organic

Organic food and farming. The healthy way to eat in the Feast food community.

Everything In Moderation
It squished between my teeth and squashed down my throat to my belly, all soft and green and warm. My dad said it was safe to eat. He also said, afterward, that he had eaten so much of it once that he had hemorrhoids forever after. That didn't bode well, but too late was already too late by then. I didn't get hemorrhoids from it though. I was around ten or eleven years old, and I'd found it growing in the backyard. My dad called it poke sallet , but I've heard other names for it since then. Some people call it pokeweed , which is the name of the plant it comes from. Others call it poke greens , which makes sense if you've ever had turnip greens or anything like that. Still others call it poke salad , which is just another way of saying "sallet." You can call it whatever you like; just don't eat the berries.
By Laura Pruett2 days ago in Feast
Kopi Luwak: The Coffee That Passes Through an Animal First
Some foods make you curious. Some make you uneasy. Kopi luwak does both, and then it adds a third feeling: a little guilt. It is often called the most expensive coffee in the world. A single cup has sold for as much as $80 in the United States. The reason is simple and a little shocking. The coffee beans are first eaten by a small wild animal, and the beans are collected after they pass through its body.
By zenGaze13 days ago in Feast
Blue Plate Special. Content Warning.
The neon sign outside the diner window was a buzzing, broken arrow that couldn’t decide whether to stay red or die completely. It was 3:00 AM on a slick, freezing October Tuesday, and the rain was hitting the asphalt outside with a steady, metallic hiss. This place didn't have a hostess, a dress code, or a line out the door. It sat right at the intersection where the highway gave up and turned into dirt, surrounded by thousands of acres of empty wood and black sky.
By Syl De'Vil14 days ago in Feast
The Sardinian Cheese That Comes With Live Maggots
Most cheese lovers know the feeling of opening a package and wondering if it is still good. With casu marzu, the question is the other way around. This cheese is only considered ready when it is full of life.
By zenGaze14 days ago in Feast
Iceland’s Smelly Shark Tradition: Would You Dare?
Hákarl: The Icelandic Shark Dish That Takes Months to Make Why Icelanders bury a poisonous shark, dry it for months, and then serve it with a shot of schnapps
By zenGaze14 days ago in Feast
I Froze Dumplings Outside in Minus 11 Degrees and Asked My Mom About Fillings
Dumplings Freezing Outside the Window It is minus eleven degrees Celsius in Harbin today. Frost clings to the iron railing outside the balcony. Mom carries the bamboo tray out and lines dumplings in rows. They look like small white geese sitting in snow. After a while she turns them. They freeze a little longer, then go into bags. The outdoor air works as a freezer. No electricity. No space inside. Open a window and use it.
By Jin14 days ago in Feast
I Broke Every Fish I Pan-Fried Until I Fixed Four Things
The fish hits the pan. It sizzles. You touch it with a spatula. The skin stays stuck. The flesh breaks. The pan gets a black layer. You scrub for ten minutes. Next time you dry the fish, rub ginger on the pan, and salt the oil. The skin still tears.
By Jin15 days ago in Feast
The Art of Extracting Fish Roe in Sweden: The Skill Behind a Luxury Delicacy
The Art of Extracting Fish Roe in Sweden: A Traditional Skill Behind a Luxury Delicacy In Sweden, some of the most prized delicacies come from the cold waters of the north. But behind every spoonful of luxurious fish roe lies a process that requires patience, precision, and a surprisingly delicate touch.
By zenGaze15 days ago in Feast
My Mother's Youyanmo Tastes Like Being Eight Again
I. The earthen stove, the dough, and the crisp bite The big iron pot burned firewood. My mother judged the heat with her hand. She held it three inches above the bottom, paused two seconds, and knew whether to add wood or pull the fire back.
By Jin17 days ago in Feast
Fish-Head Drinking Isn’t a Shandong Rule. I Lived There 40 Years and Never Saw It.
Last winter, in a small restaurant in Jinan, a fish stew in an iron pot had just arrived. A Shandong man turned the fish head toward me and asked, “Is fish-head drinking really that fierce in Henan?”
By Jin25 days ago in Feast
I Cooked 16 Flowers in One Spring. One Numbed My Tongue.
Eating Flowers The first time someone told me daylilies could be eaten, I put my chopsticks down. The plate was already on the table: green-yellow buds, thin and straight, mixed with pork slices. I asked, “This is a flower?” Nobody answered. My aunt took a piece and put it in my bowl. I ate it. It tasted like a mushroom that had learned to be tender. I ate three bowls of rice.
By Jin26 days ago in Feast
Closing the Emotional Buffet.
The word mistress implies a secret. It suggests a woman hidden away in the dark, kept under lock and key, brought out only when it is convenient, and tucked back into the shadows when the real world demands attention. But an emotional mistress doesn’t hide her body; she hides her soul. She is the woman who leaves the door to her mind wide open, allowing broken, fragile, hollow men to walk inside, dust their boots off, dump their heavy baggage on her rug, and drink until they are full.
By Syl De'Vil28 days ago in Feast