KitchCraft

Democracy is on my mind today after the election and how my food business is integrated into my political activism.

As I prepare my locavore canoe plant cuisine for a weeklong catering gig,
I reflect on all the work done by so many to fight for our democracy. Our voting rights, our rights as women to control our bodies. For the protection of waters, lands, air, displaced peoples, indigenous landback
movement; communities are organizing.

Here on Maui we are organizing. Working arduously to bring progressive change.

I thank each person for their participation, for my friends who won their elections; I offer my great gratitude.

I am blessed to feel my purpose served.
I am a community and a culinary activist.
Healing/ helping through food
Food sovereignty practices
And Talking story about true history.

So, I offer this poem today not written by me, but her voice is my voice.
Our measurements, the same.

November 9, 2022

So,
I will measure
one-and-a-half cups of water,
pour it into the cylinder pot, add a pinch of salt
and wait
for it to boil. Spill a half cup of sprouted steel cut oats into the tiny bubbles,
stir with the red silicone spatula,
lower the flame
to simmer,
set the timer for 15 minutes.
And wait.

Fill the kettle,
click the temperature button to white tea.
And wait.
When the red light turns blue, I’ll pour water
into the delicate blue and white tea pot with a wooden handle - the one that Jim gave to me,
heat the porcelain bowl, then transfer the water to the small dark green mottled cup – that someone’s hands shaped 25 years ago.
I’ll shake woody tea leaves into the empty tea strainer and steam them with 160 degree water.
And wait.

When the timer unsettles the quiet, I’ll nudge the thickened oats over fresh blueberries, walnuts and ground flax seeds in the chipped blue and off-white Vietri bowl – the one
I bought when Jimmy Carter was president,
stir it gently, slide the over-easy egg onto the mixture,
puncture the yolk to spread the deep orange-yellow through it.

I will empty the hot water from the cup, fill it with the fragrant tea,
transport it, the bowl, and a tablespoon to the dining room table,
spread the cyanotype napkin on my lap – the one my daughter made with images of specimens from Walden’s woods,
now extinct because of climate change.

I will give thanks for the breakfast, then,
open the laptop to see if my grandchildren
still
live in a Democracy.
– Linda Belans

Breadfruit Ice cream makes a hit in Jamaica.

Reminder:
Organic whole food is your medicine.
Calcium rich foods are always present in my meals. 100%

Ulu is in season and a wonderful food source. I just roasted three today. This recipe sounds delicious.

Try this crispy & savory recipe for ‘Ulu Korean Pajeon (pancakes) from . Recently shared on on Ikaika’s Kitchen. For a vegetarian option, you can use mushrooms instead of shrimp!
Ingredients
1 lb of ‘ulu (fully cooked & peeled)
¼ cup coconut milk
½ cup peeled & cleaned shrimp, or ½ cup mushroom (marinated in shoyu 30 min)
½ cup green pepper
1 cup chopped green onion
1 Tbsp garlic chili sauce
2 beaten eggs
1-3 Tbsp GF All-Purpose or Wheat Flour
Oil for frying
Pajeon Sauce ingredients
2 Tbsp shoyu
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp green onion
1 tsp sugar
Directions
Cut ‘ulu into ½ inch cubes.
Add coconut milk to ʻulu and mash with a potato masher until desired consistency is achieved.
Sauté green pepper and shrimp (or mushroom).
Add sautéed green pepper, shrimp (or mushroom), and freshly chopped green onion to ʻulu mix.
Mix ingredients, then add eggs and flour.
Make 3-inch patties and fry with canola or coconut oil until golden brown.
For sauce, mix all ingredients together in a small sauce bowl.
📷