Locally Produced Meat Alternatives Just in Time for BBQ Season

by West

Sydney Grange blew into town around the same time I did. It was an uncertain time in an environment with seemingly insurmountable challenges on a global scale. She came to the Mendocino Coast to learn about and research biointensive agriculture. She says, “I was working on growing a whole diet in the smallest amount of space possible while building soil and conserving resources in a closed loop system,” a method developed and inspired by John Jeavons.

Sydney was growing calorie-dense staples like beans, wheat, barley, rye, quinoa, and fava beans, feeling that they had the best potential. She had noticed a lack of sustainable and locally sourced protein options, so she did a deep dive into learning about tempeh, typically made from soybeans. As it turns out, the process can be applied to most beans, grains, and seeds.

In 2020, I joined a pandemic-shaped pod of youngsters that included Sydney. We rode those odd years out together by having the sweetest beach days, surf sessions, bonfires, supportive chats, hikes, and celebrations. Among us, there was a feeling of community care, hope, and grief in a rapidly changing world. There was, and is, a depth of commitment here that is determined to innovate joyfully into the future and out of our steep predicaments, such as staggering biodiversity loss and a warming climate, among others.

If you talk with Sydney, a beautiful, caring, and friendly person, you will realize that a conversation can lead in directions that could literally save the world. Victoria Joy, Sydney’s former co-board member at the Garden Friendly Community Fort Bragg (the group that created the South Lincoln Street Community Garden), explained to me that “Sydney is the leader of our future.” She adds, “She’s cracking the code on what we will need to do.”

I went to my first of many gatherings at Sydney and Katie’s, Platonic Life Partners (PLPs) who started an agriculture project called Earthlings Veganic Farm in Fort Bragg. Sydney told me she was learning to make tempeh with quinoa that she grew herself. As partygoers danced above, she showed me the cooler in which she was growing the food. “It likes to be between 85-90 degrees,” she said, smiling over the thundering bass. This temperature happens to be similar to the climate in Indonesia, the birth- place of tempeh, and where Rhizopus oligosporus got its big break a few hundred years ago. This fungus knits together grains with tiny strands of mycelium. What’s left is a patty composed of mushrooms and partially processed quinoa, all adding to the bouncy cohesiveness. The thick texture is divine, and it is naturally nutty in flavor. The effect of fermentation reduces antinutritional factors in the grains and improves protein bioavailability. Syd’s Tempeh is rich in Vitamin B, iron, micronutrients, fiber, and contains all nine essential amino acids.

The Indonesian Tempe Movement (it can be spelled tempe or tempeh) is an organization that seeks to spread the love and knowledge about tempeh throughout the world. The movement’s website declares, “Tempe is the food of hope from Indonesia for the world.” They list its best attributes as “Healthy, Sustainable, and Affordable.” I couldn’t agree more and will add that it’s also delicious! Sydney is on board with this mission and encourages everyone to try tempeh- making. “What’s great about it is that the process is accessible to all people.” She adds, “On a home scale, it doesn’t require any fancy equipment or tools, and you can easily grow or source the ingredients locally. It’s something people can make for themselves if they want. There are no secrets in what is involved. In fact, I want to be a part of the movement of spreading tempeh through education.”

As a lucky member of her friend circle, I have been the sampling committee at many beach bonfires. Sydney would always bring her latest batch of burgers to share. Sometimes the marinade was extra spicy and sometimes the texture was a little gooey. “I was experimenting with what worked,” says Sydney. She has since graduated from a cooler in her bedroom to working in Chubby’s Commercial Kitchen in Fort Bragg to make large batches using industrial tools— steamers, incubators, silicon forms, and tumblers. Her products are made of completely locally grown, dry-farmed, staple crops using organic methods, with low impact to the land. They are fermented into a protein-dense, delicious, nutritious burger that can compete with any others for its rightful place between the buns. If this is the future of food in the face of disaster, it’s not so bad. And it’s both vegan and gluten free.

Over time, Sydney perfected her own recipe for quinoa- based tempeh. Launched in 2023, and after two years from inception to store sales, Syd’s Tempeh offers a line of frozen, ready-to-cook delights. Sydney details the process she uses on her website—steaming, inoculating, mixing, and incubating. Air, humidity, temperature, and sterility are important to make sure the correct spores grow and that other organisms don’t cut the line. Twenty-four to forty-eight hours later, she shrink-wraps, boxes, and freezes them for the local grocers and the Fort Bragg farmers market.

Sydney emphasizes that sourcing local beans and grains is a key part of the mission of her business. “It’s about supporting sustainable agriculture and local producers and making a local healthy protein option available for folks that requires minimal processing,” she says. Fava beans are grown by Rachel Britten, who runs the Mendocino Grain Project in Ukiah. The quinoa is grown by Blake Richards of Wild Rose Farm in Arcata. She uses the Boonville Barn Collective’s “Seconds Quality” heirloom beans, utilizing what customers may find too ugly to buy at a store. “Using a variety of heirloom beans allows us to contribute to diversifying the seed genetics in our food systems, whereas large tempeh makers are using one kind of soybean,” says Sydney, adding, “I started to find local producers of those crops since I needed them on a larger scale than I was able to grow myself.”

Veronica Storms, a local farmer and farm educator who has been in the county for two decades, says, “Locally grown food in the grocery stores around here was unheard of back then. Now, everyone is really connected, and we get to support local food. It’s good for the farmers and good for the community.”

I knew we had to save the world, but I didn’t know it would be so delicious. Thank you to Sydney and all those working toward a sustainable future for all beings on earth.

Syd’s Tempeh
sydstempeh.com | Insta: @sydstempeh

Available at Corners of The Mouth, Point Arena Co-op, Mariposa Market, Ukiah Natural Foods Co-Op, and Fort Bragg Farmers Market

When West is not adventuring along the coast, they are building things and finishing their natural earthen home.