Thank you to 11 year-old Birke Baehr for summing up America’s food problem (and a few solutions) for us at a recent TEDx Conference. Our favorite quote, “I used to want to be a NFL football player…now I want to be an organic farmer.” We hope he inspires you to sign up the little ones in your life for the Farm to Fork on November 6th at The Ecology Center. Call 949.443.4223 to reserve a space.

Last week I realized that, while convenient, the use of acronyms can lead to lost opportunities for eco-education. I had asked the woman at the Staples printing counter if their premium glossy paper had any recycled content. “No, unfortunately, not,” she said. I then asked if it was FSC-certified. She said she wasn’t sure, then brought the packaging over to me. I saw the FSC label, pointed it out to her and said, “Great. Let’s go with that.” She paused and asked what FSC was. I am so glad she asked, because only then did I get to tell.

As our CSA Basket Cooking class approaches, I’ve found myself wondering how many people don’t know what CSA stands for and why I always assume they do. Today, we’re taking the time to share the basics of Community Supported Agriculture. Even if you know the ins and outs of CSA, we encourage you to read on so you can concisely share the concept with others.

In Community Supported Agriculture, a farmer makes a certain number of “shares” of his crop available to the public. The “share” is typically a box or basket of vegetables, but might include other farm or local artisan products. Consumers, like you for example, secure their “share” by purchasing a membership. Depending upon your household needs, most CSA programs have different size shares and weekly, bi-weekly or monthly membership options.

There are a host of benefits from CSA.

For you:

consistent provision of fresh, local and seasonal produce

exposure to new fruits and veggies and ways to cook them

the peace of mind in knowing where your food comes from

For the farmer:

receive consistent payment, even early in the season

an opportunity to get to know their customers

viable marketing tool

First-time CSAers be warned, you will probably receive veggies and fruits that you have never cooked with before. Being a CSA member will definitely encourage you to step up your culinary prowess. The Ecology Center is aiming to help you out with our November 6th CSA Basket Cooking class. Sign up here and do it quick because space is limited. In the meantime, Localharvest.org has the most comprehensive list of CSA programs in the US, check them out to learn about your local CSAs. If you’re in the Orange County area, we highly recommend our neighbor South Coast Farms.

This October’s Farm to Fork students enjoyed the story of the Three Sisters Meal as they worked alongside instructor Caroline Colesworthy to prepare a delicious spread using just corn, beans and squash. These three crops have been cultivated together in North America for generations. They are called the “three sisters” because, in the field, each supports the needs of the other. It’s estimated that the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Native Americans were the first to tell the Three Sisters story, but it is shared by people all over the world from the Caribbean to Britain. The story goes  like this:

The corn, the bean and the squash are three loving sisters who must always live together to be happy. The older sister is tall and graceful, the next younger loved to twine about her and lean for strength upon her. The youngest rambled at the feet of their sisters and protected them from prowling enemies. When the moon drops low and the summer night is lit only by the mysterious light of the stars, these three sisters come forth in human form wearing their green garments and decked in blossoms. They have been seen dancing in the shadows, singing to their mother earth, praising their father sun and whispering words of comfort to mankind. And women and men, to show gratitude, call the three sisters Dyonheyko, “they who sustain our lives”.  Haudenosaunee (Iroquois `Longhouse’ people) legend.

(photo from Ecocentro Senda Verde blog)

Following Caroline’s simple recipes below, you can recreate the Three Sisters Meal at home.

Beans

Soak dried beans in filtered water and lemon juice for up to 24 hours. Drain and add 2 parts water for each part beans and bring to a boil. Add up to 2 tsp of salt per cup of beans. Reduce to a simmer – cook until tender, about an hour. While simmering, add chopped onion, a bay leaf, paprika and garlic to your tasting.

(photo from dinnercakes.com)

Corn Muffins

1 cup corn meal, 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup sweetener such as sugar or honey, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 beaten egg, 1/4 cup oil or butter, 1 cup milk

Heat the oven to 400 degrees, grease your muffin tin or insert paper cups. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Mix together dry and wet ingredients until combined. Pour batter into cups, then bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. *You may add whole corn, cheese, onions or peppers to the batter if you like.

(photo from Innocent Primate Vegan Blog)

Roasted Squash/Pumpkin

Slice up squash almost as you would watermelon slices. Remove seeds. Roast squash at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Roast the seeds separately for about 20 minutes, checking after ten minutes to give a good stir.

(photo from Pen & Fork blog)

Together, the three sisters crops can provide a delicious, healthy and complete meal.

Farm to Fork is a youth culinary experience held on the first Saturday of every month at The Ecology Center. After a short harvest walk, students prepare small plate meals alongside local chefs, reinforcing the real food journey from farm to fork. Ages 6 to 12, please. To sign your child up for the next class on November 6th, call 949.443.4223.

It’s not too late for you to support your local farmers by participating in Dine Out for Farms Week. This national, week-long event – which began on Monday, the 10th – brings restaurants and their patrons together in support of a sustainable future for America’s farms. Family farmers are threatened by sprawling development, difficult market conditions and a lack of next generation farmers.

During Dine Out for Farms Week, participating restaurants raise funds for American Farmland Trust’s programs including those that involve working hand-in-hand with family farmers, helping communities become more farm friendly and promoting sound policies that ensure a healthy future for American farms and food.

There are two quick and easy ways to get involved:

1. Spread the word about Dine Out for Farms.

2. Visit the Dine Out for Farms website to find a restaurant near you, grab a friend and head out for dinner!

This is the first year that the American Farmland Trust has put this event together and we hope you do your part in ensuring it becomes an annual affair. If you can’t find a participating restaurant near you, call up your favorite one and ask them to participate.

To support your local farm all year long, we highly recommend signing up for their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. To get introduced to the concept of CSA and all of the wonderful goodies you can cook from your basket, come on down to The Ecology Center on November 6th for our Backyard Skills CSA Basket Cooking workshop. Sign up now!

With our Wild Edibles Plant Walk coming up this Saturday, we thought we’d do a little digging into the ins and outs of foraging. First, we took a look at instructor Caroline Colesworthy’s book recommendation, Steve Brill’s Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places and, second, we scoured the ‘net for foraging examples across the States. While one might expect pickings to be slim in certain areas, it turns out there is a bounty to be had in all sorts of landscape.

Near the sea, foragers look for seabeans, or glasswort. Typically available in the summer, seabeans look like spruce or cedar fronds and have a salty and crunchy taste. Other seaside wild edibles include seaweed, salt and clams, yes, clams, but take note, you must have a license to clam.

Woody areas host wild garlic, mushrooms (only experts should sample wild mushrooms), clover and blueberries. If a shallow stream or spring meanders through the woods, your chances of happening upon watercress also improve. Look for watercress – a member of the mustard green family – in cold, shaded water. It can be used fresh in salads and sandwiches or cooked.

In big cities, berries, nettles, dandelions are on the menu and, depending what city you live in, may be accompanied by cherries, apples, oranges and avocados. Check out this piece on Urban Foraging by Eve Solomon of The Huffington Post for an urban feast slideshow.

Ready to sign up for the Wild Edibles Plant Walk this Saturday at 11:30am? Great! Click here and you’ll be on your way.

It’s no secret that The Ecology Center emphasizes food education as a means to healthy, sustainable living. Lately, we’ve been inspired by Chef Jamie Oliver’s American Food Revolution. If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to see the TED Talk during which he details the depth and breadth of food issues in the United States and declares his wish to educate every child about food, now’s your chance.

Chef Oliver’s TED Talk first aired in February of 2010, but a campaign update was released on his website just a few weeks ago. In it, Jamie identifies the three most common and unsurprising reasons people give for a poor diet – lack of money, lack of time and lack of cooking skills – but also highlights one very pleasant surprise:

“One thing that always surprises me is the kids; you often hear about kids being fussy eaters and that getting them to eat anything that isn’t pulverized and covered in breadcrumbs is impossible, but I generally find that they’re the first ones to get on board.”

A child’s willingness to learn about and try new foods is good news for everyone, their willingness to embrace home cooking skills is even better! The Ecology Center offers kids a chance to roll up their sleeves in the kitchen at 10am on the first Saturday of every month in our Farm to Fork program where local chefs take students on a tour of our edible garden and then guide them in the preparation of small plate meals. To learn more about Farm to Fork and to sign your child up for our next class on October 2nd, call 949.443.4223.