Love Notes #19, October 19, 2016
By: Hannah Slipakoff
- Contents of Share
- Announcements
- Farm and Food Justice News
- Recipes
Flashback to August! We just got our camera back and found this gem from BLFI 3. (Photo: Jonah Vitale Wolff)
CONTENTS OF SHARE
- Collard Greens – 1 bunch
- Salad mix- approx. ½ lb.
- Chinese Cabbage or Tatsoi- 1 to 2 heads
- Purple Cabbage- 1 head
- Garlic – 2 to 3 heads
- Sweet potatoes- 1 mammoth to 6 small tubers
- Eggplant or Peppers- 1 to 4 fruits
- Turnips or Radishes- 1 large to several bunched
- On their way to ripe tomatoes – 2 to 3 fruits- place out of the fridge in newspaper to ripen
- Harvest Handful Bag- Baby broccoli, baby brussel sprouts, tomatillos, and Jalapeno Peppers
- Cilantro or Italian Parsley or Curly Parsley- 1 bunch
- Optional: 1 dozen eggs
- Optional: Green Lentil Sprouts
LAST CHANCE FOR FARMER DATES!! JOIN NOW!!
This Friday we will be drawing for our Soul Flames Farmer Date Raffle! Join now for unforgettable one-on-one time with one of these amazing activist farmers!
SOUL FLAMES is the inner circle of Soul Fire Farm supporters who are committed to ending racism and injustice in the food system and dedicated to supporting the work. Join Soul Flames and be entered to win a date with one of the farmers – Che, Hannah, Amani, Jonah, Dan, or Leah!
Be the flame that lights the fire.
Donations are tax-deductible
The Soul Flames campaign will be active until further notice. Just without the farmer date incentive!
Drumroll.. PEAS! Soul Fire is hiring! You know you wanna join this crew! (Photo: Jonah Vitale-Wolff)
JOB OPENINGS FOR SOUL FIRE FARMERS: We are hiring a 2017 farmer and farm manager to run our 1.5 acre vegetable and fruit operation, 3-acre pasture, 80-100 family farm share CSA program, and ~200 chickens for meat and eggs. Soul Fire Farm is an educational and organizing farm and as such, the farmers support youth and adult learners in farming tasks during certain programs. Farming experience is required. Please spread the word!!! Priority deadline October 25.
The fall foliage at Soul Fire Farm- the inspiring and grounding blanket of color we get to wrap ourselves in these days. (Photo: Cheryl DeSanctis)
ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
COMMUNITY DAYS. THIS SATURDAY! 8-1 Work and learn together. 1-2:30 Potluck lunch. October 22, and November 12. RSVP here.
UPCOMING EVENTS: We have many public speaking events coming up the fall, including at Yale, Black Farmers Conference, and Young Farmers Conference. We will host an on-farm ancestor healing workshop with Enroue Halfkenny on Saturday, November 19 – currently full but sign up for the waiting list if interested.
GARLIC FOR SALE: We have a beautiful hard-neck garlic for sale for eating or seed! All orders can be placed by-the-pound (a pound is roughly 1 quart) and picked up at the farm or delivered on our weekly Wednesday distribution route. This garlic will store for months, so stock up for your winter supply. Garlic also makes a great gift! Contact us if you are interested. $9 per pound. $12 for seed garlic.
RETURN YOUR BOXES AND JARS please. You can leave them where you get your delivery. If you break them down, please make sure not to tear or bend any of the tabs, or just leave the assembled box for us and we are happy to break it down.
WASH YOUR VEGGIES. We DO NOT extensively wash veggies before delivering them to you. We will do some washing if there is a lot of dirt on greens and we always rinse root crops. In general, this allows the food to stay fresher longer. It also means you need to wash your veggies before consuming them. For greens: fill a bowl with cold water. Soak greens in water for a minute. Drain water and repeat two more times. Dirt will rinse to the bottom. Bugs should float to the top.
KEEP FOOD FRESH, EASY: Store leafy greens in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge. To revive wilted greens, dunk them in ice water and dry in salad spinner or with gentle toweling. To make it easier to use greens on the go, wash and chop them in advance and store them in a sealed plastic bag. Then you can just grab a handful to add to your eggs, smoothie, soup, or saute. Quick and easy.
Want to savor a taste of Soul Fire after the farm share is over? Want to prepare for Halloween? PRE-ORDER YOUR GARLIC TODAY! You won’t be sorry. (Photo: Vampiresymposium.com)
FARM NEWS
Despite our region’s unseasonably warm weather this week, fall is surely in full swing at Soul Fire Farm. We bid farewell to our beloved hot peppers after Friday night’s 29 degree frost and the farmwork is slowing down just enough for us to cross some seasonal goals off the list.
One of the goals we set as a crew way back in April was to visit some fellow farmers, especially folks in the area that use different systems than we do. Last Friday the Soul Fire had a lunch date with our friends at the Abode Farm, located in New Lebanon, NY. We were introduced to their horse team, which provides the power behind all of their cultivation, and we got to nerd out about their amazing root cellar and stable Winter CSA Program.
Our farm neighbors Sarah and Evan of Abode Farm in New Lebanon. (Photo: Leah Penniman)
Meanwhile, once we got back to the farm we made the final preparations for hosting our day-long Uprooting Racism Training, organized by the Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition. Forty individuals from Philadelphia to Vermont, and everywhere in between, gathered at Soul Fire to spend a day refreshing anti-racism foundations and strategizing for action.
Full House! Our barn classroom was PACKED in our largest-yet daylong training with the Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition. (Photo: Leah Penniman)
“Fancy food so healthy, only for the white and wealthy” This group of Hudson Valley farmers sings their presentation about injustices in food access and diet-related illness in communities of color. (Photo: Leah Penniman)
One participant said “I loved that this space was not only a seed of an idea, but that it propagated, rooted, and bore fruit.” After a morning of learning, an afternoon of action planning and building accountability networks, the program concluding with participants making offerings to the land…. Tangible efforts that counter the historical standard of extraction and colonialism.
We look forward to seeing where these amazing farmers take what they learned! The work certainly does not end with the workshop.
Farmer D. Rooney of Rock Steady Farm and Flowers shares some insight during a small break-out group. (Photo: Leah Penniman)
Love and Nourishment for the week ahead!!
RECIPE – Braised Red Cabbage with Apples
Sweet, savory, and full of color! (Photo and Recipe: NYT Cooking)
INGREDIENTS
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1 large red cabbage, 2 to 2 1/2 pounds, quartered, cored and cut crosswise in thin strips
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2 tablespoons canola oil
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1 small onion, thinly sliced
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2 tart apples, such as Braeburn or granny smith, peeled, cored and sliced
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About 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
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¼ teaspoon ground allspice
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Salt
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freshly ground pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
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Prepare the cabbage as noted above, and cover with cold water while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, lidded skillet or casserole, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until just about tender, about three minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar and cook, stirring, until the mixture is golden, about three minutes, then add the apples and stir for two to three minutes.
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Drain the cabbage and add to the pot. Toss to coat thoroughly, then stir in the allspice, another 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and salt to taste. Toss together. Cover the pot, and cook over low heat for one hour, stirring from time to time. Add freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt, and add another tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar as desired.