Feed Me Like You Mean It

Monday, January 16, 2023

Fermentation Webinar with Marion Institute! Tuesday 1/17 noon ET

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Please join me Tuesday 1/17 at noon ET / 9am PT for an hour-long fermentation webinar hosted by The Marion Institute as part of their free 21-Day Reset program.

I will do a brief demo of the easiest fermented food EVER, followed by a talk and Q&A.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88928306445?pwd=MzBXQmkvRWwva3dJbWhrR0xISTJOUT09

(What do you think I will choose to be the easiest fermented food ever?)

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Announcement: New Edition of Real Food Fermentation

I'm excited to announce that the revised and expanded second edition of Real Food Fermentation is officially coming out THIS TUESDAY 25 January 2022!

Click here to buy it on Amazon. (Amazon is not my favorite, but it is crucial for driving early sales.)

Or share this link: https://amzn.to/3fRQ2hG .

Sour Cream and Onion Dip

Do you ever find yourself craving sour cream and onion dip?

I do.

But store-bought sour cream and onion dip is exactly the sort of processed food that gives processed food a bad name. And rightly so.

What do?

Well, what is the essence of sour cream onion dip?

UMAMI.

No, I'm not talking about a family member. I'm talking about the Fifth Taste: yumminess. Or glutamate, if you want to be boring about it. More here.

What are some healthy umami ingredients? Onion. Miso. Amino sauce. Nutritional yeast.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients

1 pint (500g) grass-fed, high-fat sour cream (or non-dairy equivalent of your choice)
1 medium yellow onion, minced finely or grated (raw yellow onion has the most zing, but you can vary this)
3 Tbsp (45g) miso (any variety) (or amino paste of your choice)
A couple of glugs of fish sauce or soy sauce (or other amino sauce of your choice)
Some fresh-ground white pepper (or pepper of your choice)
2 Tbsp (10g) nutritional yeast flakes

Procedure

Thoroughly mix all ingredients except the nutritional yeast. Then mix in the nutritional yeast.

Put it in the fridge for half an hour.

Remove from fridge, taste, and adjust flavor as needed by adding more of whatever you think it needs.

Serving Suggestions

Dip things in it!

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Why Natto?

(obligatory natto "money shot")

My latest Instagram project is #19DaysOfNatto.

What is nattō? Why natto? And why 19 days?

Sourdough Herb Crackers Update

A while ago I wrote this:

http://feedmelikeyoumeanit.blogspot.com/2020/05/sourdough-discard-math-and-crackers.html

I've been refining my recipe since then.

Top points

I make these crackers in small batches, both because that suits my sourdough discard rhythm and because smaller batches cook more evenly in my oven. Use bigger batches if you like.
I use soaked flax seeds because they're delicious and they absorb my brine.
Use whatever (sourdough) starter and whatever seasonings you like. But don't be shy about the salt unless you have a reason to be.
Kimchi-brine crackers are fantastic.

Books I've Read Recently

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, by Weston A. Price: Rather that theorizing abstractly about human nutrition, the author sought out isolated groups of healthy people around the world (this was in the 1930s, when there were still isolated groups of people), and documented their foodways. Price's book is jaw-dropping (literally). He describes group after group of people who are healthy in isolation, and become sick, miserable, and toothless when they adopt a "modern" diet. Aren't you curious what they were eating when they were healthy? Full write-up coming soon.

Other Books I've Read

The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America's Emerging Battle Over Food Rights, by David E. Gumpert: Is the government engaged in a covert and illegal campaign to discourage people from making their own food choices? Read the facts and decide for yourself. Full review here.
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, by Shizuo Tsuji and Yoshiki Tsuji: A masterwork on the subject of Japanese cuisine, and by extension, Japanese culture.
Winning Bicycle Racing, by Jack Simes: A short, fascinating book on the subject of bicycling, published in 1976, when the majority of men still wore moustaches. And as with any bicycling publication, there are some great facial expressions.
The Secret History of the World: As Laid Down by the Secret Societies, by Mark Booth: A truly fascinating, meticulously documented look at the evolution of human consciousness and religion. What are some of the connections among different religions' creation myths and pantheons? Why are there astrological and other "pagan" symbols in Christian rites? Did you know that "elohim", the Hebrew word in Genesis typically translated as "God", is actually a plural noun? And so on. N.B.: the book describes an almost exclusively male experience. I think Booth could have done more in the front material to explain this, or at least to notify the reader of the orientation.
The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy, by Sasha Issenberg: The history of sushi and the sushi supply chain, detailing the journey that your fish takes from the cold ocean to your neighborhood sushi bar, often by way of Tokyo. Sasha Issenberg focuses on the lives of the people involved in the sushi trade. Fascinating and well-written.
The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice, by Trevor Corson: The story of some students at a sushi academy—and more generally, the story of sushi itself. A wonderful book, entertaining, thorougly and carefully researched, and instructive. It makes me want to eat sushi. Or write about it. Similar, but only a bit, to The Making of a Chef, by Michael Ruhlman.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century, by James Howard Kunstler
The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic America, by Patricia Klindienst

Feed Me Like You Mean It

Monday, January 16, 2023

Fermentation Webinar with Marion Institute! Tuesday 1/17 noon ET

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Announcement: New Edition of Real Food Fermentation