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jgarlough
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Posts by jgarlough
Harvesting energy off craptastic rocky soil.
May 7th
A great reply from a slashdot thread in response to an article discussing how bioelectricity used for battery-powered vehicles would deliver an average of 80% more miles of transportation per acre of crops:
mcrbids’ reply:
Comparing energy production density to Corn-based Ethanol is like stealing candy from a baby. Corn-fueled Ethanol has a tough time doing much better than just burning fossil fuels outright in systemic carbon footprint, and in some studies, is actually WORSE than strictly burning gasoline/oil.
Yes, the average is a net improvement of anywhere from 25% to 70% return on investment, but even then, you have to consider the value of the farmland itself! We’d probably do much better by simply growing wild grass on prime farmland, harvesting it, and burying it, when looking in terms of carbon footprint!
So saying that NNN technology is X% better than bioethanol is like saying that doing X is less painful than scraping off your penile foreskin with a cheese grater.
Truthful, but not very useful. Come back when you have something that actually works. For example, what’s the benefit of bio-electricity over Photo-voltaics? Now that the latter technology is down to (or better than) $1/watt [nytimes.com], this becomes a very, very tough technology to beat, and actually works better on craptastic, rocky soil off in the desert someplace with 3 inches of rainfall per year.
Meaning, we can get back to using farmland for growing food, and stop with this silly “let’s raid the kitchen cupboard to feed our guzzling SUVs!” craze that’s been on for the last few years.
Wild Edibles Course, Day 2
May 7th
An after work hike in the woods near Pakenham gave Martha and opportunity to show us several new plants and cook us up a meal along the shoreline.
We were all lucky enough to have an opportunity to hike through some beautiful property that was COVERED with white & red trillium. There were a few spots where the ground was too swampy so the trillium gave way to fields of fiddle head and other treats.
Dandelion Fritters
O.K., these fritters tasted FAR better than you would think and were so quick & easy to make. Pick the yellow flower (best when it’s open during the day) / dip in batter (pancake batter or whatever suits you) / deep fry in oil / dip in a tiny bit of cinnamon & sugar / eat.
Burdock Root
Burdock (that plant with purple burrs) has a long edible root that won’t leave the ground easily. Cutting it in thin diagonal slices brings out an interesting pattern, and while the taste is quite bland it certainly would be good for soaking up and bringing out other flavours in a dish (eg. wild ginger).
Dandelion Fritters
A bit of what we enjoyed tonight: Steamed fiddle head s in a tasty leek oil, mixed green salad with edible flowers and cooked Jerusalem artichoke root.
Wild Horseradish… …or Ode to Crinkleroot
May 2nd
The bush in front of the house has a plethora of Crinkleroot. It is not the easiest to grow or harvest or clean BUT if you like horseradish you definitively need to give this root a taste! Think strong horseradish with a bright,minty kick and a small (almost unnoticeable) hint of black licorice — all that flavour packed into a tiny, crinkly root.
After cleaning the handful of roots which I brought back from the bush and throwing them the blender with a bit of vinegar all that was left was hardly enough to fill a small jar:
So now the dilemma: What does one do with such a tiny amount of wild edible gold?!? I’m guessing it’s about half a cup of delicious condiment that I’m likely going to use ever so sparingly until I’m confident that I’ve hunted up enough for the next small batch.
Bring out the BBQ!
Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Food Plants
May 1st
Edible - Book Cover
An interesting picture book, it added to my ever-growing list of travel to try foods:
- Peanut Butter Fruit (South America)
- Ice-cream Bean (Central & South America)
- Sapodilla (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize)
- Fresh Dragonfruit (Subtropical areas of the Americas, Vietnam, Israel, Australia)
Ah, and posting this just reminded me to add “The Fruit Hunters” to my reading list.
Wolfe Grove Spring Walk – Almonte, Ontario
Apr 26th
Yesterday I finally made it to one of Martha’s Edible Wild tours. We spent 6 hours walking through the bush learning of (and sampling) edible plants which grow in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.
Martha is in her mid Eighties and I learned SOOO much I can’t list it all here; however, here are some of my favorites which she pointed out to us in the bush:
Crinkleroot: Wild horseradish
Indian Potato: About the size of a thimble, tastes a bit like a starchy raw pea.
Yellow Birch: Buds, sap and young branches have a wintergreen flavour.
Garlic Mustard: Leafs are great for salads.
Wild Ginger: Um, wild Ginger. Strong. (Only eat the root, not the leaves)
Crinkleroot:
Crinkleroot (dark strawberry-like leaves) and Leeks (tall tulip-like leaves):
UPDATE — as the plant matures the leaves turn pale green and grow
to be quite a bit larger than strawberry leaves.
Yellow Birch (they grow best in dead stumps of other trees):
Indian Potato:
Martha shows us an Indian Potato (right-click on the box below and choose “play” to see the low quality flash video):
Link to video here.
Local Lasagna – Ottawa, ON
Apr 26th
This was made and consumed a few weeks ago. Ingredients we used were sourced as local as possible. Si came over and helped make the pasta a few days before. Pasta Dough: Local flour from Mountain Path Organics, local eggs (Spencerville), and some dried basil from a friend’s garden (last year’s harvest).
Here’s the end result:
Layer 1: Pasta
Layer 2: Sauce
- Local Beef (Greencrest Farm)
- Tomato Sauce (product of Ontario and not likely local)
- Mushrooms (continental)
Layer 3: Pasta
Layer 4: Cottage Cheese (product of Ontario, likely Winchester)
Layer 5: Spinach (Quebec)
Layer 6: Alfalfa Sprouts (grown locally from seed)
Layer 7: More Pasta
Layer 8: More Sauce
Layer 9: Cheese! (St. Albert)
Lasagna was very good but the sprouts didn’t hold up well to the cooking or re-heating. Next time I should likely hold off on the sprouts. Lots of left over pasta too, so it wouldn’t have hurt to have used a deeper pan and piled on a few more layers!
A delicious first attempt = success.
BigThanks
Apr 22nd
Thank you for all of the birthday wishes! Delivered in person or in spirit they were all appreciated and made it a good day despite the weather. Thankfully everyone’s keen ordering ability to help put together a great meal and the company, the party and the after party certainly made it a night to remember.
Sh!t and Chicks.
Feb 5th
A short, simple film showing how this farmer in Northwest Ghana collects food for his chickens.
Starts around the 30 second mark:
[via: geobrief.tv]
