16/03/2009

Blossoming



It’s not quite the first day of spring, but it feels like it. From the winter weekends of doing ‘not much’ I am now officially out and about. Last weekend was spent in Lewes (they have a very sweet farmers’ market on the first Saturday of each month), and the weekend just gone was spent in London. Blossom and flowers are everywhere – a welcome hit of olfactory as well as visual delight. My focus is wholeheartedly less on the food I’m consuming and more on the food I’m planting. Fellow biodynamic ‘by the moon’ planters will understand that March is a busy time!

10/03/2009

Web Messages


I am feeling wholly inspired by several web posts - both old and new. Kerri Smith’s fabulous Venn Diagram of the 06/03/09 on the comfort zone vs things that make life worthwhile and interesting, Jenne’s brilliant post on Wendell Berry and the handmade, and finally, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on the importance of supporting fairtrade ...

On the raw front, I have shifted from morning juice to something more substantial, what I call my ‘brain feast’ brekkie – loosely based on Raw Rob’s various concoctions. The difference in stabilizing my day has been incredible ...

05/03/2009

Kelp Noodles - Raw?


So, here’s my question. I bought some kelp shreds (pictured) and also some kelp noodles in London’s Chinatown recently. I love the texture of sea spaghetti so wanted to try out the kelp noodle craze that seems to be going on in the raw community. However, whilst the kelp shreds (like sea spaghetti) do seem to resemble sea material as it appears in nature (albeit shredded and dried), retaining both colour and taste, kelp ‘noodles’ just don’t. I’m not obsessive or even trying to pick an argument, as I realise that some of the dried fruit and also some of the nuts and other seaweeds I consume are unlikely to be officially ‘raw’ and I’m ok with that, but kelp noodles just don’t seem to resemble anything like natural kelp. Is it just me, or does anyone else think the same?

UPDATE
Clearly I’m not the only one pondering this (see this link) and this too, so it’s really down to individuals to make their own minds up about how much ‘processing’ they want their food to undergo. The Sea Tangle Noodle Company as well as posting some info, sells packs of 12 for $33 plus shipping (i.e. $2.75 a pack). The kelp shreds from Chinatown cost, if I remember rightly, £1.50 per pack.