storied food

stories become prayerswhen we eat the storied food

and know the garden that the beets are from
the hands that planted the seed and
those that saved the seed

and know the fish's stories of nets and hooks
the deer's fate and the tired hands that brought it home

...

it's only since industrialization
that we've become isolated and our prayers necessarily anonymized
to give thanks to those who've prepared this food is to forget those people

so let's define local in social and spiritual terms - of experience -
so that our prayers can be expressed as stories once more

as we know our food we become more able to know the land
and with that embodied knowledge we become more ready
for our own death, knowing that throughout our embodied life
we consume the land
and in death, the land consumes these bodies

how to farm worms

Small scale compost can be really dreamy.

my parents had bought this funny, what i thought gimmicky, composter that rolls in a stand.

The ease of turning the compost over increases the air flow and with a balance of nitrogen (kitchen scraps) and carbon (leaves, paper, coconut husk, etc..) this was supposed to be a quick turn around from scraps to soil. 

finished compost is harvested out of the inner core of the barrel accessed through a cap visible on the end of the drum.

as it turned out, I threw in a handful of worms from the garden

and Voila! fragrant, beautiful, soil. and about 100 000 000 worms in about 67 days.

this was a couple of years ago and the composter continues to go strong. this is in temperate vancouver island and does not go below freezing year round.

very fantastic, very fun,

it is very possible that this little system, or a system like it, could produce casting and worms for many gardens. 

goose barley soup

The healing qualities of this meal
exist in the time between planting and harvest
the care and concern for those plants.

I'm reminded of September winds
The ones that winnowed the chaff from the seed

I'm reminded of the last warmth of fall sunshine
as we killed those geese, carefully plucking the down

The world is a better place
as I maintain a sensitivity to time and place
holding my own mortality in the passing life of a goose

The healing qualities of this meal
can be calculated by protein and nutrient
but far more significant is the closeness
this meal has brought me to life.

In very real ways I become the sunshine
captured by barley and the life force of the goose.

The hills covering the potatoes and careful
hoeing around the onions.

All of these actions
A part of
the regular healing
of being alive.

the fall sun

they would ask her for healing, and if it were spring time they would help her plant the garden. Summer time they would help tend the crops. During the fall the beans would need shucking, the dry corn, the squash.

During the winter they would speak while sharing meals and keeping warm.

The most significant things we can accomplish are also the most simple, in a way.
The beans, the corn, the seeds.

rattlesnake pole beans

The seeds are also the most complex. Plant's memory. Plant's language.

Just as he spent those years on the trapline to meet himself again after those years of school. After being taken apart. These simple tasks become complex when we allow our whole selves to become a part of the task - a part of the experience.

To resensitize to what it means to be alive.

Cultivate these opportunities in your life so that you become larger, growing out of your body into the water, soil and air. into the plants and animals, into the sun

one day, I pray, we will look at the sun together and see ourselves..

barley left - oats right

how to make yogurt without a thermometer

making yogurt is a good thing to do when you're already in the kitchen working on other projects. Last night I was making cookies and dinner, so I put milk on to warm up to the point where my (clean) finger can't stay submerged. There's probably a temperature number you can get from another resource, but it needs to be hotter than you can handle, and the surface tension changes, with minute bubbles appearing.

Take it off the heat then!!
NO boiling, NO scalding..

from the pot (right) pour into cooling container (center) until milk cools to warm ie. comfy to the touch but still hot. Then mix 2 cups milk with either 1) one package yogurt starter (far left) OR 2) a couple of spoons of your last batch of yogurt that was super tasty.

incubate in an insulated container. I found the one pictured in a salvation army thrift store en route tree planting through northern alberta. Made in the 70's, first used in 2011! The 2cups of milk/starter (right) is frothy from being stirred a number of times as it sits (5 minutes) before adding the rest of the hot milk. then the insulated lid (left) fits on top of the insulated bottom to keep the milk/yogurt essentially at/near temperature for 12-24 hours. You don't need to purchase a fancy styrofoam contraption like this one, a good blanket packed tight around a pot might do the trick, who knows?

just remember, heat escapes through the top and the bottom.

happy fermenting

New poem with film,
good fun.
for youtube go here

processing grain by hand

here's the micro-micro grain processing procedure after planting 1/3 of a cup of purple barley this spring.

so rub the full seed heads between hands

and here you are, purple barley! now winnow it on a windy day, or with a fan. simply pour grain and chaff from a bucket into a bucket. the grain (heavier) will fall faster, the (lighter) chaff will blow off into the universe.

don't forget to look up and wonder how the sun is so giving

There’s scientists who

Study rivers feeding forests.

Nitrogen travelling

in the Bodies of salmon from oceans belly

Carrying a special isotope, so

They can see the fish in the tree rings and leaf samples.

It’s simple,

Wolves eats salmon heads

(canines get sick off a gut parasite in the salmon and die)

So there’s headless fish fertilizing forests

While bear grabs a snack for the land,

Digesting that dorsal muscle and egg sack to

Fatten up, leaving a carcass that

Expands in biomass as

Diptera fly maggots become that N15 signature.
The unfathomable mass of a salmon spawn
growing through death, through life as

Hymenoptera (Parasitic wasp) and

Coleopters (Burying beetle),

Expand salmon's affluence

And the wren’s, singing salmon songs
catch that n15 nitrogen in flight, held in feather

…
This is

the forest herself, feasting

Making love with the ocean.

A potlatch, a great giving,

…

Salmon – ocean blowing kisses

To majestic wild forests –
Salmon - Subsidizing this terrestrial

Community of nitrogen hungry

False lilies
Salmon-berry-bushes,

Cedar.

 - Now living
expressions of ocean’s love song -

…

And forest holds those fragile eggs in stream beds
giving delicious shade and clean water to those fish
for years before heading on their journey that will
always return,

And forest, a key determinant of salmon health
                                     Which is human health.

Our habitat, the result of

     This gift economy,

                 This giving ecology

May our living be Our dance, our praise of being caught

Between the love affair of Abundant ocean and forest.
And river,

Ever feeding ocean fresh water to sooth Her salty breath.

Canadian Farmer on Hunger Strike (one month already)

dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org


Honourable Dalton McGuinty

I am concerned by the centralization of our canadian, and ontarian, food production. With the closure of the last soft fruit packing plant, the aging farming population and ever intense ecosystem strain of intensive livestock operations I urge the government to think systemically about our food webs. 

As we globally celebrate the 7 billionth human being born let us explore the idea of resiliency. Jane Jacobs, well respected urban planner and social critic, talks about planned redundancy as part of a resilient system. This means many smaller operations performing similar, if not the same, task for different populations. If one changes or fails, the system as a whole doesn't suffer, functions simply shift. 

The continued plight of small producers against your government is counter intuitive if we are working towards a system that works for people. I appreciate a response to these thoughts,

In the utmost urgency

Ben Laurie

A pledge to sign can be found HERE

Food Labelling Input requested

Hi All

I have sent the following letter to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency

I hope this is incentive to see how easy it is for YOU to weigh in :)
love ben

...


Hello and thank you!

I very much appreciate the work that you do as a government to regulate food labels. There is nothing more pertinent then to understand what we are eating and to be able to make informed choices. This is how the market best functions. In this way, I hope that genetically engineered and modified foods be mandatorily labeled in Canada so that people may continue to make informed choices.
Thanks for your time and attention.

Best,
Ben
click HERE to submit your thoughts

Gundru & salt brine Kale stems

In the season of plenty, lower yourself into your garden accepting the life that, in this case, the wonderful plant we call Kale, gives us.

harvest the lowest leaves, allowing the plant to continue growing up from the new leaves in the top middle.

Now this basket of leaves will crush down for me into a 1L jar to ferment for 3 - 4 weeks before drying.

here is the set up

So b/c I think it's a tasty idea, I'm packing jars with stems so tightly that they hold themselves in. Then a little salt, whole garlic (if you like), dill (if you like) whatever, and then some time, will turn these stems into a beautiful, enzyme alive! ferment great for snacks, appetizers, and impressing the inlaws.

fill em nice and full

Now for Gundru, a traditional nepalese ferment. Good friend Miles introduced me to this ferment and writes about it HERE on his GREAT BLOG.

So with an object (i'm using this water bottle full of water) crush the leaves so they get rich and juicy. this ferment requires ONLY crushed Kale leaves, no water, no salt... On this batch I used this knife to cut the leaves after the crushing stage. Our plan is to ferment and then blend the leaves with seeds etc and dehydrate into crackers.

Mash those pre mashed leaves into your container, preferably glass or earthen. The bubbly juice is OUTRAGEOUS!

so here is the beauty. you can see some stems in there (which work just great, you don't need to salt brine them separately, that's just what I did this time.) I cover this with a piece of plastic with a little hole in it or a loose lid. if the lid is tightened on you will need to 'burp it' as the active ferment process of gasses. this will slow down after a week or so in a warm-ish dark place and then it is best to keep the lid on tightly until you are ready to a) eat it b) dry it and eat it. When dried these little devils taste better than the best seaweed you've ever eaten.

August Garden

The cool loving plants thrive, the heat loving barely survive. Such bounty, such little effort.  ((click for larger image))

chickens

Well here are the ladies,
Frida (black) and Mable, Agnes, Betty (brown)
The coop cost
4$ for wood
7$ hinges
1.25$ handles
3$ chain link

everything else was salvaged.

15.25$ is not bad, though the chickens came to 10$ each, 25kg of feed for 12.50$ and two feed trays and horse bucket 2.75$ and the big ticket item that blew the budget (i can't believe this still) 11$ for cushy wood shavings for the ol nest box.

so a total of 81.50$ for compost, fun, eggs, and a little extra life around the place!

Article one

I need to share something with you about food, but how can I write about food without talking about soil, or sunlight. Can we talk about food without talking about people, or trucks and tractors, stores or markets, money or dumpsters, food banks or governments, family and culture?
Before any of that, maybe let’s start by admitting that we need food. From this thankful place of needing plants, animals and fungi (depending on what feels good for you to eat) let’s talk with the humility that we need the earth, while the earth doesn’t necessarily need us. We’re the dependent ones here, and this is ok. So let’s talk about food from the beginning, by saying thanks. Though food takes work, all food is a gift.
I’m cooking for housemates and friends as I write this first food article for this winter semester. There is venison on the stove being braised before the wild rice, ramps, carrots and garlic are added, before slowly stewing filling our house with warmth and that peppery smell that builds our anticipation.
Although I am just beginning to prepare the meal now, this meal has been in preparation for much longer. This last fall James harvested this rice just north of Trent, taking until now to process the grains. Last spring I harvested and dried the wild leeks near the niagra escarpment, the fall before I had hunted the deer. The garlic is a gift from a good friend, the carrots a trade from another. These people, places and experiences are all part of this recipe, and in this way I started cooking this meal quite some time ago.
If a meal can be a story about the lives of plants and animals, what is the story that your food tells? It doesn’t need to be fancy or long, romantic, or even remarkable. Listen to your food so that you may learn about your relationship with the earth. If we are honest then we will be better able to make decisions.
Let’s listen to our stories, and share them. We can learn about ourselves and each other by quieting our words and noticing the stuff of our lives. This is certainly not limited to food, but food is a daily ritual for most, and is worthy of celebration and intention. Every day around the earth humans prepare food, which is the living stuff of life that surrounds us, and we take it into our bodies. Food is immediate, often shared with others, and repeated.
The word Culture is often used to describe differences and similarities that humans share. Although there are many ways to be in this world, people are inevitably interacting with the earth in order to share the joys of flavour and sustenance. To share these things is to be affected by this experience of being alive and to enjoy our time.
So I need to share something with you about food, but how can I write anything without first talking about soil, and in an imperfect way, to say thanks to the plants and animals that I need for my life. We’re ready to begin.

New Video, By The Bushel, Coming at Ya!

Follow This Link!

thanks be for giving

James' Rice

roasted rice with standing stalk in the lake
click for larger view
September 2010, Curve Lake

what's it good for

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

a great comedic expose of migrant farm workers,
take heed, this is funny, but real (for us canadians too)

Link to health study

Not surprising, but the drugs animals take (especially for increased growth) aren't good for humans!

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100715/BUSINESS01/7150344/1030/Antibiotics-in-livestock-affect-humans-USDA-testifies

the question of asking

imagine a friend taking something, say your toothbrush, thanking you, and leaving.
imagine tapping a maple tree, saying thank you, and boiling that sap to make syrup.
imagine taking the life of something without asking, then a thank you on the way out.

I've been thinking about proper ways of interacting with life recently, and have been working from the assumption that we, humans, need Life. Life, does not necessarily need us.

So the forms of life on this planet that directly live with the sun are arguably the strongest, leaving little animals like humans as somewhat secondary, or more distant from, the life source that is Sun.

From this way of understanding belonging, I've been quite rude in my living this far. It's only be the last couple years that I've started to be thankful. "thank you mullein, for your juicy leaves" "thank you tomato for your ripe fruit"...

My 'thanks' to date have been under the assumption that I've been given something. But a safe way to be gifted, is to ask. I've come to realize the importance of ceremony in this regard. Maple, strong, vibrant, tall. You are soon going to wake, and we have nearly eaten all of the syrup we made from your running sap last spring, may we (names here) take from your life force so that we may have that beautiful sugar of your sap for the coming seasons?

Or something like that.

Then there's the listening. how do we listen to non english? non verbal? non human!?

All I know from this point in my life is that I am able, I knew before I knew how to walk.

The way to learn is by listening to myself
And in this way becoming able to hear again
The voices of my larger self
Life