What a Difference a Week Makes

 I stopped by the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden to finish a few odds and ends which I had been too tired to complete during last week’s closing day.  There were things to put away, tulip bulbs to plant, herbs to harvest, etc.  It’s amazing how different the Garden and the neighborhood look now compared to the start of the season.    The eyesore building next door has been replaced with a grassy field and fruit trees.  The overgrown lot across the street has been replaced with raised flower beds, cherry trees and a general brush removal.   Our overgrown, shoulder-high rose bushes have been pruned to knee height.

When I left last week, the volunteers from the Ohio Youth Collide Conference of the Church of God were still busily working under the supervision of their youth leader, and Cathy & Doug from Urban Connections to remove all of the brush and leaves from the lot across the street.  It’s positively breathtaking how much work they accomplished in just a few hours on one Saturday afternoon.  I only wish the youth and youth leader from my church felt moved to improve a neighborhood less than a mile west of our church.  These Collide youth volunteers had spread out among the City, but two of the crews were assigned to help improve the Stoddart Avenue neighborhood and made a huge difference in just one short afternoon.

With the help of the Collide volunteers, we moved three compost bins last week to the north side of the Garden so that they will not be such an eyesore to the drivers and pedestrians on East Main Street.  Frank and Barb removed our gates and sign to protect them from the winter weather.  I watered the bins and carried some of the ripe compost over to give the bins a good start.   We hope to polish their appearance a bit next year.

Despite the drought and freakish heat this year, we set a new personal best for food pantry donations in 2012 with over 500 pounds from our lot.  While our squash suffered from the drought and bugs, and our greens were attacked by late season aphids, our peppers exploded and the tomatoes were quite respectable.  Sadly, we never would have had so much fresh produce to donate this year if so many of our gardeners had not become discouraged and dropped out in May, June and July.

Of course, I have put my newfound free time to good use cleaning up my own house, cleaning out gutters and raking leaves.   It seems that my house began falling apart around my ears over the summer and I’m so relieved to now have some time to deal with it.  It’s been very helpful to have so much food put up over the summer to save time cooking.   And, believe it or not, I’m still putting up food.  I’m drying herbs (like dill, parsely and the basil I still have growing in my kitchen window), making italian farmhouse and bread-and-butter pickles out of green cherry and roma tomatoes, harvesting kale, freezing  pumpkin and drying pumpkin seeds.  Whew.

What a Difference a Week Makes

 I stopped by the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden to finish a few odds and ends which I had been too tired to complete during last week’s closing day.  There were things to put away, tulip bulbs to plant, herbs to harvest, etc.  It’s amazing how different the Garden and the neighborhood look now compared to the start of the season.    The eyesore building next door has been replaced with a grassy field and fruit trees.  The overgrown lot across the street has been replaced with raised flower beds, cherry trees and a general brush removal.   Our overgrown, shoulder-high rose bushes have been pruned to knee height.

When I left last week, the volunteers from the Ohio Youth Collide Conference of the Church of God were still busily working under the supervision of their youth leader, and Cathy & Doug from Urban Connections to remove all of the brush and leaves from the lot across the street.  It’s positively breathtaking how much work they accomplished in just a few hours on one Saturday afternoon.  I only wish the youth and youth leader from my church felt moved to improve a neighborhood less than a mile west of our church.  These Collide youth volunteers had spread out among the City, but two of the crews were assigned to help improve the Stoddart Avenue neighborhood and made a huge difference in just one short afternoon.

With the help of the Collide volunteers, we moved three compost bins last week to the north side of the Garden so that they will not be such an eyesore to the drivers and pedestrians on East Main Street.  Frank and Barb removed our gates and sign to protect them from the winter weather.  I watered the bins and carried some of the ripe compost over to give the bins a good start.   We hope to polish their appearance a bit next year.

Despite the drought and freakish heat this year, we set a new personal best for food pantry donations in 2012 with over 500 pounds from our lot.  While our squash suffered from the drought and bugs, and our greens were attacked by late season aphids, our peppers exploded and the tomatoes were quite respectable.  Sadly, we never would have had so much fresh produce to donate this year if so many of our gardeners had not become discouraged and dropped out in May, June and July.

Of course, I have put my newfound free time to good use cleaning up my own house, cleaning out gutters and raking leaves.   It seems that my house began falling apart around my ears over the summer and I’m so relieved to now have some time to deal with it.  It’s been very helpful to have so much food put up over the summer to save time cooking.   And, believe it or not, I’m still putting up food.  I’m drying herbs (like dill, parsely and the basil I still have growing in my kitchen window), making italian farmhouse and bread-and-butter pickles out of green cherry and roma tomatoes, harvesting kale, freezing  pumpkin and drying pumpkin seeds.  Whew.

Calling It a Year: SACG Cleans Up with Help from Collide

  Another year.  Another beautiful closing day.  The weather could not have been lovelier than it was today when the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden cleaned up to shut down the Garden for the winter.  God blessed us once again.

I picked up refreshments last night thinking that I might be lucky to have four people show up to help.  (I think that every year and every year I am pleasantly surprised to be wrong).  I wished I had packed sandwiches or brought a frozen pizza for Cathy to bake for us.  We ended up with almost 20 volunteers today.

I started this morning at 9:30.  After pulling out the major tools from the shed that I knew we would need today, I started bagging up the remaining tomato and other plants from the kids’ beds and the neighbor plots.  I also started to drain the rain tanks.

Rayna came. After helping me move a compost bin from the south to the north side of the Garden, she spent most of the rest of the day pruning raspberry bushes from the fence rows along three sides of the Garden.  I think she filled 3 yard waste bags of canes.

Beth came and bagged up the rose canes that Barb had cut back last Saturday and then she pruned all of the flowers in the front flower bed.

Mari came and picked up litter, harvested produce and raked up beds.   She mentioned that the entire neighborhood seems to be sprucing up.

Margaret Ann came from Four Seasons City Farm with two little A’s.  She pruned the yellow rose bushes and cut down our sunflowers from the center flower bed.  She also added to our refreshment table and hauled away recyclables.

A boatload of neighborhood kids came, harvested turnips and beets and then raked and engaged in general digging.  And then eating and drinking us out of house and home.  And then de-stuffing and composting our scarecrow.  And then putting the spilled potting soil back in the bag for me.  

Frank and Barb came.  They disconnected our second rain tank, moved a compost bin from the south to north side of the Garden and transported compost and garden waste from the old location to the new compost bin location.  Then Charlie joined them and built a third compost bin along the alley  out of cinder blocks and landscaping stones, and moved more garden waste to it.

Charlie also reinforced our fence with help from one of the new neighborhood boys. And he hauled the bags and bags of yard waste (i.e., thorny canes and tomato vines) to the dumpster.

Tony LaRosa stopped by to tell us about his experiences in guerilla gardening in Weinland Park.  Ms. Anthony stopped by and said hi.

We didn’t really have much of a lunch break and I didn’t get a chance to read off all of the announcements about our achievements and challenges over the past summer.  Oh well.

Without much ceremony or fanfare, I was able to give Cathy Alexander her picture collage marking her as our Volunteer of the Year for helping with the youth program on most Monday evenings, helping me water on most Wednesday evenings, recruiting neighbors for our letter-writing campaign to get the eyesore next door demolished  and arranging for volunteers in June and today.    Our traveling garden gnome award for tidiest gardener(s) went to Barb and Frank for 2012.  Charlie seemed pretty disappointed to not win it two years in a row.   Sigh.

Then, we were flooded with lots of energetic teenagers from the Collide Youth Conference of the Ohio Conference of the Church of God.  The teens assigned to the SACG came from the Alliance Church of God.    We were very blessed to have them because they helped move our compost and garden waste to the new northern location for the compost bins, gathered, stacked and covered our tomato stakes and cages, neatly stacked our surplus lumber, tidied up the south side of the Garden,  harvested a couple pounds of carrots, and raked up garden beds.   They were even more help across the street where they raked leaves, chopped down scrub trees and removed a discarded fence row in the Block Watch lot.

Rayna and I reassembled the shed and got everything packed away.    We also emptied and stored away the sand box and patio umbrellas.

 It was now down to the four SACG Board members: Rayna, Charlie, Frank and me.  We held a pre-scheduled Board meeting about the future of the Garden.   Cathy Alexander was elected to replace Mike Watkins on the Board.  (We have one extra slot in case anyone out there is interested in joining our Board . . . .).   Charlie was voted to a second two-year term.   I am stepping down as the Garden Manager, and so we will need a new one.  Anyone interested should contact me or Rayna.  In the absence of expressed interest, we will be creating a job description and seeking an intern.   Next year, new gardeners will be limited to very small plots or one of our raised beds.  They can graduate to a larger bed once they have demonstrated a season of commitment to gardening and the Garden.  We’ll also be scaling back the Garden to our original lot (which will involve moving our new raised beds to the garden beds on the south side of the Garden).

Frank is coming back tomorrow to mow the grass, take down the sign and gates, and maybe haul away some/all of our excess lumber.   I have to return as well to fix something I forgot.  Oops.

Then, I went home, weighed the 32 pounds of produce we harvested today and, because it was after 4 p.m., took it to Faith Mission.

I am soooo tired.  Really.  I can't believe that we got so much done.  We were so blessed to have such fabulous weather again.

Calling It a Year: SACG Cleans Up with Help from Collide

  Another year.  Another beautiful closing day.  The weather could not have been lovelier than it was today when the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden cleaned up to shut down the Garden for the winter.  God blessed us once again.

I picked up refreshments last night thinking that I might be lucky to have four people show up to help.  (I think that every year and every year I am pleasantly surprised to be wrong).  I wished I had packed sandwiches or brought a frozen pizza for Cathy to bake for us.  We ended up with almost 20 volunteers today.

I started this morning at 9:30.  After pulling out the major tools from the shed that I knew we would need today, I started bagging up the remaining tomato and other plants from the kids’ beds and the neighbor plots.  I also started to drain the rain tanks.

Rayna came. After helping me move a compost bin from the south to the north side of the Garden, she spent most of the rest of the day pruning raspberry bushes from the fence rows along three sides of the Garden.  I think she filled 3 yard waste bags of canes.

Beth came and bagged up the rose canes that Barb had cut back last Saturday and then she pruned all of the flowers in the front flower bed.

Mari came and picked up litter, harvested produce and raked up beds.   She mentioned that the entire neighborhood seems to be sprucing up.

Margaret Ann came from Four Seasons City Farm with two little A’s.  She pruned the yellow rose bushes and cut down our sunflowers from the center flower bed.  She also added to our refreshment table and hauled away recyclables.

A boatload of neighborhood kids came, harvested turnips and beets and then raked and engaged in general digging.  And then eating and drinking us out of house and home.  And then de-stuffing and composting our scarecrow.  And then putting the spilled potting soil back in the bag for me.  

Frank and Barb came.  They disconnected our second rain tank, moved a compost bin from the south to north side of the Garden and transported compost and garden waste from the old location to the new compost bin location.  Then Charlie joined them and built a third compost bin along the alley  out of cinder blocks and landscaping stones, and moved more garden waste to it.

Charlie also reinforced our fence with help from one of the new neighborhood boys. And he hauled the bags and bags of yard waste (i.e., thorny canes and tomato vines) to the dumpster.

Tony LaRosa stopped by to tell us about his experiences in guerilla gardening in Weinland Park.  Ms. Anthony stopped by and said hi.

We didn’t really have much of a lunch break and I didn’t get a chance to read off all of the announcements about our achievements and challenges over the past summer.  Oh well.

Without much ceremony or fanfare, I was able to give Cathy Alexander her picture collage marking her as our Volunteer of the Year for helping with the youth program on most Monday evenings, helping me water on most Wednesday evenings, recruiting neighbors for our letter-writing campaign to get the eyesore next door demolished  and arranging for volunteers in June and today.    Our traveling garden gnome award for tidiest gardener(s) went to Barb and Frank for 2012.  Charlie seemed pretty disappointed to not win it two years in a row.   Sigh.

Then, we were flooded with lots of energetic teenagers from the Collide Youth Conference of the Ohio Conference of the Church of God.  The teens assigned to the SACG came from the Alliance Church of God.    We were very blessed to have them because they helped move our compost and garden waste to the new northern location for the compost bins, gathered, stacked and covered our tomato stakes and cages, neatly stacked our surplus lumber, tidied up the south side of the Garden,  harvested a couple pounds of carrots, and raked up garden beds.   They were even more help across the street where they raked leaves, chopped down scrub trees and removed a discarded fence row in the Block Watch lot.

Rayna and I reassembled the shed and got everything packed away.    We also emptied and stored away the sand box and patio umbrellas.

 It was now down to the four SACG Board members: Rayna, Charlie, Frank and me.  We held a pre-scheduled Board meeting about the future of the Garden.   Cathy Alexander was elected to replace Mike Watkins on the Board.  (We have one extra slot in case anyone out there is interested in joining our Board . . . .).   Charlie was voted to a second two-year term.   I am stepping down as the Garden Manager, and so we will need a new one.  Anyone interested should contact me or Rayna.  In the absence of expressed interest, we will be creating a job description and seeking an intern.   Next year, new gardeners will be limited to very small plots or one of our raised beds.  They can graduate to a larger bed once they have demonstrated a season of commitment to gardening and the Garden.  We’ll also be scaling back the Garden to our original lot (which will involve moving our new raised beds to the garden beds on the south side of the Garden).

Frank is coming back tomorrow to mow the grass, take down the sign and gates, and maybe haul away some/all of our excess lumber.   I have to return as well to fix something I forgot.  Oops.

Then, I went home, weighed the 32 pounds of produce we harvested today and, because it was after 4 p.m., took it to Faith Mission.

I am soooo tired.  Really.  I can't believe that we got so much done.  We were so blessed to have such fabulous weather again.

Volunteers Needed to Help Bring an End to 2012 Growing Season

2011 Closing Day Volunteers -- Blue Skies and Sunshine

We all know what an awful year this has been for weather.  Extreme Heat.   Drought.  Early frost and early snow.  We had above average temperatures until September, and then we had two months of below average temperatures – until, that is, the last week of October.  And then we had a tropical superstorm with wind and rain.  But you know what?  We always – AND I DO MEAN ALWAYS – have PERFECT weather for our opening day and closing work day on the second Saturday of November.  This year will be no different.   We will have a balmy and dry day in the 60’s on Saturday, November 10 AND there will be no football game to rush off to because it’s an OSU bye week.



2010 Closing Day Volunteers -- Notice the blue skies?

Every year, we close the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden the second Saturday in November.  This is when we clean out our flower beds, fill up our compost bins, clean up the shed, prune the perennial flowers, raspberry bushes and roses, rake up the garden and neighbor beds, put away the tomato stakes, plant tulips, empty rain tanks, and make our last food pantry harvest of the year.    We will also conduct our annual members' meeting.




Because so many gardeners dropped out in May and June with the heat and drought and weeds, we were able to donate more food than ever in 2012 despite the lower productivity/plot.  We might even hit the 500 pound threshold next weekend when we pull out the remaining collard greens, kale, chard, carrots, herbs, and turnips that are still growing.  You can see from the chart below how we have donated the 465 pounds of garden produce harvested to date.

Although we won’t have Tom’s famous BBQ this year, we will lots of refreshments for volunteers, beginning at 9:30 a.m.  We should be finished by 1:30, depending on how many people come to help.   If we’re lucky, we’ll have enough help to move the compost bins so that they are not such an eyesore to folks travelling on East Main Street (now that the eyesore building that used to be south of the Garden has been demolished).

So, please come and help us put the Garden to bed for the winter.  Many hands make light work and it’s about the only time that the gardeners get to meet and see each other.

Volunteers Needed to Help Bring an End to 2012 Growing Season

2011 Closing Day Volunteers -- Blue Skies and Sunshine

We all know what an awful year this has been for weather.  Extreme Heat.   Drought.  Early frost and early snow.  We had above average temperatures until September, and then we had two months of below average temperatures – until, that is, the last week of October.  And then we had a tropical superstorm with wind and rain.  But you know what?  We always – AND I DO MEAN ALWAYS – have PERFECT weather for our opening day and closing work day on the second Saturday of November.  This year will be no different.   We will have a balmy and dry day in the 60’s on Saturday, November 10 AND there will be no football game to rush off to because it’s an OSU bye week.



2010 Closing Day Volunteers -- Notice the blue skies?

Every year, we close the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden the second Saturday in November.  This is when we clean out our flower beds, fill up our compost bins, clean up the shed, prune the perennial flowers, raspberry bushes and roses, rake up the garden and neighbor beds, put away the tomato stakes, plant tulips, empty rain tanks, and make our last food pantry harvest of the year.    We will also conduct our annual members' meeting.




Because so many gardeners dropped out in May and June with the heat and drought and weeds, we were able to donate more food than ever in 2012 despite the lower productivity/plot.  We might even hit the 500 pound threshold next weekend when we pull out the remaining collard greens, kale, chard, carrots, herbs, and turnips that are still growing.  You can see from the chart below how we have donated the 465 pounds of garden produce harvested to date.

Although we won’t have Tom’s famous BBQ this year, we will lots of refreshments for volunteers, beginning at 9:30 a.m.  We should be finished by 1:30, depending on how many people come to help.   If we’re lucky, we’ll have enough help to move the compost bins so that they are not such an eyesore to folks travelling on East Main Street (now that the eyesore building that used to be south of the Garden has been demolished).

So, please come and help us put the Garden to bed for the winter.  Many hands make light work and it’s about the only time that the gardeners get to meet and see each other.

Preserving Garden Bounty for Easy Winter Pleasures

As the evenings get longer and cooler, I turn from weeding and watering to putting up my Garden.  In other words, I’m canning, pickling, cooking and freezing until all hours of the night most evenings to keep up with the harvest.   The drought and fire hoses were tough on my beans this year and the bugs got most of our squash, but we’ve had a respectable amount of tomatoes and an abundance of peppers, eggplants and cucumbers.  I’ve also made lots of non-traditional jams and jellies (i.e., no berries).   

Some of my friends have asked where I get these recipes and instructions.  My first cookbook for this adventure, is Ball’s Blue Book of Preserving, which has hundreds of ideas and instructions for canning, freezing and drying garden produce.  It costs less than $7 and can be found online, at Lowe’s and at Wal-Mart.   Then, there is National Center for Home Food Preservation websiteat the University of Georgia.   This also has hundreds of recipes and tips.   They sell the 350-recipe cookbook for $15.00, but virtually all of the recipes are available for free online if you’re willing to take the time to search and print.   In addition, there is the ever-reliable Martha Stewart websitebecause Ms. Martha also cans, pickles and jellies.   For the rest, I turn to my ridiculous collection of cookbooks for recipes, which I then can or freeze (based on instructions from Ball’s and UGA).

Tomatoes. I can most of them to use in recipes (like chili, bolognase, black bean and tomato soup, stews, jambalaya, casseroles and sauces) over the winter.  I’ve vowed to never buy another can of tomatoes for the rest of my able-bodied life.  I don’t put salt in my tomatoes and so they are necessarily healthier than what you can buy.  I don’t like to freeze them because I’m too impatient to wait for them to thaw when I’ve decided to cook.   Then, like most people, I also make and can salsa.  I also make a variety of sauces, such as Raphael (with artichoke hearts) and Puttanesca (from the Silver Palette), Arrabiata, creole sauce (for shrimp creole) and roasted tomato.   There’s nothing easier in the winter than opening a jar of a spicy sauce and throwing it over pasta when you don’t feel like cooking.

Cucumbers.  Like many people, I make kosher dill pickles.  However, there are only so many a girl can eat in a year, so I decided to experiment this year with bread and butter pickles.  I like Martha’s recipe the best. (Her secret:  Toss them with salt and ice cubes and leave them in a collander in the refrigerator for 3 hours before rinsing them well to ensure the chips and slices remain crispy).   I doubt they last until Thanksgiving, because they are an easy low-calorie snack food. 

Peppers.  In my humble opinion, the UGA website has the best collection of recipes.  I’ve marinated and canned my Greek peppers. I freeze or pickle jalapenos.  I roast and freeze pablanos and red bell peppers.  I’ve smoked and dried Pablano/Ancho, red and green chiles and red jalapeno/chipotle peppers.  I freeze green bell peppers for winter recipes or put them in creole sauce (above).  I’ve made three different sauces from my Coyote Café cookbook (i.e., hot red pepper sauce, smoked tomato and jalapeno sauce (for fish and eggs) and rancheros sauce to put on eggs in the morning).  Two weeks ago at the suggestion of my high school buddy, Michelle, I made a pepper jelly, which was freakishly easy and quite tasty.  This weekend, I’m going to make and can taco/burrito sauce.  My cousins make their own ketchup, but I already have an abundance of Heinz in my pantry.  I’ve considered making my own adobo sauce to preserve some chipotle peppers, but I think I’ll just keep them in airtight jars.

(To smoke peppers without buying all of the proper equipment or moving to New Mexico, I start early in the morning and put soaked wood chips in my metal smoker box or in an old disposable aluminum pie pan. Add a fire starter, a hot charcoal brickette or get them smoking with my gas grill.   Turn off the heat and leave the peppers in there for 8-16 hours after plugging the big holes.  Finish drying them in the oven or toaster oven overnight at 170 degrees.  There are lots of websites to help you with this project if you are interested).

Eggplant.  Eggplant is tricky.  You have to cook it in a recipe first.  I make stuffed eggplant from The Moosewood Cookbook and freeze it.  I also make eggplant scallopini sauce (heavy on the marsala and tomatoes) from the Moosewood Cookbook and can it.  This weekend, I’m going to make and freeze a tomato smothered eggplant sauce from Lidia’s website.  In the past, I’ve also frozen slices of roasted marinated eggplant as well.   Then, there’s always baba ghanoush, which rarely lasts more than two days in my refrigerator.

Greens.  Greens can also be cooked and frozen or canned, but I haven’t made that leap yet.  Kale and chard handle mild winters so well (especially in a cold frame or low tunnel), that I keep growing my plants as long as possible and just cook it fresh out of the Garden.

Herbs.  I've already blogged about preserving herbs.  I generally freeze my basil, parsley and cilantro.  I also dry basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, fennel and dill.  Two weeks ago, I made and froze an ice-cube tray of traditional basil pesto (with pine nuts).  The last few years, I've substituted walnuts for pine nuts in my pesto.  This weekend, I'm going to try a new recipe for basil-pistacchio pesto.    I've also trimmed some basil branches, put them in water until they spouted roots and planted them in pots to keep in windows and below grow lights.  However, I will admit to keeping a rather chilly house in the winter and the plants never seem to thrive in low light and 57 degree nights. 

Fruit.  You already know that I freeze berries, can peaches and make jam.  Last year, I made and canned apple sauce, too.  This year, I expanded to canning apples so that I could make an apple pie and cranberry-apple crisp with a snap of the fingers without having to spend hours peeling fruit. 

Stocks.  The best time to make chicken, turkey and beef stock is after the nights turn reliably cold (i.e., below 40 degrees).  That is because you have the bones stewing on the stove all day.  Then, because it's not safe to put a large and hot stew pot in your refrigerator (because it will raise the temperature), you put it outside in the cold night air.  This will chill the stock and cause the fat to rise to the top.  Then, the next morning, you skim the fat off, bring it back to a boil and can it (if you still have enough empty mason jars leftover after canning your garden produce.  If not, you can freeze the stock to throw into slow cooker recipes).   Why would you do this?  Again, to avoid putting salt in your stock, to imagine life as a pioneer and to save yourself a small fortune. 

Canning is easier than it sounds and there are only four major downsides to canning your own food.  First, canning is time consuming, particularly, if like me, you can your food in small batches as you harvest it.  It goes much faster if you simply buy your produce in bulk at a farmer's market or at Lynd's and then can a product en masse for one day.    Second, it really heats up your kitchen, which is very uncomfortable in July and August.  Third, you'll need to devote a lot of hefty shelf space in your basement pantry to storing your canned good and to storing empty jars.  Fourth, it can be very dangerous if you get sloppy.  You have to be careful not to open a pressure cooker before the pressure recedes or to operate it at all if it is dry.  You also need to be sure that the jar seals work properly and that you cook the food properly to avoid food poisoning.  (My aunt assures me that botulism is a very unpleasant way to die).

Cooking aside, the SACG is still open and growing.  Our second-season crops seem to be coming in nicely and we hope to have quite the Thanksgiving harvest when we finally close for the season on November 10.  Everyone is invited to come help us clean up the Garden for the winter, harvest our Fall produce (to deliver to Faith Mission or LSS) and to partake of our hearty  refreshments.   If you cannot wait until November 10, you can come tomorrow and help us stain our grandma raised beds (to protect them from the weather) and to weed and harvest for the LSS food pantry.

Well.  Enough typing.  Back to the kitchen.

Preserving Garden Bounty for Easy Winter Pleasures

As the evenings get longer and cooler, I turn from weeding and watering to putting up my Garden.  In other words, I’m canning, pickling, cooking and freezing until all hours of the night most evenings to keep up with the harvest.   The drought and fire hoses were tough on my beans this year and the bugs got most of our squash, but we’ve had a respectable amount of tomatoes and an abundance of peppers, eggplants and cucumbers.  I’ve also made lots of non-traditional jams and jellies (i.e., no berries).   

Some of my friends have asked where I get these recipes and instructions.  My first cookbook for this adventure, is Ball’s Blue Book of Preserving, which has hundreds of ideas and instructions for canning, freezing and drying garden produce.  It costs less than $7 and can be found online, at Lowe’s and at Wal-Mart.   Then, there is National Center for Home Food Preservation website at the University of Georgia.   This also has hundreds of recipes and tips.   They sell the 350-recipe cookbook for $15.00, but virtually all of the recipes are available for free online if you’re willing to take the time to search and print.   In addition, there is the ever-reliable Martha Stewart website because Ms. Martha also cans, pickles and jellies.   For the rest, I turn to my ridiculous collection of cookbooks for recipes, which I then can or freeze (based on instructions from Ball’s and UGA).

Tomatoes. I can most of them to use in recipes (like chili, bolognase, black bean and tomato soup, stews, jambalaya, casseroles and sauces) over the winter.  I’ve vowed to never buy another can of tomatoes for the rest of my able-bodied life.  I don’t put salt in my tomatoes and so they are necessarily healthier than what you can buy.  I don’t like to freeze them because I’m too impatient to wait for them to thaw when I’ve decided to cook.   Then, like most people, I also make and can salsa.  I also make a variety of sauces, such as Raphael (with artichoke hearts) and Puttanesca (from the Silver Palette), Arrabiata, creole sauce (for shrimp creole) and roasted tomato.   There’s nothing easier in the winter than opening a jar of a spicy sauce and throwing it over pasta when you don’t feel like cooking.

Cucumbers.  Like many people, I make kosher dill pickles.  However, there are only so many a girl can eat in a year, so I decided to experiment this year with bread and butter pickles.  I like Martha’s recipe the best. (Her secret:  Toss them with salt and ice cubes and leave them in a collander in the refrigerator for 3 hours before rinsing them well to ensure the chips and slices remain crispy).   I doubt they last until Thanksgiving, because they are an easy low-calorie snack food. 

Peppers.  In my humble opinion, the UGA website has the best collection of recipes.  I’ve marinated and canned my Greek peppers. I freeze or pickle jalapenos.  I roast and freeze pablanos and red bell peppers.  I’ve smoked and dried Pablano/Ancho, red and green chiles and red jalapeno/chipotle peppers.  I freeze green bell peppers for winter recipes or put them in creole sauce (above).  I’ve made three different sauces from my Coyote Café cookbook (i.e., hot red pepper sauce, smoked tomato and jalapeno sauce (for fish and eggs) and rancheros sauce to put on eggs in the morning).  Two weeks ago at the suggestion of my high school buddy, Michelle, I made a pepper jelly, which was freakishly easy and quite tasty.  This weekend, I’m going to make and can taco/burrito sauce.  My cousins make their own ketchup, but I already have an abundance of Heinz in my pantry.  I’ve considered making my own adobo sauce to preserve some chipotle peppers, but I think I’ll just keep them in airtight jars.

(To smoke peppers without buying all of the proper equipment or moving to New Mexico, I start early in the morning and put soaked wood chips in my metal smoker box or in an old disposable aluminum pie pan. Add a fire starter, a hot charcoal brickette or get them smoking with my gas grill.   Turn off the heat and leave the peppers in there for 8-16 hours after plugging the big holes.  Finish drying them in the oven or toaster oven overnight at 170 degrees.  There are lots of websites to help you with this project if you are interested).

Eggplant.  Eggplant is tricky.  You have to cook it in a recipe first.  I make stuffed eggplant from The Moosewood Cookbook and freeze it.  I also make eggplant scallopini sauce (heavy on the marsala and tomatoes) from the Moosewood Cookbook and can it.  This weekend, I’m going to make and freeze a tomato smothered eggplant sauce from Lidia’s website.  In the past, I’ve also frozen slices of roasted marinated eggplant as well.   Then, there’s always baba ghanoush, which rarely lasts more than two days in my refrigerator.

Greens.  Greens can also be cooked and frozen or canned, but I haven’t made that leap yet.  Kale and chard handle mild winters so well (especially in a cold frame or low tunnel), that I keep growing my plants as long as possible and just cook it fresh out of the Garden.

Herbs.  I've already blogged about preserving herbs.  I generally freeze my basil, parsley and cilantro.  I also dry basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, fennel and dill.  Two weeks ago, I made and froze an ice-cube tray of traditional basil pesto (with pine nuts).  The last few years, I've substituted walnuts for pine nuts in my pesto.  This weekend, I'm going to try a new recipe for basil-pistacchio pesto.    I've also trimmed some basil branches, put them in water until they spouted roots and planted them in pots to keep in windows and below grow lights.  However, I will admit to keeping a rather chilly house in the winter and the plants never seem to thrive in low light and 57 degree nights. 

Fruit.  You already know that I freeze berries, can peaches and make jam.  Last year, I made and canned apple sauce, too.  This year, I expanded to canning apples so that I could make an apple pie and cranberry-apple crisp with a snap of the fingers without having to spend hours peeling fruit. 

Stocks.  The best time to make chicken, turkey and beef stock is after the nights turn reliably cold (i.e., below 40 degrees).  That is because you have the bones stewing on the stove all day.  Then, because it's not safe to put a large and hot stew pot in your refrigerator (because it will raise the temperature), you put it outside in the cold night air.  This will chill the stock and cause the fat to rise to the top.  Then, the next morning, you skim the fat off, bring it back to a boil and can it (if you still have enough empty mason jars leftover after canning your garden produce.  If not, you can freeze the stock to throw into slow cooker recipes).   Why would you do this?  Again, to avoid putting salt in your stock, to imagine life as a pioneer and to save yourself a small fortune. 

Canning is easier than it sounds and there are only four major downsides to canning your own food.  First, canning is time consuming, particularly, if like me, you can your food in small batches as you harvest it.  It goes much faster if you simply buy your produce in bulk at a farmer's market or at Lynd's and then can a product en masse for one day.    Second, it really heats up your kitchen, which is very uncomfortable in July and August.  Third, you'll need to devote a lot of hefty shelf space in your basement pantry to storing your canned good and to storing empty jars.  Fourth, it can be very dangerous if you get sloppy.  You have to be careful not to open a pressure cooker before the pressure recedes or to operate it at all if it is dry.  You also need to be sure that the jar seals work properly and that you cook the food properly to avoid food poisoning.  (My aunt assures me that botulism is a very unpleasant way to die).

Cooking aside, the SACG is still open and growing.  Our second-season crops seem to be coming in nicely and we hope to have quite the Thanksgiving harvest when we finally close for the season on November 10.  Everyone is invited to come help us clean up the Garden for the winter, harvest our Fall produce (to deliver to Faith Mission or LSS) and to partake of our hearty  refreshments.   If you cannot wait until November 10, you can come tomorrow and help us stain our grandma raised beds (to protect them from the weather) and to weed and harvest for the LSS food pantry.

Well.  Enough typing.  Back to the kitchen.

Volunteer Management Workshop Series

Hands On Central Ohio is offering a series of workshops on volunteer recruitment and management which could be helpful to community gardens.

Volunteer Management Series

"Participants who complete the series will receive a HandsOn Central Ohio Volunteer Management Certificate. The cost is $200 for the series (strongly recommended)."

The traditional concept of volunteerism has significantly changed over the past few years. Like other institutions volunteering is influenced by cultural shifts. Those who experience flexibility in the workplace expect flexibility in their volunteer involvement. Within this changing environment the role of volunteer management has also changed. This series will emphasize strategic volunteer engagement and reflect the philosophy and practice of collaborative volunteer engagement. The series includes the impact of social media, connecting to the corporate community and how to engage skilled and pro bono volunteers that is at the forefront of the biggest paradigm shift in volunteerism in our time. The objective of this revised series is to provide volunteer managers, administrators, supervisors and coordinators with up to date techniques and best practices for developing and engaging a successful volunteer staff within any agency's service programs. Upon completion of this series participants will take with them a comprehensive manual of the six sessions plus samples of the documents, forms and itemized procedures necessary to have a successful volunteer engagement program.

Understanding Volunteerism

Session 1 Participants will learn current trends and many definitions of a volunteer. You will examine the shifts and emerging patterns in volunteering and the impact of technology in engaging volunteers. As an example of micro-volunteering you will hear the story of Jacob Colker who enables smartphone users to be volunteers by donating spare minutes to nonprofits. To highlight corporate philanthropy you will view a Deloitte video, pioneers of venture philanthropy, how skill based volunteerism is making a difference in communities. This session will define the basis for agency readiness, characteristics of organizations that effectively engage volunteers and professional ethics in engaging volunteers.

Presenter: Beth Eck, Vice President of Training and Volunteer Services, HandsOn Central Ohio
Cost: $40
Time: 8:30 am - 12:00 noon
Date: October 2, 2012

Create a Plan for Your Volunteer Program

Session 2 This session will build a solid foundation for the successful management of your volunteer engagement program. Rebeccah Verhoff, Director, Community Engagement, HandsOn Central Ohio, will introduce HandsOn's new volunteer involvement framework. She will provide information on volunteer leader's training and how to utilize HandsOn Network Connect, Volunteer Central Ohio, that will increase the volunteer capacity of your organization. You will discover the many elements of a successful volunteer program, benefits and challenges of a volunteer program. Discussion will center on the importance of a volunteer purpose statement and its relationship to your organization’s mission. You will create a purpose statement for your program. Participants will examine methods to assess their agency's volunteer needs and determine appropriate volunteer roles that include the use of an integrated volunteer staff. Through hands on practice you will learn how to create captivating volunteer position descriptions. As “volunteer” does not mean “free” a discussion will center on how to advocate for the resources needed to develop and sustain a program. Participants will draft a budget for their volunteer program. Attendees will leave this session keenly understanding the importance of building a strong agency foundation for a volunteer staff.

Presenter: Beth Eck, Vice President of Training and Volunteer Services, HandsOn Central Ohio Rebeccah Verhoff, Director, Community Engagement, HandsOn Central Ohio
Cost: $40
Time: 8:30 am - 12:00 noon
Date: October 9, 2012

Policies and Procedures

Session 3 Policies and procedures are the nuts and bolts of a volunteer program. The value of risk management is covered throughout the series but is a particular focus in this session. At the beginning of this session each participant will complete an at-risk survey of their volunteer program. Participants will learn the significance of developing operational guidelines, standards and procedures including guidelines for dismissal. The importance of the need for a volunteer policies and procedures manual will be covered. Volunteer screening is one of the most important components of your volunteer program. Stephanie Sparrow Hughes, Mentoring Center of Central Ohio, will lead a discussion on screening volunteers. Participants will do a risk assessment of their newly created position description. Included in this session you will learn about risk management planning, strategies and liability reduction. The importance of systematic record keeping will be addressed. Presenter: Beth Eck, Vice President of Training and Volunteer Services, HandsOn Central Ohio Stephanie Sparrow Hughes, Manager/Operations & Buckeye Mentoring Hub, Mentoring Center of Central Ohio
Cost: $40
Time: 8:30 am - 12:00 noon
Date: October 16, 2012

Recruitment Strategies for Building Diversity in Your Volunteer Program

Session 4 The importance of a position description for purposes of recruitment and placement will be reinforced. Cultivating diversity in volunteering means a varied body of volunteers and selection of roles volunteers can carry out. Achieving diversity is an essential element in your recruitment plan. Does your volunteer force represent the community you serve? Does your organization make all volunteers feel welcome? Volunteers from different ages and backgrounds are motivated and retained by different approaches and techniques. Participants will develop strategies for recruiting traditional volunteers, Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, youth and persons with disabilities. Steps for developing and implementing a targeted recruitment strategy will be discussed. You will craft a volunteer recruitment message. A panel of community leaders will provide a discussion on how to recruit and sustain multi-cultural volunteers.
Presenter: Beth Eck, Vice President of Training and Volunteer Services, HandsOn Central Ohio, Eva Atunga, Information Specialist, HandsOn Central Ohio
Cost: $40
Time: 8:30 am - 12:00 noon
Date: October 23, 2012

Social Networking, Interviewing, Orientation, Placement and Recognition

Session 5 Social networking outreaches to a broader range of volunteers in less time. Staff from HandsOn's volunteer engagement department will lead a discussion on integrating Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn into your program. The use of the social media serves as a means to maximize your efforts in recruiting, utilizing, communicating and acknowledging volunteers. Matching potential volunteers to positions is critically important to volunteer sustainability and the success of your program. You will practice effective interviewing techniques that screen and determine proper placements. Conducting a thorough orientation and training will be review. Acknowledgement of volunteers needs to be tailored to the volunteer’s motivation. Students will develop a strategic recognition plan for their volunteers.

Presenter: Beth Eck, Vice President of Training and Volunteer Services, HandsOn Central Ohio, Rebeccah Verhoff, Director Community Engagement, HandsOn Central Ohio
Cost: $40
Time: 8:30 am - 12:00 noon
Date: October 30, 2012

Supervision, Evaluate Your Volunteer Program and Best Volunteer Management Practices from the Field

Session 6 Supervising and supporting volunteers for maximum performance will be covered. Also included is managing transitions. difficult volunteers and learning how to redirect and dismiss volunteers. Participants will examine the necessity for thorough and well-planned evaluation tools that assess the volunteer’s progress as well as your volunteer program. The series ends with conversation and best practice tips from several central Ohio “veteran” administrators of volunteers.

Presenter: Beth Eck, Vice President of Training and Volunteer Services, HandsOn Central Ohio Shryiell Owens, Director, Foster Grandparent Program, HandsOn Central Ohio
Cost: $40
Time: 8:30 am - 12:00 noon
Date: November 13, 2012

 

If you are interested in any or all of these workshops, you can register online.