Filed under: 3/5, Art, Bread, Food, Helsinki | Tags: bread, city, culture, elements, event, experimental, food, history, local, nature, participatory, process, slow, storytelling
I hate talking about the weather, but I am still in awe of the weather circumstances we were blessed with last night: what are the odds to wake up to pouring rain after a beautiful sunny/ moonshiny night on Seurasaari, which was actually preceded by a minor snow storm the day before? So, big thanks to Petrus and his buddies for the meteorologic conditions!
The third event 3/5:PREPARE started last night around 5pm at the BBQ-area of Seurasaari. A big pot was filled with different surprise ingredients brought and prepared on location by the guests: lanttu (turnip), onions, lentils, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and hemp seeds were cooked into a delicious stew, which was topped with water cress and nuts and seeds. It was no problem to brave the cold with that hot stew on the table and improvised story games at hand. Each spoon was marked with a letter from the alphabet, which was used as a starting point for a long long story. When dew started to fall on us, we decided to pack things up and leave for the warmer realms of city indoors. What a night! More pictures can be found on the 5-Facebook page and Picasa!
P.S.: As always, a huge thank you to all the brave participants who made it out there in a cold late-fall-almost-winter night!!! :D
Filed under: 3/5, Art, Design, Food, Helsinki | Tags: bread, city, culture, event, experimental, food, history, local, nature, participatory, slow, storytelling
http://foreca.fi/Finland/Helsinki?details=20101023
After this year’s first real, very light and blitheful snowfall yesterday afternoon, I was getting prepared for some snowshoes and heavy weather gear for today’s event 3/5:PREPARE – but no, the forecast tells us, we will have a bright sky and sun, plus a clear night with a full moon shining on us!
So, get ready, pack your one ingredient and story for our get together tonight at Seurasaari’s grillipaikka!
Filed under: 3/5, Art, Design, Food, Helsinki, Network | Tags: city, culture, event, experimental, food, history, local, nature, participatory, process, slow, storytelling
Here the invitation as is that I just published on Facebook (the event is open – so, welcome! – , but I will experimentally invite this time only via Facebook with some sort of system (see below) and be surprised with who will come!):
A full moon will bring light to this food and art event, taking place on an urban island in the sea waters surrounding Helsinki. An island breathing history: Seurasaari.
Welcome to the third happening of the 5-series. We will prepare a stew with as many cooks as there will be guests. Everybody brings one ingredient and prepares it on location. Stories and fairytales chosen or brought by the guests will be read and performed in any preferred way to accompany the mysterious atmosphere.
To make use of the unpredictable ways of getting connected with new people on Facebook, this invitation first goes out to the 21/33 fans of this project’s fans living in Finland. Please forward this invitation to 3 people of your choice on Facebook (of whom you think they might not know each other and be interested), and tell them to do the same. It will be exciting to see who will, in the end, attend the happening (please confirm on FB to be able to estimate the amount of guests).
Something warm to drink and fresh bread will be offered.
See you at full moon!
Some things to bring along:
– one raw unprepared ingredient (considering vegan and vegetarians, the stew will be without animal products. Any vegetables, beans, sprouts, herbs, etc. goes!)
– one story/ fairytale/ poem/ song/ …
– very warm clothes (imagine you would go skiing)
(- if at hand and desired, a blanket)
– any musical instrument is welcome!
P.S.: In case of rain/sleet/snow/storm the event will be cancelled and moved to a different day. Contact me via email or FB if there is anything to ask (katharina.moebus@gmail.com).
* Check this link for a map and directions http://www.seurasaarisaatio.fi/index.php?id=12. You can either take bus 24 (www.hsl.fi) or cycle (to the island, but no bicycles allowed on the island itself). After crossing the white bridge, just follow the signs to the “Juhlakenttä” (see map).
Filed under: Design, Good to know, Helsinki, Projects for inspiration | Tags: city, event, history
On saturday, the “rantareitti” (beach route) around Kalasatama, the old harbour area of Helsinki, was opened. In 2025, there will be a whole new city district. At the moment, it is rather a huge construction site, which allows beautiful temporary cultural projects to take place (!). The office Part Oy is in charge of art projects in the area. Against the strong wind on Saturday, the programme still took place, including among others participants such as The Public School, Dodo Kaupunkiviljelijat (City gardeners), Kuvataideakateemia (Academy of Fine Arts), Kierrätyskeskus (Recycling Centre), and the Kolmio Theatre Group. Here are some useful links:
http://kalasatama.blogspot.com/
http://www.uuttahelsinkia.fi/kalasatama
http://helsinki.thepublicschool.org/
Filed under: Bread, Making of, Recipes | Tags: bread, forgotten, history, knowledge
Any recipe proposals (but without yeast, eggs, and soda, I want to use only plain ingredients)? There are millions of recipes around, and every Finn would say, he knows the best one. They differ from region to region, some use only water and barley flour, others use milk, piimä (sour milk), or even cream as a fluid. Mostly, they are made from barley, since it is the only grain that could grow under the harsh conditions in the North of Finland. There are also recipes with potato flour or oat. They are best buttered and fresh.
Filed under: Bread, Food, Good to know | Tags: bread, food, forgotten, history, knowledge
Our daily bread – agriculture has had a major influence on life and culture of humans. Already about 10.000 years ago, men started to systematically grow grain for the own consumption. Originally, the grain was grinded and, mixed with water, eaten as a nutritious porridge. Later, people started to bake the porridge on hot stones or in the ashes of the fire. That was the first bread, flat bread, and in almost any culture you can find one of its own kind (Rieska in Finland, Tortilla in Mexico/Central America, Piadine in Italy, Chapatti in India, and many more, just to mention some of the best known ones, you can find a list here).
Two inventions changed the bread-making massively: the invention of ovens and the discovery of leafening. Hot stones only allowed the making of flat breads, a loaf of bread asks for an all surrounding heat to bake thoroughly in a continuous manner. First primitive ovens consisted of a big pot turned around on a hot stone. Scouts still apply this method at the bonfire.
As mentioned before in the post about sourdough making, a mixture of flour and water turns into a living culture which is able to make bread rise. The bread is softer and tastier than bread made from normal dough. Sour bread is probably known since around 5.000 years, amongst others in Egypt. Egyptians were great bread eaters and were also nicknamed after that. They were the ones who first cultivated and used yeast for baking. The Egyptians developed ovens further, the first ones were made from clay and would reach very high temperatures. From Egypt, the knowledge about bread making soon reached Greece and the Roman Empire and Europe. The Romans were the first ones to build mills and produce fine flour. After the fall of the Roman Empire, white bread rose in hierarchy to a festive and prestigious food. Poor people could only afford dark bread, which is actually the healthier one because it still contains all the vitamins and minerals from the outer core of the grain.
–more about the cultural meaning of bread soon!
… literally fifth essence (from Latin quinta essentia), can refer to aether, the classical element. According to medieval and ancient science, aether is the material that fills the universe above the earth where mankind lives. The word means “pure, fresh air” or “clear sky”. After Greek Mythology, it is said to be the essence where the gods lived and which they breathed, in analogy to the air that us mortals breathe.
As I had mentioned in the previous post, Aristotle added aether in the four-element-system as the fifth element, the quintessence, as the only element not subject to change. Aether had, according to Aristotle, no characteristic qualities, was incapable of change, and moved naturally in circles.
Further reading about “Aether theories” here.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aether_(classical_element)
It is important to have a series of events to achieve a sustainable impact on people attending one. Why five events? What’s up with the number 5? When thinking about the amount of events, I got inspired by the teachings of the elements.
Our beliefs are based on the Greek doctrine of four elements – water, earth, fire, and air. Aristoteles suggested later to add ether as the quintessence to the four basic elements. The very successful movie “The 5th element” (directed by L. Besson, 1997) proposed the idea to receive love as the 5th element by uniting the other four. Other non-western doctrines are already based on the teaching of 5 elements, like the Chinese “Wu Xing” (Five movements/phases/steps/stages), consisting of water, fire, wood, metal, and wood. All these elements are interconnected by generating and overcoming each other.
In Buddhist teaching, there are also five elements, consisting of the four elements based doctrine, but add emptyness as the fifth element.
According to Chinese traditional nutritional science, foodstuffs can be divided following Yin (cold), Yang (warm), and neutral. Parallel to that, edibles are divided into five groups, according to the elements. wood = sour; fire = bitter; earth = sweet; metal = spicy/hot; water = salty.
If I look at the 5 steps of production that the events of this project will be based on, you can easily find direct connections to the elements – water for growing, earth for the harvest, fire for the preparation, air for the consumption, and… the fifth element? Whether it be love, emptyness, or ether, it will be something very enjoyable…
5 