Playing With Food

~SOUP~

The multi layers & experiences of Uber Dank food is where it really really gets fun. As I make sweet potato lentil soup I have a hand full of ingredients I know I am going to work with, that all get mixed in at different points in the creation of the soup. The cutting of onion, a certain size based on its roll in the soup, how it will be cooked etc. The extra cook time of the onion being the only ingredient to be first sautéed in the bottom of a pan with only oil. Then the other ingredients come in, right at their ;perfect time. About 2 hours after the initial beginning of the soup, it is time to add the spices, flavorings & essences to the soup. I like to save many of the flavors until very close to completion of the soup as their flavors are best tasted from that much cooking exposure. For example in many dishes I prefer to add the garlic at the very end as it will be a different garlic taste than if it were added half way through or even sautéed with the onions at the beginning.

The soup comes out to be a unique variation of the original inspiration for this soup. Instead of a curry flavor palate it becomes a herb based flavor. The thyme, sage, rosemary go perfect with the rosemary bread I just took out of the oven to go with the soup. The addition of garlic, red pepper flakes, and paprika give it that soup kick and contrast. The additions of the carrots, celery, & sweet potatoes mostly serve to create a rich flavor rich soup broth after being stewed in their own juices.

~Theory~

Food Alchemy Coaching Vision Statement
“I am not here to share simple recipes. I am here to share the awareness, ability & art of cooking so that recipes (the preparation of food) BECOME EASY. When this place is realized an awareness then an ability flowing through as an art in the form of cooking becomes state of being.”
This of course also translates into not just easy but Uber Dank food! =D>

~BREAD~

As I bake the bread that I bake I am using a starter. A starter is a living wheat & water life form. I feed it on a daily basis, I keep it warm not to warm, I let it sleep & exercise, it gets really alive & it goes into hibernation.

When I use this starter in my bread it is serving as the yeast in packets that is commonly used for bread. However instead of a packet of powder from a factory I have a living culture that has been growing in my home, bed (as in this cold house with no heating turned on I sleep with it in a blanket to keep it activated) taking it on day trips, weekend trips, warming in by the fire, heating bricks to bundle up with it when need be. So I take that and use it INSTEAD of the packet, then I mix it with other ingredients for the bread. Then I let those ingredients harmonize with each other, the starter activating the loaf it self, opening the life force stored within those wheat berries, in powder form (Flour). Thus changing the proteins, altering the gluten making it much more utilizable.

After the loaf itself evolves into a new existence I place it in cold climates to slow the process thus getting a really long slow altering affect. The flavor of the flour itself changes, also absorbing other flavors I may have added to the loaf itself such as rosemary or walnuts. As you take in these factors that are happening to the bread in this process the realization of how magical this bread is becoming clear. The flavors enhanced, ripened, opened. The consistency & structure of the flour itself upgraded. Then as it gets put into the oven the spring in the bread, its ability to be soft, firm, full, & flavorful all at once. It all comes together to be birthed as bread.

All of these factors come into being for this one loaf of bread. Not to mention all the factors of the temperature of my house or the environment I have as this bread is nurtured. The places I may be or time I might be sleeping. As the bread and starter require certain temperatures for certain amounts of time to become what they come. the dances we have become many. If I am in Austin for 2 days I either must nurture the starter the whole time feeding it and providing a proper climate or I must put it into hibernation thus making it inactive for a certain amount of days before being strong enough to make bread again. Any brad that I want must be planned at least 24 hours ahead of time as the short end of a bread process is 24 from combination of starter & flower to bread. If there is to be many breads made there must be plenty of starter to activate all the loafs.
~Enjoying food~
So love the process of eating right now. I am sitting down on the couch to candle light. With a pot of fresh Uber Dank sweet potato lentil garden herb soup, with bread just out of the oven flavored rosemary to match the soup. Two glasses of port 1 of a new port and one of the last bits of my old port that I quite like so as I can compare and decide on next buy which I prefer.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmm
~UBER DANK~

Many moments to share in the enjoyment of food this new years day Sweet Potato Heaven Uber Dank. A story that I have to share from this day concerning the detail & awareness of food is this.
I asked a friend if he had tried the Sweet Potato Curry Magic. He said “yes”. I said “did you have it with the toppings?” He said” no”. I said “then you did not have it for I designed every level of flavor in that
curry with this quantity of toppings involved”. So I gave him a bite. His response was AHHHHHHHH *smile*

This to me is my relationship with food & why sharing in such food can launch a whole new level in the enjoyment of food. For not only every flavor, but the amount, when they are added & what they are added with change the subtle flavors of the food. That’s why a French fry can be good but a sweet potato French fry with potatoes from the garden with pesto cream sauce, chipotle mayo or cranberry jalapeño sauce is a whole different thing.

This provides so much opportunity for awareness while in the food prep process. So much opportunity to taste the evolution of the food & the layers of flavor depths. The more enjoyment received from an experience is a worthwhile upgrade to me!

~Food on the Road~

I have been out near Lufkin Texas building an Earthship for days now. There aren’t any health food stores here nor are there interesting quality restaurants. For me though it doesn’t matter! While people are eating out of Styrofoam to go containers full of corn beef & hash or biscuits & gravy I am eating sweet potato humus on kale leafs. While everyone is shopping at walmart I am digging through my cooler full of super food balls, raw nuts, dried fruits, spriulina & other tasty super foods. When we all go out to eat at dinner people are spending $25+ for a meal while I still have yet to go to a restaurant that makes more tasty food than I.

This is all comparisons of course. There is not about right or wrong, just observation that stands out a lot for me. Again & again my relationship with food serves me very well in convenience, money savings, health & enjoyment. Its so easy to bring food wherever I go, I can eat any time & of foods that I really want to be putting into my body. My 3 nick names this trip so far are Uber Dank because some people got to try my Sweet Potato Lentil Soup, plaster master & Mighty Quinn.

~Sweet Potato Dankness~

Our next Uber Dank is in process. “Sweet Potato Dankness” in continuation of all our mighty sweet potatoes from this falls harvest. We have the menu up on http://www.meetup.com/uberdank/ it is sure to be another opportunity for me to PLAY WITH FOOD & for everyone present to really really enjoy eating food. I love the group of people that come together for each UD as its an important alchemy in the process.

~Recipes~

As I was making a Sweet Potato Chipotle Soup for Uber Dank tomorrow, I was re creating a soup that I had made once before for an art show sampling. Because I was RE creating the dish I was trying to think what the recipe was, I looked for the recipie I thought I had written down but could not find it. After spending a few minutes pondering how I was to re create this soup, I finally thought I will just make it anew! As soon as I aligned with creating the soup with the two key flavors of Chiptole & Sweet Potato all the ingredients I wanted in the soup just came to me.
This is a perfect example of why I love to create every dish from an inspired moment instead of a recipie. For when I get in touch with the essence of the dish I am making all the extra ingredients just make them selfs known! As soon as I let go of trying to make a dish I had made before the ingredients that went with sweet potatoes and chipotle were obvious. (its 1:23 btw ;-)> )
I love this soup. It can be eaten hot or cold its totally vegan & it utilizes sweet potatoes in yet another way! I take baked sweet potatoes put them in a blender with coconut milk, lime, ginger, sautéed onions, salt, pepper, & of course chipotle. I then can serve it hot or cold depending on if its hot or cold outside topped with fresh cilantro. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

~Danking Up Uber Dank~

So Uber Dank Sweet Potato Dankness was last night. While there was lots of feasting on the dankness going around we have plenty of food today to continue our own special feasting pleasures into the week. Because I love to continually evolve the foods that I prepare & eat as I started to enjoy the leftovers today the evolution started to take place. First I had some of the sweet potato spiced pie. It was just so freaking uber dank I was ready for it first thing. I warmed it up & put it on sliced bananas with a chocolate peanut butter spice topping & a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. It was so freaking tasty it became my whole meal! MMMMMMMMMMM
I just got finished eating a loaf of foccacia bread baked with sautéed onions & kalamata olives. I added sliced avocado, goat cheese & tomato to it for a very glorious meal.

~Gem Show Vortex Dankness~

So we are going to be in Tucson AZ for 2 weeks catering a hotel at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show! It is one of the largest if not largest gem/mineral/stone/crystal events in the world. There are hundreds of thousands of people that come to partake. It takes up most of the whole city filling all restaurants, hotels, motels, camp sites, rented houses & more.

There are vendors as well as buyers from all over the world as many of the stones/rocks/minerals only have been found in certain geographical locations. Millions of Dollars are being exchanged as well as lots & lots of interaction.
I can feel the vortex of enhancement already speeding up life's process. So many people to meet & exchange with. So much opportunity being realized & integrated.
This will be fun as we will have a large client base & very basic accommodations. To see how we manage to get all the food prepped & served will be fun! This is another great opportunity to play with food & share in the love of it. We will be coming up with perfect high vibe vortex food for the event changing the menu daily.
Wow So much opportunity to play with food while providing Uber Dank to the Tucson Gem Show!

It has been such a pleasure to share this deep level of enjoyment in conscious food. I love how happily people embrace sustainable eating practices when the space is held & supported.

I feel so good about the realities we chose to uphold while engaging this experience as food Angels. Food Angels is one of the names we have been given as we bless with Uber Dankness of the heavens. Because we are showing up so present & in tune with what is important, many powerful experiences are being shared.

We took boxes of glass/pottery plates, bowls & cups to serve all the dankness on. We took boxes of cookie tins & other re usable quality serving dishes. The deal we present to all who wish to be served Uber Dank Cuisine is that one provides ones own non disposable dish or put a deposit down on one of ours to be refunded upon return of dish. We charge a $2 deposit on all plates/cups/bowls. Either one keeps it for the duration of the show, trades it in for a new one on a new day of food or returns it after being done with. This has felt so good not only to support non disposable food dispensing but to also bring to the table awareness of how one participates in the process. I feel much awareness being brought forth through this process for all involved. It is really so profound to be part of such an experience. To have someone show up and really hold conscious intense space for something so commonly over looked. Not only did we save hundreds of disposables from the trash but we also shared the possibility of using non disposable dishes for normally disposable meals. I love the idea of one day people having tupper ware with them as they pick up to go food, or fast food. Of people choosing to use re usable dishes for their catering services or parties. I love the idea of places like whole food delis selling re usable container stacks for all of their deli foods, then taking exchanges of dishes for new orders, or taking deposits for the containers to be refunded upon return of dish. It would be so easy to take a metal container from a deli and return it the next time one buys, or to just bring ones own to receive food in. The real difference is in the change of choice, in the upgrade of standards and normalcy’s. I think many people just have the idea that disposables are normal or that they are so much easier when really its so easy to just have a cup with you in the car when you pick up coffee before work, to have a cup at the desk to get coffee at the office. To have a set of dishes at work to get ones lunch on, that are just washed and left there. To then have Tupper ware in the car to pick up food on the way home for dinner or lunch the next day. Restaurants, delis and such could even provide the washing service in exchange for buying and exchanging containers there.
It’s a simple change in priorities, in routine, in normalcy’s that implement such huge profound changes in every day life. Thus launching huge world impacts with common daily activities.

Our cookie tins were really fun because they all had different pictures, were different sizes, shapes and colors. We would sometimes put plates inside the big tins then just take the plate out upon delivery or fill smaller tins for to go, or delivery orders of various foods. They kept food contained, were easily stored, stacked & used. Its also a great way to put something to use that abundantly available.

One of our sayings while providing the dankness has been food worth eating. We encourage people to buy food from us if they are going to be buying food anyways. The food we provide is not only Uber Dank but its made in consciousness, in a sustainable way, great value, & loving process. We feel its food really worth eating & supporting us integrates such realities into being. We offered a 100% money back guarantee on all of our food as we felt it was the best food that could be bought. I believe it is possible for a passionate food preparer to to make ones self a dish that is deeply satisfying for a cheaper price however if one is going to buy food or just does not really love the process of making food our food will be the best that can be bought at Tucon Gem Show. If its not really worth eating at the price charged we will happily refund the full cost as we do not want anyone eating anything but food that is a process of fulfilled enjoyment! We did not have one refund the whole show, but had lots of smiles and MY GOD THIS IS GOOD experiences ;-)

I am in such appreciation for this opportunity to play with food and to share it with so many. I felt we really provided a service of great importance and enjoyment. I felt so good about the people that took part in this experience for they played such an important roll in this event. It seemed that the people that were really enjoying them self while also having high standards of normalcy are the ones who bought from us.

It was funny because we really wanted to keep the menu simple so we could be efficient and utilize our time well but we just loved providing an array of tasting opportunity! We would often have 8 plus choices of tasty treats and drinks. There would often be more dishes that people wanted that they could even try. We would then be changing the menu to keep it new and fresh but some of the dishes of the days before were so good that people would request repeats.

Some of the favorites were the Sweet potato lentil soup. Vegan, wheat free, chocolate, peanut butter, coconut spice, oatmeal cookies, spring rolls, rice noodle salad, pumpkin spice bread, chai, pita hummus wraps, 4 caramel (caramel, caramel spice, peanut butter caramel, & chocolate caramel) caramelized apples, chocolate bliss, raw nut pâté and our many variations of Salad Dankness.

Gardening

Gardening is the bread and butter of sustainability to me. Because we are actually planting & nurturing our food source which is really the most important physical need.

Organic Gardening is so important for so many reasons.

1. Most food that we eat is not local. This means that it is being transported via trucks that run on mass amounts of oil/fuel. It means that it is transported on roads which are made from machines using mass amounts of oil. It is most likely grown on huge plots of land worked with huge machines that run on mass amounts of oil.

By localizing our food ALL of that oil/fuel is negated. That is a HUGE environmental impact. Also by localizing our food we stop taking advantage of many countries who grow food for us at very small profit and death of surrounding land.
2. ~Health~ This is a huge factor. There is very little comparison to wild crafted produce grown on ones own property & produce bought in a store organic or otherwise. We grow the best tomatoes I have ever had, I & others often say if what I buy in the store is a tomato then this is NOT a tomato. It is like that with lots of what we grow. The quality is of such a higher degree for many reasons.
Even organic produce is allowed to have up to a certain amount of different chemicals present in the food. Even a lot of organic produce is picked early & selected for reasons beside optimal health/taste.
By growing ones own produce it is possible to grow completely chemical/pesticide/herbicide & even fertilizer free! This produces produce of such great quality that when paired with fresh daily picked ripe on the plant, we get OPTIMAL food. Also a factor overlooked by many is that when we grow our OWN food the food actually grows for US based on our particular make up & needs. Meaning a plant can specifically grow to benefit us individually based on who we are! This is powerful for full spectrum health.
3. Natural~ By growing food without any pesticides, herbicide, fertilizers etc there is much less impact on the environment. There is less run off into our surrounding environment & also the factor of BUYING these products saves all the shipping distance & all the factory space that is used to produce such products.
Its really important to take into account factors besides the present obvious ones. It is obvious that a pesticide run off will effect water supply close by but it is also true that this fertilizer was made in a factory put in a bag made in another factory & shipped across the country or state to get to you. There are many levels of UN-SUSTAINABILITY in play here. By growing our own food in this way ALL of these are negated. This is HUGE!
4. ~Cost~ This is a nice benefit of growing food. It is quite easy to grow enough food for ones self/family/community. We have many systems & awarenesses that make gardening easy, abundant, & self sustaining. It really comes down to planting, harvesting, & utilizing which are all fun aspects of the process!
By growing our own food we save money on costs of food but also we have a great way to make extra income without leaving the home, doing something we are doing any ways! It is almost as easy to grow 1 acre of food as it is 1/2 acre in our situations, but the profit is twice as much. Quality produce & products are in high demand while also fetching a premium price with individuals & businesses alike. There are so many ways to utilize a garden for sustainability and profit that it is my number 1 aspect to sustainability.

So down to the details. An efficient abundant healthy garden is very much about the soil. It has been found that with really healthy soil most diseases are of no issue & the plants produce prolifically , beautiful, rich produce.
So for that, composting is a huge factor of a true sustainable garden. Read the article on *composting* here.

Most land before it gets planted is not ideal for an abundant garden. The first belief that I want to dispose of is the idea that tilling or anything like that is necessary or even beneficial. This is actually quite harmful to the harmony & balance of the earth & is detrimental to a magical healthy prolific garden. Any time the soil dries out or is exposed to the sun many beneficial nutrients are lost. There are many aspects to soil that die when dried out or exposed to the heat of sun. Tilling stimulates both of these processes. Tilling is only actually needed because of hard soil and the inhabitation of unwanted plants in the growing area. There are much more harmonized, efficient & abundant ways to achieve this.
So lets start here. You have a plot of land & you want to start a garden. What now? Most likely this land will have grass, weeds or some plant life growing that you will want to replace with produce. You want to cover the entire area to be planted with cardboard, black plastic, carpet or some other water trapping , heat trapping and dark creating substance. What this does is, kills all the grass from lack of sun & exposure to hot moist climates. This grass then decomposes into perfect nutrients for the plants to come while also getting rid of all the plants that you don't want & also keeping the soil moist and soft! I prefer cardboard for this purpose because you can just leave the cardboard & it will decompose into the soil also! This is the single most magical awareness I have come to in gardening. By negating tilling completely one saves much energy in the tilling process itself, while much energy in the process of nutrients that are SAVED & also CREATED. After this is done in the case of plastic it is wise to remove before planting, in the case of cardboard just cover it with some rich compost & then plant.
Each kind of plant will want to be planted in a different time of year & want different conditions to grow. This is a bit to detailed to get into here however almost all seeds will have planting info on them as for when to plant, what kind of area to plant, how much water & what kind of soil they prefer. These general instructions are normally quite dependable. It is also quite different for someone in Wisconsin vs someone in Texas. In places like Wisconsin that has a very short growing season it is wise to have a green house to pre start plants & although it is a great head start in a place like Texas because of the long growing season it is not necessary.
As you start to plant, space the seeds so that they have the proper space for their type of existence. Radishes can grow very close together while watermelons need quite a bit of space to grow. The packages of seeds usually say how far apart to plant etc.
Also companion planting is a very useful and highly advised practice. The way it works is that there are certain plants that help each other grow or keep away pests that bother other plants. THAT IS PERFECTION! For instance a problem for squash or melons is the squash beetle. However squash beetles dont like marigolds so planting marigolds around the squash keeps many of the beetles away. There are many plants that serve this purpose. Check out the many gardening books & even web sites have lists of companion planting combination's. Check this out before you buy seeds for the season so as you know what it is you are wanting based on what you are wanting ;-)> Then plan out the garden so that the companion plants are next to each other & the ones that don't benefit each other are away from each other.
I also recommend making a chart of plantings so as you have documentation of what grew where with what and how it did so that on next planting the chart can be consulted & enhancements made. Every year that I garden I become more efficient & proficient at utilizing the space for what is planted.
After these seeds are planted the soil needs to be moist as the roots are very small to non existent. This is why the spring is the rainy season so that the new seeds can grow with their very small ability to absorb & retain water! THAT IS PERFECTION!
Most of the time we don't want soggy or soaking soil but damp moist soil. As soon as the sprouts are above ground it is wise to ad mulch around the plants. Add at least a couple inches or mulch to the entire garden where a sprout is not coming up. This serves many purposes!
1. It keeps moisture in the soil which is important to reduce water use and time spent watering. 2. Protects the soil from the sun! This is huge as the sun is one of the leading causes for soil depletion. 3. As the wood chips sit there all year they decompose creating their own small amount of compost, there by enriching the soil!
As you integrate these aspects you can see how the need for tilling disappears. With the cardboard composting all the plant matter not wanted is gotten ride of while being utilized in a sustainable fashion and also providing a clean slate. Then the wood chips protecting the soil while also adding to it, there is very little depletion which is easily substituted in the form of compost made on site.
During the winter months one can either just cover all the land with mulch or plant an over crop. Both are good options. A couple months before planting season cardboard, carpet, plastic or some such material may be needed again to prep the ground for the fresh little seeds to have no competition or interference from unwanted plants. It is also possible to cover the land with cardboard in the winter then wood chips & the next coming spring the cardboard will be decomposed enough to grow through & there will be no plants growing in the garden space.
This is the cycle for maintaining healthy soil and plants. It is so beautiful because it is quite clear how the techniques utilized save time and energy in one way while also contributing energy in another. This is the cycle of life and the abundance of nature being utilized. As one uses cardboard to prep the ground one is saving time on tilling and also CONTRIBUTING to the soil. This process is also utilizing cardboard that is being thrown away and not utilized at all. Its also free! That is 4 levels of sustainability and abundance being utilized in 1 step. That is the efficiency of Freedom Living at work. That is how our projects play out and the kind of techniques we implement.
Watering is a big factor in many areas. I feel its important in sustainability to provide the water from an off the grid source. We have wells, which are easy & abundant forms of on demand water. I highly recommend one for any moderate to large size garden or farm.
With on demand water like a well, setting up irrigation on specialty drip hoses with a timer is the ultimate in efficiency & ease. We use an amazing drip hose material called T-Tape. There are many variations of it for different purposes, it is very cheap & although made in a factory is such a time saver, I choose it. By setting up this drip hose system to a well with a timer one can actually leave as I have done for a month & come back to a perfectly healthy garden full of produce to harvest.
An ideal garden set up is one that sustains it self. If its not easy its not being done right.
Rain water collecting is a very possible watering method especially for the smaller sized family gardens. Most places get way more then enough rain when collected to water a garden. The main factor ( in some places much more than others) is the storage space. In a place like Texas it is common to get inches of rain in 1 day & not get rain for a month after. This means that to completely rely on rain water one must have enough storage to supply water for at least a month without rain. The question then really is not about rain but how much storage is needed for the garden size for the time there might be with no rain.
For a smaller garden it would be quite easy to fill 55 gallon tanks with water & just have hoses on them that when opened drained into the garden. For a large garden this would not be the most efficient set up.
For a larger garden an underground tank storage with a pump or an above ground tower is better. The nice thing about a tower is that it can use gravity. The nice thing about underground tanks is that they are much cheaper & because they are underground don't take up land space. Also if building cob dwellings it could be possible to use the dirt dug up for earthen building. One would defiantly need a pump for underground tanks however the money saved on underground tanks would easily pay for a pump. The worst part of an underground tank is that its underground so getting to it is a pain. This in most cases if planned right is not much of an issue.
I have quite a few other rain water collecting and distributing ideas that are not tested. Will share as experienced and worthwhile.
Another option is a pond or a river. Ponds or rivers could be pumped, channeled, or harvested to substitute water to a garden that isn't getting enough rain. Springs are also present in many mountainous areas of the country which make great garden as well as house water.
In low rain areas utilizing raised beds is a wise option. By making raised beds one gets a more optimal water usage. Combine this with lots of mulch & you can get by with far far less water.
With that lets get to raised bed construction!
I love raised beds & have utilized them many times from many different sources in many different forms. The factor that I use for all my beds is that the material is a free source being reused. This makes for a wide variety, keeps it creative & above all keeps from supporting the creation of more materials instead of using the over abundance of material we already have & throw away.
The beds can be long or wide as long as every area of the bed can be reached to harvest. So long skinny ones work well.
I have made raised beds out of doors nailed, screwed or fastened together to make large rectangles. They work great & if the doors are free then yippee =D
I have made raised beds out of cabinet doors tied together with strings that are made from that industrial shrink wrap they use on pallets of boxes & such. This was a cool model because I could make them any shape, triangles, squares, rectangles or even octagons. In this particular model I needed nothing that cost anything or that did not come from a trash source. WIN.
I have made lots of raised beds out of tires large and small. A car sized tire is only good for about 1 melon plant. I have also used huge 4 hundred lb tires that are 4 feet in diameter, as large raised beds that work very very well.
I have made raised beds out of bundled stick piles and my favorite ones are out of cardboard and bamboo! They are super beautiful, very easy, very abundant, free & sustainable resource. Can make any shape or size and they decompose quite quickly adding to the richness of the soil!