Keep It Close...Self Preservation

I can recall with a smile, the shuffle towards preparing food that we grew. The consumer mindset is often not an easy one to shake, even when we are surrounded overwhelmingly by everything we need. Hence, the shuffle. My mate, an extraordinarily talented farmer and artist would come home in half-shock, with a basket full of freshly harvested food, and find me in the kitchen preparing the same foods, only store-bought. Not only was there the reality that I had spent money on food, but that I purchased and was now preparing for our family a "substance" of lower quality, less flavor, and lacking in the the essential personal relationship that comes with growing your own food.

Now we have stepped into the Future, standing firm on practices championed in the past...

This month of October finds me in self-preservation mode. Preserving the foods of Summer's bounty to sustain and and preserve our bodies for the Winter's rest. Whether it's our Coconut and Squash based Habanero sauce, our Serrano chili paste, or our countless flower and herb combinations dried and blended specific to our family's needs and tastes. We are manufacturing our own "products" and controlling and flowing within our own sustenance. The food is fresh and it's familiar. It's intimate, CLOSE. A relationship that was established from seed....Love

We received an abundant amount and variety of peppers this month. So I offer up a Chili paste recipe. The recipe below is from the Know Thyself Family, featured in their quarterly newsletter. There are some slight variations in my final recipe but this place is a great starting point and comes close.

Easy Chili Garlic Sauce

1/2 pound fresh hot chilies
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar or other sweetener (optional)
2 tablespoons vinegar, or lemon or lime juice

Remove the stems from the chilies and discard. Cut the chilies into big pieces. The seeds can be left in (for a hotter version) or taken out (for a milder version). Puree the chilies with the rest of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Use in small amounts on bean and rice dishes, tacos, soups, or even in salad dressings.
 
My Kitchen Sounds Like "Transfiguration" by Alice Coltrane

Maitu

Practical application trumps theory with her. There is little to be gained with the questions. Her growth, her harmony, continuously and abundantly support the truth that the lesson, the knowing is in the doing and the witnessing. She only asks for your attentiveness and she will flourish.

And what becomes apparent is not her's but OUR need to be acknowledged, recognized. For indeed there is no separation. Her consideration gives way to our nourishment. Realizing that she is the only tabernacle, and to understand devotion through her service is to worship at the feet of our own Earth-made altars.

Weed her of entanglements and fruit blossoms. Remember to offer her water and air and she will expand. Sunlight draws out her smile and she dances in the rays. The moonlight is her unveiling and the mysteries of her soil are summoned forward to heal, to relieve and replenish.

She and I. Her and Us. He and She alike are one in the same. The more we come to The Earth, the more we come to ourselves. Grateful to learn, to heal and grow at the feet of the Mother. Love.

Eros

I wake up early in the morning for it. Greet it like a sacred ritual. Wash and clean my physical body. Purify my thoughts and give thanks and reverence as I approach it. I come to it like a prayer. Every single time is new and yet, I know this. I dance in the meeting of the two. Familiar and New. I am aroused by the scent of it, its tastes, its sounds. We even touch, hand to mouth. I prefer it that way. Mediums are not always necessary.

This love making is ABUNDANT. So there's enough to share. When its ready, I plate, package and serve it up. So that you may get a glimpse of what this reverence, this type of love feels like. Perhaps it can be a catalyst for your own expression. Be nourished by it. Imaginative. Explorative. Come Eat.

Food Rituals Part 1

We bow our heads in reverence. Giving thanks to the Creator, the Universe, the ones whose blood, sweat and tears, love and effort went into the the growing and preparation of this food. We come together as community, as family, united within ourselves to recognize the rituals, the ceremonies both formal and informal that have culminated in us being able to nourish our bodies with the abundance of nature. Recognizing that as we give thanks, as we observe these rituals we are continuing on in traditions shared all over the world honoring the sacred nature of food.

Within systems of modernity, most often meals are prepared from people we don't know or have any connection with at all. Whereas we are appreciative of the effort and work put forth by the many Chefs and food servers within our society, it is with an understanding that today's service practices limit opportunity for a spirit enriching, ritualistic and nourishing experience for the ones preparing and serving our food. What can be said of the real quality of our food (aside from taste and aesthetics) which is prepared in highly stressful, confined rooms, with little ventilation, extreme conditions and no view or connection to the natural world? How much more creative, inspired, and nourishing would our food be, if the preparers had Stress-free, open environments? How about if we actually had some level of relating with our Chefs and the foods prepared?

I recently read in The Huffington Post an article on the top 10 occupations that psychopaths are drawn to, Chefs was number nine. In an entertainment based society that is now pushing the food industry and its arts to be competive sport, fueled by personalities, how much more will this draw an undercurrent of unstable, misdirected energy to the art and ritual of how we all nourish ourselves? Of course we all, even myself enjoy the experience of going out from time to time, not having to cook, being served and tasting other's creative expressions. In that I do not suggest to totally disengage ourselves from the food service industry or to detach ourselves from this art and service. What I choose to reflect upon is taking out time and space to honor the many food rituals and their significance that have kept our cultures and families moving for centuries.

Remembering the rituals your families have around food. Be it women coming together to harvest, wash and prepare meals. The sorting of grains, the washing of greens. All the many conversations,and celebrations, ceremonies recognized in the midst of these activities. Men coming together in sport or seeming leisure and in the proces gathering food for their families. All the rituals and activities with food at the center that brought us to community and family. The time and spaces, the energy we shared, and how that all went into the food that was prepared and then in turn how that affected the taste, the quality, the healing and nurturing properties of the foods we ate. All that we consume we are. What does how our food is prepared or consume, say about us? Love.

My Kitchen Sounds Like "Set-Up Shop" by Damian Marley

Forward On...and on

There have been whispered conversations about it. Environmentalists, food purists, Eco-folk, farmers and more have all been discussing food policies!!!!! (Yikes) What rights we'll have, what rights will be taken away, who controls our food and on and on and on. My question is when and how do we begin the work (not conversation) about liberating our own personal growing power back into our own hands.

As a mother I'm constantly reinforcing to my children the responsibility of taking ownership and care for themselves. And it really is that elementary. When do we decide to plant the seed that will nourish ourselves and families?

There will always be someone vying for power and control. How and what we eat as well as food control is only in someone else's hands when we relinquish it from our own. Happy planting!!!! Love.


It's fall time. The leaves are changing, the winds are picking up and as the night time and early morning chills settle in, I am activated to return to simple, nourishing and healing foods. At the farm callaloo (aka amaranth) is plentiful as well as several varieties of squash. Check out our recipes for Golden Nugget Squash and Callaloo. Maitu-Ital style.

Golden Nugget Squash

• 3 young golden nugget squash chopped 
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth or h2O
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 1/2teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• Salt to taste 

Combine all ingredients in a round casserole dish. Give it a nice toss around to ensure the squash is covered. You may want to add a bit more broth (another 1/4 cup) at the bottom of casserole as basting liquid throughout the cooking process.

Cook in a preheated 350F oven covered for 15 minutes. Then uncover for an additional 15 minutes until squash is fork tender. Let cool a bit and Serve.

Callaloo

• 1 large bunch of callaloo sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1/4 large onion sliced
• 1 Hungarian wax pepper (or any pepper you like) sliced
• 1/2 ripe tomato sliced
• 1 black cardamom pod cracked open
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• Salt and cayenne pepper to taste 
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth or h2O

In a large sauce pan, heat the sesame oil on medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, pepper and 

cardamom pod. Sauté until onions begin to turn translucent. Add callaloo and continue to sauté. As the callaloo begins to soften add tomato slices and broth. Allow to cook down just a bit, keeping callaloo a bright green. Add salt and pepper to taste, serve on top of a nori sheet with squash. Injoy!

My kitchen sounds like "Alkebu Lan" by Christian Scott off of Christian Atunde Adjuah

Happy Summer!!!

It's been a long time, I shouldn't left you, without a dope recipe... Transformation seems to be the theme for 2012. And to not be left too far behind with the times MaituFoods has been undergoing some changes and transformations within itself. We're back, hoping to bring you more, more often. We have added more pages, more pictures and in time more posts and videos. So thump around see what you can find.

 This month we are highlighting our Farmers R Fresh series kickoff. Our take on the local food movement in Atlanta. Also check out our recipe this month brought to you by one of our Farmers in training Ifakemi Spriggs.  Happy Eating. Love.


My Kitchen Sounds Like: "Isn't She Lovely" -Stevie Wonder

Food Bazaar

This month has been one of excessive and unrestrained food indulgence. Me and my Foodie Bestie have taken decadence to a new level. When food called anywhere within the Metro Atlanta area and it was vegan/vegetarian friendly, we were there. Eyes wide, stomachs and appetites even wider. From the neighborhood Mexican spot, to Vegetarian Sushi in the Highlands (and that we hit up 3x). Italian in Midtown (4x), to West Indian in South-West. Shall we mention desserts? Desserts that had us hitting the pavement from Kirkwood to Fourth Ward, all the way to Stone Mountain. We put it in for the Foodie Home-team this month.

To bring in October, me and the family attended The Field of Greens Festival (check them here http://www.fieldofgreensfestival.com/). The festival is an annual event celebrating local foods. This year's highlights included "Meals From The Market" and "The Chef's Tent". Meals from the Market allowed patrons to meet local farmers and try some of their produce prepared in simple, easy to make recipes. Each Chef/Farmer had a information card that included stats of their farms and the recipes they served at the event. The Chef's Tent which Field of Greens is famous for, boasted 30 of Atlanta's and Athens' premier Farm-to-Table Chefs, all under one tent serving up samples of signature dishes from their respective restaurants.

The Festival was productive, my bias being that this year's Festival was to raise funds for SlowFood Atlanta, and our farm, Truly Living Well Natural Urban Farms. There was an interactive children's section where they could make their own healthy snacks and also a play area and animal petting area. For children it was a great social event, for a vegan, umm, there was much to be desired. With the exception of the Meals from the Market, most of the food (especially in the Chef's Tent) was not vegan nor vegetarian friendly. For it to be named Field of Greens I did expect there to be more Green. However, if you are a foodie with no special diet or food aversions this was Local Foodie heaven. There was a nice variety of vendors selling goods from food products to clothing and I was able to cop a really cool poncho made in Guatemala. Would I recommend this Festival? Sure, why not. If you don't mind the 40 minute drive and you're a meat eater.

To soothe my conscious our next stop was Bazaar Noir's Vegan-Vegetarian Taste of Atlanta 2011. I have to admit this event was a bit more my speed. Vegan Vendors from the Greater Atlanta area came together to celebrate good food, good fashion, good music and community. The highlight of this event for me, was the introduction of Young Chef, Iaame Duniani (youngchef.blogspot.com). 11 year old Chef, starting his cooking journey and doing it in a lovely way. He served up an Ethiopian Wat, with Green Salad and Injera. The other treat of the night was FTP's (ftpcatering.com) Vegan sweets table. I walked away with their signature Bean Pie (yes a whole pie).

The Taste of Atl, was a nice event. I would have liked to see more food vendors and food variety, but I was grateful for the chefs that were represented. Truthfully, even with the handful of chefs present (and I hear more arrived after I left) they covered Live Foods, Soul Food, Foods from the Diaspora and Vegan twists on classic dishes. Who can find fault in that? Not me. All Love

My Kitchen Sounds Like: Yesterday's Machine by Saturn Never Sleeps