Frankie's Oyster Mushrooms – Your Tagline

End of quarter documents

This post includes the description of my ILC, end of quarter self evaluation, and my power point which I presented on the last day of class.

Description:

This contract entitled Urban Mushroom Farming for Health, is a contract designed to educate the student of the medicinal properties of oyster mushrooms, how oyster mushrooms evolved to possess medicinal properties, how Oyster mushrooms can combat the destructive pressures that are hostile to our earth and how to grow oyster mushrooms in an urban environment. The student will write a research paper focused on the medicinal qualities of oyster mushrooms and relate them to evolutionary concepts. The student will create a sculpture that symbolizes the positive aspects of oyster mushrooms, and how they can help mitigate destructive forces currently threatening our earth. The student will learn to how to cultivate and grow mushrooms in an urban environment

Click blue to see self evaluation: SelfEval2017W (1)

Click blue to see power point presentation: End of Quarter Power Point

Tasting Lab Post

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason
SOS: ComAlt, Tasting Response Week 1
1/10/17

The first tasting lab featured the tasting of five types of eggs. Four were chicken eggs, hard boiled prepared in different ways. The eggs were white, pink, golden, marbled, and the fifth type of egg was salmon roe.

We were prompted to inspect each egg and write down our thoughts and observations. Then we were allowed to taste each egg and, again, write down our observations. Soon after we received a paper giving some information about each egg, including a little on how the egg was prepared as well as some history and statistical data. We were again urged to retry the eggs, now knowing more about their background and see if the new knowledge changes the taste.

I thought this was an interesting idea; that having pre-existing knowledge about a food can change the way it tastes. I can see how that would make sense; I know that taste and smell are strongly correlated and so is smell and memories. The olfactory lobes in our brains are shared with the sections of the brain dedicated to memories of past experience. This is why often when you smell a thing it can bring up memories of the past. I guess this lab is coming from the reverse direction: creating a memory or experience and then applying it to the taste.

Some interesting discussions came up about the eggs, one being the ethics of eating salmon roe when pressures on salmon populations are becoming more and more of an issue. This is a topic I care deeply about. Ocean life and its longevity is highly at-risk and I strongly believe we, as a human race, need to address these issues as soon as possible. That said, I still ate the salmon roe. This is because my feelings about not wasting free food overrule my reservations.

There was also a tea served – a tisane, to be precise. A tisane refers to the infusion of herbs into heated water. It is like tea, but not made with the tea plant. Today’s tisane beverage was made with cinnamon sticks. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by this drink. I had no idea that just cinnamon sticks could make water so deep in color and flavor.

I really liked the idea of this lab, however I was in the beginning stages of having the flu and had a very hard time making out tastes, let alone reflecting on them.

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason
SOS: ComAlt, Tasting Response. Week 2
1/17/17

Today’s tasting lab we experienced two different tianes. One was ginger and the other black pepper. I learned these herbs are two ingredients found in Chai tea. We were urged to try each separately before mixing them together. I will admit that I have never drank black pepper tea on its own. I certainly enjoyed both separately, but I definitely preferred them as a mix.

The food portion of today’s tasting lab was baked winter squash picked from Evergreen’s farm. It was dusted with two different curry powders and served over brown rice. There was also sesame seeds and a hot sauce from Africa (I forget the name) available for taste. I, of course, tried everything. Although I cannot recall the name of the hot sauce, I completely recognize its taste and I’m sure I have had it before.

While tasting today’s meal, I kept in the back of my mind the triggering passages I chose to include in the seminars write up, which branched into people and societies’ associations with food. I think, since the 60’s, India has been associated in the west with the “hippie” spiritual and peaceful stereotypes (not saying these associations are accurate). I wonder if my tastes of the curry, pepper and ginger are affected at all from these stereotypes.

Something else that we discussed was whether or not to eat the skins of the squash. The fear of dirt has scared society into thinking dirt, and things touching the dirt, are bad for you or might make you sick. The opposite is true. Most of the nutrients are actually found in the skins, and dirt is full of important minerals the body needs. We, of course, were informed of this delusion and prompted to eat the squash skins. I personally was raised in a family that eats the skins of everything, including kiwis. However, I have had to explain quite a few times over the course of my life how the skins of many fruits and vegetables are in fact very good for you.

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason
SOS: ComAlt, Tasting Response. Week 3
1/24/17

For today’s tasting lab we looked at different spices, salt and sugar as a way to preserve fish. We also got to make our own spice blend to take home. Students gathered around a table holding three slabs of salmon and assorted spices. We ground spices such as peppercorns and made our own mixes to be tasted with oranges and created rubs for the salmon. I helped in the making of a savory blend for one of the salmon slabs. I blended all three types of peppercorns (one white and two black), Hungarian paprika, cumin and bay leaf. This was added to a mixture of one part salt and one part sugar. I then proceeded to thoroughly cover the salmon and wrapped it in foil to sit until the class tastes it next week. I tasted this blend with my orange as well as on top of today’s lunch which provided by two class mates. Lunch consisted of brown rice, roasted broccoli, potatoes and sweet potatoes. There were two types of sauces which were peanut sauce and a white sauce. An ambiance was also created by candles on each table and music in the background. I really enjoyed today’s lunch, I found the food to be quite tasty. My spice blend went well with the food, but not so much with the orange. I wasn’t as keen mixing a salty spice blend with the orange.

I think the food accompanied with the mood set sparked a lot of conversation. I think I like week 3’s seminar most so far as well. Instead of going around in a circle we joined in when we wanted to which a student referred to as a “pop corn” style of discussing. The discussion began with talking about the the white male’s perspective which lead to discussing how to approach people with different perspectives without creating a defensive environment.

Two other salmon slabs were spiced and preserved in a similar way by other students in the class. I believe the other two are spiced with sweeter spices like vanilla and cinnamon. An infusion was also made with spices and Everclear. I’m very interesting on how that turns out.

The class was given a questionnaire, which I have filled out, feel free to take a look:

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason
SOS: ComAlt, Tasting Response. Week 3
1/31/17

The topic of today’s tasting lab was on tea, which was lead by Kotomi. From this week on, Kotomi will be leading the tasting lab on tea bi-weekly.

This lab was very interesting. Kotomi made three different teas, each of which were prepared slightly differently. The temperatures, for instance, vary between teas. I learned that the hotter the water is, the more the tannin or astringents (I think this is the chemical) are pulled out of the leaves, which can cause bitterness. So knowing the correct temperature at which to steep a particular tea is important.

Also, one of the first things we learned was how all teas that are actually a “tea” come from the same plant. The reason why there is a wide variety has to do with how it is produced. Teas are harvested in many different ways and at different times of day or night.

The first tea that was served was a Matcha; this is a tea that you completely consume the leaf of.

The mocha is ground down into a fine powder and is drunk whole. When I think of tea I usually imagine it in a bag or strainer, not being eaten.

The second tea we tasted was an Oolong. This tea was very light in taste. I thought it had a floral fragrance and flavor. I also noticed the taste covered most of my tongue, whereas the Matcha I mostly noticed on the tip and back of my tongue.

The last tea was a Pu-erh. This tea was dark reddish brown. I couldn’t help but think it slightly smelled like my friends chinchilla cage (often filled with Alfalfa). I also overheard a student make a comment about how it smelled like a barn. It had a quite woody and earthy taste. I actually liked this tea the most out of all three.

We were given a sheet of paper with a table to fill out what we thought each tea looked, smelled and tasted like before and after it was steeped.

Feel free to take a look at the hand out:

For lunch, homemade bagels were boiled and baked in class! This was a perfect addition to the salmon that was prepared last week. This was served alongside a vegetable soup.

Kirstin Humason

Tateing lab W5

2/7/2017

To day’s tasting lab theme was corn. There were an array of different corn products. There was Corn Flakes, corn chips, corn syrup, corn bread, polenta, and bourbon. The class tasted each corn food and reflected upon its taste. For me, most corn items were bland and slightly sweet. I personally am not a huge fan of corn. Mostly because of its drab sweet taste.

This lab was accompanied by a short video called Black Corn with guest speaker Michael W. Twitty, who spoke of the relationship the people who were the subjects of slavery had with corn. I learned how many cultures believe they are the descendants of food. Corn being the mother, giving life to her children through nutrition. I learned how the African Americans main staple was corn and how foods like cornbread are made differently depending on if the recipe came from a white or black person. Things like sugar were a commodity unreachable to enslaved African American people. So cornbread recipes taught the descendants of enslaved African Americans are made without sugar.

I also learned that most of the corn in the US is not used to feed humans. 40% is used to make ethanol and 30% is feed for livestock. Corn products are also made into products like adhesives and toothpaste.

Lunch was a delicious hearty soup, perfect for the cold snowy day it was. A flat bread was served with the soup, making a great pair. There was also a Chai tea, which was amazing. I love homemade chai tea! Its was so flavorful and full of spices…. delicious!

This lab went well with the seminar topics on corn which have been discussed over the last week. I found it quite interesting and disturbing how large a role corn plays in America.

Kirstin Humason

Tateing lab W6

2/14/2017

Today I was sick and did not attend class. What I missed was a tea tasting lab. So to make up for it I decided to do a little research on Yerba mate. I thought this was a good idea because I drink Yerba mate almost every day and know little about it.

Recently my mother went on a trip to Argentina. She brought me a traditional cup (tazo de mate) and straw (bombilla) for drinking Yerba mate.

Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a plant native to South America. It is in the holly (Aquifoliaceae) family. This plant typically grows in the shade and is regarded as being a particularly difficult plant to domesticate.

Yerba mate plants become mature for harvest between 4-6 years. Small branches are harvested bi-annually thereafter. Harvest takes place at different times of the year for different flavors. The branches are dried in several different ways, such as smoking and sun drying.

There are many health benefits found in Yerba mate, some of which include: Caffeine, over 20 vitamins (vitamins c, b1, b2) and minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. Yerba mate is commonly used to remedy ailments such as cancer, arthritis, constipation, obesity, hypertension, etc.

In Argentinian tradition, one cup is filled with the loose Yerba mate and hot water, which is shared between a group of people. The drink is passed to a person who drinks until the liquid is gone. Then the water is refilled and passed to the next person. Only when an individual is finished do they say thank you (which communicates they are satisfied).

I personally love drinking Yerba mate; it’s how I begin most mornings. I think it has an earthy grassy taste. It is slightly bitter, but less so than coffee. I think it makes me feel good and spirited. Despite Yerba mate containing a similar amount of caffeine than coffee, I have also noticed the negative anxiety jitters effects are lower in Yerba mate.

Citations:

Heck, C. I., & De Mejia, E. G. (2007). Yerba Mate Tea (Ilex paraguariensis): a comprehensive review on chemistry, health implications, and technological considerations. Journal of food science, 72(9), R138-R151.

Bastos, D. H. M., Oliveira, D. D., Matsumoto, R. T., Carvalho, P. D. O., & Ribeiro, M. L. (2007). Yerba mate: pharmacological properties, research and biotechnology. Med Aromat Plant Sci Biotechnol, 1(1), 37-46.

Gonzalez de Mejia, E., Song, Y. S., Ramirez-Mares, M. V., & Kobayashi, H. (2005). Effect of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) tea on topoisomerase inhibition and oral carcinoma cell proliferation. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 53(6), 1966-1973.

Kirstin Humason

Tateing lab W7

2/21/2017

In today’s tea tasting lab we drank Da Jinya tea. I learned that this kind of tea is picked from a 40-60 year old tea plant. I really enjoyed this tea, and it reminded me of last weeks Pu-erh.

I thought it had a sweet, grassy aroma after steeping. The dry leaves had a peppery, spicy smell to it, which I found out is actually pepper.The taste reminded me of how straw smells. I also noticed the tea became more bitter after each steeping. The same batch of tea was steeped 4 or 5 times, and served. Something I did take notice of was my metabolism rising after my second cup. I became aware that my body felt warmer and more awake.

There was some discussion behind smells associated with sound. One student thought the taste of the tea reminded them of a high note. I thought this was interesting, and it made me think about the brain connecting smells and memories. I think the individual may have associated a memory of a music tone being played while smelling or tasting something similar to today’s tea.

Today we also did a tasting lab focused on bread. A plate of wheat grass was passed around the room to appreciate it before fully grown and processed.

As a class we turned butter and eat bread with milk. I haven’t made butter in a long time, so that was fun!

For lunch a few students made a spicy soup with okra. The soup was one of Michael W. Twitty’s, the speaker in the video played during week 5. I thought that was super cool.

Kirstin Humason

Tateing lab W8

2/28/2017

Today was a another tea tasting lab! Yay! These are always fun and super interesting. Today the class drank two different kinds of Oolong teas; High mountain and four seasons of spring. I think I prefered the High mountain, but they were very similar in taste. One thing I did notice is how the first steeping of the high mountain was far lighter in taste then that of the four seasons’ first steeping. In fact, I noticed the four season barely changed in intensity through the first three steepings.

The discussion held during the tea tasting had a lot to do with the health benefits surrounding teas. This included the meditative aspects of drinking tea. Tea houses were regarded as places of healing. We also spent time discussing the mechanisms of antioxidants in tea.

Today I had the privilege to be one of the three lunch makers! This allowed me the opportunity to share my oyster mushrooms with the class. I prepared my blue and pink oyster mushrooms separately, in the hopes to better distinguish their individual tastes. I also did this so that everyone could try at least one of the two, depending on on their dietary restrictions. The blue oyster mushrooms were pan fried in the butter our class made last week. I used fresh organic oregano, thyme, onion, and himalayan salt. The pink oysters were pan fried in olive oil with organic green onion, garlic and himalayan salt.

I included with the meal a list of health benefits found in oyster mushrooms, as well as a nutritional table. I asked the class to consider what vitamins and minerals may be contributing those health benefits. This quarter I am coming to better understand of how the body is equipped with mechanisms to help heal, and that they require vitamins and minerals to work properly.

My lunch partners fried some green and yellow zucchini and eggplant. There were also two tisanes; one with mint leaves and the other fennel root. I really loved the taste they created together. I am usually not a fan of anything liquorice flavored, but I rather enjoyed today’s tisanes. I thought the lunch, as a whole, was a success! I believe everyone liked it, and I really enjoyed working with my cooking partners. I was also very impressed by the seminar, lead mainly by my partners. I thought the day went very smoothly, and I loved the change of order to the normal class activities.

Kirstin Humason

Tateing lab W9

3/7/2017

Today’s tea lab was focused on green tea. There was a point made that the teas were steeped in glass tea pots in order to keep track of the color, which can signal when it is ready. It was also brought up that if the tea over steeps it can cause a stomachache from too much tennins .

The first was Genmai chi, which was a green tea with puffed rice. I could definitely smell the rice, and it also has a kind of sweet fragrance. I noticed that the second steeping had the strongest flavor. Puffed rice tea have always been among my favorites. On my own I like to eat the little puffs of rice.

The second tea was Kabusecha. This was another ground whole leaf powder tea. I thought this tea had a strong, typical green tea smell which was also slightly grassy. I found this tea to be much more bitter than the previous. It also gave me a slight headache, and made me somewhat anxious. However, there was also some frankincense incense burning, which may have been the actual cause for the headache.

I learned that in China green tea is fried, while in Japan it is steamed. This may have been due to a moment in history where Japan was isolated, which caused the culture to focus more on their individuality.

I also learned that 40% of the caffeine in tea is leached out in the first step, whereas the tennins leach out more slowly over many steeps.

Lunch today was fried vegetables and couscous. Unfortunately, I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture…oops! Nonetheless, it was delicious!

There was also a tannin which consisted of pine needles, nettles, raspberry leaf, rosemary, thyme, and rosehips.

I am always surprised how dark the tannins get; I often think that not much color will leach out of the herbs. I loved the taste! Todays tannin may have been my favorite! I think I mostly tasted the nettles, but I could definitely detect the pine needles as well

Kirstin Humason

Tateing lab W10

3/14/2017

Today we did a wine tasting for tasting lab!! We tried three different wines, one white and two reds.

I learned that there is a kind of ritual behind wine tasting. First you smell the wine, than you swirl the wine in the glass and smell, and lastly you taste the wine. We also learned how to observe the wine color by tipping the glass and looking at the shadow it casts on a white piece of paper.

We began with the white wine, Grand Bateau. I personally liked this one the most. The color was yellow gold. To me it smelled sweet, floral, and slightly zesty, with a hint of pepper – and tasted this way, too.

The second wine was the merlot. The color was ruby red. The smell was peppery. This wine tasted more dry, but still a little sweet.

The third wine was the Cabernet Sauvignon. The color was more of an amethyst. This wine was probably my least favorite. When the class was reflecting upon the smell, the person leading the tasting said it reminded them of old bandage in a metal tin. After that, it was all I could think of. So to me it smelled and tasted of metal and band aids.

Unfortunately I lost my notes on this lab, and honestly the lab left me on the buzzed side. So I can’t remember the full details, but I do know it was a lot of fun!

Today’s lunch was a potluck! Lots of students brought dishes. I brought vegan ice cream made from blended frozen bananas, cocoa powder, and avocado. It sounded like people liked it. I know I love this recipe! Tastes just like ice cream, but without the stomachache!

Seminar Weekly Post

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason
SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 2
14 Jan 2017
Word Count : 244

Triggering passages:

The kitchen, in turn, is increasingly the space into which disorder, garbage, contagion, dirt, noise, and other abject sensory experiences are projected. Those projections, all associated with ideological work of disgust and therefore constituted by disgust’s other, desire, stick to the kitchen’s residents, the hyperembodied subjects-disruptive, forbidden, marginally social, and therefore deliciously attractive-who come to be associated with its labor and products (Tompkins 2012:17).

The impact of commodities trading changes over time. It is also important to understand how commodities trading has evolved. Hart estimates that for every dollar spent on food, 15 to 20 cents represents the raw commodities used in that product. The rest represents advertising, transportation and fuel, labor, real estate, and other inputs. He also points to a 2008 study by the USDA, which figured out how much went into creating a box of cornflakes. “They figured out you paid more for the packaging surrounding those Rakes than you did for the corn in the corn flakes!” he crows. “What this tells you is that while food prices can move dramatically, in the scheme of things, they are not a big part of what goes into the price of those corn flakes.” (Newman 2013:14)

News articles:

‘BioClay’ a ground-breaking discovery for world food security

A University of Queensland team has made a discovery that could help conquer the greatest threat to global food security – pests and diseases in plants. http://phys.org/news/2017-01-bioclay-ground-breaking-discovery-world-food.html

Junk food cravings are triggered by the mere thought of being low class

Link between socioeconomic and poor nutrition may partly be in the mind. http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/12/junk-food-cravings-are-triggered-by-the-mere-thought-of-being-low-class/

Discussion:

The first chapter of Racial Indigestion goes into origins of how people associated themselves with the kitchen space. The passage describes how people and laborers of the kitchen became perceived negatively over time. As Tompkins writes “The kitchen, in turn, is increasingly the space into which disorder, garbage, contagion, dirt, noise, and other abject sensory experiences are projected.” Being associated with the kitchen meant being associated with those negative projections. Either way, the passage shows a disconnect between how the kitchen is perceived and what is actually going on. The kitchen, or hearth, was once a very positive place of sitting, eating, storytelling, etc.

I chose the second triggering passage from The Secret Financial Life of Food, Newman explains how most of what the consumer pays for goes into the packaging and not the actual product. When buying a box of cornflakes, the actual cornflakes are the cheapest part of the product. Many studies have shown that people are attracted to lots of packagings. Products of the same, and sometimes better quality, go unsold because the packaging are seen as sub-par. I think aspects of the way we market food further disassociates people from understanding what they are consuming. For example, one of the news article I included was a study of people eating poorly because they perceive themselves as lower class.

Both these passages show an element of illogical association between the consumer and their food. In the first passage these associations begin in the kitchen and spread to everything associated. In the second passage, the association is in the product before entering the kitchen.

Citations:

‘BioClay’ a ground-breaking discovery for world food security. (2017, January 11) received from http://phys.org/news/2017-01-bioclay-ground-breaking-discovery-world-food.html

Beth M. (2016, December 24) Junk food cravings are triggered by the mere thought of being low class. Receved from http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/12/junk-food-cravings-are-triggered-by-the-mere-thought-of-being-low-class/

Newman, Kara. (2013). The Secret Financial Life of Food: From Commodities Markets to Supermarkets. New York: Columbia University Press.

Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century. New York: New York University Press.

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason
SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 3
24 Jan 2017
Word Count : 243

Triggering passage:

Three Wishes has an explicitly class-based cautionary message derived from magical happenings that take place around the hearth. The story tells of a poor man, “Homespun,” and his wife, susan, who are “honest folks in humble life / who liv’d contented with their lot / And lov’d the comforts of their cot.” One night they are sitting at the hearth talking (“And o’er the fire the parents sat / Engaged in sober, social chat”) when a fairy-whom Homespun had previously saved from being hunted when she was disguised as a hare-appears to grant them three wishes. (Tompkins 2012:26)

Although European explorers, particularly the dutch and Portuguese, would continue to search for new spice trade, by the nineteenth century, spices were no longer viewed as exotic. “Pepper-pot” stews were considered mundane affairs for the middle and lower classes and not to be eaten by courtiers. (Newman 2013:21)

News articles:

How Cash Bail Keeps the Poor in Jail

Inability to pay bail is often the only reason a pretrial defendant stays behind bars. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/cash-bail-criminal-justice-reform/513083/

Pope calls on Trump to help the poor

Pope Francis congratulated US President Donald Trump on his inauguration yesterday, urging the new president to keep fighting for the poor at a time of “grave humanitarian crises”. https://stluciatimes.com/2017/01/21/pope-calls-trump-help-poor

Discussion:

What struck me the most in chapter one of Racial Indigestion would be the fairy tale: The three wishes. I think this section of the chapter interested me because it struck a personal chord from my childhood. What I found frustrating was how difficult it was for the couple to get out of the confinement of their class. I think it shows the lack of education the class was subject to, which directly impacted the couple’s ability to overcome their situation, despite being given a golden ticket into a higher class.

I chose the news article “How cash bail keeps the poor in jail” and “Pope calls on Trump to help the poor”, because they reminded me of the three wishes fairy tale. Growing up I always assumed that cops and laws were in place to keep people safe. As an adult I came to realize the boundaries of safety only stretch to certain classes of people. It wasn’t until I was in my early twenties when I was a dirty homeless traveling musician, where I first came in contact with how police target people of low class. As a white middle class child, I had an incorrect view, thinking poor people choose to not better their own lives, but now as an adult I see how unfair systems are in place to keep the poor poor.

In chapter two of The Secret Financial Life of Food, I noticed a similar concept of keeping higher classes separated from the middle and lower class by not eating spices considered common.

Citations:

Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century. NewYork: New York University Press.

Newman, Kara. (2013). The Secret Financial Life of Food: From Commodities Markets to Supermarkets. New York: Columbia University Press.

Anne Kim. (2017) How Cash Bail Keeps the Poor in Jail. Receved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/cash-bail-criminal-justice-reform/513083/

St. Lucia Times. (2017) Pope calls on Trump to help the poor. Receved from: https://stluciatimes.com/2017/01/21/pope-calls-trump-help-poor

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason
SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 4
29 Jan 2017
Word Count : 231

Triggering passage:

Like so many other staple foods in early America, corn had a dual identity as food and commodity. Indeed, this dual identity made corn indispensable to the slave trade: corn was both the currency traders used to pay for slaves in Africa and the food upon which slaves subsisted during their passage to America. (Newman 2013:28)

Bread has generally been considered as the staff of life to man, being the most important and universal article of his sustenance. For this reason, it is the practice of all wise states to subject the price and quality of this grand staple of our food, to the regulation of the civil magistrate….Of such importance is the article of bread, that the government of every country ought to hold a controlling hand of those circumstances, within its reach, which may have a tendency to augment the price of this commodity. (Tompkins 2012:58)

News articles:

Does Bread Make You Fat? Nutrition Facts You Need to Know

http://www.foods4betterhealth.com/does-bread-make-you-fat-nutrition-facts-you-need-to-know-28286

Price of corn sets pace for local economy in South Dakota

The price of corn has been a steady indicator of the state and metro areas’ economies in recent decades. When corn prices go up, the local economy outperforms the national economy. When corn prices go down, the local economy lags behind the national economy. http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/latest/price-of-corn-sets-pace-for-local-economy-in-south/article_6c2c8bed-68a5-5113-974f-ea1ff5cd6c79.html

Discussion:

I find it interesting how throughout history bread was considered to be so valuable that it was used to control people. Bread, being the main staple used for feeding society, was regulated heavily by the government. It was in the government’s favor to have control over its quality and price.

I find it quite disturbing how a commodity like bread held so much power that it could control people.Today the meaning behind bread has shifted, not only does bread no longer hold the same importance, more and more people are considering it to be bad or unhealthy, causing illness and obesity.

Corn played a similar role, being used as currency to buy slaves as well as being a major food staple, but unlike bread, the importance of corn is still rising. Health benefits and non food related uses are being discovered.

Unlike our not so distant past, American people have more choice on how they feed themselves. Supermarkets contain a high variety of foods. People do not need to rely on just one food as a staple, but this doesn’t mean food no longer holds great power. In places such a South Dakota, corn has a big influence on the the economy. I think it’s important that people pay attention to the powers behind food commodities because of its potential to affect us as individuals as well as a nation.

Citations:

Newman, Kara. (2013). The Secret Financial Life of Food: From Commodities Markets to Supermarkets. New York: Columbia University Press.

Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century. NewYork: New York University Press.

Jon, Yaneff. (2017). Does Bread Make You Fat? Nutrition Facts You Need to Know. Received from: http://www.foods4betterhealth.com/does-bread-make-you-fat-nutrition-facts-you-need-to-know-28286

Argus, Leader. (2017). Price of corn sets pace for local economy in South Dakota. Received from: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/latest/price-of-corn-sets-pace-for-local-economy-in-south/article_6c2c8bed-68a5-5113-974f-ea1ff5cd6c79.html

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason
SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 5
2 February, 2017
Word Count : 244

Triggering passage:

News articles:

Does Bread Make You Fat? Nutrition Facts You Need to Know

High carbs and bread nutrition are often promoted in schools and doctors offices; however, this dietary approach has mostly been a failure, with two-thirds of the American population being overweight or obese. http://www.foods4betterhealth.com/does-bread-make-you-fat-nutrition-facts-you-need-to-know-28286

Price of corn sets pace for local economy in South Dakota

Discussion:

Citations:

Newman, Kara. (2013). The Secret Financial Life of Food: From Commodities Markets to Supermarkets. New York: Columbia University Press.

Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century. NewYork: New York University Press.

Jon, Yaneff. (2017). Does Bread Make You Fat? Nutrition Facts You Need to Know. Received from: http://www.foods4betterhealth.com/does-bread-make-you-fat-nutrition-facts-you-need-to-know-28286

http://www.foods4betterhealth.com/does-bread-make-you-fat-nutrition-facts-you-need-to-know-28286

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason

SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 6

10th February 2017

Word Count : 249

Triggering passage:

To the Native community, the debate remains a clear example of a discriminatory legal system. Indeed, since the Supreme Court’s 1978 decision in Oliphant vs Suquamish Indian Tribe stripped tribal communities of much jurisdiction over non-tribal members, many reservations are now the residence to large non-Native populations. (LaDuke 2016:131)

Also, the beef Trust was a notable target in Upton Sinclair’s book The jungle, in which he wrote about deplorable conditions in packingtown” and rampant corruption in the meatpacking industry: “It seems that they must have agencies all over the country, to hunt out old and crippled and diseased cattle to be canned. (Newman 2013:99)

News article:

Citizens Bank Target of Boycott and Divestment Protest

PROVIDENCE — The call has been sounded across the country to halt the last stage of the Dakota Access Pipeline. At a recent downtown protest, Citizens Bank was targeted for helping finance the $3.78 billion oil-transmission project that would travel underneath the Missouri River, the primary drinking-water source for the Standing Rock Sioux, a tribe with a reservation in the central part of North and South Dakota. http://www.ecori.org/renewable-energy/2017/2/9/citizens-bank-target-for-boycott-and-divestment

Discussion:

The theme I have chosen for this weeks seminar is greed. Most of my life I have steered clear of politics. This is due to my gullibility. I want to always believe humans are good and kind. However, again and again I am greeted with the realities of greed and lies found within the people and corporations which possess the highest power. Coming to terms with these horrible truths, I’m left feeling depressed and angry. I keep away from politics because of how difficult and confusing it is to pick out the truth. The truth is never pretty and it’s hard for anyone to learn how they live in a lie. America is not that happy land of freedom and rights I grew up thinking it was. You cannot even trust the meat you eat that is supposed to be regulated.

Reading from Chronicles, I found almost every paragraph triggering. Native Americans consistently get the short end of the stick. I have a profound sense of unease, learning how deep the abuse of power goes. Native lands are supposed to be protected, but that is often not the case due to money and greed. The news article I chose is only one example of the money used against native people’s rights.

The greed of the rich and powerful finds loopholes within the cracks of the system to prey upon the powerless. From stripping land from natives, to feeding the public diseased meat, money and greed are the true laws of America.

Citations:

LaDuke, Winona. Chronicles: Stories from the Front Lines in the Battle for Environmental Justice. Edited by Sean Aaron Cruz. 1st edition. Spotted Horse Press, 2016.

Newman, Kara. (2013). The Secret Financial Life of Food: From Commodities Markets to Supermarkets. New York: Columbia University Press.

Tim, Faulkner. (2017) Citizens Bank Target of Boycott and Divestment Protest. Recieved from: http://www.ecori.org/renewable-energy/2017/2/9/citizens-bank-target-for-boycott-and-divestment

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason

SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 7

16 Jan 2017

Word Count : 255

Triggering Passage:

Housekeeping… is one of the most beautiful of all the arts a woman can learn… Cooking is one of the main things, you know…. I’d rather you learned how to make good bread than the best pies ever baked. When you bring me a handsome loaf, entirely made by your-self,… I’ll give you my heartiest kiss, and a promise to eat every crumb of the loaf myself. (Tompkins 2013:133)

News article:

Women’s Invisible Work

In countries across the world, the ways in which men and women spend their time is unbalanced. Men spend more time working for money whereas women do the bulk of unpaid work – cooking, cleaning and child care. But does society pay when women’s work is unpaid?http://forgetoday.com/press/womens-invisible-work/
Discussion:

I think I mostly felt sad after reading this passage. It made me think about jokes made at my expense, like “go make me a sandwich woman”. The joke was and is still real, and although I have laughed, I am saddened by the realities of my history of being female.

In the opening statement, it said “housekeeping” was “the most beautiful of all the arts a woman can learn”. I’m sad how the bar of achievements for a women were so low and how a good housekeeper was the most a woman could hope to be.

The second part of the passage goes on to explain that the more important housekeeping skill is baking bread. The speaker says “I’ll give you my heartiest kiss”. His gift is affection to award the making of good bread, and a promise to eat all of it. Although this gesture is supposed to be something of a speech for inspiration, it’s offensive; not only does the woman need to perform this art to gain the affections of a man, but the man’s positive response is to reap the benefit by eating all the bread.

I chose the news article because I think housekeeping is still pictured as a woman’s job and is still done mostly by women. Although women can now aspire to greater arts, other than “housekeeping”, evidence shows that women are still doing more housekeeping than men. Again, we see men being paid for their efforts (reaping the benefits) while women are expected to work unpaid.

Citations:

Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century. NewYork: New York University Press.

Swindells, K. (2017). 6 minute read:Women’s Invisible Work. received from: http://forgetoday.com/press/womens-invisible-work/

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason

SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 8

24 Feb 2017

Word Count : 245

For white boys to openly discuss their desire for colored girls (or boys) publicly announces their break with a white supremacist past that would have such desire articulated only as taboo, as secret, as shame. They see their willingness to openly name their desire for the Other as affirmation of cultural plurality (its impact on sexual preference and choice). Unlike racist white men who historically violated the bodies of black women/women of color to assert their position as colonizer/ conqueror, these young men see themselves as non-racists, who choose to transgress racial boundaries within the sexual realm not to dominate the Other, but rather so that they can be acted upon, so that they can be changed utterly. (Hooks 2001:368

Here I am understanding disgust as the form of pleasure-in-excess that often accompanies comedy. Disgust here is married not only to the disavowal of big affect-joy, pain, desire,, pleasure-away from the white, Protestant, middle-class body and onto black, asian, and ethnic white bodies; it is also, seemingly inversely, married to envy and desire. Disgust thus is born of the everyday public encounter with bodies that seem to enjoy what whiteness is meant to disavow. (Tompkins 2013:150)

News Article:

BEYONCÉ’S PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT RE-ENACTS RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM AND CHALLENGES RACISM

Sociologist Anthony Cortese found that in popular culture black women are often othered, animalized and exoticized, associating women of color with primitivity or wild sexuality .http://www.newsweek.com/beyonce-pregnancy-announcement-instagram-religious-symbolism-553117
Discussion:

These triggering passages struck me on a personal level. I have personally witnessed men sexualising women because of their race. This was either by overhearing conversations, or being accepted into a group as “one of the guys”. One conversation which disturbed me was several white men sharing bucket lists of ethnic women each wanted to sleep with. A direct quote: “Now that I have dated so-and-so, I can check Asians off my list”.

These passages reflect non-white people as “the Other”. In Tompkins, they’re associated with behaviour and lifestyle which white culture disassociates from, especially women. White women are expected to be pure and virginal, while women of color are seen as promiscuous and erotic. The desire for tasting what one is repressed from is also coupled with disgust. This is a behaviour that reminds me of how religions sometimes shame masterbation, or experess homophobia in response to a person representing their homosexuality.

The next passage by Hooks describes how some people propagate those same racial sexual stereotypes with behaviour that allows to indulge temptations. Now the white male is allowed to break free from the sexual repressions of a white person, by treating sex with other races as an “exotic” novelty, or a way to gain worldly knowledge. I think this is disgusting and racist, and is still a form of objectifying women and reinforcing stereotypes.

I chose the news article to show how racial sexual stereotyping is still an important issue which needs addressing.
Citations:

Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century. NewYork: New York University Press.

Crow, S., Kendall, D., Praus, B., & Thuras, P. (2001). Binge eating and other psychopathology in patients with type II diabetes mellitus. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 30(2), 222-226.

Edwards, Katie. (2017). News week. received from: http://www.newsweek.com/beyonce-pregnancy-announcement-instagram-religious-symbolism-553117

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason

SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 8

2, March, 2017

Word Count : 241

Triggering passage:

Blackness consistently appears being bitten, stung, or pinched, betraying a visual pleasure in black pain that is also a desire to taste it. At times the image is less overtly violent. Consider an advertisment advertisment for sanford’s Ginger, a “delicious summer medicine” (21). In this card a black female child, sitting on a whole watermelon, holds a crying baby who is inside a watermelon that has been carved into the shape of a baby basket. (Tompkins 2012:170)

As part of the deal, Kosuga and Siegel had promised the growers they would keep buying enough onions on the cash market to support futures prices on the Merc. But that wasn’t the real plan. Instead, Siegel and Kosuge began shorting onion futures almost immediately after the growers bought the onions.(Newman 2013:131)

News article:

1882: Grave robbers sold black bodies to medical college

Those bodies made their way to Jefferson Medical College, where they would serve as cadavers on which students applied their lessons. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/1882-Grave-robbers-sold-black-bodies-to-medical-college.html

Discussion:

My feeling towards these triggering passages and news articles is disappointment. America advertises itself as the heroes and protectors of the weak. I am disappointed to learn how minorities and people with little power have been objectified, advertised as commodity, and exploited for profit.

Tomkins shows how the black body could be symbolically eaten, consumed or seen as a commodity. Black bodies were made into an advertising commodity by either embodying the commodity, or by being hurt for comedic entertainment. This is much like the news article which shows how black bodies were grave robbed and sold as a commodity to medical science.

The second passage is not exactly related to consuming or using the black body as a commodity, though I would like to relate it back to the first passage and news article by examining people of power versus people without. It is easy to take advantage of people who have little to no voice. This is why the white people of power could get away with black bodies being sold as commodities (at least for a while). The onion farmers, being on the lowest end of the pecking order, and holding the least power, were taken advantage of. This was most likely because the people holding the most power assumed no one would listen to the farmer’s outrage. One could assume the same idea was behind the horrible acts of grave robbing, and advertisements objectifying people of color.

Citations:

Newman, Kara. (2013). The Secret Financial Life of Food: From Commodities Markets to Supermarkets. New York: Columbia University Press.

Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century. NewYork: New York University Press.

Tommy, Rowin. (2017). 1882: Grave robbers sold black bodies to medical college. Received from: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/1882-Grave-robbers-sold-black-bodies-to-medical-college.html

Kirstin “Frankie” Humason

SOS: ComAlt, Seminar Pre-Writing Week 9

2, March, 2017

Word Count : 241

Triggering passage:

News article:

1882: Grave robbers sold black bodies to medical college

Discussion:

Citations:

Newman, Kara. (2013). The Secret Financial Life of Food: From Commodities Markets to Supermarkets. New York: Columbia University Press.

Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century. NewYork: New York University Press.

Project Weekly Posts

Week 1

Beginning the mushroom journey

There is a lot of getting ready to do. This week the theme is preparing for the future. I began with ordering oyster mushroom spores and liquid cultures online. My final choices were Pearl, Pink, and Blue Oyster mushrooms. I also got luminescent Panellus mushrooms just for fun.

Other shopping included buying grain from WinCo, straw from Keep it Simple farms, and gypsum from Lowes. It looks as though my Oyster mushroom order should come in tomorrow, so I get to begin the process! Yay!

Step 1: preparing jars! I had to make over 40 lids. This process involved drilling two holes into the top. One hole is an inoculating port, used to inject the liquid culture. The other allows for gas exchange. Then all the holes needed to be sealed with a self healing automotive silicone (to withstand a lot of heat) and micropore filter disk (allows gas exchange).

Step 2: of the process was soaking the grain for 12-24 hours. This is to germinate the endospores, which are microorganisms that live within the grain and well…..everything. The endospores can survive pasteurization while in its dormant stage. The soaking process activates the organism, making it more vulnerable and not able to survive pasteurization. As you can see, the soaking is necessary.

Here are two sites that explain more on endospores:

http://www.cmsweb.org/articles/cultivation_2.htm

https://micro.cornell.edu/research/epulopiscium/bacterial-endospores

Step 3: Sterilization! After letting the grain strain and cool for 12 hours, I filled 20 jars with grain, screwed on my newly made lids and popped them into the pressure cookers. The jars need to heat up to 256 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour and a half. Then the pressure cookers need to cool down overnight so as to not kill the cultures.

Grain ready to be pasteurized in the pressure cookers — Grain ready to be sterilized in the pressure cookers

Injecting grain with oyster mushroom cultures

Step 4: inoculating! This is the part I found to be the most exciting. It’s also a careful process. Contamination happens really easily, so being extra careful is necessary. This involves taking a quick shower, wearing a lab coat and gloves, spraying everything down with isopropyl alcohol and working in front of a flow hood (piece of machinery the blows sterile air).

I chose to start with blue and pink oyster mushrooms. I injected 10 jars with the pink and 10 with the blue oyster mushroom liquid cultures. I then shook up the jar to spread the culture and shelved it. Hopefully I will start to see mycelia growing within the week.

Other than shopping and starting my oyster mushrooms, I’ve been watching and listening to a lot of videos and podcasts online. I was pretty sick this week, so videos and podcasts have saved me!

One video I really liked was The Future of Fungi, by Paul Stamets. He is the mushroom wizard! Paul has made some very fascinating discoveries on mushrooms. He also went to Evergreen! Yay!

Here is the video I watched, if anyone is interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwLviP7KaAc

Week 2

Sculpture making!

Oyster Mushrooms are taking a break this week. It will take some time for the mycelium to take hold of the grain. This week I am focusing on my art sculpture.

I began the week looking at my book, BioArt, for inspiration. There are some really awesome piece shown in this book. I’m very happy that I chose it. This book features so many kinds of media, from sculptures to paintings. Everything shown somehow relates back to something biological, and often brings some sort of awareness to environmental or biological issues. A few art pieces that have particularly inspired me made use of animal bones.

It always amazes me how much time I can spend on art. It’s quite comical how off I am with my predictions of how long art projects take me. Today I spent five hours on my sculpture, and I have barely scratched the surface. Mostly I have just played with mixing paints. I would like to paint in a way that resembles the look of petroleum or an oil spill (not an easy task).

I started by making some test pieces of sculpey clay to paint on. I’m also painting on newspaper (I may make most of the sculpture from paper mache). I played around with acrylic paints and resin. I also hope to find out if the paint has any reactions when mixed with the resin.

So far I’m not completely happy with my attempts at recreating an oil-in-water rainbow metallic look. However I think the brownish-black sludge look is close. I may need to use some actual oil paints to give me the “oil look” I’m aiming for.

Here are a few photos of my paint tests compared to oil spill pictures I found online:

My attempt of Brownish-black sludge oil — Brownish-black sludge oil

As for the sculpture itself, I plan on making an oil monster wearing a skull mask. I began by making two demo skull masks (mostly to gain a feel for what I wanted) out of sculpey clay. However, I ended up really liking my second the skull mask (a ram skull). It turned out much better than I had planned, so I think I’m probably going to stick with it.

2nd Skull mask (I'm going to use this one) — 2nd Skull mask (I’m going to use this one)

Other work

This week I also listened to two episodes of the Joe Rogan podcasts, with guest Dr. Rhonda patrick.

So….. I cannot say this enough times… Dr. Rhonda Patrick is amazing!!! I have spent so much time listening to Dr. Rhonda Patrick, even before starting this project. She is absolutely amazing, and so insightful in regards to nutrition. She’s a guest on the Joe Rogan podcast, which I advise everyone to give a listen to. She breaks down mechanisms of what is happening in your body on a micro level, and she does it in a way that is easy to understand.

How does listening to Dr. Rhonda Patrick relate to Urban oyster mushroom farming you ask? Well I shall tell you!

Dr. Rhonda Patrick mostly talks about nutrition, which can directly relate to oyster mushrooms. For example: Oyster mushrooms have many medicinal properties, starting with the vitamins and minerals they carry (Thiamin, vitamin B6, Magnesium, Zinc, Potassium, copper, etc.). Dr. Rhonda Patrick talks about what these vitamins and minerals are doing in your body, so the information goes full circle. Having a better understanding of this material helps me understand how Oyster mushrooms are beneficial overall.

Week 3

Mushroom report:

The mason jars have fully colonized and are ready to spawn to bulk!

This week my Blue oyster mushrooms have fully colonized the spawn (The mycelia has completely grown over the grain) and is now ready to be transferred to straw. This is known as the spawning to bulk substrate process. I am keeping four out of the ten colonized mason jars (the master jars) to be redistributed and increasing my stock to 40 jars. This is called a grain to grain transfer. This can be done several time before the genetics hit senescence (the genetics become weak lessening its ability to fight off contaminants and cell replication retards).

First the straw needed to be pasteurised. I accomplished this by filling a cooler with with about 10 large handfuls of straw (roughly 1.5 cubic feet) and then poured boiling water over the top. The straw needs to be between 140-160 degrees fahrenheit for an hour to kill off any harmful spores or possible contaminants. I left the cooler to sit overnight to cool the straw enough to safely work with as well as not kill the mycelia.

The next day I filled six plastic baskets (I bought the day before from the dollar tree), with five layers of straw, the cultivated grain and gypsum. The straw is mostly supplying nitrogen as well as some macronutrients. The gypsum provides sulfur and trace minerals. This will feed and give energy to mycelia so it can begin to pin. Pinning is when the mycelia begins its reproductive stage by growing mushrooms. This can also be called the fruiting stage.

Mushrooms need three elements that trigger the fruiting process: Water, light and oxygen.

To force the mushrooms to go into aggressive fruiting state, one out of the three elements are suppressed until the mycelia is fully colonized. Then when the third suppressed element is returned, the mycelia begins to fruit rapidly. The easiest and most commonly suppressed element is oxygen. Suppressing oxygen is known to be the quickest way of trigger the pinning or fruiting stage.

All six baskets were put into plastic bags to help keep it isolated from contaminants and create buildup of CO2. Later, when mycelia fully colonizes, the straw baskets will be removed from the bags to create more air flow. The increased Oxygen supply stimulates the mycelia to begin pining (going to fruit).

Sculpture update:

I really need to work on my research project, but I’v been so excited about working on my sculpture. My feelings are if I’m actually inspired to do art, I should do it. Anyone who does any kind of art knows how hard it can be to work up inspiration.

I’ve been looking up a lot of skeletons and grim reapers as I sculpted. I have now completed most of the upper torso of my monster which is the main attraction. I also made a major change. I was planning to have my sculpture standing upright on a board, but now I’m planning to have it, sort of coming out of a painting. So it’s becoming half painting half sculpture, in a way.

You can’t tell from the pictures below, but I didn’t like the first head, so I scraped it and started over (which cost me about 4 hours).

Here are a few pictures that show a little of the process:

Other work:

I’m thinking about attending a small business program called Enterprise for Equality. It’s designed to teach people about the beginning stages of starting a small business. I would like to one day try to start my own Oyster mushroom farming business, so this might be a good opportunity for me. The information session is this coming up on Monday the 30th. I plan on at least checking it out.

If anyone wants to know more or is interested joining the Enterprise for Equality program, here is a link: http://www.enterpriseforequity.org/

Week 4

Lets talk business

My week began with the informational meeting for Enterprise for Equality. As I mentioned last week, they are a school aiming to help people begin small businesses. The informational meeting did seem helpful, and I am interested in taking a coarse. It sounds like their goal is to help individuals narrow down the logistics of their business, and create a business plan. Unfortunately, the next opportunity to join is not until this coming summer or fall. I will probably look into it again when the time is closer.

Research

This week I’ve been trying to focus more on my research project and fine tuning my blog site. I still haven’t dove as deeply into my research as I would like, but at least I have begun. The subject of mushroom evolution is already huge, even when we exclude the topic of their medicinal properties (a subject debatably larger). I feel like I have barely scratched the surface. I began by refreshing my biology knowledge on cells and the evolution of the Eukaryota. My thought is that having a well rounded understanding of cells is a good place to begin my understanding of how fungus evolved.

Lose ends

I also watched some YouTube videos on the subject. Being dyslexic, videos help my retention of the material. However, after about an hour and a half, I became distracted with how lacking my blog bibliography was. I usually save everything I so much as glance at in Google docs. It is, however, unorganized and scattered. I spent quite some time organizing my materials and going over the last few weeks of blog writings (not all updated work is presented in blog yet). Currently, my blog has only referenced videos and podcasts from my bibliography, but other references will be included soon. I am also trying to add links to help navigate through my blog.

Mushroom update:

The oyster mushrooms have fully colonized the straw substrate! Super exciting, because this means I’m about a week away from having ready-to-eat oyster mushrooms!! Yay!!

I built a fruiting chamber, which involved putting together rods and plastic pieces to form a 4 level greenhouse structure. Oyster mushrooms need a surplus of oxygen. This meant cutting a hole in the plastic and installing a fan. The mushrooms also need lots of moisture, which I obtained by placing a humidifier on the top shelf. There is a timer connected to both the fan and humidifiers’ cords. Its set to turn on every hour for 15 minutes.

Pictures of fruiting chamber being built:

I also started the whole process over again with the pink Oyster mushrooms. My hope is to have two kinds of Oyster mushrooms to taste for the lunch I signed up for on week eight of class.

Just as in week 3, I pasteurize the straw substrate, and added the colonized grain in plastic baskets, then stored them in garbage bags.

Art update:

Also like in past weeks, I again spent time mixing paint and resin to create an oil look. This week I played around with mixing oil paints into the resin, and melting cellophane on wire.

20170205_025601 — Acrylic paint, cellophane and wire melted in oven

I think I really like the look the painted, melted cellophane gives. To me, at least, it looks the most like the oil and trash one might find floating in the water.

20170205_030350 — Acrylic paint, cellophane and wire melted in oven

I created this look by making a wire frame, wrapping it in cellophane, painting it with acrylic paint, and melting it in the oven. I added additional layers of cellophane and paint and melting.

Something New!

I recorded a podcast-style interview with a person who ran a small oyster mushroom business with two other business partners in Seattle. His name is Jaya Palmer and he was incredibly knowledgeable on the subject of growing and selling Oyster mushrooms. In fact, he was so honest and insightful about the subject that I am now rethinking starting a mushroom business. Please take a listen to the recording if you’re interested.

Interview:

https://soundcloud.com/kirstin-humason/interview-with-jaya-palmer-on-oyster-mushroom-farming

Week 5

Research Paper:

This week began with a snow day! It was awesome! I had a whole extra day to work on my project! Normally I work all day Monday and Wednesday, so I don’t get started on my project or homework till Wednesday night.

I took this opportunity to really get started on my research paper. I have mostly been collecting research material and reading mostly the abstracts. Now, I have actually read a bunch of articles and began writing my paper. I spent over ten hours on it! Go me! Monday was a very good day, I wrote a little over a page (no spoilers). It’s amazing what an extra day can do for me!

Mushroom report:

Not much for me to do this week, but my mushroom are growing!!! Its was so exciting the day they started pinning (the beginnings of little mushroom caps). Every day since I have seen major growth. It’s so exciting!!

As an experiment, I took a few baskets and set them in the window sill. The major difference is that the baskets receiving more natural sunlight seem to be turning more blue. I’m also wondering if it will affect the size. I may want to look deeper into this and possibly even run controlled experiments for next quarter. Something for me to think about.

I also switched the Pink Oyster mushrooms to fruiting conditions. I am running out of room, so I I’m keeping half of the baskets in the fruiting chamber and the other half in plastic tubs. This in itself is an experiment. It will be interesting to see which baskets grow better. I’m considering as a pilot study that may turn into a possible controlled experiments I was talking about maybe doing next quarter.

Art

Slowly but surely, my sculpture is still coming along!

This week I finished the left arm and sculpted a gas pump nozzle gun thing. My thought was, in order to make it clear what my sculpture represented an oil spill monster thing, it needed have a prop. I don’t think I’m going to have any problems making my monster look like it’s evil or oil spill like. My biggest concern is making it look like it’s actually being attached by Oyster mushroom, not just growing them passively. The only way I can think of expressing this is through the figure’s posture. This is why it’s screaming and (hopefully) looking distressed. Meh… We shall see….

I also worked on painting the sculpture, giving definition to its bones. Natural bone have an off white yellow tint. I painted the mouth to kinda look like rotten meat, hoping to make it appear gross. As long as no one wants to make out with it, we’re good.

Between everything I was able to get done on Mondays snow day and how productive the rest of my week went, I have really collected some extra time. For this program, students need to complete and log 40 hours per week. My goal of each week has been to make a few extra “rainy day” hours just in case life happens. Due to working Mondays and Wednesday, you can imagine I haven’t had much of a social life. But that’s ok. I have been really enjoying this project. However! This week I made so much extra hours, that maybe, in future…. i’ll take some time off! Wwwooh!

But we’ll see, I also need to make sure I actually complete all three of my learning objectives and the required homework. Things tend to take me longer than the average person.

Over and out!

Week 7

Sick week! No fun!

I took being sick as an opportunity to work on my research paper! I’m pretty happy with the amount I’ve put into it. However, more and more I’m finding the subject to be quiet and dense. I’m spending a lot of time re-learning the basics of biology. It’s been a long time since I learned about how a cell works and the origins of how life began. I’m finding that, because the evolution of fungi took place so early in evolutionary history, it’s important that I have a better understanding of how everything began on a micro level.

I’m diving pretty deep into compounds found in Oyster mushrooms. One, in particular, I’m looking into is L-Tryptophan. I have kind of turned a corner, and am now learning the evolution of L-Tryptophan. It’s a really confusing and deep hole i’ve found myself in. So that’s fun…

Mushroom report

The pink oyster mushrooms have begun to grow!! And man are they PINK! The blue Oyster mushroom had a blue tint to them for sure, but the pinks are super pink. It’s so interesting. Now I want to know how and why they are different colors. Interesting stuff!

I have half the brackets in plastic tubs by the window sill, and the other half in the fruiting chambers. I think the Oysters that receive more natural light are doing better. However, it’s a bit more of a pain to keep them in the plastic tubs because they need to be misted several time daily to keep them humid. I also had to drill holes into the bins for air flow.

The second flush of the blue Oyster mushrooms have begun to pin again. The way you stimulate a second flush is to fully submerge the basket or colonised substrate into water for about an hour, then place it back into the fruiting chamber. This simulates a quick rainy season.

Fully colonized grain before and after shaking them up

Splitting fully colonized grain jar into 10 sterilized grain jars.

This week I also split the remaining grain jars into new grain jars. This is done by going through the same process as before (soaking, pasteurising and sterilising the grain). Then you take the existing fully colonized grain jars and split one into ten new grain jars. When the mycelia is again fully colonized, I will start new straw in baskets or logs, keeping the cycle going forever!

The thing I’m now going to really focus on is mushroom size. My hypothesis is that I may need less surface area to fruit. I’m thinking about making straw logs or bagging the substrate. By poking holes for the mushrooms to grow through, I think it will localize its energy and grow fewer, but larger mushrooms.

Art update

Cutting the painted and melted cellophane into prefured shape

This week I’ve finished painting a lot of the sculpture and am now working on my sculptures clothing. Basically, I’ve been melting cellophane on wire (just like how I experimented with in week 4).

My sculpture is now clothed! I just need to figure out how I’m going to complete the background. My plan was to paint an ocean scene…then I realized… I’m not a painter! What was I thinking? So guess what folks? I’ve been looking at some Youtube videos of Bob Ross! He may just be the answer to all my problems!

I began the background by making a canvas (not actually made of canvas). I took the existing glass from the frame, made a layer of paper mache, followed by a sheet of white paper. This is where I plan to paint the Bob Ross ocean scene.

Week 7

Research project:

This week started out with President’s day, so I didn’t have to go to work, which gave me an extra day to work on my projects. That worked out perfectly because I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked during the rest of this week.

I mostly worked on my research paper. I think it’s really coming together now. I still can’t help but feel like I’m mostly just explaining evolution itself, but that’s ok. It’s been really interesting; I now have a way better idea of how life began.

Sure, my college focus has been in evolutionary biology, however I didn’t really take biology in high school, and we were expected to already know a lot of this stuff upon entering those programs. I got by just fine, but now I’m really getting it. So I’m super happy about that.

Mushroom report:

Not a lot going on at this point. All the baskets are going through their second flush. I feel quite successful about how much yield I have gotten.

There should be a sufficient amount to cook this week for class (for anyone who doesn’t know, this program expects all students to cook one lunch for the class during the quarter). I wanted to cook the mushrooms I have been growing, which makes sense, considering how much I talk about them in class.

Art:

I put some time into my art this week. I’ve been a little hesitant to paint, mostly because it’s out of my comfort zone.

I began by painting my blank canvas black. This give a dark background that really pops the colors. I want to paint a beach scene with an evil red stormy sky and sea. I totally watched several Bob Ross videos while painting. So far I have completed the sky portion. I’m not sure if I’m completely satisfied, so I might start again on the back side, and then choose between the two.

I also sculpted a few skulls that I may include at the end. I might strategically place the skulls between the fold of the monsters robs.

Week 8

Research research research

This week I mostly focused on my research paper. I spent at least 17 hours on it this week, probably even more, but I lost track and just rounded down.

When It comes to focusing on anything dealing with reading and writing, I need a quiet place where little can distract me. I can sometimes take a good hour just getting into the flow, but after that I can work productively for hours. After a while my work space begins to look a little like a nest. I try to have everything I could possibly need next to me. This makes it so I don’t have any excuses to get up and find ways to procrastinate.

One thing I found really difficult about this research project was finding extensive nutritional information. I found lots of information on specific oyster mushroom compounds, but I’ve been having a real hard time obtaining a complete list. What I really want to find is some solid data on the levels of tryptophan found in oyster mushrooms. I have mostly run into studies showing evidence of tryptophan simply being present. I think this information is really important to know if oyster mushrooms can be considered a good source of tryptophan. I think the reason why there isn’t much information on this is because there is no actual approved daily value for tryptophan. What little information exists in this area is, I believe, not completely reliable. I think that if I could start over on this project, the one thing I would change is the compound I decided to focus on. I should have done a little more research in the beginning, and figured out which compounds have been more extensively researched.

More Mushrooms!

20170303_201558 — Soaking basket in water

20170304_145404 — Draining excesses water

Everything is winding down now. My baskets have all done at least two flushes. The blue oyster mushrooms first two flushes were their strongest. In contrast, the pink oysters did their best the second and third flushes, which I found interesting. I’m still soaking the baskets to see if I can get a fourth flush, though I have a feeling that I won’t get much.

Art

Sorry folks! I haven’t worked on this at all this week. I really wanted to focus on my research project, and also had some troublesome events sneak up on me. This started with my truck breaking down, requiring that I come up with a new way to commute back and forth to school and Seattle, where my mushroom project is based. I’ll be returning to more art stuff next week!

Week 9

Research paper

Well, the quarter is coming to an end. This week, again, I mostly worked on my research paper. I had it looked over by the professor, who noted some weak spots and loose ends that needed addressing. I plan to post my finished paper on week 10. If anyone is interested, please feel free to take a look. The paper is about the evolution of tryptophan in Oyster mushrooms, and why it could be considered medicinal. It was a lengthy and confusing subject. I apologize if there is any information that’s not completely right, though I think I did a pretty good job.

I finally figured out Zotero on my personal computer!

This week I spent a chunk of time learning how to use Zotero on my personal computer. For anyone who doesn’t know what Zotero is, it’s basically a program you can use to help make a bibliography. As you research material you can click a button on the corner of your screen, and it logs the site for you and creates a citation. Once you have everything downloaded and installed, it’s really simple to use. However, the actual getting it on your computer part is somewhat confusing. Over the course four hours, split between a few very frustrating days, I have finally figured it out. Trust me, I totally did a happy dance. This was, of course, right before a tech person from school agreed to help me. That’s okay; through many Youtube tutorials and a little help from my room mate, I did it! Yay!!

Art and Mushroom report:

It’s a good thing we’re at the end of the quarter, because my mode of transportation no longer exists. This whole quarter I’ve been commuting back and forth between Olympia and Seattle (Mukilteo to be exact). About a week ago my truck started giving me trouble, and I now no longer have it. It’s also complicating my plans for next quarter. This meant I couldn’t make it to Seattle, where my Oyster mushrooms and art sculpture are. I have a plan to get to Seattle next week, and will hopefully have something to show everyone! I am still hoping everyone following this blog can see the finished piece, so everyone keep you fingers crossed!

Just for fun, I took some pictures of a blue deformed Oyster mushroom. It kinda looks like conjoined twins. This was a few weeks ago but I thought they looked really awesome!

Week 10

Hello everybody! This is my last week of the quarter, as well as my final post!

I think this quarter went very well. I learned a great deal and accomplished much. I believe I have completed all of my learning objectives, apart from my art sculpture. Unfortunately I ran out of time, but I’m definitely pleased with the work I’ve already done. I would like to claim that my art piece is in a stage of completion, because I do believe it can pass as a finished piece. I really want to finish this project, so I might be posting more pictures in the future.

Art:

As of now, my art sculpture has the oil spill monster, the painting of a beach bordered with rocks, and a bunch of oyster mushrooms swarming onto the monstrous figure. The finished product will have shells and oyster mushrooms glued to the frame as well. I will also cover everything with a bar top resin mixed with brown paint, to make everything look like it’s covered in oil.

Research paper:

I have completed my research paper, which has been edited twice. I’m sure it could be expanded on, but I am proud of what I have completed at this point.

Feel free to read it! Just click the link in blue: ResearchpaperOysterMushrooms

Mushrooms report:

Just for fun, as well as for health purposes, I will continue growing oyster mushrooms. I plan to start a new batch this spring quarter. I have unfortunately lost my pink cultured jars to contamination, but I still have fresh pearls! So this next batch will be blue and pearl oyster mushrooms.

I hope you all enjoyed my blog! Thank you for following me on this adventure!