REMEMBER | urban farmer

{ via lexicon of sustainability }

Novella Carpenter says, "50% of people live in cities. In places like my neighbourhood, they're never going to be able to afford local, organic, sustainably raised food. We live in a society where supposedly you can vote with your fork, and you can change the system just by buying local food, but the thing is, if you look at our society, that's great for people who have money … but there are people who don't have access to ANY food. You look around here, it's a total food desert. It's like malt liquor is all that's available so that's what people are going to buy." ::

EATING IN SEASON | carrots in october

THAI CARROT SOUP

{ Happyolks }

3 sweet onions

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp grated ginger

2 tsp red chili flakes

3 spoonfuls coconut oil

2 tbsp cumin

dash of nutmeg

2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped

1.5 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped

1 can full fat coconut milk

5-6 cups chicken broth

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

3 tsp salt

4-5 thai chiles, de-seeded

handful fresh basil

3 limes, juiced

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, saute roughly chopped onions with grated garlic, ginger, red chili flakes, and coconut oil until softened but not terribly browned. Add apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pot. Add cumin, nutmeg, lemongrass, and carrots. Stir to coat. Add coconut milk and the broth. Combine. Simmer on low with a lid for 30-40 minutes or until the carrots are completely softened.

2. Pour contents of pot into a high-powered blender in small batches with the fresh thai chiles. Blend until completely pureed. Add water or stock to adjust the thickness. Pour into individual bowls and top with juice of fresh lime and chopped basil. ::

UPCYCLE | cereal box organiser

{ family fun }

1 |Cut the flaps from one end of each box.

2 | Stack the boxes. Some boxes, such as those from FedEx, have flaps that add thickness to the back of the box. To make your stack level, use scraps of cardboard as shims in between the front edges of the boxes.

3 | Seal the boxes together with packing tape.

4 | Cover the boxes with the wrapping paper.

5 | Line the raw edges at the front with the duct tape. ::

REVIEW | work session #07

willowbank in autumn.

Thank you all for joining Seed Freedom on George Square and our 7th Sunday work session afterwards.

After some hibernating-alike weeks it was lovely to see both familiar and new faces down in the garden. Thank you Roisin, Chris and Bernard for pushing forward this overdue work session. I was pleased to see such a big group putting so much energy in the garden today: Several palette-foraging walks in Woodlands - we secured further supplies by now; white cupboard shelves have been turned into chalkboards signs, two further drawers complete the drawer assembly on the wall, a first loose palette-compost construction, and loads of ideas for our OPEN DAY!

painting & paletting.

::

INSPIRATION | gartendeck, hamburg

{ gartendeck }

The Gartendeck is a temporary community garden in the German city of Hamburg, turning the flat roof of a parking level into a productive urban landscape. The use of orange plastic crates on wooden pallets is the project's distinctive feature.

::

REMEMBER | the edible schoolyard

{ via lexicon of sustainability }

FIVE PRINCIPLES FOR AN EDIBLE EDUCATIONby Alice Waters

I | FOOD IS AN ACADEMIC SUBJECT
Ecology and gastronomy bringing alive every subject from reading and writing to science and art.
II | SCHOOL PROVIDES LUNCH FOR EVERY CHILD
Good food is a right, not a privilege. It brings children into a positive relationship with their health, community and environment.
III | SCHOOLS SUPPORT FARMS
Cafeterias buy fresh food from local farms, not only for reasons of health, but to strengthen local food economies.
IV | CHILDREN LEARN BY DOING
Children work in the vegetable beds and on the cutting boards to awaken their senses and open their minds, both to their core academic subjects and to the world around them.
V | BEAUTY IS THE LANGUAGE
A beautifully prepared environment where deliberate thought has gone into everything from the paths to the plates on the tables, communicates to the children that we care about them. ::

EATING IN SEASON | brussels sprouts in october

WARM BRUSSELS SPROUTS TOSS WTH MAPLE AND PAPRIKA

{ the first mess }

// serves 4-5

Notes: Keep your eye on the shreds once they turn bright green! Overcooked brussels sprouts in any form are actually the worst. And if you don’t have smoked paprika, use the regular stuff! It will still be delicious.

1 tbsp grape seed or other neutral-flavour oil
1 shallot, halved and sliced thinly
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 lb (454g) of brussels sprouts, trimmed of tough outer leaves, halved and sliced fine/shredded up to the little cores
salt and pepper
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup (or dark agave)
1/3 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the sliced shallot and smashed garlic clove. Stir around until fragrant. Add the smoked paprika. Stir the shallots here and there until they are quite soft, but not browned, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the shredded brussels sprouts and a splash of water. Stir and lift with tongs quickly until the shreds start to wilt just a bit and the colour has darkened. Season with salt and pepper. Add the apple cider vinegar and stir again. When the shreds are bright green and a bit limp (takes about 3 minutes), remove from the heat. Add the maple syrup and stir to combine.

3. Transfer warm mixture to a serving plate and garnish with chopped pecans. ::

UPCYCLE | bird feeder

{ via family fun }

MATERIALS |
plastic bottle, knife, small eye screw, 2 wooden spoons

BUILD |
1. Start by drawing a 1/2-inch asterisk on the side of a clean 1-liter soda bottle, about 4 inches from the bottom. Rotate the bottle 90 degrees and draw another asterisk 2 inches from the bottom. Draw a 1-inch-wide circle opposite each asterisk, as shown.

2. Use a craft knife to slit the asterisk lines and cut out the circles (a parent's job). Insert a wooden spoon handle first through each hole and then through the opposite asterisk, as shown.

3. Remove the bottle cap and twist a small eye screw into the top of it for hanging.

4. Finally, fill your feeder with birdseed, recap it, and use a length of twine to hang it from a tree. ::

REMEMBER | pasture raised vs. cage free

{ via lexicon of sustainability }

INSPIRATION | allemende kontor, berlin

{ Kilian Müller 2012 }

 The Allemende-Kontor {commons-wholesale organization} is a community gardening project on the grounds of former Berlin airport Tempelhof which has closed all operations in 2008 due to the upcoming Berlin-Brandenburg airport (BBA) in 2013(?) . Since 2011 more than 300 creative individual beds form probably the world's biggest raised bed complex.