Food Politics: Edible Colonialism

For the most part this poor blog has been abandoned. Yet, the new Geopolitics of Food is worth sharing:  The 2008 recession, post-peak oil, and the new norm of our global economic climate culminates in frightening storm – and our plates are the stage. What’s being served is ill-conceived reality of how food – for the the first time in our collective 21st century imagination – is becoming a scarcity.

Can you imagine it? Can you image the continent of extreme couponing and ridiculous rates of obesity taking this seriously? Of course not. Food inequality is exactly that  – unequal: Geopolitics outlines how differently we feel it and where belts are going to tighten. In North America we have laughable debates about plus size models making us obese, followed by an episode of The Biggest Loser. This is our media reality, and in it we have lost the lexicon of communicating real scarcity. Until the landscape of images is scoured to depict the collapsing frame – we are unintelligible cavemen.

This woman will model till she makes you fat.

But all of this is beating the same cow till it moos milk. Lester Brown makes an interesting point is how food will (once again) be the reason colonialism will the rise in Africa again (Well, not really, but I like to make allusions stretch like 80s workout tights):

Fearing they might not be able to buy needed grain from the market, some of the more affluent countries, led by Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and China, took the unusual step in 2008 of buying or leasing land in other countries on which to grow grain for themselves. Most of these land acquisitions are in Africa, where some governments lease cropland for less than $1 per acre per year. Among the principal destinations were Ethiopia and Sudan, countries where millions of people are being sustained with food from the U.N. World Food Program. That the governments of these two countries are willing to sell land to foreign interests when their own people are hungry is a sad commentary on their leadership.

Africa, it would appear as if your new destiny is… Edible colonialism. No more Dutch East India Company using you as a port for  Indian spices. No, you are wanted for your land this time. Plain and simple, and you’ll get green dolla, dolla bills in return. Or yuan.

god of cake

You’ve probably seen this blog already. But in case not, be ready to laugh till you cry.

I present to you: the god of cake:

And other delicious tales.

Custard Cookie Recipe

I recently had the privilege of attending my first cookie-swap: With the lovely Ms B and Crafty Ladies Co. Essentially, you and a group of interesting people bake two dozen cookies, take home samples of said cookies and trade recipes for mass reproduction consumption purposes.

Brianna's picture Credit

The custard cookie recipe is a family trade secret. Translated from Afrikaans. Decades old (my Mom’s first cookbook). And made with enough butter to age your arteries several years. So enjoy (occasionally). This dry, not-too-sweet, cookie is a great companion for tea, books and weekend conversation.

Should make 3 dozen cookies.

• 3/4 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup custard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1) Mix the soft, room-temperature butter and the sugar till the mixture is light and fluffy

2) Mix in the egg and add the vanilla essence

3) Sift the flour, the corn starch, the custard powder, the baking powder and the salt and mix together. Mix well till a stiff dough is formed.

4) Place the dough in teaspoon heaps on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes at 200 degrees C/ 400 Fahrenheit. (Keep you eyes on these – I found that less time worked better).

Cook and Enjoy.

* As a PS: It’s been a long time since I made these and I stupidly forgot to add the flour (WHO DOES THAT? I’ve baked these bebes since I was a single digit). I made the rest of the Crafty ladies wait till I baked another batch. Their politeness is much appreciated.

eCookbook: Ye bite me.

Was in Costco this previous weekend and saw my first ever cookbook ereader device: It was pretty, nice to play with, and featured timers, converters and a rich level of content with each recipe.

This little number was exciting. I could picture myself cooking, running out of a wine – and being able to avoid a disaster by looking up the ingredient’s substitution in five seconds. Phew-situation diverted. (I can’t help it, I think in dramatic scenarios.) Then the communication student in me couldn’t help but wonder – what does this little device do through the perspective of McLuhan’s Tetrad. I’m pretty certain that as soon as humans began writing, recipes were created. Can’t you see the hieroglyphics of stewed crocodile? Yum (dramatic  thinking).

But I think that for the most part of history – recipes were personalized and did not bear resemblance to the mass produced secrets of Julia Child’s French cooking nor that Naked Chef”s universal localized agenda. But the books were in paper form. You could write notes, edit emphasis of ingredients,  pages would have actual bookmarks and favourite recipes would bare the stains of meals well-enjoyed and happily-shared. You could give your South African- Afrikaans-university-days’ cookbook to your daughter – Thirty years after your first degree.

Demy, you can’t do  that. And are you charming enough in other ways to make me forget what I lose?

Thousands Die in Delicious Blending Death!

One of my favourite things about Summer is drinkable: Smoothies.

I love them.

“And true love lasts a lifetime.”  Sipping on a  fresh smoothie brings a joy to my life which should really make me reconsider my priorities. Best of all they are healthy – filled with sweet-mother-of-pearl antioxidants. Considering the fact that the Canadian summer may only last another two days, I thought it only right to bestow my recipe gift upon thee. Yes, calorie approximations are included too. Your hearts’ thankfulness may spill over the comments section.

Death-of-a-Thousand-Berries Smoothie Recipe: Makes 2 glasses (about 220 Calories each glass)

1/2 cup  Blue Menu Frozen Vanilla Yogurt (110 cal)

1 Medium Banana (90 cal)

1 cup Blueberries (83 cal)

1 cup Strawberries (49 cal)

1 cup pitted fresh cherries (91 cal)

6 ice cubes

Things to Eat in the Fraser Valley

These last three months may not boast the greatest in excitement value. But I thought I would share one of the nice pleasures of living in the countryside. This place, Nutrifoods Solutions, is located ten minutes from our abode. It  sets itself apart from the competition by being different: That is, they care about making healthy products which support the local economy and are committed to the local environment. And I might add that they have the cutest store set up in the most scenic of locations. In that barn they have the friendliest staff selling the best quality foods:

And you can go outside and chat with the locals:All in all, a very nice experience – the next time you come for a visit we’ll go get a cup of coffee and enjoy the pastoral life. Did I mention they also feature classes about where your food comes from?

What America Eats… And what does Canada?

I know. Long time no talk. But have something interesting to share so it should make up for time lost. I stumbled on this site from wordpress’ freshly pressed page – and it is really nice visualization of what Americans eat. I would *love* to know how this chart would look if Canadians were the ones in question and the same methodology were applied.You can read the comments and the source here. But I would really like to know if you think we live and eat differently due to our location?

Week 2: Running Fail

You would think that by writing out my goals for the world to see (and by world, I mean the four people who read this blog), I would somehow be more inclined to bite the bullet than bite the dust.  But week two of running was a fail.

It started out alright. On a Monday and on time, but as a was running up the third hill(esque) I felt my dinner want to make a come-back.

But sadly, even though this set-back would have sustained not running for just one evening. Instead I took of the entire week off. Why?

It’s simple enough. I’ve been feeling a little (read: hugely) irritated by the current state of my being. Which I will not delve into with this post (Thank goodness you are spared!). But let me leave you with a few parting words of advice when it comes to this running business:

1) Overcoming running is in your mind. And it also has to do with your emotional well-being. I.e. being able to believe in the fact that you will, somehow, survive this and walk out the better for it. Which leads to point 2…

2) It’s going to hurt, so embrace the fact that you will feel pain and prepare yourself for that.

Luckily, I am still continuing the program – despite me being me.

Healthy-Full tips: #1 Grate that Cheesy Cheese

Hello lovelies!

When Claire and I were still roomies we cooked together nearly everyday (oh those were the days, my friends). During this process we used to swap tips on “healthyfying” everything we ate. We considered those tips so freaking awesome (and bloody easy) that it was our duty to share them with the world.

Thus the birth of: “Healthy-Full” tips Section/Tag.

Tip #1: Grate that Cheesy Cheese

Cheese tastes like 1930s movie stars waltzing on your tongue.  It is that good. Unfortunately for cheese to taste this fantastic it is  injected with fat (boo). So how do you defy the laws of fatness and increase your tastebuds’ happiness exponentially?

You grate it. ( The cheese not your tongue.) A grater is -for all intents and purposes- a gift from the heavens.

Take half the amount of cheese that you usually would use and then grate it. In doing so,  your cheese surface area will increase allowing for optimal taste satisfaction with a much lower fat ratio than before. This doesn’t sound like much of a tip, but trust me: One ounce (28 grams) of cheese can have ten grams of fat.  Yes, you read that right. A third of that cheesy goodness is fat.

Considered your life sufficiently altered for the day.

Photo Cred

First Week of Huffing

Running... I likes it!

That is, I have completed my first week of running. And sadly enough, this is a feat for me. The program I’m using is the Couch-to-5K. (major emphasis on the couch for now). And it is really great, I use the free podcasts that Robert  from Northern California made. See what good things happen when we share the internet and talents and resources – those good things include getting my butt into shape. So thank you internet and Robert.

Memorable Moments from Week One Include:

• Not realizing that the program should first be completed on flat surfaces, and nearly dying on my first hilly run.
• Dropping my mp3 player and having it freeze (I never realized up until that point what a *huge difference* listening to music makes when running.) In that moment resignation hit and I was not sure if I could continue. But that thought only lasted for .02 seconds. And yes, thankfully I did complete the run.
• Not planning my running route only to realize that end of my first run – and when approaching a nearly comatose state – there were still 2km to walk home. Up a steep hill.
• Sunglasses are a necessity, not a want.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevindean/3697553979/