A lot of people are intimidated by sushi, thinking that it only qualifies as such if it consists of elaborate combinations of raw fish and exotic vegetable tempura. Fortunately for us locavores, that simply isn’t so! The literal translation for sushi actually just means “with rice”. In the winter, this means that sushi can feature our favourite root veggies, and taste just as delicious too!

Here’s how you do it:

You can buy a package of sticky rice or make your own by adding a vinegar, salt and sugar solution to cooked rice. We have also used quinoa instead of rice by adding a lot of tahini to the cooked quinoa until it sticks together. Once the tahini is added, let the quinoa cool in the fridge. Tahini is great for sushi because it tastes delicious when mixed with soy sauce!

For the fillings, we used grated carrot, slices of raw beet, cooked potato and sweet potato, apple slices and caramelized onions. As the seasons change, so can your sushi – the summer can mean fruit sushi with strawberries, apple, and peaches! (You might want to hold the wasabi and soy sauce for these ones).

Also, it’s a fallacy that you need fancy equipment like rolling mats to make sushi. It's actually very easy to make by rolling it up with your hands, and using a serrated knife dipped in water to cut the rolls up. Plus, we know from experience that if you can make sushi (especially if you bring it to a potluck) your friends will automatically think you're super cool.. not that they don't already or anything.  

Here are some photos of our sushi dinner with past and future Onaeners!

While we're at it, here is another poem from bits and pieces of a marxism class:

Here is a verbatim poem that I wrote after the Judy Rebick talk at the University of Guelph about the Occupy Movement. Its about the joy that occupy has brought to people from all walks of life as a result of bringing people together to map out a sustainable and community oriented future. I thought maybe it was too late to post this poem, but I was once again inspired to do so after attending the 24-hour re-occupation outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on May Day. The sense of community really came to light when the police tried to stop people from erecting any structures that were planned as a part of the occupation including tents and a movie screen. Instead of relenting to the police, alternatives were constructed as people offered to act as human movie screens and to hold up tarps for others while they get some shut eye. Ultimately, the police were the ones who relented after Parks & Recreation decided to allow the occupiers to stay in the park throughout the night. 

 

I had also forgotten the power of the people’s mic! If you don’t already know, the purpose of the people’s mic is to circumvent the need for permits in order to use electronic sound amplifiers. It works by one person speaking a short phrase, and then having that phrase repeated by the crowd in unison. It is far more powerful than a microphone because by repeating the words that other people have chosen to speak, they become ingrained in you, giving you a sense of empathy for the speaker. Another benefit of the people’s mic is that if you do not agree with a message, you do not need to repeat it, making the messages that everybody agrees with louder and more salient.

 

In any case, I hope you like the poem, and that maybe it inspires you to check out one of the upcoming 24 hour occupations that are coming up in the next couple of months. They are intended to be more focused than the occupy movement, targeting specific companies, people and actions, hopefully allowing more people to identify with it!

 

 

Occupy Love

 

I wasn’t sure what it was;

Something felt different there

And I think it was the feeling

Of love

 

Everything is like that

The wisdom of everyone

And sometimes that doesn’t happen,

Alliances with local groups

A violent taking of the parks

It’s a symbol of taking the commons

A transition to a second phase

I was moved by what they did

The police officers negotiating

Free to ignore

One

or both

but it was everyone

 

 

They have stories

In the hood

And they will build an alternative

There weren't very many people

Who looked like me

So it changes, it shifts the sands

Because they need a safe space to sleep

And we all want to be equal

 

 

The connection between

And the compassion of people

The oneness

People on the path

To sit in the lobby of a bank

And meditate

And imagine

A consensus everyone is involved in

 

Let’s clean this mother up!

She’d never done anything

Like that in her life, she told us

They treated me better

Than anyone has ever treated me

Better than I deserved

It changed her

 

 

There is a kind of feeling

It’s intoxicating

It comes from feeding one another

From knowing that we are the change

That our connection to each other is where we get joy

It’s from everyone

Everyone you connect with

So I can’t stay away

It just feels so good here

The wisdom of everyone

That’s the strength in it

 

(Note: this article written by an Onaen member was first published in the Ontarion issue of April 3^rd. It does not take into account more recent developments.)

Guelph should be aware by now of the struggle mounted by university and college students in Québec against tuition hikes, following the massive protest that saw 200,000 people take the streets in Montreal in what was perhaps the largest single demonstration in Canadian history. This was the culmination of the student strike, which began in January and saw over 300,000 students – the majority of the province’s post secondary students – leave their classrooms and put their semesters on hold to force the government to back down from its proposal to raise tuition fees by $325 a year over a five-year period. This would take them to over $3,800 a year, representing a 75% increase that threatens access to higher education for students of lower- and middle-income backgrounds. This tuition hike also threatens the continuity of the Quebec model of more accessible education in a Canadian context of high tuition fees and surging student debt levels. While the government has claimed this measure is fair to the taxpayer, students have countered that all of society benefits from broader access to education, and that a tax-funded education is the only fair system. They have also brought up that the $700 million necessary to pay for free education could easily be found – for example with a reversal of the government’s irresponsible $950 million tax cut that mostly benefitted the rich. The proposal to raise tuition also occurs in the midst of the global move towards austerity measures, which is being pushed by politicians and bankers to reduce public debt by cutting public services and privatizing public assets, such as health and education. Ontario is also threatened by this trend, with the recent Drummond report commissioned by the government proposing amongst other things, sweeping measures to slash payments in education and reduce quality of services accordingly.

                The student protest in Québec is also taking place in a context of increasing mobilization against social injustice – with the student strike in Chile showing unprecedented determination and strength in taking on a conservative government enmeshed in to corporate interests. Massive, prolonged protests in this country have led to more funding for higher education, as well as helping generate a mass movement for social change. Students in Québec, alongside professors, parents and wide sectors of the population, have recognised the inequitable character of the proposed policies and the danger they pose, and so they too have risen against the government, holding picket lines, occupying offices and marching on the streets of cities all over the province. In so doing, the students have also demonstrated a high degree of selflessness and solidarity, baffling the commentators who had written off our generation as being the most individualistic and apathetic in history. The students promised that the Government refusal to compromise following the March 22 demonstration will only lead to intensifying political and economic disturbance. This is being backed up by more and more support by the people of Quebec.  There is a lesson here for students in Ontario, who suffer from the highest average tuition fees in the country at over $6,000 a year. Québec’s comparatively lower rates came as the result of previous political action from students, who have staged 8 general strikes since 1968, with the latest in 2005 being considered a victory after the government backed down from modifying the bursary regime in the province. Québec’s model also serves as proof that lower tuition fees are possible, and so a student defeat there would inevitably weaken the struggle for accessible education in the rest of Canada. Ontarian students, already facing unsustainable levels of debt, should heed the example of their sisters and brothers from Québec. They too can lead the resurgence of students and “the 99%” against the ploys of politicians and bankers to trample our rights. The students of Québec invite Guelph students to show their solidarity and join the movement to overturn the privatization agenda being pushed through here.

Experimentation is good. Especially when experimenting uses stuff that might otherwise get wasted.

So it was with the best of intentions that I tried making a broth with pickle juice and natto tonight. I've been on a hunt for ways to ferment organic Ontario soybeans at home - they're local, cheap and available all year round. Natto is simple to make, nutritious and can actually taste good with the right combos.

Sadly pickle juice is not the right combo. It was like spooning vomit into my mouth. I told myself it was simply tastebud ethnocentricity. But smell is a powerful memory trigger. Every spoonful brought me deeper into the foulest moments of my childhood. I wondered whether vomit tasted the same in all cultures. And then, with some help from my friends at Onaen, I stopped eating it.

I strained the rest and fed it to the worms.

The other picture is proof that I did eat something healthy tonight. It's a trick I've been using to save time and electricity. Just throw grains in the bottom of a pot with water, then put the steamer over top and rip your greens into it. Twenty minutes of simmering gets you a delicious base for a warm veggie salad. Usually it's enough to mix in a spoonful of miso, but sesame oil, cider vinegar and lots of pepper are good too. And a big pickle. But no pickle juice.

As you can probably tell by our descriptions, the personalities of everyone at Onaen House are very compatible. How could a lover of all things small and media related not get along with someone who can dance up a storm while naming all of Ireland’s counties? By the same token, is it possible for a onezie wearing amazonian warrior to ever have hard feelings toward a world travelling expert bread maker and an oh-so-snuggly road tripper who is super handy with a hammer? Generally not. We have a lot of house love for each other, but sometimes, when it appears that somebody neglected to do the dishes on their night, or when two housemates suddenly declare that they don’t like babies/children, things can very quickly go awry.

So how does Onaen House deal with such debacles?

 

All of the answers to house love success can be found here, in…

A Comprehensive Guide to Living with Others

We promise it’s easy if you follow these 3 simple steps: 

1. Talk about your feelings

Regular house meetings are an excellent avenue to facilitate such communication. We don’t always have the opportunity to talk about our feelings with each other otherwise, so it’s important to regularly take the time at house meetings to do so. For example, if one of your housemates says they don’t like cats, and you feel that it is unfair to make such harsh generalizations about ALL cats (since you think your cat is pretty darn cute) it’s not always helpful to banter back and forth about the virtues of all the cats you have ever known in your life, trying to make the best possible case in an attempt to convert all non-cat lovers in a single assertion. Instead, simply explain to your housemates that you think it’s unfair to label all cats as evil beings, and explain to them in the process that you might also have an uncontrollable urge to play the devils advocate in every situation. So even though you really only think YOUR cat is cute, you consistently feel the compulsion to argue to death for the case of the underdog (or cat, in this particular instance).

2.   Relate House Dynamics to the Tragedy of the Commons

Nobody likes the tragedy of the commons. Seriously, it sucks for everybody. So, if you feel like you need to out-compete your other housemates at the dinner table because they seem to have bottomless dessert compartments, and you are perpetually concerned for the vacant state of your own dessert compartment – tell your housemates that you don’t want the tragedy of the commons to penetrate your rather community oriented household. After all, Elinor Ostrim (winner of the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences) says that with communication and flexibility, common property management of (house) resources is a viable system.

3.   Hug it out

This one is particularly good if you have already performed item 1 and 2. After sharing our feelings – which can sometimes be difficult – we like to show that we care about and appreciate each other, and what better way than with a hug? Let’s be honest here, nobody can deny that hugs are great, and according to the Federal Department of Affection (FDA), giving 8 hugs a day will substantially improve your mood. In a research project conducted in our house, we have also concluded that the scale of hug awesomeness of increases exponentially with each additional person partaking in the hug.

 

It’s really as easy as that!

Read it, love it, hug it out.

This blog post comes much too late, but I kept feeling that I needed to be in a ‘creative mood’, which apparently hasn’t yet happened. So creativity or no, I will write about our adventure to Irvine Creek Organics.

For the past couple of years, we have been getting our summer veggies from Irvine Creek Organics (http://irvinecreekorganics.com/) which is a beautiful little farm near Fergus ON.

Every autumn we make the trek to the farm to work for a few hours and enjoy its beauty. This year was no exception. In the morning with our helmets on our heads (safety first!), we hopped on our bikes and made our way to the farmers market where we packed our panniers full of delish food and started the 36.6km (thanks google maps!) bike ride to the farm.

Cycling provides the perfect speed at which to travel, as it is fast enough to cover ground, but slow enough to allow one to take in their surroundings and appreciate the ground one is traveling on, and the environment one is traveling through.

On route, we learned things about each other’s biking habits:

Padraic bikes in a high gear all the time. Consequently, he was often miles ahead of the rest of us.

Gill is speedy on the uphills, but bizarrely slow on the downhills. (10 points for best outfit. Long undies + cycling shorts – how could one go wrong?)

Matt rides with no handlebars like a pro.

Meaghan is speed demon on the downhills.

Jolene wins the award for most patient cyclist ever. She rides a cruiser, a bike not designed for speed or distance, but she handled it like a pro. At least it wasn’t a single speed or a fixie! (5 points for second best outfit.)

Although nervous for a relatively long bike ride, none of us had any difficulty completing the ride (or biking back the next day). We biked by many a soy farm, ate wild apples, had a close encounter with a ninja snapping turtle (it was seriously stealthy), and came across a life-sized stuffed Big Bird, which – tied to the trunk of a tree – looked more like a human sacrifice than the puppet friend from our childhoods. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the journey, I felt a certain sense of relief when we pulled into the farm’s driveway.

After arriving at Irvine Creek and eating a few cookies, exploring the beautiful (and ginormous!) barn, and reclining in kitchen chairs to rest our weary legs, we made ourselves useful and weeded the former garlic patch to prep for next season. Many hands make light work, so we were finished in no time leaving us time to explore the tomatoes in the hoop house, and the kales, chards, squash, corns and more exotic veggies (David always grows a few!) in the fields.

One reason I love going to Irvine Creek is that we get to sleep in a tent that feels like one from The Lord of the Rings, replete with hay bale mattresses and a woodstove. Yes, a woodstove. In a tent. Amazing.

After a cozy nights sleep (albeit with a face-offs with an aggressive earwig, a rather surprising encounter with a bold slug, and a pair of socks singed beyond repair) we were ready to start another day of cycling! However, we added an extra few kms to our trip so that we could breakfast at SuperSnax, a SuperGreasy but SuperDelicious greasy spoon in Belwood, because milkshakes are the perfect way to start a day of cycling home.

As a frost settles upon our garden, we can’t help but acknowledge all the blooming that is taking place at Onaen house. The blog may not be an obvious indication of our activities over the past few months, but we assure you, it is only a result of our constant motion. With the start of a new school year, we have also experienced the sprouting of new friendships, alongside a celebration of life, community, and new beginnings.

The house has a different composition this year as Arthur, Tim and Emanuele have moved along to inspire change in other places, leaving Onaen House a much brighter place than they found it. Arthur has moved to the nation’s capital to work for Agriculture Canada in the field of agri-environmental policy, but graces the house with his glorious presence on some weekends. Emanuele is now living in the Eastern Townships in Quebec, where she is reconnecting with her Quebec roots, after having lived in (culture-less) Ontario for 7ish years. We miss her - and her infectious laugh - dearly. Tim (a more transient specimen) spent a summer at Grundy Lake before making his way westward to BC. He has recently ventured to Kenya, where he will undoubtedly rage up a storm. We wish him safe adventures, and can't wait till he comes home. You can follow his post-onaen adventures here: http://theragingbirder.blogspot.com/ 

 

In turn, fresh faces have been incorporated into the fabric of our ever accepting household, bringing all kinds of talent and ideas into the mix.

 

 Gill is still around finishing up her final semester of school, still refusing to eat anything not miniature in size, and still holds the position for person most cultured in the way of anything media related. Just try asking her what her favourite comedian, band, tv show, movie, book, podcast, etc. is, and watch her flounder in an overwhelmingly large database from which to choose. She is also on the verge of graduation with a complete lack of direction. She is actively soliciting suggestions.

Matt, as snugly as ever, is also still in the mix. He is currently working for Ontario Farmland Trust, but even when he’s not working he is always on the move; fixing things around the house, running errands, or road tripping around to visit with friends and family, and generally relishing in having finished school. Bran muffins and honey and ginger granola are his cooking specialities, and regardless of batch size, they generally disappear within a matter of hours. If you listen closely you might catch him practicing the piano and singing along, an experience which is rare, but marvellous.  

Jolene is a new housemate as of the summer, and her bread making expertise is a trait much appreciated by the rest of the house. Her passion and dedication for her studies is admirable and inspiring, but her love for practically every subject – from biology to gender studies – has ultimately resulted in a complete inability to decide upon a major. For the rest of us this means that it is easy to get lost in ideas of environmental and social justice with her. Beware of her room – it’s akin to a treasure chest full of timeless wonders from around the world, and it acts much like a time warp, allowing hours to slip away from you while you are there.

Padraic is also new to the house as of September, and we learned quickly that inviting him to the Albion is only to be undertaken with extreme caution. He will dance circles around you. Aside from his stellar dance moves, he is also doing his masters in rural planning and development, and is passionate about creating change in our world. He is bursting at the seams with knowledge about everything from the counties of Ireland to world political regimes and an extensive knowledge of everything to do with the hobbit!

Meaghan is also a new housemate as of September. She is queen of blogging, which is why her bio is of a significantly lesser quality, as it had to be penned by someone else. She is effortlessly cool, even when prancing around the kitchen in her snowflaked onezie. Last year, she lived in Ecuador, so we have gotten used to hearing the opener "when I lived in the Amazon..." The stories that follow never disappoint. Along with her killer stories, her travels in South America have instilled her with a ferocious love of all things alpaca. 

Disclaimer - I meant to post this a month ago now, but it somehow slipped my mind and never made it to the blog until now

From October 1st until October 31st, you wear one dress. The reasoning is simple. Anti-consumerism, pro-simplicity, anti-conformity, pro-imagination.

This past October, I decided to embark on this challenge.

As I sit curled up in my bed reflecting on this experience I thought it fit to share a few of my thoughts.

I am somewhat of an impulsive person, so the very minute I found out about this challenge I decided I to do it. Unfortunately, when I found out, it was already a few days into October; so I decided there was no time to waste thinking about which dress to choose. I stood in front of my closest, asked myself which dress would be a challenge to wear (I thought I should maybe pick something a bit more difficult to make up for my late start) and pulled one out. The dress was sleeveless, white and blue stripped with a button up front.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I enjoyed the simplicity of not having to think about what to wear each day. It was truly freeing! Most mornings I was excited, or even happy to put my dress back on, however, near the end of the month it became slightly more difficult. There were a few days where I really, and I mean really, didn’t want to wear the dress - just ask my housemates. I also have to admit that there were a couple times I cheated and didn’t wear the dress at all, afterall, I am only human.

I think that this challenge turned out to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. I guess I had assumed that since I have committed to live simply and sustainably in as many areas of my life as possible, that wearing the same thing for almost 30 days straight  and not purchasing anything new would feel natural. Although this was mostly the case, I did learn a few new things about myself. I realized I really value the creativity in choosing what to wear and often find I express how I am feeling on a given day in the way I dress. I have since thought a lot about this and questioned whether I am okay with defining myself in this way. I decided that there is nothing wrong with expressing yourself through your clothes, as long as it remains within reason. I do not think this should become the sole way you identify yourself, or the place where you find your value; I also think that as a part of living intentionally, one needs to consider the ethical, political and environmental implications of the clothes that they purchase. These are not always easy things to be conscious about, as we live in a society that is continually telling us that we need to define ourselves by our outward appearance and that there is nothing wrong with supporting mass consumerism to keep that up. It is also intimidating to begin to question your everyday choices, because it brings you to the realization that there are so many ways in which we could improve the way we live. However, it is important to remember, that as overwhelming as it may seem, you need to start somewhere. It’s unrealistic to expect a complete change overnight, rather, striving towards a more conscious and sustainable lifestyle is a step by step process. As daunting as embarking on this path may be, I think the October dress challenge is a good way to start!

The next time you feel you want a new item for your wardrobe, I challenge you to ask yourself if it is something that you really need. If there is any way you can live without it, then maybe you shouldn’t buy it. Take another look at what you already have, and you will be surprised at how many different ways one item of clothing can be worn if you really get imaginative about it. If you decide that you do need it, consider trying to find it used at a consignment or thrift store. If you really cannot avoid purchasing it new, do some research on the ethics, investments, labour conditions and environmental impacts of the company you are planning to make your purchase from. It is quite surprising what can be uncovered if you take a little time to become an informed consumer.

When next October rolls around, I hope to stand in front of my closet (reminding myself of how fortunate I am to own such a wide variety of clothes) and chose a dress to start this journey once again. If you are eager to confront consumerism, live more sustainably and take a stand against the idea that you need to buy new clothes to feel beautiful and be happy, I would encourage you to give this challenge a try next October! Or, even better, you could start to think about how to incorporate these principles into your everyday life.