organics

for those of us  who like it delicious, even tomorrow for lunch, conservation grade and organic food is made to enjoy. easy to  work with? as long as you remember that organic food is live; no herbicides, no pesticides, no mould inhibitors, no hormones, no growth inhibitors - have a look at the ads in Farmers Weekly for the long list. as far as food is concerned 'normal' has become a certain sort of convenience - McDonalds take-away sort - yet there is nothing more convenient than a  banana. but here at sanford we have wonderful farmhouse kitchens and rooms with lots of air and corner places. we need not settle for plastic food full of extras all of the time. we can work together to discover inner nature anew. for your temperament is not a complete stranger to your dinner plate.

 the organic food group orders in bulk in order to obtain the best available organic and conservation grade natural products  at the lowest possible prices.  it is a home delivery service, items are purchased at wholesale prices [with special warehouse offers] and you choose the level of quality, without regard for profitability or shelf life. buy 10 kg of dates, 3 kg of coconut, 3.18 kg of peanut butter and join the shares - before and after the order delivery - to turn it into a garden of eden.

 left to its own devices - in a cool dry place with active air flow - organic food will simply become drier. left in a frig  it will become damp and mouldy and this will  take hold  very swiftly once the item is removed from the frig and brought again into the warmth. organic foods looks its age: an organic apple properly stored  cannot  be held indefinitely in [commercial] storage without visible shrinkage, and cannot be passed off alongside this season's crop. clean paper or washable cotton cloth bags are best for long-term storage; plastic does not breathe and living things breathe. Deptford market remains and a little innovative recycling should do. larger jars are always welcome, but remove all traces of soap.

 most of the items from the Essential order have a sell by  date in 2005: organic and conservation grade pulses, grains, fruit, herbs last a very long time,  and most organics are reconstituted - returned to native state - by adding  water.  clean organic lemons or tomatoes  dry out, Sainsburys' refrigerated  organic lemons and tomatoes go mouldy as soon as you bring them home. but they even put the  garlic in the frig, since for Sainsburys organic food is somehow strange, read deficient, in not being treated for dirty handling and storage conditions. they market organics as premium, buy the lowest quality and sell it on 'as if' it was commercial  - an impoverished logic requiring customers not consumers.

 what recipe to use?  the food lasts long, is simply delicious and goes further. you will need to use less to obtain the same serving size and you may find you eat less,  since organics and natural products are more digestible and more filling. with a regular organic diet you can safely consider a weekly fasting day, say Wednesday, to give your digestive system - and your budget - a rest.

 a frig is seldom necessary and a stove is used less. try it raw - sprout seeds, soak to soften grains, ferment for breads and leavens - or pressure cook or microwave. microwave  heats  the least viscous fluids first so water is heated while the glass container is not. water is heated while oils are left largely untouched in 2 to 3 minutes on high. soaked Aduki beans are considered  the Queen of beans in Japan because they are delicious raw [after reconstitution/soaking] and flexible in recipes ranging from sweet cakes to salads to entrées. many western organic foods are capricious in flavour, even timid, picking up flavours nearby; fresh [cooked] soya beans or tofu absorbs maple syrup or lime juice equally well, both are delicious. the flavour and compatibility of organic products means you keep it simple in order to be gourmand, just as if it was produce picked fresh from the garden.   learn the natural flavours and qualities of a food before adding spices and sauces.

 stove top cooking is lessened by toasting the item first.  and here the grasses - rice, quinoa, buckwheat - come into their own. the difference between  grains - wheat berries,  say - and grasses are seldom recognised and never mentioned by commercial  vendors [suppliers or caterers]: yet grasses are more digestible - rice is used as baby food even here in the west -  and are very flavourful. after toasting, buckwheat is ready to eat in 10 minutes.

 nutrition for organics considers how your  body handles the food - motility and absorption -, that is to say, considers in terms of physiology rather than strict inorganic chemistry: how well you feel and how much energy and flexibility you have when you need it, rather than how much iron, magnesium or calcium is in a set [cooked] portion. food value is thought of in terms of healing rather than curative and in calculating food value cooking method and recipe - complementary balances - is included.   many organic foods, like bladderwrack/kelp, are valued or measured in a raw or 'most accessible' state.

 In  organic chemistry a cyclist's camping breakfast is not the same as a reader's lunch. in organics your eating habits and your age, your enthusiasm for sedentary life, and your cooking skills are your own signature and do count. it is all very well to eat raisins or alfalfa seeds for iron or vitamin B12  but if they are soaked for a few hours first you will digest them, and if eaten  raw the values will not be lost. a raw carrot is of no use to someone with colitis. if you don't believe me, check your shit and see where the groceries are going. just passing through.

 clear, clean water is not grey water. clear water is in its first use and is water for ingestion, that is to say,  for  cooking and drinking. 5 litres a day, with lemon,  nettle tea, coffee or molasses, morning, noon and night. available at Iceland  for .99 [5 litres bottle, home delivery minimum 25.00, dry residue 359g, sodium 90]. grey water is for showers, toilets, laundry, lawns and housekeeping. At present, Sanford has no grey water system and so has no clean water. beyond the ponds

 organics take more  water and reconstitute more quickly and completely.  soaked organic raisins look like new, much more appetising, and when using organic flours for a cake, cookie or bread mix, you will need more water to obtain the  same consistency and rising power of commercial flours.

 buying, storing, preparing, and cooking with organic food it is only necessary to remember that it is live. like you. and has a special relationship with water. like you.

modified cyclist's touring breakfast

250 g soya  flour

500 g sunflower seeds

250 g linseed

500 g thompsons raisins

500 g porridge oats

250 g fine oatmeal

500 g coconut

6 tablespoons ground cinnamon

soak portion [1 cup dry weight] overnight in 1 1/2 - 2 cups clean water. microwave [it's modified] in morning on high for 3 minutes. add blackstrap molasses to taste  [2+ tablespoons].

cyclist's midday rest drink

1 cup clean [mineral] water (warm preferred)

2 tablespoons tomato puree (tube or jar)

1 teaspoon ground kelp/bladderwrack

mix up and drink

One-day fast and cleanse drink (Louise Tenney, Utah)

1 litre clean [mineral] water

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons maple syrup

touch of cayenne [increase as able to tolerate]

drink throughout the day when thirsty or feel the need for food. drink 5 litres of water per day.

*all ingredients are organic unless stated otherwise.

edith, house 5

the San, September 2002 issue