The video format used for this vid is not very reliable, but the video on the food of North Africa, is a nice introduction to a part of the world where I went to kindergarten! Yes, it's true!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Peggy Markel's Culinary Adventures hosts, Ruth of Gourmet Magazine's Adventures
The video format used for this vid is not very reliable, but the video on the food of North Africa, is a nice introduction to a part of the world where I went to kindergarten! Yes, it's true!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution- This entire series of 8 videos, is dedicated with love, to all of my obese friends & family members!
Mom, Dan, Brian, Professeur Krause_ eating issues are eating issues, whether you are too skinny or too fat. Please change your eating habits.
Philip K. Howard: Four ways to fix a broken legal system | Video on TED.com
Such an IMPORTANT presentation first, to listen to (20 well invested minutes!), then share EVERYWHERE, and finally to discuss with everyone! You'll hear why from the very beginning of the presentation: Philip K. Howard: Four ways to fix a broken legal system | Video on TED.com
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
This Mardi Gras_ do as the Haïtians do, epicuriously!
Soupe Joumou
Haiti’s pot of gold
By Ellen Kanner
February 2, 2010
(Editor’s note: This piece first appeared on the Huffington Post.)
When a man pours you his soup, he pours you his soul, even when it’s soup cooked up on a hot plate. Maybe especially then. My friend Marcel celebrated New Year’s Day by making Soupe Joumou, the beloved soup with which Haitians start the new year. For Marcel, it was not enough to make soup — he had to feed everyone he knew.
When I arrived, his tiny apartment was flooded with afternoon light and was so jammed, I couldn’t see the host for all the guests clustered around, cradling soup bowls, talking, eating, laughing.
Featured recipe
* Vegan Soupe Joumou
Finally, I found Marcel his makeshift kitchen, holding court and presiding over the soup pot.
I gave him a kiss and picked up a bowl.
“It has meat,” he warned, remembering I’m a meat-free kind of girl.
“I’ll eat around it.”
Vegan Soupe Joumou
We looked at each other. He beamed and ladled it up from a battered aluminum pot, rich and golden, like liquid sunshine.
Soupe joumou is the triumph of spirit over tyranny, heart over privation and a damn fine way to warm body and soul. This is a soup tapping into the collective unconscious of a people, evoking stronger feelings than Proust’s Madeleine. I wasn’t going to let some bits of beef get in the way of that.
We all love to ring in the new year with its promise of new beginnings, but in Haiti, it’s especially cause for joy. New Year’s Day is Independence Day, the celebration of that New Year’s Day in 1804, when Haitians ended over a century of bloody rule by the French and were no longer colonial slaves but a free people in their own homeland.
Haitians celebrated by eating what had been forbidden them — meat, cabbage and squash, the latter two grown on their own island. Haitian slaves had cooked these foods for their French masters, while they themselves had survived solely on rations of salt cod and lemonade.
Like Hoppin’ John, the new year’s dish invented by slaves in the south, Soupe Joumou is a dish that sustains and is sustainable. It’s made from what is local and available. The Haitians adapted the soup from their French masters, heating it up with habaneros and ginger and making their own. Like hopping john, some eat it on New Year’s Day for good luck. Others, like Marcel, eat and serve it knowing — and honoring — its history. And as with all things Haitian, there is some myth. The soup is said to honor Papa Loko, the Vodou god of the ancient African spirit. Yellow is the color that honors him. In any case, Soupe Joumou is belly-filling and soul-lifting all at once.
Advertisement
Since Haiti’s earthquake, Marcel, our gracious host of just a few weeks ago, looks crumpled, hollowed out. Most of us in Miami do. Haiti is but 700 miles away. Or it is literally next door. Haitians make up a rich part of our community and though we may not personally have lost family, as Marcel has, we all have Haitian friends, Haitian ties. People burst into tears on the street. Co-workers who once barely got past, “Hi, how’s it going?” now embrace. There has been an outpouring of relief effort here, along with an outpouring of grief. Those efforts will be all the more important in the coming weeks and months, when the rest of the world might be inclined to forget or suffer compassion fatigue. As if caring could ever tire you.
Soupe Joumou epitomizes for me Marcel and all the people of Haiti, who take what little they have, make it delicious and offer it to you with all their heart. It’s time for us, who have so much, to do the same.
At this time of crisis, as President Obama said, “We are reminded of our common humanity.” Please donate to Partners in Health, the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders or whatever relief organization moves you.
Haiti’s pot of gold
By Ellen Kanner
February 2, 2010
(Editor’s note: This piece first appeared on the Huffington Post.)
When a man pours you his soup, he pours you his soul, even when it’s soup cooked up on a hot plate. Maybe especially then. My friend Marcel celebrated New Year’s Day by making Soupe Joumou, the beloved soup with which Haitians start the new year. For Marcel, it was not enough to make soup — he had to feed everyone he knew.
When I arrived, his tiny apartment was flooded with afternoon light and was so jammed, I couldn’t see the host for all the guests clustered around, cradling soup bowls, talking, eating, laughing.
Featured recipe
* Vegan Soupe Joumou
Finally, I found Marcel his makeshift kitchen, holding court and presiding over the soup pot.
I gave him a kiss and picked up a bowl.
“It has meat,” he warned, remembering I’m a meat-free kind of girl.
“I’ll eat around it.”
Vegan Soupe Joumou
We looked at each other. He beamed and ladled it up from a battered aluminum pot, rich and golden, like liquid sunshine.Soupe joumou is the triumph of spirit over tyranny, heart over privation and a damn fine way to warm body and soul. This is a soup tapping into the collective unconscious of a people, evoking stronger feelings than Proust’s Madeleine. I wasn’t going to let some bits of beef get in the way of that.
We all love to ring in the new year with its promise of new beginnings, but in Haiti, it’s especially cause for joy. New Year’s Day is Independence Day, the celebration of that New Year’s Day in 1804, when Haitians ended over a century of bloody rule by the French and were no longer colonial slaves but a free people in their own homeland.
Haitians celebrated by eating what had been forbidden them — meat, cabbage and squash, the latter two grown on their own island. Haitian slaves had cooked these foods for their French masters, while they themselves had survived solely on rations of salt cod and lemonade.
Like Hoppin’ John, the new year’s dish invented by slaves in the south, Soupe Joumou is a dish that sustains and is sustainable. It’s made from what is local and available. The Haitians adapted the soup from their French masters, heating it up with habaneros and ginger and making their own. Like hopping john, some eat it on New Year’s Day for good luck. Others, like Marcel, eat and serve it knowing — and honoring — its history. And as with all things Haitian, there is some myth. The soup is said to honor Papa Loko, the Vodou god of the ancient African spirit. Yellow is the color that honors him. In any case, Soupe Joumou is belly-filling and soul-lifting all at once.
Advertisement
Since Haiti’s earthquake, Marcel, our gracious host of just a few weeks ago, looks crumpled, hollowed out. Most of us in Miami do. Haiti is but 700 miles away. Or it is literally next door. Haitians make up a rich part of our community and though we may not personally have lost family, as Marcel has, we all have Haitian friends, Haitian ties. People burst into tears on the street. Co-workers who once barely got past, “Hi, how’s it going?” now embrace. There has been an outpouring of relief effort here, along with an outpouring of grief. Those efforts will be all the more important in the coming weeks and months, when the rest of the world might be inclined to forget or suffer compassion fatigue. As if caring could ever tire you.
Soupe Joumou epitomizes for me Marcel and all the people of Haiti, who take what little they have, make it delicious and offer it to you with all their heart. It’s time for us, who have so much, to do the same.
At this time of crisis, as President Obama said, “We are reminded of our common humanity.” Please donate to Partners in Health, the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders or whatever relief organization moves you.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Think Like A Genius
Sometimes I discover things and feel really late! Yet, I am discovering the things I find right on time_ in the big picture, it's all ok! This is someone with whom I would like to study!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
NASA Base is Most Sustainable Federal Building Project in America
This article via Inhabitat Design
by Evelyn Lee, 08/28/09
NASA has planted its flag on planet Earth (for a change) with the groundbreaking of their “Sustainability Base” this week. The new endeavor is located on their Ames campus in Moffett Field, CA just outside of Silicon Valley and has specs that are pushing green building to new limits. In order to deliver in true sustainable style, NASA recruited Inhabitat favorite, William McDonough + Partners, to take on the 50,000-square foot collaborative support facility.
Determined to go beyond LEED Platinum in performance, NASA set two additional requirements for the building’s architect: to showcase NASA’s culture of innovation and to integrate the surrounding context acting as an icon for the Ames campus. The intensive three month design process helped establish targets to accomplish all three goals.
Going beyond Platinum includes a near zero net energy consumption and the use of 90 percent less potable water than buildings that are similar in size. The use of natural ventilation is the primary contributor to the buildings performance that is complemented by a geothermal system, high performance lighting, radiant cooling, intelligent building systems and on-site photovoltaic energy generation. Optimization of the water comes from use of natural landscape, non-potable irrigation systems, and on-site water-water treatment by an Eco-Machine.
In addition, the large column-free spans on the interior of the building allows the flexibility to easily adapt the building to the changing needs of the program, and a structural exo-skeleton even makes for easier repairs following earthquakes. The end result is not only a showcase of NASA’s innovation, but a show of their commitment to sustainable efforts on planet Earth. To date, the Sustainability Base is the most sustainable federal building project in all 50 states.
by Evelyn Lee, 08/28/09
NASA has planted its flag on planet Earth (for a change) with the groundbreaking of their “Sustainability Base” this week. The new endeavor is located on their Ames campus in Moffett Field, CA just outside of Silicon Valley and has specs that are pushing green building to new limits. In order to deliver in true sustainable style, NASA recruited Inhabitat favorite, William McDonough + Partners, to take on the 50,000-square foot collaborative support facility.
Determined to go beyond LEED Platinum in performance, NASA set two additional requirements for the building’s architect: to showcase NASA’s culture of innovation and to integrate the surrounding context acting as an icon for the Ames campus. The intensive three month design process helped establish targets to accomplish all three goals.
Going beyond Platinum includes a near zero net energy consumption and the use of 90 percent less potable water than buildings that are similar in size. The use of natural ventilation is the primary contributor to the buildings performance that is complemented by a geothermal system, high performance lighting, radiant cooling, intelligent building systems and on-site photovoltaic energy generation. Optimization of the water comes from use of natural landscape, non-potable irrigation systems, and on-site water-water treatment by an Eco-Machine.
In addition, the large column-free spans on the interior of the building allows the flexibility to easily adapt the building to the changing needs of the program, and a structural exo-skeleton even makes for easier repairs following earthquakes. The end result is not only a showcase of NASA’s innovation, but a show of their commitment to sustainable efforts on planet Earth. To date, the Sustainability Base is the most sustainable federal building project in all 50 states.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Homemade Boullion!
I am cutting and pasting this article from 101 Cookbooks because I love this site with its beautiful images of food! The whole article is marked in quotations as it comes from 101 Cookbooks, the recipe journal of: Heidi Swanson
"This is a thank-you note to Pam Corbin. Pam wrote the lovely River Cottage Preserves Handbook. And in the very back of this exquisite little book, long past the rhubarb relish, and well beyond the piccalilli and winter fruit compote, she proposes a simple idea: make your own bouillon blend. I'm not sure why this never occurred to me, but until I reached page 207, it hadn't. She outlines a list of ingredients that are pureed into a concentrated paste of vegetables and herbs, preserved with salt. I've been cooking with a version of it all week, and it is infinitely better than any canned vegetable stock I've tasted. And the best part about it? I can build on the general idea and tweak it based on what is in season and my own personal preferences - which is what I did.
Technically a bouillon cube is a dehydrated cube or powder used to create an instant vegetable stock. Pam calls her version "souper mix"....but you use it in a way similar to bouillon cubes. To make quick, flavorful broth, for example when cooking soups, risottos, curries, whatever really. Just keep in mind it is quite salty and concentrated - I mention in the recipe I've been using 1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water/liquid to start. This first batch was made primarily with ingredients from my refrigerator, but I'm really excited to try other versions using different herbs and ratios of the base ingredients. In fact, if you have any suggestions or ideas give a shout in the comments - I'd love to hear them :).
Homemade Bouillon
This recipe requires a food processor. I have a 8-cup / 2 liter / 2 quart model, and needed every cubic inch of it. I found the best approach if you are tight for space in your food processor is to add a few of the ingredients, then pulse a few times. The ingredients collapse and free up more space for the next few ingredients. Also, it is worth noting, Pam suggests preserving the bouillon in sterilized jars for up to six-months, but I was too lazy to do any sterilizing, and opted for the freezer.
5 ounces / 150 g leeks, sliced and well-washed
7 ounces / 200g fennel bulb, chopped
7 ounces / 200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped
3.5 ounces / 100 g celery
3.5 ounces / 100g celery root (celeriac), peeled and chopped
1 ounce / 30g sun-dried tomatoes
3.5 ounces / 100g shallots, peeled
3 medium garlic cloves
9 ounces / 250g fine grain sea salt
1.5 ounces / 40 g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped
2 ounces / 60g cilantro (coriander), loosely chopped
Place the first four ingredients in your food processor and pulse about twenty times. Add the next four ingredients, and pulse again. Add the salt, pulse some more. Then add the parsley and cilantro. You may need to scoop some of the chopped vegetables on top of the herbs, so they get chopped. Mine tended to want to stay on top of everything else, initially escaping the blades.
You should end up with a moist, loose paste of sorts. Keep 1/4th of it in a jar in the refrigerator for easy access, and freeze the remaining 3/4 for use later. Because of all the salt it never actually solidifies making it easy to spoon directly from the freezer if needed.
Start by using 1 teaspoon of bouillon per 1 cup (250 ml), and adjust from there based on your personal preference.
Makes roughly 3 1/2 cups.
Inspired by The River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin."
One more link on the foodie adventures of Heidi Swanson!
"This is a thank-you note to Pam Corbin. Pam wrote the lovely River Cottage Preserves Handbook. And in the very back of this exquisite little book, long past the rhubarb relish, and well beyond the piccalilli and winter fruit compote, she proposes a simple idea: make your own bouillon blend. I'm not sure why this never occurred to me, but until I reached page 207, it hadn't. She outlines a list of ingredients that are pureed into a concentrated paste of vegetables and herbs, preserved with salt. I've been cooking with a version of it all week, and it is infinitely better than any canned vegetable stock I've tasted. And the best part about it? I can build on the general idea and tweak it based on what is in season and my own personal preferences - which is what I did.
Technically a bouillon cube is a dehydrated cube or powder used to create an instant vegetable stock. Pam calls her version "souper mix"....but you use it in a way similar to bouillon cubes. To make quick, flavorful broth, for example when cooking soups, risottos, curries, whatever really. Just keep in mind it is quite salty and concentrated - I mention in the recipe I've been using 1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water/liquid to start. This first batch was made primarily with ingredients from my refrigerator, but I'm really excited to try other versions using different herbs and ratios of the base ingredients. In fact, if you have any suggestions or ideas give a shout in the comments - I'd love to hear them :).
Homemade Bouillon
This recipe requires a food processor. I have a 8-cup / 2 liter / 2 quart model, and needed every cubic inch of it. I found the best approach if you are tight for space in your food processor is to add a few of the ingredients, then pulse a few times. The ingredients collapse and free up more space for the next few ingredients. Also, it is worth noting, Pam suggests preserving the bouillon in sterilized jars for up to six-months, but I was too lazy to do any sterilizing, and opted for the freezer.
5 ounces / 150 g leeks, sliced and well-washed
7 ounces / 200g fennel bulb, chopped
7 ounces / 200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped
3.5 ounces / 100 g celery
3.5 ounces / 100g celery root (celeriac), peeled and chopped
1 ounce / 30g sun-dried tomatoes
3.5 ounces / 100g shallots, peeled
3 medium garlic cloves
9 ounces / 250g fine grain sea salt
1.5 ounces / 40 g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped
2 ounces / 60g cilantro (coriander), loosely chopped
Place the first four ingredients in your food processor and pulse about twenty times. Add the next four ingredients, and pulse again. Add the salt, pulse some more. Then add the parsley and cilantro. You may need to scoop some of the chopped vegetables on top of the herbs, so they get chopped. Mine tended to want to stay on top of everything else, initially escaping the blades.
You should end up with a moist, loose paste of sorts. Keep 1/4th of it in a jar in the refrigerator for easy access, and freeze the remaining 3/4 for use later. Because of all the salt it never actually solidifies making it easy to spoon directly from the freezer if needed.
Start by using 1 teaspoon of bouillon per 1 cup (250 ml), and adjust from there based on your personal preference.
Makes roughly 3 1/2 cups.
Inspired by The River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin."
One more link on the foodie adventures of Heidi Swanson!
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