Pickling Garlic the Okinawan Way
Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Anton Lo May 24, 2011
Making Okinawan pickled garlic is the perfect way to enter the world of pickling. Those who have the itch to make their own fresh, mouthwatering pickles are guaranteed success with this recipe. It is virtually fool proof — take it from someone whose first attempt at making sauerkraut yielded a moldy, smelly, and probably toxic mess. Making garlic pickles is simple as simple can be, and you only need these three ingredients:
- Fresh (not dry) garlic
- Salt
- Water
The recipe is also simple. Add salt to water until you can just float a small potato in it. I don’t know the precise ratio, and neither does the Okinawan ojichan (grandpa) who showed me the potato trick. The potato doesn’t have to be small, it’s just more cute and grabbable with chopsticks that way. Make sure you’ve scrubbed the skin clean beforehand, but don’t sweat it too much.
Comments (10)Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, People Systems, Society — by Anton Lo April 12, 2011
People who are self-proclaimed "die-hard capitalists" seem to have a very simplistic idea of how capitalism actually works in the real world. They tend to dismiss valid, factual criticisms of the system as temporary problems in a system which will go on to benefit all. Any initial suffering caused by capitalism, they argue, will eventually be made up for exponentially as the poor gradually and unfailingly grow richer. The (minor) failings of capitalism are just the reality of living in an imperfect world. After all, they argue, what is the alternative? Socialism, which has never worked? Communism, which is a proven failure (as if these are the only options)?
Comments (16)Nuclear Energy: A Resource for an Insane Society
Consumerism, Nuclear, peak oil — by Anton Lo March 28, 2011
Bill Mollison groups the earth’s resources into five categories. These resources are:
- Those which increase by modest use. For example, green browse that is uneaten by deer may become hard and unpalatable.
- Those unaffected by use. Some examples are a view or a good climate, hydroelectric power.
- Those which disappear or degrade if not used. An example is an unharvested crop of an annual.
- Those reduced by use. Some examples are a fish or game stock unwisely used, clay deposits, coal and oil.
- Those which pollute or destroy other resources if used. Examples include radioactives, super highways, large buildings.
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Permaculture in One of the Most Densely Populated Cities in the World
Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Society, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Anton Lo March 16, 2011
Why Hong Kong Could Prove Pivotal for the Future of Sustainability
Hong Kong skyline
Photo by Felipe Diez
Seeing permaculture practiced in Hong Kong is extremely exciting because of what Hong Kong’s location, culture, and history mean for getting permaculture out to the world. The city had, until recently, the busiest port in the world (since superseded by Shanghai). It is a great travel hub in Asia for not only businessmen but also thousands of other travelers passing through each day. Those who stay can get a taste of the tremendous crowds in Hong Kong’s metropolitan areas, where some of the highest population densities in the world make for an experience that is both exhilarating and exhausting. Taking a short ferry ride to outlying islands or heading into the new territories, on the other hand, yields lush greenery that feels a world apart from the densely built environs of the city, for not only is Hong Kong a meeting point for the East and the West, it is also the concrete world where man interfaces with the natural world. We’ve all heard the cliché about the juxtaposition of east and west, old and new. However, Hong Kong does it in a way that’s convincing, where one does not have to win out over the other, and where both seem comfortable coexisting.
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