Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Specimens from the Alphabet Garden



Diagram by farmcore

I'm having left-brain right-brain wars as the information architect tries to collaborate with the farmer. Taxonomy is a shared sport. Sort of. My heart gets distracted by the poetry of names: "love lies bleeding." It does, doesn't it? Farm lore changes the flavor of a vegetable: Yacon is a secret among farmers. I reach into the dirt to pull up the tuberous root, native to the Andes. My fingers navigate through clusters of bulbous roots, pick a promising one. Then, excavate! Peel off the skin. Bite into a body of water. Like jicama, but gentler. Only a slight taste--unexpected and almost chemical. Saffron?

4 comments:

tinydiagram said...

on silence, quote by cph:
"Think of this room as a pool of water with a baby floating in the center. You slip into the room as you would slip into the water, gently, allowing the ripples from your movement to rock the baby, but not wake her. Your breath creates the rise and swell that keeps the baby floating. This room is a place where we all swim, float and rise together. We work together to keep the room light, joyous and welcoming."

Unknown said...

i love how the yacon is so watery and clean and crisp. the beauty of it i think is in its neutrality- no flavor flavor- that being said- the faint tickle of sweetness at the end reminds me slightly of the sweetness of mastic - like that greek gum you got me. What should we do with it?

edibleoffice said...

adds refreshing crunch to salad

Jed Bell said...

I want to marry this beautiful diagram.