6-8 Servings

I’m normally not keen on white pepper. But I use penja white pepper, which is nice and spicy, not musty like other white pepper and works really well with soups made with tubers and root vegetables. It’s also somewhat expensive and if you don’t have it, the red pepper provides a hint of after-heat. Black pepper can be used, but is better ground over the top of each bowl.

Some might inquire whether they could use chicken or vegetable stock, which you certainly could. But I’m fine with just using water. If you’ve not used leeks before, see how to prepare leeks.

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 4 leeks, washed and sliced
• salt
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme; optional
• 1/4 teaspoon chile powder
• 6 cups (1.5l) water
• 1 1/4-pounds (600 g) potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground white pepper

Directions

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the butter or olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add the slices leeks and season with salt. Cook the leeks over moderate heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until they’re completely soft and wilted.

3. Add the thyme, if using, and chile powder, and stir for about 30 seconds, cooking them with the leeks to release their flavor flavors.

4. Pour in the water, and add the potatoes and bay leaf.

5. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender when poked with a sharp knife. Depending on which potatoes you used, it could take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.

6. Pluck out the bay leaves and puree the soup with the white pepper, seasoning with more salt if necessary. I use an immersion (stick) blender, but if you use a standard blender, be sure not to fill it more than half-full and secure the lid, and cover it with a tea towel when blending, to avoid hot soup or steam for causing problems. Don’t use a food processor as that will make the potato purée gummy.

If the soup is too thick, add a bit more water, until it’s the desired consistency.

Source: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/01/potato-leek-soup/

Black Bean Brownies

A little cake-like, but also a little fudgy, you’d never guess the main ingredient in these brownies is black beans. But by using whole, minimally processed ingredients like organic black beans, raw honey, raw cacao powder, coconut oil, and pasture-raised eggs, these gluten free, chocolatey treats actually have decent nutritional value as well.

Since they are so incredibly easy to make, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this grain free brownie recipe again and again.

Instructions

• 1 can organic black beans or 2 cups cooked, soaked dry beans
• ¾ cup Rapadura, ¾ cup coconut sugar or 1/3 cup honey (raw is best)
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, plus extra for greasing the pan
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa or raw cacao powder (raw cacao powder is least processed and has more nutrition)
• 3 eggs, preferably pasture raised
• 1-½ Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 pinch sea salt
• walnuts, previously soaked and dried, or other brownie toppings (Optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse beans very thoroughly and drain them completely. Now do it again. You really don’t want any “beany” tasting liquid in your brownies!
3. In your mixer add rinsed and drained beans, eggs, vanilla, coconut oil, sugar or honey, and cocoa powder.
4. Blend until smooth, then add the salt and pulse until well mixed. Batter will be thin.
5. Grease an a 8″x8″ baking dish liberally with coconut oil, and pour batter into dish. Top with optional walnuts or other toppings.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top and sides are set, and the insides are just a little soft.
7. Cool before serving and enjoy!

Source: http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/grain-free-brownie-recipe

A|-------0----0-0-2-4-5-0-5-5-4-2-0-7--0-0------2-2--------2--2-0-------2---2---2---2---|
E|-0-2-4---0-------------------------------4-2-0---0-2-0----------4-2-0---0---0---0---0-| (*)
C|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[E] I keep a [B7] close watch on this heart of [E] mine
[E] I keep my [B7] eyes wide open all the [E] time
[E] I keep the [A] ends out for the tie that [E] binds
[E] Because you're [B7] mine, I walk the [E] line

A|-------0---0---0---0---0-| (*)
E|-0-2-4---0---0---0---0---| 
C|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|

[A] I find it [E7] very, very easy to be [A] true
[A] I find my[E7]self alone when each day is [A] through
[A] Yes, I'll [D] admit I'm a fool for [A] you
[A] Because you're [E7] mine, I walk the [A] line

A|-0-0-2-4-5---5---5---5-| (*)
E|-----------5---5---5---|
C|-----------------------|
G|-----------------------|

[D] As sure as [A7] night is dark and day is [D] light
[D] I keep you [A7] on my mind both day and [D] night
[D] And happi[G]ness I've known proves that it's [D] right
[D] Because you're [A7] mine, I walk the [D] line

A|-5-4-2-0-7---7---7---7---|
E|-----------5---5---5---5-| (*)
C|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|

[A] You've got a [E7] way to keep me on your [A] side
[A] You give me [E7] cause for love that I can't [A] hide
[A] For you I [D] know I'd even try to turn the [A] tide
[A] Because you're [E7] mine, I walk the [A] line

A|-0-0-------2---2---2---2-|
E|-----4-2-0---0---0---0---| (*)
C|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|

[E] I keep a [B7] close watch on this heart of [E] mine
[E] I keep my [B7] eyes wide open all the [E] time
[E] I keep the [A] ends out for the tie that [E] binds
[E] Because you're [B7] mine, I walk the [E] line

A|---2---2---2---2---2---2-|
E|-0---0---0---0---0---0---|
C|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|

Performance Notes

1. The original version of the song is mostly bass, with the guitar playing quite softly.
2. The tab leads into each verse and the final two oscillating notes are played by the bass all the way through each verse.
3. Each verse changes key, with the in between tab "walking" either up or down to the new key.
4. If the in between tab is "walking up", than you start singing on the higher of the two oscillating notes. If the tab is "walking down", than you you start singing on the lower of the two notes. The correct note to key into is marked with an (*).
5. We've slightly changed the in between tab make the oscillating notes always be on different strings by using E|5 instead of A|0.
6. Using a capo on the first fret makes it easier to hit the low notes.

Amy and I had been playing a really simple version of the song which had the whole thing in the key of A. Once we started trying to integrate the tab into the song we realised that something wasn't quite right and after a bunch of listening to Johnny sing we realised that he was changing key on each verse. Figuring out what he was doing and especially how obvious and easy it is on the guitar, was really fun. One great moment was when Amy realised that he was using the tab to get his voice keyed in for the next verse. If you listen to the song you can hear him hum to the oscillating notes before starting to sing.

We're still not sure that we have this quite right, but it's closer than anything else we've been able to find online and seems to work.

Origanal Bee Forage Calendar by Olive, Ashley and Juergen.

For the last month I've been at Milkwood Farm, about a four hour drive from Sydney, Australia. I'm here until December as part of their spring internship program.

Today three of my fellow interns (Ashley, Juergen, and Olive) quickly cranked out a bee forage calendar that it cried out for a digital version. Species have been selected for cold temperate Australia (this is definitely not the subtropics!). We're all beginners when it comes to bees, and damn close toe beginners when it comes to botany so please forgive any mistakes.

We'll improve it as time permits, in the mean time I hope it provides a useful starting point for others. If you have any corrections or additions I'd love to hear them!

Please note that the months indicate when the plant will be flowering in the southern hemisphere, where summer is December to February!

It started with a recommendation from my Dad to read "The Snow Leopard" around mid-2009. From there I found a neglected copy of "The Great Gatsby" loitering on my bookshelves and then discovered "Diary of a Drug Fiend" in a secondhand bookstore. Continuing in this vein, and fuelled by childhood memories of Bill Murray, I tracked down "The Razor's Edge".

Reading these books from nearly a hundred years ago, it startled me how little many things had changed. That despite the sea of change in which we are currently immersed, "people … are still people". This dovetails nicely with one my primary experiences in Asia over the last year, that despite significant language and cultural differences, people are still people. It's a great lesson that neither time or space is powerful enough to change us, in essence we are all the same.

Digressions aside, one of the things I love about these classic novels is the almost breathless way in which characters are often introduced. Here's an example from F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby":

His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God... and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.

and from W. Somerset Maugham's "The Razor's Edge":

He was a colossal snob. He was a snob without shame. He would put up with any affront, he would ignore any rebuff, he would swallow any rudeness to get asked to a party he wanted to go to or to make a connection with some crusty old dowager of great name. If I have given the reader an impression that Elliot Templeton was a despicable character I have done him injustice. He was for one thing what the French call serviable...helpful, obliging, and kind. He was generous, and though early in his career he had doubtless showered flowers, candy, and presents on his acquaintances from an ulterior motive, he continued to do so when it was no longer necessary.

This gave me an idea for a writing exercise. Using my friends as inspiration I will try and craft my own versions of these introductions. I don't have the courage to name them, hopefully nobody recognises themselves, and if they do, hopefully they won't be offended by my caricature!

Stay tuned …

In Aaron O'Connell's TED Talk, "Making sense of a visible quantum object" he concludes by saying:

You hear a lot of talk about how quantum mechanics says that everything is all interconnected. Well that's not quite right, it's actually more then that. It's deeper. It's that those connections, your connections to all the things around you, literally define who you are.

That sounds like an end to "objective truth" to me. We are what we are connected to, our perceptions literally shape our reality.

Photo by Elise Bauer

Now I know this is not a traditional root beer. Traditional root beer is brewed with yeast, is mildly alcoholic — and can be tricky to make. This recipe will give you a root beer flavored syrup that tastes amazing, is stable in the fridge for a year, and needs only seltzer water or club soda to become a wonderful homemade root beer.

You will need some unusual ingredients to make this, notably sassafras roots. If you happen to live in the United States east of the Great Plains, you are in luck: Sassafras grows everywhere in that region. If you don’t live there, or don’t feel like foraging for your own sassafras, you can buy sassafras root bark online.

The burdock in the recipe grows all around you, or at least a cousin of it does. It’s called curly dock. Use it if you can, as it’s free. Otherwise, many good supermarkets have burdock in the produce section: They are long pale, skinny roots often sold under their Japanese name “gobo.” If you absolutely cannot get your hands on burdock, skip it. The root beer will be different, but still fine.

If you can find it, get wintergreen extract. If not, use peppermint extract.

When you make your root beer, start with a tablespoon of this syrup to a pint of seltzer water. You can adjust the strength of your drink from there.

Makes 2 quarts.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 cups of water
• 3 ounces of sassafras roots
• 1 ounce of burdock root
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 clove
• 1 star anise
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 drops wintergreen extract or peppermint extract
• 6 cups sugar

Instructions

1. Chop the sassafras and burdock roots into small pieces, about ½ inch or smaller.
2. Put the roots in a medium-sized heavy pot with the clove, star anise and coriander seeds and cover with the water. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Simmer this for 15 minutes.
3. Add the molasses and simmer another 5 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and add the wintergreen or peppermint extract. 1. Put the cover back on the tea.
5. When the mixture cools, strain it though cheesecloth to remove any debris.
6. Return it to the pot with an equal amount of sugar. Stir to combine. Bring it to a simmer and cook it for 5 minutes, uncovered. Pour into quart mason jars and seal. Keeps a year in the fridge.

Variations

One of the reasons I'm interested in this recipe instead of more traditionally brewed root beer is because this version doesn't require fermentation. Fermentation requires sugar to work so I'm hopeful that it's possible to radically mess with the amount sugar in this version and still end up with something delicious and "healthy". I won't be able to try this for a while, but the recipe is here for future experimentation. — Adam.

Source: http://honest-food.net/2010/07/04/sassafras-and-homemade-root-beer/