Keep Calm and Eat Fermented Stuff- Tempeh Burrito.... More Radical Recipes from the New Anarchist's Cookbook!

I've been seeing tempeh listed in some of the things I've read recently, and its in a great vegetarian, gluten free penne Bolognese I really like, so I wanted to learn how to use it. What is tempeh?


Here is what about.com has to say- Tempeh is made from cooked and slightly fermented soybeans and formed into a patty, similar to a very firm veggie burger. Many commercially prepared brands add other grains, such as barley, and also add spices and extra flavors. Although tempeh is made from soy, it has a unique taste and is mildly flavorful on it's own, unlike tofu.  If you aren't fond of tofu, tempeh is also very high in protein and calcium, as well as beneficial isoflavones, but tastes nothing like tofu. Tempeh has a textured and nutty flavor.

I also have been reading a lot about fermented food (My good friend Ginny Talley Rodgers first introduced me to the benefits of fermented foods- she is way ahead of the curve. My curve!) and I was really interested in how to start incorporating more into my diet. Click here to read 8 good reasons why fermented foods are important- its a great article!

  So as far as tempeh, a fermented soy goes- fermented soy stops the effect of phytic acid (the bad stuff in normal soy products)  and increases the availability of isoflavones. The fermentation also creates the probiotics--the "good" bacteria the body is absolutely dependent on, such as lactobacilli--that increase the quantity, availability, digestibility and assimilation of nutrients in the body.

I'm in! Now what? I searched for recipes online and got a little overwhelmed. They were complicated recipes, and I am all about easy recipes. So, I made one up. And I gotta say, I'm a little impressed with myself. High fives all around!

KEEP CALM AND EAT FERMENTED STUFF- TEMPEH BURRITO (more radical recipes from the New Anarchist's Cookbook)

What you'll need-

Tempeh- I think its all organic, mine is
one purple onion
Course Mustard
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
cilantro
sesame oil
red pepper flakes
Either Nary Dary Chia Cheddar *fermented* cashew butter (which is only available locally for me) OR if you do dairy, then sour cream. You can also try vegetarian sour cream.
Tortillas (the smaller ones) Corn would have been tasty but I am wary of anything with corn unless it says no GMOs on it
Srirarcha sauce (optional)

I like to use my wok for everything, I like how it evenly distributes the heat, but you can use a skillet too.

Cut up the onion (I used half the onion) and put in the pan with EVOO- about 1/3 cup or so
Put sesame oil in, however much you want- this is more to taste
1 tablespoon course mustard (or more, if you like- I am never exact in my measurements)
red pepper flakes

This is what tempeh looks like. Weird, right?

Let all that simmer on low while you cut up the tempeh into cubes. Once its all cut, toss that in the pan and cut up a bunch of cilantro and throw that in there, too. Keep an eye on it for about 8 minutes, then take one out and see if it seems ready by tasting it. I say this because everyone's pans and stoves work at a different heat, and you will be able to tell. You can't undercook it, so its really up to you.

When its ready, put the tempeh in a burrito (I like to get my tortillas damp on both sides and warm them over the gas flame of my stove- I sort of slap them over the flame a few times)
Add the Nary Dairy, or sour cream, and the srirarcha sauce, if you like it. I also added more cilantro. The tempeh tastes sort of like meat that has been marinating- the texture is more...texture-y. Its dang good!

Keep Calm and Eat Fermented Stuff- Tempeh Burrito!

Let me just rant about cilantro for a minute. Its not for everyone, but for years it was one of the first things I would ask a new acquaintance. If they said they didn't like it, I would be very suspicious of them. Now that I am not such a judgmental freak, I don't harsh on anybody for not liking cilantro....but if you *do* like it, then aside from the amazing flavor, you also get all this-

The health benefits of cilantro come from beneficial phytonutrients and antioxidants, especially the flavonoid quercetin. Cilantro is also a good source of dietary fiber and iron, magnesium and manganese. It's a little-known fact that herbs (and spices) such as cilantro have far greater concentrations of antioxidants than any common fruit or vegetable. Herbs also contain a particularly wide variety of antioxidants as well, which makes them more effective at fighting many different kinds of free radicals. Getting the widest variety of antioxidants is just as important as how much of any one antioxidant you get. Many herbs have also been used for medicinal purposes, further demonstrating their health benefits. Click HERE for more info.

I love the smell of cilantro in the morning. It smells like... victory. (High five if you know what movie that's from!)

This recipe, if you can use the amazing Nary Dairy, contains two fermented foods. If you dig around at your local Natural Foods Co-Op, or wherever you shop for your healthy locally produced foods, I bet they have some other options you could try. Why is this revolutionary? As with any food that keeps you healthy, it keeps you off the BIG PHARMA grid. It keeps you out of their reach. If you eat a whole foods/ plant based diet (even if you still eat animal products, but reduce them to no more than 20% of your intake- its a start. But you want to keep it to a low percentage) then the likelihood of you and your family succumbing to major illness is greatly reduced. GREATLY reduced. I can't say it enough- watch Forks Over Knives, if you haven't already. Watch any and all food documentaries you can- the more appalled you are by what we have accepted as our normal American diet, the better. You should be appalled. They need us to be sick, and weak- its a multi-billion dollar industry, and they stand to lose a lot of we were actually healthy. So for me, eating this fermented stuff instead of a hotdog from Weinerschnitzel is VERY radical. Its not my normal way of doing things- hence, radical.

Don't forget about the March Against Monsanto coming to a city near you this October 12th!

March Against Monsanto! March For the Future! Power to the People!

Shake the hive!

xoxo,

Ashley Dane

Buying Locally Grown

I can't stress the importance of buying locally grown goods.  Buying locally grown is like throwing a Molotov cocktail in the face of Monsanto and Bayer and Syngenta. And if you have a revolutionary nature like I do, then that alone is reason enough to start shopping at your local farmer's market or natural food co-op.

My daughter tagged along with her camera. I had to goof off for her!

BUYING LOCALLY GROWN- WHERE DOES YOUR FOOD COME FROM?

I am going to forego talking about the processed foods from the center aisles of your grocery store- I talk about this a lot, but for the sake of this blog, I am going to just say- Don't eat that crap. Trust me. Its bad. God only knows what havoc its wreaking on your immune system.

 Having said that, some people really do try to shop mostly from the outer edges of the grocery store, where the so called fresh food can be found. Even so, the food there has some issues that are not obvious. Produce, for example. We can now buy strawberries and seasonal produce year round. Sometimes its more expensive than others, depending on the season. Usually, the produce is shipped in from other states, and even other countries, like South America. What this means is that your produce was picked well before it was ripe, in order to get on the shelf in time and also allow it to sit on the shelf for another week or so. When produce is picked before it is ripe, it is lacking the natural processes that make it not only taste good, but deliver nutrients. The nutrients come in the maturation process, so when a tomato is picked several days before it is ripe, even though it will continue to ripen while its in a box on its way to the grocery store, it is not ripening on the vine and lacks the necessary sugars and sunlight to become a true representation of what a tomato should be. You can also see the difference with your own eyes. Cut open a tomato from the grocery store and its water-y and goopy and has lots of space inside it- often only the outer part is usable. But cut open a vine ripened fresh locally grown tomato, and its solid tomato meat all the way through.

My beloved Studio City farmer's market. Its also a fun way to spend a Sunday!

So, by the time it gets to you, its been picked too young, put in boxes and transported across states or even countries. It doesn't taste or look like a tomato that you bought that was picked the day before, as you get from a local farmer, and it lacks the full range of nutrients, too. It is a well known fact that in countries that eat a mostly plant based diet, there is a lack of the major illnesses that plague us in the USA. By eating the most nutrient dense produce you can buy, and learning to eliminate processed foods (I know, it takes time. Even I have a list of 5 that I am not ready to give up yet.) and reducing animal based foods (I said reduce. If you can eliminate them, then I totally salute you, but I am definitely not there yet. However, I now eat meat about once a week. My weakness is milk.) you can significantly decrease you and your family's chances of succumbing to such abundant ailments as obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Fresh fruit and vegetables contain what our bodies need to function properly and stave off illness and disease.

"Let food by thy medicine." Hippocrates said that. Every Dr has to swear a Hippocratic oath to this day in order to become a physician- that's how legit Hippocrates is. And how not legit many Drs aren't.

Check out this trailer from the documentary Forks Over Knives. Its a must see! And don't worry, so many people tell me they are afraid of seeing how animals are treated in meat processing plants- they don't really show all of that. They just tell you some amazing facts that everyone should know.

Another big factor is the cost to the environment to ship all of this produce all over the world. Often your produce has been in several trucks, planes, or trains before it gets to you. There is a lot of fuel used in this transport. When you buy local, you are not contributing to the exorbitant waste, or the emissions from said waste. Local farmers drive to the markets, but not usually from very far, with their fresh, vine ripened produce. So it tastes better, is healthier, and doesn't contribute to the consumption of fossil fuels.



Checking out the zucchini for some Bomb Ass Zucchini Chips!!!

You also don't get GMO produce, since you know where it came from. They don't sell Frankenfoods at farmer's markets. And those who created genetically modified organisms want the small farmers out of business. Its very convenient that they are killing off the honey bees, which farmers have relied upon since the beginning of time to pollinate their crops. When you support small farmers. you DO NOT support those power hungry assholes that are ready to sacrifice the health of you, your children and the planet for profit.

 

ITS NOT JUST FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

At all farmer's markets, you can find a variety of things besides produce. I get fresh eggs from hens that are free range. They left the hens only a day or two prior to my getting them, rather than weeks after. They taste amazing!!! I also get my soap at my local farmer's market in Studio City, spices, and fish. They also have meat from grass fed cows, handmade clothing and jewelry, organic chousehold cleaning supplies, organic coffee and honey, some cool herbal tonic drinks, fresh squeezed orange juice, locally grown nuts, and smoothies. I always buy a bouquet of lilies for $5. One of my favorite discoveries is Nary Dairy,  a cheese alternative spread made from cashew butter.  The Nary Dairy people are so super sweet, and I love eating food made by such great people. My favorite is the Chia Cheddar. I eat it with quinoa, flax and chia seed crackers.  No more chips, no more candy bars,  no more grazing on snack stuff from 7-11. This stuff is awesome!

With Suzanne from Nary Dairy. Such great people!!! So yummy!!

I now do at least half of my weekly shopping for my family at the farmer's market, and I continue to learn new recipes so that I utilize foods that I can buy there, like my Bomb Ass zucchini chips. It makes me so happy to eat food that supports the local farmers, does not support shipping produce all over the world, is ripe and fresh and nutrient dense and delicious. I love that I walk to the market to get it, use only my recycled shopping bags, and don't purchase anything in packaging- no waste whatsoever. I love that I am not supporting the giant food corporations that would like to jeopardize our health to keep Big Pharma fat and happy.  The revolution starts with making different choices in who and what your dollar supports. So its a big fat UP YOURS to Monsanto, and that makes me ecstatic.

Not everyone has a local farmer's market, and not everywhere has a climate where they can buy locally grown.  Here are two helpful websites that can assist you in finding what is in your area-

CLICK HERE for a farmer's market locator.

CLICK HERE for a natural foods co-op locator

Don't forget to use recycled shopping bags. I will soon have some snazzy Shake The Hive market bags, with little produce bags inside so you don't have to ever use any plastic bags again.  A friend of mine is helping me with the new logo, and I can't wait to unveil it!

Don't forget to March Against Monsanto! Check out the facebook page for the March nearest you

Shake the Hive!

Ashley Dane

Shake The Hive- the Non Profit Organization!!!

I'm baaa-aaack!

Its amazing how a short trip to Key West with my kids could throw me off my game so much. It was a much needed trip, in the wake of a big round of layoffs at my now former job- including lots of very public drama about the rehab where I worked in the Hollywood Reporter.

Basically, I am in the middle of one of those life transitions. For about 30 seconds, I thought I might panic- "Holy shit, I have been laid off, and I am the sole supporter and of two teenage daughters, our insurance was through work, what the hell am I going to do?!?!" That passed very quickly, because I know what I want to do. And I don't want to do anything else. I don't want to go work for someone, or run someone else's company, or even start my own, as such. I want to do my non profit, and that is what I mean to do, no matter what. This blog has been instrumental in coming to this realization.

Me and my teenage muses on the plane to Key West

So here is what its gonna look like-

The first year, I will take 6-8 teenage girls, who I will find by talking to local high school counselors. I will focus on girls for now, and girls from homes where the dads are absent. Why this demographic? Because I understand it. And I understand how disconnected these girls are, from themselves and therefore anyone else, and their desperation to forge connections, without having the tools to know how, create a lot of havoc in their lives. And the moms (and I know this all too well) are spread thin trying to raise these kids, and often, in spite of all their best efforts, the girls spin out of control and the mothers don't know what to do, lacking resources such as time, money, and support. These girls fall through the cracks- there are no real programs for them. They often aren't the lowest rung of the economy, although its a struggle for the mom, the kids look fine, dress fine, have an iphone- no one would know they are suffering from looking at them.

Each girl, I will spend some time with individually at first. I will sit with them and start seedlings with them, planting the seeds in the little cups and just talking. I have found that simple interactions like this, conversations shared over an activity, are very connective. I will also be showing them what they will be doing with the next generation of girls, as they will mentor the next group.

A familiar sight to most parents- this is our youth, and our future. (this is not one of my kids)

This will hopefully take place on a piece of small land, perhaps the backyard of a small house. This will depend on funding, but some land is necessary. The set up will include some land for planting on, which will be supplemented by garden towers as well, hopefully an area for beehives (if the laws change by then- if not, we will keep our beehives where it is allowed, maybe at the bee sanctuary that Honeylove has in Moorpark), an area for an outdoor fire pit, and then the house. The house will be where the office is, where classes will take place, and act as a sort of clubhouse and refuge for the girls. If there is a pool- even better. I want this place to be a refuge for the girls, a place they naturally gravitate to, that is safe and loving and always welcomes them with open arms.

So the gist of it is this- The girls will grow their own food, and in so doing, learn a lot about personal development through the metaphor of growing things, through the pride of accomplishment and the self esteem that comes from this kind of work. We will work with the bees, and they will learn about the community that a beehive is, the sisterhood that a colony is, and the simple devotion to a cause greater than oneself. All thw work done with gardening and bees will be to help stimulate awareness, compassion, and connection in the girls, and help build a value system that our youth so desperately needs in order to be good stewards of this planet. And last but not least, they will learn about the importance of these activities as a part of the solution to the world's problems. they will learn to make food with the vegetables and greens and fruit they grow, with a nutritionist on hand to help uncover the magic of food. they will learn that they have been branded to their whole lives, told what they should like, and that it is vital, and revolutionary, to question everything that they have been sold, and to investigate everything for its inherent value, not just food products, but we will start with that discussion and let the rest unfold. They will learn that the bees need our help, and that they can maintain their own beehives, grow their own food- ongoingly- and that it is not only feasible to do (even in urban environments) but mandatory for the future of their world. If the harvests are substantial, if the bees produce honey,  if we have enough land, we may get a booth at a local farmer's market. That part remains to be seen, but I picture it as sort of an organic Homeboy Industries for teenage girls.

Some of the classes that will be taught is the art of social media marketing. Kids are already all over this stuff, but for all the wrong reasons. They will be taught SEO, and blog writing, so they can maintain blogs about their experiences, twitter about it, instagram, pinterest, get their friends interested, and thus learn to create a buzz about something empowering, instead of who hooked up with who over the weekend. They will blog weekly on the website, which will, with SEO, create more visibility for the non profit itself. They will add their blogs to their own facebook page, the non profit facebook page, and create their own social consciousness facebook page. They will be tasked with coming up with their own logos, and learning to design logos, create memes with a social message suitable to their peer group. They will CONNECT, which is what they so desperately needed to do in the first place. They will build self esteem, which connects one to oneself. They will be empowered to have a voice in their community of peers.



We can't get kids off facebook- but they can use it for social awareness!

Every weekend, there will be a gathering, and either a class, or a documentary screening, or a trip to various places- Animal Acres, the Wolf Sanctuary, or there will be workshops on sustainability or beekeeping- there are plenty of great things to expose these kids to. They will care for their gardens, harvest their crops, make salads, learn about buying local with trips to the farmer's market- so they can help their busy moms in the kitchen, and perhaps even teach them about eating with a social consciousness rather than for the sake of convenience. The moms, it must be said, will benefit from this too, and they are meant to. They need a hand. I aim to give them one.  We will keep an eye on the grades of the girls, and if they need help, like a tutor, we will find it. If they are having any other troubles, we will be supportive in all ways.

One weekend a month there will be a sleepover, and they can each invite one friend. We will make dinner from the gardens, and sit around the outdoor fire, talking. No phones, no facebook. Just old fashioned talking.

There are a couple of other components to the program- the trip to Bali at the end of the program, for one. The girls will acquire passports during the program, and they will, after months of tending to their gardens and bees and social media platforms and their audience, plan a kickstarter campaign to raise money for their trip to Bali. They will learn about fundraising this way. If they are short, the non profit will make up the difference, but they will participate in their own adventure.

People in Bali smile from deep within- they radiate good will

Why Bali? Several reasons. I have never been to a place where the people are so incredibly happy, and they have nothing. One of their blog assignments will be to go to Beverly Hills and observe the people there, and write about the level of happiness or joy they see around them in the city of mass consumption. they will do this same exercise in Bali. I want them to grasp, in an experiential and meaningful way, what truly makes one happy is not the acquiring of things, or being skinny or sought after by boys or having the latest handbag. There is a lot to learn from the people on Bali. Also, Bali has a lot of exotic culture and amazing things to experience, and this will connect the girls to their global community, open their eyes to the world at large. Its also very inexpensive once you get there, and since this is a non-profit, that makes a difference, too.

Balinese pre-teen dancers in traditional Legong attire

When they come back from Bali, they will mentor the next generation of girls, and their Moms will become a support sister to the new Moms. In the second phase, the Center will hold support groups for the Moms as well.  The First Generation girls will help the second generation with their gardening, blogging- all of it. The First generation girls will have either a small garden or a garden tower at home, to continue with what they have learned on their own- and maybe even a small bee hive, if the laws change. this is why them Moms are going to need support- the girls are going to take what they have learned and create a lifestyle around it, and they will need support.

The second to last phase for the girls will be placement as an intern at a local non profit of their choosing. They will be guided to understand what they are passionate about, and learn that they can make a difference, they can change the world, that they are important in this process.  As such, at the end of the internship, should they want to create their own non-profit, they will be placed in the non profit incubator, where they will get the help and support they need to get started on their own path.

Finally- and this is very important in communicating with kids- there will be the inclusion of a certain dialogue about it all that instigates interest in kids, as it does for me. A certain irreverence is called for, like Thug Kitchen- Eat Like You Give A Fuck, or punk rock homesteading, or the very real idea  of approaching this lifestyle as being Revolutionary and Radical. Case in point- two weeks ago, I went out guerilla gardening, right after it got dark. I asked my 16 year old and her friend if they wanted to go, and they said, "Ummm, no." Then I said, "You have to sneak around and plant them, like graffiti, but with plants." They leapt at that. There is a way to speak of these important things that kids will listen to, and the ones who are going to help me figure that out are the kids themselves.

So...that is what I am gonna be up to. This is the first time I have revealed my intentions in public, but the readers of my blog have been SOOOO incredibly supportive, and this blog grew so much faster than I ever could have imagined, that I trusted you guys with this first. This is gonna be off the hook!!! I am really excited. I truly believe that "if you build it, they will come." I don't know how to do a non-profit. I have never done anything like this in my life. But that's not about to stop me. And by stating my intentions publically, I am bound to it in a way I wouldn't be if I didn't.

The long and the short of it- I want to inspire kids to care about themselves, their community, and the planet. I want them to use the platforms of social media for shifting social consciousness. I want to open their eyes to the bigger picture, to the world at large, and their place in it. I want to create pathways between their compassionate urges and their ability to act on them. I want to lay the foundation for a value system that will continue to grow and to give. this will ripple out in ways I can't foresee, but I know it will be good, and I know the world needs people like this.

Occupy yourself!!

Ashley Dane