Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Miso for Breakfast

A couple of weekends ago I ventured north of campus to spend the morning and make breakfast with a dear friend of mine, Darshan Karwat. Darshan is a really cool guy, doing really cool things. For one thing, he's getting a decent amount of press for his current commitment to living a zero waste lifestyle. Yes, that's right, zero waste.

This commitment began in March and so far he's created about 2 pounds of trash. Let's compare that to the "average American" who produces about 3-4 pounds of trash PER DAY.

Darshan has been collecting all of the trash that he creates, not including TP or food scraps (which he composts). So this includes a straw that a waitress brought to him with his glass of water one night at a restaurant and every sticker on every piece of fruit he eats. For him, every piece of trash now has a story and evokes a memory.

One main way that Darshan has significantly lowered his trash is by buying local and in bulk. Therefore he's very familiar with both the Ann Arbor farmer's market and the People's Food Co-op. Also, he has become very open about his lifestyle choice at restaurants. Explaining to the waitress what he is doing and asking for no straws, disposable silverware, or napkins, etc.

Please visit Darshan's blog, Minimizing Entropy, to read more about what he is doing. He has tips and recommendations for how to reduce your waste. He also challenges readers to collect all the trash that you produce in 1 day, week, month, etc. and carry around with you!

Darshan has written an article for the Michigan Daily here.

He has also been featured in:

So anyways, it was waaay too early on a Sunday morning. Therefore, I felt obligated to capture the mood of the very grey, very misty morning. (I think that the fact that I am judging myself for posting these pictures is a very bad testament for the fact that I AM posting them...)

Annnndddd I hope that whoever lives here, sees this. Yes, yes I am creepin' on you...


The kind of unconventional breakfast that was decided on was Miso Soup! And gosh do I love Miso. Miso is essentially fermented soybeans. Salty and delicious. So anyways...

Miso Soup
Wakame. Mmm, you know I love sea veggies.

Darshan's onion choppin' in action.



Ingredients: (and oh gosh, these are an estimate)
8 c + 4 T water
1 c wakame, rehydrated in 1 c water
1 onion, sliced
2 c dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 handfuls of spinach
4 T miso

Why yes, chop sticks are keepin' the asian moood.
Directions:
Bring 8 c water to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and add in onions and carrots.
Add in wakame and mushrooms.
Add in spinach.
Once all ingredients are cooked through, softened, add in the spinach.
Dissolve Miso in 4 T water.
When spinach starts to wilt, pour Miso mixture into soup.
Remove from heat, garnish and serve.

Garnish options:
chopped scallions
toasted sesame seeds
fried soba noodles
garnish of choice!

And yet it does not end there. This day was a day of new experiences for me. Tea-wise. Everyone knows the words "Earl Grey." But I doubt that many know what those words actually mean... (And I will allow you to explore (google?) as you wish).

Working at a cafe, one would think that experiencing Earl Grey tea would be assumed of any employee. But there were no assumptions for me. And no Earl Grey... Until now.

My first Earl Grey experience!:


So beautiful. But still not... my cup of tea... (Yes, I am embracing that pun). And I am not a black tea fan. But that's personal preference. I can totally see a black tea  lovah to loving Earl Grey. However I am not there yet.

1 comment:

  1. you are incredibly artistic with your photos. i love that. i will have several recipes and photos for you over the next two days.

    love.

    ReplyDelete