Month: June 2009

The “People’s Department”

/ Ren

President Abraham Lincoln formed the Department of Agriculture in 1862.  Now known as the USDA, the agency is charged, in part, with

  • assuring food safety
  • protecting natural resources
  • fostering rural communities
  • ending hunger in the United States and abroad

The current administration is giving itself high marks – what do you think?

Are you optimistic that things are improving or is it big business as usual?  How much measurable progress has been made in the last 10, 20, 50 or 100 years?  Let us know in the comments..

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/127078/markofwh1964%5B1%5D.avi

“clean, safe, wholesome and truthfully labeled”

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Unser täglich Brot

/ Ren

Before Food, Inc., Fresh The Movie and Food Matters came a film called Unser täglich Brot (Our Daily Bread), a behind the scenes look at industrial food production and high-tech farming. 

Alternately beautiful and frightening and shot entirely without dialogue, the film leads us through a lucid dream-like look at the immense systems that produce our food.  The crops, the animals, the people and the spaces..

I don’t think I moved an inch in my chair the whole time I was watching it, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.  Stunning!

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/127078/brot_t4_hi%5B1%5D.mov

Additional trailers and information:

http://www.ourdailybread.at/

http://homevideo.icarusfilms.com/new2006/odb.shtml

UNSER TÄGLICH BROT Hauptmotiv 2

Pindi Chana

/ Ren

Spicy chickpea curry simmered in a tomato base with whole spices, potatoes and onions..

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Canned garbanzo beans work well here- try to use an organic brand that comes in a glass jar or a non-BPA lined can.

Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch dice and sauté in ghee over medium-low heat until softened, about 10 minutes.  Increase heat to medium and add diced onion, whole cardamom, cloves, slit red chilies, bay leaf, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, curry leaves and cinnamon.  Sauté until spices are fragrant and onions are golden brown, about 7 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes, garbanzos, turmeric, paprika and ginger and 1/2 cup of filtered water. Cover and simmer over low heat until beans are tender, about 30-45 minutes.

Serve topped with minced onion and accompanied with grilled flat bread.



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Chocolate Cherry Scones with Clotted Cream

/ Ren

Organic soaked wheat and malted barley flour, pastured butter, cacao nibs, fresh cherries and raw cream..

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Pour fresh raw cream into a pan and let stand overnight. Heat the milk very slowly until the surface begins to wrinkle, and then continue to heat 1 hour over low heat.  Do not let it boil, or you’ll have to start over.

Transfer the pan to a cool spot and allow to sit overnight.  In the morning, skim the clotted cream from the surface and refrigerate until ready to use.

Soak 1 /12 cups of organic whole wheat flour in filtered water and homemade whey overnight.  Just before preparing, stir in 1/2 of malted barley flour and pour into a glass mixing bowl.

Add 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt and then cut in 4 tablespoons pastured butter.  Make a well in the center of the mixture, then add 3/4 cup whole milk, a cup of chocolate cups and a cup of coarsely chopped, fresh pitted cherries.

Work by hand into a soft, slightly wet dough.  Drop heaping tablesponsful of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Serve warm with clotted cream.

Sprouted Wheat Salad

/ Ren

An all organic, raw, living salad of sprouted wheat berries, heirloom tomatoes, green onions, Anaheim peppers and garlic dressed with coarse salt and pepper, olive oil and basil hydrosol, with herbs and field greens..

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Raw foods have profoundly higher nutritional value and are full of the life-sustaining enzymes that are lost when foods are cooked.

“Sprouts are a tremendous source of (plant) digestive enzymes. Enzymes act as biological catalysts needed for the complete digestion of protein, carbohydrates & fats. The physiology of vitamins, minerals and trace elements is also dependent on enzyme activity.”

“Being eaten whilst extremely young, “alive” and rapidly developing, sprouts have been acclaimed as the “most enzyme-rich food on the planet”.

Its really easy to sprout wheat..

Use 1 part organic wheat berries to 3 parts filtered water.  Soak berries overnight, then drain thoroughly, rinse and drain again.  Set on counter, away from direct light.  I use a glass jar with a screen lid, but you could just as easily use cheesecloth and a rubber band.

Continue to rinse and drain 3 times a day for 2-3 days or until the sprouted reach 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length.  Keep sprouts refrigerated and use within 2 days.