Archive for July 17th, 2006

17
Jul

hayboxes: they ain’t just for hippies no more

By vegankid 7 Comments
Categories: around the house, diy, environment and food

cross-posted at Taking Place

I LOVE my haybox! Its ugly as hell on the outside, but its one of the most beautiful things i have. What is a haybox? Well, its also known as an insulated cooker, retained-heat cooker, or a wonderbox. But i first knew it as a haybox, so that’s what i call it.

The short version of what a haybox is and why to use/make one is that its a low-cost/free way to cook your food with 20-80% less fuel (which means less money), 25% less water, and better taste and nutrional retention. Here’s what Talking Leaves Magazine has to say about the basic premise of the haybox:

“Hayboxes work on the simple principle that if the heat applied to food in the cooking process can be retained within that food, rather than lost to the environment, no “replacement heat” is needed to keep the food cooking. In conventional cooking, any heat applied to a pot after food reaches boiling temperatures is merely replacing heat lost to the air by the pot. In haybox cooking, food is brought to a boil on the stove, simmered for a few minutes (5 minutes for rice or other grains, 15 minutes for large dry beans or whole potatoes), then put into an insulated box, where it completes its cooking. Food will be ready in anywhere from one to one-and-a-half times the “normal” completion time, with no tending needed and no danger of burning, and will stay piping hot for many hours, allowing maximum flexibility in the cook’s and the eaters’ schedules. For grains or beans, water is reduced by one-quarter, because water is retained within the food rather than simmered away into the air (it’s important to use pots with tight-fitting lids in haybox cooking). The larger the quantity cooked, the more effective this technique is (the hotter the food will stay, for longer), because increased thermal mass holds more heat. And because most of the cooking occurs in the 180 degrees F-212 degrees F range, rather than at a constant 212 degrees , more flavor and nutrients are preserved.”

Now that we have a basic understanding of what a haybox is, let’s look at how to make and use on. If you keep your eyes open, you can find an old cooler in a dumpster. That’s what i did and it has been the best haybox ever. The best part is that the cooler is styrofoam, which means i saved the land from yet more non-biodegradable materials. The house i used to live in used a haybox for most of our cooking. Our monthly gas bill was reduced to something like $4!

You don’t need to do a whole lot of hunting or make any purchases to make a haybox, however. The important things are that the materials must be able to withstand 212-degrees-F temperatures without melting (so if you’re gonna use styrofoam, like me, be sure to add a blanket, towels, or hay in the box for added insultation) and the material must work as a good insulator (so if you’re going to use a fabric, use something tight-knit).

In reality, its difficult to give exact directions on how to make a haybox because its so easy to make one. Meaning there are so many different way to make one that its hard to just explain one way. A haybox doesn’t have to be a box at all. You can wrap a pot with a sleeping bag, or a few blankets, or some towels, or you can put the pot in a basket lined with dried grass and then cover it with a bag or pillowcase filled with dry grass, or you can just put the pot on a towel and surround it with pillows. Or you can do it the old-school way and actually make a box insulated with hay, but that’s way too much effort for me. The idea is to use materials that won’t let the heat escape too easily.

To use the haybox, just preheat the food for the amount of time listed below. Be sure to cook with the lid on and with a minimal amount of water. Then remove the pot from the stove or fire and place it in the haybox and cook for the time listed below. Another nice feature about the haybox is that it will keep your food warm for a really long time - like hours. But you want to be careful. When you heat something up then let it sit at room temperature for too long, bacteria begins to grow.

food type >> boil time >> haybox time
rice >> 5 min >> 1-1.5 hours
potatoes >> 5 min >> 1-2 hours
soup and stock >> 10 min >> 2-3 hours
green lentils >> 10 min >> 3-4 hours
pintos >> 10 min >> 3 hours
split peas >> 10 min >> 2 hours
quinoa >> 5 min >> 1.5 hours
millet >> 5 min >> 1 hour
polenta >> 1 min >> 1 hour
winter squash >> 5 min >> 1-2 hours
steamed bread >> 30 min >> 3 hours

Enjoy your new haybox! The Earth and your wallet will continue to thank you.

17
Jul

letter writing sunday #12

By vegankid 0 Comments
Categories: class, environment and letters

I used to live in the Southern Appalachian mountains. While there, i became aware of the struggles going on in coal country. It was while involved in these struggles that i learned of the true hystory of the term Redneck. Before, i had believed that the word was a derogatory term for farmworkers. Now, i know that it was the name of the coal miners who took over Blair Mountain in the Fall of 1921. One of the largest armed uprising in US hystory, some 10,000 coal miners confronted state and federal troops in an attempt to unionize the coal mines of West Virginia. The month-long battle was deemed the Red Neck Wars because of the red bandanas that the miners wore around their necks. One of the most notable of the battle’s union organizers was Mother Jones.

Although the miners lost the battle and more than 900 were indicted, they never lost their spirit for struggle and justice. To this day, the coal fields remain a tense ground for struggle between miners, the corporate executives, and coal company thugs (yup, they still got their own thugs).

One things that has changed, however, is the battle. While safety standards remain high on the list of priorities, a new era in coal mining has brought together union and environmental activist. The new foe, mountaintop removal (referred to as strip mining by the industry), threatens the region’s biosphere on a very large scale by cutting off the tops of mountains to access coal and filling nearby valleys with the rocks and soil removed. To see one of these projects up close is heart-wrenching.

As you can imagine, the soil is completely destroyed leaving the land unable to regenerate. So what do you put in nature’s place? Coal companies have a quick response to that one: the new flat ground is perfect for a Walmart or a new prison facility. And that is exactly how the industry is marketing these newely destroyed lands to local and state officials.

Unfortunately, that is also the future for the coal miners, as well. With mountaintop removal, a job that used to take over a hundred people can now be done with just three low-skilled workers. This has reeked havoc on union membership and the ability of the union to increase health and safety standards. Coal companies are also finding it easier to undermine unions by exploiting the undocumented immigrant workforce. Considering the fact that mountaintop removal has destroyed not only land but also homes, schools, roads and entire towns, the many former coal miners that are unable to find work as Walmart greeters or prison guards are sure to find themselves filling one of the privately-owned prison cells.

This week’s letter will not be written to the coal companies. As powerful as they are, we will be writing to a far more powerful influence in our nation: Oprah. This month’s issue of O Magazine featured a story, entitled “You fight for what you got, even if its only worth a dime,” of some of the incredible wimmin in Appalachia who are standing up against the devastation of mountaintop removal. I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with several of these wimmin and that’s why i want to continue to support them even if i no longer live in the area.

The letter-writing campaign is being organized by EarthJustice. It is a positive campaign in that it is meant to thank the people at the magazine for including the report, but also to encourage Oprah to have some of these wimmin on her show so that millions of others can hear their stories of loss and struggle (one family’s three-year-old son was crushed to death in his sleep by a boulder that was knocked loose by a coal truck that was working illegally one night - the company was given a small fine for working illegally but was not implicated in the child’s death).

As brownfemipower stated months ago, Oprah can be a tool for radical change. She sees herself as such a tool. It is up to us to bring to her attention the struggles of working-class wimmin so that she may share their stories with the nation. Please take a moment and visit EarthJustice’s campaign page to see a sample letter. Then head over to Oprah’s website and submit your letter to the producers. It will take you five minutes for something that can change the lives of thousands and help protect the world’s oldest mountains.

Close
E-mail It