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September Rain

Posted in Urban Farming with tags , , on September 3, 2008 by xxxicana

It was a rainy day today, a test of my commitment to bike to work. I was lucky — I was able to dodge rain drops to and from! The change in weather is a reminder that fall is imminent – my favorite time of the year. Readers in the Lincoln area are invited to check out my sidebar for the link to Community CROPS. They will be giving a tour of the Sunset Community Farm on Monday Sept. 15th 5:30- 7:30 pm. Additionally, Martin’s Hillside Orchard has opened apple picking season. And, the various farmers markets are still going strong. I took a little time this weekend to do some prep work for fall jams and jellies. Big thanks go out to Joan, Leslie, and Shari for sharing grapes with me. My plan is to put up mint, sage, lemon balm, grape and raspberry jams/jellies. Last fall I made cran-apple butter which was super on pancakes. I have one jar left — just enough to see us through the month.

I have added a link recommended by CROPS — 50 Ways to Help the Planet. Check it out and see how many things you are already doing and new ideas to save energy.


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Roasting Chiles, Part Deux

Posted in Urban Farming with tags on August 24, 2008 by xxxicana

Mister Man ordered 25 lbs of Hot Hatch Chiles from Berridge Farms, NM — right after my mom and dad sent 25 lbs to us the week before! We gave some of them to friends, and roasted the rest last night. I am thinking of awarding Tom an “Honorary Mexican” card for being an ace roaster. He also brought out Los Lobos music to work by [plus he’s trying to learn the song ‘Mas y mas y mas”]. Tom also knows the correct response to the New Mexican State Question: “Red or Green” . . . . and he took a ritual dusting at Chimayo a couple of years back . . so, his apprenticeship is going pretty well!

Chiles in a Tub

Waiting for the coals to heat up

Skinning the peppers

Check out the nice grill table hand-made by Mister Man. It is the perfect height for working and looks very nice, too.

Pinto Beans – It’s what’s for dinner

Tonight we’ll be enjoying a pot of pinto beans (with a ham hock thrown in) and green chile.  These pintos are also from New Mexico — I picked them up in Bernalillo last summer.  Any Southwesterner worth her salt knows that the right bean is the pinto.  Black beans, Kidney beans, Navy beans, Garbanzo beans — these area all fabulous beans in their own right . . . but for the perfect southwestern dinner, it’s gotta be a pinto!

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Roasting Green Chiles!

Posted in Urban Farming with tags , , on August 20, 2008 by xxxicana

Monday was roasting day! My mom and dad sent a box of Hatch Green Chile from Albuquerque . . . it arrived while we were out of town. For those of you not in the know, Hatch chile is the premier chile . . . and people from New Mexico and Colorado won’t settle for anything less. We will be eating a lot of this vitimine C packed chile over the winter . . . the day after my mom told me she was sending a box, Tom ordered another 25 lbs from the farm!

Step 1: Cleaning

Cleaning is important to wash off any dirt and gunk. Since the chile box sat for a few days, I also checked each chile for rot — fortunately, my neighbor Leslie brought the box indoors for me and opened it up to allow the chile to breathe. We had hardly any chiles that had gone bad.

All clean and ready to go! Note the brown paper bag — this is to “steam” the chiles after they have been roasted. It makes removing the skin easier.

Step 2: Put them on the Barbie

Yummmmmm . . . . can’t you just SMELL the chiles roasting? At this rate, the roasting took all afternoon. In New Mexico the vendors use big propane roasters that take care of the job quickly. But, once roasted, the chiles have to be refrigerated or frozen.

Step 3: Peel and Bag

I didn’t take pictures of the peeling process since it is pretty messy. But be warned – WEAR GLOVES. My daughter one time processed a bunch of jalapeños and had to call the poison control line. Their advice — soak your hands in milk of magnesia!

The final count: 25 lbs = 16 1/2 quart bags. It doesn’t seem like much, but it will do for now.

Chile, it’s whats for dinner. I had pork bones in the freezer, boiled ’em up and made green chile stew and fresh flour tortillas for dinner.

Here’s the recipe: pork (1/2 to 1 pound), fry with onions and garlic. toss in green chile (1 bag), can of fire roasted tomatoes, 1 pound of cut up potatoes, 2 cups of water or stock; salt to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer until it is time to eat dinner. I forgot to take a picture of the finished stew.

[you are probably wondering who keeps pork bones in the freezer . . . I was brought up with a “waste not, want not” mentality.  The pork bones were from our 4th of July party — I made pulled pork and some of the pork butt had bones.  I threw them in the freezer thinking that at some point boiling the hell out of them would make a nice broth and cook the bits of meat still attached.]

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Canning Workshop with Community CROPS

Posted in Urban Farming with tags , , on August 10, 2008 by xxxicana

Yesterday I led a workshop on boiling water canning for Community CROPS (Combining Resources, Opportunities, and People for Sustainability) which works with refugee, immigrant, and low income people in Nebraska. Community CROPS also works diligently with gardeners, local organizations, and schools to promote local, organic food production. I am proud to be able to offer my small part to the efforts.

Our group consisted of nine local women, CROPS Assistant Director Brad Kindler, and myself:

please note: I am scrunched down so everyone would be visible in the photo . . . I am NOT, I repeat, NOT that short!!

As can be seen, we did a simple procedure: hot packed tomatoes (which came from the CROPS farm). All the participants helped to blanch, skin, cut and pack the tomatoes. Once we had the jars in the canners, Brad took everyone out for a visit to the Antelope Brethren Church plot (the church donates the plot for gardeners).

Here are a few picts of our tour.

Brad Kindler explaining the garden. Community members from Bosnia, Africa, Iraq, and Mexico grow over 35 different types of plants in this small garden!

Some of the plants:

These red inflorescences are volunteer Amaranth, a grain from Mexico that is higher in protein than any other grain. Its cultivation was banned by the Spanish due to its association with “pagan” Aztec rituals.

Okra: I had okra for the first time last year — an Iraqi recipe made with tomatoes . . . .YUMMM! Okra really grows well in Nebraska and is popular with lots of people.

Tomatillo: Also from Mexico. These are similar to green tomatoes, except they grow in little papery husks (like chinese lanterns). Tomatillos make the BEST green salasa!

Tree collards: CROPS got the cuttings from California. I had never heard of such a plant. Apparently it is not as susceptible to insects (they don’t know what it is either!) — and has served as cattle forage and human consumption in Africa. The problem CROPS is facing is how to overwinter this California adapted plant!

To end the tour, we received advice on composting from Brad.

Once we got back into the kitchen, we had to wait another 20 minutes for the tomatoes to finish. This was the best part! We sat around and exchanged stories of our mothers, grandmothers, and our own experiences with canning, gardening, and life. What a fulfilling day!

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Back Home

Posted in Urban Farming with tags , on August 2, 2008 by xxxicana

Ahh, there’s nothing like sleeping in one’s own bed! FYI, I did get back to to Lincoln sana y salva. I took yesterday off to recuperate, but did a little gardening. Tom did harvest tomatoes in my absence, here’s the proof:

He left a few tomatoes and two squash for me to pick. I also have a butternut squash growing! Last night we had pasta with tomatoes and tons of fresh herbs with garlic. It is great to eat from our tiny garden . . . hopefully next summer I will have arranged for a larger, more productive garden.

Oh, BTW, I will be leading a canning workshop next Saturday at Antelope Brethren Church through Community CROPS. There is still space for participants and it is free, so contact Community CROPS (link on my sidebar).

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