Sharing

Recently, we had a few good friends over; we were playing a rousing card game, and somehow ended up a with this spread of food on the table. Even I was a little surprised at the variety of things we pulled out of our fridge for the tasting. And I was reminded (once again) how much I love to share food with others. Here are some things on the table: home-made granola; sauerkraut; white bean (Great Northern) hummus; coarse grain beer mustard; mini mincemeat pies and mini cranberry relish pies; pickled Spanish radishes; peaches in light syrup; samples from two different batches of kimchi. Hiding behind the metal bowl is a small jar of roasted pepper hot sauce that we made. The only thing we didn't make that is in the picture is the beer, chips, and the two different kinds of hot sauce (made from fermented peppers).

And of course, we are now in the process of fermenting peppers for our own hot sauce. I can't help but feel a sense of awe and pride at how much I've learned since last year. Humbly, I will proceed to learn more, to mark progress as I go.

10 Books and 10 books

There are some books I can't seem to escape. A lot of them are novels that I teach or that I work with in the course of my own studies. I tend to choose books to teach and to work with that have been important to me. This is a short list of 10 books that I will read again this year. They have shaped me as a person and they have shaped my intellectual interests and development.
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
3. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
4. Anatomy of Criticism by Northrop Frye
5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
6. The Political Unconscious by Fredric Jameson
7. Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes
8. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
9. Phenomenology of Spirit by G.W.F. Hegel
10. White Noise by Don DeLillo
11. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

This is a second list of books that I will read this year, but which I have not read before. I anticipate them having a similar effect.
1. On Liberty - J.S. Mill
2. Goldbug Variations - Richard Powers
3. You Bright and Risen Angels - William T. Vollman
4. The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
5. Minima Moralia by Theodor Adorno

Story of Stuff

Every semester that I've taught at the college level, I teach my students the Proposal Paper. It's not a paper usually assigned by instructors; it's something that M. has been teaching for a while, too, and after I considered the assignment, I thought it was a much better option for my students than, say, writing a simple "Argument Paper." I think of the proposal as a type of argument (an argument in favor of acknowledging and resolving a problem), and it teaches my students valuable skills--after all, they'll most likely write proposals for a future employer, or for a graduate application. The proposal is also just good practice in getting others to listen to you--it teaches students how to appeal to an audience, how to be respectful, and how to accept a compromise in order to get something they want eventually. Here is how the beginning of the assignment goes:

For this paper, you will define a particular problem close to you (one here on campus, at work, or in your home community) and propose a specific solution. The action should be one for which you can provide ample reasoning and supporting argument. Keep in mind that not only is it important to present your proposal coherently and persuasively, but it should also be a proposal that has a realistic chance of success.

Aside from practicing how to write an argument, it is of course my goal to encourage students to effect change in their lives. Too often we ignore small problems and not make anything happen. I have students writing on a range of topics--from installing more recycling bins in their school to fixing potholes in their neighborhoods. Overall, the proposal is usually their most successful essay, not just because they write it late in the semester, but because they are invested in the issue. I always advise students to revise proposals after I have graded them, and to send them off to their intended audience--after all, they'd have nothing to lose, and their proposal would already be written. I suspect that not all my students actually send their proposals off, but even if it's just one or two from a class who take that initial action, I think it's worth me teaching for two weeks of the semester.

In addition to writing proposals, my classes also view and read a number of texts that propose action. We start of with "A Modest Proposal," read "My Amendment," and watch "The Story of Stuff." The latter is an ambitious, but very necessary project--and a proposal, too. I know that I have a soft spot for stick-figure animation (as in, Don Hertzfeldt's work), and I know that's part of the reason why I like "The Story of Stuff" so much. But of course, I also like Annie Leonard's explanations, thoroughness, and urgency. It turned out that this year I showed the video two days before Black Friday--in class discussion it was clear that even if some of my students don't plan to halt their holiday shopping completely, they were going to be more thoughtful about it.

And I, too, have been thinking about it more. I've seen "The Story of Stuff" at least six times (in preparation for class discussion, and once for every three of my sections of composition), and each time I get something new out of it. The last time around, I really zeroed in on "...recycling will never be enough..." And yes, Leonard urges, yes recycling is good, but it doesn't address the core of the problem. If you haven't seen the short video, I encourage that you do--and maybe you'll take something away from it, even if you're already aware of the state of the planet. Leonard is empowering, in a way, and although her proposal offers a very large problem, I think that she is effective in inciting her audience towards a solution.

A decade in.

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated the tenth year of my veganism. In the weeks running up to the day, K and I had a lot of conversations about the amount of time that had gone by and about that initial decision to become vegan. It seemed to me to be something monumental when I made the decision, but it has become so second-nature that most days I don't even think about it anymore. It is automatic. In our house it is normal.
The day passed and it was like every single other day in the last ten years: it was easy, it was natural, it was good.
In those early days when veganism was difficult and most folks had not even heard of the concept I had to be much more vigilant. The world now is a little more accepting of vegans.
I won't let this carry on too long.
I mainly wanted to jot a quick note to give the day a nod because I recognize that the decision to become vegan was one of the most important ones I've ever made. I cannot conceive of my life differently.
I am very grateful to my wife for sharing this aspect of our lives.

Canning Workshop

Earlier this month, and with the help/organization of my friend Katie Ries,

I led a canning workshop at The Birdhouse.

The group was very receptive, despite my nervousness. I tried very hard

to keep my hands off the process and let them handle everything.

In the end, everyone had had a turn doing just about every part of the preparation and canning.

We made ginger-garlic mustard, pickled carrots, and chunky apple sauce.

The workshop was a great success and taught me a few good lessons.

Firstly, I love teaching, and I love canning.

Therefore, I love teaching canning.

Secondly, canning things that are in-season is very exciting.

Thirdly, just because I am able to can multiple things in one session in our own kitchen

does not necessarily mean it's a good idea when teaching a group.

By the end of the workshop, I was completely drained, as were several participants.

This is why the next workshop will be a single-item one.

The next workshop will be at 1:00 PM

on Sunday, November 14.

We will be making apple-cranberry rum relish.

If you would like to attend, contact me for details.

(Most of the photos were taken by Katie Ries, too!)

For Winter

As the seasons change, and the weather is finally getting cool, the produce at the farmers' markets is shifting from tomatoes and okra to squash and greens. With this change of seasons, I've found myself canning less; don't get me wrong, I've still been canning about once a week, but it's not the daily frenzy of summer canning. This summer had a few very memorable weeks, with the bushel and a half of tomatoes, half bushel of okra, and then bushel and a half of apples. But now, things are moving at a more leisurely pace. I'm trying new things, for example, I'm making granola for the first time, and finding it quite satisfying. For the first time, too, I'm freezing things for the winter. I'm not one to take revelatory pictures of our fridge or freezer, but I felt particularly proud of it at this point. On the bottom shelf, as you see, there is ice, ice cream, and ice packs; but in the larger compartment, there are a few real gems. There are containers of pesto, jars (and bags) of okra, a bag of butternut squash, jars of pureed pumpkin, and a loaf of rustic rye bread. I hope to get a few more pumpkins over the course of next month, and preserve them in various forms in the freezer; they will be incredibly appreciated in soups, casseroles, bread, granola, and pies. If I plan things out correctly, I won't need to buy canned pumpkin, ever (unless our use of it greatly exceeds my estimations).

I was surprised today by how much better this pureed pumpkin tastes than the store-bought kind. I read about a few methods of preserving it, and decided against boiling or steaming it--or, horror of horrors, microwaving it. Instead, I roasted slices of pumpkin on a large sheet pan until the skin began blistering and browning. Once the pumpkin cooled, I peeled it and pureed, tasting it all the way. I highly recommend this method; yes, it takes longer, but none of the flavor or nutrients are lost to the water or the evil microwaves. I encourage you to try preserving pumpkin in this way, especially now that pumpkins are starting to appear everywhere. And like the woman at the farm-stand said: it's called a "pie pumpkin" because it's perfect for one pie!

Blackberries

I realize that blackberries have been gone for a while, but as I was submitting pictures of a cake made with foraged blackberries to Urban Land Scouts, I fell into some great reminiscing. The cake that I made was a conglomeration of ideas: the actual cake part was the vanilla cake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, the icing was the lime "buttercream" from the same book, and the filling (as well as the coulis) was improvised by me, with Matt's help. Blackberries and lime seemed like a good combination, and I scraped a vanilla bean into the cake better for a more intense flavor. If you have never macerated berries, I highly recommend it. You can just let them sit in sugar for an hour or so, until they release their juices; or you can make the berries very happy by soaking them in booze (and also sugar). I soaked the blackberries in brandy, and used the resulting deliciousness as the filling for the cake. I also cooked down some berries with brandy and sugar for a coulis, which made me feel very fancy. Here are some pictures of the process. I'll go and quietly remember the blackberries and think of more season-appropriate posts. Until later.