. I didn't have enough dandelion root, so I added some hollyhock root I got from the yard this past summer. I washed the roots and threw ten of them in a pot with some dried and cut up hollyhock roots and let them boil for a few hours. I turned the heat off and let it cool over night.<br />
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The next day I added 1 cup of maple syrup and 1 cup of honey to a one gallon glass bottle. I then added the tea and the starter that was bubbling. I added some water and mixed it all up real well. At this point Sandor says to add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to the ginger brew. I can't forage for lemons, so I needed to improvise.<br />
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Check this out! I went down to my favorite park in Saint Paul and foraged for some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumac">sumac</a>. If you don't know what sumac is; it makes a type of acidic drink often referred to as "sumac-aide." The hairs on the red sumac fruit are acidic and it tastes similar to lemonade. To make some of this drink; Go forage for 7-10 sumac fruit clusters and put them in a pitcher. Pour some cold water over the top and let it sit for .5-12 hours. Strain out the fruit and you have a drink. I poured 2 quarts of that into the gallon glass jug to top off the dandelion brew. I put the jug on the "fermentation station" and let it sit for 24 hours. <br />
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I opened the stuff and poured it into a glass... It was lovely. It is similar to root beer. It is lighter than root beer, the honey and maple syrup add awesome flavors. It was well carbonated. It is honestly my favorite dandelion root beer I have ever had...and only. I drank two glasses of it, with intent to finish my gallon in the coming weeks. I gave some to Kristina and she wasn't as impressed as I was. I'm not saying the stuff is perfect, but I am proud of it! I plan on drinking the whole gallon and foraging for materials to make more.<br />
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<u>Dandelion Beer</u><br />
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Time expected to brew: 3 days- 1 week<br />
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Ingredients-for one gallon:<br />
Water<br />
7-10 heads of sumac<br />
1 cup of honey<br />
1.25 cups of maple syrup<br />
1 cup of dandelion root- diced<br />
1/2 cup of hollyhock root- diced<br />
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<u>Process:</u><br />
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Starter:<br />
Pour one cup of water into a glass pint jar<br />
Add one teaspoon of maple syrup and one teaspoon of dandelion root<br />
Put the glass on a shelf with paper towel covering the top<br />
Check on it every day to see if it's bubbling<br />
If it's not bubbling- add one teaspoon of maple syrup and one teaspoon of dandelion root<br />
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Sumac-Aide:<br />
Fill a half gallon jar with the sumac<br />
Pour cold water over the top until jar is full<br />
Let sit in the fridge overnight<br />
Strain out the sumac saving the water<br />
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Tea:<br />
Take the hollyhock root and the rest of the dandelion roots and add them to a 4 quart pot with a lid<br />
Add 3 quarts of water<br />
Cover and boil for an hour<br />
Let tea cool overnight<br />
Strain out roots <br />
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Filling the jar:<br />
Add the sumac-aide, the tea and the starter to the jar<br />
Add the rest of the maple syrup and the honey to the jar <br />
Mix real well<br />
Top off to one gallon with water if necessary <br />
Cap and set on the shelf for one day<br />
Put in fridge to cool down and stop the fermentation<br />
Once it is cool, open and pour it into a glass<br />
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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.punkdomestics.com/content/dandelion-root-beer" title="Dandelion Root Beer on Punk Domestics"><img src="http://www.punkdomestics.com/sites/default/files/badges/Badge200.gif" width="200" height="200" alt="Dandelion Root Beer on Punk Domestics"></a></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-85927863211526526262011-10-02T01:12:00.001-05:002011-10-02T01:18:52.907-05:00I Love My Compost!Out of everything in my yard I have a very special relationship with my compost. What I like about the compost is that it makes life into a cycle. I can grow food, put the waste in the compost bin. It turns into good soil then I can return it to the yard to feed the next years plants. <br />
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My first compost bin was awesome! I made it by hand with 2x4's and chicken wire. I made it into a rectangular bin. I dug the four corner post and a post for the gate 18" into the yard. I leveled the thing, put up the chicken wire and threw whatever I could in it. It was huge too, it turned out to be 5'x8'. I would throw crap in it all year and empty it in the spring. By fall that thing was always overflowing. By the time we decided to move I had plans on making a second one the same size to rotate the compost. <br />
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I just made a compost for the new place. I had in mind what I wanted to do for a compost bin for a few months now. I went out in search of wood pallets in the G.A.P.O.S. van, dumpster dove to get them and brought them back to the yard. I wanted this compost to be somewhat temporary, so I was not going to make it permanent like my last one. I had four pallets and I went out and got eight-four foot poles. I put the poles in the ground and put the pallets over the poles, like the forks of a forklift. I am able to easily break it down if needed and it will hold all our crap. <br />
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There are some ethics to dumpster diving for wood pallets. (I did find ads on craigslist for free pallets, but I wasn't able to get them on a Sunday evening.) I trolled slowly behind businesses looking for pallets. Yes, that is an invitation to get questioned by the Cops. To the credit of the businesses on South Robert in West Saint Paul I didn't find what I was looking for. I came across junk pallets next to dumpsters in an industrial area in Saint Paul. If a pallet looked like it might not have been trash- I would have asked the business if I could have it, or not taken it at all. The ones I found were not wanted anymore. I piled them up in the van and proudly took them home.<br />
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Now that I have a cheap compost bin I can start to throw crap in it. 'What can go into a compost bin?' You ask...Well here is what I compost: leaves, grass clippings, straw, weeds, egg shells, unused or bad fresh food, kitchen scraps, hair, old plants, coffee grounds, and vacuum bag crap. Basically I have a lot of yard waste and kitchen scraps I put in mine.<br />
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Composting is a key part of gardening and part of the cycle of life. As much fun as it is for me to watch a small seed grow into a fourteen foot flower with a wood-like stalk, it's just as enjoyable to watch my yard and kitchen waste turn into food for my yard.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-18431094756194089482011-09-26T20:46:00.002-05:002011-09-26T22:57:22.280-05:00WineIt is grape season! Vineyards are having events along with the U of M to celebrate wine grapes.<br />
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I know very little about wine. I like light, sweet and bubbly wine. I don't like dry wines. I like the wine that is made by the Italian dude that comes in a gallon glass bottle- Carlo Rossi. My wife likes dry wine. When I go get wine I don't like to buy too much, but we don't always agree on what to buy. I learned a trick in bartending school- pour soda in your wine. So I buy a dry wine and fill my glass with half wine and the rest with 7 UP. That is my basic knowledge of wines. From listening to The Splendid Table, I think you have had to have a few bottles of wine to start to appreciate the different tastes... and it will cost some money.<br />
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I have seven grapevines in my yard. We have have fresh eating grapes and wine grapes. We have: Niagara, Catawba, St. Croix (2), Edelweiss, Frontenac and Marquette grapes. We harvest all of our grapes and throw them in a large bucket and make something out of all of them. Last year it was good jelly. This year it's wine.<br />
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I bought this book last year called, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Fermentation-Flavor-Nutrition-Live-Culture/dp/1931498237">"Wild Fermentation,"</a> by Sandor Ellix Kraut. I have said this before on this blog and I will say it again: Dude is good! He has a recipe for Ethiopian wine, made from honey and water. It's straight honey and water. I made a batch last year. I made the quick version and did not let it age. I should have let it age; I did not "appreciate" the taste. The wine I am making now I am gonna make off that recipe, bottle it and let it age. <br />
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I just harvested our grapes. We are in the process of selling the land our "vineyard" is on and we want to take the "vineyard" with us. While harvesting our grapes I pruned all the vines way down to transport them. They grew awesome this year. I am not sure where we are going to put them yet. I know I won't plant them all in the yard we have with the rental house. I am thinking guerrilla gardening stuff. If you have any ideas or may want one let me know. <br />
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I took the grapes off the clusters and washed them. I ran the grapes through a food mill getting out over three quarts of juice. I poured the juice in a large stock pot and cover it with a clean t-shirt. I let that sit on the shelf for a few days gathering wild yeast. I mixed in just over 3 cups of raw honey and let it continue to sit on the shelf a few days until it got nice and bubbly. The very top of the wine is very frothy and you should mix that in twice a day. The smell of this stuff was wonderful! It was like wine. It smelled like grape juice, honey, and alcohol. I put my head in that pot several times a day to get a good whiff. After it gathered the yeast I poured it into a Carlo Rossi wine bottle. It's a 4 liter, which is just over a gallon, glass jug. I got it with wine for $12. Then I put an airlock on the top and put it in the pantry. It has been consistently letting gas go every 1-2 seconds, 24/7 since I capped it with the airlock It's pretty cool to pop my head in the pantry and see it doing its thing. I will leave it like that for a month or so then siphon it into bottles. After the siphoning I will age it for 18 months or so.<br />
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I want to mention why I use wild yeast. There are a couple of reasons: The first is that it's free. It comes from where I live, this drink will taste like my land. The second is I want to do things myself. If I can get a "excellent" wine yeast from Italy, or where ever good wine yeast come from and keep it alive or allow it to multiply- I will think about it. I don't want to be dependent on living near a home-brew shop and I don't want to be told which yeast will give me the best wine. I am doing this to be free from marketing and trends. I just want to make a descent tasting alcoholic beverage. <br />
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I invite you to make your own homemade wine and let it age. We can get drunk together in the summer of 2013. We can bring our mystery-tasting wines together and have a unveiling. If you say you have no grape vines in your yard- I say there are a lot of wild grapes in Minnesota. I have seen some in parks in Saint Paul, a State Park in Saint Paul and I was up near the river in Anoka foraging for sumac and I stumbled across some as-well. Or you could buy some wine grapes from vineyards or some grocery stores.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-49859501013100959062011-09-21T17:04:00.001-05:002011-09-22T01:35:31.140-05:00Laundry SoapKristina found this recipe, in 07', on a blog and printed it out. It is a fairly well know recipe I have found on several 'do it yourself' blogs. We have (mainly) been using this for washing detergent since. When you get the hang of making it you can make a batch without the recipe in a few minutes. <br />
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The Recipe<br />
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You will need:<br />
A bar of Fels Naptha- grated.<br />
1.5 Cups of Arm and Hammer's Super Washing Soda<br />
1.5 cups of Borax<br />
5 gallon bucket<br />
water<br />
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Get a stock pot, fill it 1/3- 1/2 full of water then add the grated Fels Naptha. Put the stock pot over LOW heat. As it warms up the soap will dissolve. Then add the Borax and Washing Soda. At this point it does thicken up. Mix it all up and pour it into the 5 gallon bucket. Then add water to the bucket until it is as full as you want to carry, at least 4.5 gallons of laundry soap. Bring it down by by washing machine with a cup and add 3/4 cup to each load. It will 'set' with-in 24 hours and may need stirring. I use a paint mixing stick to stir mine.<br />
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It cleans the clothes great and it smells like Fels Naptha.<br />
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One of the reasons we started to make this was cost. The price I paid at Cub Foods was: Super Washing Soda- $2.99, Borax- $4.26, Fels Naptha- $0.99. You need the whole bar of soap to make 5 gallons and you can make several batches with one box of Borax and one box of Washing Soda.<br />
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The other reason I like this is I like making things from scratch. Is this from scratch? No. I am dependent on companies to make things for me. I am mixing three products together in warm water to make a liquid/gel laundry detergent. But it is as close as I will get right now.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-38250452920595882372011-09-15T13:50:00.004-05:002011-09-16T10:51:46.239-05:00KOMBUCHAI learned about this cultured tea in 2009 from Kristina's best friend. She introduced it to me by calling it "medicine." She said it help with "gut heath." The Kombucha was made by <a href="http://www.synergydrinks.com/">GT</a> which is one of the most popular commercial brands. GT has several different flavors. I had a sip of the Trilogy- raspberry, lemon and ginger and I didn't not much care for the taste of it. When I found out it was $3.50- $4.00 a bottle, I thought her hippie drink and unprocessed-whole food diet was: trendy, over priced and unsustainable for a working class guy like myself. <br />
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Kristina's best friend came in from her out of state home 8 months later and was still drinking GT's Kombucha. She could see I was sick of the standard American diet and told me I could replace pop by drinking a Kombucha a day; Kombucha has a slight carbonated feel. Again, I thought there was NO way I would pay $4.00 for a 16oz bottle of this stuff a day. It made far much more sense to drink Mountain Dew.<br />
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At about this same time, in February 2010, I was very interested in an unprocessed- whole foods diet. I started to buy books on fruits and vegetables, learn about organic foods and took my first steps into Whole Foods. I generally go on a serious diet every 9-12 months for a few months. This was the start of a diet. <br />
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I slowly started to drink GT's Kombucha, trying different flavors. By spring I drank a $3.59 Kombucha everyday for months. I was addicted to the stuff. For me it helped with digestion, but it is a great appetite controller. I honestly have less of a desire to eat while I am drinking Kombucha.<br />
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In the summer of 2010 there were some "labeling" issues with GT's Kombucha and they took it off the shelves for several weeks. Due to the fermentation process there are small amounts of alcohol in it. Thankfully I was doing a Daniel Fast, which is: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, good oils, herbs and water. So I was not drinking Kombucha at the time. I can remember being in Whole Foods asking what happened to the Kombucha and thinking- I would have punched somebody if I went in there wanting one and they took it off the shelves. After the Daniel Fast I started to buy other Kombucha’s. There are different makers of the stuff, including a company in Saint Paul.<br />
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I then wanted to make Kombucha myself. It didn't sound as hard as I thought it would be. Most of it was time waiting for the Kombucha mother to grow. The "mother" is a colony of yeast and good bacteria that looks similar to a jelly fish or a pancake. It's sort of nasty. I found a few ads on craigslist for a Kombucha mother and I went and bought a small one with some starter Kombucha for $5. You need a living mother to make the tea and the mother continues to grow as it ages. It goes from being a very thin pancake to having several layers and being very thick.<br />
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My Kombucha mother came in a Ball wide-mouth pint jar. It needs a large surface area to do well. I went out and bought two- one gallon glass pitchers from Target for $20 apiece. The pitchers are very wide and are perfect for Kombucha brewing. My mothers grew and I was getting up-to two gallons of Kombucha a week.<br />
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The recipe I used was very basic: make one gallon of sweet-tea, add the mother and wait. Kombucha is normally made in a tea. It typically is black tea or green tea. I would brew the tea, add turbinado sugar, let it cool, put it in the pitcher, and then add the Kombucha starter and the mother. You then need to wait for the tea to age, or ferment, or for the yeast and bacteria to grow- making the tea taste slightly like vinegar. I read GT's Kombucha is made in 30 days, so I tried to let mine age for that long. I thought that was too long, I normally did 1-2 weeks and then bottled the drink and started over.<br />
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Bottling it was difficult. I wasn't sure what to put it in. I put it in Ball wide mouth jars because that's what was available, but it didn't seem to appealing. I went out and bought some beer with swing top bottle and put it in that. That got expensive and I didn't want cops to think I was drinking and driving. I did use GT's glass bottles, but I wanted my own. <br />
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After a couple months of making the stuff I let it go. Kristina hated the pitchers sitting on our kitchen counter. It takes work to brew tea, let the tea cool, add the mother, clean everything, let it age until it taste good, bottle it and drink it. I do like GT's Kombucha over mine. For two reasons: I like a consistent taste, mine was not always consistent. Also dealing with that mother- is weird; it's big and strange looking.<br />
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All the reasons you question drinking Kombucha are multiplied when you brew it yourself. You see the mother and you know that tea has sat on your counter a week with that mother. It's hard to take that first drink of homemade Kombucha. It's easier buying it in a nice store, in a clean bottle. You also have to be clean while making the Kombucha. The pitcher needs to be clean, your hands and arms need to be clean and you have to protect the tea while it ages from flying insects (you can do that with a piece of cloth over the pitcher.) You worry about the tea “going bad” somehow.<br />
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I let my Kombucha sit from last winter to this summer when we moved. Two- one gallon pitchers half full of tea with a very thick mother sitting in them. It was pretty hard-core when I cleaned those things out. The mother was thick and hard. The mother always floats on top, so it covers any smell, when I took the mother out the smell cover the whole house. My anti-Kombucha loving wife said the house was not fit to be in for a good day after I clean out those pitches. I ended up composting my two large mothers. <br />
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I got back to drinking Kombucha. Again I started to question if paying over $3.50 for 16oz drink was ethical. I want a DIY attitude and I had the equipment to make the stuff, so I brewed a gallon. Legit-Good-Stuff! I used a basic recipe for tea and expanded on it. Instead of all black tea I wanted to use some medicinal herbs. I have some echinacea growing in the yard and I some hollyhock roots. I used a half gallon of spring water, brought it to a boil and added the hollyhock and echinacea roots. I let it boil for a few hours. I then added six black tea packets. I pulled the black tea packets out after ten minutes and left the roots in the pot until the tea completely cooled. After it cooled I pulled the roots out I added one cup of local raw honey and mixed that in. I added that to a one gallon pitcher.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIros-1eD8-AMYuo60sgsWFMD0PdIQQYBpZJVku6dJcx_U4f57i4Tsl_mtNVB5I6j6Npzfhw4cQA7nKJGaZ7D02j0WVChgpgW1gZ7TduvXWdS9gOcm90nktmZiDHeRrYNcu8caYiPuzRU/s1600/IMG_2062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIros-1eD8-AMYuo60sgsWFMD0PdIQQYBpZJVku6dJcx_U4f57i4Tsl_mtNVB5I6j6Npzfhw4cQA7nKJGaZ7D02j0WVChgpgW1gZ7TduvXWdS9gOcm90nktmZiDHeRrYNcu8caYiPuzRU/s320/IMG_2062.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my second batch </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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I let a mother age from two bottles of GT's Kombucha. I bought the Kombucha a month before I made the tea and let them sit in one of the pictures all that time. You don't need a visible mother in order to make Kombucha, but you need to allow the store bought stuff time to grow.<br />
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After combining the tea and the mother in the pitcher I let it sit on the shelf for a week. I bottled it in Ball wide mouth pint jars. I got a full gallon with enough left over for a starter; the starter should be 1 cup of Kombucha per gallon.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the finished first batch- Echinacea, Hollyhock and Raw Honey</td></tr>
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The taste of the tea is AWESOME! It is by far the best stuff I have made. I didn't let it age too long; maybe a week at tops. You can taste the honey and the roots. It tastes very similar to apple juice. Since I didn't let it age that long it is not too vinegary. The tea is a black tea color with strands of the culture in it. It is raw and awesome! It cost about $1 per 16oz and it does help with appetite control. <br />
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I have always been cautious about drinking my Kombucha. I drank 8oz of warm Kombucha while I was putting the rest of it in jars. Then I chilled the rest of it and drank another 8oz the next day. I waited to see if it was going to throw up or shit all over the place...and I didn't. That means it's safe to drink. Right?<br />
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I canned the tea, set aside the mother and clean out the sediment and crap from the gallon jar. Then I looked around my kitchen for some more tea I could turn into Kombucha and started on my second batch.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2452635235750671603.post-26689370079576823242011-09-14T00:26:00.003-05:002011-09-16T10:51:32.974-05:00820 Words of Randomness820 Words of Randomness: That's right, I write crap and warn you about it before you read it! <br />
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The last 18 months I have really been paying attention to my relationship with our food system. With the good food and the junk food I eat, I question: what it is, how is it made, why I am eating it and what does it do for me.<br />
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With most foods I ask myself if could I make it "from scratch." I then get frustrated asking, what is "from scratch?"<br />
<ul><li>Do I have some processed foods and make it "from scratch?" Like homemade cookies; The chocolate, butter, vanilla extract and sugar are processed. </li>
<li>Do I make a dish from all single ingredients? Like a homemade pizza; flour, water, yeast, cheese (the flour, cheese and the yeast are gimmes), tomatoes and basil. </li>
<li>Finally is "from scratch" something I grow or forage for and prepare? Like a salad from the garden. </li>
</ul><br />
I always am looking for a way to do most of the work myself. I don't think there is a definite answer to what "from scratch" cooking is. I feel it is in the middle of my three choices. But we should be challenging ourselves to be more responsible for gathering and making our food- to have a more DIY attitude.<br />
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From food I start to think: what else do I use in my day to day life that I could make? Stuff like: medicine, teas, toothpaste, soaps, lotion, shampoo, shoes, clothes, gardening equipment, etc...<br />
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It's funny, I have standards and I am not able to live up to them. I have been watching videos and listening to interviews with <a href="http://www.danielvitalis.com/">Daniel Vitalis</a>. He has been inspiring. I don't believe <i>everything</i> he talks about, but some stuff he says makes sense. He talks about "living water," water that is from a spring, right from the earth. He has several websites, one of them is <a href="http://www.findaspring.com/">findaspring.com</a>, which tells you where springs are in your area. For the past week I have been going to the Schmidt Brewery Well. The well is not 100% spring water, but it's a step up from unfiltered tap water. He also is not a fan of plastics. So I am thinking how I can get spring water and get rid of all the plastic in my house; WHILE drinking pop from a plastic jug.<br />
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My diet has been absolute CRAP since we started to move. It's nuts how change in your routine can mess with exercise and diet. I have gained at least 10 pounds, maybe 15; I don't care to step on the scale. I am at or close to the heaviest I've been. <br />
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I have all this awesome knowledge in my head and I have a better idea of what I want my lifestyle and diet to be, but I really am not practicing it. I know it's gonna come where I am closer to practicing my ideal diet, I am just not there yet.<br />
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Most of it is: I have been eating crap food. I <i>have been</i> saving seeds, making an AWESOME echinacea, hollyhock and raw honey- kombucha (post to come,) making wine (post to come,) learning about foraging, traditional medicines and more about local farmers. My diet is just down the toilet.<br />
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There are a lot of reasons for my diet being crap and I need to have a better understanding of them to move on. There are some minor emotional reasons. The reasons I am thinking of are: my three kids, a wife, work, laziness, lack of knowledge and convenience. You know, life! Over time you gain knowledge and it is easier to practice what you know. I feel like my body will catch up with my head. <br />
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There is a sensitivity your body has to your diet and your environment. While I am eating crap food I am not as sensitive to my body. I want to be more in-touch with how I am feeling and how I could feel better and live a healthier life.<br />
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I have done some thinking on the topics of this blog. I started to think they are too broad and I need to narrow things down a bit. When I first started to write my thought was: I want to write about my struggles, my ideas of eating and living a healthier lifestyle. The past month or so I started to questing if my topics were too broad; Like I am a Food Network TV personality and I have to fit in a nice organized box. I was then told- this is my blog and I can do what I want. The food system is complex, food history is complex, cultures are complex and yes, I am complex. (Insert laugh here.) So that's where the randomness of these posts come from... or not so random. And I have no desire to be Guy Fieri.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06993405529380474253noreply@blogger.com0