Accordion to the French guy (selon l'homme français)

 

la vie au printemps

There are many things about the French, but what they know of food, from the Frenchies I've met, is that they don't have to start a food movement to become conscious of what real food is. Real food is in their blood, in their stories, part of their livelihood. French Folk Music is playing in the background right this moment from the accordion which was actually invented by a German Berliner in 1822 by the name of Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann. Last night a French man, Mattieu, at my newest couch surfing locale made Lasagna, while the Italian in the room and I watched and talked economics. Right off the bat Mattieu and I dove into conversation about the notion of cooking from scratch and eating real food. Meanwhile and ever-so idyllically, he cared for each piece of the spinach that would go in our lasagna that night by pulling off the stem and washing it--care that only a person raised in a culture of food would consider important. And now, without further adieu, the recipes...

 

Paeonia tenuifolia--Fern Leaf Peony

French Man's Lasagna
* de-stem and wash fresh spinach
* sautee in EVOO
* heat tomatoes in sauce pan with EVOO + Laural leaf (aka Bay Leaf) + oregano + basil and cook until it becomes a sauce
* mix in sauteed spinach with mascarpone + dill
* layer a casserole dish with sauce, then lasagna sheets (dry)
* alternate layers of spinach mixture, tomato sauce and lasagna sheets
* here's what makes the lasagna MIND BLOWING---> after last layer of sauce, add a layer of smoked salmon
* top with more sauce and grana pradano 
* bake at 200C (375ish F) for 45ish minutes or until done and cheese is bubbly on top 

cucumber + yogurt salad
* mix plain yogurt + salt n pepper
* add thinly sliced cucmbers

and for dessert...A la Loretta ice cream
* vanilla ice cream topped with warm raspberries

et voila le dîner est servi

 fallen apple tree petals

~ fin ~

What the Fractal?!

Romanesco is one of those beautiful foods with self-repeating shapes (fractals) that appear as if they are only possible to make by some complicated logarithm on a computer and the spirals do in fact follow the Fibonacci sequence--total nerd stuff here. I picked up a head of romanesco yesterday at the natural foods store because they had it discounted to .99 €/ea. Romanesco is not in season until the fall here and so, was imported, though I can't figure out where from. It would come up with other cabbage/brassica crops in autumn. You can basically make this the way you make cauliflower or broccoli. Oh and by the way, Germans call it Pyramidenblumenkohl (pyramid cauliflower). 

Here's a how I made it: 

the Great (steamed) Pyramids
* cut florets off stem and then chop stem
* steam it all up for max 10 minutes to keep it firm
* add a little EVOO + balsamic + sauteed garlic + grated hard cheese (peccorino, romano, parmesan)
* spice it up 
* serve on a bed of pasta if you like

Other people are Romo-ing it up like this: 

cheesy romanesco
* cut and steam romanesco
* meanwhile heat milk, cornmeal, mustard + spices in sauce pan and whisk
* in 2 minutes add cheese of choice
* salt + pepper
* pour over drained romanesco

rosemary + lemon + pecorino romanesco
* steam romanesco
* sautee rosmary + grated garlic in a pan
* after a minute add lemon zest
* remove from pan and add lemon juice
* toss romanesco in sauce
* top with pecorino


Events:

Showdown between the People and Monsanto! Here's link that describes the fight for US citizens to mandate GMO foods be labeled. There's even an Occupy Monsanto movement going on all over the world on May 25th so find one and stand-up against Monsanto if you can!Don't forget, we can all stand up against Monsanto everyday by buying organic!! Marches are listed on the Occupy Monsanto website. And as the Germans say, press your thumbs for good luck!

And, just in case you were wondering, here's my office for the next 3 weeks:

Bro! Broham! Brotzeit!

There's nothing like a nice homemade weekend brunch with friends and now I'm suddenly reminded of a time when I was 12. Weekends at my friend's house meant the Carpenters were playing at full volume. Sorry to get all rainy drab on you, but here's a nice little link to Close To You.

 

This Brotzeit is from a different session but includes homemade bread,local organic cheese coated in edible flowers, foraged walnuts and locally made salami

Brotzeit is to Bavarian Germans what Smorrebrod is to Danish. Some nice bread with an assortment of toppings.

gesundheit
* wholegrain seeded bread
* always butter first
* homegrown alfalfa sprouts
* soft boiled eggs
* variety of spreads--jams, mustards, and the like.

papaymango spread was my favorite and here's a guess about how to make it: 
* sunflower seeds + fruit + salt + curry + any spices all pureed together
* Toast seeds until browned 
* food process with above ingredients + possibly lemon juice + tahini  
                           
                 This is the exact spread we ate

Julia's green smoothie
* nettles + dandelion + pineapple + banana + chia seeds + dash of almond milk + dash almond butter + water all blended up!

Tasks:
It was a simple food eating day due to an 8 hour session in the library + late-night work work, more recipes await soon!

Sunday No-Sunday

Well, no sun again here in SoGerm but some nice morning dove songs to wake to and that's enough to get the day started in a pleasant way. Yesterday, as I made my way to campus I happened upon a school lunch and education conference where they were serving all kinds of free food, a pretty nice score. The DGE (German Nutrition Society) hosted the event. They promote nutrition, nutrition research, events and educational materials. It's pretty great to see an organization invested in proper childhood nutrition and health!

Breakfast

coffee + fruit

FREE Lunch

salad

maltauschen + tomato cream sauce and mushrooms

* maltauschen are a typical Schwaben ravioli type thing served in a variety of ways that I feel like a could list in the same way Forest Gump talks about shrimp. But here are the ways I've had them: in a brothy soup, pan friend with onions and eggs, served with a brown gravy and onions. If you click here, then you can read a funny anecdote about how they were invented to hide meat from God--mein God--(because even though God is an all knowing, all seeing being, did you know he can't see inside ravioli?). There's also a recipe that looks like it would take WAY too long to make, but nonetheless I feel compelled to try at some point ;)

the free lunch also included a nice piece of wholewheat bread with hummus and a two-bite chocolate mousse dessert and I may, or may not have taken a couple FREE apples for later (für spätere) too.
  Snacks

While some find that withholding calories encourages productivity, not me. Snacks for me, are what a dangling carrot in front of a rabbit is, or a dangling rabbit in front of a greyhound.

carrots and celery + senf (mustard)
apples + peanut butter

Dinner

legendary curry + brown rice
* get the brown rice going first
* while that cooks, slice potatoes + carrots + zucchini or what ever veg you want
* add garlic (using the press or chopped) to the pan + veg
* add turmeric, coriander, cumin, ginger, bay leaves, fish sauce optional + salt to pan
* add coconut milk + (secret ingredient) coconut butter (not to be confused with the oil)
* water if desired
* simmer until potatoes are soft
* serve over brown rice

note: the spices used in curries are not only delicious but have healing properties. Turmeric in particular, is great for reducing inflammation.

sharing is caring: 

Here's a link to an article about a paper linking certain chemicals found in pesticides to various health problems. I took a look and the paper they refer to from the journal Entropy and overall the authors suggest an organic, non-gmo diet, especially for pregnant women, to avoid some of the health implication of pesticides and chemicals. 

Here the authors say:  

"Exposure to toxic metals such as aluminum, mercury and lead, and to toxic chemicals such as those found in commonly used herbicides, further deplete the supply of sulfate and other micronutrients to the blood stream and the tissues, potentially leading to a life-threatening state of blood instability"  
and another important conclusion here: 

"Proposed remedies involve simple changes such as abundant sun exposure, avoidance of environmental toxins and chelating agents, avoidance of dietary processed foods, grains and sugars, and greater intake of sulfur-containing foods."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-25/lifestyle/sns-rt-us-roundup-health-studybre93o13h-20130425_1_glyphosate-biotech-crops-roundup

Paper: Is Encephalopathy a Mechanism to Renew Sulfate in Autism?
Stephanie Seneff 1,*, Ann Lauritzen 2, Robert M. Davidson 3 and Laurie Lentz-Marino 4, January 2013.

You know where you are?

You're in the jungle baby! Ohrwurm of the morning: Welcome to the Jungle, mostly because the coffee shop by the bus stop is called The Jungle. But seriously, who doesn't have 5 minutes to watch Axl Rose wail?! This song reminds me of sitting on the beach in Los Angeles with Robin and Ryan, a couple friendos who live in the LA jungle, I'd like to give a shout out to them!  Oh the pacific ocean and sun, how I miss thee. Remember how yesterday I said summer was here? Well, the gods of nature, or better yet, climate change, has taken it right out from under our feet again here in SoGerm. Rain is conducive to studying though, so I'll give it that...one of my hosts here is in school for nutrition and natural medicine which means I get extra special, healthy food treatment and knowledge the next days.

Breakfast
green smoothie--foraged dandelions + apples + pineapple +  other fruit and greens all vitamixed up

* note about dandelions--They are growing like weeds (oh wait, they are weeds) everywhere right now so forage away. But remember how I said they detoxify? This means they also take toxins out of the ground so pay attention to where you take them from. And remember, you can eat the greens, flowers and root. Also, not only are they high in nutrients and detoxify, but the bitter flavor actually helps curb cravings for sweets, so if you're trying to kick the habit, incorporate bitter foods (and no, alcoholic bitters, as delicious as they are, don't count).

brunch/lunch

Mother Russian spelt bread + avocado + balsamic vinegar

* banana
* 2 carrots
* 2 apples
* peanut butter--I found a monster jar at the natual foods store for 5euro (I think I heard the Star Wars theme song when I saw it)

Afternoon Delight
* muesli + soy milk

Late Snack

Hold Me Closer Tiny Lentils 
* French green lentils + red onion + garlic + potatoes + ACV (apple cider vinegar)
* simply mix and simmer until soft

Julia's raw crackers
* after you make almond milk, strain and use the pulp for these crackers
* mix with flax seeds + garlic + spices
* roll into little balls and flatten until very thin
* dehydrate in dehyrdrator OR oven on low heat with door propped open for many hours. Maybe if it was warm outside you could also solar dehydrate them.

note: Dehydrating keeps the crackers raw which is supposed to maintain the food's natural enzymes and avoid destruction of vitamins which raw foodists believe happens during cooking. On the other hand, there are some foods which become easier to digest or have nutrients which become available through cooking so it's worth researching if you want to explore raw foods.

other note: you can make these types of crackers using pulp from juicing, seed/nut milk-making or probably other vegetable remains or purees without too much water content

Events: 

                                   on my campus, you can just see the schloss (palace)

* beautiful 5 mile walk to campus (someday I promise I'll think in km, but today is not that day folks)
* successfully argued my not-so wunderbar grade to a slightly better grade!
* study study study

Don't have to live like a refugee...

But you can live like a vagabond! You probably guessed the Ohrwurm of the day is Tom Petty's Refugee--he's looking ultra young in that denim jacket of his from 1980. For the next three weeks I'm on an epic couch-surfing journey while I take a class in SoGerm (southern Germany) or Swabia. This presents an excellent eating challenge, healthy, easy, often-portable and I'll find out the rest along the way.  Recipes? Here we go!

Breakfast
train breakfast 

banana + my last packet of Justin's hazelnut butter
note:  Benihana spoon (shhh)

Real Breakfast from my gracious hosts

porridge + thawed frozen cherries

fritata
* egg + spinach + other greens + cooked buckwheat scrambled and in a saute pan
* let cook on medium heat for 15 or so minutes
* flip OR I like to make it in a cast iron and pop it in the oven for the last 10 minutes
* top with goat cheese deliciousness

Mother Russian pastry 
* substituted with volkorn dinkelmehl  (whole grain spelt) and less sugar than usual. 
Someday I'll acquire these recipes!

Lunch
(remember, think couch surfer)
* spelt bread made by the Russian Mother + butter
* apple

Dinner
* salty popcorn 
* apple
* kombucha

Events
* It's summer in Stuttgart=shorts + tanks!! Woohoo!

* The other part to my challenge is that I'm traveling with my bike and saddle bags so there was a lot of hilly saddle time today (1.5 hours at least). Also, I arrived into Stuttgart at 1pm with an hour bike ride to my class that started at 2pm so planning food was a bit tricky. It can only get better from here!

*Stuttgart Animated Film Festival--watched The Pirates which was of course dubbed in German but still funny (I think). 

* My German is actually improving!

It's 4:30am, do you know where your head's at?

-->

There’s nothing like the sore hips and weird sleep you get from sleeping on a night train. If you take this particular line the police wake you up sometime between 11pm and 1am for a ticket and passport check. Now it’s 5:45am and  minutes ago I awoke up with that weird body paralysis where you start to panic because your brain wants to move but the body can’t cooperate. I always think of Kill Bill when Beatrix Kiddo wills her legs to work—“Wiggle your big toe”. The appropriate Ohrwurm for today would be Night Train. Now I am just passing through Hünfeld, Germany, some 200km from my final destination of Stuttgart, for a month of fine weather and a tortuous class. The too bitter taste of German coffee sits in my mouth as I am reminded of their lack of coffee culture. Nonetheless, I’m here to report the newest recipes!

Breakfast

bananatella

·      mush a banana in its skin and add to a bowl, mush further

·      mix in kakao powder

·      top with a few müesli flakes + ymer drys (these are like rye bread crumbs + brown sugar)

fruit salad

·      toast coconut + nuts of choice

·      meanwhile chop fruit and reconstitute some dried fruit with hot water

·      juice of some citrus, I like lime best

·      cinna ‘mon

·      mix together

·      drizzle honey on top

toastettes

·      small toasts

·      spread butter on first, you’re not European if butter isn’t on the bread

·      topped with roasted red pepper (RRP) spread (not self made) + white cheese (aka cow feta) and/or miso paste, beet root spread—you get the idea

Lunch

pan fried gnocchi + veg

·      pour hot water over some chopped broccoli and let sit while you do the rest

·      sauté chopped onion, garlic, RRP, grated carrot, capers, chopped olives

·      add gnocchi and sauté until a bit toasty

·      serve over a bed of raw spinach + parboiled broccoli florets

·      if desired top with lemon, parmesan, crème fraiche, red pepper flakes

Dinner

to-go train dinnerà

apple + peanut butter (PB)

warm veg + fruit salad

·      sautéed cabbage or other greens + dried figs + orange + toasted nuts

·      top with a little white cheese if desired

Events

today marks the start of my ultimate couch-surfing adventure

Ohrwurm is German for Ear Worm

And ear worm is English for having a song stuck in your head, which is the case for me every morning. Good thing we have youtube so I can spend 4-10 minutes watching music videos right? This morning though, I have to admit it was a show tune called Cold Feets from the play called The Drowsy Chaperone. Right...so anyway, what about the food?

Breakfast
* kiwi
* apple
* Justin's honey nut peanut butter squeeze pack

It seems like the peanut butter ship must have sunk on the way to Denmark because until yesterday I couldn't find it anywhere. It's probably better because it's an addiction and at nearly $6 for a small jar, it's enough to break my non-working income bank. But, addictions are addictions and as such, we must feed them. Lucky for me I had a secret stash hidden away for desperate moments. 

Lunch
*left-over gnocchi + beet root pesto + olives

red herring soup
* herring boiled, cooled then de-boned
* strain stock to remove bones
* sauté onion, zucchini, cabbage + any other veg you want
* add spices, especially paprika + bay leaf
* add fish + stock + milk and boil until achieve desired taste

My friend had me for lunch. Her husband caught these herring fishing somewhere near Copenhagen. Here's a link to fishing near CPH, can't wait to try this! 

Dinner
left-over gnocchi two ways

Russian John Style
* gnocchi + butter + pepper + sour cream + parmesan

my way--gnocchi salad
* gnocchi + chopped fresh spinach + chopped raw zucchini + chopped yellow bell pepper + lemon + capers + olives + beet root pesto

note: I've packed gnocchi once again for my train ride tonight, but now that we're over it, we froze the rest.

elderberry juice aka hipster mixer of choice
* a little dab'll do ya when you add it to water

dessert
square of Choco love chocolate, also stashed away from the States

Tasks
* farm work resumes June 2nd, heading to Deutschland tonight

Events
* there is a world of fermented goods around me these days--kombucha, water kefir, pickles, sauerkraut, sourdough. All to be discussed in detail eventually. And, as my friend Fiona says, "Ferment the world!"

It's like this and like that and like this and a...

                   make-shift greenhouse
My mom has been reading along with the new recipes and she seems to think all I do is eat! At first I thought, geez, maybe she's right. But then I realized that we all eat roundabout 3 times a day, I'm just preparing it all and writing it down. The other thing is that I eat meals, especially dinner, with people everyday so full meals are prepared. It's all pretty normal and I hope to inspire readers to prepare more simple, seasonal(ish), vegetarian(ish) meals. So without further adieu, I bring you today's recipes and I'll just highlight dinner today...

Dinner

fraîche salad

* crème fraîche 

* dill

* pepper 

* cucumber

* spinach 

* green onion (early onions from farm)

* toss

beet root pesto

* roasted beets--I boiled and it worked okay, roasted is better. (over-wintered from farm)

* toasted sunflower seeds + roasted or fresh garlic + oil + salt + parmesan + balsamic vinegar
* food process

roasted veg
* thinly sliced potatoes (over-wintered from farm)
* sliced pepper and eggplant
* bake 200C (400ishF)until roasty

celery root + potato gnocchi

* peel then roast one celery root + potatoes (over-wintered from farm)

* get a pot of water boiling

* mash with fork

* add salt

* add 1/2 or more flour until doughy

* flour surface and roll into logs (think play-doh)

* cleanly cut into 4 cm (1in-ish) pieces

* toss into boiling water and cook until float to top  

(note: I boiled celery root and potatoes to try to make it faster and it was a fatal mistake--the dough was WAY to watery and took more flour than usually needed. In the end, it also took longer and more effort. Also, normally I would add egg to help bind things together but one of the dinner-eaters doesn't eat eggs.)

topping for gnocchi
* you can get this going whilst gnocchi cook
* sliced and sauteed leeks (over-wintered, in ground from farm) 
* throw in some capers + bag of frozen peas
* squeeze lemon juice on top
* salt + pepper
* serve with parmesan or other cheese crumbles or no cheese

apple nut crumble
* sliced apples--I leave skin on (over wintered from farm)
* throw a bit of sweetener (honey, sugar, etc) on top + cinnamon
* mix oats + ground nuts + bit of salt + cinnamon + bit of sugar + oil + water and top apples
* bake with other oven goods that are baking--which is a bit too hot for the crumble so make sure to keep an eye on it

cooking note: I tried to organize in order of what would take longest to cook since my goal is to create the simplest shortest cooking times. I put the baking stuff in first, then peeled things to boil, but again should have just roasted, then started to work on slicing things for the topping and salad. Because of the gnocchi, it still took too long though and was a really big clean-up. It'll be awhile before I make gnocchi again.

Oh and just because... just because this bourbon was recommended and I didn't like the flavor I infused it

infused bourbon

* just add sugar + coffee beans

* shake every so often for three weeks 

Tasks
* homework
* thesis meeting about developing country field work--holla!

Events
* what's in season in Denmark? Greenhouse-spring lettuces, green onions, herbs, radishes are just beginning. Outside, nettles and anything we dig up that was over-wintered.

Sharing is caring
* Bidder 70--watch online for free
 "Bidder 70 centers on an extraordinary, ingenious and effective act of civil disobedience demanding government and industry accountability. In 2008, University of Utah economics student Tim DeChristopher committed an act which would redefine patriotism in our time, igniting a spirit of civil disobedience in the name of climate justice."
http://www.bidder70film.com/

* Food Policy for Thought blog https://foodpolicyforthought.wordpress.com/ 

Urban Farm Log

Well, sometimes I stay in Copenhagen instead of the farm, but a girl's still gotta eat so here's what we did today. 

Breakfast
* homemade spelt bread (more later)
* boiled eggs
* leftovers from yesterday

Lunch
* fruit salad + almonds + honey
* another pizza sans wood-fired oven and Italian

scallion butter (like hummus)
* chickpeas
* chopped scallions (aka green/spring onions)
* 1 clove garlic
* usually miso paste but we didn't have it so I used a red-curry paste + soy sauce 
* tahini
* oil
* water for smoother consistency
* salt if desired
* food process until smooth

Dinner
* a friend made chilled Vietnamese spicy rice noodles + veggies 
* prepare rice noodles
* chop veggies of your choice to add
* sauce--> sweet chili sauce, red chili flake,lime juice (rice)vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, coriander (cilantro)fresh or ground 

Tasks
* ride the bike to the city with heavy legs today
* eat food
* nap
* seed balcony garden
* homework 

A nice break from farm work!

Sharing is Caring: 
Free yale open course--
PSYC 123: The Psychology, Biology and Politics of Food
http://oyc.yale.edu/psychology/psyc-123#sessions