Hulkine and the final touch

[Jean]

24 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Fair enough, though spontaneously my thoughts are that if we kept the environment wild the ecosystem would self regulate to a state which is appropriate for the given climate/soil etc. If fields are part of that climate then of course fields should be there

 

If we kept the ecosystem wild, forests would be partly destroyed by fire, avalanches, landslides, storms, etc. and the vegetation would start anew from the start, giving different species a place to live, albeit a changing one in space.

 

Since we've decided that having our house taken away by a debris flow isn't such a fun experience, we tend to try and avoid these kind of events, leaving to us the task to keep some spaces in a different state to preserve biodiversity. Sweden is an awful lot bigger than Switzerland but this is pretty much what we see around here : forest gaining land over grassland, which wouldn't be bad per se if they weren't mainly populated by monospecies, like firs, which make it very vulnerable to change since they lack the diversity to be strong when submitted to hardship.

 

But I like forests better too. :-)

 

Sorry, had to step in, this was such an appealing subject. Love your talks guys and girls, thanks for the reading.

[Mad Hatter]

12 minutes ago, Jean said:

If we kept the ecosystem wild, forests would be partly destroyed by fire, avalanches, landslides, storms, etc. and the vegetation would start anew from the start, giving different species a place to live, albeit a changing one in space.

Yep. Perhaps not so great for people, but definitely not bad for biodiversity.

 

15 minutes ago, Jean said:

Since we've decided that having our house taken away by a debris flow isn't such a fun experience, we tend to try and avoid these kind of events,

Good call.  

 

17 minutes ago, Jean said:

forest gaining land over grassland, which wouldn't be bad per se if it wasn't for the fact that they're mainly populated by monospecies, like firs, which make it very vulnerable to change since they lack the diversity to be strong when submitted to hardship.

True. But I feel like most of these trends are due to a rapidly changing climate and environment, rather than a natural evolution. In the long term a high bio diversity benefits all species, but in the short term it's all about survival of the fittest and that's where we are at now... Of course we need to protect the biodiversity that we have, but the reason why it needs protection in the first place is because we keep messing it up...

 

28 minutes ago, Jean said:

Sorry, had to step in, this was such an appealing subject. 

No apologies! And it is indeed a very interesting subject.  Just don't get me wrong, I do agree with you guys, my argument is more of a say philosophical one rather than a practical one.

[Tobbe]

2 hours ago, Jean said:

Sorry, had to step in, this was such an appealing subject. Love your talks guys and girls, thanks for the reading.

 

Agree with @Mad Hatter. No need to apologize! Enjoyed your post. 

[Jean]

Thanks, part of what I like with this community is how everyone's open and willing to share. You're awesome !

 

7 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

True. But I feel like most of these trends are due to a rapidly changing climate and environment, rather than a natural evolution. In the long term a high bio diversity benefits all species, but in the short term it's all about survival of the fittest and that's where we are at now... Of course we need to protect the biodiversity that we have, but the reason why it needs protection in the first place is because we keep messing it up...

 

Sure. We keep looking at things in the short term and failing to see the big picture, so we mess it up for ourselves and need a workout plan to get us back on trail (as a species).

 

Our ancesters, not long ago, used to fight for survival : if you didn't take care of your land, your familiy wouldn't survive the winter. Now, we find food at the nearest convenience store and forget it doesn't just pop there. I was thinking of this because of meat : there are places where forests do not grow (high altitude or latitude), this is a natural space where (mountain) goats and other animals can strive but carrots would have a hard time to. Our ancesters used to cultivate and extend those and now, since we don't need it anymore, the forest is gaining back on it. Is it really a bad thing ? I guess many of us think it is due purely to ideology so I'm with you on it. My take is that I wish we'd be less lazy and put more of a focus on the essential things in life : growing food instead of apps so I would still like it better if we took better care of our grasslands.

[Tobbe]

5 hours ago, Jean said:

the forest is gaining back on it. Is it really a bad thing ? I guess many of us think it is due purely to ideology

 

This is true. The open fields we love so much here is obviously not the way it would have looked if nature had had its way without any interference. But now it's something that the general population here really puts a value on, so we want to keep it.

[Mad Hatter]

7 hours ago, Jean said:

Sure. We keep looking at things in the short term and failing to see the big picture, so we mess it up for ourselves and need a workout plan to get us back on trail (as a species).

So much this!

 

7 hours ago, Jean said:

Thanks, part of what I like with this community is how everyone's open and willing to share. You're awesome !

 

And this.  

 

7 hours ago, Jean said:

Now, we find food at the nearest convenience store and forget it doesn't just pop there.

I always get reminded by that when I forage in the woods, I expend a tremendous amount of effort per calorie foraged. It's crazy to think about but if we were to live in the wild pretty much all our time would go to trying to find food and living without a tribe to share the burden would be completely impossible. We have come a loooong way from that lifestyle! For better or worse.

[Tobbe]

18 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

We have come a loooong way from that lifestyle! For better or worse.

 

Mostly for better obviously. Otherwise we'd still be doing it!

[Mad Hatter]

2 minutes ago, Tobbe said:

 

Mostly for better obviously. Otherwise we'd still be doing it!

100% better for us! For the environment, ehh, not so much. Can't have everything!

[Arkania]

I think this is a very complex topic and matches the topic of the book that I am reading
But I like your discussion here!

 

[Mad Hatter]

Neat, what book is it?

[Tobbe]

"The Alchemist"?

[Mad Hatter]

29 minutes ago, Tobbe said:

"The Alchemist"?

Paolo Coelho's Alchemist? It's been quite a few years since I read it but I can't remember it dealing with environmental topics?

[Tobbe]

I haven't read it at all, I just remember from @Arkania's update that she said she was reading that book. But of course she might very well be reading more books as well  

[Arkania]

It's the book from Frank Schätzing, that doesn't exist in english :/

The Alchemist is also great but another topic

[Arkania]

Some food photos from the last days:

 

Vegetarian Schnitzel with veggies.

Veggie-Cocos-Curry with smoked tofu and udon noodles.

Hazelnut and mango ice cream.

Zorridge with mango.

Pork filet with green beans and bacon, potato mash and mushroom cream sauce (and martini ).

 

And some cat content:

[Tobbe]

5 hours ago, Arkania said:

Vegetarian Schnitzel with veggies.

 

That schnitzel looks so tiny!  But I guess it's because, in reality, that's a huge bowl with lots of vegetables.

 

5 hours ago, Arkania said:

Hazelnut and mango ice cream.

 

Ohh, great choice of flavors! Sounds delicious.

 

5 hours ago, Arkania said:

Zorridge with mango.

 

I was planing to make zoats this morning, but the zucchinin was mushy and had some mold on it  Had to throw it out! I hate that!

 

5 hours ago, Arkania said:

Pork filet with green beans and bacon, potato mash and mushroom cream sauce (and martini ).

 

Wow, that does look really good! I'm not a big fan of mashed potatoes, but the rest looks really really tasty 

[Arkania]

I wanted to do roasted potatoes, but we didn't have enough place on the stove

[Tobbe]

Roasted? On the stove? You mean pan fried?

[Arkania]

First cooked (on the stove) then roasted in the oven

(sometimes pan fried)

[Tobbe]

When we do roasted potatoes we just make small wedges or thin disks of the potatoes and put them in raw in the oven with some oil and salt on them. Sometimes garlic and thyme as well.

[Arkania]

Again some food photos of the last days

Cocosjoghurt with spme Granola and Mango and Cherries.

Lentil-mangold-dal.

Homemeade pizza.

Mango-joghurt with granola and mangos and cherries.

 

Yesterday we went in an italian restaurant. This was the starter:

 

Then I had a superfood bowl (with tomato-risotto, wild herbs, cherry tomatoes, raw cauliflower, goji berries, spinach-hummus, yellow zucchini with cashew parmesan sauce and sesam teriyaki salmon)

[Tobbe]

2 hours ago, Arkania said:

Again some food photos of the last days

 

And again some questions  

 

When you say "coconut yogurt" and "mango yogurt", is it regular cow milk yogurt with coconut flavor and mango flavor? Can you get flavored yogurts without lots of added sugar? We can't  

 

I'd love the recipe for the dal. Mind sharing?

 

That starter...  Looks like a full meal for two  Bet it was tasty though. Looks tastier than your main course   (even if the spinach-hummus and the salmon sounds really good) 

[Arkania]

2 hours ago, Tobbe said:

 

And again some questions  

 

When you say "coconut yogurt" and "mango yogurt", is it regular cow milk yogurt with coconut flavor and mango flavor? Can you get flavored yogurts without lots of added sugar? We can't  

 

I'd love the recipe for the dal. Mind sharing?

 

That starter...  Looks like a full meal for two  Bet it was tasty though. Looks tastier than your main course   (even if the spinach-hummus and the salmon sounds really good) 

 

No, in this case it's Alpro Soy Joghurt. The mango one is "with more fruit and without added sugar -> 5,8g/100g https://www.alpro.com/se/produkter/vaxtbaserad-yoghurt-variant/mer-frukt-inget-tillsatt-socker/mer-frukt-inget-tillsatt-socker-mango

The coconut one is also from Alpro -> 2,1g/100g https://www.alpro.com/se/produkter/vaxtbaserad-yoghurt-variant/mild-och-creamy/kokos

Has a great natural flavour (I don't like most of the flavoured normal joghurts because of their chemical flavour)

Sometimes I just use natural joghurt(alternatives) and put fruit in there and some flavdrops (vanilla), that's it.

 

Sure, it's this recipe: https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/drucken/2621061411663283/2309481a/1/Tarka-Dal-pikant-scharfe-rote-Linsen.html

It's a "normal" red lentil dal, I did in the slowcooker. But it also works in a normal pot.

Quote

 

1 tbsp ghee or clarified butter
1 onion(s), finely chopped
250 g lentils, red
200 g canned tomato(s), in pieces, with juice
600 ml vegetable broth, well seasoned
1 tbsp tomato paste, optional
½ TL Turmeric, ground
¼ TL cumin, ground
1 small chilli pepper(s), dried and crumbled
1 teaspoon ginger, finely grated
1 clove/n garlic, pressed
    salt and pepper
    Coriander green, chopped

 

First fry the onion pieces in the clarified butter on a low heat in a separate pan until translucent. Let the onions cool down a little and fill into the Crock Pot. Rinse the lentils in a household sieve with clear water and add to the onions. Now add the liquids and the spices. Mix everything well and cover. The stewing time on highest stage (HIGH) is about 2 hours or until the lentils are cooked and disintegrate.

During the last 30 minutes you may stir the lentils. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve sprinkle with fresh coriander.

Serve with rice and/or Naan bread as well as liquid (slightly sour) yoghurt.

 

 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

 

I used vegetarian onion flavoured clarified butter, more spices, no ginger, more garlic and no fresh coriander. Instead I put in 1/2 can chickpeas and 1 bundle of mangold.

When you do it in a pot you just have to stir and wait until the lentils are cooked. Maybe about 30-60 mins? Not sure about that.

 

The pizza was great (as always, we are there often) but the bowl was amazing! The parmesan cashew sauce and the hummus were a dream! Was better than it sounds

[Tobbe]

31 minutes ago, Arkania said:

The coconut one is also from Alpro -> 2,1g/100g https://www.alpro.com/se/produkter/vaxtbaserad-yoghurt-variant/mild-och-creamy/kokos

 

Funny that you should mention it. I tried this yogurt for the first time in my life yesterday, and I was really surprised how good it tasted!

 

 

(Also the first time I tried store bought oat milk)

 

But yeah, the coconut flavor of the yogurt was really good! And I like how creamy the yogurt was too  

 

I've tried this coconut quark before, but it's not nearly as good!

 

 

The coconut taste is much "sharper", more artificial. Or "chemical" as you put it (the artificial sweeteners probably doesn't help either...).

[Tobbe]

32 minutes ago, Arkania said:

Sure, it's this recipe: https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/drucken/2621061411663283/2309481a/1/Tarka-Dal-pikant-scharfe-rote-Linsen.html

It's a "normal" red lentil dal, I did in the slowcooker. But it also works in a normal pot.

 

I have a slow cooker, so that's no problem  Red lentils usually cooks in about 20 minutes in a regular pot.

 

I was wondering about the light colored squarish pieces in there, but I guess that's some really roughly chopped onion . I'd probably skip the chickpeas, but adding some greens is never a bad thing, so I might put some spinach in there! I was also curious about the light color of the dish. The dish in the photo on chefkoch.de is much more red in color. But it can be really difficult to get accurate colors of food on camera, so it might just be the lightening that is playing a trick  

 

I was really impressed with the automatic translation, so just for fun I wanted to compare it with Google's translation

 

Quote

First lightly fry the onion pieces in the clarified butter in a separate pan. Allow the onions to cool slightly and fill in the crock pot. Rinse the lentils in a strainer with clean water and add to the onions. Now add the liquids as well as the spices. Mix everything well and cover. The braising time is at the highest level (HIGH) about 2 hours or until the lenses are cooked and disintegrated. 

In the last 30 minutes you may like to stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh coriander to serve. 

Serve with rice and / or naan bread, as well as liquid (slightly acidic) yoghurt.

 

German must be easy to machine translate because Google did a pretty good job too