Filed under: 5/5, Art, Bread, Design, Food, Foraging, Helsinki, Network, Recipes, Recycling | Tags: activism, bread, city, community, consumption, event, experimental, food, forgotten, knödel, overproduction, participatory, salvage, waste
Our kitchen this morning
The last and final event of the project ‘5 The dish’ took place last night at my home on Iso Roba. Starting at 5 pm, last guests left around 1:30 am – that would be 8,5 hrs of Knödel party! This morning, I woke up with a hangover of sorts (which was not caused by too much glögi) – was this really the last event? I feel sad, but also relieved; now, the writing can start, and tomorrow, I will take off to Austria and Germany afterwards for holidays (if the snow storm doesn’t wreck my travel plans).
‘Waste’ bread from the supermarket
Preparations started with a supermarket tour on Thursday morning, when I picked up a bag full of the bread that would have officially expired the next day (supermarkets usually sort out products one day before expiration date), and which would have gone to the bin. I felt a bit like Santa Clause with that huge heavy black plastic bag full of goodies on my back, tramping back home through the snow. I unpacked the bread to prevent it from becoming mouldy – my flat smelled like some sort of bakery for three days.
The plan was to make so-called ‘Knödel’ from the waste bread, a typical German dish that recycles stale bread. I am sure none of my guests would have expected those hot steaming round bread balls to be as tasty as they were – not even me! I have to admit, the first Knödel in my mouth just truly made my night – so hearty, warming, and comforting! (talking about food arousing memories) The kitchen was packed with people, and nevertheless we managed to cook together. People just started chopping up bread and following the recipe that hung next to the stove. I didn’t even count how many different doughs were made last night, but there were quite a few, ranging from rye-beetroot- over normal white-bread-parsley-onion- to mixed-bread-with-carrots-Knödels.
All photos but first two by Marina Ekroos
The night went on with our ‘analogue Facebook’ wall – visualizing the social network of people at the party and those who had participated in former events and workshops of this project. It only stopped when we ran out of stickers! When people left, ‘Knödel doggy bags’ with the recipe printed on them were handed out to be filled with leftover bread from the table. Long live the Knödel!
Check out more pictures taken by Marina of the night on Facebook or/and Picasa! Thanks to her again for the great support. :)
Filed under: Design, Foraging, Good to know, Helsinki, Making of, Uncategorized, Workshop
http://picasaweb.google.de/105277324473045859094
Enjoy!
Filed under: Foraging, Good to know, Helsinki, Making of, Workshop | Tags: activism, city, elements, event, handicraft, nature, slow
Do I need to add anything? …
… to be continued, tomorrow, 9 am, Kalasatama container square! Welcome! (Secret password: “oven/uuni” to get by the security guys of the Motorsport happening nearby! )
Filed under: Foraging, Good to know, Helsinki, Making of, Workshop | Tags: activism, elements, forgotten, nature, slow
Last night, some crazy people headed to a beautiful spot in suburban Helsinki, a forest between Maunula and Metsälä, to dig up clay from a small river. With success! The most beautiful clay was found, a car-load dug up, and transported to Kalasatama for the building of the clay oven tomorrow! Yeah!!
Filed under: Design, Food, Foraging, Good to know, Network, Production, Projects for inspiration | Tags: city, experimental, food, forgotten, knowledge, nature
Many people live in cities. We all have to eat. Most of the time, we do not meet the animals and plants that we consume, they come all neatly packed from the supermarket. If we only knew what was edible, we could easily find many foodstuffs from the urban environment or on fieldtrips in the many forests in and around the city.
Source: http://www.designboom.com/
French design studio 5.5 designers proposed a quite funny project, ‘the guide to free farming’. The research project shows radical solutions to produce food, energy and resources. It was presented in the form of a book that aimed to restore a close relation between consumers and the natural environment, creating
a shorter link to guide people who live in cities to take on the role of farmers in their urban environment. It is about farming in the city and encourages readers to discover the unsuspecting resources hidden in our towns. The book includes recipes like street flower salad and grilled rat, along with instruction guides to, for instance, plucking a pigeon or a starling just as we once plucked chickens, tips for collecting dandelion greens, snails and honey, as well as guides to mushroom picking and uses for expired food is also included. (Source: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/8369/55-designers-guide-to-free-farming-project.html)
In Helsinki, the Herbologies/Foraging Networks explore “the cultural traditions and knowledge of herbs, edible & medicinal plants, within the contemporary context of online networks, open information-sharing”. There will be a midsummer expedition to rural Kurzeme, Western Latvia. The SERDE Interdisciplinary Art Group will lead fieldwork to learn about the cultural heritage of Balts using wild plants, and create documents for the younger ‘digital native’ generation. Check out more here.
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