Blog Posts

Goodness goes to suffolk

26/9/2017

It's been a busy couple of months. Goodness has started using CBD paste from CBD Brothers in some of our raw chocolate. In August, Ben from CBD Brothers invited my compadre, David (Alkaline Juice Factory), and me to visit them at the wonderful Ten Ten Farm in Suffolk. An excellent day was had, we enjoyed an extensive tour of their production unit and land. Ben and his team's generosity and enthusiasm for all things CBD is inspiring.

Ben kindly organised a give-away of Goodness CBD chocolate through the CDB Brothers Facebook page, which got a really positive response. Very soon, we will be selling small batches of Goodness chocolate through the CBD Brothers website, so watch out for updates.

more raw vinegar

21/9/2017

Our raw vinegar collection is growing nicely. There are now four mighty flavours - mango, pineapple, banana and coconut. The mango, pineapple and banana vinegars are made using waste skins left from the juicing process. The coconut water vinegar is made using fresh coconut water. Here are a few simple ideas for enjoying your raw vinegar. Don’t drink it undiluted - it will irritate your stomach and damage your tooth enamel. It’s powerful stuff!

RAW VINEGAR TONIC
1 tbsp raw vinegar
half glass warm water
natural sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, agave syrup, etc). Optional.
Raw vinegar tonic is best taken before food in the morning. A great way to get your system going!

DRINKING VINEGAR
1 tbsp raw vinegar
half glass of water (still or sparkling)
half a glass of fresh fruit or veg juice of your choice
natural sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, agave syrup, etc). Optional.
Serve with ice. Optional.

RAW VINEGAR TEA
2 tbsp raw vinegar
1 cup hot water
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
natural sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, agave syrup, etc). Optional.
This is a very soothing drink. Great for coughs and colds.

simply cacao

12/7/2017

This image deserves some space. I took this photo on my last trip to Ghana before I started making chocolate.
I need to go again. Seriously.

pearl millet drink

8/7/2017

This is an easy to make, breakfast drink or snack. Pearl millet is grown in widely Africa and India. It's extremely nutritious, gluten-free and good for people on low cholesterol and diabetic diets. I'm slightly addicted to this comforting drink.

INGREDIENTS
3-4 tsp pearl millet flour
water - 1 cup
pinch of salt
coconut oil - 1 tsp
2 tsp maple syrup, or honey, etc, optional
cinnamon, to taste, optional

METHOD

Add 1 cup of water to a pan and bring to a boil.
Mix the pearl millet flour in a separate cup with a small amount of water, mix well into a paste.
Remove pan of water from the heat, add flour paste, stirring to avoid lumps.
Return pan to the heat, warm gently, add the salt and coconut oil.
Cook this for further 2-3 minutes at low heat stirring continuously.
Serve warm. Add maple syrup and cinnamon as desired.

citizen garden

4/7/2017

Happy 4th July! A friend sent me this photo about 4 years ago. It feels like a very long time ago.
The photos are from Hello magazine and show the community garden the Obamas' set up at The Whitehouse.
I know the world was never as idyllic as these images suggest, but I love the gesture of that garden.
I'm sharing the photo, a small offering among all the currently uncertainty and negativity. Here's to more positive, inclusive, peaceful times.

FERMENTATION GROUPIE

27/6/2017

OK, I am officially a fermentation groupie as this fan photo proves. I got to meet my fermentation hero, Sandor Katz, who came to speak in London recently from the States. A great event, with Mr Katz sharing his knowledge and infectious enthusiasm about all things fermented. He talked about the origins of using fermentation to preserve foods, a means of survival in the days before refrigeration. And still very much so in areas of the world without electricity. I think there is a lot of scope to increase interest in fermented foods as a way of preserving, saving money, as well as increasing the nutritional value of food. I salute Sandor Katz!

raw pineapple vinegar - the first experiments

28/5/2017

OK, I am very excited by this - using the waste pineapple skins from Alkaline Juice Factory to make vinegar. Pineapple vinegar is the next stage in the fermentation process from Tepache. It involves leaving the pineapple skins, sugar and water mixture to ferment beyond the alcohol stage. It goes from sweet and sparkling to mildly alcoholic, then sour vinegar in about 3 weeks. A frothy scum forms on top midway and it creates a 'mother' - probiotic enzymes you can use to start another batch. Infuse with chili, cloves, black pepper, etc, if you like. I'd say it has a more mellow flavour than apple cider vinegar.

Pineapple vinegar can be taken as health tonic, used on the skin or in cooking. On sale soon from our Brixton outlets!

fermentation wisdom

14/5/2017

"We reject certain food because it is rotten. Certain food we can see is fresh. But there is this creative space between fresh food and rotten food where most of human culture's most prized delicacies and culinary achievements exist."
Sandor Katz

tepache

5/4/2017

Tepache is a fermented drink from Mexico. The main ingredients are pineapple flesh, or just the skins, water and sugar with a few spices (I used cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves). It's quite refreshing served chilled, a bit like root beer.
This was one of my first experiments with Alkaline Juice Factory, the aim was to make use of their waste pineapple skins. I used panela or jaggery (whole cane sugar) as the active ingredient. Both are easy to find in Brixton, or Caribbean and Asian stores. It's cheap to make too. Adjust the sweetness according to your taste. It gets more sour the longer you ferment it.
This is not really one for storing, the aim is to drink it within a couple of days of fermenting. It's possible to make a beer or vinegar from tepache, if left for long enough. Watch this space for tepache vinegar.

bobby baker's 'how to shop'

4/4/2017

I just remembered I have these cards. They are by performance artist Bobby Baker from her 1993 show, How to Shop. Each of the 7 cards has a food related image on the front and a touching, quite eccentric text on the back. All are to do with food, healing, cultivating positive emotional states, self care, love, etc. For her, a posy of parsley represents humility. She explains that parsley makes a nourishing, vitamin C-rich tonic. If you throw it over your shoulder (the posy, not the tonic), it can help you find a man (if you want one).

<<Previous

Forward>>

blog