So I checked the progress of my tempeh this morning. One batch (made in a plastic bag) had miraculously grown all its fungi overnight and was sitting there, hanging together like a proper tempeh cake. Unreal!
The other batch (made in a stainless steel steamer) had a fine layer of furry white mould over the top. Naturally, I was reminded of my ‘friend on the phone’ (see previous post).
So perhaps there is some kind of reciprocity here. Once somebody declares that a layer of mould reminds them of you, they instantly damn themselves to the same fate!
I showed the mouldy cake to Pip, and asked him if it reminded him of anyone. His reply: “Frosty the Snowman!”
Then I sliced off and discarded the mouldy top layer and we sampled our tempeh. Pip declared it delicious, and he was right.
May 8, 2008
People are sometimes defined by their hobbies and interests. I sense that a new definition is building up around me - two interactions in as many days point to this conclusion…
Health food person: Those soybeans didn’t come in for oj.
J: That’s ok. There’s no rush. He just wants them for making tempeh.
Health food person: [puzzled pause] … but … I sell tempeh!
J: Yeah, I know… he just… likes making fermented foodstuffs.
Friend on the phone: Oh hello, I thought of you today. My pickles have grown a little mould on top. I’m just going to scrape it off and carry on… but I just saw this mould and thought of you.
Which I found not exactly flattering, but interesting at least. Not many people can claim ‘mould’ as a substance that puts their friends in mind of them.
May 7, 2008
I’ve been feeling disheartened with our recycling service since discovering that my county council ships (and sells) metal waste (and plastic? not sure) to China for recycling. The defense is that ships that bring goods to the UK from China would otherwise be returning empty.
But the goods in question are largely rubbish anyway. Even if they’re not complete rubbish, they still have a limited life-span. A large part of me just doesn’t want to condone the whole scheme, and I find myself chucking plastic wrappers in the general waste bin just to thumb my nose at the recycling policy. Sin of sins!!!
Since first thinking these dark thoughts, and experimenting with these reckless, devil-may-care acts of land-fillage, I’ve suddenly noticed just how much plastic we bring into our home. Now, I know this is not an original thought. But it’s been much on my mind lately.
I see a couple of categories of plastic consumption. There are the goods which we deliberately purchase for some purpose, some of which we could choose to buy in a material other than plastic (say, a dustpan and brush. Surely there are wooden-handled brushes out there… I’m not so sure about tin dustpans. But I would like a tin dustpan. I think it would be very satisfying to use.) Other items of course are harder to find in non-plastic materials. Like a laptop. Anyway, the second category is the slipstream of plastic that just comes with everything. Like a newspaper, or a selection of cheeses from the market, or even a bloody packet of tofu.
And it’s this last one that’s got me thinking. Tofu is not a great food. Soybeans are not easily digested unless fermented. Pulverised soybean with chalk added for textural integrity is not the best thing to put in your body.
So, I’m leaning to tempeh. But in keeping with my culture-loving (and plastic-hating) habits of late, I’m tempted to try making it. A little research indicates I will have to purchase the fungus to start it off (and possibly keep purchasing to carry on making the tempeh, unless I can find a way of perpetuating the culture. More research required).
Anyway, it’s gotta be worth a shot. The bought stuff is even more plastic-wrapped than tofu.
April 28, 2008
