Monthly Archives: January 2008

Und A Motorbike

Posted by Tata on

Kylie Kwong is an Australian TV chef on the Discovery Home Channel. Simply Magic is photographed like the gauziest of gauzy soft-core bow-chicka, bow-bow-bow, except with a breezy spiritual tone. The attention to light, color and atmosphere makes me sigh often. Though I seldom learn much about Chinese cooking I could use at home, I love watching her dry roast spices, skip through Shanghai or argue with her mother, whom Kylie plainly adores. I do learn things, though.

One of my favorite segments featured Kylie sitting backward on one of those miniature trucks as it rolled through …something. She talked about “a mad fellow named Noel” who took an abandoned subway tunnel and turned it into an underground farm for high end mushrooms. I watched the reruns obsessively to see this segment three or four times, until I finally picked up enough context clues to find the aforementioned “mad fellow.”

Unlike white mushrooms that grow in compost, the shitake, chestnut and other varieties of exotic mushrooms produced by Li-Sun Exotic Mushrooms in Mittagong are spawned in a laboratory and grown in an old underground railway tunnel.

Owner and operator Dr Noel Arrold has been studying and growing exotic mushrooms for more than 20 years. He says the tunnel offers ideal growing conditions because it is naturally dark and the temperature sits at a comfortable 17 degrees centigrade all year round.

Holy cow, that’s recycling!

The growing process begins in a laboratory in Mittagong not far from the tunnel where mushroom cultures are spawned on an agar plate.

“In order to multiply that up so that you can use it to inoculate your crops we grow it on rye grain,” Dr Arrold explained.

“We boil up rye grain to get the moisture in it and then we mix it with a bit of lime and gypsum, sterilise it and then we add a piece of agar as a pure culture.”

“This will then grow all through that medium and you can then transfer that from a small bottle into larger bottles and so on.”

The end result is a variety of mushrooms that could not only be used in a stir-fry but for artistic displays.

“They come out in clumps much like the Sydney Opera House.”

Frankly, who doesn’t?

My first thought, watching the tiny, beautiful woman in an erstwhile railway tunnel was, ‘SWEETIE! YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE THAT RAILROAD’S BEEN!’ but the “mad fellow” has Science on his side. Delicious exotic mushrooms provide a further impetus to get over the germ-inspired heebie jeebies. I’m not totally certain about how one cleans the world’s longest bathroom without a Queen Mary-size can of Scrubbing Bubbles, but I do love Science, preferably in soup or a cream reduction sauce. That’s an excellent use of resources!

I’m Up Before the Sun

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We used to be a lot older.

This is Mom. Isn’t she pretty? She sure is. That’s her great-grandson looking mighty photogenic. For the sake of clarity, let’s call him “Spanky” – or, as Daria pronounces it, “‘Panky”. Try it out: Hey, Panky, let’s go get tattoos! or Panky, that’s my walrus! I like it. So there we have Mom and Panky. When I was a kid, I calculated I’d be 36 at the turn of the millenium and I recall feeling horrified that I’d be SO OLD! Now, Sophia Loren is gorgeous after 70. It’s a different life than it might be if we didn’t expect to live long enough to know and love our great-great-grandchildren, which privilege brings with it an increased responsibility to our present and our future.

On the other hand, since my life expectancy is about another forty years it’s pretty embarrassing that I haven’t planned – say – dinner. I’m working on it!

But I Was Only Dreaming

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I’ve had a splitting headache most of the day.

Pete made us a fantastic dinner of turkey tenderloin, fingerling potatoes and sauteed snap peas. I’d baked a loaf of whole wheat bread that turned out pretty well, which we can attribute to the brand new food processor. It’s not like I suddenly aquired the magical yummy breadmaking skillz. Nope! So tastiness must be chalked up to the shiny shiny new machine. Whooosh! Nice crust!

Nothing You And I Won’t Do

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It’s New Year’s Day. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I do stuff, however small, for the common good and urge you to do stuff for the common good. It’s possible to assume all kinds of things are wrong or would be productive and make stupid, humiliating mistakes with the best of intentions. Kali knows years ago I threw benefit events where none were wanted or especially needed because I felt the want and need to do something. In my old age and sloth, I slow down and listen to people who actually know what they’re doing. Case in point: the blogosphere has put a great deal of effort into successful fundraising for Pretty Bird Woman House. I didn’t have a spare nickel to my name, so I sat that one out. I didn’t think I could help. A few days ago, Melissa pointed out a detail that had escaped my notice: the house needs stuff. I slapped my forehead. Of course it does.

Material Donations Also Needed

In addition to monetary donations for the house fund, PBWH is in need of the following items for women seeking emergency shelter: towels and washcloths, twin and full size sheets, toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, women’s hygiene items, diapers of all sizes, baby wipes, first aid kit items, and analgesics such as ibuprophen and aspirin.

Since winter is approaching, there is a need for new or gently used winter clothing for women and children as well.

UPS, FedEx and DHL will not ship to P. O. boxes. If you use one of those services, use the building address:

Pretty Bird Woman House
302 Sale Barn Rd.
McLaughlin SD 57642

If you are using the USPS, send your package to the address at the top of the page.

It also turns out that the shelter specifically needs NEW sweat suits, underwear and bras for women who have been sexually assaulted, since they often must leave their clothes behind at the hospital as part of the evidence gathering process. Recently a hospital released a woman in only her hospital gown and blanket. Wow, that one has to change doesn’t it!

PBWH would also like to offer victims of sexual violence information on coping with sexual assault, but does not have the budget for this. An inexpensive yet good booklet is available for $2.50 ea. at http://www.tsnelson.com. If you would like to contribute by buying some of these pamplets, that would be greatly appreciated as well (there is a minimum order of 50).

Thank you!

At the beginning of a new year, one thing we all have is extra stuff. I’m not materialistic and I despise shopping, but I opened my lingerie drawer and found five bras with tags still on. I have extra coats I’ve been lugging around. I have sheets and towels that I don’t love above and beyond what I truly need. These things weigh on me. Their presence does not enrich my life. Yesterday, I called my sisters and asked them to go through their closets and their children’s closets for things gently or never worn but no longer needed. We each have separate social structures that involve the re-circulation of clothing and household items. In this case, I asked them to give me what they don’t need and I’d send it to South Dakota.

Tomorrow, I’ll send two big boxes out. I will never miss these things, no matter how I acquired or once loved them. I feel lighter already, especially knowing that what space I clear out the universe will fill with what I actually need. I’m hoping for artichoke dip.

People in need come in all shapes and sizes. I am sometimes overwhelmed by the problems we face, and that we absolutely must face them, but that sense is out of proportion. I can’t solve the world’s problems. What I can do is be a connection between something stuck and in excess and the place where that stuff is needed. You can do it, too. Take five things out of your closet and send them to Pretty Woman Bird House, if you are a woman. Then ask your friends to do the same. Money is tight everywhere, but all it will cost to help is postage, and probably less than $20.

It would be easy to say, “What about the homeless or abused where I live? Don’t they deserve help? Shouldn’t I help them first?” It’s not a competition. No. No, it’s not. Recently, I asked you to consider helping the good people at Vandenberg Air Force Base and I discussed my little project with a few of my co-workers, who at first did not seem receptive. They didn’t share their concerns with me, so I have no idea what they were. Just before Christmas, one came to me and told me what happened. I almost burst into tears. See: this woman discussed my little project with her granddaughter who works at Conair. Her department pitches in and their boss matches the group contribution. This year, they chose to use the money to buy stuff for deployed soldiers from Fort Dix in a project parallel to mine. So at first I worried that a particular set of soldiers might lose out because I hadn’t articulated their need properly – then I realized a large group of people had just recognized one way they could contribute to the common good that had never occurred to them before.

So. Tell me how you’d like to start this brilliant new year.