Food & Cooking… Which Acorns Taste the Best?

Probably one of the most frequent questions I get asked about eating acorns is, “Which acorns taste the best?” Now mind you, almost all acorns (without leaching) are bitter-tasting unpalatable little things. I recommend against putting them in your mouth. But leached acorns, that’s a different story. What I mean by leaching is; grinding and rinsing in water. But the deal with acorns is, you have to rinse them in water for a long time. The best way to do that is to grind them in the blender (with water) and then keep them in the refrigerator in the water for however long it takes to get the bitter tannic acid out. I have not tried acorns from all over the world. However, I have tried them from all over California and there are some bitter and not so bitter acorns. The leaching time ranges from one to four weeks. Because they are acidic and you are rinsing them, they won’t go bad in the refrigerator during the leaching process. The best tasting acorns I’ve ever had are the Tanoak acorns that grow along California’s coastal ranges and a little bit inland. I found a week was plenty of time to remove the tannic acid.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns. Find it here:  http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973

Cell Phones… the Tools of Our Free Society

One of the ways I cope with “these troubling times,” is to tell myself that I am an observer of the future. Sometimes I ask myself, what if I was dead? All these changes would go on without me, so why not stay calm and watch them go their course? Change is inevitable, right? Well, I’m not dead and I’m quite young for my age so I don’t stay in observer mode for long. I’m still a big participant in society. One night though, was particularly rough. It was a rainy El Nino Saturday afternoon in northern California, so we spent the day lounging and watching movies. First we watched the Mad Max movie due to its hype at the Oscars, and afterwards, for the same reason, we watched Straight Out of Compton. I was angry after we finished watching the latter. It fueled my anger over society’s mistreatment of our Black citizens. The movie is an entertaining, honest story about black music entrepreneurs. It had all the elements; oppression, betrayal, injustice, death, sadness, success, love, family, friendship, hope… but it left me feeling angry. I went to bed at midnight and turned the radio on. I listened to BBC world news where the headlines were that ISIS was training little boys to be ruthless. I won’t repeat the gory details but after that, I’d had my share of media for the weekend. All this leads to the question, what can we do about “these troubling times?” We can start by acknowledging how important freedom is. And how it is aided by technology (cell phone cameras) that help us expose injustice and disgrace, whether it be police brutality, terrorism, corporate and government misbehavior or litter along our highways. These days, we have much to be grateful for, especially freedom.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Chimney Fire. Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Chimney-Fire-Steinberg-Conspiracy-1/dp/1502816067

What’s with the Polyester Dishtowels? Obviously, They’re Not Cooks

It’s not just discount stores that sell dishtowels with polyester weave. I was given a beautiful set from an upscale cooking store and they are terrible! You can’t dry your hands with them and it’s just as hard to dry dishes. What were they thinking? Obviously, they weren’t and they probably don’t spend time in the kitchen where we run water constantly. Those who love to cook are always washing and drying their hands and need an absorbent towel to wipe up spills. Do they think we stick microwave dishes in and only hang the pretty dishtowels for looks? Even someone whose idea of cooking means four minutes in the microwave, still has to wash his hands. And who doesn’t spill liquids on the counter? I guess the day has come when pretty dishtowels are just for looks, like decorative soap in the bathroom. (In my bathroom, I’ve got a bowl of soap shaped like acorns, given to me by the same person who sent me the polyester dishtowels, bless her heart.) What? Do they think today’s cooks only use paper towels? Don’t get me started. What is in those things? Certainly not paper. If you hold it up to the light, you can see and feel the plastic. Definitely not very biodegradable. Sigh.

It’s time to throw out the fake dishtowels. And while I’m at it, go into the bathroom and toss the fake bath towel. Although it does look rather pretty next to the decorative acorn soap. And really, who needs to dry their hands?

Suellen Ocean is the author of the vegetarian cookbook, Poor Jonny’s Cookbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Poor-Jonnys-Cookbook-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114031

Acorn Preparation…Make Sure All the Tannic Acid is Removed

Step two in acorn preparation is leaching and it is the most important factor. If the tannic acid is not removed, your acorn meal will be bitter and your tummy might ache and your gums might pucker and blister. Doesn’t sound very appetizing does it? Don’t let that stop you, many foods need preparation.

Thoroughly leached acorns are a delight. If I was loopy, I’d say that acorns are a portal into the earth and that they bring magic to your life. As I look onto the bright green oak shoots that signal the advent of spring, and watch the birds flit between them, I am reminded of the strength the oak brings to living things throughout the world.

Rinsing out the tannin returns the acid to the soil, nourishing future harvests of acorns the forest animals depend upon. The cycle of life goes round and round. Gathering and preparing acorns has us step into that earthy world, even if only for a short time.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns: http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973 and The Acorn Mouse, an illustrated children’s story designed to teach the art of gathering and eating acorns: http://www.amazon.com/The-Acorn-Mouse-Childs-Eating/dp/1484140672

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It is Not Insane to Feel Alienated

Feeling alienated is so common, we were taught about it in college. It is considered a common way to reach people through advertising, public relations, political campaigns, etc. It comes into play in the “jump on the band wagon,” strategy. The threat of being alienated is a great fear in the human psyche. Religions use it too, “join us or we will ostracize you.” A friend of mine was “ostracized,” from her family and church. She said that tactic, “works.”

I am taking the time to write about it because in today’s world of pandemic and politics, we are already being played upon with tactics that are geared to manipulate us by making us feel alienated. Don’t fall for it. We all feel alienated from time to time, some of us, every day. It’s normal.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Chimney Fire. Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Chimney-Fire-Steinberg-Conspiracy-1/dp/1502816067

Vegetarianism… the Protein Problem

It’s a complete flip of lifestyle when one becomes a vegetarian. At times, it seems the only protein source available is soy, which gets a bad rap even though new research is debunking some of the myths. Stay tuned, we’ve not heard the final word on soy. So other than soy, how can we obtain the protein we need without overloading on beans and carbs? Nuts. Put nuts in your food. For instance, I’m baking banana nut bread today. I’ll put enough walnuts in it to provide a good dose of protein, enabling me to relax about getting enough protein at dinner. Brown rice and vegetables should suffice. If we aren’t completely satisfied, an evening snack of peanut butter on toast with a hot cup of anything will hit the spot. It’s not always easy being a vegetarian but if you incorporate a lot of nuts into your diet, it will make your goal more attainable.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973