Urban Agriculture Summit Recap
From August 15-18, the city of Toronto hosted the first international Urban Agriculture Summit, presented by Foodshare and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Read More
Poetry Series #11: Sonnet 18, by William Shakespeare
Sonnet 18:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
Always a classic. I remember the day in middle school drama class when we had to memorize and perform this.
Cultivate Toronto featured on Global News Hour
On April 23, Cultivate Toronto (formerly YUF CSA) was featured on Global Toronto’s the News Hour as part of Susan Hay’s “Making a Difference” series. This short video can be seen directly online from Global TV’s webiste
Last Night of the Prom’s – the final RHPO Concert of the 2011-2012 season
On Saturday June 17th at 7:30pm, come and join Chris and the Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra at the final concert of the 2011-2012 season. Read More
Random Thoughts on East Africa
Three weeks ago I went on a journey to East Africa to share my knowledge and experiences around urban farming. Over that time, I learned a lot, saw a number of great farming examples, and met lots of great people. Another blog post will focus on the official part of the exchange; this post will feature some of my random thoughts and notes on the culture, food, and other interesting aspects.
One of the first things I noticed was the traffic. Driving in both Kenya and Uganda would be considered chaotic by North American standards, with traffic lights (if there are any) routinely ignored, jaywalking as the only way to cross the street, and cars driving literally bumper to bumper. Add to that the many diesel fumes, dusty roads, large pot holes and large speed bumps, and you’ve got a recipe for chaotic traffic.
Matatus were another interesting part of my Nairobi and East Africa experience. Here, there are central bus stops and loading areas, but it is much more flexible and adaptive than I originally thought. For example, it seems like you can flag down a Matatu if you are walking along one of their routes, and the cost of your ride is partially determined by a tout at the main loading area, the current traffic conditions, and the supply and demand of the passengers and vehicles. When you’re inside, space is very limited, many vehicles feature disco style lights as well as music I can only describe as gaudy.
Food was another interesting part of the experience. For the most part, we ate local Kenyan food, with the staples consisting of rice, chapatti, ugali, beans, and potatoes. Kale is the most popular green and it is usually stir fried, with corn also very popular and mixed with the other staple foods. For meat, the most common meat is chicken. Beef and pork are less common, but can be found. Interestingly, you can also find rabbit meat (we had a whole workshop and a few experts on raising rabbits as part of our exchange), and zebra meat can also be found at a specialty restaurant aptly called Carnivore.
Speaking of food, my favourite meal of my Kenyan trip was to a hole in the wall pork shop. The front of the store served as a butchery, where you can go and order raw cuts of pork. In the middle, there are only a few basic wooden tables and benches, and the only things they serve are pork, ugali, and fries. The pork you can get dry fried or deep fried and despite being only a really small storefront with probably the worst name ever, the locals know that this is the place to get your pork.
Another interesting observation was that people rely heavily on their mobile phones – with most people having “regular” phones and only a few people having smart phones. Despite the limited functionality of the phones, many Kenyans still do a lot with their phone. If you are in a meeting, it will be rare for a few minutes to go by without hearing one or several phones ring. To them, having their phone ring during a meeting is not a rude act, and even interrupting a conversation they are having with someone else to check their phone or answer a ringing phone is not considered rude (that’s what one expat told me). Another interesting note is that Kenyan’s can pay and send money through their phone. They can even send phone credit to someone else as well.
Bargaining is another activity I quite enjoy. While many people find it to be a stressful or a necessary evil of shopping, I find the process quite fun and entertaining. A couple of interesting things I thought they do quite well are the use of anchoring and the technique of commitment and consistency. As part of the Kenyan bargaining style, the vendors use the back of a newspaper or other scrap piece of paper and write down their initial price. Many times, this price is 3x the actual price they will settle on, and sometimes it is even more than that (like 5x-10x the price they are willing to accept). They then get you to write down your opening price (gaining your commitment) and the negotiations continue from there. It is expected that there will be a back and forth exchange (with you expected to be consistent in slowly raising your price), and when I tried one time to stick For my original price, it didn’t seem to work too well (even though my original price was the most I was willing to pay). By treating this whole process as a game, and being willing to walk away from the deal (though interestingly, many vendors I found did not respond in my favor when I used the walk away technique), While many of the crafts and curios are the same across markets, the availability and variety did vary somewhat (based on my two visits to two different markets).
The last thing I’ll comment on is about security. As a result of recent terrorist activities, security has been increased across the country. For cars/vehicles, it is common for a security guard to check not only your trunk and contents inside your vehicle, but also to use a convex mirror to look and do a sweep underneath your car as well. At malls, each person is checked by a security guard of the same sex typically using both a metal detector wand and a quick pat down. They also look inside your bag, though most of the time I found the bag searches to be more of a cursory search rather than a comprehensive search. If you thought that was bad, airport security takes this to a whole new level. Before you even drive into arrive at the airport, your car is searched and you have to walk through a metal detector. You then need to present your passport and ticket to be allowed into the building, at which time you need to go through yet another set of metal detectors and pass your bag through an x-ray scanner. The next step is pretty normal with you receiving your boarding pass (if you haven’t printed it out or checked in online yet) and then having to go through the security screening to get to the departure area of the airport. If those 3 security checks and metal detectors weren’t enough, before you board the plane, you have to go through one, or if you are lucky, two consecutive x-ray machines/metal detectors. Don’t ask me why you need to go through 4 different security checks to get onto an airplane for your flight. We’ll just call it TIA, or “This Is Africa” to explain the differences in how things work.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and please share any comments you have below.
Nairobi Initial Thoughts
In January 2012, Rooftops Canada (www.rooftops.ca/) in partnership with the Mazingira Institute (www.mazinst.org/) hosted a youth exchange in Nairobi, Kenya. As part of my involvement in the local food and urban agriculture movement in Toronto, I was invited, along YUF CSA (www.yufcsa.com) Co-founder Elaine to represent the Toronto delegation. Two youth representatives (Tasco and Kangela) were invited from Cape Town, South Africa, 5 youth (John, James, Shadrack, Eunice, and Harrison) were invited from Nakuru, Kenya and the NACHU organization (http://www.nachu.or.ke/) and about a dozen local Nairobi youth were invited to participate as well.
The goal of the program is for the youth (broadly defined as under 35) to share their ideas and experiences from each of our respective cities on urban agriculture and food security issues.
The program began with an introduction from Mazingira Institute, the host organization for the exchange. Introductions were made, an overview of the purpose and context of the trip was made and the rest of the day was spent with introductory presentations by the majority of the participants.
The main programming got started on the second day with a visit to Ndoso Farm, a peri-urban farm run by an enthusiastic and passionate Ndungi Ngogi. At his farm, he grows a variety of vegetables in greenhouses including some of the best peppers I’ve ever tasted. He also grows other fruit, vegetables, and raises fish on his property as well.
Elaine and I gave a presentation on making compost tea, as well as using worm castings to build the soil. Ndungi does a great job of composting using a variety of methods and that is one of his secrets to the success of his garden. He also gave a presentation on another method of composting using grubs, specifically the grubs/larvae of the black soldier fly.
In the afternoon, we went to another of Ndungi’s farms – this one a livestock farm that raises chickens and pigs. It was incredible to see how healthy the animals were, especially with Ndungi using organic methods for all of his activities.
The third day was spent primarily at Mr Rabbit’s Farm. While that isn’t his actual name, it is a nickname he likes to carry around with him. Before arriving at the farm though, we made two detours. The first was to H-Garden which is located in the second largest slum area in Nairobi. At this location, one of the youth leaders Humphrey “grabbed the land” and setup a garden to work with the youth in this area. The local authorities turned a blind eye because they see his project as benefitting the community, even though they don’t have official papers for the land. It was incredible to see a number of sack gardens, as well as rabbits and pigeons being kept on a tiny piece of land.
We also had a short visit and interview with KOCH FM, a local radio station run by youth and broadcasting to just a small area in another ghetto area of Nairobi. The entire operation is run out of an repurposed shipping container, complete with an office and sound-proof studio for their broadcasting. To see this local project in action, essentially using just a computer and a microphone was a humbling experience to see how much can be done with so little.
When we finally got to Mr Rabbit’s farm, we had a tour around his property. We had a chance to see how they make their own compost, how they utilize a farming methodology called moist bed gardening, how to butcher a rabbit, enjoy sucking on fresh sugar cane, and see a larger scale rabbit operation.
Sunday, day 4, was a rest day, and a bunch of us spent some the afternoon at a local swimming pool for some much needed R&R.
On Monday, we continued our farm excursions to two local places. The focus was on value-added products and we first stopped at a local place that manufactured toys using recycled plastic. Using just two small buildings, they sort, melt, and mold recycled plastic into some really nice toys. It looked like they also had a bunch of corn growing in a back lot as well. We finished the day at Esther’s farm which is another peri-urban farm in a new suburb of Nairobi. Here, we had a chance to have a few hands-on demonstrations of how to make yogurt, how to make peanut butter (using either dry roasted peanuts or fried peanuts), and how to make mango jam. The peanut butter and mango jam were some of the best I’ve ever had! Esther has what we would consider to be a cottage industry that takes.
That’s all for this update. Look for more pictures and posts as the exchange continues.
YUF Post: 5 Things You Must Consider Before Starting An Edible Garden
I wrote a featured post for the Young Urban Farmer’s blog on 5 Things You Must Consider Before Starting A Vegetable Garden. Check it out for more info.
Welcome to my homepage
Welcome to the official website of Christopher Wong.
Soupalicious 2010
On Saturday October 9th, I went to the 3rd (?) annual Soupalicious event at the Exhibition Place. Put on by Compost Council of Canada along with and many other sponsors including the City of Toronto, this was a chance to enjoy the harvest and “sip, slurp, and savour” over 40 different soups from a whole variety of participants.
At the event, I had a chance to try about 20 different kinds of soup (talk about soup overload!) as well as participate in a very brief video segment for an upcoming project put on the Green Living Project. Other interesting highlights were an inauguration ceremony by deputy mayor Joe Pantalone (who is also the chair of Exhibition Place) and seeing him followed around by his posse of supporters in matching tshirts, purchasing some delicious homemade pecan butter tarts, and participating in a taste test by Local Food Plus in trying to taste whether one soup was made with locally- and sustainably-grown pears or with conventionally-grown pears.
Despite being souped out by the end of the event, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts and tasting notes on the variety of soups on offer for the day. Each soup was presenting in a small biodegradable sample cup. Big enough to get a good tasting, but small enough that you can sample a whole variety of soup without getting too full. So without further ado, onto the soups (in no particular order)
Fire on the East Side
Roasted Tomato Blackbean and Tortilla Soup with Yellow Pepper and White Chocolate Mole
-This was a great tasting soup with the rich flavours coming through of the roasted tomato and blackbeans
-The tortillas added a nice crunch and texture to the soup
-The mole was good, though I couldn’t really taste the white chocolate and I don’t really know what moles usually taste like to give a fair assessment
Greens and Sprout Salad
I don’t know who prepared this, only that it was delicious. One of the volunteers stopped by our table and handed this to us. In addition to some baby lettuce greens, there were almost a dozen kinds of sprouts (alfalfa, clover, broccoli to name a few) that gave it a really nice fresh taste and refreshing texture. After eating several soups, having solid food was a good way to avoid soup overload.
Le Rossignol
Carmelized Onion and Bacon Soup
-This was a very smooth pureed soup
-I couldn’t taste much of the bacon
The Annex HodgePodge
Curried Carrot and Ginger Soup
-A warming and hearty soup with a mild ginger taste coming through towards the end of each sip. It was nicely done
Zucchini and Dill
-The only soup from this stand I didn’t try
Red Velvet (Potato and Beet)
-Full of deep, earthy flavour, this had the right balance of sweetness from the beets and the savoury taste you expect from a soup. Another well done soup
Palucci
Charred Sweet Zucchini with Cumin and White Truffle Oil
-A rich, savoury, and chunk soup full that was very rich in taste – it came recommended by some other tasters and did not disappoint
-I can imagine this being a little to much in a full serving, but in a small sample cup, it was perfect
Crush Wine Bar
Cauliflower Puree with Crispy Pancetta and Brown Butter Cauliflower Florets
-One of my favourite soups, the puree was had a fresh and subtle cauliflower taste (vs. an overpowering and “in your face” taste) that was complimented with the pancetta and extra florets
-I think my favourite soup of the day
St. Jamestown Steak and Chops
Rosemary Vegetable Soup
-I walked by this stand several times until I decided to give it a try towards the end of the day
-It was super tasty, though at first I wasn’t drawn to it because of the simple sounding name. It exceeded all my expectations in terms of how flavourful it was and how rich and chunky it was
-A great example of how if simple soups when done well, they are much more enjoyable than elaborate soups poorly executed.
The Gladstone Hotel
Cauliflower soup with leek compote and a drizzle of curry infused cold preseed soy oil
-Another cauliflower soup and I really liked the infused oil on top, which brought a new dimension to the soup
Advinda’s
Masoor Dal and Carrot Curried Soup
-This soup had a bit of a kick at the end from the spices and showcased the traditional Indian flavours well
-I realized though that I prefer my dal when it is thicker and in a more traditional Indian-style dish, rather than in soup form
Esther Queen of Soups
5 soups on offer her, though the one I tried was: Mulligatawny with Spicy Chicken Noodle
-Wow, my favourite of the rich and chunky homestyle soups on offer
Cruda Cafe
Moroccon Cauliflower Soup
-The only raw soup at the event, garnished with dried eggplant
-A cool soup (not heated since it is a raw soup), it was still very tasty and the crispy dried flakes of eggplant on top sealed the deal for me.
-Something I would definitely have again
Christina’s on the Danforth
Avgolemono
-Thick and chunky chicken soup with a touch of lemon
-Interesting sourness of the lemon coming through towards the end, which was not very expected, but it seemed to work ok
Supermarket
Sumo Miso Soup
-After trying it, I can see why they called it sumo – because of the big chunks of veggies in the soup
-Great miso flavour, interesting to see it jazzed up with all the big pieces of veggies in there
-Another soup that falls into the simple, but well executed category (and I’m happy that I had some after passing it by several times throughout the day)
Southern Accent
Gumbo Z Herbs Ya Ya
-garnished with rice
-this was the last soup I had and was also very tasty
Petit Four
Wild Mushroom Soup (not pictured)
-looked like it was served out of a large coffee urn
-a perfect showcase of how using a few simple and fresh ingredients (along with a skillful cook, of course) can create a delicious soup
Cowbell
Corn Chowder and Bacon
Brick Street Bakery
Iberian Fisherman Soup
-definitely a comfort food kind of soup
-lots going on in terms of ingredients, but held together well by the broth
Le Papillon
French Onion Soup
-a cassic, and well done, though I went a bit too late to get a garnish of what I think was goat cheese on a small cracker
One Love Vegetarian
One Love Corn Soup
-very well done, and not as sweet as other corn soups I’ve had
Final Notes
Overall, I counted 20 soups that I ended up trying at the event! From these soups, I realized a couple things.
- Soups taste best when served hot
- The texture of soup was just as important as the taste of the soup
- Soups can be very simple and also very complex.
- Garnishes add a nice additional element to most soups
I think this event has inspired me to start making some more soup!
Poetry Series #10: A Smile, by author unknown
We return again to an ongoing series of some of my favourite poems. These get published every so often.
A Smile
by Author Unknown
A smile costs nothing, but gives much-
It takes but a moment, but the memory of it usually lasts forever.
None are so rich that can get along without it-
And none are so poor but that can be made rich by it.
It enriches those who receive, without making poor those who give-
It creates sunshine in the home,
Fosters good will in business,
And is the best antidote for trouble-
And yet it cannot be begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is of no value
Unless it is given away.
Some people are too busy to give you a smile-
Give them one of yours-
For the good Lord knows that no one needs a smile so badly
As he or she who has no more smiles left to give.
Do you have a favourite poem you want to share? Let me know in the comments!
