In Praise of Shadows
October 19, 2006
 by Juni'ichiro Tanizaki, cover: )
“The sun never knew how wonderful it was, until if fell on the wall of a building,” said architect Louis Kahn. I didn’t expect to bump into him so soon, having just returned My Architect to the videotheek. But this morning I found myself contemplating the dark pallet of Autumn vegetables and sef-drying fruit accumulating on my counter and what a beautiful still life it had become. As I walked past a stack of books begging for order, I refound an old favourite and opened the book to this recipe for persimmon leaf sushi. Could be that these are the most worn pages in this book that is otherwise about Japanese aesthetics and the notion of shadow framing light. The Kahn quote graces the first page. A serendipitous Autumn morning read.
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Photograph of a photograph from Ekiben, the Art of the Japanese Box Lunch by Junichi Kamekura, Gideon Bosker, Mamoru Watanabe and with photographs by Masaru Mera used entirely without permission
It’s not the season, it’s not the location, but the recipe inspires me today. I’ll adapt it by substituting mackerel and chestnut leaves. To be true to Dutch terroir I should really also substitute the rice for some barley, (gort) but that’s an experiment for yet another day. The possibility of using barley like rice does inspire me to rethink the Hungry Gap food of last Spring.
The following is an excerpt from Jun’ichiro Tanizaki’s 1933 In Praise of Shadows, and used entirely without permission, or should I say entirely without persimmon.
… In a large city it takes a concerted search to turn up a dish that will be palatable to an old person. Not long ago a newspaper reporter came to interview me on the subject of unusual foods, and I described to him the persimmon-leaf sushi made by the people who live deep in the mountains of Yoshino - and which I shall take the opportunity to introduce to you here. To every ten parts of rice one part of saké is added just when the water comes to a boil. When the rice is done it should be cooled thoroughly, after which salt is applied to the hands and the rice molded into bitsize pieces. At this stage the hands must be absolutely free of moisture, the secret being that only salt should touch the rice. Thin slices of lightly salted salmon are places on the rice, and each piece is wraped in a persimmon leaf, the surface of the leaf facing inward. Both the persimmon leaves and the salmon should be wiped with a dry cloth to remonve and moisture. Then in a rice tub or sushi box, the interior of which is perfectly dry, the pieces are packed standing on end so that no space remains between them, and the lid is put in place and weighted wih a heavy stone, as in making pickles. Prepared in the evening, the sushi should be ready to eat the next morning. Though the taste is best on the first day, it remains edible for two of three days. A slight bit of vinegar is sprinkled over each piece with a sprig of bitter nettle just before eating… Shortly hereafter Tanizaki launches into a bitching session directed at urban planners and I start to space out and think about making a bento box with Autumn leaves.
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Photograph of a photograph from Ekiben, the Art of the Japanese Box Lunch by Junichi Kamekura, Gideon Bosker, Mamoru Watanabe and with photographs by Masaru Mera used entirely without permission
For authenticity’s sake:
- I think Tanazaki is describing pickled persimmon leaves, made the summer before. Why otherwise would it be necessary to wipe of moisture and also, unpickled leaves as thick as persimmon leaves are likely to tear. I’m going to try both pickled and unpickled chestnut leaves. I’ll ask my Dad if I pickle some of his persimmon leaves, if they’re still on the tree.
- Also, I believe that Tanazaki is referring to raw salmon (or mackerel) in this recipe. I’m going to try the recipe with both smoked and raw. In the Netherlands, smoked mackerel is called steamed mackerel for some reason that I cannot understand. Must remember to add this to the lengthy list of things that I don’t understand after living in this country for more than half my life.
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Lady seeks mushroom
October 18, 2006
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Dang if foraging for food doesn’t make us giddy! The days don’t get too much better than this…
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Not particularly edible, but there was coral growing out of the forest floor that looked like cartoon flames.
Marlein is sharing big treasures, secret spots in the woods where the tasty mushrooms grow. It’s late in the season, but the Polar Circle is enjoying oddly glorious weather. We don our amazing mushroom hunting outfits (pourquoi non?) which of course include big bags with floral motifs and large skirts for holding booty of some sort or another. We’re hoping for boletes but practically trip over the chestnuts the moment we set out. They’re falling all around us, as soon as you pick one up, a big pod rains down and spills out another two.
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Dazzling phosphorescent blue mould along the edges!
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An elfin lounge.
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The least conventionally edible mushroom of the day…
When we spotted this perfect amanita muscaria, I got so excited that I actually let out an uninhibited squeal of joy. Considering our trespassing and entirely unsanctioned foraging, this was kind of hilarious in and of itself, like a burglar getting the giggles. Promise to keep it down next time.
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In the most designed country in the world… the moss was like padding on yak felt, 30 cm thick.
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Heads up. Or down.
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A perfect baby boléetje.
Find yer own dang food.
It’s growing all around you.
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South Central Farmers
urban agriculture
North American style
October 17, 2006
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Image courtesy of South Central Farmers
Urban agriculture in North America is still only an occasional cultural novelty or, in the case of the recently bull-dozed South Central Farms, an inconvenience whose value goes unrecognized. Los Angeles once housed the largest concentration of vineyards in the country and was the capital of US citrus production until the population boom and subsequent Water Wars of the 1920s. When the population of Los Angeles County rose by nearly 50 percent in the 1950s, it commenced rezoning 3,000 acres of farmland a day. In 1969 agricultural land use in the LA basin had dropped to 20%. Los Angeles, once a fertile flood plain dappled with low chaparral, is now a smog-producing pizza oven, covered by 90% with buildings and pavement.
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Image courtesy of South Central Farmers
In the middle of South Central Los Angeles, amidst a grid of streets, train tracks and warehouses there was until very recently a 14 acre community farm that provided food for 350 low-income families. These urban farmers grew their own food, held Farmer’s Markets, festivals and cultural events that were well attended and enjoyed by the general public. In 1992 the City of Los Angeles designated the 14-acre site for use as a community garden and later collaborated on the operations with the LA Regional Foodbank.
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Image courtesy of South Central Farmers
Due to a series of dastardly real estate deals between 1995 and 2003, the narrative of which would seem more at home in a comic strip resplendent with cape-wearing evil villains slash land developers, the City was hounded and eventually honoured a bid to sell the property to a local investment company for more than $ 5 million. Although South Central Farms was functioning in an exemplary fashion, feeding families, providing much needed urban green and as a centre of local culture, the City Council agreed in closed session to sell the farm in August 2003. 3 years of protest and court battles ensued and in the summer of 2006 the farmers were forcibly evicted and the farm was bull-dozed flat.
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Image courtesy of South Central Farmers
South Central’s farmers are still fighting the validity of the sale of their farm in court and in the media with support from high-profile media-folk like Joan Baez, Darryl Hannah, Ralph Nader, Danny Glover, ‘Flea’ from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Willie Nelson. La puebla unida, jamás será vencida / The people united, will never be defeated!
South Central Farms is believed to have been one of the largest urban farms in the US.
Presently the City of Los Angeles has allocated only half of the original 14 acres at an alternate site. Although some of South Central’s farmers have relocated and begun cultivation, only 3 acres, located under high voltage power lines, have been made available to them. It’s not over yet…
South Central Farm, South Central Farmers
1992 – 2006 Los Angeles, California
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