On my relaxing vacation in the Shuswap, Jacky D hosted my show like a pro. Thanks to her, everything sounded great, except for a couple of dead-air spots (which have been edited out). Wildcard Bella finishes the show with a live performance!
Jacky Dee Special: Sweet and Sour Variety Hour Aug 5, 2015 by Ashta on Mixcloud
Aug 26 2015 SSVH by Ashta on Mixcloud
I’ve revised my original recipe for this new and improved ditty.
They are fine crispy potatoes that give a full french fry experience. Substitute butter with coconut oil or ghee. Adding chopped fresh herbs would be deadly too.
Steam a bunch of little potatoes. Let them dry [Do ahead any time. They can sit there all day]
Pre-heat broiler or toaster oven.
Grease up a big metal cookie sheet.
Smoosh each potato down on there with a fork.
In a small bowl, whisk together a heaping spoonful of butter and an egg white. Add in a table spoon of some yummy seasonings.
Whisk whisk whisk
Paint the smooshed potatoes with the egg wash, and generously salt.
Broil the hell out of them!
Flip and broil other side once crispy.
Break them up and serve with sour cream
There is a diversity of food products available every Wednesday at the Bowen Road Farmers’ Market 4 til 6:30pm behind Beban Pool on the VIEX grounds.
Voting with each dollar we spend is electing for more sustainable food practices, and in this case, more flavourful meals. All of the vendors are local, so you can feel good about enacting positive social change within your community.
Here is a photo of the map I made a couple weeks ago
In this part of the world, we move through various seasons of change, and every year at this time, we’re showered in food. Literally. I narrowly escaped an onslaught of pears falling all around me from the arching heavens.
For example, this picture was taken yesterday:
A huge bag of apples filling the sink, tri-coloured potatoes, onions, shallots, tomatoes, green beans, blackberries, and figs.
All of this food was incidentally gathered or harvested for free. Not pictured are the other dozens of figs, bags of pears, and bunches of seedless concord grapes which I literally followed my nose to collecting from a vine that stretched over a public sidewalk . We did not need to buy groceries at all this week.
I dwell on thoughts of “why me? And why not them?” referring to my planetary brothers and sisters who are starving. Near, far, wherever. It’s completely unnecessary. It always makes me think about Buckminster Fuller and his famously rational point that the technology exists now where everyone can just have everything they ever need or want. We just need to take the power back to do it.
I think about this as I drink my carrot/apple/ginger juice, and spread goat cheese on a fresh fig. Pairing boozy over ripe blackberries with hunks of smelly parmesan. Popping tiny concord grapes into my mouth rivaling the flavour of every grape freezie I’ve ever had. Everyone should have this. It’s a crime that my privilege has taken me to this place of literally having too much food to eat. Circumstance, or incarnation, or privilege or whatever the cause. Yesterday, hauling 4 dozen figs away from my friends backyard, I felt rich. Like I had a loaded bank account, and nothing could stop me. I feel the same way whenever I collect kale seeds.
I receive these blessings and emit in return a positive radiation sent to those who aren’t afforded such wealth. I hope they feel it.
I started this post initially to brag about all the delicious stuff I get to consume and share and prepare for my family. In a way I have done that still, but I cannot quiet my heart when it hollers out “RICH WHITE GIRL. Don’t even think of adding to the interwebz barrage of unvalidated bragging without acknowledging from whence it came.”
Now that I’ve got it off my chest, I suppose…
This week: growlers of apple juice, berries (on, in, with) everything, tomatoes in the freezer, and bags of basil for pesto-making. Oh, and grapes. Grapes grapes grapes grapes. The kind of grapes that flavouring tries to taste like, but to no comparable avail.
I made a very tasty and healthy classic chow mein for dinner tonight. Raw garlic and ginger compete for spiciness in this dish, and there is plenty of fresh crunch. Instead of noodles, I used spaghetti squash. This is a good recipe for those looking to “sneak in” more vegetables, or who want a better gluten free option.
Here’s the short-form recipe:
Cook & scoop squash “noodles”.
Make sauce by combining
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup of sesame oil
4-6 cloves minced/pressed garlic
4-6 inches of grated fresh ginger
1 large tablespoon of honey
fresh ground pepper
Fry up a chopped onion, 3 stalks of celery,
and 1.5 cups of coleslaw mix (or grated/chopped cabbage)
Combine all
Here’s the play-by-play…
Turns out the trick to making flawless noodle-like spaghetti squash is to slice it in discs, then roast for 40 mins on a cookie sheet. I sheared the top off, and scooped all the guts out. Then I managed to carve in one long spiral, then broke off the discs. No oil, no nothing. Laid out on the cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for 40 mins. Firm, long thin enough-like-noodles resulted. I covered them in a container and set aside.
Then I made the sauce by crushing 3 garlic cloves, and grating 3-4 inches of ginger. I put that into 1/4 cup soy sauce, and stirred in 1 big tablespoon of honey and finally, a bunch of fresh ground pepper. I set this aside, too.
Then I fried up chunks of 1 onion, along with 3 chopped celery stalks and 1.5 cups of coleslaw mix (which is just grated cabbage and carrot) until the onion was slightly cooked, and everything else was still pretty firm and mostly raw.
I tossed everything thoroughly with the sauce, and added sliced green onions to garnish.
In the end, I thought it would be deadly by adding cooked chicken pieces. Next time.
This mornings show with some Film Buff Radio featuring tunes from Searching for Sugarman. We have a new Rap News from The Juice Media in Australia…a clip from Canadian sect of The Real News Network….and a bunch of new releases from around the planet.
July 29, 2015 Sweet and Sour Variety Hour by Ashta on Mixcloud
Lookit! An Instagram!