As I was coming home from work today I was imagining that I would be writing this before the election results were in, and I would be able to hold my thoughts about politics, but since it is my night to make dinner it isn't until now at 11 ish that I am writing. I want to stay neutral since we are all a community about food, but I can't help it...YEAH!!! Today was unlike others: what a beautiful day after-a-rain morning and what a sense of change in the air! I could especially feel an unspoken sense of hope at the polling place this morning and everyone was smiling!!
Yes we can.
Yes we can grow lots of food in our lovely soils in our lovely city and tomorrow you'll get to see the results!
ON THE FARM:
The past season's crops are definitely winding down. This shall be the last week for eggplants as they will be pulled tomorrow. It is hard to say how many there will be for shares if any but it is too cold for any more to ripen and we need to get our cover crops in. There will be no more tomatoes either so I hope you were able to preserve some.
But....this week should be the first for green onions. Even though the long season bulb onions can be harvested young for green onions, these are varieties that are specifically grown for this purpose and are called "bunching onions." Bulb onion varieties are chosen for the longitude that one lives at; there are long-season, short-season and intermediate. The bulbing happens in response to hours of light in your region.
Tonight I made miso soup and I wish I had some of those bunching onions to garnish with.
Typically the white part of the onion is used for flavoring and the green part is chopped up for a lighter flavor and for decoration. My very favorite way to use them is a version of "cebollitos" a dish at a favorite Mexican taqueria of mine in The Mission area of San Francisco. Put them in a baking sheet and cover with oil (olive or veggie) then sprinkle with your favorite salt mixture. Mine is usually salt and pepper and then what ever else I've got around such as celery salt, garlic powder, cumin, curry, whatever I fancy that time. Then put them on a hot grill and turn them until they are soft. I imagine you could broil them as well. They are delicious and my guests rave about them.
Green Cabbages will be served. The headed up so fast. One week they just looked like collards with a bunch of leaves open like a rose, then next week they showed signs of tightening up and then according to Lee, they doubled in size by this week and are ready to harvest! Wow. My favorite dish is in a slaw or egg rolls.
Spinach will make its first appearance also. There is nothing it seems that spinach couldn't be added to. I love spinach salads with nuts, blue cheese and apples, a little arugula also goes well. As a vegetarian I can't get enough of spinach! It is so chocked full of nutrients and it doesn't have a strong flavor as some of the other healthy greens. I've also seen recipes for brownies made with spinach hidden in the sweet batter. Kids (or even picky adults) don't even know (unless you tell them!)
Beets are on their way. If you don't see them tomorrow then you will see them next week.
Of course there will be greens, as this is the season. We have lots of perennial herbs out at Riparia and only bring a small bunch each week so as to not overwhelm you. If there is a type that you really like or would like more than the average bunch to dry for the winter, then just let us know before the Tuesday morning before harvest. (Of course you know that basil is an annual so it doesn't count!)
AT THE NEW FARM:
We have a lot of active participation out here and this weekend was no different. We are so proud of our new "herb wheel." We had an empty and sunny area behind our house where we built a firepit in the center then tilled by hand the encompassing land around it in a circle around it. We laid it out with the cardinal directions as the pathways. Then we planted fruit trees, vines and shrubs around it. Though some areas are still bare, one quadrant of the wheel is devoted to culinary herbs, one for medicinal and tea herbs, one for wildlife habitat and the last for other edibles. We all worked together and had some awesome guests show up and help us. We will be planting alfalfa around the trees to act as weed control, to fix nitrogen in the soil and for food for all of our animals! Oh and it is also a great bee plant! (Max moved his bee hive over here so now we'll have extra help in pollination plus yummy honey!)
OTHER NEWS:
This is great! For those of you who are aware that GRUB works with kids in the garden at Mi Escuelita Maya Preschool and The Boys and Girls Club may want to know that we are expanding. Stephanie Williams has been working hard for awhile now on a grant through First 5 so that she and I may work with another 10 preschools. Guess what...our grant was accepted last Friday!!! We are so happy to be able to extend our educational branch of GRUB and so proud of Stephanie on her 1st grant writing experience!! Starting January 1st the grant will cover the finances for the materials to build or expand existing gardens at these schools, 2 part time positions, materials for monthly newsletters to the parent(s) and some produce that the parent(s) can take home to try, as well as other support to get gardening and nutrition a part of the students' (and families') lives.
I must retire and dream of the possibilities that the future holds...
Si se puede! Yes we can!
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