Digest: Rose Harissa

Harissa is a sauce with Tunisian origins which usually involves a blend of peppers and spices. Sometimes rose is included in its many variations. This version incorporates wild foraged ingredients alongside more traditional spices. This sauce is shown here with seared Alaskan halibut, a few toasted pinenuts, and candied rose petals. Oh, and some black garlic turnips, and a celery, endive, cucumber, and tomato salad with poppyseeds. This harissa would pair well with just about any fish or poultry. My diet is mostly plant-based, and I also imagine pairing with cauliflower steaks, eggplant, or even just as a sauce for roasted vegetables.

Makes 1/2 cup sauce

Ingredients;

  • 1/2 small red apple or 5 small red crabapples

  • 3 cloves garlic

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/2 tsp sumac

  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground caraway

  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground cumin

  • 2 TBS smoked paprika

  • 1 tsp hot paprika

  • 1 tsp rose water

  • water

  • 1/4 cup rose petals (optional)

  • pinch nutmeg or mace (optional)

Method

  1. Heat oven to 350F. In a small oven proof dish, put garlic and apple cut into chunks. Just cover with water and add salt. Let cook until soft. This can also be done in the microwave.

  2. Combine contents of dish: softened apple, garlic, salt with all the other ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste, and add salt and spice to your liking.

Digest: Flower omelets

The first frost in Anchorage came last night, which meant that in the days before it was necessary to consume all the garden possible. Nasturtium is one of my favorite summer flavors— spicy, floral, herbaceous all at once. This omelet, adapted from Vegan Richa is entirely eggless, since I am allergic to eggs, but maintains a fabulous gooey, eggy texture and gets an egg flavor from kala namak. Eating it is like devouring summer. Pairs perfectly with the music of Angel Bat Dawid.

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Makes two omelets

Ingredients for omelet

  • 1 cup moong dal (also called split mung beans)

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 3/4 teaspoon kala namak (optional)

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1 cup packed nasturtium leaves

  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 cup water

Ingredients for filling

Method

  1. Soak dal in at least 3 cups of water overnight.

  2. Drain and rinse.

  3. In a blender puree all of the omelet ingredients until very smooth. The result will be a brillant green and smell sulphuric— the sulphur smell will go away after cooking.

  4. Meanwhile, preheat a small 8” nonstick skillet with a dash of oil on low medium heat.

  5. Pour half the batter into the skillet and allow to cook until the edges appear dry and bubbles start to form in center. Fill with fillings (divide in half) and fold over omelet. Cook for a minute or two more and keep warm while cooking second omelet.

  6. Enjoy a mouthful of summer and listen to something good.

This recipe can be modified to be vegan sans cheese, and filled with just about any desired filling. Other greens work in the batter, but also the omelet can be made without any greens added.

Digest: Teff rosemary waffles

Tiny foods have a special delight. I recently acquired a Dash mini waffle maker that has made Wednesdays mostly into "‘Waffle Wednesdays.” I grew up loving waffles, but after finding out about my own multiple food allergies in my late teens, I thought they were a food of the past. But, now in my mid 30s, I have devised a variety of waffly recipes that give true savory, grown-up delight with a dash of nostalgia.

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Makes about 10 mini waffles (serves two for dinner)

Ingredients

Dry

  • ½ cup gluten-free oat flour

  • ⅓ cup green banana flour

  • ½ cup Maskal teff flour

  • 2 tablespoons flax seed meal

  • 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Wet

  • 1 ½ cup water or vegetable broth

  • oil for waffle makers

Top with what you love. As seen here, melted Red Rock Blue Cheese and caramelized onion plus fresh tomato make for a satisfying —and dare I say sophisticated —dinner (plus a little broccoli salad on the side). But, really just about any topping (think hummus, cheese, avocado, fresh veggies or grilled veggies with oil) are wonderful. A drizzle of rich balsamic works, too.

Method

  1. Preheat and grease waffle makers with neutral oil. Preheat oven to 200 to keep waffles warm as you cook.

  2. Whisk together dry ingredients. Add in broth. Stir well— since there is no gluten, do not be afraid of overmixing.

  3. Let batter stand for 10-15 minutes as waffle makers preheat.

  4. Pour scant quarter cup fulls of batter onto waffle makers. Let cook for 4 minutes or until the waffles release easily. Pop waffles in oven as you work in batches as they are best served warm.

  5. Top your waffles and let cheese melt slightly if adding.


Digest: Fava leaf chips

Fava plants grow impossibly tall, sprouting and reaching far above my head (though I am only five foot three). Their reach needs stabilization, and mine are protected by wire cages which hold them in and allow them still to push towards the sun. Each of the prized pods which emerge from luridly beautiful white and purplish flowers contain just a few large, sweet beans. Each plant might just yield a handful of legumes once removed from the pod and shelled. Overlooked, often, are the rich fava greens. The tender tops can be marinated lightly like kale in salad, and the tougher, mature leaves sautéed, or, made into a simple, satisfying chip.

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Ingredients

  • Fistfuls of fava leaves, rinsed and dried

  • salt

  • oil

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 300F. Line a sheetpan with parchment.

  2. Spread out fava leaves in a single layer on the parchment and lightly massage or spray with oil. Sprinkle with salt.

  3. Cook on the middle rack of the oven, keeping an eye and nose on the leaves. They will turn a translucent, dark green and be fully crisp to the touch.

  4. Remove right away and eat with a glass of something sparkling.

Digest: Citrus and herb pasta

Digest: Citrus and herb pasta

Pasta can be a platform for showcasing the ingredients of the moment in quick, satisfying way. This simple recipe lends itself to multiple permutation (see below). Any citrus zest can be used, and any dried or fresh herb. And, it can be served over just about any combination of allium and green vegetable. Allow yourself to play and innovate with the ingredients on your counter.

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the veg

  • 2 small leeks (or any allium), rinsed and sliced

  • 2 cups snow peas (or any green veg)

  • 2/3 cup cherry tomato

  • salt to taste

  • oil

  • 2 tsp dry vermouth

    For the pasta

  • 8 oz Chickapea greens penne (or any penne)

  • 1/2 cup cottage cheese

  • 1 tablespoon fresh grated orange (or any citrus) zest

  • 2 tablespoons chopped pineapple sage (or any green herb)

  • salt to taste

  • 1/4 cup reserved pasta water

  • chili flake (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to warm/ 170F. Pull out two low bowls for serving.

  2. In a cold sauté pan, add allium, oil and salt. Adding the allium to the pan cold will infuse the oil with its flavor. Cook until translucent and soft and just starting to brown. Deglaze with the vermouth, add the peas or your green veg until just cooked. Divide into low bowls and allow to warm in oven.

  3. In a bowl, add cottage cheese, and grate in citrus zest. Mix to combine.

  4. In a medium saucepan, bring salty-as-the-sea water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes or until a toothy al dente. Rinse and add with 1/4 reserved pasta water or so to cottage cheese. Mix to combine well. Toss in green herb.

  5. Serve pasta over veg and top with cherry tomatoes and chili if using.

Explore permutations— mix, match, and reimagine with what you have available.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

orange zest pineapple sage leek & snow pea

lemon zest thyme onion & zucchini

blood orange zest tarragon garlic & broccolini

grapefruit zest oregano chive & haricot vert

lime zest cilantro spring onion & cucumber

lemon zest basil garlic & kale

tangerine zest mint red onion & chard

tangelo zest summer savory sweet onion & okra

meyer lemon zest rosemary shallot & artichoke hearts

Digest: personal sprouted quinoa crust pizzette

personal sprouted quinoa crust pizzette

Nothing in the summer satisfies in the way that a crispy crust with fresh, piquante toppings can fill the belly and the soul. This little pizzette takes some pre-planning; you must plan at least one day before that you want this kind of culinary healing. That said, the crust freezes well if you want to have some on hand for emergencies of body and spirit. I’ve included here some recommended toppings, but anything you have from the garden, market, or pantry is perfect. The recipe is easily doubled, to make either two pizzettes or one large crust.

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup quinoa, soaked for 24-36 hours

  • 1/8 cup water

  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp dried herb or spice (I like mushroom powder or any green herb, but adjust to your needs)

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 2 tbs cassava flour

  • 2 tbs oat flour

  • oil

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Put a piece of parchment on a baking sheet and spray or spread a little oil. Warm this in the oven while it preheats.

  2. Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until a consistent puree. You will think this is too thin to be a crust. This is just right.

  3. Using a spatula spread onto warmed baking sheet at about a 1/4 to a 1/3 inch thickness in the shape you desire. This is not an exact science, but make sure there are no thin or weak spots.

  4. Put into oven and deal with your toppings for about 12-18 minutes. Using a spatula, flip this as it begins to brown lightly at the edges and is firm. Continue to cook for about 7-10 minutes depending on how crusty you want your crust.

  5. Add your toppings and finish by turning the oven up to 450F for 5-10 minutes, keeping an eye on the crust to ensure it does not burn.

  6. Slice and enjoy. You may wish you’d made double for yourself.

For this pizzette, I blended a whole bunch of sorrel with garlic and onion to make a paste, dolloped some cottage cheese (since I did not have ricotta), and put on a few homegrown sunnygold tomatoes and chive blossoms. This also works well with red sauces, pestos, or even spreads of hummus or butternut squash. Toppings of cheese, mushrooms, olives, herbs all are delicious. Serve with a lovely side salad with a bracing dressing and a glass of your favorite wine.




Digest: Borage, Rose, & Black Cardamom Shortbread

Food is foundational to my educational and creative practice. Growing, harvesting, processing, cooking, eating, and sharing food are ways of learning about and making meaning through experience. When I harvest a leaf of epazote from my herb garden or carefully and gather rose petals from a wild rose plant, I am creating an expressive relationship between body and sustenance. I learn about my body: the shape it needs to take to honorably harvest, what strength and tenderness must be used to gather. I learn about the plant: its qualities and shapes, and its own strength and tenderness. When I process and cook these items, as I combine them with other foodstuffs, I engage in a sensory relationship with the ingredients through touching, tasting, smelling, looking, listening to the food as it is transformed. When I eat (sometimes) share this food, I perform a ritual of exchange between my body, the food, and the community of people, plants, and animals which have made this moment of consumption possible.

In the summer in Alaska, sometimes gathering and processing is the only creative work I do in a day or week. So, this blog will now also share recipes and images of some of those expressions of learning and making meaning.

Borage, Rose, & Black Cardamom Shortbreads

Borage and rose are plants with strong defenses. Both have prickly stalks that are sharp to the touch. For me, using these plants means taking extra care and attention.

Borage is often planted as a companion plant in gardens. I planted mine for pollination. In the long summer days of Alaska, it has grown immense and tangly, ready for use.

In Alaska, wild roses bloom with exquisite fragrance in spring. I harvest petals for syrups, candy, rose water, salads, yogurts, and other applications. I like to freeze petals without immediate application on a cookie sheet in the freezer and then put them in a ziplock bag to store.

Black cardamom is not essential to this recipe, and can be replaced with any pepper. But it’s particularly smoky and spicy flavor adds unique character to this recipe. Note that ethically sourcing spices is very important as the spice trade has a complex history of human exploitation, and cultural extraction. I recommend the following companies: Curio, Diaspora, and Burlap and Barrel as a starting point.

Recipe

Makes 7-8 4” springform rounds or one 8” springform round

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar

  • 5-8 large borage leaves

  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • 3/4 tsp of ground black cardamom (more or less to taste)

  • 2 1/4 cups gluten free flour (I use 1 cup oat flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup garbanzo fava flour, 1/4 cup cassava flour all from Bob’s Red Mill)

  • 1 1/2 sticks cold lightly salted butter, cut into 1 inch chunks

  • 2 tsp rose water with more for finishing

  • candied rose petals and borage blossom for garnish

Method

  1. Preheat an oven to 325F. If you have convection, that is ideal, but regular bake works just fine.

  2. Prep the cake pans by lining with parchment and greasing lightly with oil or butter.

  3. In a food processor, pulse together sugar, borage, cardamom, salt. Then add in flour. Combine well. You don’t have to be shy since this is gluten free.

  4. Pulse in butter and rose water, to a fine crumb. If your dough sticks together rather than crumbing, don’t worry. It will work just fine.

  5. Press the dough into the pans, right up to the edge, smoothing the surface with a back of a spoon.

  6. Put pans on a cookie sheet and bake on the middle rack for 25-35 minutes until lightly brown at the edges.

  7. Take out and run the blade of a fine knife around the edge of the pans while still warm to avoid sticking. Allow to cool completely before releasing from the pans.

  8. Using a brush, paint a bit of the rose water on the surface of the shortbreads for more floral flavor as desired. Garnish with borage blossom and rose petals.

Pre-Order Tarot for Tender Actions

Tomorrow is a Bandcamp Friday meaning Bandcamp is giving their typical cut of shares directly to artists.

So, tomorrow is a great day to place your pre-order for Tarot for Tender Actions. You can order the physical deck (limited edition of 250) which comes with a digital download of the album, or just the digital album. Shipping out no later than March 1, 2021.

Tarot for Tender Actions began as a deck of ten embroidered tarot cards. Now as a physical deck with a soundtrack, Tarot for Tender Actions invites interaction through divination. In tarot practice, someone seeking answers pulls cards. The cards pulled are used to answer the seeker’s questions and to foretell the future. The direction of the card determines the interpretation of the meaning.

Tarot for Tender Actions is designed to propose possibilities. In the midst of isolation, violence, vitriol, and polarization, this deck offers cards that put forward tender, yet potent means for considering futures. Rather than providing answers or dictating destinies, each card is a call to action. This call is not violent or determinate, but like the embroidered cards themselves, soft and care-full. A set of questions and potential conditions is provided in text accompanying the named cards. Each card has an individual interpretation, dependent on direction.

Recommended spreads are included in the PDF booklet.

A note for seekers:
Take time with each card. Note your reaction to and interpretation of the image first, before reading the accompanying text. After reading, consider what tender actions you must take in your own life to realize what the cards call for. The future is not something that happens to you.

Featured on Bandcamp's 'Acid Test'

I am thrilled that my new release, Tea Service: Thyme, was featured by Miles Bowe on Bandcamp Daily’s column ‘Acid Test’ which highlights the outer limit of experimental sound.

Truly, a dream come true!

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So, settle back with a cup of tea and listen in!

More about the piece:

What may already be in hand? What may be burnt to make space for growth?

Voice, flute, and keyboard layer together to respond to these questions in this 20-minute meditation on thyme and time.

The piece was created as part of the School of Nonfunctional Studies 1:1 Tea Service Program. The piece was created specifically for a sole audience member and performed live for that individual over Zoom. The audience also received a specialized tea blend and tea cake for consuming while watching.

More about Tea Service 1:1

1:1 Tea Service is a ritual and a performance experience created for one person. Tea is offered to the audience member both as a healing balm and as a tool for fortune telling. The 1:1 Service, lasting 30-45 minutes, sets forth actions and gestures designed to mend what is torn and ease what might be tender, and nourish. Through meditative audio and invocation, the performer invites the audience member to reflect on an important question in their own lives and, with the performer, divine a response. Each performance is unique and created through a brief advance exchange with the audience member. The result is an intimate, immersive 1:1 Service of sound, food and beverage, performance, and divination.

More information at nonfunctionalstudies.org

URGENT: YOUR VOICE MATTERS-- HELP SAVE UAA'S MFA

As you may know, UAA is facing very dramatic reductions. Please read about plans here: 

https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/office-of-academic-affairs/ay-20-expedited-program-review-status.cshtml

In the set of programs set for reduction is the deletion of the UAA Creative Writing MFA program, of which I am a part. 

However, these recommendations are not final. There is still time to voice your thoughts in a survey with only 3 questions open to community members here. 

https://uaa.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dbtkKmOcHSVepmd

Select specific program and select the program you are passionate about saving, I am writing to you about this MFA program, but if you care about other programs being cut, please voice those opinions as well. Choose 'program specific' and offer your comments in less than 500 characters. You can fill it out as many times as you want, I believe. 

Every response counts. Numbers of responses will make a difference. Forward to your friends and colleagues. 

Don't stop with this survey. Write to your representatives, the accrediting body (which will have to review these decisions), members of the Board of Regents, and Provost Stalvey (jstalvey@alaska.edu). 

The UAA Creative Writing MFA supports writers at every level to professionalize, gain employment and opportunity in our state and far beyond. Developing and sustaining a rich literary community is also fundamental to fostering a meaningful critical dialogue and skilled articulation of the experience of our place. 

Fundamentally, the Creative Writing MFA supports creative, critical thought. It supports students find their own voices and bring those important voices into the world to lift up issues and ideas that may change humans who might change the world. 

This program creates space for critical, creative dialogue and rigorous re-imaginings of our futures.

In your response, your perspective on what this (or whichever) program adds to our place is important. I am aware that employability (post graduation) and economic impact are of particular interest. 

You will see on the program review website the provost suggests that the Fairbanks MFA is an alternative, however the UAA MFA low residency program is unique in the format which allows for working professionals to further develop, grow, and gain opportunities. It also attracts writers from beyond the state, building a dynamic literary network and connecting writers around the nation to opportunities. This program, now currently run by the truly stalwart, brilliant, kind, and generous David Stevenson, produces graduates who contribute to their communities, and actively consider how the literary arts can and should be part of the social, cultural, political, and economic landscapes of which they are members. 

Though these recommendations have been made, the proposal still has stages of review. So, now is the time, share your thoughts before March 18th. Speak up for the value of strong writing and literary contributions. 

With gratitude, 

Hollis 

folding

June 30th 8PM performance of How to fold a fitted sheet at Bivy space in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Here is a little excerpt of the starting epigraph 'Partington Ridge' by Jack Spicer.