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You are here: Home / Communities / #OccupyWallStreet from home

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#OccupyWallStreet from home

Soup Bike

Make soup, deliver soup, share soup. DIY soup. Revolutionary soup. Image: Rantipole via Flickr.

I’ve received a number of queries from young moms and others who want to know what they can do to support the #OccupyWallStreet movement even though for logistical reasons — particularly having little kids —they can’t get to New York, D.C. or even a local event.

The rising tide of sympathy for good old fashioned, red, white and blue American protest is a refreshing addition to our national conversation.

It’s great to know how many people back the protests, how many more are finding ways to actually physically be in one location or another to lend their voice to the chorus, and how many will do what they can from the sidelines.

Clearly being there isn’t possible for everyone, but there are very practical ways to help the cause from the comforts of home. The low hanging fruit first. You can:

  • Retweet and Share on Facebook quotes, photos and information from trusted sources.
  • If you blog, blog about it, even if yours is not otherwise a seemingly activist or political blog. Show your solidarity with words!
  • Buy (or make) a button like this and dress up in your best clothes to wear it wherever you go—to pick up the kids, grocery shopping, sports events. (Make extras to give away.)

Eat the revolution

But if you really want to kick up your game, try what I’m calling Revolutionary Soup. This name is partially in homage to a favorite local soup shop of mine, and partially a big wet kiss for my favorite food—soup.

Why “Revolutionary Soup?”

Because one way to hit back at how from Wall Street to Washington concerns about industrial food production, GMO foods, environmental degradation and bad energy policies are ignored is to exercise a buying boycott. Obviously we can’t boycott everything, and we have to eat and feed our families. But we can put an end to any unnecessary purchases, and move away from the industrial economy as much as possible, replacing it with the domestic economy. You might even turn such a stance into a new job.

This revolution is DIY

Leveraging money in the domestic economy means forgoing pre-packaged convenience foods in favor of DIY food options. That means more raw ingredients and more creativity. Nothing from freezers for sure, except maybe plain frozen vegetables and fruits. But no pizzas, no “meals” no snack foods, no desserts. As for boxed foods, ask yourself if you can get it in bulk, first? Staples of rice, grains, beans, granola, dried fruit, nuts, and some basic snacks are available in bulk, and that’s what you need for “revolutionary soup.”

And of course, if you can get your meat, eggs, dairy and produce from local sources, always do so first. If you buy fewer pre-packaged industrial foods, and cook more, all the local stuff becomes a lot more affordable. And the more you buy it, the more that sector will grow, and prices will come down.

As to jars and cans…well, they are helpful for storage and in emergency, and can help with basic DIY cooking. If you can do it first from produce, and have the time to make tomato sauce, smash fruit for quick jam, or to make pies, do so. If you need a few items pre-made, choose generic or small scale Indie and organic brands every time to lob a hit at the major industrial factory food infrastructure.

Believe me, profit losses can say as much or more to the ruling class than a day spent occupying Wall Street. But you have to hunker down for the long haul if you want results.

The peasant’s pledge

In the end, taking a kind of “peasant’s pledge” to eat DIY foods, most clearly symbolized as “Revolutionary Soup,” means making a daily bean, vegan, vegetarian or meat soup and serving it up with simple sides of bread, butter, and perhaps a slice of cheese.

Hearty, full of more than enough calories and fat to sustain you, and tasty to boot, Revolutionary Soup is your way to support the #OccupyWallStreet movement with everything you cook. You just need:

  • Raw ingredients.
  • A stovetop.
  • A commitment of imagination and time.

If you’re really motivated (or able) you could take a vat of the stuff to your local protest. Here’s one of my favorites recipes to get you started, which is so easy that my 14 year-old routinely makes it for us:

Potato Leek Soup

3 leeks
4 potatoes, quartered
1/4 cup butter*
1/2 cup milk*
1/2 cup light cream*
1 qt. water, vegetable or chicken stock**
1/4 teaspoon fresh chopped chervil***
2 tbsp. each chopped celery and shallots
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
parsley, to garnish
croutons (optional)

To prepare

Peel and quarter the potatoes.

Prepare the leeks by removing the green portions, reserving for another use if desired. Cut down the center lengthwise and wash thoroughly. Chop the white portions finely. Sauté until softened with the shallots in half the butter for 5-7 minutes.
Add 1 quart of water or chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, celery, the quartered potatoes, and simmer 20-25 minutes.
Remove potatoes and leeks to a small bowl. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes to a puree. Return the puree to the cooking water.
Stir in the milk, cream, and remaining butter. Heat until heated through (about 2 minutes).

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley and croutons.

*I made a version that was vegan once substituting Smart Balance for the butter, and soy milk & soy creams for the milk, though rice or oat milk might work depending on how it affected the flavor.
**You can use vegetable stock instead. Just water tastes a little….watery.
***I couldn’t find chervil in any local stores, even dried. I’m assuming it’s fine w/out since I’ve never made it with.

An army of cooks

I hope you’ll get on board with Revolutionary Soup-making and add the voice of your wallet to the voice of your Facebook posts and your chatter with friends. It’s our world, after all, and our country. If we want to “take it back” from Wall Street and corrupt politicians we have to have a few practical tools, and the will to follow through. Happy eating!

–Lindsay Curren, Transition Voice

Cross posted from Lindsay’s List.

 

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7 Comments

About Lindsay Curren

A Christian, mama, and writer, Lindsay Curren (aka Lady Virginia) is also a passionate lifelong collector of vintage fabrics. "There's something inexplicable about the pull textiles have on me. I simply can't resist sourcing them, using them, and now selling them. Other fabric addicts will understand!"

Previous Post: « Elbow grease on the industrial economy
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jeff says

    October 5, 2011 at 9:52 am

    Awesome commentary!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Curren says

      October 5, 2011 at 1:07 pm

      Thanks Jeff!

      Reply
  2. Waytogohomesteader says

    October 5, 2011 at 9:55 am

    I love this! I didn’t even realize I was making Revolutionary Soup last weekend when I made a big pot of potato leek soup! I can’t promise to make and eat soup every day (we’re all getting a bit sick of potato leek soup at this point since we’ve eaten it every night since I made it), but I do get the vast majority of my food from local sources.

    Can’t wait until I can read more of your blog.

    Reply
    • Lindsay Curren says

      October 5, 2011 at 1:10 pm

      Thanks Waytogo. I have really started freezing half my soups for two reasons. Wait, maybe 3.

      1. Like you, I get sick of one after several days in a row.
      2. I want some quick but heart meals this winter on days when I feel I might not have the time to cook. So grab and thaw is my new go-to approach, only I don’t want to do it with industrially made products.
      3. Like can storage, this is a good back up in emergency. If the grocery stoe shelves go bare, it will be nice to have some things on hand.

      Thanks for reading.

      Best,

      Lindsay

      Reply
  3. cindy hadden says

    October 11, 2011 at 6:35 pm

    wow! excellent! thank you!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Occupy Wall Street | TimeBank Media says:
    October 6, 2011 at 8:35 am

    […] Occupy Wall Street from Home http://lindsayslist.org/2011/10/occupywallstreet-from-your-kitchen/ […]

    Reply
  2. Solidarity « A Slim Winter says:
    October 12, 2011 at 3:34 pm

    […] I read this amazing article that someone posted on facebook today.  Lindsay talks about how to Occupy Wall Street from home.  She discusses the act of making soup as a revolutionary act, of removing oneself from the industrial food system as one thing that women and mothers can do to free ourselves from the slavery of the corporatocracy.  I also read this article in the New York Times the other day, profiling a woman who found herself in Deep Trouble, and went back to the land in Brooklyn to feed her family.  I feel so inspired when I read these.  I feel that I am reading this today as a woman who has control over nothing, who has been crying all day at the news that another job we thought was ours has fallen though, at the idea of my family on food stamps and wondering what happened to my good karma points?  I have been thinking of my grandmother a lot, a woman who came of age in the Depression in a one room cabin in the Rockies, no electricity or running water.  I think that if women like her could get their families through it, then I can too.  Then I remember the world I live in, which is so different than hers.  How my generation has been cursed with debt beyond even my parents wildest imagination.  What are we going to do?  Who is going to help us?  Will there ever be an end to all of this?  Will we ever be OK?  Lately, I think not. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. Archives Select Month October 2011 September 2011 A Slim Winter on FacebookCloudAbout dinner DIY food home how to politics poverty rants Uncategorized unemployment Search A Slim Winter […]

    Reply

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more about lady virginia

A Christian, mama, and writer, Lindsay Curren (aka Lady Virginia) is also a passionate lifelong collector of vintage fabrics. "There's something inexplicable about the pull textiles have on me. I simply can't resist sourcing them, using them, and now selling them. Other fabric addicts will understand!"

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