Sushi

During my cleanse I was craving avocado for some reason, so I decided to finally try my hand at rolling sushi myself. This photo looks much more impressive than it actually turned out.. I quickly learned that I was overdoing the rice as I ended up with rolls that were too big to eat and that fell apart. Also, using brown rice meant they were less sticky that they normally would be with white, which made rolling a challenge. Post Punk Kitchen says don't bother with brown, but I did enjoy the taste..

I followed Marissa Baggett's approach for the rice; I like the idea of using honey and vinegar instead of pre-made seasoned rice vinegar, which is (predictably) sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. I also made Tuna Soboro to include in some of the rolls. We buy Raincoast Trading hook and line caught Pacific albacore tuna, which is still considered a sustainable source according to Seafood Watch. The soboro is GOOD. Very moreish.

Overall, it was quite straightforward. I was always impressed at the availability of these kinds of rolls in every corner store in Korea.. convenience food that has actual food in it. Koreans cut up a roll and wrap in in tin foil in the log shape, and take it hiking or on a picnic. I'm looking forward to trying it with other fillings.

In other news, the yard is slowly starting to be transformed. We discovered that the area we plan to have as the garden is sod on top of 5 inches of gravel, with better soil underneath. So lots of hard work ahead, but that's the fun part, right?

Tonic

Spring is springing! Seeds are sprouting.. I always forget what a delight all this sunshine is. Here is self portrait with spring tonic, in my natural environment, which is thesis writing at the kitchen table. Try as I might to use the office, I always end up back in the kitchen with the south facing window and a view of the Paskapoo Slopes. It feels like the appropriate season for some tonifying.. which means dropping refined sugar, caffeine, dairy, gluten and junk food for a little while. I am also taking daily doses of nettle juice, milk thistle and lacto-fermented ginger tonic.

A herbalist friend introduced me to nettle as a way to eliminate hay fever. I can't believe how well it works. The only downside is drinking a bottle of green stuff that tastes like a cross between grass and hay... a bit nasty. 10 ml twice a day, which is half of a shot (yes I shoot my nettle, out of a shot glass with a quote from Dylan Thomas on the side 'An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do.') But when I am done the bottle, my allergies are gone. This year I am planning to make a point of finding some fresh nettle, as I hear it is quite nice as a cooked green. Seems like a more pleasant way to get a dose.

Milk thistle is a liver tonic that has also been shown to regulate insulin. I started taking it last year and found that it almost completely erased my pms related pain. The syrup I take is made with sea buckthorn berries, which are pretty tasty and are good for digestion.

I used this recipe to make the ginger tonic. Next time I'll add less salt, because I found it came forward a bit too much for my taste. Aside from the benefits of ginger, this offers a good dose of lactobacillus without eating dairy.

The tonic in the photo is made from boiling rose hips that I harvested last fall in water for 15 minutes or so, and straining out the solids. I then mixed it 50/50 with mineral water. I've never been one for drinking enough water, partially because I hate the chlorine taste so prominent in Calgary tap water. So I've started getting a 2 litre bottle of mineral water to keep in the fridge, and am also experimenting with a homemade carbon filter. I simply have a glass pitcher on the counter with several sticks of bamboo charcoal floating in it. I found the charcoal at the local health food store.

In Asia charcoal is used therapeutically in many different ways. I went to a spa in Korea where a dry sauna had walls entirely covered with huge pieces of charcoal, stacked like cordwood. People even eat it, you can find charcoal ice cream and charcoal cake! When I went for traditional treatment (similar to TCM, traditional Chinese medicine), the doctor had me drink packages of powdered charcoal in water for a few weeks.

The bamboo charcoal isn't powdery however, it just sits in the water. And the water does taste much better than straight out of the tap.

Because I'm taking a break from dairy, I also made almond milk. All that is required is soaking a cup of almonds in 2 cups of water overnight, blending it in the blender, and straining out the pulp. I added a bit of maple syrup. It was very nice, a light flavour. I found it was better the second day, with a kind of amaretto smell and taste. I used the pulp to make veggie pate for a party. It was really tasty. I'm definitely going to make it again.

Almond veggie pate:

1 cup almond pulp
1 T olive oil
1 T nut butter
1 T rosemary, or herbes de Provence
1 t bouillon concentrate
1 T miso
1 T chopped sun dried tomatoes

Blend well, refrigerate to set and let flavors blend. Serve with crackers or fresh bread.

Sprouts

I have been doing a little sprouting lately. Yet another activity that is an unknown mystery to many but is in fact is easier than easy. Now, you really must try fresh sprouts. They are nothing like the ones in the store. They are sweet and tasty and more-ish. We do buy greens from the closest place possible over the winter, which is California most of the time, Hotchkiss if we are lucky, but I am still aware that they have been dying for a week before they get to me. And also, if they are from Hotchkiss, they are growing in a heated (read: heated by propane, most likely.. ) greenhouse in Canada in February, which is a bit ridiculous when you think about it. Next year I hope to get some micro greens going in the house over the winter months, but until then.. sprouts. A great way to get really fresh greens, and if you use beans, also a source of protein. I bought a package of Mumm's Spring Salad Sprouting Seed, which is a combination of Broccoli, Radish, Red Clover, and Alfalfa. This is the lazy way, as the package is 2.50 and if I bought the seeds in bulk it would cost pennies. In the end I'm glad I went with the mix though, as the radish sprouts are GOOD. If I had done my own mix it would have been mung beans, chickpeas, and lentils since that's what's in the cupboard.

To grow sprouts, put 3 Tbs. of seeds (more if they are beans, since beans are larger..) in a mason jar, and cover with water. Soak for 5 hours. Place cheese cloth over the opening, and secure with an elastic or a canning lid ring. Drain the water and rinse with new water. Drain again. Put the jar in the cupboard, and let the sprouts do their thing. Rinse once a day, and they will be ready in 2 or 3 days. I ate these with salad dressing, like a leaf salad. We also use them to make pad thai, and they are great in a sandwich with cream cheese.

I also tried my hand at seitan from scratch this week. Previously I have used 100% wheat gluten to make seitan, and found it a bit rubbery. I thought I would try it from scratch to see what the texture difference would be. To make seitan from scratch, you start with 6 cups of flour, make a dough, and immerse it in water. You then knead it under water, rinsing out the starch and only gluten will remain at the end. At least in theory. In reality, you are wrestling with a big blob of goo, and using gallons and gallons of water to rinse off the starch. Also, it takes about an hour of rinsing and kneading. Hmm.

Admittedly, the seitan that resulted was pretty tasty. Although it was almost too soft and broke apart easily. But after sitting in the fridge overnight it had a much better consistency. I made Balsamic-Braised Seitan with Winter Vegetables from Quick-Fix Vegetarian and it was really, really good. I had tried several similar recipes that used liquid smoke or dark beer to get a full flavour but they didn't compare with this one. My conclusion is that I'll work on finding a mix of homemade and pure gluten to get the best texture and to spend my time wisely.

Why I pay 5.50 for a dozen eggs

I enjoyed this kitchn post on the many considerations at play in our food choices. 'Why I pay 7.50 for a dozen eggs' So many discussions I have with people curious about organic food revolve around whether it's worth the money. The idea that we should always pay as little as possible for everything, especially food, is so ingrained into our cultural psyche it is difficult to even recognize. However the negative consequences of that kind of thinking can be seen all around us, especially in the lives of farmers and agricultural workers. Free market captialism at its worst squeezes profits out of any exchange of capital, since the system requires profits to always go up in order to benefit shareholders. Unfortunately the most easily squished parts of the system are human beings; usually the human beings who are most vulnerable. I learned a great deal about what is going on in Canada and Alberta from Yessy Byl, a lawyer with the Alberta Federation of Labour. She discusses the problems with the current temporary foreign worker program at changingthecanvas.org.

non-stick

I have been trying to phase out as many strange chemicals as possible from everyday life. This includes the ubiquitous Teflon and Scotchguard products (otherwise known as PFOA -- Perfluorooctanoic Acid) .. given some of the evidence slowly accumulating regarding the dangers they present to human health and the environment. The notoriously conservative Environmental Protection Agency in the States reported on the dangers of low level exposure to PFOAs back in 2003, which would indicate that a very real and likely under-reported risk exists. Just try searching online for info on this, you mostly get 'articles' put forward by the companies themselves. The chemicals in these products have been linked to cancer, immune system disruption, and more recently to infertility in women.
It's a challenging feat to remove this chemical from one's everyday environment, because it really is everywhere. It is found in food packaging such as microwave popcorn bags, carpet cleaner, spray cleaner, nonstick cookware, products like Febreeze, and is sprayed on most new soft furniture.

Some of the solutions I have found:

I make my own spray cleaner (dead easy and can be scented with essential oil, much better than
'Tahitian Vanilla' or some such horror..)

I ditched the old non-stick pan for an All Clad pan that was a little pricey but is a dream to use. We use it at least twice a day. (Here's a NYTimes article about one cook's search for a non-Teflon pan..)

I have a dog, so I steam clean the carpet pretty often. I recently tried replacing the cleaning solution with vinegar, and it worked beautifully. I've heard adding a bit of borax helps as well.

I'm not sure about the current couch, because I got it off of craigslist, but if I must buy new I try to support Ikea, as they have a good track record when it comes to chemical regulation. They don't use super toxic glues in particle board, unlike most manufacturers. And they also eschew spray treatments for soft furniture.