Fermented Foods 101: Yes You Do Need Bacteria!
Considering that I have been brewing kombucha for quite some time now, you could call me a bit of a fermented foods addict, so it was fun to get to do a fermented foods guide for Refinery29 and get to interview the fermented foods extraordinaire Sandor Ellix Katz.
“Almost all the fermented foods and beverages we know of are so ancient that they predate recorded history. Humans could never have settled many regions of the world without the benefit of fermentation, and agriculture would not be possible without it.” Ellix Katz explains, “How could people ever begin to invest their energy in crops that are ready at particular times of the year if they didn’t have techniques for preserving the harvest to get them through the rest of the year?”
It’s true: In a world before refrigerators, people had to preserve their food somehow, and often fermentation was it. Those preservation techniques are still used in cultures around the world today, from miso in Japan to cheese in France, and while fermented foods might sound like a fad, you’re probably already eating them. Coffee? Fermented food. Chocolate? Fermented. Wine? Also fermented. In fact, as Ellix Katz points out, “most people in most parts of the world eat or drink products of fermentation every day.”
Read the full article here.
Vow to Never Be Normal
Good words from Van Gogh that act as a the perfect reminder to cultivate beauty and color in our lives.
Via: Fresh Hues
Afghan Women Challenging Gender Roles with Bikes
I have found myself constantly inspired in the last year by the story of the Afghan Women’s National Cycling team, pushing the boundaries in a country where cycling is considered taboo.
I recently wrote about them and a new film being made about their story on GOOD:
What if you were told you could not ride a bike because you’re a woman? What if your younger sister wasn’t allowed to ride? What if every single woman in your family was kept away from bicycles simply because riding them was seen as immoral?
While most of us have the luxury of being able to head out on two wheels whenever we want to, for the women of Afghanistan, the world of two wheels is reserved for men. Riding a bicycle is a taboo and a sign of immorality. Something so simple—a means of transportation that so many of us take for granted—is off-limits if you’re a female.
But that is changing.
Despite the cultural taboo of females on bicycles, there is an Afghan Women’s National Cycling Team in Kabul. These women who challenge their country’s gender expectations by riding are the subjects of an upcoming film called Afghan Cycles (Let Media). Earlier this year, co-directors Sarah Menzies and Whitney Connor Clapper travelled with Mountain2Mountain Executive Director Shannon Galpin to Afghanistan with a stash of cameras and more than 350 pounds of bike gear. The goal was to document these amazing, courageous women, but also to provide support for what is hopefully a growing movement.
You can read the full article here. And to support the team, Mountain2Mountain is currently doing a 100 Bikes by Christmas campaign – to help in the launch of a new women’s mountain biking team in Bamiyan – as well as a bike gear drive. To take part and support these women visit mountain2mountain.org/donation or email info[at]mountain2mountain[dot]org.
Can a Non-Vegetarian Still be a Conscious Eater?
This is something that I have been thinking a lot about lately, and is the subject for this week’s Foodie Underground column on EcoSalon. An excerpt:
There has been a repetitive question in my brain for the last few months.
“Why am I not vegetarian?”
I consider myself a conscious eater. I am the kind of person that nowadays passes up fruit and vegetables because they are out of season. Certainly, I still drink coffee and eat chocolate, and by no means am a 100% locavore, but I constantly think about what I consume and what I eat.
I am however, not a vegetarian. There, I said it.
Sometimes, ethically, that makes me cringe. In fact being a person that writes about conscious eating, publicly acknowledging that I am not a vegetarian puts me in a vulnerable spot; I get nervous about the response. The internet loves to hate, after all.
But I have watched too many under cover factory farm videos and read too many investigative reports about the state of affairs for mass produced meat to be able to avoid asking myself this question.
And so my personal policy to eating has evolved. I eat very little meat (in the past month I have eaten it twice), and I try very hard to think about it when I do.
What’s so bad about factory farmed meat? A lot of things. From environmental to human health to animal rights, there are a variety of things that are wrong about factory-farmed, cheap meat. Nearly 80 percent of the antibiotics consumed in the U.S. go to livestock farming. To make one hamburger, it takes more than 50 gallons of water. Around 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from the global meat and dairy industry. The list goes on. And despite our awareness of how bad the situation is, we continue to become more carnivorous.
Read the full column here.
The Culinary Cyclist Cookbook: 3 for $20 Holiday Special
So this year I wrote a book, a cookbook actually, and it’s called The Culinary Cyclist. Yes, food and bicycles all together in one lovely REAL book (you know, those printed things with pages that you flip through?). Want one? You’re in luck. Through December 15, they’re on a little holiday special: 3 books for $20. That’s basically three books for the price of two. Snag a pack now: one book for you, one for your friend, and one that you can keep on hand until you have the “oh no! I forgot to get [insert name here] a gift!”
There’s a lot of good stuff in here, including recipes (all gluten-free + vegetarian) like Baked Egg in Avocado, Raw Walnut Butter and how to make cold brew coffee in a French press. In other words: you need this book.
Click here to buy.
How to Make Glögg
Recipe for Swedish glögg on Foodie Underground today. Hello, December.
Afghan Cycles: A Film About Women’s National Cycling Team of Afghanistan
Very proud of my friends at Let Media for telling this beautiful story and for the nonprofit Mountain2Mountain for supporting these courageous women.
To learn more about the documentary, check out the Afghan Cycles website. Want to support? Mountain2Mountain is collecting bike donations so that they can launch a women’s mountain biking team in Bamiyan.
Sexism in the Food Industry… in French
Alors que les femmes cuisinent beaucoup, elles ne le font pas, culturellement parlant, dans un contexte professionnel.
When Julia Tissier got in touch with me I had a bit of a freak out.
She’s the editor of a new online magazine called Cheek, a French publication that focuses on modern feminist issues (think: portrayal of women in the media, etc.) It’s smart and savvy.
“We’d love to have you contribute to Cheek since you write about food topics,” she wrote in an email. Note that this was all in French.
“Um, sure. You ready to edit?”
Fortunately she was.
We went back and forth a bit, and decided that I should address the issue of women in the restaurant industry. “Oh god, I’m going to write a feminism piece in French?” I thought to myself.
I did and the result is the first thing substantial thing I have written in French (emails do not count) since college. It’s a look at gender roles and sexism in the food industry, particularly in response to the recent Time “Gods of Food” article. If you’re French is up to par, you can read it here.
Moral: challenge yourself, it’s good for you.
Recipe: Gluten-Free Apple and Date Buckwheat Scones
I have been in the midst of wrapping up a cookbook with my friend Johanna (more on that here) so there have been a lot of butter and flour combinations in my kitchen as of late.
While that is all well and good (just like Julia Child, I do happen to believe in butter, as long as it’s real butter), sometimes I just crave making something that has nothing to do with standard baking ingredients. A little olive oil here, a little gluten-free flour there.
There is beauty and creativity born out of restriction, after all.
Is There Anything Better Than Bikes and Sunshine?
Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.
– John F. Kennedy
Life is simple really. Take a moment to slow down. Appreciate the present. Celebrate in the small things.
Standing on Pont des Arts I captured this shot, a woman cycling in the afternoon sun. Maybe she was on her way to meet a friend, maybe she was on her way home, or maybe she was just outside taking in the summer day. Whatever she was doing, it was beautiful.
Love bikes? You’ll love The Culinary Cyclist, a cookbook for anyone that believes that life is better spent on two wheels.
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