KIMCHI!

I worship Sandor Katz. Sandor Katz is the author of the book Wild Fermentation, and sometimes I sit and read it like a novel. One of the low points in my life was the day my friend Susan loaned me her autographed copy of the book and I left it unattended in the kitchen, where an unwitting soul placed a wet pot on top of it and altered it forever. Sorry, Susan, really, really sorry.

A man named Leonard Barrett, who runs the phenomenal organization Permaculture for Renters introduced me to the magic of this book and set me up with my first sauerkraut-making experience. I was hooked. I went home and drove my mother crazy with my smelly, bubbly concoctions. I tried millet porridge, pesto ferment, fruit kimchi, and sweet potato kraut. I had a patient, open-minded, indulgent boyfriend who ate all of them and claimed to like every one. And then I moved to a new place and met Susan. Susan taught me to make spicy kimchi, and I knew I had found my true love.

I currently have three types of kimchi stored for the winter:

Bland kimchi: purple cabbage, chinese cabbage, carrots, turnips, ginger, onions, garlic (all local, even the ginger!)

Spicy kimchi: purple cabbage, chinese cabbage, carrots, onions, ginger, hot peppers, garlic, and kelp seaweed (all local except the ginger, due to cost, and the seaweed, although I later learned that I do have access to local seaweed)

Apple kimchi: apples, pineapple, onions, almonds, hot peppers, ginger (in this one, only the apples, onions, and hot peppers are local...ginger, again too expensive, and almonds and pineapple are just sort of garnishes to add a bit of flavor and protein...I honestly can't recall whether I splurged on pricey organic almonds or gave in to temptation and low prices...it's a 50/50 on that one)

A NOTE ON ORGANICS: I am pretty serious about organics. If I don't mention that something is organic, you can assume that it is. I will mention it if, on the rare occasion, it is not.

What Am I Going to Eat?

I am native to Texas. In Texas, people are planting right now. Something deep in my nature feels very nervous about the fact that pretty much all food is out of the ground by now up here in Massachusetts. Plus, it's cold. Very, very cold. Always.

I moved here in October and responded to the cold with a natural hoarding instinct; I went to the farmers' market and bought more local, organic produce than I could reasonably carry home in my carless state. Once, I carried it home. Another time, I gratefully received a ride. And I fermented all of it...I think it totals around four-and-a-half gallons. For the sake of organization, I'll leave it at that here...but my next post will be dedicated entirely to kimchi, so read on to learn about my secondary obsession, fermentation....

Additionally, the universe has somehow graced me with a room rented in a house with urban homesteaders. Synchronicity never ceases to amaze me. Although, after years of ecovillage living, Permaculture and Ecovillage Design Training, and writing an undergrad thesis on community gardening, I was obviously tuned in to the urban homesteading vibe, I nonetheless did not voice my desire for such a situation. I simply started saying to people, "I would like to live in Western Mass," and the first person to respond with a concrete idea said, "Hey, I have a room to rent," so I showed up, still oblivious to the situation until my first night in my new, eco-friendly home.

All that is to say that my new living situation included automatic linkage to the amazing local foods network in Northampton. I have thus been blessed with various joint memberships to two local vegetable CSAs, one local meat CSA, and one dairy CSA complete with milk delivery to your front doorstep in good-old-fashioned glass bottles. All of the CSAs are organic. These things, of course, to supplement my kimchi staples...

The 3rd Annual Dark Days Challenge

It's official. I have enthusiastically signed up to document my already-planned local-foods-dominated winter!

As a recent transplant to Western Massachusetts, I had the great good fortune to end up living with some urban homesteaders who have:

a) good-naturedly tolerated, encouraged, and joined in on my obsessive fermenting of four or five gallons of local, organic kimchi in my first month of renting a room in their home and

b)hooked me up with their local co-op membership and various CSA memberships to get us all through the winter.

So, having just happened upon the Dark Days Challenge inspired by (not so) Urban Hennery, I quickly signed myself up, although I think I'm a week or two late for the technical start date. The essence of the challenge is that I will cook a minimum of one "SOLE" (Sustainable, Organic, Local, Ethical) dish per week, and I will share the details with all of you. Thanks for coming along for the ride!