Eco-Photo

Ken and I do not see ourselves as experts on making falafel, but we have to say, “We LOVE this recipe!”.  It’s been adapted from a youtube video by Mimi.  I thought Ken was CRAZY when he said he was only getting his recipes from youtube, but I have to admit sometimes it’s easier to watch someone make a dish rather than trying to read the instructions. We’d love to have more ideas for what to do with sprouted beans, so if you have your own favorites, please respond to this post or drop me an email.

Here’s Ken’s recipe:

This was the first falafel recipe i had seen that had a TON of fresh herbs and spices; so good for you, i had to try it. One of the secrets of falafel is the texture of using un-cooked beans; we kick it up a notch by spouting our uncooked beans.

This is a double batch (makes 50 falafel balls the size of golf ball). I’m lazy, so I like to make a ton and freeze half of it (uncooked) for later.

Ingredients:
4 cups dried chickpeas, sprouted for about 2 days
2 bunches fresh parsley
2 bunches fresh cilantro
1 to 2 cups minced red onion
8 cloves fresh garlic (crushed)
4 T cumin seed
4 T cumin ground
2 T coriander seed
2 T coriander ground
2 T salt
2 t fresh ground black pepper
note : “T” = tablespoon and “t” = teaspsoon
note : vary the spices as you wish: more/less of what you desire

Instructions:
Combine spouted beans (uncooked), cilantro, parley, onion and garlic in large bowl and mince with immersion/hand blender.
Do in batches if you have small bowl.
Add all spices and mix thoroughly.
Be patient; the goal is to achieve a final consistency that you can form into balls with your hands like playdough.
The balls will be a lovely greenish brown due to the fresh herbs.

Make aprox 50 balls from the mixture the size of a golf ball by squishing and rolling in your hands (great for kids and good zen practice!).
Place on a large tray or cooking sheet.

To freeze 25 for a rainy day:
Place half the balls on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 30 mins, when they are hard, remove from cookie sheet and place in ziploc freezer bag(s).

To fry up 25 falafel balls:
Heat peanut oil to 300 degrees.
Use enough oil to cover the falafel ball in a pot as big as you like depending on your time vs how many balls you want to make.
Deep fry for 1.5 to 2 mins then turn with tongs or slotted spoon.
Then deep fry for 1.5 to 2 mins more.
The goal is a nice dark brown color and a crunchy texture.

For reference : I use a small 6 inch pot with an inch of oil and cook 3 falafel balls at a time with a thermometer.

Do the math : 25 falafel balls divided by 3 = 8.3 batches x 3 mins a batch =  a total of 25 minutes frying time.

So, fry for half an hour and you got falafel all week plus half to go in the freezer for another week.
Note : I like to save the oil for frying future falafel. It’s fine to use for 3 times or say 3 months?

Serving instructions for lovers:
Grill 2 pita breads with butter, garlic salt, dried dill, and paprika.
Take 3 falafels and break in half.
Place 1.5 balls on each pita.
Top with any of the following: fresh tomoatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, tzaki sauce, tahini sauce, feta
add a squeeze of fresh lemon and/or hot sauce if desired.
Enjoy.

photo of Shawn by Tiffany Haugen

The Bob’s Red Mill tour I went on last year was very influential for me. I learned about the stoned ground process (here’s the post) and I met Tiffany Haugen. Tiffany had just released The Power of Flour, a cookbook endorsed by Bob’s Red Mill, and she happened to take the tour the same day I did. After the tour, we got to talking and I discovered that not only could she cook fish, she could catch them, too.  I expressed my desire to learn how to fish and she expressed her desire to learn more about photography, and a trade was born.  Finally, this past September we made it happen and I went down to Springfield, OR to fish on the McKenzie River.  Tiffany, Scott, and their sons Braxton and Kazden, took me out on the river. Besides fishing, I was able to take some photos of this beautiful and fun family outing.

Towards the end of the gallery you’ll see photos of the trout I cooked on a cedar plank, which Tiffany taught me how to do from her Plank It! Wrap It! cookbook. Tiffany and Scott have lived around the world and are a wealth of information. They share their knowledge by writing books and articles. I recommend checking out Tiffany’s cookbooks at www.tiffanyhaugen.com and you can learn a lot about fishing and hunting from Scott at his website, www.scotthaugen.com.

My latest newsletter is out and it features Nau.com and Wingnut Confections.

Shawn Linehan Green Adventures #007 - Be Here Nau

photo by Ken Beck

Merino wool has become one of my favorite fabrics.  I recently bought two light-weight merino wool shirts from Nau - the m1 cap sleeve (pictured above) and the m1 tank. I did a little research on the fabric and found the following:

• Merino wool is wicking, meaning it pulls moisture away from the skin, explaining the comfort I had wearing the shirts in high temperatures.
• Merino wool is naturally antimicrobial, meaning it inhibits the growth of bacteria that joins with sweat and body oil to create bad odors. Without the bad odors I can wear the shirts more often before laundering them, which saves on wear and tear as well as energy and water.
• Merino wool doesn’t need dry cleaning and can be washed in the washing machine in cold water, but just like other wools, merino wool will shrink in the dryer.
• Merino wool is considered to be the softest wool available and comes from Merino sheep, a renewable source.

But sustainable clothing is more than using sustainable fabrics.  From talking with the designers at Nau I’ve learned that sustainble clothing also means designing for longevity - which is a new mindset in our buy and discard fashion world. Nau’s color choices are not based on the latest trends but based on an evolutionary color palette that includes a lot of neutral color tones that can be spiced up with colorful accessories. Also, the clothes are designed with multi-use performance in mind. For example, the Nau Shelter Jacket can protect me from the Portland rain, yet is elegant enough for a business meeting. Instead of having to buy two jackets, I can buy one. Finally, Nau designs clothes with graceful, understated, elegant lines - again, not following the trends.

The two shirts I mentioned above retail for $70 each - a high price for me to pay for an everyday shirt and tank top. Since visiting the Nau headquarters I’ve realized that it’s a fair price to pay for a shirt that looks stylish, performs well, and made out of a sustainable fabric. It’s dawning on me that paying the real price for clothing is actually cheaper in the long run if the full environmental costs are consider in the equation. Nau.com has a good section on how they choose their fabrics and I suggest you read it for more insight into the environmental impacts of manufacturing fabrics.

So, I have changed my goals for buying new clothes. I’ll still buy vintage and second hand clothes, but when buying new clothes I will focus on quality over quantity and buy fewer pieces made of high quality, sustainable fabrics, beautifully designed, and made to last for many years.  When I buy from a company like Nau, I’m not just paying for a piece of clothing, I’m also supporting a company that has similar ideals and goals as I do: consuming less, caring about people, leading a healthy lifestyle, and trying to reserve our resources.

In my July newsletter I featured three cooperatives that all share the goal of sustainability. Writing the newsletter brought up more questions than answers: What is the link between cooperatives and sustainability? How do co-ops work? What makes them successful? Why aren’t they more popular?  I think my first step to answering those questions will be to join one of the food co-ops in town and go to a few board meetings. I’ve already begun frequenting the local food co-ops - since you don’t have to be a member to buy from them - and I love them.  They remind me a bit of walking into a Chinese food specialty store. They are typically small, have strange, wonderful smells, and sell items I don’t see at supermarkets.
Like most people, I have bought from supermarkets all of my life typically choosing food based on taste. Now that I’m learning about the many hidden dangers of processed food, I’m finding I have to be very diligent about reading labels and making smart choices when I go to the supermarket. Frankly, it’s a lot more work to buy food now.  In contrast, when I shop at food co-ops I can trust that someone has already read the labels for me and shopping is easier. Also, food co-ops have a lot of organic and local food choices that the supermarkets don’t carry.

Andrew McLeod recently gave a lecture on co-ops at People’s Food Co-op. His research suggests that cooperatives work when all the co-op members are working towards a higher purpose, like sustainability in the case of a food co-op. Andrew was full of facts and ideas about co-ops during his lecture. One particular item that I found curious came out when someone asked about the link between co-ops and communism. He said that co-ops were very popular before World War II, but fell out of favor when they were linked to communism during the McCarthy years.  These rumors happened to work in favor of the big box supermarkets which were just opening in the U.S.

You can find more information about cooperatives on Andrew’s blog, the Organic Valley co-op page and the People’s Food Co-op page.  I’ve also been seeing more information about cooperatives in the news lately.  Yes! Magazine has an article focusing on worker-owned cooperatives and the NY TIMES has an article on a Health Co-op in Seattle.  Here are a few official sites: The National Cooperative Business Association, the International Cooperative Alliance, the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, and the NW Cooperative Development Center.