Ferment Workshop Report

Eveline Mueller, a nutritionist and skillfull kitchen elf, gave an outstanding demonstration on how to make fermented foods at Parsley Farm on Sunday. We learned how to make kefir, whey, sauerkraut, ginger - lemon - hibiscus soda and fruit kimchi. Eveline shared many samples, insights and techniques for how to use food as medicine, and she discussed how having a direct relationship with live food can be a basis for a healthy body and culture at large.

Sandor Katz, the author of Wild Fermentation, writes, "I have no greater healing skill to share than simple techniques for the fermentation of vegetables. Sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles will not cure every ailment, but they will contribute to overall well-being. Whether you are the healthiest person in the world, are facing a life threatening health crisis, are living with a chronic disease, or are just like everyone else, live-culture (unpasteurized) fermented foods improve digestion, absorption of nutrients (especially minerals), and immune function. Fermenting vegetables perserves them with their nutrients intact, "predigests" those nutrients into more accessible micronutrients, both vitamins and obscure micronutrients only just beginning to be identified and understood."

At the end of the workshop, the participants said they felt good. Eveline was pleased, she accomplished her mission. She made the point that when we look at and prepare food, their intrinsic qualities should excite us because that's what gets our gastric juices going. In my own ferment after the workshop, I set to work on making the ginger-lemon-hibiscus drink and spicing up my sauerkraut. Today I can report that both are stunning additions to my home cuisine. I think my next ferment will be turnips and rutabagas. We'll look forward to more workshops from Eveline Meuller at Parsley farm.

Elderberry Episode

Craig gathered 20 lbs of elderberries from Plain, Washington. These tall shrubs dangle their ripe dark blue berries in clusters making picking easy. When you see bear scat loaded with elderberry seeds in this part of the woods, it is not hard to imagine them standing on their haunches gorging on these wild nuggets. Wild berries are nutrient rich; the dark blue/purple ones are particularly good at nourishing the blood. Elderberry is loaded with Vitamin C and potassium; the immune system is protected by bioflavinoids and other proteins in the berry which destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell.

Processing wild food always takes time, allot of time, but the tradeoff is potency. With two huge bowls mounded with berries, I diligently separated the berries from the stem. Elderberries can be a poison to the digestive system if eaten raw so they must be cooked. I used the berries to make jam, bags of pie filling and a syrup. If one of us has a cold coming on we have a tasty arsenal ready and waiting in our pantry.

Syrups are a very delicious and flexible medicinal medium. You can put a tablespoon in plain water, soda water, warm tea, vodka, warm brandy – have a few doses throughout the day. All ages will seek it out when a cold comes on. Here is the recipe I used this year:

Recipe by: Herbs For Health, Glenbrook Farms Herbs

6 cups fresh elderberries
1/3 –1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lime juice

Wash & mash elderberries, put through a strainer or a juicer. In a quart pan, mix the elderberry juice with honey, ginger and cinnamon. Cover and simmer for 35 mins. Remove from heat and add the lime juice.

You can add 2 cups of vodka at this stage or leave it nonalcoholic for other applications. Pour in a bottle, cap and store in the refrigerator.

A Positive Sign

In early September, I was on my usual run with Golda, my dog, to Dead Horse Canyon, a serene little park in South Seattle. It has a creek running through it and two wooden bridges; it is a haven for native plants, wildlife, dog walkers and local residents. With that description you can imagine my fury when I approached the entrance and saw a huge pile of construction debris dumped in the parking lot. This was not the first pile of garbage I had seen at this spot but the magnitude of this dumping got my attention. As I approached, Del Davis, a forest steward, was setting out to consolidate the pile. I encouraged him to look for incriminating evidence in the pile. He later reported that he found four ski passes with a name on it. Our first clue.

My fury still fresh, I grabbed my camera and returned to the pile to take pictures. I returned home and immediately made a cardboard sign to post at the site after the garbage had been removed by the city. Most of the initial words came right away “DUMP YOUR SHIT HERE AND YOUR KARMA WILL DUMP ON YOU”, I consulted with former neighbor, Maurine Malone, by phone to hone the message. She wisely advised me to substitute the word shit with crap and so I did, but I really wanted to write SHIT, YOUR SHIT. Illegal dumping is right up there with animal abuse for me. What kind of mind governs the person who does illegal dumping? Do they have no regard for others or the environment? Do they not think there is a consequence to their actions? Del Davis, the forest steward, thinks that people who do illegal dumping do not know what the word karma means. Whether they know what the word means or not, I believe it is a major violation of the Tao, the reality of interaction: nature and human interaction. Harmonize with nature or pay the consequences. I wanted the person responsible for this dumping to pay.

Nine days later, I did a little detective work and found the e-mail address of the person named on the ski passes. Given his profession at a public university, I assumed he hired a contractor for remodeling and that the contractor did the dumping so I wrote him an e-mail inquiry about whether he might be able to assist in identifying who was responsible for the dumping. In the e-mail, I included a close-up photo of the pile. He wrote back immediately signaling his desire to help with the investigation and a request to involve the parks authorities. He also forwarded my e-mail to Larry Crites, the owner of the house he formerly resided in. Larry Crites was able to identify the construction debris in the photo and contacted the contractor who was responsible for hauling it. In just a matter of hours, Mr. Crites made the bold move of confronting the contractor and getting a confession out of him. Mr. Crites e-mailed me the name and phone number of the responsible party. I forwarded that information to Larry Campbell, a ranger with the Seattle Parks Department. He is now in the process of fining him $500.00. Colleen Hackett, a supervisor for the Parks Department, put in a work order and got a DON'T DUMP ON SEATTLE sign installed in record breaking time at the parking lot at Dead Horse Canyon. My little cardboard sign had been tie wrapped to the official city sign post. I felt honored.

It was a positive sign to me that citizens collaborated and made a difference. The culprit could have gotten away so easily and probably had in the past since he is a contractor that works in other parts of the city but his residence is in South Seattle. The integrity, concerns and actions of four citzens led to our man; the parks department was right in step, penalizing the offender and creating signage to prevent future dumping. Not one of us could have gotten to the bottom of this alone. We were in harmony with the Tao; each other and nature.

Our work is not done, however. All unoccupied land is vulnerable as dumping sites so citizens need to be vigilant and protective of them. I believe it is the perception that no one is watching nor cares which gives dumpers the sense that no one is affected by their actions. My proposal is to establish a collaboration with the Parks Department and an arts organization to fund local artists to make signs which give the opposite message. We are watching. We care. And so should you.

Saving Seeds

It wasn’t until I had the best tomato in my life that I considered saving seeds. I always thought seed saving was something that only very advanced and sophisticated farmers did. But, it was the Purple Cheyenne heirloom tomato from Salt Creek Farm that turned me into a seed savor. We probably grew and preserved a hundred pounds of tomatoes this year: All from the seeds of one tomato. It’s so simple too. All you do is take the tomato seeds out of your finest ripe specimen and place them in a jar, add a little water and wait a few days for the seeds to ferment. This helps to break down the outer gel casing of the tomato seed. Strain the seeds, rinse with water and let them dry on a paper plate. Package them in an envelop. Easy.

Seeds hold the essence, the whole potential in their tiny package. In Chinese medicine, we understand that jing energy, also called essence, governs the developmental growth processes in the body. It nourishes and fuels the body. It can be strengthened and preserved though diet and lifestyle just as the seeds of tomatoes can be strengthened by good growing conditions; healthy soil, adequate water and plenty of sun. Preserve essence, save seeds: You will be well nourished

Mushroom Hunting

This past weekend, our friends and guides, Liz Graham and Chris O'Connell, guided us on our yearly mushroom hunt through the old growth forests on the Olympic Peninsula. We had to cross a river twice which meant currents of freezing cold water challenged every barefoot step and rose up to my underwear (I took off my pants). We also walked in the rain for one of the days so we were as moist as any Northwest piece of moss, but like all devout mushroom hunters we were undeterred. There is a very palpable siren call that draws you into the serenity of the forest, guiding you from one beautifully poised mushroom, proud in its singularity, onto the next surprise, a patch of fruiting bodies occupying a down sloping hollow and on you go, deeper and deeper into the forest, knife in hand, bending low. One might disappear; entranced by the mushrooms, giddy from the hunt, footsteps silenced by the deep forest duff. We probably gathered 50 lbs of mostly chanterelles but some massive cauliflower mushrooms and humble hedgehog mushrooms as well. Now, the task at hand is to dry, saute and freeze, and cook up these deliciously earthy morsels.

Do not miss the 2008 Wild Mushroom Exhibit on October 11 & 12th at the Center for Urban Horticulture if you want to learn more about this most abundant member and resource in the Northwest.