Urban Agriculture: Breaking Ground!

As you can see above I have been engaging in a little Urban farming here and there.  As a follow up to my last post I wanted to share some pictures showing how a boring old back yard can be transformed into part of an urban patchwork farm.

New Initiatives in the Air: Young Urban Farmers-Community Shared Agriculture

 March 28 marked the groundbreaking event for the Young Urban Farmer's CSA project. Before I go any further I will define my terms and explain what exactly is a "CSA" and what exactly is a "Young Urban Farmer"


Ahem..I hope I have this right..


Young Urban Farmers is a small business started by Torontonion and fellow young person Christopher Wong.  YUF promotes food sustainability by returning ownership over your food in the simplest way imaginable; by planting the food in your own backyard!  Chris has set up a system compatible with all of that unused space in most people's backyard and offers a chance to engage with their space by setting up and maintaining family sized organic vegetable gardens.

Somewhere along the way Chris met Elaine Howarth and they discussed the idea of starting an Urban CSA.   first of its kind in Toronto.  !!


CSA stands for Community Shared Agriculture.  Traditionally CSAs have been set up so that eaters (usually a family) buys a share for a certain amount of money from a rural farm and in return receives a box of fresh produce every week spanning the entire growing season (approximately form June-October).  This has been a popular way for farmers to guarantee a certain amount of revenue for their growing season and build relationships directly with their consumers by bypassing food distributors.

The Idea of an Urban CSA borrows the concept of Pre-bought shares of their "farm" in return for a box of fresh produce every week.  However instead of the food being grown on a rural farm, the food is being grown right in the city!  In this case the food is being grown the backyards of homeowners who have graciously donated this space.  So the outcome is that Elaine and Chris and their army of volunteers   (that's us!) will set up meticulously calculated organic vegetable gardens in about 8 donated backyards across Toronto.  It is the hope that enough people will buy a share ( I believe its about $300 for the entire growing season) that this initiative will be a wild success!

There are several reasons that Toronto is ready for this initiative:
1. Local and Organic Food are in high demand and are often inaccessible.  Promoting Urban Agriculture directly links the need for good food with the possibility to get it in our back yards (and if we don't have out own backyard we can connect with organizations like YIMBY (Yes In My BackYArd) or the Toronto Community Garden Network)
2. Some of the most fertile land in Canada is right underneath my very house-- and yours!
3. As was very evident at the Youth Food Systems Fair I spoke about in the previous entry--there is a growing group of young people who are enthusiastic and ready to change the way our Food systems currently are. 
4.  The first step is the hardest! With the YUF-CSA getting off the ground, this idea will spread like wild fire--inspiring more and more people to see how possible it is to grow their own food !

so now that I have hopefully illustrated a clearer picture of this New Initiative I will hopefully be back with some pictures and details on more of the beginnings of this awesome project.

Yesterday I joined 6 other enthusiastic gardeners and spent 5 or so hours turning one family's boring backyard into a ready to plant urban farm.  We pulled up all the sod, built a composter, SERIOUSLY aerated the land and double-dug our way to producing 4/14 planting beds.

With an aching back and some serious battle bruises I look forward to ho-ing away at the rest of the lawns that make up YUF's Urban Farm!

New Initiatives in the air: Youth Food Systems Fair

This past week has been really exciting for the Foodie community in Toronto.  As the ground begins to thaw the initiatives that busy passionate-young people have been working on all winter are thawing as well.  I would like to share several things that inspired me this week with the hope that they can inspired you.

On March 25th The Toronto Youth Food Policy Council partnered with Lauren Baker' s University of Toronto Food Security Class to put on the "Youth Food Systems Fair".  Thanks to the brilliant work of my favorite Wisconsinite Tracy Phillippi and the other committed members of the the TYFPC close to 300 young people came together to listen, learn and mingle.  Bordering the room were the artistic final projects of 30 or so U of T students who had gone out into the Foodie community and worked closely with various Local organization.  In the Middle of the room were maybe 20 local community groups committed to Social Justice Issues surrounding food in a career fair format.  Except instead of the traditional format of larger corporations sending out pawns to talk up their company and recruit file clerks and  mail-room-Representatives--those tabeling the event were founders and organizers, movers and shakers.  They were all full of energy and open to telling you about their mission and reaching out to all of those interested.  The powerful positive energy potentially connected 300 new young people to these organizations--some new and some older, but all with so much room to grow.  The event was Catered by my Group The Hot Yam! making sure to reinforce ideas of growth and connectivity with nutritious vegan curried lentil and squash wraps followed by chocolate cake (yum!).  For me the fair felt great because I got to see the hard work of my friends and colleges as organizers of the event pay off.  It is amazing what you can accomplish with motivation, inspiration and excellent time management.  It is easy to become discouraged and frustrated when you are working towards "the greater good"and it is easy to lose sight of the network of people and groups that are there in partnership and support.  It is events like these--that devote 4 hours on a Thursday night-- that connect the ever expanding community and prove to all those involved that their work is valued and supported while inspiring new people to challenge themselves and start even more amazing projects.

College Street Cooks take on F.O.S.

The College Street Cooks struck again earlier this month in a cheesy montage of garlic infused foods  stuffed in deep sour dough bread bowls.  The hosts of this little cooking party were Hannah Lewis, Tracy Phillippi and Spud the kitty cat- who hosted myself and Kate Jefferey in their lovely home.  Tracy Represented her Wisconsin Onion Farming roots by whipping up a surprisingly simple and delicious version of the age-old classic French Onion Soup served in a Sourdough Bread bowl. While Hannah contributed one of her favorite mixed veggie recipes!  All I have are some pictures below provided by Tracy and the Promise of the Recipes to come. 


 Kale.Peas.Sweet Potato Medley and F.O.S.

 

-see you next month!

Seedy Saturday (on a Sunday!) and Moosh Rolls

A large component of Food security is access to seeds.  Seeds are the start point of all food and the practice of seed saving is as older then agriculture I'm sure.   It may sound like a silly thing to be insecure--can't you just save seeds from last years plants?  The answer in many scenarios is a big sobering "NO". 

For probably the majority of Farmers in the world--especially in The United States (As my knowledge on the subject is limited) Seeds are something that have become engineered, patented and owned by major corporations.  That means that the seeds, the type of plant that grows from the seeds and the right to use/sell/save the seed is the now owned by companies and protected under heavy patents that allow these companies to sue/hassle/bully and make huge profits off of those that come into contact with their seeds.  So there are rules against farmers who use these "owned" seeds from saving them for next year or altering them, so that they are forced to purchase a whole new batch every year.  In fact! many of these seeds are genetically modified to provide only one year of growth and do not produce any reusable seeds form the harvest.    and thanks to things like wind, run off, rainfall and plain old mingling nature of NATURE--these patented seeds get mixed up everywhere--in all crops, and result in these large companies having legal rights to the places that they sprout up (which is everywhere!).

Sadly the ownership of seeds has resulted in large corporations having ownership over our food...in an alarming way!  It makes me wonder how they are changing the very DNA of our food and how these changes are affecting our minds, bodies and souls (not to mention our freedom).  

With all of this in mind, I was thrilled to attend an event called "Seedy Saturday" which was held on February 21 this year (falling on a Sunday).  This event is one of many ways growers can take back ownership over their seeds and their food on personal levels.  Being one of hundreds people to attend (maybe more...it was packed all day!) I was able to mingle with Toronto's inspiring organizations that are all gearing up for a fruitful spring.  There are so many exciting things going on this spring/summer.  Groups like the Young Urban Farmers who set up home vegetable gardens so that urbanites can produce their own food and connect with the process.   Or the Toronto Community Garden Network that offers support to those existing community gardens and potential for countless new ones.  

The event was full of useful FREE information, enough to inspire anyone to get digging.  I walked away with a whole bunch of seeds--herbs and sprouts and tomatoes... that I plan to get going as soon as we get through our last frost.  As well i walked away feeling excited for my own Community Garden that is currently being negotiated.  There will certainly more to report on my initiative to start a garden in my neighborhood as the process of finding land and people continues! 

After the event I didn't have too much time to prepare food for work so I made some salad rolls out of some Salad I already had Prepared.  i suppose these are Moosh Rolls...as I didn't follow any recipe and only tried to follow directions. 

Ingredients:

- Chopped and washed lettuce/lettuce mix

- 1 Yam

- 3 tsp brown sugar

- 1/4 red onion

- chopped walnuts

- 1 tomato chopped up nice and small

- Rice paper (sold at most grocery stores..I got mine at a Korean Market on the corner of  Bloor and Manning for $1.50)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 400

2. Chop up yam into tiny cubed pieces 

3. Put on cookie sheet and sprinkle with brown sugar, chopped walk nuts and 1/4 cup of water

4. Roast together for 20-30 minutes--Check to make sure the yams do not get mushy!

5. take out and allow to cool

6. Wash and chop salad mix or head of lettuce

7. Chop and add tomato and onion and any other ingredient that you like in your salad

8. Follow the directions that come with your rice paper (you wet them for a certain amount of time until they are malleable) 

9. Add about a tablespoon of your salad in the middle of the rice paper. Fold in the short ends and then roll length wise.

10. Set aside to dry and them repeat.

Putting your salad into little rolls allows you to make your food portable--no fork and container required! 

College Street Cooks

Last Friday some lovely food-inspired ladies got together to start a monthly cooking tradition. Tracy Phillippi, Hanna Lewis, Kate Jeffery and Katherine Booth vowed to share at least one wholesome meal together every month. And so it Began...

Our feast for the evening included Beautiful Butternut Squash Risotto (featuring Ontario's best Parmesan and Asiago), Bold Black Bean Burgers and the evening favorite Quality Quinoa and Lentil Salad.





The risotto demanded the most attention and time, so it was started right away! We cooked for 5 hungry ladies and still had plenty left overs, so I would guess that this recipe is best for 6-8 people

2 medium sized butternut squash
375g Arborio rice
6-7 cups of hot and steamy vegan stock
5 cloves of garlic
4 shallots minced
1 Cup white wine
¼ Cup of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese grated
¼ Cup of Asiago cheese in shards
2 tbs of olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Squish Squash:

1. Wash, Skin and Chop the squash into 1/4 inch pieces. Chop 2 cloves of garlic, throw together in a baking pan coated lightly with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. We cookes the squash for 15-20 and found them to be undercooked, so it may depend on your oven and therefore would be best to keep an eye!

Randy Risotto

1. In a large pot sauté the shallots and rest of the garlic in the oil
2. Add the rice to the pot and make sure to coat the rice with the oil/butter/garlic
3. Pour 1 cup of wine into the pot (pour the rest into your glass!) Allow the alcohol to dissipate. From here on out, you must pay a lot of attention to the risotto, stirring constantly and fulfilling its every needy desire.
4. Add the Squash 1/3 at a time allowing each batch to mix. alternating with the addition of the stock.
5. Begin to add one cup of the Stock at a time, allowing each addition to absorb into the rice resulting in an increasing thickness. You must stir constantly!
6. After 2 cups of stock, add more squash... keep alternating the stock and the squash until everything is all together in the now aromatic pot
7. Now its time to taste the rice...the less amount of time it sits the more aldente it ends up..this is all up to you!~
8. the choice between vegan and non vegan comes here..if you take the milky plunge then add the grated Parmesan and the Asiago, if not...may the force be with you
9. Walah!


Now I hope you haven't forgotten about the other delectable dishes...we sure didn't, while this was going on we were busy boiling the lentils and quinoa for this high fiber dish.

This Recipe I got from my friend Kelsey who makes a specific lizard-like face whenever we talk about it. Anyway the point is, who says you need lettuce for salad??


What you will need for this bad boy is:

Feta & Lentil & Quinoa Salad

1 cup dried green lentils
1 cup quinoa
3/4 cup of raisins or cranberries
3/4 cup of Feta cheese
3/4 cup of walnuts
2 green onion
1/4 cup of fresh parsley (although I think we used cilantr0)

Dress it up!

4 tbs of lemon juice
1. tsp of honey
1 Tbs rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbs olive oil
Pinch of pepper

Cooking the quinoa and the lentils...
1 (a) Add 1 Cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water, 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp salt. Allow to reach a boil then quickly switch to simmer, cover and let cook for approx 12 minutes...keep an eye though it tends to burn on the bottom soon after the water is absorbed.
1 (b)at the same time, add 1 cup of lentils to 3 cups of water (check the instructions on the package...different lentils call for different proportions). Add a Bay leaf and allow to cook thoroughly. lentils will take quite a bit longer then the quinoa

2. once both grains are cooked, and cooled. mix together.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the dressing.
4. Add crushed walnuts, cranberries and green onion
5. mix thoroughly with dressing. Top with Feta. And enjoy! If you have time, feel free to refrigerate for up to an hour before serving..

Now our source of Protein for the evening...  

Bold Black Bean Burgers. 

The great thing about this recipe. IS that it is a MASH--most of the ingredients (except for the black beans of course) are replaceable, and it can be as simple as you'd like, and either vegan or non vegan (whether you add an egg or not...)


In order to make 6-10 patties Please compile the following:
- 5 cups of black beans..cooked (if you are using canned beans then each can will happily make 3-4 patties each)
- bunch of a fresh herb...basil? cilantro? parsley? chives? you choose!
- 1/3-1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup of bread crumbs (if you have it..otherwise more flour)
- 1 egg beaten (if you are making this vegan, substitute for olive oil, or egg replacement)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 red onion


1. saute garlic and onion together in a splash of oil
2. add hot mixture to black beans, throw in the chopped herb and begin to MUSH!
3. Add the Beaten egg and then slowly add the flour and/or bread crumbs. Until you have reached your desired consistency. (you want the patties to be able to stick together but not too sticky..)
4. Cook in a hot pan, with a splash of oil on each side for 3-5 minutes.
5. Throw onto delicious fresh bred from My market Bakery and Wallah!

If you want an Indian inspired flavor, I recommend adding a tsp of curry powder, coriander and turmeric...depending on what you are serving it with!


All of these recipes are easy and delicious while remaining focused on seasonal cuisine. Wintertime is such a great time to forget about summer lettuce and fresh fruit and remember the flavors of nuts, grains and dried fruit mixed thoughtfully with root vegetables, local cheese and friends!