tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42023537044849741362024-02-07T19:33:40.580-08:0026 Dollars, EatenS. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-63146091614178635852016-12-07T22:35:00.002-08:002016-12-08T09:03:22.573-08:00Giving it AllThe holiday season sparks a lot of giving; not just presents to our loved ones but donations of time and energy to causes, too.<br />
<br />
I've filled hampers at our local foodbank for almost three years, and there we see a lot of generosity, especially during the holidays. Unfortunately there are still a lot of misconceptions about what can be donated and what is in demand. Even with the overwhelming donations, the foodbank still has to purchase food to meet their basic needs, not because we do not have enough: because we have a glut of certain things and a lack of others.<br />
<br />
If you've considered foodbank donations during the holidays, there are some things you deserve to know:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Next to your time, the most valuable form a donation can take is money</b> - To my knowledge, every foodbank has to purchase some of the goods they provide. Foodbanks purchase certain foods to fill gaps in donated goods, ensuring their clients receive the same amount and diversity of foods in their hamper. Funding is hard to come by for these programs, and private donations come with additional freedoms (no stipulations and reporting requirements). Furthermore, foodbanks can often put your money to better use than you: many receive <i>discounts</i> for goods purchased at local stores.</li>
<li><b>Fresh produce will in fact be well received, on site </b>- Perishable goods are perfectly acceptable donations, provided you bring them directly to the foodbank. Fresh foods are standard in hampers, and our foodbank has coolers and freezers to preserve them. These are some of the few goods our foodbank consistently spends money on.</li>
<li><b>Hampers often contain more than just food </b>- Our foodbank also gives (on request) personal hygiene products, diapers and baby care items, toilet paper, even dog & cat food.</li>
<li><b>You carry no liability for the goods you donate </b>- BC's Food Donor Encouragement Act protects donors from liability as they are acting in good faith when donating food, this includes businesses. Clients always have the choice to take or leave expired goods.</li>
</ol>
<div>
I'd encourage any individual, class, team, office or otherwise considering a donation or drive to be in touch with their local foodbank first, to see what is in most need. If you live in Kimberley, here are the finer details:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Location & Hours </b>- 340 Leadenhall Street (and Wallinger). Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 am - 3 pm. Donations accepted anytime.</li>
<li><b>Fresh Produce</b> Purchased for <b>Regular Hampers</b> - onions, carrots, potatoes, apples, oranges.</li>
<li>Other <b>Not-Often Donated & Much Needed Non-perishables</b> - peanut butter, jam, cheez whiz, canned tomatoes, spaghetti & macaroni, canned fish, canned fruit & vegetables, pancake mix & syrup; flour, oats, rice and sugar; low sugar cereals, granola bars.</li>
<li>Additional <b>Fresh Produce</b> Purchased for <b>Christmas Hampers</b> - potatoes (5 lb bags), turnips, cucumber, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, mandarin oranges (boxes), bananas, pears. <br /><i>2016 Christmas hamper donations will be received until December 9th, call before to arrange drop-off - 250.427.5522.</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
Thanks for giving, and happy holidays!</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-S</div>
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-81288777595508447792015-11-09T23:27:00.000-08:002015-11-09T23:27:15.602-08:00Coffee TalkMy dear friend Jen (and partner in the Welfare Food Challenge) joined me this morning to help me polish off my remaining coffee, and digest a bit of what we've both been experiencing of hunger and learning about poverty. We both agreed that there was a litany of emotions, thoughts and questions that came to us. And here with thought we'd just be buckling down and eating lentils for a week.<br />
<br />
We wondered on what the objective of income assistance in BC really was. Is it in fact punitive rather than supportive? Aimed at making people feel uncomfortable with their situation? Desperate to change it? Would it not be more kind and meaningful to provide enough financial support for someone to feel nourished and confident? Does that not make someone more employable? Even better, a stronger citizen?<br />
<br />
I have some real follow up to do on this years challenge, in a way I did not <a href="http://26eaten.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-intro-while-i-wasstudying-in.html" target="_blank">the last time around</a>. After attending tomorrow's Poverty Reduction Workshop, I'll be tracking down some answers. First, what is the true cost of my week's groceries when I return to an unbound purse? Second, how does the cost of living breakdown (which determined <a href="http://welfarefoodchallenge.org/2015challenge/why-21/" target="_blank">Vancouver's $21 stipend</a>) compare for Kimberley life?<br />
<br />
I should note that there is something you can do (dear reader). Raise the Rates, the organization hosting the Welfare Food Challenge, is asking folks to <a href="https://www.change.org/p/christy-clark-raise-social-assistance-rates-in-bc" target="_blank">sign a petition</a> requesting the welfare rate be raised to reflect the true cost of living in BC. Not a bad start.<br />
<br />
-S<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs1ODeNBkQa1oudO8eH9BwGE4X7I1kS3Q4w8klVTjW8Srmr7O9CWQ_CQ4qRSALYihe8PQ145c14RwxtP3Ys7n2pCT7NhboXKLgx8Hf2CinghhUuBf96521rAMmDZonV8vS4mmrily9vjD/s1600/CoffeeTalk_2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs1ODeNBkQa1oudO8eH9BwGE4X7I1kS3Q4w8klVTjW8Srmr7O9CWQ_CQ4qRSALYihe8PQ145c14RwxtP3Ys7n2pCT7NhboXKLgx8Hf2CinghhUuBf96521rAMmDZonV8vS4mmrily9vjD/s640/CoffeeTalk_2015.jpg" width="640" /></a>S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-63436203622409317582015-11-07T23:28:00.000-08:002015-11-07T23:28:07.320-08:00FastingBy Thursday night, day three of the Welfare Food Challenge, I had cooked all I had to cook. There were small joys found in a flavourful pot of dal, date night sourdough pizza, a daily cup of coffee, but I'd saved nothing for later. From here in, it would all be leftovers, until it was just rice and bread.<br />
<br />
Commitment to the challenge was complicated by an out of town work function this weekend. I tried to envision what someone on income assistance would do for meals at a weekend "job-skills-building workshop", and conceded to do my best to adhere to it. I brought my own food for the first night, decided to survive on morning "snacks" and lunch made available at the event, and also to skip the restaurant dinners that usually follow, fasting until the next day.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wANc_nEcVzSkqdSDSfzykfCgi2k4BcdUXHX7dGX1lUpEe7yR22JFxWa492auKKJtyQ1g7uv-DILz3nluJLSP_26m_WSyqtdznV-diM49-ZglARq9rPdVgejHXSIi6_RrqybMLQ8Zcoqu/s1600/WaterGlass_2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wANc_nEcVzSkqdSDSfzykfCgi2k4BcdUXHX7dGX1lUpEe7yR22JFxWa492auKKJtyQ1g7uv-DILz3nluJLSP_26m_WSyqtdznV-diM49-ZglARq9rPdVgejHXSIi6_RrqybMLQ8Zcoqu/s640/WaterGlass_2015.jpg" width="640" /></a>Full disclosure: the generosity of my community has been powerful, and occasionally I've accepted their offerings, including: morning coffee (the boyfriend), an apple for the road (the coworker) and finally last night two cold cans of Kootenay True (the friend from out-of-town). Now, I've always been one for bad hangovers, but normally I've had to do more to earn them. This beer ravaged me.<br />
<br />
For dinner last night I had mushy rice with just a few spoonfuls of the dal I prepared earlier in the week (I was running out), after a day of otherwise meagre portions. Potentially it was this meal that was not enough to stand up to the beer, perhaps I've been run more ragged than I thought by this whole challenge. After getting sick on the way to today's workshop, I quickly deteriorated, falling into a day-long coma of nausea I've just returned from as I write this. Tonight I ate the apple I brought for the trip, following this, tomorrow's "morning snack" will be my next meal.<br />
<br />
And what would I do if not for a day of conference food? Each night this week I've woke up from sleep hungry, and (evidenced today) I'm quite clearly compromised. Sunday night and Monday I'll be eating straight rice and bread, even with this boost. Fasting was a technique I unintentionally employed this week, but it's shocking to think it might be the reality of many on social assistance. How sad.<br />
<br />
-SS. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-32901732511221633082015-11-03T21:26:00.003-08:002015-11-03T21:26:51.598-08:0021 Dollars, Eaten<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZr6kCL_XDXpkmokjANd2svpOaCR4cOitSs2OMjLOK4vDrmHcyOplyfxoFCoA0NqdxFBcf6RB-qXNrMZENB7aae2AY10gkdZLZ91_vygu_doMk5zXcw7qTDpNpbHulbc5ob031tGE_nLmo/s1600/21DollarsEaten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZr6kCL_XDXpkmokjANd2svpOaCR4cOitSs2OMjLOK4vDrmHcyOplyfxoFCoA0NqdxFBcf6RB-qXNrMZENB7aae2AY10gkdZLZ91_vygu_doMk5zXcw7qTDpNpbHulbc5ob031tGE_nLmo/s640/21DollarsEaten.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This is it. Twenty-one bucks. No contingency.<br />
<br />
There's four apples, one lemon, one chile, one onion, one small head of su choy, and a knuckle of ginger. There are carefully measured quantities of flour (1.5 cup, pizza), red lentils (1 cup, dal), coconut (0.5 cup, sri lankan mallum) peanuts (1 cup) and rice (3 cup). There is a can of tomatoes, and one of starchy peas. There is a small stick of butter to cook with (not pictured) and salt, pepper and curry powder to keep things interesting. Heck, there's even coffee thanks to the grocery stores decision to liquidate their bulk coffee. This is a bachelorette's lot, and there was no economy to be found locally for a single lady.<br />
<br />
With a busy workday ahead of me, I made for lunch a thermosful of the same peanut-rice porridge (it's a thing! they eat it in Burma!) I had for breakfast. I threw an apple in there to keep the doctor away. My morning coffee wore away not far into the mid afternoon drive to an out of town work meeting, and this time there would be no stop for an americano (can you <i>feel</i> the privilege in my text?).<br />
<br />
I conceded today that if twenty-one bucks was all I had for groceries, I'd certainly be a food bank client and hamper recipient. Though it doesn't feel as though I've put a significant dent in the stores right now, I still worry for making it to Monday.<br />
<br />
<br />
-S<br />
<br />S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-65965752933376385282015-11-02T23:04:00.001-08:002015-11-02T23:04:46.304-08:00Prep WorkTonight I fed a few friends on the near last of my garden produce. Namely we ate tomatoes: roasted, fresh, fried green. We chased them down with the last bottle of cider from a trip south. When they left I cleared the crisper, packed away and froze the things that would expire in a weeks time, scrubbed the shelves. I unpacked the tiny, carefully measured bags of bulk grains, spices, coffee. I dropped one of only four apples purchased for the week: if this apple were the globe, it sustained a bruise the size of the Indian Ocean.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6Ddua00e7JTmsGjsUvEFxzxH15Jhnmq-Iw9AZ4wsPHwc4SN56VRlUHCY74KfdJ_ztu25KkOpQMQZuSkEXl5fTqlWz9F3N8Buq5bNCwrR9tJyGYXILeGeg0muAWUfj-FuMBbfj8F4Hz5C/s1600/Dishes_2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6Ddua00e7JTmsGjsUvEFxzxH15Jhnmq-Iw9AZ4wsPHwc4SN56VRlUHCY74KfdJ_ztu25KkOpQMQZuSkEXl5fTqlWz9F3N8Buq5bNCwrR9tJyGYXILeGeg0muAWUfj-FuMBbfj8F4Hz5C/s1600/Dishes_2015.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
It's the night before the start of the 2015 Welfare Food Challenge, and I'm dusting off the keys. This year I'll do my best on just $21 dollars/week: $5 less than last year. Nothing is perfect about the timing of this week, and there will be tricky meals: cafe-based work meetings, all-day conferences, road trips, dates. I'm inspired by the critical mass, though, and curious to revisit this in such good company. One more sleep.<br />
<br />
<br />S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-47693172436983277662014-07-06T23:02:00.001-07:002014-07-06T23:02:59.797-07:00The Wrap<!--StartFragment-->
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My welfare food
challenge came to a close two weeks ago with little fanfare. Towards the end I was growing angry at
boredom: sneaking food from my roommates pantry (forgive me), buying the odd
beer. Since returning to an
unbridled food budget, I’ve enjoyed fresh seasonal produce, nutrient dense
foods and even the odd restaurant meal.
One of the first things I did was buy a flat of fresh strawberries and
preserve the living daylights out of them. It’s good to take pride in my food again.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Though I was
rarely hungry, I was constantly struggling to find the gusto to take my limited
groceries and prepare something nourishing to both my gut and my soul. I certainly learned a few ways to
breathe life into my diet. If
there were anything to take home, it would have to be:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Identify
staples on your own terms.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> For me,
the affordable staples I found myself gravitating to were peanuts/peanut
butter, brown rice, lentils, coconut/coconut milk, bananas, sugar, salt and
flour. I also bought coffee and
hot sauce, useless for nutrients but real comforts to me. For anyone else, this list may look
entirely different. Let your tummy
guide you.</span></li>
<li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Prepare fresh
food, one meal at a time.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I
learned this one the hard way after a week of large batch cooking. Cooking in small batches not only
avoids the wastage associated with culinary misfires, it ensures we’re eating
the freshest food possible.
Freshly prepared food is at its peak of flavour and nutrition. It also forces us to take time out of
our day to focus on our own nourishment.
Realistically, anyone’s schedule is going to necessitate a few PB&J
moments, but try to prepare your food fresh at every opportunity.</span></li>
<li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Consider
nothing to be waste.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Pretty
basic. I made stock from veggie
scraps. I dumpster-dove. I used scant leftovers in breakfast
fried rice. I even made use of a
whole box of regrettably awful green tea for kombucha. Look at every morsel of your groceries
as valuable and salvageable.</span></li>
<li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Look for
opportunities to add value without paying for it. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For me, this was all about fermentation. I made sourdough, kombucha, coconut and
water kefir. All made using
starters given to me or whipped out of thin air. Other techniques might include slow braising a tough, cheap
cut of meat to make it more digestible (and delicious). You’ve got these
tools in your toolbelt, look for them.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To wrap this all
up nice and tight, I’m making a plea for partners when I
revisit the $26-dollar-week during Raise the Rates hosted challenge in
October. Perhaps if enough of us
put our heads (and bellies) together we can build upon these meager blog posts
and actually try to raise a few bucks.
Who’s with me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-65962275929232741052014-06-19T21:39:00.001-07:002014-06-19T21:39:35.431-07:00Under-the-Line Banking<!--StartFragment-->
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I spent Monday
afternoon in a church basement, deep in the belly of the town food bank. I’ve been meaning to volunteer here for
some time now, but it wasn’t until Monday that I finally got there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That afternoon I put to bed some of my own misconceptions of food banks. Years of experience, understanding and
endless care have been put into selecting each hampers contents. Fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs,
vegetables and bread (all ordered) constitute the bulk, with non-perishable
(and mostly whole) foods to last for the rest of the time between pickups. Regular hampers are received every 60
days (when’s the last time you went two months without grocery shopping?), though
emergency hampers are available on request once a month. Vegetarians, celiacs and
dairy-allergies are all accommodated with great care. Begrudgingly the volunteers have kept supplying recipients
with select processed foods, including: Cheez Whiz, Kraft Dinner and canned
spaghetti. Though the nutritive
contribution of these foods may be low, the comfort they provide can’t be
discounted. A warm blanket of
cheese sauce could soft-sell broccoli to almost any reluctant school age kid. When they tried to take Cheez Whiz off
the shelves, there was an outright furor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyFlx8bB6nIYcQM9vbJfVYFXUq5NtAnXkk0PMr_NF0hwRPJdf04_LUBrOrUc7nXhG6fGbXH4jqmMdqaBqdrhtLxaLVYmMfSygqDes2AkiLl6vgaNSq2ejkxMq2S8Ljm93_EoqL0iqMNRwB/s1600/Food+Bank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyFlx8bB6nIYcQM9vbJfVYFXUq5NtAnXkk0PMr_NF0hwRPJdf04_LUBrOrUc7nXhG6fGbXH4jqmMdqaBqdrhtLxaLVYmMfSygqDes2AkiLl6vgaNSq2ejkxMq2S8Ljm93_EoqL0iqMNRwB/s1600/Food+Bank.jpg" height="313" width="640" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I killed hours
getting orders together (I’ll be volunteering as a “Filler”, not the most
glamorous title), taking great pride in supplementing each order as best I
could. The families with young
kids would get a few packs of Shake-and-Bake and Jell-O, teenagers would get
jars of butter chicken sauce, single adults would get little gifts of hot
sauce, coffee, chocolate. When I
left, many shelves were empty and my heart was full. I have to wait two weeks before my next training shift. 13 more sleeps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-72149315282078369852014-06-15T22:37:00.001-07:002014-06-15T22:37:11.685-07:00Wayfinding in a Food Desert<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A comment from a
friend has really got me thinking these last few days. If I really want to be authentic, why
am I not eating frozen dinners and pop?
Most subsidy recipients aren’t health-conscious vegetarians, right? It’s a stereotype that we’re all well
aware of, but my buddy isn’t far off: it all too often rings true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I lived in
Toronto, a dear friend and I shared an apartment across the street from one of the
most sizeable housing projects in the country. Some of my fellow grocery store patrons were likely recipients
of social assistance. I would almost always take note of the stocks in the checkout
aisles in front of me. Sure enough, what I saw was often dominated by frozen
dinners, pop or “fruit drink”, cereal, or other packaged or prepared
foods. Speaking now from
experience, this food is not cheap, it’s not healthy and it’s certainly not fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Why was everyone
paying for and then consuming this garbage? Was it a product of successful marketing? Short-term thinking? Exhaustion from low-income life’s daily
toils? Addiction (seriously, there’s
science to this)? Lack of basic
cooking skills or desire to make wonderful food? Was this apathetic consumption a result of the lasting
boredom I’m starting to feel?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One additional
theory I’ll throw to the mix has everything to do with Food Deserts: landscapes
where the acquisition of fresh food is made difficult by the distance, and
means of traveling to, the nearest vegetable. In urban Toronto, a person’s position could be worsened by
not owning a car, in Northern BC, aggravated by the sky-high costs of fresh
produce trucked in from the south.
For me in Toronto, the only accessible grocery supported sickly produce
and stocked few whole foods, focusing their attention and their shelf space on
Hungry Mans and Kool-Aid.
Thriftier shoppers turned a blind eye to the gimmicks and bought bags of
brutalized chicken pieces, hefty sacks of rice and gigantic (if pale) cabbage, but
they weren’t the majority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Far from
concluding this dialogue, I’ll leave only open questions. What influences are making it difficult
to eat well on a few dollars in your community? Furthermore, beyond actual access limitations or skillsets,
what about our culture has created this climate where frozen
dinners and pop are considered low cost in any interpretation of the words? Take that one (or </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">this one</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">) to the
dinner table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For this, I owe
Frankie a pack of Twizzlers and a Diet Coke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-56866496747066398912014-06-11T04:24:00.000-07:002014-06-11T04:24:51.097-07:00Illness & Remedy<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’m sick.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few mornings ago, I woke up with a
hole in my throat and have since run the gauntlet of cold symptoms: shivers and
shakes, cough, runny nose, head and body aches.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I should mention that I almost never fall ill.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have my suspicions that this sickness
might be attributed to challenge-imposed nutrient deficiency, but I can’t
corroborate this with any sound medicine.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What’s really interesting is that it’s made my usual remedies more
difficult:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I eat my cures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thankfully, I
spotted this coming on about the time I did the grocery rounds this week.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Against my better judgment then, I
spent a few bucks on lemons and ginger.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Though this may not seem like much, a few bucks is a noticeable chunk of
twenty-six bucks for no added nutrients.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By some sort of divine justice not only did I happen to have some stock
in the freezer, I also happened to get a small jar of honey from attending a
community input session last week.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I may be relegated to eating mung beans and rice vermicelli for the rest
of the week, but between a days bed rest and a few hot lemon gingers, I was
able to nip this cold in the bud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Hot Lemon Ginger</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(about a teapots
worth)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 lemon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 red thai
“bird” chile<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2 in. sliced
ginger<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Boil contents in
a pot of about 1 L of water for at least 15 minutes.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Strain as needed (keep on the stove) add honey to taste.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Detox your blood, feel better.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-69154896824549015102014-06-05T13:50:00.001-07:002014-06-05T13:53:26.299-07:00This Meal Was Garbage<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you were to
look for me shortly after midnight last Saturday, you would have found
me boot-deep in loaves of bread, fishing through produce boxes and expired
lettuce with a headlamp. After mining
through a cavernous trash compacter at a local grocery, I found a weeks worth
of fresh produce, including remarkably intact greens, tomatoes, peppers,
apples, strawberries, basil and the aforementioned bread. It was my first go at dumpster-diving,
and though I worried for feelings of fear or shame, it was a surprisingly meditative
activity, even empowering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDiSozDnr1F4mvhVWDxJjjm3AtCEn0rnfgj3fghCJiA7dBsmtOqjdWiOPHikBCgcqDMSbmApbYWO72wHx50ifzNjRlDz2qbjh4V8HxzHRZJlxUyBzUFaeOm2T3-z3X4opUb28ksq5qy73/s1600/Dumpsterchiladas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDiSozDnr1F4mvhVWDxJjjm3AtCEn0rnfgj3fghCJiA7dBsmtOqjdWiOPHikBCgcqDMSbmApbYWO72wHx50ifzNjRlDz2qbjh4V8HxzHRZJlxUyBzUFaeOm2T3-z3X4opUb28ksq5qy73/s1600/Dumpsterchiladas.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After the
relative ease of the first few weeks of this challenge, I wanted to shake things up a little, so
I had a friend over for dinner.
From my dumpster bounty I made a deep dish of enchiladas and a green
salad with croutons. We ate
well. Furthermore, not only was
the food in good condition in the dumpster, it still looks healthy almost a
week later in my fridge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’m not sure by
what criteria this food was evaluated as spoilage, but I’m fairly confident
little thought was given to its disposal.
Having overspent my budget this week by a few bucks, I’ll be returning
to see what the compacter might have in store for me soon. Maybe I’ll be able to spare a bit
more sustenance from the landfill.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-54465655981243606142014-05-24T22:19:00.000-07:002014-05-24T22:19:43.659-07:00Experiments<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I took a few
risks this week. I bought about a
litre of soybeans off my roommate to make soymilk and tempeh at home when I had
not done so before. I made big
batches of untested meals. I
experiment in the kitchen all the time, but never with a limited resource. About fifty percent of the time I try
something new, my worms or my dog wind up being the primary consumers. New since this challenge is the seeming
inability to move on from failure: if I produce something awful, I still have
to consume it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My soymilk was
exceptionally beany in flavour, so my coffee this week tasted of multiple beans
at once. I produced a large volume
of breakfast congee (rice porridge) that was so-so, and that so-so greeted me
every morning for the rest of the week.
Without the spicy red chiles of last week in my daal, I made a batch of
orange mush that I ate cold for far too many meals. Because of all this, on Thursday, I was so bored of my food
I wasn’t hungry for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the end of a
boring, cold, decaying week, tonight’s dinner of homemade tempeh and larch
sambol (a Sri Lankan condiment recipe I modified, using some larch needles I
picked) was redeeming, even when served it over some of that crappy breakfast
congee.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMbIsOSohv_cttYNZgDSB5JPOQM92-8JuH3hMmQV_I0OOoqrfSBiCA4b2iFwfu49N-y0rTzdroiyfIgW-1XTaPTfzLzjzZq83OfOAS88A56UNXzGXauEbhmVVqs8hk6U2hdt7Sau_Lmxq/s1600/IMG_0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMbIsOSohv_cttYNZgDSB5JPOQM92-8JuH3hMmQV_I0OOoqrfSBiCA4b2iFwfu49N-y0rTzdroiyfIgW-1XTaPTfzLzjzZq83OfOAS88A56UNXzGXauEbhmVVqs8hk6U2hdt7Sau_Lmxq/s1600/IMG_0019.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This week I felt
a newfound respect for the failed experiments I would normally throw in the
compost bin. In some way, too, I
better understood why someone on a tight budget might default to the old standbys
before risking a new recipe or an unfamiliar cuisine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’m normally invigorated by my freedom to experiment, to try
new things and to grow as a home cook.
When I knock something out of the park, I feed my body, my soul and also
my pride. At week two, I’m
starting to feel the joy go out of my food. I deign to think how this feels in the long run.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-14919137634917668242014-05-21T22:39:00.003-07:002014-05-21T22:39:56.582-07:00Cost-Saving Measures<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwQ7G0RSAIQN9krBzfOniplmu54asGE4EmaFY-EhZONJAKy0jCLdocEPaoPhgwDBlGHXUZnw3iSUde_yJ8dceIF61AZ__w6vKHFKUDXXaWFNSNQztv42lb1HUGY9gGoeBrivxr2M4VEyY/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwQ7G0RSAIQN9krBzfOniplmu54asGE4EmaFY-EhZONJAKy0jCLdocEPaoPhgwDBlGHXUZnw3iSUde_yJ8dceIF61AZ__w6vKHFKUDXXaWFNSNQztv42lb1HUGY9gGoeBrivxr2M4VEyY/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KaV1cNntOuWnCDDL4d3U8tSLRVKOzy3fb2yZG_e8RMBm8vnfoJhcwiUXFEe6bwMwbbHwgDkuLjY0VCjeMwLG1miZrE7caK37mDrMHc9ZrusEb5QYX00YjcUQBp5dfbv64kdmqGfWiBiM/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KaV1cNntOuWnCDDL4d3U8tSLRVKOzy3fb2yZG_e8RMBm8vnfoJhcwiUXFEe6bwMwbbHwgDkuLjY0VCjeMwLG1miZrE7caK37mDrMHc9ZrusEb5QYX00YjcUQBp5dfbv64kdmqGfWiBiM/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve been
composting too much.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Making soup stock
seemed before to me to be wasteful and time-consuming. Why would I boil perfectly good
vegetables and discard their nutritious solids? Exactly, why would I? A few days ago, after conserving my yam peelings, my carrot
tops and my onion skins for a week, I boiled them all down to extract their
delicious vegetable essence. What
resulted was about two litres of flavour when flavour has been slim. I used the stock to make many days
worth of a very Asian breakfast porridge (a terrifying concept in maple-syrup
drenched Canada) and froze a litre for a tough week in the future. As for the solids, my worms will thank me for making their scraps milder and thus more palatable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve been an
avid composter for years, but I’m always enthused when I can introduce another
step in the chain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-81271075891694239722014-05-20T23:03:00.000-07:002014-05-20T23:03:11.229-07:00Slow to Satisfy and Groceries Round II<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first week
was surprising. I found myself
want for little. At least it was
rare that I found myself hungry as I had purchased enough starchy items to keep
my belly full. Admittedly, I did
tire of brown rice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If the week
produced one major revelation about eating on a slim budget, it would be the
difficulty of quickly addressing hunger. Dry lentils and rice are cheap but they require space,
equipment and time to transform them into anything edible. It was a bit alarming while on the road
this week to realize, on more than one occasion, that I was hungry and hours
away from being able to do anything about it. I certainly was not about to die of starvation from a
skipped meal, though I can’t deny the steely emptiness in my core distracted me from moments that would have benefited from pause.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Week two should
be interesting. It’s Tuesday and I
haven’t a penny left from my budget.
Parched by last weeks steamed dinners and sourdough, my cast iron pans
were thirsty for oil, which unfortunately cost me almost five bucks. I also made small upgrades (white to
red onions, rye to spelt flour) that may have contributed to a more modest
yield. Redeeming the lot are the
near-spoiled free apples, bargain soy beans bought from my roommate (for soy milk and tempeh) and a few remaining pantry items from last week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkBRQ1dzv4V6eti2tOOjtWcmUUWLZ420fZwj8wtXzAAfzespOobc64QL0dpMZkx6d5vlS7gbA6AKNQjf3vydqU7uhDBPmABqA1zjIEj3J2eVvg3JGRL8zvcHkFgf5lsOh-RCT1V9lboNd/s1600/Week2Groceries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkBRQ1dzv4V6eti2tOOjtWcmUUWLZ420fZwj8wtXzAAfzespOobc64QL0dpMZkx6d5vlS7gbA6AKNQjf3vydqU7uhDBPmABqA1zjIEj3J2eVvg3JGRL8zvcHkFgf5lsOh-RCT1V9lboNd/s1600/Week2Groceries.jpg" height="379" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Gill Sans Light";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><!--StartFragment--></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Perhaps, when
the bananas run out, I could take a page from my brother’s book and tote some
raw cabbage for staving off the inconvenient hunger pangs. He’s onto something: it’s surprisingly
tasty.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
<br />
<!--EndFragment-->
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-36819986561092423432014-05-16T17:54:00.000-07:002014-05-16T17:55:46.895-07:00Simplicity and the Curry a Few Dollars Can Buy<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This afternoon,
over a precious cup of coffee (traded for kombucha, which is a fair deal) on her sunny porch, a friend and I mulled over
simplicity. We talked about how at
times appreciating moments or things for their happy essence requires a
conscious effort to be present, to stop evaluating them for what we think might
be lacking. I’ve noticed I do this
when I cook, sampling my food for what it isn’t instead of what it is. Are the spices balanced? Could it use a
bit of coriander, perhaps, or more cumin?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is exactly
what drove my worry as I scoured the grocery store for a few cheap spices. As simple as they were, the curry
recipes I brought back from Sri Lanka required more spices than I could find and afford. Without curry
leaves, and chiles in every form, I originally thought austerity might
necessitate a compromise in flavour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not so. With a bit of practice, I’ve found a
method of currying that satisfies not only my grumbly belly, but also my desire
for something rich, something special and something that harkens back to a
very, very sweet time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Too true to the
story (for those that know it), the photos I took of the steamy, rich yam curry
I made for lunch yesterday vanished into mealtime history. Touché.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Basic “White”
Curry<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2 cups Vegetable
Matter, which could be…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Squash
or Tubers (potato, yam, pumpkin), roughly chopped in 1 inch dice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Root
Veggies (carrots, beets), julienned<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Green
Beans, relatively whole<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Fruit
(pineapple, green banana), roughly chopped in 1 inch dice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> …any
other, chopped accordingly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">½ cup coconut
milk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">½ cup water
(or thereabouts, to not-quite-cover)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 fresh
whole chile, green for a little heat, red for more<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">½ tsp curry
powder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">½ tsp salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">¼ tsp coarse
ground black pepper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">¼ tsp turmeric<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Throw
contents in a small pot. Turn on
medium high heat to bring to a boil.
Add water if needed (the mix should be thin and soupy). Lower to a simmer for 10 minutes or
until vegetables are tender.
Adjust coconut milk if needed.
Pour over rice. Don’t
overanalyze. Enjoy in its simplest
form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Feeds
two not-so-hungry people or, in my case, one starving bike commuter.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-1985598174066633772014-05-13T14:31:00.000-07:002014-05-13T14:32:12.268-07:00Groceries: The First Bout<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<!--StartFragment-->
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have never
spent so long shopping for so little.
Last nights grocery adventure, costing me one hour, twenty dollars and
fifty-seven cents, was a new exercise in maximizing yields.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I weaved across
the store, comparing commodity prices, updating a running sticky note tally,
swapping and agonizing over basket contents. I even weighed my bulk items (when was the last time you did
that, reader?). I found some
discounts (50% off spotted bananas and yellowing kale), some deals (twice the
lentils for less in the Asian aisle) and some saving graces (otherwise
unattainable spices in the tiny bulk section). I realized the cost of a week’s supply of coffee: about 5
times the cost of a green tea habit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Walking in with
a tight budget was one thing, maximizing my return from it was exhausting. So focused on my own plight, I can’t
fathom having the same experience with hungry children in the cart, a partner
who’s dietary needs to consider, even cats to feed on the same budget. I’m hoping I’ll improve at this with
practice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6eO_IN9X4rZs9_Ekw3Dw97BSqRXoQn79_k3REA0x79G3hAUTXoAp6HDK6EEvJb-NyW62eYxADXlnOSpPmDe8huIroENnSZebmZuIWdiX22sr1qmQk6A9D4pDATDarVZr8AKRkLSldaTB/s1600/Library+-+2226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6eO_IN9X4rZs9_Ekw3Dw97BSqRXoQn79_k3REA0x79G3hAUTXoAp6HDK6EEvJb-NyW62eYxADXlnOSpPmDe8huIroENnSZebmZuIWdiX22sr1qmQk6A9D4pDATDarVZr8AKRkLSldaTB/s1600/Library+-+2226.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ultimately, I
don’t think I did so badly, I’ll let you decide. If I’ve really boffed it, there’s a few more contingency
dollars in the jar.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-64505601469585098342014-05-09T17:12:00.002-07:002014-05-09T17:28:18.909-07:00The Rules<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Twenty-six bucks a week, cash or
equivalent. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As per the </span><a href="http://welfarefoodchallenge.org/why-26/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Welfare Food Challenge</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">,
this applies to anything purchased for consumption, including groceries or
extras like beer and coffee.</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Start with an empty cupboard.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The aim of this challenge is to
live week-to-week on $26.
Pantry stocks would be hard to develop at this rate. No food and no spices in my pantry
or fridge from before the challenge are to be brought forward into week
one (unless it’s value has been appropriately subtracted from the budget).</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Non-timber Forest Products,
past-dated foods and the like are considered free for the taking.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The authorities may disagree with me that wild harvesting
and dumpster diving are unanimously “okay”. However, part of the learning, and frankly part of the
excitement, is in tapping into unlikely resources.</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Food bank hampers are for those
with a real need, not I. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My budget is artificial. Food banks are for those without
the luxury of choice. Should
I be in need, true need, of more food than I can acquire with $26 bucks, I
can choose to purchase the same hamper contents with my own money.</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A gift is a gift. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> A few examples to illustrate. I returned from the coast with a small selection of my
mother’s preserves. A recent
housesitting favour was rewarded with restaurant gift certificates. I’m in possession of a few
fermentation cultures that have been generously given to me over the
years. No matter a person’s
source or magnitude of income, they still have mothers, friends,
acquaintances who lovingly give on occasion. Gifts are in. This, however, brings me to Rule #3…</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No IOUs.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Gifts are one thing, “getchanexttimes” another. Under no circumstance are any
costs to be deferred to the future.</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Proceed with potlucks as normal.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> While it would be reasonable to avoid involvement in
pantry-depleting social engagements for a single week, this seclusion
would be too costly to my emotional health in the long term. I will attend and contribute to
such happy gatherings as normal, hoping that everyone likes daal.</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Supplementary pocket cash can be
put towards the budget, within reason.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Bottles
and cans, please clap your hands.
Other than bottle returns, I can’t think of other ways that I would
acquire a few extra bucks for more groceries, but they’ll be considered as
opportunities arise.</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No food rules. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Restrictions will happen organically.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This challenge is over when I say it’s
over. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Unless I’m putting myself at risk to starvation, I don’t want
to end this before the sign of my first paycheck (approximately a month
away). But essentially, I’ll
determine an end when I have answered enough questions for myself.</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S</span></div>
S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202353704484974136.post-70281893978454391002014-05-06T22:58:00.000-07:002014-05-09T17:13:44.459-07:00The Intro<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ycpVjsmiPBkumX4Hp-_km4ABE47Luba7zCgEYcUXdCmpp500IcGw2bfTED5UcYlm_tCrrY_IIeSzMrXVVySvW4GM0NNw_o0gSHuMd6CKtfbYXwLHDe5-Zo8gHu2uCAWoAasByfPfR1xw/s1600/26EvenSmall.jpg" height="320" width="213" /> </div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While I was
studying in Toronto, subsisting on summer wages, income from 4H projects and student
loans, I lived on a food budget of $30/week. Rice and cabbage were cheap but rarely did this accommodate
any extras. I relished the times
where I was able to purchase a box of tea, a container of honey or spices for a
recipe I’d been lingering over.
Since entering the workforce, I've abolished food budgeting from my life, enjoying
a diet of indulgences and plenty.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The unemployed
and working poor who utilize foodbanks in Canada report a weekly food budget
averaging $40 per breadwinner, <a href="http://raisetherates.org/" target="_blank">Raise the Rates</a> reports this figure for those on
Social Assistance in BC to be just $26.
For the former, the majority budget had to be stretched to accommodate
more than one person’s appetite: 60% of those surveyed were parents of one or
more children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Inspired by a
local film night hosted by a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kimberleyhappiness" target="_blank">remarkable one-woman organization</a>, I finally committed to
volunteering with the local foodbank and learned of the <a href="http://welfarefoodchallenge.org/" target="_blank">Welfare Food Challeng</a>e. For the past two years,
Raise the Rates has commissioned champions to eat for a week on just $26,
encouraging others in the community to take part. The participants <a href="http://welfarefoodchallenge.org/category/2013-welfare-food-challenge/2013-wfc-participant-blog/" target="_blank">blog about the experience</a>, reporting of
worry, hunger pangs and boredom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To buckle down
and hold through a week of meager portions is one thing, but what about two,
three, what about living on $26 indefinitely? The reality is that for too many there isn’t a luxurious
breakfast to be had on Day 8, but more of the same unsweetened, ungarnished
oatmeal. I’m curious about the
implications of going without for longer, the impacts on a person’s mental,
emotional and (partly) physical body, their social life and the energy they
have to give elsewhere. I’m
curious about <i>the relationship between personal pride and a restrictive budget</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Starting the
same day as my orientation for the food bank, I’ll be living on a food budget
of $26 for as long as it takes to figure this all out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wish me luck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-S<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
<br />
<br />S. Seherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10245180798200550043noreply@blogger.com0