Post March Against Monsanto Pride! ~ Mariella

What an incredible day! We have 250 signatures from Saturday's March Against Monsanto. I know that doesn't sounds like loads but it's a great start for our little sleepy town. And...we made it to the Saturday night 7:00 SABC News!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0D3VWhcuVI&feature=share

Here are some images from the day taken by Vinthi Neufeld...

https://vimeo.com/66968452

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVn_dK77iXc&feature=share

http://durbanknights.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/mamdbn/

I felt truly part of a community which cares for it's future, it was a great day!

If you missed this Global opportunity to be part of the change you want to see in the world, there will be another World Wide March in October. Lets save our seed!

http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/ 

March Against Monsanto! ~ Mariella

This week it's all about Monsanto! If you feel like your news feed has been hijacked along with dinner conversation, chats at the market, interactions in the supermarket, then rest assured it'll all be over soon! 
March against Monsanto happens tomorrow, Saturday 25th, everywhere!

March Against Monsanto hit the webwaves in April 2013 and they haven't stopped since, with over 470 events in over 50 countries and over 200 000 participants, they aim to change the World.And who are they marching against?

 

Monsanto is a Multinational Biotechnology company which opened its doors in 1901. They are not all bad, being the first to mass produce LED's, but they are also the same people who brought us polystyrene  and other synthetics, DDT,saccharin, PCB's, Agent Orange, Recombinant Bovine Somitotropin otherwise known as rBST, the growth hormone used in cattle production. Not a fantastic legacy to pass down to your children, or the rest of the children on the planet for that matter. 

The cherry on this multi billion dollar cake must be GMO's, having been linked to tumors, growths, allergies, infertility, did I mention tumors? Their business ethics alone are worth protesting against. In recent years over 120 000 Indian farmers have committed suicide as result of being promised a 'magic cotton seed' at exorbitant prices which not only still required pesticides but much more water than traditional seed. Official Monsanto response to this went something along the lines of how suicide is part of rural life in India and that the rains were low that year. The crops failed twice. They said nothing of the 1000% price difference between their seed and traditionally used seed, or that some government seed banks banned traditional seed so that farmers had little choice, all of this resulting in mountains of debt. 

All in all there is much to question about Monsanto.So what can you do about it? I, along with fellow upstarts shall be hosting a Peaceful protest tomorrow in Plettenberg Bay. But with so many events all over the world, you can easily find the one closest to you. 

http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/p/blog-page.html

So to take the absolutely wonderful Jo Austin to heart, 'Get up, dress up and show up!' The plants, animals, birds, bees, farmers, children, earth beneath your feet need you! 
Time: Tomorrow 
Place: Everywhere!

It's Jerusalem Artichoke Season, ooooh yum! ~ Mariella

Jerusalem Artichokes are intimidating strange looking vegetables! But once you get the hang of preparing them, they are so delicious, with a strong nutty flavour which suits everything. They are actually part of the sunflower family, which is obvious once you’ve seen the flower, they take over the garden with their two meter high bushes and are sometimes referred to as Sunchokes. 

The harvest season for Jerusalem Artichokes is now and we have so many in the kitchen, we will have to be inventive and fast, for there is more in the beds begging to come out! The trade off for having access to such delicately delicious fare comes in two forms, the one is that they are a pain to clean and warrant the purchase of a veggie scrubbing brush, and the other is that the Inulin present can lead to a bubbly tummy. The remedy for this? Eat more of them and your body will get better at digesting the Inulin!

The best way to cook Jerusalem Artichoke is to not be scared of them and treat them as you would potatoes, they take about the same amount of time to cook. I suggest not peeling them and instead, cooking them as soon as you purchase them to ensure their freshness. If they aren’t plump and firm, they are not fresh and then I would recommend boiling them whole and squeezing the soft contents out to use in your cooking instead of peeling. Peeling them is torture fit for someone with lots of time on their hands! These are my favourite ways of preparing them:

-         Oven grilled in a Veg bake with Rosemary, remember they take as long as potatoes so cut them finer than the other ingredients.

-         Grated raw in salad. This works only when they are fresh, grate them and then allow them to marinade in a little lemon juice which you prepare the rest of the salad to reduce any starchiness.

-         Slice fine and add them to any soup, especially potato and pea, lentil, butternut soup.

-         Oven grill with Aubergine, onion and garlic and then chuck in the blender with olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, fresh oregano to make a divine tapenade.

-         You can also steam them and do the same as above.

-         Delicious in pasta sauce or any Italian cooking.

And not only are they Uber-Yum, they are high in Iron, Potassium, Vit B1. So, the next time you walk through a farmer’s market or supermarket and see these strange creations looming from baskets and boxes, you’ll know what to do with them! 

Last word on Afrika Burn 2013! ~ Mariella

Please forgive me if I carry on and on about AfrikaBurn, but take pause for a moment to imagine if you will a place where a vast harsh environment and creatively minded people meet to create magic! 

Where strangers hug and trust and build amazing beautiful things for the sake of expression and feeling alive with creativity and you give without expecting anything in return and therefore you are given to. Given lunch, cake, showers, pretty things, art to see, music to dance to and friendships formed beneath a sublimely golden Tankwa Karoo sky! 

It also has a very serious aspect to it, of sustainability, environmental impact and thoughtfulness when accumulating possessions. The learning curve is steep. There is much work to be done in terms of education as the quantity of new comers this year meant that there were many who were not in the habit of thinking about their MOOP (matter out of place) It will improve with time and impact the way they see responsibility when they return home. 

I thought that, perhaps, you'd had enough of my AB ramblings, but that it would unfair of me to not share a few images of Afrika Burn 2013 with you by my friend, Robyn Luyt, and then I’m done talking about it! 

....'til next year!