December-January

During December and January in the garden we finish saving all of the heirloom seeds from the garden and we bless them:

After saving the tomatillo, basil, and marigold seeds the last week the Jr. Farmers and I went for cover from the twenty degree weather and into our art classroom. Here each Junior Farmer designed their garden plots for this next spring. Using cut out vegetable and flower images from previous years’ seed catalogues We laid out our preference and plans for the seasons, saw our designs and culinary preference. We also used the cut-outs to create a game of categories with the botanical vegetable families, one of the key elements in sustainable agriculture.

This time of the year as we harvest our greens from the greenhouse for cooking class we also begin to into what we stored this year, as the earth is hard and frozen now. We wait with great anticipation for the coming of our favorite seed catalogues for this year. Some of our favorites include the Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek Heirlooms, and Vermont Bean. We look forward to learning with you this next year.

Together we transform the land in Camden, we are all transformed within, and together we change how we live. Come and shape Environmental Justice with us.

Mexican Stuffen Peppers

This recipe was taken from Simply in Season

4 green, yellow, orange, or red sweet peppers

cut 1/2 inch off top of peppers and discard seeds/ Steam whole peppers in 1 inch boiling water until tender, about 5-8 min. Remove peppers from water and set aside.

1/3 cup onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

Saute in 1 tablespoon oil

2 cups tomatoes (chopped)

1 jalapeno pepper (minced after seeds removed)

2tablespoons fresh parsley

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 bay leaf

add and cook 5 minutes

2 cups corn

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

add and simmer 10 minutes. Place peppers in oven proof dish so they can stand upright, with the cut ends up. Stuff peppers with vegetables mixture. Any extra filling can be placed in dish next to pepper

sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Pumpkin PIE FROM SCRATCH

Here is a nice recipe that we are trying out using butternut squash from our garden to make pumpkin pie.

http://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkinpie.php

Watch the video we made on Pumpkin Pie from the garden

Plant your garlic Now

The fall is the best time to plant your garlic outside. It is like a tulips, daffodils and other bulbs, it needs to freeze in order to grow. It's very easy to plant and one of the main foundations for our cooking.

Watch as the Jr. Farmers of the Center For Environmental Transformation demonstrate how in this short 2 minute video:

Cornbread Casserole

sooooo good. cornbread casserole. replace beef with refried beans.

http://lickmyspoon.com/recipes/cornbread-casserole/

Cornbread Casserole

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

8 CommentsI was looking for a good cornbread recipe the other day and came across the website for the National Cornbread Festival in SouthPittsburg, Tennessee. It sounds like quite the shindig, with a cook-off (naturally), carnival, car show, road race, and beauty pageant—oh, to be crowned Miss National Cornbread Queen! **hands clasped in joy** Friendly mocking aside, I really kind of want to attend this year’s festivities. April 25-26, 2009. Calendar marked.

Any who, I decided to soothe my southern envy by making myself a cornbread dinner. The NCF kindly posts all the winning recipes, and 3rd place winner, Earl Brandy, Jr.’sSausage Pepper Cheese Quiche with Cornbread Crust caught my eye.

I made do with my Pyrex pan (mental note: buy cast iron skillet so as not to be mocked at NCF’09) and it came out just fine. Other substitutions: I omitted the vegetable oil, and added some sugar and butter to the cornbread crust since I thought the original version came out a little bland and dry.

In the filling, I swapped out the half and half with milk, and doubled up on the peppers and onions instead of using mushrooms (I almost never have mushrooms in the kitchen…too lazy to prep them).

Earl Brandy Jr. also uses a mix of red and green peppers. I think red peppers are sweeter so I just use those. And then toppings…I omitted the tomatoes and avocado because I thought the flavors were getting too busy, but feel free to add if you want. The sour cream lends a nice cool, creamy complement to the dish, and the cilantro adds a little bit of green freshness.

I have a feeling this will become a staple weeknight dinner around here. Quick, easy, and comforting.

Cornbread Casserole
(Adapted from Earl Brandy, Jr.’s Sausage Pepper Cheese Quiche with Cornbread Crust – 3rd place winner, 2008 National Cornbread Festival)

Cornbread Crust
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup coarse ground corn meal (or polenta)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (4 1/2 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained

Filling
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound pork sausage
2 cups chopped red bell pepper (2 large peppers)
2 cup chopped onion (1 large onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded yellow Cheddar cheese

Toppings
Sour cream
Chopped cilantro

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 3 quart (13×9) pyrex dish; place in oven 7 to 8 minutes or until hot.

Add baking soda to buttermilk; set aside for 5 minutes. In large mixing bowl, combine all cornbread crust ingredients; stir until well blended. Pour into hot baking dish. Bake at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Reduce oven to 350° F. In large mixing bowl, combine 5 eggs, milk, salt, pepper and cumin; beat well.

Remove the sausage from their casings and brown, breaking it up into pieces. Remove the sausage from the pan, draining excess fat. Sautee peppers and onions.

Layer sausage, peppers, onions, and cheeses over crust. Pour egg mixture over top. Bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and set. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Cut into squares and serve with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro.

(8-10 servings)

spicy sugar snap peas

spicy sugar snap peas. so oooo good.

SPICY SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH MUSTARD

1 lb. fresh sugar snap peas 1 tbsp. whole mustard seeds 4 tbsp. vegetable oil 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 hot dried red chili Salt and pepper to taste Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the garlic, then add the red chili and stir for a few seconds. Put in the sugar snap peas and season to taste. Let cook for a few minutes until they have absorbed the flavor of the spices.

In the Garden

The weather has been so warm. It will be in the 70's this weekend. It has been raining a whole lot though. I was surprised to hear on the radio today that this March has been the wettest March in recorded history.

Here's the Spring planting schedule we have been following:

Feb.15-- started planting brassicas in the greenhouse

Start potting carrots and cilantro every other week in the greenhouse in 5 gallon pots.

March 1 start herbs in greenhouse

March 10 start members of the Solanaceae family in the greenhouse

March 17-- Plant Potatoes outside

March 19 direct seed plant snow peas

March 25 plant marigolds

March 31: Today we direct seeded Outside:

bloomsdale spinach

black mustard greens

sugar snap peas

arugula

black mustard

chinese mustard

southern giant greens

We took an inventory of all the seedlings that have germinated in the greenhouse.

To plant the remainder of this week:

onion sets

transplant lettuce

carrots/radishes

There were many first sightings of spring bird migration varieties. CLICK HERE for today's sightings from the garden along the Delaware River.

Keep an eye out for local alfalfa to add to potting mix.

Baked Potato with Broccoli and Cheese

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/quick-and-simple-broccoli-and-cheese/Detail.aspx

Broccoli and cheese

1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli florets, thawed

3 tablespoons butter, melted

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Place broccoli in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 2 to 6 minutes. Drain and transfer to a microwave safe casserole dish.

Pour melted butter over broccoli (use more or less, to taste) and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle cheese over the top and microwave, on high, for 1 minute, or until cheese is melted.

Baked Potato

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Scrub the potato and prick it with a fork to prevent steam from building up and causing the potato to explode in your oven.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Blueberry muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

3. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

4. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Seed Starting Varieties, brassicas

Brassicas-

PLANT YOUR BRASSICA seeds inside now!!! It's a great time to be starting the earliest vegetable family for transplanting outside in April.

The Brassica family includes many of our favorite vegetables:

Georgia South Collard Greens, a few different varieties of kale, broccoli, mammouth red rock cabbage, Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage, long island improved brussels sprouts, calabrese green sprouting broccoli.

2/17/10 Started Russian Red Kale, dwarf blue scotch kale, and calabrese green sprouting Broccoli

2/24/10 Started Red Rock Cabbage, Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage, Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli, Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts, 25 3-gallon pots full of wet compost/potting mix with gently sprinkled carrot seeds

We're transitioning into an aquaponic-based seed starting system pilot project, but more about that later.

Total- 1,000 potted heirloom brassica seedlings

25 large bunches of carrots

NEXT Couple of WEEKS:

Its supposed to be quite a cold and snowy March according to the Farmer's Almanac it might be really cold and wet all the way through the month of March.

KEEP STARTING INSIDE Beginning of March:

-members of the brassica family, lettuce, some leafy herbs, more carrots

-if you have heat/grow lab systems you can start members of the solanacea family, also known as the Nightshades.

Study on Genetically Modified Corn

Here's a recent study showing the linkages between Genetically Modified corn and organ damage.

Poet of Poverty Showing: Panel Discussion

This panel discussion features Andrea Ferich, Father Michael Doyle, and Mark Doorley, Ethics Professor of Villanova University of the Center For Transformation discussing sustainability in Camden at the Cherry Hill library.

This is a great educational accompaniment to showing the Poet of Poverty film in conjunction with lessons of Environmental Justice, neighborhood revitalization, and sustainable renewal.

CLick here to watch the question and answer time at the Cherry Hill Library with members of Sustainable Cherry Hill and our Regional Urban and Suburban Partnerships.

Rainbarrel Ordering Here

Rain Barrel orders:

andreaferich@gmail.com

Rainbarrels,

custom color

hand painted stencil designs,

first flush diverter

overflow and filtration system.