woo hoo! A week ago today...!
... I was featured on the front page of the Washington Post Food Section! It has been a busy and crazy one---which is why I am just posting today! ...answering emails, being the Guest Chef on the WPost Food Chat...riding the crest of the wave I have been dreaming of for a while now...I made it! HOORAY! So for those who haven't had a chance to read it, here's the link to the article on Wednesday, September 15, 2010:
It's Alive! 
Fermentation: A Wild Way to Make Food Come to Life
It was a great article, and a great first splash for lacto-fermentation. The FRONT PAGE of the Washington Post Food Section! WOOO HOOO! We did it! Keep on eating, folks, and keep up the FERMENTUM!! Thanks to Kristen Hinman who spent two and a half hours interviewing me. YES, I DID teach an entire fermentation class! She even made her own fermented ketchup. (and LOVED IT, btw!!) There was a lot to cover, and I think the article did a great job showing what I call and teach-- "jar fermentation" a la Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, and what Mike Henry practices and teaches "crock fermentation", a la Sandor Ellix Katz's Wild Fermentation.
Also, thanks to Kimberly Hartke, a REAL Food Media Blogger and publicist for the Weston A. Price Foundation, for her wonderful article: Lacto-ferments Make Front Page of Washington Post Food Section.
Thanks to Mike Henry and Nessa Richman and Reid and Sonya Kramer for hosting the Second Annual Takoma Park Fermentation Festival, which served as the catalyst for the Post article and the photo in the Takoma Voice. I was thrilled to be asked to co-sponsor the festival and to be a part of spreading the "fermentum" at the grass-roots level. We'll look for all of you next year, at our 3rd annual event! 
My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has written and called and emailed and FaceBooked and stopped me to offer congratulations. All of your notes have touched me deeply and all I can say is that I appreciate them more than words can express. Thank you for your support and for supporting my work these past years...and let's keep at it! Changing the world one bite at a time...with fermented salsa, or fermented ketchup, or stock that you made from scratch. With love for your family and for yourself and for the Earth...
Whenever I wonder if what I am doing really counts, somehow one of you sends a note to thank me for the class I taught or the technique I demonstrated, or the resources I mentioned or the connections you made because of knowing me and coming to a class. I thank you for being the inspiration for my work, and for continuing the work quart by quart...pastured egg by pastured egg...grass-fed steak by grass-fed steak... May it continue to ripple out to touch all your family and friends...heck, this REAL food has to move...just give them a taste of those pickles or ketchup or chutney! DEEEELISH!! A friend of mine wrote and I quote..."The (REAL food) Revolution has begun!" YEAH!
If anyone would like to take a fermentation class soon, I just added Fun Ferments for Fall to the calendar, Thursday night September 30 at 7pm in Silver Spring, Maryland. These will be new ferments for Autumn...fermented turnips, beets, ginger, garlic, carrots...apple kraut... you may REGISTER HERE.
as always, I look forward to cooking with you!
be well, Monica