Columbus World Food Day Recap!

Check out this great blog from the Columbus Action Corps!  For World Food Day 2012, Columbus helped to host a fantastic event with panelists Susan Godwin, a Nigerian farmer, Bryn Bird, a local farmer, and Noreen Warnock, the founder of Local Matters.  For more on the great things happening in Columbus, check out their blog here: http://columbus.oxfamactioncorps.org

-  -  -

By the Columbus Oxfam Action Corps

After conquering a few technical issues, I am proud to finally showcase a selection of photos from our World Food Day dinner from Friday, Oct. 12. My sincere apologies for the delay, but better late than never as the saying goes.

All the photos were taken by first-time Oxfam volunteer Ryan Gaffke who attended the event with his wife, Louise Davis.

This is a photo of the entrance to the Whetstone Park of Roses Shelterhouse that served as the location for  the Columbus Oxfam Action Corps and Local Matters World Food Day Dinner 2012.

 Oxfam Action Corps Co-leader Djeynaba Be directed our guests to information about Oxfam America and the Grow Method in particular. She, with assistance from volunteers Nancy, Ritsu and Louise, signed up 37 people to learn more about Oxfam America.

Volunteer photographer Ryan Gaffke took this fantastic photo of the only family to attend the event. It's wonderful to see toddlers learning about using their resources wisely and knowing where the next meal is coming from. 

Adam Olson, regional advocacy leader for Oxfam America, provided the introductory remarks for the World Food Day dinner. He introduced Nigerian farmer Susan Godwin, local farmer Bryn Bird, and Local Matters Co-founder Noreen Warnock.

 Oxfam CHANGE Leader Evan Boyle and other attendees helped themselves to a buffet of salad, bread, butter and pasta primavera made from locally sourced produce.

 Local Matters Co-Founder Noreen Warnock stands next to Nigerian farmer Susan Godwin and Godwin's traveling companion after the event. The ladies had a long day of traveling and talking but maintained a merry disposition throughout the evening.

So, so many people spent hours helping our Word Food Day dinner event go smoothly. Unfortunately, not everyone could fit into a single photo. The people in this photo represent a few of the many hands and minds that went into crafting the event. We applaud all their efforts!

Albuquerque Gets Into GROW!

Restaurants and Community Come together over World Food Day Dinners! 

By Jasmine Mcbeath

I have to admit that I wasn't the one that came up with the idea. The idea began with a local farmer at the downtown market and evolved with each collaborator. A little over a month ago, I was speaking with Jeremiah from Frost Hill Organics about Oxfam's potential partnerships with successful local growers and producers, such as La Montañita Coop, Los Poblanos, and Farm and Table. He looked at me with honest eyes and pointed out that while it's great to partner with large, established farms, markets, and restaurants, we shouldn't forget the little guys. Oxfam is all about supporting those small-scale farmers, after all. Jeremiah suggested using his leftover produce as a good start. Instead of composting his extra veggies, Oxfam could make a small GROW Meal out of them. Soon a dozen other farmers were on board, and the intimate GROW Meal had evolved into a community dinner for a hundred. Then at the last booth, a buyer overheard my conversation with Macias Farm and asked to coordinate the meal preparation. She started freezing leftover produce that day onwards and calls once a week to let me know what new recipes are in store for guests. Clubs on campus and groups of faith joined in too. Community Bricolage, Bread for the World, Nourish International, and Food Corps are all teaming up with Oxfam. Foodology star Greg Gould is giving a presentation during dinner and St. Thomas of Canterbury Church is donating the space. So you could say that "community dinner" accurately represents not only the meal, but also every step in the process. 

PLEASE JOIN US IN MAKING OUR COMMUNITY DINNER AND WORLD FOOD DAY EVENTS A HIT:

Tuesday, October 16th – restaurants serve up the GROW Method :

Here's your excuse to eat out on a Tuesday, burquenos! 13 restaurants across Albuquerque have pledged to serve World Food Day meals. The restaurants range from cafes and bakeries to wine bars and fine dining. They dish out flavors from all over the world--chicken tikka, pizza bianca, shrimp tamales, green-chile-cheese-bread, and red velvet cake. Each restaurant is already putting into effect multiple principles of GROW, whether by offering more vegetarian options, serving seasonal and local dishes, cooking smart or saving food.

Visit one of these restaurants listed below for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to show your support and learn more about what you can do to decrease hunger both here in NM and worldwide.

Artichoke Cafe

Baileys on the Beach

Desert Fish

Farina

Golden Crown Panaderia

Jennifer James 101

Nob Hill Bar and Grill

Rasoi

Richard's Mexican

Sky Garden Market

Slate Street Cafe

Thai Cuisine ii

Tiles of Old Santa Fe

Saturday, October 27th: Community dinner from local farms and coops!

For a home-cooked meal and great conversation, celebrate with us on October 27th from 6-8pm. Oxfam Action Corps is hosting a FREE Community Dinner for 100 people at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church on UNM campus. We're putting every step of the GROW Method into practice. First, we're saving food by making the meal from leftover produce from the downtown Growers Market. Second, we're cooking smart by preparing more at once. We're obviously eating seasonally and supporting local farmers. Finally, we're eating less meat, since the meal is mostly fruit and vegetables. (We're also receiving a donation from La Montañita Coop, so meat-lovers don't worry!)

What are you doing for World Food Day? Looking for a local event? Check out our Oxfam America event calendar here and sign up to host your very own World Food Day dinner in your own city!

Email actioncorps@oxfamamerica.org with any questions.

-   -   -

Jasmine McBeath of Oxfam Action Corps Albuquerque writes about upcoming World Food Day events and the idea that launched an effort by dozens of restaurants and community farmers. 

Pictured: Robin Seydel 
and Terry Bowling of Monañita Coop, 
Jasmine McBeath of the Albuquerque Action Corps, and Brian Rawson of Oxfam America

Seeing Red

 Susan Tamoney is a guest blogger from Boston, Massachusetts. Not only is she an avid member of the Boston Oxfam Action Corps,but is also a local food lover.  Read her previous posts on how she makes the most of her CSA here and here.

 -  -  -

By Susan Tamoney

I’m seeing red and it’s not because it’s the color that Valentino just sent down the runway in Paris or because of my frustration with the latest goings on in Washington.

I’m riding an end-of-season wave of tomatoes. And because I’m trying to incorporate the GROW Method into the way we shop and eat, I’m determined not to let a single one of them go to waste!

Trying to reduce food waste is an important part of Oxfam America’s GROW Method initiative in support of the GROW campaign. I was astonished to learn that an estimated 40% of the food that we grow in the US ends up as “waste.”

But back to the tomatoes. As you can see from the picture, this year’s crop, of which this is but a fraction, was especially beautiful - red, lush and plump.

So, after we had eaten our fill of fresh tomatoes, I set out to find a quick and easy way to store the rest for later use.

I considered the “home canning” route, because I love the way that the finished jars of sauce look on the pantry shelf. Fresh Preserving has everything that you need to get started and Food in Jars is a really helpful “How To” blog. But this season I had not planned ahead and time was not on my side. The tomatoes were red and ready to go!

So, I went with the quickest and easiest cooking method. I sliced the tomatoes into ¼” slices and arranged them, single thickness, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Don’t even think of not using parchment paper. Just take my word for it, parchment works better than foil. I coarsely chopped 4 or 5 large cloves of garlic and sprinkled them over the tomatoes. A drizzle of olive oil, some coarse salt and a grind of black pepper finished the job. 

Bake the tomatoes in a 350degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the ones at the edges start to caramelize. Watch them so the garlic doesn’t burn. 

We ate some of them straight from the oven, but they are equally spectacular piled on top of a skinless grilled chicken breast. And if you’re looking for “Meatless Monday” recipe ideas, these roasted tomatoes are wonderful tossed into pasta, on top of pizza dough or, if you prefer, as a “ragu crudo” on spaghetti squash. They’re great in an omelet and add extraordinary savory flavor when layered with slices of grilled eggplant and mozzarella cheese in a quick eggplant Parmesan.

For longer storage, just cool the tomatoes on the tray, then pack them in an airtight container. They last for two or three weeks in the refrigerator, months in the freezer.

And those green tomatoes? Don’t throw them away! Although by the end of the season, you may be tempted to just toss them into the bin, fried green tomatoes really are delicious. Slice the green tomatoes thinly and dip them into a bit of beaten egg. Then coat them with some seasoned breadcrumbs, add a sprinkle of coarse salt and fry them in a bit of olive oil until they’re golden.

Here’s another trick that a wise old gardening neighbor once shared with me:

Wrap each green tomato individually in a bit of newspaper and store them in a cool dry place. Believe it or not, they continue to ripen inside the newspaper. Because they are individually wrapped, if one spoils, it doesn’t affect the others. I have to admit to a bit of skepticism the first time that I gave this trick a try, but weeks after tucking them away, I carefully unwrapped a tiny package and voila! A red tomato! It was magical.

Give some of these ideas a try. I promise that you’ll find that this is one time when it’s great to be “in the red!”

Susan

 -  -  -

What's your favorite fall meal?  What your your tips and tricks to make sure a veggie never goes to waste?  Email them in to actioncorps@oxfamamerica.org

The Happiest Day of the Week - Part 2!

By Susan Tamoney

 Our latest guest blogger, Susan Tamoney, is an active member of the Boston Oxfam Action Corps! In the previous post Susan discussed both why she loves her CSA, but also the challenges one faces when trying to use up all of the beautiful produce that a CSA delivers!  In this post Susan not only gives her tips from her experiences with a CSA but also some more incredible recipes to help us get the most out of our fall produce! See her part 1 post by clicking here.

-   -   -

Here are my tips and advice, as well as a another recipe:

Be prepared.

A day or two before CSA pick up, work at using up the produce that you already have on hand. It helps a lot if you’re not trying to find room for all of your beautiful fresh produce in an already overcrowded fridge.

Pull together a supply of clean linen towels and plastic bags for wrapping and storing produce.

Consider investing in some tight seal glass storage containers for the produce that will be precooked or frozen. (As a matter of personal choice, I prefer glass over plastic, but certainly either will work)

Sort

As soon as you get home, sort your produce: “for immediate use”, “needs a bit of precooking prep” and “will last a while as is” worked well for me.

A friend told me about the book The Farmer’s Kitchen by Julia Shanks and Brett Grohsgal. at the beginning of the season and I found it had some really helpful and practical advice on food storage, plus there are lots of recipes:

Do some pre-cooking and freezing

Grill or pre cook for storage and later use. For me, this was probably the step that took the most discipline, but I got better at it and it was definitely the step that is the biggest help in putting together quick weeknight dinners. It works especially well with eggplant, squash and zucchini. I should say up front that I really love to cook, but in the summertime quick and easy is always best; no one wants to heat up a kitchen on a hot summer day and there are almost always other summer activities beckoning outside. In the fall, this step makes dinner way easier on a busy work and school night.

Eggplant Prep: 

1.  Wash and dry eggplants. 
2.  Slice off the stem end and then slice the eggplant into ¼” thin slices the long way.
3.  Lay the slices in a single layer on clean towels. 
4.  Lightly salt both sides of the eggplant. 
5.  Allow them to sit for an hour or so until you see beads of water on the eggplant.
6.  Pat the slices dry.
7.  Now rub both sides of the slices with a bit of olive oil and then grill them either on an outdoor grill or on a stove top until they have some nice grill marks on them, but are still firm.
8. Allow the slices to cool on a plate.  
9. Then layer them into a storage container and keep in the fridge until ready to use later in the week.  (I've kept them for two weeks and they were still fine, just saying)

Yum!

-  -  -

For another great recipe, check out Susan's Kohlrabi Chips! Also found in her previous post. For more awesome recipes, check out the Oxfam America Pinterest Site.

What are your favorite recipes? What would you bring to a GROW themed potluck? Send your recipes, stories, and meal ideas to actioncorps@oxfamamerica.org and see them posted here!

And don't forget to sign up to host your own World Food Day dinner!

A Look at Juribidá, Colombia

Carolina Garcia, a Oxfam Action Corps leaders in Boston, Massachusetts and FAST Program Assistant at Oxfam America, recently returned from a trip to Juribidá, Colombia. Read on for Carolina's fascinating experiences and insights, beautiful photos, and inspiring GROW Method take-aways.

-  -  -

This summer, I had the privilege to visit Juribidá, a small town in the wonderful Colombian Pacific Ocean where, in almost every garden and backyard, one can find raised beds with herbs and vegetables for personal consumption.

In spite of the many problems this entire region faces -mainly government neglect-, towns like Juribidá have managed to subsist almost entirely on their own resources for centuries: catching their own fish and growing basic produce like plantains, onions, peppers, etc. Unfortunately, the commercial fishing industry has proven to be disastrous for them, as it has nearly depleted their waters of many of the species that used to inhabit them.

But this post is about positively inspiring us to GROW our own food, locally and seasonally, and to support those who do it at a small scale, so here it goes.

That's a drill!

By Carolina Garcia, Boston Oxfam Action Corps

-  -  -

What did you see this summer that inspired you to GROW? Whether in your backyard or across the globe, let us know how what new experiences you've had this summer! Send them to actioncorps@oxfamamerica.org.