Fun with Gat

Catha edulis (gat)

Catha edulis, better known as gat or khat, is native to Yemen and the Horn of Africa.  Locals chew on the leaves, which releases small concentrations of a neuroactive alkaloid called cathinone.  This stimulates the cental nervous system, and according to gat chewers, increase endurance, gives a feeling of strength and health, suppresses hunger (which is an advantage in areas known for chronic famine) and tiredness (which is an adavantage during hard labor and long walks). Because the leaves contain so little cathinone, large qauntitites of leaves have to be cchewed to get any effect. Consequently, gat-chewing is a social experience with groups of men or women sitting around and chewing and conversing together. In Yemen gat is so popular that 40% of the county's water supply is dedicated to gat agriculture!

Hagigat in Tel Aviv

Of course western culture doesn't have time for hours of leaf chewing (or the stomachs to see people spitting out the leaves and juice, though this to me seems no different than chewing tobacco). An Israeli biochemistry student working for some shady characters isolated cathinone from gat, who then marketed it in a concentrated pill called hagigat, which loosely translates to "party gat". While initially legal, hagigat soon became abused in the local party scene, was connected to several hospitalizations due to damage to the cardiac and central nervous systems, and was added to the list of illegal drugs. 


Gat itself though is still legal in Israel and many other countries. Apparently, its difficult to abuse something that you have to chew for hours. 

The Sensitive Plant

"A Sensitive Plant in a garden grew,
And the young winds fed it with silver dew,
And it opened its fan-like leaves to the light.
And closed them beneath the kisses of Night."

This poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley meanders on for 311 lines, and I recommend taking the time to read it not only for its lyric beauty, but also for its description of the senses of a garden.

What is the "sensitive plant" of which Shelley writes?

The most famous sensitive plant is Mimosa pudica which is native to South and Central America, but is now grown worldwide as an ornamental plant because of its fascinating moving leaves. The Mimosa’s leaves are hyper-sensitive to touch, and if you run your finger down one of its leaves, all the leaflets rapidly fold inward and droop. They reopen several minutes later, only to rapidly close once more if you touch them again. The name “pudica” reflects this drooping movement. It means “shy” in Latin. The plant is also known throughout many regions as “the sensitive plant”. Its unusual behavior is referred to as “false death” in the West Indies, it is referred to as the “don’t touch me” plant in Hebrew, and in Bengali it is called the “shy virgin”.

The drooping and opening action that is characteristic of the Mimosa is regulated by electricity. This was noticed by Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, a noted physicist turned plant physiologist from Calcutta, India, back at the beginning of the 20th century. Bose reported to the Royal Society in 1901 that touch initiated an electric action potential which radiated the length of the leaf resulting in the rapid closing of the Mimosa leaflets.

Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow

Brunfelsia pauciflora (yesterday-today-and-tomorrow)

The Brunfelcia is a small shrub with beautiful pansy-like flowers. Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow is aptly named as its flowers begin life with a deep purple color which change to lavender, and finally fade away to white. While native to Brazil, this evergreen shrub has been cultivated and is used in gardens indoors and out. It also contains a neuro-active drug called "scopoletin". Animals or people who mistakenly eat this plant develop an irregular heart rate, dryness of the mouth, dilated pupils, and in rare cases, coma. In controlled dosage, this chemical can be used as a medicine.

Is Marijuana Kosher for Passover?

In the spirit of the Passover Holiday, I couldn't resist commenting on this. High Times, which since 1974 has been spreading the gospel of legalizing pot, has run an article asking the obvious question, can a person get high on Passover and still be religious?

This may not be as absurd as it seems, as the question on what is kosher for Passover, and what isn't, is taken very seriously in some circles, and can even lead to familial conflict. For example, when I was a kid, rice was verboten as it is for all Ashkenazi Jews. This is NOT because rice is a leavened product. Indeed the Talmud clearly states that rice should be eaten at Seder to commemorate sacrifices at the temple. But a few hundred years ago European rabbi's decided that rice COULD be contaminated with wheat, and this should not be eaten during Passover. This prohibition was expanded to include other grains and legumes. The overall effect on the Ashkenazi digestive system is best left not discussed.

Sephardi Jews though never adopted this extreme position, and as such their seders contain rice and a variety of foods I could only dream about. So I was totally shocked 30 years ago to find out that my wife's family eats rice on passover! Not that my wife is Sephardi, but her family had years ago adopted the customs of one of the uncles by marriage. It didn't take long until I also became a convert.

Which then leads us to the question of marijuana. Now under no condition should this be construe as a call for illegal activity (for those unfortunante places where marijuana is still considered a controlled illegal substance)! But IF one were to partake in any illegal activity, is it still kosher (for Passover that is)?

The article concludes that marijuana would fall under the classification of legumes, which means that, as always, the Sephardim get to have all the fun.

Guest blog: Tovar Cerulli and Blueberries

Tovar Cerulli is an author and reformed vegan-turned-hunter. His book The Mindful Carnivore: A Vegetarian's Hunt for Sustenance was just released.

Wild blueberries Vaccinium corymbosum

Blueberries were my first wild food, and have remained my most constant.

As a boy, growing up here in New England, I sought them in the pine and oak woods around my father’s house. Small, sweet, and dusty blue, they hung in clusters, concealed by the leaves of the ground-hugging bushes. With a quart container filled, I would head back to the house, where my father mixed them into pancake batter, dropped by the ladleful onto a sizzling griddle.

In my twenties, as a vegan, I continued to pick them and savor the fullness of their taste.

Even today—when the wild foods in our kitchen include everything from white-tailed deer and fiddleheads to chanterelles and indigo milk caps—there is something special about stumbling onto a patch of blueberry bushes.

Heavy with fruit, they might cling to crevices in the rocky hillside my wife and I have been hiking. On a warm summer day, the berries come as unexpected gifts: morsels of transmuted earth, sun, and soil. I dig a plastic bag out of my pack and we start picking and snacking. Half an hour and two quarts later, we’ve hardly made a dent.

Walking away, we talk about what we’ll make with them. Yes, I’ll make some pancakes. Yes, Cath will make a batch of jam. Assuming enough berries make it back to the kitchen.

Danny: Blueberries are native to North America. They are often confused with the European bilberries, which while similar in appearance and taste, are a different species. While blueberries are obviously essential for muffins and pancakes, a recent study has indicated that daily blueberry consumption can improve memory functioning, at least in older adults with impaired memory.

Marijuana's tough cousin (or, A Very Strong Weed)

Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa (hemp)

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa) has been cultivated for thousands of years. Its stalks yield high quality fibers which are used in ropes, clothing, paper, and sails. The word "canvas" is derived from the Latin name cannabis. Of course many of us are more familiar with hemp's very close cousin, Cannabis sativa L. subsp. indica, better known as marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are essentially the same plant, with the former having been bred for strong fibers, while the latter was bred for high THC content. Marijuana yields low quality fibers, while you'd have to smoke kilograms of hemp to get a high.

With Parsely and Sage and Thyme

Rosemarinus officinalis (rosemary)

The rosemary shrub get its name due to its hardy nature. Rosemarinus means "dew of the sea" and rosemary plants can often grow with no water other than the humidity in the sea breeze. In addition to its culinary uses, rosemary may have pharmaceutical potential. A recent study showed that rosemary can influence both mood and cognition in people!