Climate change goes retro...

Got sent this via email today - it's probably popping up all over the web.

Oh, the irony...! (apparently the ad appeared in Life magazine in the '60s)

Bit of politics, and one more recipe

OK, just to stay in the habit, here's another quick post... We were at two parties on the weekend, the second one we were hosting, and for the second day running someone asked for a recipe.
This time it's Justine's turn, she made the fabulous Tofu Patties... a classic vegetarian BBQ offering. Many people dislike tofu as they've only had it on its own, cubed & fried... but these patties have vegos and non-vegos alike saying "wow, what's in these..!?"

But first up, I was very interested to see on the 3News site, Gareth Morgan arguing for a Universal Basic Income as part of his work on the Govt's taxation taskforce.
My experiences as both a wage & salary earner, and as a beneficiary (I've received unemployment, sickness and DPB for a few months each at various times over the past 20 years) have convinced me that NZ's tax and benefit systems have entirely the wrong incentives, and could be massively simplified, made fairer and more workable, by replacing them with something similar to a Universal Basic Income.
Morgan's ideas were expressed with characteristic directness and simplicity - though unfortunately John Campbell was in overdrive and wasn't about to allow GM to finish any of his sentences..!
I hope people sit up and listen and have a bloody good think about it all. Where the people lead, the leaders will follow...

OK, here's that recipe:

Tofu patties

Ingredients

• 1 onion chopped up
• 3 or so cloves of garlic chopped up
• 1 packet (about 400g) tofu
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (approx)
• 2-3 tablespoons of favourite chutney / pickle /sweet chilli sauce
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp dried herbs, eg basil, oregano, parsley (or fresh if you gottem)
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• Dash of soy sauce to taste
• Sesame seeds and flour to coat patties with.

Method

• Fry the onions and garlic in a little oil until soft.
• Drain the tofu and mash in a bowl.
• Add garlic, onions and all other ingredients and stir well.
• (If too wet add more oats, or breadcrumbs)
• Form into small patties in your hand and coat with flour and sesame seeds mixture.
• Fry in small amount of oil until golden brown each side.

Delicious served with spaghetti and homemade tomato sauce & a green salad.

Ka kite ano.... Paul

Recipe for Pickled Walnuts

Well, my blog has lain dormant just over two years now, so thought I'd reinvent it as something more useful and perhaps more interesting than a council campaign tool(!)
...and as I was talking to people at Rob & Tania's party yesterday, eating lots of delicious food, I promised someone I'd post the recipe for my pickled walnuts, which were going down a treat!
So this is for you Annie, and anyone else who cares to read it...

Pickled Walnuts

Ingredients:

• 150 walnuts
• 250g salt x three
• 6 litres water x three
• 75g each of black peppercorns, mustard seeds, whole cloves, ginger root
• 6 litres vinegar

First up, pick the walnuts at the right time, which is about a week either side of Christmas Day. They are pickled whole with their green skins on, and you need to test them by pushing a needle into the skin - if the wooden shell has already started to form, forget it - they need to be soft all through.

OK, so pick a bucketful, around 150 walnuts...
Then mix up a brine, 6 litres of cold water and 250g salt. Soak the walnuts for three days, stir them once or twice each day. After three days, tip out the old brine and make a new one, soak for another 3 days. Then change the brine one more time, for a total of nine days' soaking.
[NB - this is removing all the bitterness from the green nuts.. don't ever bite into a raw green nut, it is vile!!)

So, after a nine day soak, let the walnuts dry out in the sun, they should now be no longer green but a rich black colour...
Boil up the spices and vinegar, a slow boil for 15-25 mins. Put the nuts into sealable jars, and pour the vinegar (strain out the whole spices) over them.
Seal the jars, and leave for the best part of a year...! (yep sorry, good things take time...) By the time you eat the first ones, as we did yesterday, it reminds you that it is nearly time to pick next year's batch! (So you know what I'll be doing after Christmas lunch this year!)

OK one more thing, I also want to link to the fabulous Otautahi Urban Foraging Map. It's so cool - check out the wild foods of Chch and share your own secrets (anyone can edit the map). The group also has a Facebook page.
Ciao.. will post again soon (well sooner than two years away anyhow!)