BEANS Says, Re-Think Your Drink!!!

How much added sweeteners including sugar do you think the average American eats in a year? Almost 100 POUNDS! That’s almost a quarter pound PER DAY! Shocking? The BEANS teen educators thought so too. This week the BEANS Program focused its lessons on sugar consumption, conducting a “Re-Think Your Drink” lesson at after school programs throughout the community.

But before the teen educators were out warning young children about the negative health impacts of sugar consumption, they were able to spend some time learning all the facts and taste testing some DEEELICIOUS drink alternatives.

The BEANS teens, like many of us, were shocked to learn the amount of sugar pumped into all the sodas, teas, juices, and energy drinks out there. Can you believe that there are 14 teaspoons of sugar in every 20 ounce Coke? Think Gatorade, Sunny D, Nestea, or Capri Sun is an exception? Think again! They are chalked full of sugar just as much as the rest of them.

The teens learned all about the sugar epidemic in our country and the links between excessive sugar consumption and health problems such as Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and obesity. They were also able to calculate the amount of sugar in different soft drinks and also learned about the excessive amount of sugar in many of our food products, including yogurt, breakfast bars, many breakfast cereals, crackers, and microwave dinners.
After learning about what food and drink items to avoid, they were able to taste test almost 15 different healthy drink alternatives, such as unsweetened teas, coconut juice, and sparkling flavored waters. But by far the favorite healthy drink alternative was Kombucha! The teens loved it!

The teens then spent the week teaching younger children in the community all that they had learned, by conducting their own “Re-Think Your Drink” lessons at local after-school programs. The teens made flavored waters (cucumber mint, lemon, and lime) for the kids to show that yummy drinks don’t have to be filled with sugar. The flavored waters were a hit, and some of the kids even went home with the recipes and made them with their parents! Just another example of how the BEANS teens are helping to improve the health of our community.

Ukiah High Farm Stand

Ukiah high Hillside Farm just finished their first ever summer CSA program. With 16 CSA members the season bounty included a bumper crop of tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, greens, and tons of ground cherries. This winter brings a new challenge for the High School Farm: operating a farm stand. The farm stand will be run by an awesome healthcorps volunteer and food will be harvested and grown by the high school students. Fresh winter greens straight from the farm will be available every Friday starting on January 7th from 2:45 - 3:30. The farm stand (farm table..) will be located across the street from Low Gap park.

To get a weekly email update on what is available on Fridays click here to send us your contact information. Can't make it to the farm stand on Fridays? Produce is also available at the West side Renaissance Market in Ukiah.

Easy Squash Recipe

Squash is one of my favorite foods of this time of year. Delicata, butternut, kabocha, acorn-- I love them all. Though harvest season is past, I still have a collection of squashes of all sizes, shapes, and colors. The good news is that if stored in a cool location, squash will keep for a long time. But what to do with so much squash? I typically bake squash in the oven, but recently have been trying new recipes to add a twist to a classic fall food. Here's one of my favorites--it's easy to prepare and delicious to eat!

Ingredients

1 cup chopped pecans

3 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 1/4 pounds butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Place pecans on an ungreased baking sheet. Toast at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet over low heat; add onion, and saute until very tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in squash, and cover. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender but still holds its shape, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Stir in half the pecans and half the parsley. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining pecans and parsley to serve.

Also, walnuts make a great substitute for pecans. Happy cooking!

More Food! More Farmers! More Markets! More $!

This Fall begins a new program of North Coast Opportunites - McGROW - a two year USDA funded program to increase food production from our farmers, increase demand for local foods, and strengthen our farmer's markets!

Just in case you love acronyms, McGROW stands for: Mendocino County Grows new farmers, Renews agricultural skills, Organizes training and capacity building for farmers and market managers, and Works to increase production capacity. A new program coordinator will be working with the Mendocino County Farmers Market Association (McFarm), market managers, and farmers to develop a series of trainings for: farmers to extend seasons and increase production (i.e hoop house usage and construction) and market managers to be more effective (i.e. marketing, accounting, and using EBT/Food Stamps). Additionally, the McGROW program will be developing new marketing and public outreach campaigns to increase awareness of the nutritional, economic, and community benefits of purchasing local foods.

To find out more information and how to get involved, join in on the trainings, and help rebuild our local food system, contact NCO at 462-2596 x 103. Let's keep farming and eating!

Eat a Rainbow Every Day!

We've all heard that eating fruits and vegetables every day is important for our health. Most who read this blog are probably already eating fresh and preserved garden produce on a daily basis. However, are you making sure to get the wide variety of nutrients that plants can offer? To do so, you should eat a rainbow every day (that sounds tasty and fun!). During the rainy days of winter, there are many fruits and vegetables that offer the color and nutrient variety our bodies need.

Red fruits and veggies include: red apples, beets, red cabbage, cranberries, pink grapefruit, red grapes, pomegranates, and radishes. Health benefits: Red fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigments called "lycopene" or "anthocyanins." Lycopene in tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit, for example, may help reduce risk of several types of cancer, especially prostate cancer. Lycopene in foods containing cooked tomatoes, such as spaghetti sauce, and a small amount of fat are absorbed better than lycopene from raw tomatoes. Anthocyanins in strawberries, raspberries, red grapes and other fruits and vegetables act as powerful antioxidants that protect cells from damage. Antioxidants are linked with keeping our hearts healthy, too.

Orange/yellow group includes: yellow apples, butternut squash, carrots, grapefruit, lemons, mandarin oranges, pears, persimmons, pumpkin, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, and tangerines. Health benefits: Orange/yellow fruits and vegetables are usually colored by natural plant pigments called "carotenoids." Beta-carotene in sweet potatoes, pumpkins and carrots is converted to vitamin A, which helps maintain healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes. Scientists have also reported that carotenoid-rich foods can help reduce risk of cancer, heart disease and can improve immune system function. One study found that people who ate a diet high in carotenoid-rich vegetables were 43 percent less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration, an eye disorder common among the elderly, which can lead to blindness. Carotenoids also may be good for your heart. One study found that men with high cholesterol who ate plenty of vegetables high in carotenoids had a 36 percent lower chance of heart attack and death than their counterparts who shunned vegetables. Citrus fruits like oranges are not a good source of vitamin A. They are an excellent source of vitamin C and folate, a B vitamin that helps reduce risk of birth defects.

Green group includes: green apples, avocados, broccoli, brussels sprouts, green cabbage, lettuce, limes, green onions, and spinach. Health benefits: Green fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigment called "chlorophyll." Some members of the green group, including spinach and other dark leafy greens, green peppers, peas, cucumber and celery, contain lutein. Lutein works with another chemical, zeaxanthin, found in corn, red peppers, oranges, grapes and egg yolks to help keep eyes healthy. Together, these chemicals may help reduce risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness if untreated. The "indoles" in broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables may help protect against some types of cancer. Leafy greens such as spinach and broccoli are excellent sources of folate, a B vitamin that helps reduce risk of birth defects.

Blue/purple group includes: figs, prunes, purple grapes, raisins. Health benefits: Blue/purple fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigments called "anthocyanins." Anthocyanins in blueberries, grapes and raisins act as powerful antioxidants that protect cells from damage. They may help reduce risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease. Other studies have shown that eating more blueberries is linked with improved memory function and healthy aging.

White group includes: cauliflower, garlic, ginger, jicama, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, and turnips. Health benefits: White fruits and vegetables are colored by pigments called "anthoxanthins." They may contain health-promoting chemicals such as allicin, which may help lower cholesterol and blood pressure and may help reduce risk of stomach cancer and heart disease. Some members of the white group, such as bananas and potatoes, are good sources of the mineral potassium, too.

Happy eating and good health to you and your family over this holiday season!

Leek Frittata

Leeks are the onions of winter. Keep your leeks in a plastic bag in the refrigerator so they don't spread their oniony smell around. To cook with your leeks use the bottom part all the way up until it starts to turn dark green. The dark green upper parts of the leek will be more tough and more bitter than the lighter green and white part of your leeks. Leeks contain iron, vitamin C, calcium, and fiber. They also contain an important cancer fighting compound - allicin.

Not sure what to do with your leeks? Check out the recipe below from nourishing traditions for a leek frittata, a great dish for a rainy evening which we've been having a lot of lately in Mendocino county.

Ingredients:

4 large leeks
2 tablespoons oil
6 eggs
1/3 cup yogurt, or milk
1 tsp finely chopped lemon rind
pinch dried oregano
1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese

In a cast iron skillet sautee the leeks in the olive oil until they start to brown. Beat eggs with yogurt or milk and add seasonings. Stir in leeks. Coat the bottom of your skillet with olive oil or butter and pour in the egg and leek mixture. Cover and heat until underside is golden, about five minuets. Sprinkle cheese on top and place in broiler until the fritatta starts to puffs up and turns brown. Cut into wedges and serve.

Mendo Food Futures Gets Hip and Becomes Grange Grains

Mendo Food Futures Gets Hip and Becomes Grange Grains

(Lucas Polit, of Polit Family Farms shows us his brown rice)

In 2009 North Coast Opportunities and Willits Economic Localization with support from the Community Services Block Grant and Cal-Endowment created a local food backed currency and called it Mendo Food Futures now called Grange Grains. It's mission was to provide markets for local farmers, increase community food security, and provide an alternative currency to be used in the community. In one year the project created and distributed $10,000 worth of Mendo Food Future notes, sold over 10,000 pounds of local organic grains and provided grain storing and preparation materials to consumers at Farmers Markets.

In 2010 I, Mason Giem, an Americorps Vista Member working for North Coast Opportunities, was recruited to help with the project. I ran the Farmers Market booth, and tried to find ways to make the project sustainable without grants. After attending a small business workshop I wrote a business plan in which I proposed that the project expand our markets to local restaurants and stores. Shortly after a M.O.U. was developed to hand the project over to the local Little Lake Grange #670. The Grange is exited about participating in a local food project and has provided space to build five, four ton grain silos. We are developing a partnership with the local food bank to use their food delivery van. With a twenty ton storage capacity, a new operational structure and a new advertising plan, Mendo Food Futures is ready to ascend to the esteemed position of Grange Grains.

Look for Grange Grains to be sold at our local restaurants. In Willits you will find our brown rice at the Farmers Market every Thursday from 3:00 to 6:00 at the Little Lake Grange on State Street, Burrito Exquisito on Main Street and soon at the Howard Memorial Hospital. In Ukiah in the near future you will find either our brown rice, white rice or black beans at the Ukiah Brewery, New Dragon restaurant and Patronas. Grange Grains still maintains the Mendo Food Futures mission of encouraging and creating local food security and providing a market for local farmers. Unfortunately the local currency was not being traded amongst the community and the banks would not turn the food future credits into American dollars. I hope that in the future we can develop a system where individuals buy food future credits from us and exchange them at the participating local restaurants and then the local restaurants can exchange them to us at Grange Grains for grains.

Blessings to all,

Mason Giem

Americorp VISTA

Gardens Project of N.C.O.

MCAVHN garden

Hello everyone,

Here is the first BLOG from MCAVHN garden.

There have been alot of changes in the garden since Spring 2010.

We have new volunteers who have been reinvigorating the garden.

Raised beds are being created and we are using Organic and Permaculture

techniques.

We had a bumper crop of tomatoes and greens over the summer.

And we have planted MCAVHNS first Winter garden

with the help of donations from the Gardens Project & College Fall plant sale.

Plans for Spring 2011 include:

+Medicinal Herb meditation area, focusing on HIV/AIDS and Hep C.

+Workshops in Organic gardening/cooking/shopping on no/ low income/food stamps.

And more!

We LOVE volunteers!

Please CONTACT Linda.D

drum-core@live.com

Thanks to everyone!

Linda D

for MCAVHN

Local Families Appreciate the Garden and Cooking Programs in Mendocino County Schools

Creating opportunities for children to practice healthy habits is at the forefront in Mendocino County. Families are leading the way – planning family meals with their kids, going grocery shopping together, and exchanging ideas with friends who also have busy schedules and/or picky eaters. Schools and community organizations are supporting their efforts and are introducing new ideas by planting and tending school and community gardens, engaging students like Caylin (pictured above) in nutrition education, providing hands-on cooking demonstrations, and of course, incorporating daily physical activity.

Many parents and caregivers know that it can be a struggle getting kids to eat vegetables and to play actively. One new program, BEANS (Better Eating, Activity, and Nutrition for Students), is getting Mendocino County’s kids excited about trying new healthy habits. One local mom, Dawn, says, “It’s about exposure. My daughter gets to go out into the school garden and taste new vegetables; she gets to make and try new recipes with the BEANS program; when she goes to karate class, she hears from Mr. Maldonado how important it is to eat healthy foods – all this exposure from so many sources really makes a difference.”

Many families have been seeing new recipes coming home in their children’s backpacks. BEANS visits local after-school programs every week and is responsible for these take-home lessons – for promoting healthy food choices. BEANS is a grant-funded program of the Network for a Healthy California, administered locally by North Coast Opportunities and the Gardens Project. The BEANS program runs in after-school programs at elementary and middle schools in Fort Bragg, Willits, and Ukiah. Each year, six teens from each community are recruited and trained to be nutrition peer educators. As nutrition peer educators, the teens meet weekly to plan and prepare lessons for the after-school programs. Later in the week, the teens present nutrition lessons, cooking demonstrations, taste-tests, and active games at various elementary school sites throughout the county. The teens are natural role models for elementary school students – and they’re passing on valuable life skills.

Through the BEANS program, students are learning where food comes from, how to prepare meals, and how to make healthy food choices. More often than not, the students then become “teachers” in their own family. They take the lessons learned from gardening and cooking classes at school and push their family to grow or buy new ingredients for the family meal. “The biggest change I’ve seen is when my daughter came home wanting different kinds of lettuce. Before BEANS and the school garden program, she’d never eaten anything other than iceberg lettuce. Also, she loved the taste of the cucumber flavored water she made in the after-school BEANS program – she wanted to make it at home,” says Dawn, “I appreciate the support.”
Dawn acknowledges that getting kids to eat healthy is an ongoing challenge – especially with busy family work and sports schedules. Packing healthy lunches can be difficult when there are a lot of easy-to-grab-and-go items like pre-packaged snack crackers and cheese, go-gurt tubes, chips, and teddy grahams. She shared a few healthy lunch ideas that she’s tried with her kids: veggie straws (a healthy alternative to greasy potato chips… she found them at Costco), clementines, cottage cheese with frozen blueberries, grapes, and almonds.

Preparing a wholesome dinner can also be a challenge for busy families. Dawn suggests a little bit of planning ahead makes all the difference. For instance, in the morning she’ll pack a couple of low-sugar granola bars and waters in her car for the kids to eat as a snack between school and afternoon/evening sports activities. Also, Dawn said, “I use Sundays to prepare food ahead for the week. I’ll cook up some chicken breasts for meals later in the week. I’ll also make a big batch of Bowtie Casserole (see recipe below!) and freeze it so that when we come home late and the kids are hungry, we have a healthy meal ready.”

With all of the challenges that modern families face, it’s great to know that so many individuals, schools, and organizations in Mendocino County are working to promote the health of our children. Healthy families are the building blocks of a healthy county. In the spirit of exchanging and sharing ideas for healthful living, Dawn wanted to share this easy, make-ahead recipe with everyone.

DAWN’S BOWTIE CASSEROLE
1 lb. ground turkey
1 package bowtie pasta
1 package of frozen spinach
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (or she sometimes makes her own)
1 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese
Add seasonings to taste

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Remove frozen spinach from its package and thaw in a bowl. Meanwhile, boil pasta according to package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, brown the ground turkey, drain any fat. Squeeze the spinach to remove as much water as possible. Once all ingredients are prepared, layer them into the casserole dish. Begin with 1 cup spaghetti sauce, ½ of the cooked pasta, then ½ of the ground turkey, then ½ of the drained spinach, any seasonings you choose, then ½ cup of grated cheese. Repeat the layers ending with a little extra sauce and ½ cup grated cheese on top. Place casserole in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the casserole is hot all the way through. Serve and enjoy.

Changing Seasons at Brookside School Farm

The last two weeks have been absolutely beautiful at Brookside School Farm. With winter fast approaching, I kept expecting to find withered tomato vines, but even with the cooler nights those hardy tomatoes kept hanging on. At last week's farmers market here in Willits, we had the last of the corn and cherry tomatoes... and still sweet! It was such a contrast- warming my hands in the chilly but clear morning, and harvesting summer vegetables!

Despite the rain and cold weather approaching, the farm will keep going throughout the winter. A row of multi-colored chard and several varieties of kale grow tall and healthy, and rows of broccoli are forming heads, soon to be ripe. Tender peas climb up a trellis, holding on in the breeze, and lettuce heads are steadily growing larger around them. Some rows lie under a blanket of Remae row cover, shining bright white against the natural background and protecting the tender young plants underneath from the elements. Other sections are planted in cover crops- neat rows of fava beans with other soil building plants sprouting up everywhere in their midst. It's been a fun journey from the bounty of summer harvests, and as the days of sweet tomatoes and zucchini are winding down, I'm looking forward to greens, root crops, and cold season veggies!

Ukiah High Aquaponics

Ukiah High Aquaponics program was featured in the TIME video. Check out the video below to learn more about the program which works closely with Ukiah High Hillside Farm. Ukiah High is taking the steps to close the food system loop!

Garlic and the State of the World

When the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone, so is your good time to plant garlic for the winter. You have two weeks. Plant garlic now, or forever hold your peace until Spring.

Garlic is eeaaaaasy to grow. You want some reasonably decent soil and may want to loosen the top six inches of the soil. Garlic can take a wide range of pH (4.5 - 8.3). It likes full sun. If you are planting your garlic for the winter season, you don't need to water it. Just let the rain do its thing into the Spring, and yank the garlic around Spring when things start drying up.

To plant garlic, get your hands on some garlic cloves. You can get these at a nursery/garden store, or from your kitchen or supermarket. The bigger the clove and the bigger the head of garlic that close came from, the bigger your resulting head of garlic is likely to be. Don't be planting puny little cloves from punky little heads of garlic.

Take your garlic clove. Plant it two inches deep with the pointy side up (you can remember this because the flat side is where somebody chopped off the roots). Plant the garlic cloves about four to six inches apart. That's it. It's so easy. Just leave it be and harvest it in the summer.

Did you know that 77% of all the garlic in the world is produced in China?

To ward off vampires, farlic can be worn, hung in windows and doorways, or rubbed on chimneys and keyholes.

Happy garlic!

November Garden Tips

The Gardens Project Monthly Newsletter November/December

What to do in Your Garden this month:

Welcome to fall in the garden! This past weekend I got together with some of my wonderful neighbors. We cleared out the rest of our green tomatoes and made delicious canned green tomato pickles and relish for our winter pantries.

With the change in temperature and weather, most activities this time of year center around clean-up and composting of fallen fruit, mulching any leftover perennials, making compost, sheet mulching, preserving any of your remaining harvest and general clean up. You can also divide and transplant hearty root plants like artichokes and comfrey. Last year, the first frost south of Ukiah was on December 6th and it was a hard frost. For those who grow and either cure or press their olives, it is almost time to plan for picking.

Finally, you’ll want to prepare for frost protection of your plants. For some of the tender citrus plants you’ll want to build canopies for those trees and move your container plants into a safe zone where they won’t fall victim to frost damage. I move all of my tender container plants up onto my covered deck. Please refer to the Frost Protection for Citrus and Other Subtropicals guide from the University of California Cooperative Extension for additional information on the impact ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif frost damage to plants and frost damage prevention measures.


What to plant?http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

In November you can directly sow onions and garlic. It’s also time for cover crops and fava beans.

For more Gardener's Tips, please click Inland Mendocino Planting Guide(Peter Huff and Kate Frey's Monthly Planting Calendar for Inland Mendocino, also found at the "How to - Grow Food" page on The Garden's Project Website).

When in doubt, there is a tremendous body of knowledge about gardening in California, provided by University of California Cooperative Extension. This site, geared toward the home gardener can be found at http://cagardenweb.ucdavis.edu/.

Happy Mendo Winter Gardening!

California Fall Fruit Salad

Eating seasonally and locally is easy in California! Try this recipe and enjoy the sweet, crisp flavors of fall. Perhaps this could be a refreshing side dish at your Thanksgiving dinner!

Ingredients (for 4 servings):
3 fuyu persimmons, peeled, chopped (1/4 inch pieces), seeds (if any) discarded
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1 Gravenstein apple, peeled, cored, chopped (1/4 inch pieces)
7-10 leaves fresh mint, chiffonade (stack, then roll them up, and thinly slice across the roll)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. local honey

Directions:
1. Gently toss all of the ingredients together.
2. Refrigerate, then serve (best eaten the same day it is made).

Something To Chew On - Seed Savers Parade

From "Something To Chew On," my weekly column in the Ukiah Daily Journal.

SEED SAVERS PARADE

I’ve been having this vision, in the sense that the image repeatedly flashes into my mind. It’s a bit like a recurring daydream, but more of a FLASH! It comes in like lightning, sometimes prompted by something I hear – that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation bought 500,000 shares of stock in Monsanto; that the USDA issued a press release supporting GMO crops; that there are less apple varieties in our supermarkets every year – and sometimes this vision just pops in from I do not know where. It comes in like lightning! But it leaves like honey…

The vision is of the Seed Saver’s Parade. The parade is in the future, in Ukiah, and the Patty Pan Squash Collective is leading the way. They are a group of women, mostly on their later side of life, but there are a few younger women, one middle aged man, and one young boy. The group is decked out in yellow and topped by a wild assortment of strange, large hats. Their garb looks like it is woven of fibers past and future. Everyone’s does, these days…

Two women and the man are pushing a large cart with quilted banners on the sides that proclaim: PATTY PAN. This cart is filled with hundreds of the most beautiful Patty Pan Squash you have ever seen; like the love child of a sea creature, the produce aisle, and a canary. The squash were grown in Willits, Philo, Round Valley, Gualala, and Ukiah, and the Patty Pan Collective takes care to know which squash were grown where.

Other Patty Pan People dole out bits of fried patty pan, patty pan dessert bread, and sliced patty pan with creamy pesto. The crowd is smiles for miles, offering appreciation to the Patty Panners they know and the Patty Panners they don’t know. It’s a great day for Mendocino, and for those who particularly care for Patty Pan Squash, this is a lovely moment.

The Patty Pan Collective beams with pride. To head up the annual Seed Savers Parade! What a treat. What a privilege! The parade starts at the Civic Center, where the lawn out front has been transformed into a community demonstration farm, and winds the one mile to the Mendocino County Center for Agricultural Renewal, which is behind where the old Starbucks used to be on Perkins Street. The Center for Agricultural Renewal is situated on ten acres that a generous, civic-minded, and forward-thinking wine maker from Potter Valley sold at a reasonable price to The County in 2011 from the two hundred acres he bought when the Alex Thomas Pear Orchards went kaput.

The squash that the Patty Pan Collective are bringing to the Center for Agricultural Renewal are among the finest grown in the county this year. Their seed will be saved with care for farmers and gardeners to plant next year. Since these squash are grown in Mendocino County, they are adapted to thrive here, and even in specific microclimates within the County. And, you just can’t always buy Patty Pan seeds, these days…

Following the Patty Pan Squash Collective is the Tomato Lovers Association of Mendocino County, the Indian Painted Corn Man, the Keepers of the Onion, the Broccoli Brothers, Betty Caswell’s fifth grade class, Baby Beet, the Lightfoot Clan, the Scion Sisters, and on and on. People are proud and joyful and the celebration will go on for days.

In total, 328 varieties of fruits, herbs, and vegetables will be saved for the future on this day. Of course, people still manage to bring in lots of seeds from outside the area most years, but you just can’t depend on that, these days…

Well, there you have it! That’s a vision I have. I must admit: the Patty Pan Squash collective is the only visual image that actually flashes into my mind. But like I said: it comes in like lightning, and it leaves like honey.

Gardens Project in New Orleans

Thanks to Cate for writing up our trip to New Orleans! Check out her article below.

The Gardens Project of North Coast Opportunities has headed South-to New Orleans that is. Members of the Garden Projects team from Willits and Ukiah took off for the Big Easy on Thursday Oct. 14 to attend the annual Community Food Security Coalition conference.

“This year, the conference moved to New Orleans and highlights the vibrant history, culture and foods of the South, Louisiana, and the myriad of challenges and successes working in traditionally marginalized communities,” said Miles Gordon, Gardens Project Coordinator.

New Orleans has long been revered for its rich culture and cuisine. The conference, titled Food, Culture & Justice: The Gumbo That Unites Us All, aimed to bring groups from around the nation together to experience the “unique regional and multi cultural approach to food organizing” taking place in the area. The chance to attend field trips, cooking classes and workshops gave the team a look into what is happening in the food security movement nationally and a chance to share the progresses of their local projects.

“We went to share all the fantastic work happening here in Mendocino County, inspire others, and be inspired by them,” stated Gordon.

With topics that included rebuilding local food economies, environmental justice, food policy councils and ending poverty and increasing food access, the sessions focused on uniting organizations and individuals working towards social justice, and encouraged them to bring shared ideas back to their communities.

“The conference provides incredible networking opportunities with similar organizations throughout the country,” Gordon said, “We can share our successes and work together on our challenges.”

With a melting pot of knowledge under their belts, Mendocino County can look forward to the continuing efforts of the Gardens Project to implement food justice and security locally.

By Cate Oliver

Winter Squash Recipes

It's becoming ingrained in me that a change in weather means a change in the food that I eat. Just like I bring out my scarf and boots for the winter, I also start to dream about all the new soups I can make, breads that can finally be baked in the cooler kitchen, and meals that warm my toes. Summer is the time to be outside having fun, and our meals reflect that. Cold soups, sandwiches, grains, and lots of tomatoes. Winter is different though. Winter brings people inside, gathered over warm soups, breads, sauteed chard, persimmon cookies, and baked winter squash.

Winter squash?!! What a funny thing. The tough outer skins and unusual shapes scare people away. Even the name is strange- a winter vegetable that you grow during the summer? But I love winter squash. It can make a great soup, you can stuff it to make a hearty meal, or you can drizzle some honey and raisins on it to make a great dessert. Not only that, but its good for you! Squash is high in potassium, vitamin A, and has tons of fiber in it. Check out some of the recipes below to see what you can do with that all of that funky squash and invite your friends over!

Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 pound of butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion
• 6 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
• Nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Roasted Squash

• 1-2 winter squash cut into quarters
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Spices ( I like nutmeg, and some paprika)

Cut your squash into quarters. Remove seeds and middle. Place in baking dish filled up a quarter of an inch with water. Place squash in oven at 400 and bake until soft. When squash is ready drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with your favorite spices. If you're in the mood for some sweet squash drizzle with honey and top with raisins.

A Pearable for Our Times

Here is the latest of the weekly columns I write for the Ukiah Daily Journal on local food issues. It is about the Alex Thomas pear orchards and what they can show us concerning the current state of agriculture in Mendocino County.

A Pearable for Our Times

I want you to please think about the Alex Thomas Pear Orchards with me for a moment.

I arrived in Ukiah just when the Alex Thomas Pear Orchards were being auctioned on the courthouse steps. It was a strange, dramatic, saga-rific introduction to agriculture in Mendocino County. How could a productive resource be so suddenly totally abandoned? How could there be such huge disconnects and discrepancies in relation to value? What happened? What is happening?

The Alex Thomas orchards total 600 acres over three parcels in Ukiah. I only know the parcel on Perkins, West of the Starbucks, where autumn, abandonment, and an insane economic ideology have had their way with the trees. Pests and blights settled into the orchard during its three year abandonment, resulting in an abatement process wherein the orchards need destroying. Piles of uprooted pear trees, fifteen feet tall and thirty feet wide, litter large fields. Their branches, trunks, and roots tangle with each other, making wild silhouettes against the sky, crying mercy until burns season begins and offering refuge to a world of insects, rodents, felines, and serpentines.

Now the orchards have been purchased and it looks like they will all be converted to vineyards. Thinking that process through cramps my brains.

Amongst other reasons, the Alex Thomas orchards went under because of the increasing difficulty of profitably growing pears in Mendocino County in the face of globalized agriculture markets. And so the county is increasingly converted to grapes, a crop that proves more lucrative in that system. But now even grapes are having a hard time in our current crisis of hypercapitalism. Around 30% of Mendocino grapes have not yet been sold this season. There is a wine glut.

So: we have grapes because it was hard to turn a profit on pears, apples, and the many other things that can grow in Mendocino County, but now the profitability of wine grapes seems increasingly uncertain.

The Alex Thomas orchards didn’t stop producing pears after that market shunned them, but they fell to the ground and rotted while people went hungry in our community. Those trees ripped out of the ground are going to go up in a pointless flaming inferno while people shiver in their houses, in need of firewood.

Is the magic of the market serving our best interests? Is it allocating our resources to efficiently produce social welfare? Does it seem prudent to keep on capitulating to the global agriculture markets, or does it see prudent to put a little more thought into cultivating, as consumers and co-producers, an agriculture that can feed the people that live here? Do we want to muster the gumption to try something different?

I’ve heard that it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. I’m not suggesting the end of capitalism. But I am suggesting we exercise our imaginations more and envision the future we want for agriculture in Mendocino County, and then work towards it. Some might call me idealistic or naïve. That’s fine. I’ve seen enough to know that the system is broken, and that we can either choose to let the system keep dictating Mendocino County’s agriculture, or we can get together and get creative and cultivate an agriculture in Mendocino County that balances bringing monetary wealth into the community with growing the food we need and want to be a healthy and vital people. What would that alternative system look like? Can we do it? What can we start doing now to move in that direction, towards an agriculture that feeds the community instead of only an insatiable, volatile global market?