HAPPY NEW YEAR | First Work Session

Hello Willowbankers and friends,

This driech sunday some of the keen gardeners (Alistair, Sammy, Anna and Roisin) met to give the land a wee tidy up and plan out for the growing season ahead. We found the garden to be surprisingly tidy, just the odd bit of rubbish! Sadly we must announce that our rhubarb plant is no longer with us, it has eloped....

Anyhoo - 

We took some measurements in preparation for our Galgael planning session which will be happening at 3pm on Thursday 17th Jan. We will be heading down to the woodcraft workshop here in order to learn to and build a large storage unit to keep in the garden, a few raised beds and a sign. These sessions will be running throughout February and March on  Thursdays. Please get in contact if you can join us! For those who don't know the way, we will be meeting at 2:30pm at Kelvinbridge subway but there will also be folk cycling, so either way, give us a shout if you like! 

When over in Cafe Phoenix we met with local councillor Martha Wardrop and art enthusiast Hannah and started to plan the next work sessions, ordered seeds (radish, beans, peas and wild flowers!) and spoke about organising an open day as part of Go Green Week at Glasgow University. This week of events will be running from the 11th til the 17th February. Watch this space for the confirmed programme! 

Next Work Session - 20th January - Meet 1pm at Willowbank for planting of Nasturtium and Rocket seeds which will then be kept inside until ready to be transplanted after the last of the frost. Please bring cardboard toilet rolls/plastic bottles which we can use to plant up! If it's dry we hope to paint a sign for the Bug Hotel informing the community of the hedgehog heaven! And GUEST Biodiversity officer Alistair will be bringing along seed mix to fill up our bird feeders. Also on Sunday, our neighbouring Woodlands garden is hosting a clear up session Leave the rubbish times behind you which we hope to pop round and help out at, as they have supported us throughout our first year. 

Stay tuned for Gnome creations, willow weaving, wind chime workshops and 
hard core gardening coming soon!

Missing Karina's lovely photography skills, 
so will add a little inspiration from River Cottage instead - 

Red Cabbage, Orange, Parsnip and Date Salad: 

Ingredients

• 1 medium parsnip, cut into slender batons
• ¼ red cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 large orange, peeled with a knife and segmented, avoiding the membrane and reserving the juice
• 3 medjool dates, stoned and cut into 3-4 pieces across ways
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Spread the red cabbage evenly over a plate, top with a scattering of parsnip and arrange slices of orange and the dates.
2. Pour over some of the orange juice, drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle over the thyme, finish with salt and pepper.

EATING IN SEASON | brussels sprouts in november

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS & GOAT CHEESE PIZZA 

{ all credits to Erin Alderson from Naturally Ella }

//Serves 3-4

Dough

¾ cup warm water

2½ teaspoon yeast

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoons alt

1½- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Topping

½ lb Brussels Sprouts

1 red onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)

4 ounces goat cheese

½ cup balsamic vinegar (optional)

1. In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, and honey- stir with a wooden spoon until yeast is dissolved. Let sit until yeast begins to activate, 5-10 minutes. Once yeast is ready, add in oil, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Turn your mixer on low with the dough hook on and let mix, scrapping down the sides as needed. From here on out, add 2-4 tablespoons of flour at a time, letting the dough mix for a bit until adding more flour. When the dough starts to come together, continue to let the mixer run for 1-2 minutes and adding more flour until your dough has pulled away from the sides of the mixer. Remove from the mixer and place in a warm spot. Brush with oil and let rise for 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 375˚F and with a pizza stone placed in the lower third of your oven (you won’t use it now but you want it to heat up with your oven.)

3. Quarter Brussels Sprouts and chop onion, toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast until sprouts are tender, 25-30 minutes.

4. Once your dough has double in size and sweet potatoes are done, turn up your oven to 500˚F. Return to your dough and punch it down. Let rise for 20 more minutes.

5. Roll the dough out onto a surface covered in cornmeal (I used a large wood cutting board put some of you may have a pizza peel.) Roll it out to the size of your pizza stone.

6. Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over rolled out crust. Sprinkle roasted Brussels Sprouts, onion, red pepper flakes, and goat cheese over dough. Bake until crust is golden, 10-15 minutes depending on oven.

7. Optional: While pizza is baking, place balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let cook until vinegar has reduced down by half. Remove from stove top and drizzle over baked pizza.

UPCYCLE | toilet rolls

Add caption

{ constança cabral }

REMEMBER | food security

{ via lexicon of sustainability }

FOOD SECURITY

"Having consistent year round access to safe, local, affordable and culturally appropriate food that is grown, raised, produced and moved about in manners that are responsible to the environment while reflecting a consumption of natural resources that is equitable with a view to our offspring's even generations from now" Erika Allen

I ask Erika what she grow in her urban Chicago garden and she says: "Heirloom tomatoes, lemons, cucumber suyo long cucumber, Italian eggplant, ping tung eggplant, blanco eggplant, okra, ground cherry, endive, cosmic purple carrots, Nantes carrots, leeks, redbor kale, dwarf curled kale, Russian kale, dandelion greens (red rib), scarlet runner beans, fever few, chamomile, thyme, sage, table grapes, sunflowers and lot's of basil (and that's just her summer crop)."

EATING IN SEASON | red cabbage & apples in november

FOREST WALK CABBAGE SALAD

{ all credits to mynewroots }

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 pound head of red cabbage quartered and cut into thin ribbons
1-2 crisp green apples, chopped into chunks
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
a couple handfuls golden raisins (or other plump, chopped dried fruit)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup walnuts (or toasted hazelnuts, or pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds...)
fine grain sea salt
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (totally optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion for a minute or two with a couple pinches of salt. Stir in the garlic, and the cabbage, and a few more pinches of salt. Stir and cook for just a minute or so, or until the cabbage softens up just a touch.
2. Then stir in the rosemary, most of the raisins, and the vinegar. (The cabbage will continue to get more and more tender even after you remove it from the heat, so keep that in mind, and do your best to avoid overcooking it - where it collapses entirely). Fold in half of the goat cheese, the apples, raisins and walnuts, then taste. Season with more salt if needed. 
3. Serve garnished with the remaining raisins, goat cheese, and walnuts, and perhaps a sprinkling of rosemary sprigs.

To make a complete meal, serve this salad on a bed of wild rice, adding to the overall "woodsy-ness" of it all. For vegans, omit the goat cheese and throw in more nuts. ::

UPCYCLE | bottle homes

{ family fun }

REVIEW | work session #11 18.11.2012

spontaneous crafting - work session #10

No prove of picture for our 11th work session, it was just to cold to unpack the camera.

This Sunday was a quiet one. We had apple man John Hancox visiting. He gave some advice where ideally plant apple trees. He was suggesting to make use of the brick walls by planting the trees in an espalier style. This would keep them low and would prevent any complaints by the neighbouring residents due to reduced lighting conditions. The compost comes now with a lid and the wildlife shack has grown by two more palettes that need to be filled with material next time. 14 helping hands made it possible to move the heavy bag of soil on the garden site, footpaths are cleared now. ::

REMEMBER | grass fed

{ via lexicon of sustainability }

GRASS FED

Don Gilardi's 80 acre farm has been in the family since 1914. It was primarily a dairy farm until five years ago when Don began raising his family's sheep. They are pasture fed, with a supplement of alfalfa from a feed store in Petaluma. The sheep are sheared in June; the wool is sent to Yolo Wool Mill and comes back as yarn, batting and roving. :: 

EATING IN SEASON | beets & mushrooms in november

BEET BOURGUIGNON

{ green kitchen stories }

// serves at least 4

This is one of those dishes that works well making a day in a advance. The flavors will become more intense and the vegetables more tender.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 small beets, peeled & quartered (we used Chioggia beets)
4 medium sized carrots, sliced in large pieces
2 sprigs thyme
sea salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp tomato paste1 cup red wine 
2 cups vegetable stock
3 bay leaves2 tsp arrowroot powder, solved in 2 tbsp water (optional)

2 cups puy lentils, for serving
4 cups water
a pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 portobello mushrooms
10 champignon mushroom
10 small pearl onions, peeled

Cooking the stew: Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or a large cast iron pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and garlic, sauté until soft. Toss beets, carrots, thyme and salt and pepper into the pan, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato paste, red vine, vegetable stock and bay leaves, let simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the lentils, mushrooms and pearl onions.

Preparing the Puy lentils: Rinse lentils under running water. Bring water to a boil, add lentils and lower to medium heat. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, when almost done add salt. Set aside.

Searing the mushrooms and pearl onion: Heat olive oil in a pan. Lower the heat and sear the portobello, champignon mushrooms and pearl onions, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden in color. Season to taste. Set aside.

Finishing the stew: Taste the stew, add more wine, stock or herbs if you like. If you prefer the stew a little thicker, add arrowroot mixture, but this is optional. Add mushrooms and onions and simmer for 10 more minutes. To serve, spoon the stew over a plate of lentils and sprinkle with fresh thyme. ::

UPCYCLE | glass jar frames

{ decor hacks }