Tangential Tuesday - Conscious Cocoa

It's not nice to enjoy yourself at the expense of others, at least that's what my Sunday School teacher always said. So if you knew that your morning cup of coffee was making certain green-logo'ed coffee companies rich while their coffee bean farmers, toiling in the fields, didn't have enough earnings to feed their families... how would you feel? I'm sure the morning java would turn from an innocent and routine pleasure into a morning cup of guilt.

That's what happens when we begin to learn where our food really comes from. It's a double-edged sword, knowing so much about how our choices affect people all over the world. I can no longer grocery shop in complete peace, as my every purchase is now plagued with a thousand questions - could I possibly buy this with less packaging, from bulk? Where was this apple grown? New Zealand? How much CO2 did that ship emit making it's way through the Pacific? Is that chocolate grown at the expense of rainforest land? Sigh. The more I know, the more my shopping companions begin to notice my hesitation in the dairy aisle, along with my raised eyebrows in the cereal aisle, and then my forlorn looks over the bananas and kumquats. I never thought that the delectable things I put in my mouth would somehow qualify as instruments of oppression. Sheesh.

But then, I go to the farmer's market. (Almost) no plastic. Everything bright and raw and sitting before the people who grow the spinach and feed the chickens bugs and grass. This food grows within 25-40 miles of where I stand, and is sustainably fished from boats that refuse to deplete fish populations and throw wide nets that annihilate anything in its way. This place feels right, and I know others can feel it too. Everybody loves the farmer's market in the summer. There are no ethical qualms about packaging, no bananas from Ecuador where workers are paid barely enough to live.

At these markets, of course you won't find olive oil, tea... and usually you won't find coffee or cocoa either, except now. This time, at the market I saw a small card table set up near the entrance, a tiny table with a few bags of whole bean coffee, and next to them

several silver packages of cocoa powder. The bags said Fair Trade and Organic, and there was a short, tanned, rough-skinned man standing there. He had on a similarly worn straw hat and light-colored, linen clothes. He was from Costa Rica, and with excellent English he was explaining to someone how Alianza and Sol Colibri was bringing farmers out of poverty.

He was so passionate about his coffee and cocoa, he was stumbling over his words, trying to get them out fast enough so that his customers wouldn't lose attention. He was excited, trying to explain how this Fair Trade Organic Co-op was already selling its cocoa to local Theo Chocolate, but trying to get its products into more local stores. He smiled, and his warm, genuine energy flowed through his gesticulating hands, as he exalted his cause, and told how much more money these farmers could fetch for their products once they left the country. He sold me an entire pound of this cocoa for five dollars. I have never seen cocoa of this quality go for less than sixteen per pound at any other market. Incredible. And I know that these five dollars will go directly to these farmers, and it is more than they could ever make by selling it to some other international entity that doesn't support Fair Trade practices.

Fair Trade guarantees that a farmer gets a fair price for his or her product, enough to make it profitable to continue the business. Seems simple, right? It's amazing that expensive, coveted products that are sold for big dollars here in the US (such as coffee and cocoa) are the same products that run farmers into extreme poverty in Latin America. Cooperatives in Costa Rica, such as Alianza which is Sol Colibri's umbrella organization, benefit from banding together their small farmers into an entity which can do business with larger organizations that support Fair Trade Organic practices.

As I made my homemade chocolate mocha ice cream today, it felt great to use this cocoa. No guilt here, folks (except for the guilt that ice cream normally gives me... but I was making it for Mark, I swear!) This cocoa was amazing, and made an awesome dessert (I stole a few bites, of course.) I thought about the gentleman who sold it to me, with all of his smiling and gusto, his excitement about doing something for his people. Here was a man who knew he had something beautiful, and he wanted to share it with me. Next time I'll try the coffee, which I'm sure will be equally good.

If you're at your Seattle market this week, look for the guy in the floppy straw hat. Buy his cocoa, buy his story, and please pass it on.

Sol Colibri Chocolate Mocha Ice Cream

1 cup organic milk

2 cups organic cream

1/2 cup Sol Colibri cocoa powder

1/4 cup Pero coffee substitute, soluble coffee powder, or brewed coffee

3/4 cup Evaporated cane juice (may sub regular sugar, or agave nectar)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, mix all ingredients and whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is completely homogenous and smooth. Chill the mixture completely, and then make ice cream according to ice cream maker's instructions.

Just Another Sunday

At the Market

Every Sunday morning, I roll out of bed and walk over to our bedroom window. I spread the blinds with my thumb and forefinger, stick my nose through the hole and squint my eyes up toward the sky. Then what follows is either a "Do'oh! Still raining" or a "Woohoo! Sunshine" or a "Hmmm, looks a little cloudy out there." I suppose I'm the official weather reporter for 4753 Delridge.

This morning was definitely a 'woohoo' day, which meant that our morning would have a bit more energy radiating onto and into whatever we did. The coffee Mark made today was pumpkin spice. We never drink the flavored stuff, but I must admit that it exceeded my expectations for pre-ground flavored coffee. After we took in all the caffeine we could handle, we spontaneously got into a 'discussion' (which is really what we like to call an argument) about what furniture would go where and why in our new house (which isn't even ours yet, as the lease still hasn't been signed). Yes, that sunshine brings all kinds of energy with it - or maybe we both just had a bit much caffeine.

We worked out all our frustrations (okay, almost all) at the gym. We go to the gym just about every Sunday. We both lift weights and put in our one hour time block for the weekend so we can walk around the rest of the week saying "gosh, I'm sore" and "feel these abs, baby" and "c'mon, hit me right here." I don't cherish my gym time really, but I know it needs to be done. Kind of like washing the dishes.

We then went our separate ways to work on those things we love best. Mark went to a friend's place to play music, and I went to the farmer's market. The sunshine meant everybody was out with me, stocking up on vegetables, pumpkins and turnips for Thanksgiving. I loaded up on apples so I could bring both a pumpkin and apple pie to dinner at Michelle's this year. The West Seattle Farmer's Market is my favorite Sunday ritual, besides the coffee drinking and those fun 'discussions' I get to have with my significant other. It's my time to walk through slowly, taking time to look at all the amazing things that come from Vashon Island, Carnation and the woods... somewhere. The foragers have been displaying some pretty awesome fungi this Fall. The mushrooms they find come from all those pine forests Washington is famous for. Today I saw giant chantarelles, hedgehogs and even black truffles! I had no idea that this area had their own version of this famous and expensive 'shroom. But instead of the hundreds of dollars per ounce you'd see for truffles from Europe, these were $8 per. Maybe next time I'll treat myself to a bit of black gold.

I made my way home with my bounty - but wishing I could have taken home a few of those expensive things that I simply cannot justify right now being a student... like dried fresh heirloom beans, those truffles, and a few fillets of Alaskan salmon from Loki.

I lamented the few hours left in the day, as I began to work on my computer, writing and planning for a couple of upcoming classes I'm teaching (I'll keep you in the loop). Just one more hour of daylight and I could have gotten in a short bike ride to the water, or maybe a walk over to the Delridge P-patch to gawk at some rainbow chard. Instead I work, and then start to make dinner before Mark gets home. A simple meal that I've mentioned before, but one of our fav's; buckwheat soba with peanut sauce and tofu.

We sit eating dinner and we're both exhausted. We've had a full weekend of socializing and being out late. An open house at the Henry Gallery on Friday, and then wine tasting and dinner with friends on Saturday. I'm tired but contented, because seeing friends is very much worth the fatigue.

It's a short week this week, so have a fantastic Thanksgiving everyone. I'm grateful for you, for food, for friends who drink wine, for 'discussions' that may be fights, and for this blog where I get to share it all. The good, the bad, and the bread that just won't rise.