Author Archives: Lidia Fanjul

About Lidia Fanjul

I am a learning about the Future of Food: a Biologist sidetracked by the word of Art and Nature. My competences are on Nature Conservation, Arts and Youth Work. I follow my feelings working in contact with the Earth, inspired by the life in rural contexts where diversity flows in all directions, through the natural world, through our cultures and through our relationships. At Gaia y Sofia SLL, I work as a Support Coordinator for Education Programs and Organization of Events. I am also a trainer, designing and implementing language courses and art workshops, at the same time I am a learner, thanks to all of you!

What does The Future of Food look like?

What sort of things are included in the Future of food?

After our meeting in Holland, where we spent a lovely week knowing more about each other and the different initiatives that built this learning partnership, we can share a common vision for the future of Food!

During this meeting, we also had the opportunity to experience some reflective and collective activities on how our food systems look like nowadays and how we can contribute to create new food landscapes and to create an inclusive and fair future!

So, finally after some enjoyable discussions on the subject, and after creating images of our food landscapes -the landscapes that we create when we eat and consume food- this is our common vision for the Future of Food!

A vision that gives relevance to locality; the future of food has to come from diverse local communities! we, people, need to get in contact with nature, with our food. We need to know what we are eating! but not by reading it on a label…just by experiencing it or meeting “real” people working the land!

Community and sharing will help us understand our relationship with food, we need to share a new understanding of good food, healthy food, and that will come from grass-roots communities, from local realities and relationships.

These were the ideas and wishes present for the Future of Food in participants’ words:

*COMMUNITY GARDENS, COMMUNITY WEALTH, DARE TO SHARE!
*SKILL UP PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE HEALTHY FOOD & UNDERSTAND THEIR RELATION WITH FOOD
*GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR FARMING
*LESS FUNCTIONAL FOOD AND MORE LOCAL FOOD!
*KNOWLEDGE, SHARING, SEEDS
*MORE SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT PRODUCTION
*PEACEFULL MIND CREATED PEACEFULL FOOD-PRODUCTION & SHARING
*IRISH GROWN TEA + CLARE HONEY + HYPERICUM COMMUNITIES
*SHARING OUR KNOWLEDGE!
*LOCALITY + LOVE FOR THE EARTH VS MONOCULTURES
*MORE LOCAL GARDENS & HELP POOR PEOPLE TO MAKE USE IF THEIR LAND AGAIN!
*LOVE, PEACE, HAPPINESS
*COMMUNITY OF BEINGS
*PLANT EDIBLE LANDSCAPES FOR FREE FOOD!

The future of food is full of seeds, community support and respect to nature and other beings. Creating edible landscapes for free and supporting local growers by the hand of conscious local consumption! In this way we will manage food systems efficiently, promoting healthy people and healthy landscapes.

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Diets and Landscapes

What is the landscape we are creating?

by Lucia Fernández

During our FOF meeting in the wonderful Holland, I was very amused by the landscape and the differences in the ecosystems comparing to the place were I am coming from, which were always a source of inspiration.

Going deeper into this topic, there was a place in the programme which specially made me reflect on how our diets can influence the landscape, and also what is the landscape promoted by our diet.
Facilitated by Lidia Fanjul, all the group had the chance to get inmersed in a non formal session where it was possible to make a composition with small designs that finally showed as a big picture of the landscape promoted by the food each one of us are eating.

That simple exercise allowed us to present, in a very graphic way, a reflection on diets starting from one person, showing that our impact in nature starts from the individual to the community and broaden levels.

It was very pleasant to check that people concerned about nature promote, through their food habits, very healthy ecosystems. But it was also present, on the other hand, the difficulties on being coherent with the landscape we would like to see, and how hard is to make people aware on the impact of our more essential actions, such as eating.

One of the hardest points when discussing the issue was how to ensure that all people can have access to adequate and nutritious food produced in an environmentally and socio-culturally sustainable manner, which would lead us to more friendly landscape, rich in biodiversity and strong enough to protect local varieties of species and seeds heritage. It was no clear how to induce changes in the mainstream food system in order to promote a more local, diverse and healthy landscape. It was very well reflected that people who is concerned about their own impact on the earth have to make great efforts to adequate their diets to their ethics. So consequently, the majority of the world population, who is not reflecting intensively on that -the biggest part do so just because there is not such a great choice in terms of diets for them- are far from connecting landscape and diet, and acting to design a landscape related to an specific diet.

Other issue that came up within the discussion was the fact that many times we can hardly see the effects of our diet in the landscape because this is showing up far away from the place where we live. Regarding to this point, it needs to be said that none of us could boast about having a 100% local diet. At an individual level, the personal decision of following a food ethic can point towards a more environmentally friendly diet, or in other cases, accept a moderate ecological foodprint related to food transportation in order to be able to follow a more healthy criteria, and this was also concerning all the people in the discussion.

As it is also a rule when talking about food ethics, and this was not an exception, animal equality and animal rights were also on the table for discussion. Relating this point to the landscape, it was interesting to reflect on the role of animals in our landscapes. There were several expressions of ecosystems were animals can have an important task enriching biodiversity and regulating multifunctional forests and fields which are managed with a productive-but not only- vision.
Here the importance of bees as a key species was pointed out by several people involved, but regarding other animals and the anthropocentric concept of livestock there was great discussion. Leaving apart the personal decision of whether eating or not eating animal products, it was very interesting to try to reconstruct the images of the historical landscapes created around animals (as for instance it is very clear in the Mediterranean countries since the roman’s period) and what it’s more, how this landscape could, over centuries, influence the social organization and culture, and compare it with the current food industry which is managing not animals but just products.

All that reflection came up within small groups, and after, the big group of participants designd together the landscape we see in the Future of Food.

As a conclussion, we can say that sustainable diets have been proposed as a way to address the need for nutritious and adequate food in the context of the many challenges facing the world today:

– Providing and ensuring food access-food security and reducing world hunger and poverty,
– promoting biodiversity and fighting the climate change,
– enhancing human well-being and health while supporting social equality and fair trade,
– strengthening local food networks and initiatives,
– and preserving natural and cultural heritage related to food.

It was the best letter of intentions to create together a more healty society, living in connection with nature, as a part of it.

Landscapes have been defined as the combination of nature plus culture, and in 2015, the global world culture is translated into a huge impact for our ecosystems, in terms of the effects of production, transportation, trade and waste of food.

Let’s create the landscape we want to see in the world!

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Spring News from Spain!

Hi all,

What’s going on with the Future of Food Partnership? What’s happening in Spain?
wuou! that’s a good question!

In Asturias, and at Gaia y Sofia, there are always things going on…but among all of them, I would like to share with you how the “Future of Food” inspired us! what kind of “movements and actions” have been happening after the last two meetings at our spanish corner.

Ok! Raw food was a pleasant shock, a discovery for us. And luckily, a discovery and a source of inspiration for our local community, too.
During the first spanish meeting last November, we gave an open space for the local community, and specially the local CSA group (community Supported Agriculture consumer group) to get to experience and taste the Future of Food Learning program. Welcoming them to a wonderful raw vegan evening meal followed by a get-to-know-each-other game, so in this way we could give answers to questions, share views and have an interesting debate while tasting new food and meeting new people and organizations.

And what was next?!

This May, the local group organized a raw vegan workshop, leaded by a joung raw cook, Mariola, we all met during that meeting. 10 people assisted. We have never ever seen that interest in our area before! people were enthusiastic about it and they cooked and learned together! it was a grass root spontaneous movement and we are very happy about it! so, with their permission, we will share a couple of the workshop’s recipes!:

Chocolate mousse

Ingredients:
2 avocados (ripe)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
8 dates
20ml water
———————————————————-
Preparation:
Soak, macerate the dates in orange juice during 2 h. Crush and triturate with the rest of the ingredients together. That’s it!

Pineapple and Ginger smoothie granizado de piña

Ingredients:
1 pineapple
some fresh grated ginger
———————————————————-
Preparation:
Cut the pineapple in cubes and leave a few minutes in the freezer. When you can see it has started to freeze, take the pineapple and triturate it, together with the ginger. Then you can leave the smoothie in glasses and decorate them with some cinnamon on top.

But not all FOF meetings have been focused on raw food. Then, we had a bilateral meeting with the intention of welcoming the irish partner to the project; so a “big” group of irish fellows came to Spain, the East Clare Community Cooperative. We said: Hi guys! and celebrated it!
This meeting was centred on the “celebration of food” and life! of course. Foraging, eating and sharing!

As one of the educational tools explored during the meeting, Fionnuala facilitated a wonderful workshop named “You Are What you Eat” where we exercised sharing our personal relationship with our meals, and we also experienced the qualities and surprises of tasting food with different senses!
We also practiced some games with the intention to rise awareness about food and give the space for different cultures to share meals and food habits!

Sebastian and me got very inspired by these workshops, so what is going on in this little corner of Spain, is “Food Mimes” and “Last Suppers”!! A further development and implementation of Food workshops in learning programs!
At Gaia y Sofia, we consider this as a very important and inspiring element to share in non formal education programs. And we are looking forward to implement some workshops in our next meetings, Training courses and local and internacional events!

Think what you eat! play some Food Mimes!

satish

What else is happening at Gaia y Sofia?

The food will be an essential part of our next international event, the “3 Senses Gathering”, 14th-20th October. A multi-lingual and intercultural Gathering that celebrates the creation of new projects and networks; inspired by Satish Kumar’s life journey and his grand new book “Soil, Soul & Society”. We will start a pilgrimage by the hand of Satish, local author Ignacio Abella and Sebastian, cooking together, walking to a 200 years old mill with our maize and celebrating “beautiful grown food” that enriches our body and spirit!

Check details at Gaia y Sofia’s website

And finally, some news from our work at Hotel Posada del Valle, a family business and host for our meetings.
flourishing

Life is flourishing at the organic farm, the vegetable garden, the orchad, the sheep flock..
But something new is going to happen..

..Next September it will be the month of Food at the hotel! We will prepare different “Food Experiences” for our guests, involving some “hard hand work”, experiencing traditional asturian cuisine; creating “farm to fork” meals with seasonal vegies, and cooking Posada del Valle’s Food Specials.

Check details at the Hotel’s website

collage1

So that’s it for now!

Enjoy the spring, and see you soon!

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Recetas Crudarianas y consejos de Rascha

Creando comida deliciosa en España, Noviembre 2013

¿Cómo preparar las verduras?

¿cómo presentarlo bonito?, por lo general, utilizamos verduras y alimentos con colores bonitos y formas, por ejemplo unas rodajas redondas de remolacha o boniato, unas tiras verdes de calabacín, o una espiral cortada de calabaza. ¡deja tu fantasía correr! Para recrear los ojos y abrir el apetito.

Las verduras cortadas en tiras muy finas, como si fueran espaguetis, hacen su digestión más fácil y placentera cuando se mezclan con algo de aceite y sal, incluso añadiendo algunas especias o cítricos. Es bueno dejarlo macerar durante unos 20 minutos. También puedes poner las verduras bajo presión, colocándolas en un bol con un peso encima, como puede ser un tarro. ¡Dejarlo macerar en un sitio templado, e incluso calentito, es perfecto!.

Un Poquito sobre Salsas Crudas

Una salsa puede hacerse más interesante añadiendo algo dulce, como miel, pasas, sirope de arce, o darle un toque salado con una pizca de sal, aceitunas o tomates secos. Para sacar un sabor ligeramente amargo podemos utilizar vinagre, lima o limón. Y por último, añadir pimienta cayena, para un toque picante, o alegrar la salsa con albahaca, orégano, eneldo o hinojo.

Una salsa puede hacerse cremosa y de sabor fuerte añadiendo frutos secos o semillas germinados o simplemente remojados, como nueces, semillas de girasol, semillas de cáñamo, anacardos, avellanas, piñones, semillas de calabaza, almendras, linaza o sésamo.

Es importante que las semillas y frutos secos se germinen, cuando se quieran comer diariamente. Ya que las semillas y frutos secos tienen enzimas que hacen su digestión difícil. Cuando se remojan, el proceso de germinación empieza, y esto cambia el proceso bioquímico de la semillas, haciéndolas más ricas y diversas en nutrientes, así cómo fácil de digerir.
Así que recomendamos poner las semillas a remojo la noche anterior, antes de irse a dormir. Podeis tomar como medida un pequeño puñado o una taza por persona.

Preparar la salsa, es muy simple con una batidora eléctrica o una termomix. Conviene desmenuzar todas las semillas juntas hasta que se forme la salsa. Para conseguir una consistencia más suave, por ejemplo para utilizarla con unos espaguetis de calabacín, o con una ensalada, simplemente necesitamos añadir agua.

Para finalizar, como presentación y como toque de sabor, podemos incorporar flores al plato. Durante nuestra reunión en España en Noviembre, hemos utilizado “cosmos” o margaritas, también están muy sabrosas las flores de prímulas, violas, calabacines o capuchinas.

¡Aquí van algunas Salsas!

•,”Moruxa”, calabacín, pimiento rojo, semillas de cilantro molidas, lima y miel.
• Semillas de girasol remojadas, pimiento rojo, tomates y orégano
• Apio, dátiles, aceite de oliva y sal.
• Puerros con aceite picante, pimientos rojos en aceite picante, y champiñones marinados en tamari.
• Anacardos remojados con comino, albahaca y sal
• ¡La famosa salsa de barbacoa de nuestra reunión española!: tomates secos remojados, pasas remojadas, orégano, un poco de pimienta cayena, y algunos tomates frescos.

¿Cómo hacer Pizza cruda y Pastel?

Esta es otra sabrosa combinación de semillas y frutos secos remojados, especias frescas, germinados o lentejas. También se pueden añadir frutas secas para hacer el pastel. La base es similar en ambos casos.

Para la pizza, la masa de semillas y frutos tiene que quedar compacta, incluso un poco pegajosa. Podemos utilizar un molde de bizcocho para presionar la masa compacta y hacer una fina base de pizza.
Los ingredientes para la pizza son una mezcla de verduras marinadas como calabacín, setas, aceitunas, o pimientos rojos. Se pueden marinar en limón o lima, con un poquito de sal. Y antes de nada, crearemos la base con una cama de tomates secos con dátiles batidos hasta hacer una salsa, y una capa de anacardos remojados con albahaca y sal, así lo que añadas se quedará mejor ligado a la masa base.

Para el pastel, la cubierta se puede hacer con fritas frescas cortadas. Algunas frutas tienen fibras más solubles que otras, así que las más solubles y que contienen más agua nos permitirán conseguir una textura más suave y jugosa. Estas frutas son: plátanos, peras, fresas o mangos. También se pueden utilizar moras y physalis, añadiendo unos toques de color sobre la masa base hecha de manzana.

Sopas crudas

Puedes utilizar cualquier verdura o combinación que te guste y hacer una crema con la batidora y agua, si fuera necesario; combinaciones como manzana y calabaza, calabaza con leche de coco, , tomate y manzana, calabacín y cebolla con un poco de aceite y agua, etc.. Al no estar cocinadas, no duran mucho tiempo frescas, con lo que conviene comerlas en el momento, no hacer mucha cantidad para que no sobre. Si se desea tomarlas calientes, se pueden templar, siempre y cuando no superen los 40ºC de temperatura.

Este post ha sido escrito por Rascha Wise y traducido al español por Lidia Fanjul. Fotografía by Monique
¡Esperamos que os guste!

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Paté lleno de vida y Hamburguesas crudarianas

Algunas recetas de la reunión del proyecto en España.

Paté lleno de Vida
Receta de Julia

Ingredientes:

– pulpa de almendra (puedes utilizar la pulpa que te sobra de hacer leche de almendra)
– mucho aceite de oliva
– levadura de cerveza
– cebolla cortada muy fina
– sal
– orégano
– un poco de leche de almendra
– pimiento rojo cortado muy fino
– nuez moscada
– zumo de limón

Mezclarlo todo con una cuchara. Necesitamos conseguir una consistencia no muy húmeda ni muy seca. Es perfecto para comer con crackers o “panecillos” crudos, para acompañar verduras crudas o para usar como relleno para pimientos, acelgas u otros.. ¡a experimentar!

Hamburguesas
Receta de Julia

Ingredientes:

3 tazas de semillas de girasol
2 tazas de semillas de calabaza
1 taza de semilla de linaza
2 pequeñas zanahorias
1 puerro
2 pequeñas cebollas
1 pequeño calabacín
2 dientes de ajo
al, pimentón, pimienta negra molida, curry (opcional) y levadura de cerveza.

Moler todas las semillas por separado. Rallar las zanahorias y cortar el puerro, las cebollas y el ajo muy finos. Rallar también el calabacín. A continuación, juntar todos los ingredientes haciendo pequeñas “pelotas”, con un poco de agua, para que liguen.
Aplastar las pelotas para conseguir la forma de mini-hamburguesa con la mano, y deshidratarlas a 42 grados durante 3-4 horas, hasta que estén un poco torraditas pero blandas por dentro.

¡Se pueden combinar con una mezcla de plantas silvestres cogidas del jardín!

Este post está escrito por Agnes Repka, coordinadora del proyecto en Hungría, y traducido al español por Lidia Fanjul.

¡Esperamos que os guste!

Agnes

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Primeros pasos en el mundo de las “Culturas Alimentarias”

Durante nuestra reunión española, exploramos juntos los 4 campos de trabajo, RECOLECCIÓN Y CULTIVO, PREPARACIÓN DE LA COMIDA, COMPARTIENDO LA COMIDA, y EDUCACIÓN Y COMUNICACIÓN.

Compartimos conocimientos, habilidades e ideas traídas desde distintas realidades culturales a lo largo de Europa. Para al final, darnos cuenta de que nuestra percepción de la comida, era incluso más importante desde el punto de vista personal que desde el punto de vista cultural. Nos sentimos identificados, los unos con los otros, a través de actitudes similares en torno a la comida, enraizadas en lo que valoramos en la comida, y ¡cómo elegimos lo que comemos!

La manera en la que entendemos la comida, junto con la diversidad de dietas que adoptamos, parece influenciar la manera en la que nos reconocemos e identificamos en nuestro entorno social y en nuestras comunidades y relaciones personales. De esta forma, como seres sociales, podemos formar parte activa en el futuro de la comida a través de nuevas estructuras sociales en desarrollo, lo que llamaríamos “Culturas Alimentarias” fundamentadas en una ética alimentaria, ¡qué comemos y por qué!

Entonces, decidimos salir a explorar cuál sería la “Cultura Alimentaria” en Asturias. Y prestamos atención a la cultura tradicional, surgida en una tierra de montañas y terreno afilado, caracterizada por la producción de alimentos a pequeña escala y riqueza de recursos naturales “a la puerta de casa”.
Visitamos a un molinero local, Antonio que todavía trabaja hoy día moliendo maíz local, en un pequeño molino de agua.

Después de nuestro paseo con el molinero, identificamos algunas características que creemos relevantes y que nos podrían servir para entender y comparar las distintas “Culturas Alimentarias” presentes en nuestro proyecto.

El Tiempo

La Energía

La Salud

La Economía

El tiempo: Cultivar, recolectar, preparar comida y compartirla, parece estar totalmente integrado en el sistema económico local y en la vida diaria de las personas. Las temporadas son cruciales. Nuestros “paisan@s” están sincronizados con la tierra y las horas de luz, la energía del sol. Siempre teniendo que combinar la temporada de huerta con la matanza y conserva casera, para asegurarnos un buen invierno de abundancia.

Los procesos son lentos en la naturaleza Asturiana, así que hay que pensar en todos los ciclos del campo, para prever que se necesitará, tener comida suficiente en el arcón, comer fresco del huerto y tener leña para calentar.

¡Aquí no hay comida rápida!

La Energía: Tradicionalmente haciendo uso de los recursos locales, como energías renovables cercanas, provenientes del agua o el viento, además del uso de los recursos forestales cercanos. La demanda de energía es muy pequeña en la autoproducción en el hogar asturiano.

La Salud: Esta forma de entender la vida y la comida, no se preocupa del valor nutricional de los alimentos a nivel molecular, o e los químicos o pesticidas que se utilicen en el cultivo. Su cualidad intrínseca es la obtención de buena comida de nuestra tierra. Se trata de facilitar el proceso de crecimiento y maduración en la huerta o en la pomarada. Se trata de la intervención en la naturaleza a una escala humana, sin gran maquinaria. Se centra en tecnología utilitaria que el “paisan@” puede arreglar y reutilizar.

La comida que cultivas con tus manos tiene un enorme valor, y es sana para tí. Eso es lo que este hombre, Antonio el molinero, cree y de lo que tiene inmenso conocimiento y experiencia. Vivir en el campo y ver día a día la salud de la tierra, y trabajarla con sabiduría.

Sin preocuparse, para bien o para mal, por alergias alimentarias, calorías, etc.. ¡el cuerpo te pide lo que necesitas, y el paisaje lo que puedes cultivar!

La Economía: Economía basada en pequeños mercados y sistemas locales, y en ocasiones, mercados de trueque. De esta manera manteniendo una economía local y reduciendo la cadena de distribución, y en consecuencia el desperdicio de comida.

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First steps into the world of Food Cultures

During our meeting in Spain, we explored our four fields, GROWING AND COLLECTING, FOOD PREPARATION, EATING AND SHARING and COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION.

We shared knowledge, skills and ideas from many different cultural backgrounds along Europe. And we did realize that food was even more important at a personal level, feeling identified by similar attitudes rooted in what we value in food and how we choose what we eat!

The way we understand food and this diversity between individuals, seems to have influence on how we recognize and identify ourselves at a social and community level. So we, as social humans, can be actively participating in the future of food, by being part of evolving social structures, “FoodCultures” based on our food ethics, what we eat!

Aso we went out to explore how “FoodCulture” would be like in the area of Asturias, north Spain. And we looked for the traditional “FoodCulture” shaped by a land of the mountains and sharp terrain, with small scale land production and natural resources near home.

We visited a local miller who still works everyday on a small water mill. He mills locally grown corn, the traditional cereal of this area.

We Identified some relevant characteristics, which could contribute to understand and compare different “Food Cultures” present in our partnership.

Time dimension

Energy dimension

Health dimension

Economic dimension

Time dimension: it seems characteristic from this “local,traditional FoodCulture”, that growing, collecting, preparing food and sharing it, is fully integrated in a local economic system and in people’s daily life. Seasonality is vital. People is completely synchronized with earth and light patterns. Always combining vegetables with locally produced meat products, to ensure food stocks for the winter.

Ongoing processes can be slow in nature, so you have to be conscious of the whole natural cycle to be able to foresee food and energy needs and production. Thinking months and seasons ahead!

No fast food, no processed food

Energy dimension: Making use of local resources, mainly renewal energy from the sun or the water, but also energy from the combustion of wood or other local materials. The demand of energy is very little to assist slow going, simple food processes.

Health dimension: This way of understanding life and food, does not have big concerns about the nutritional value of the food at molecular levels, or about chemicals used in food production. Its intrinsic quality is to get good food from the earth, it is about facilitating natural processes of growing, about manipulating nature at a human size, not mechanized at a high level. It is focused on handy technology which you can mend, as an external resource for energy input.

Food that you grow with your hands have a huge value and it is perceived as healthy for you. That is what this man also believes and has knowledge about. Living in the land were you can experience soil’s health, working to maintain it.

No food allergies, no concerns about calories, your body tells you what you need! And the landscape tells you what to grow!

Economic dimension: Based around small sized food markets, and sometimes non-economical markets. Supporting local economies and reducing the commercial food chain, and therefore food waste.

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