Flavors in Abundance

by Olivia Spitzer

Do you know what a scoby is? Or, more specifically, did you know that the word “scoby” is actually an acronym? SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast – and is a major component in the fermentation and production of kombucha.

Valerie Castoral visited Los Angeles in 2013 for a friend’s wedding, and she came home with a scoby. Her friend was a homemade kombucha enthusiast and wanted to include Valerie in her new hobby. Upon her first taste of the probiotic drink, Valerie remembers, “My immediate reaction was ‘oh, this is kinda like soda, but it’s kinda gross. I bet I can make this better.’”

Valerie Castoral and her partner, Paul, own and operate Golden Age Kombucha, the newest vendor to join the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market. With more than 75 different flavors, Valerie is always up to something new. Golden Age boasts rotating weekly flavors, as well seasonal flavors, and year-round staples. The reason they offer such diversity? Valerie firmly believes in the power of a local barter economy. Valerie trades growlers of kombucha with local farmers for her ingredients, like ripe fruit and flavorful herbs and produce. It means their lineup is always changing, always in step with the Oregon agricultural atmosphere, always unique to this region.

Valerie even barters for her commercial kitchen space. She began looking for space to expand in 2017 but “we wanted the business to be really intentional. We were reviewing kitchens, and we decided we wanted to find a place for trade. In 2019 it finally happened – a friend of a friend said, ‘Use of the kitchen for kombucha. We’ll put you on tap.’” Since then, Golden Age Kombucha has been available on tap at Dick’s Primal Burger on Woodstock in SE Portland.

It makes sense that Golden Age is so invested in trading with other small businesses, as Valerie’s kombucha endeavors began firmly rooted in her community. The first time she brewed kombucha she hosted a party at her home for all her friends to come by. “I was fascinated by the whole process, the taste of it, the bubbliness of it, so I started to experiment with it. I had this party with mason jars and spoons. It all started there. I liked getting the feedback.”

The community is what keeps Valerie in the farmers market scene. Golden Age started with straight barter, then moving on to participating in Stone Boat Farm’s CSA, then launching their own subscription service. Now you can find Valerie and Paul at the Oregon City Farmers’ Market, the Hawthorne Farmers Market, and local flea markets. “We like to be involved in our markets, personally. When you go to the grocery store, you’re not interacting with a person, you are interacting with a product. We consider ourselves kombucha converters. We’re always mixing it up, you’re always able to find something new [with us].”

This person-based community barter approach to business is intrinsic to Golden Age Kombucha. The name comes from Greek mythology, she explains. “[It’s] the idea of a plethora of abundance and peace. No fears around resources. We thought that name would go into abundance existing, being able to live the life we want.”

Golden Age Kombucha’s first booth at the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market will be this coming Sunday, July 31st. The day promises to be warm and sunny – perfect for stopping by and picking up a fews cans of cold, refreshing, abundant kombucha. Do you have your own growler or drinking container? Use your own container and receive $2 off a growler and $0.50 off a drinking container

Big Goals, Tiny Greens

by Olivia Spitzer

Monday – prep. Tuesday – plant. The following Friday – harvest. Welcome to the world of microgreens.

The word “microgreens” refers to the nascent stage of vegetable or herb plants that are edible on their own, before they reach full maturity. There are over two hundred different varieties of microgreens, including broccoli, carrot, arugula, radish, kohlrabi, beet, yarrow, and cantaloupe. They look exactly as you might expect. Microgreens are small, slender, and seedling-like - something like sprouts, but in a much wider spectrum of colors, shapes, and textures. They’re small but substantial. They bring to mind Helena’s reflection about her friend Hermia, in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “though she be but little, she is fierce.”

Helena is referring here to Hermia’s bark, but with microgreens it is all about the bite. “Microgreens can be four to forty times more nutrient dense than their mature counterpart,” Keith Brown says. It’s all to do the that bundled plant potential. The seeds carry all the components of the mature plant, just ready to burst forth. When you eat microgreens, you’re able to take advantage of that. It’s a part of what makes microgreens such an amazing food. For a small purchase, adding microgreens to your diet can really have a big effect on your nutritional intake.

They’re also simpler to incorporate into your daily life. No peeling, chopping, steaming, or cooking required. Soledad Diaz, known as Sol, and says, “We add them to everything: scrambled eggs, avocado toast, burgers, pizza, smoothies, salads, sandwiches, soups.” Keith interjects, “We put microgreen basil on ice cream!” Sol continues, “The nutrient content is amazing, and the flavor is so much more potent in microgreens.”

Keith Brown and Sol Diaz make up Modern Living Kitchen, a microgreen farm located right in Hillsdale, and Hillsdale Farmers’ Market newest vendor. The idea behind Modern Living Kitchen began as Sol’s capstone project for her master’s degree in nutrition. As Sol dove into the research of microgreens’ nutritional impact, and their farming practices, the couple soon quickly saw the potential these seedlings hold. “Keith and I connected through our love of plants and growing.” Sol remembers, “Joining our brains together really made this project flourish.”

Modern Living Kitchen is indisputably a farm, but it is tucked inside of a two-bedroom apartment. Keith and Sol have transformed their spare room, complete with a sterilized entry, an air purifier, a dehumidifier, LED grow lights, and racks and racks of high-quality nursery trays, brimming with microgreens. Stepping into their farm is like walking between realms – the air, the light, it’s all different, and it’s all growing.

“One of our biggest motivators is accessibility to nutrient dense foods,” Sol says. Their operation is growing, alongside their plants. Keith and Sol have big goals for microgreens. In an increasingly unstable climate, Modern Living Kitchen’s microgreens are able to grow no matter the outside weather, the time of year, or the condition of the local soil. As compared with traditional farming, “we are using a fraction of the water, making a fraction of the waste, and we can grow so much in a small space.” They firmly believe growing microgreens is a solution to many of today’s food industry problems.

Keith’s family lives in Spray, a small town in rural Oregon. Sol uses them as an example of a community locked in a food desert, the type of populations they hope to serve. “They have to drive two hours to get fresh produce and groceries. Typically, the only thing available is convenience stores, with ultra-processed foods. How can we begin to solve this problem?” For Modern Living Kitchen, the answer comes in small, nutrient dense packages. On an individual scale, Keith and Sol are hoping to grow their business, begin offering at-home kits, and inspire families to grow their own microgreens. On a much bigger, future scale, they’d love to provide infrastructure for entire communities to participate in growing microgreens, farmed and designed to fit inside a refrigerated shipping container. “We want to be able to ship these to communities, to make food accessible in food desserts.”

Modern Living Kitchen is seeking to take some of the smallest food and cause some big changes. In 2022 their operation has grown exponentially, and they’re thrilled to be bringing their product to the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market. They sell plant specific batches, as well as mixes of radishes or salad greens. “We want to make people excited about vegetables. Microgreens are just so easy: the easier answer, the easy choice to get your vegetables in your day. At Modern Living Kitchen, we believe everyone deserves healthy foods.”

Find them at the market this weekend, or go to their website to order directly for at-home delivery.