Lapin Noir
I sometimes buy their bread from my local natural food store and they have had a stall here at our market day. Dense, flavourful. Some vegan, some not.

Wonderful World
Bread made with natural yeast.

Paysan
European style bread made with natural yeast.

La terre 
Organic bread and cakes

Hachi Hachi infinity
Natural yeast bread

Eats Art
Japanese bread and sourdough.

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From Jack ( who attended both days of the event):

A number of us attended the Anti Nuclear Power Conference last weekend at Yokohama. I was impressed with the number of attendees and also with the number of regular police, plainclothes police and riot police in the area. It shows how nervous the government is about the people of Japan awakening to the fact that “safe nuclear power” is a nonsensical statement.

Alishan donated daily snacks and refreshments for the organizers in the weeks leading up to the event and served Alishan Cafe Curry at the event reception. Both acts were very satisfying for us.

I found many interesting talks at the event. Daily contract workers at the Fukushima TEPCO plants discussing their jobs. Their salaries are nothing special, ¥15,000 daily was not unusual. Their dream assignment was to get picked for a two hour assignment in a high radiation area for ¥10,000. Sobering.

I have been involved with anti nuclear demonstrations and conferences since my college days. I found the collection of posters on display to be stimulating, good looking and numerous times emotionally strong. To see more please see the slideshow above

I feel “cautiously optimistic” that we in Japan have a golden opportunity to follow the German example and phase it out. It will take twenty years but first we have to make the government agree to the desires of the people. I ask what are you doing to help that happen?

Valentines is rapidly approaching; if your loved one happens to be vegan we have three raw chocolate bars which taste fantastic (it’s not great in baking though). Or how about the Fair Trade Company’s bitter chocolate? Great as it is and delicious in baking too.

If you’d like to try your hand at making a chocolaty treat this year here’s a nice easy recipe you can try using our new fair trade cocoa powder:

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＜Ingredients＞

• 1 cup dates
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (softened at room temperature)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• scant pinch salt
• rum (optional, to taste)

• Coating – anything you like: cocoa powder, coconut flakes, kinako, macha powder, crushed nuts etc.
  

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＜Method＞

1. Remove the pits from the dates (or use pitted dates) and mix in a food processor to a rough paste. This can be done by hand but needs plenty of elbow grease!
2. Mix in other ingredients. Again, a food processor is easier if you have one.
3. Leave in the fridge overnight until firm.
4. Roll or shape, coat and eat! Whoops, no, and give to your loved one
   

There have been a number of reports in recent years on the health benefits of cocoa. Here are a few of the choice top news items

“New research published in the open access journal Chemistry Central Journal demonstrates that chocolate is a rich source of antioxidants and contains more polyphenols and flavanols than fruit juice.”

“When they compared the amount of antioxidants, per serving, of dark chocolate, cocoa, hot chocolate mix and fruit juices they found that both dark chocolate and cocoa had a greater antioxidant capacity and a greater total flavanol, and polyphenol, content than the fruit juices.”

“The health benefits of epicatechin, a compound found in cocoa, are so striking that it may rival penicillin and anaesthesia in terms of importance to public health, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI.”

So there seem to be a great many advantages to eating cocoa. However, the main point in all of these studies is that it is the cocoa bean in all it’s bitter glory that is good for you and NOT chocolate. Even cocoa powder minus the sugar is still lacking in a lot of the health benefits which are removed when the cocoa is processed. Still, I’m sure there is even just a small amount of goodness left in cocoa if not in milk chocolate. If you’d like these health benefits try to make your warming cup of cocoa with hot water and a dash of milk/soy milk/oat milk rather than straight milk. Go easy on the sweetener too. If you’re craving chocolate go for a small amount of bitter dark and not a bar of milk. As with any food small, sensible servings will do you far more good in the long term.

Back in 1982 a new design of stove was presented by Dr. Larry Winiarski. It’s a super-efficient way of burning small size fuel to produce the maximum possible heat. In true Tengu fashion we were inspired by all the blogs saying how easy to make they are and set about making one for ourselves. Here’s Kawauchi-san’s report on how it all went:

“We just happened to have finished a large can of soy sauce. We went to the home center to buy all the chimney parts and had created a rocket stove in just 30 minutes! We were amazed at how well the stove burnt whatever fuel we threw in. I had my nieces, nephews and various friends around to help so everyone collected twigs and small branches for me. We put a frying pan on top of the stove and baked mochi. Perfect after all that hard work collecting fuel!

This time round we made the chimney an L shape (as it’s easier to put in the branches). This make it a long way between the chimney and the body of the stove though so the next time we make one we’ll be leaving out the bend of the chimney and just sticking to the 15cm pipe.”

There are loads of blogs and sites with instructions on how to make your own rocket stove. Just google and see!

Alishan is pleased to announce the newest addition to the family, Organic Fairtrade Cocoa Powder. This cocoa powder is a blend sourced from the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Dominican Republic, Peru and Columbia and is processed in the Netherlands. As it’s fair trade you can rest assured that unlike pretty much any other non-fair trade chocolate you care to mention, no child labour was used in it’s production. It also means that the farmers who work hard to raise this organic crop are paid a fair wage. Unlike the Fair Trade Company cocoa which we already carry this is ‘Dutch Processed’ meaning it has been treated with an alkai to create a less acidic,  more mellow, aromatic flavour. The colour of this cocoa is much darker and the flavour richer than non-treated cocoa powder. It’s also finely ground making it ideal for a warming cup of cocoa.

A cheese-less savoury  muffin which nevertheless has a similar flavour. Made with oatmeal they have a nice chewy texture and are mildly sweetened with apple juice. Not just great tasting but good for you too.

We were a little skeptical that you could make a good savoury muffin with a can of diced tomatoes but this proved us wrong.

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Ingredients (makes 10 muffins):

A 

• 2 1/2 cups wholewheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 tsp baking powder

B

• 1 can diced tomoto
• 1 Tbsp organic miso

C

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• dash apple cider vinegar
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup apple juice

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Combine B and heat until water is mostly evaporated. Cool.
3. Mix B into A, then add C.
4. Place in muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes.

PythagoraSweets Cooking Class

Learn to bake sweets with natural yeast. The perfect opportunity to brush up your baking skills in time for valentines day. You can find out more about Yamazaki-sensei on her blog.

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Pythagorasweets had a booth at the Alishan Market Day last year. There was a mouthwatering selection of sweets, cakes and biscuits which had most of the staff here hovering round. Unusually she also uses natural yeast rather than baking powder as a raising agent in her sweets. With a wealth of experience from Kushi Garden, a famous macrobiotic restaurant in Tokyo, Yamazaki-sensei has learnt the secrets of perfect macrobiotic sweets.

On a personal note I have finally learnt the Japanese ‘Pitagora’ (as in the kids show Pitagora Switch) is a katakana-ization of Pythagoras. I have this photo to thank for finally making that connection!

Make your own extact.

You will need 3-4 vanilla beans and 1 cup of brandy or vodka or bourbon. Split the bean in half lengthwise, leaving the seeds intact. Place the beans in a jar, cover with alcohol and seal tightly. Shake the jar daily for 4-6 weeks; the longer you leave it the stronger the taste. Use just as you would regular vanilla extract.

Make your own vanilla body oil.

You will need 2 vanilla beans and 1 cup carrier oil (such as jojoba). Slice the bean lengthways and cut into small pieces. Place in a glass jar, cover with oil and shake well. Leave on a sunny warm windowsill for 1-2 months, shaking daily. If you don’t like seeds in your body oil they can be strained out with a cheesecloth.

Make a vanilla and honey scrub

You will need 3/4 cup sugar or sea salt, 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp carrier oil (like apricot kernel oil), 1 Tbsp honey and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Combine all in a bowl and mix well. Store in a glass jar.

A wonderfully aromatic scone recipe using our new vanilla beans. Top with cream or soy whip and jam for the perfect afternoon tea.

＜Ingredients＞

• 200g unbleached white flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

• 50g canola oil
• 100cc soy milk (plain or vanilla)
• 1/2 vanilla pod (carefully slice the pod, remove the seeds and add to the soymilk)
• 1/2 tsp salt

＜Method＞

1. Place the dry ingredients (but not the salt) into a bowl and mix well.
2. In a second bowl combine the wet ingredients and the salt.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry to make a soft dough.
4. Roll out the dough to about 2-3 cm thickness. Cut circles and arrange on a baking sheet. Brush lightly with soy milk.
5. Bake at 190 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly golden.