Working in the Shala kitchen reawakened and expanded upon an interest that was first awakened by what was then a scarce resource in my life: booze. My first experiments in fermentation resulted in a glass pipe bomb that embedded domino sized triangles of glass into the walls of my bathroom, and peach mush in every conceivable corner of the room. Years later, upon entering the kitchen at Circle Yoga Shala as an apprentice and making the first batches of kimchi and sauerkraut, that interest was re-awakened with a much broader perspective.

Fermentation is magical to me. Billions of microscopic life forms naturally present in the air and on the peels and skins of foods work to transform sugars and carbohydrates into acids and alcohols that preserve and even improve the nutritional profile of the original ingredients. The range of traditional foods that are fermented is astonishing, yet logical when the absence of modern conveniences like refrigeration are taken into consideration. From yogurt and cheese to sauerkraut, chutney, sourdough, kombucha, and even meats, modern society would probably not be what it is without the spontaneous transformation of perishable food from fresh to preserved through the action of yeasts and sugar loving bacteria. This transformative magic bears a striking resemblance to the nature of the work I undertook as an apprentice, and is yet another reminder of how integral transformation is to our reality. Continue reading →