Making Miso
Fermenting, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Dion Workman February 4, 2012
Mashing cooked soybeans
It is now the middle of winter here in Japan and time again to make another year’s supply of miso. The deep flavour of miso soup (misoshiru) remains for many in Japan a daily dish. Traditionally the first meal of the day consisted of a steaming bowl of miso soup, a bowl of rice, and a selection of pickled vegetables. It is an excellent breakfast that will likely see a resurgence with the demise of industrialized agriculture and global food transportation.
The current trend for bread breakfasts (fluffy, sweet, white bread), the wheat for which is mostly imported, is occurring at a time when Japanese farmers are receiving subsidies to grow less rice! The health cost of this dietary shift will, no doubt, also soon become apparent. The simple diet of whole grains, fermented beans – in the form of miso, shoyu (soy sauce) and natto – vegetables, seaweeds, fish and very small quantities of meat has served the Japanese well for hundreds of years. The Japanese have the longest life expectancy of any nation in the world and, most importantly, in general remain in good health well into their final years.
Comments (7)Yacon Syrup
Food Plants - Perennial, Health & Disease, Medicinal Plants, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Zaia Kendall August 16, 2011
by Zaia Kendall
We had an over-abundant supply of yacon that had to be harvested. Yacon (also known as ground apple) grows very easy in our (sub-tropical) climate — one plant produces many rhizomes for division and re-planting. It needs very little attention when in the ground and Tom is of the opinion that it improves the soil where it has grown.
One can only eat so much yacon and we do not like wasting resources, and after visiting a health shop and noticing the latest health craze is yacon syrup, I decided to try and make some.
Comments (6)City Kids Move to the Country (and One Moves Back Again) – Part VI
Demonstration Sites, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Fungi, Markets & Outlets, Medicinal Plants, Plant Systems, Recipes, Trees, Urban Projects — by Nicola Chatham June 30, 2011
Pit-falls, projects and laughs from our Permaculture journey.
Ah… Autumn… beautiful!
“It’s just too hard!” the voice in my head said. “How am I going to cope with the house, garden, turbo-charged grass and eroding drive-way on my own, now that Chris has moved back to Brisbane for work?”
Then my eye was caught by something orange on the swale. Wandering over, I noticed flies were buzzing around it like mad. Closer inspection revealed, draped under the new navel orange tree, this!
Comments (16)Bacteria – an Endangered Species!
Fermenting, Health & Disease, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Elisabeth Fekonia May 30, 2011
3 types of lactic ferment
The world is full of bacteria but there are certain bacteria that are fast becoming an endangered species. The bacteria that live in the gut of homo sapiens, particularly those of Caucasian origin, are fast disappearing. These particular bacteria comprise of the good bowel flora that is needed to create vitamins, break down undigested food particles and generally be a dominating presence within the nether regions. The importance of these bacteria cannot be overestimated as more and more victims can attest to the symptoms that a lack of these organisms will create.
Comments (12)Pickling Garlic the Okinawan Way
Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Anton Lo May 24, 2011
Making Okinawan pickled garlic is the perfect way to enter the world of pickling. Those who have the itch to make their own fresh, mouthwatering pickles are guaranteed success with this recipe. It is virtually fool proof — take it from someone whose first attempt at making sauerkraut yielded a moldy, smelly, and probably toxic mess. Making garlic pickles is simple as simple can be, and you only need these three ingredients:
- Fresh (not dry) garlic
- Salt
- Water
The recipe is also simple. Add salt to water until you can just float a small potato in it. I don’t know the precise ratio, and neither does the Okinawan ojichan (grandpa) who showed me the potato trick. The potato doesn’t have to be small, it’s just more cute and grabbable with chopsticks that way. Make sure you’ve scrubbed the skin clean beforehand, but don’t sweat it too much.
Comments (9)The Benefits of Eating Raw Cheese
Fermenting, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Elisabeth Fekonia May 4, 2011
Where in the world can you get hold of raw cheese? Not in this country, unless you make your own that is.
So what’s so special about eating raw cheese? Well it’s the flavour that you notice first. When chomping into a piece of cheese made from organic, raw milk, you really taste the difference! There is a certain complexity about raw cheese that is noticed straightaway after that first bite; and then you know you’re onto something good! Flavour is the first stage of experiencing the way cheese was meant to be. Another bonus is that it’s actually good for you! Healthy, organic, raw milk is very beneficial to your health, adds good bacteria into your gut and brings its own package of digestive enzymes with it. Raw cheese abounds in enzymes that help to digest the fats and proteins. When the food you eat has abundant bacteria and enzymes, then the digestive system is not over taxed.
Most of us suffer from depleted digestive enzymes and our health is often compromised for it. People often complain about feeling sluggish and lacking energy. This is because we are chronically short on healthy gut flora and digestive enzymes, as the food we eat is mostly dead.
Comments (5)Six Recipes for all that Zucchini and Summer Squash
Recipes — by Judith Goldsmith October 20, 2010
Sometimes our problem as permaculture gardeners is the pleasant one of abundance! Here are six suggestions for what to do with the last of the summer crop of zucchini and/or squash. Hopefully you’re checking frequently and not letting them get too big, but these recipes will also work with the baseball-bat-sized ones (just kidding). These recipes also highlight other summer crops like tomatoes, corn, and avocados.
Permacooking – Vegetarian Delights
Recipes — by Marcelo Severo September 16, 2010
There’s been a word or two in my ear that I may be presenting myself as nothing more than a meat-and-sugar eating beast on these cooking posts and that I’ve been neglecting my veggies. And it’s simply not true. Between the early morning offal fry-ups and the late night crème caramel indulgences, I cook and eat all sorts of things….
Comments (6)Permacooking – the Day Off
Recipes — by Marcelo Severo August 25, 2010
I wake up to a deficit of gas at the student camp, which translates into no easy hot water for my Sunday morning tea. There is also a surplus of horse manure sitting right by the cooking tent. I check on the horses and they seem fine. I collect a few scraps of wood and start a fire to heat some water. While that’s going, I grab a shovel and feed the horse manure to the closest flowering fruit tree I can see. Always somebody to feed. A cook’s work is never done.
Sweet Breakfast
Buckwheat pancakes with macadamia butter and ironbark honey. Sweet tea with lemon.
I catch up with Sean, one of the interns. He pulls 20 or so freshly plucked bush lemons out of his bag plus some information about the source of the horse manure. The horses got out of the paddock in the middle of the night and galloped around the student camp for a while before they got them back in. I slept right through the whole thing. It gives me something to chuckle about as I take a couple of Sean’s lemons and make us both some tea.
Comments (9)Permacooking – Milk, Tongue, Eel and Pizza Night
Animal Forage, Animal Processing, Consumerism, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Health & Disease, Livestock, Medicinal Plants, Recipes — by Marcelo Severo August 13, 2010
More Meat
I promised last week that I would tell you about the cows here at Zaytuna and I’m going to do just that. I’d like for the vegetarians out there (who will find most of this menu unpalatable) to still be interested in reading about these cows because it’s not just about the beef that ended up on our plates….
Zaytuna cow
Photo © Craig Mackintosh
PermaCooking – Meat, Marmalade and My Execution Meal
Animal Processing, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Marcelo Severo August 4, 2010
The Meat Situation
The meat situation is this – we’ve got a good part of a cow in the freezer, a couple of lambs coming along, and lots of birds that need processing. For the vegetarians out there, I offer you potato gnocci later on for dinner (without the beef ragu of course) and cumquat marmalade on sourdough toast for morning tea. For now though, let me indulge the more carnivorous of you with….
Comments (6)PermaCooking – Your Goose is Cooked
Animal Processing, Bird Life, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Livestock, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Marcelo Severo July 29, 2010
One of several Zaytuna Farm geese
All photographs © Craig Mackintosh except where credited otherwise
We killed a goose at Zaytuna Farm the other day and by my count we served out 60+ student meals from it, plus two day’s worth of wonderful breakfasts for the staff. Not a bad effort I thought. Pretty good use of a bird. Here’s what we did….
Comments (2)Permacooking
Animal Processing, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Health & Disease, Medicinal Plants, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Marcelo Severo July 27, 2010
The farmer and the cook with Ethiopian Cabbage
First Week
I’ve just finished my first week working as the farm cook for the Permaculture Research Institute at Zaytuna Farm and already it’s been an amazing experience. To be able to cook at this wonderful and dynamic farm is a delight for all the gastronomical senses. If fresh, seasonal, local, delicious and nutritious ingredients are what good food is all about then consider this….
Comments (3)PDC Interview, Part 3: Chef Aureliano
Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Health & Disease, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Harry Schnur July 26, 2010
Photo copyright © Craig Mackintosh
Pumpkins at Zaytuna Farm
Harry Schnur from Taipei, Taiwan, recently completed his PDC with Geoff Lawton at Zaytuna Farm.
He has two shows on the only English community radio station in the region and did a series of interviews for one of his shows during his time at the farm.
Below is part 3, an interview with Chef Aureliano about his experiences cooking fresh, seasonal food at PRI’s Zaytuna Farm. Click play to listen!
PDC Interview, Part 3: Chef AurelianoComments (0)
Permaculture Main Crops of Special Importance – Salad Mallow
Food Plants - Annual, Recipes — by Geoff Lawton May 6, 2009
Salad Mallow (Corchorus olitorius)
(Mulaheyah, Egyptian Spinach, Jews Mallow)
Salad Mallow was the first name I knew for this amazing plant and it arrived into our extremely diverse selection of kitchen garden zone one crops in a seed packet from Shipards Herb Farm, Nambour, Queensland, Australia. Isabell Shipard has been a good friend, fellow permaculturist, and an incredible wealth of knowledge on herbs and useful plants for over 25 years – therefore, this little packet of seeds came from a very trusted source and, as usual, came with an information sheet that made it sound like it could possibly be a valuable addition if it was going to be reasonably easy to grow.
