Purple Chocolate Skaters

Bakesalers, Chapter Three
Marsha Aliaga is an artist, vegan chef, educator, and roller skater extraordinaire. She's got her fingers in the pot of every good thing percolating in Beacon, so, even setting her yummy cookies aside, is clearly a good person to know. She brought us Elia Gurna and her lovely handmade cards, just the right thing for the Valentine holiday! (Elia has some skills on wheels, too.) You can see artwork by Marsha, Elia, Theresa, and other bakesalers here.
Chelsea and Catherine and their bright purple frosted hearts were what everyone wanted to see at the sale. Not only did their cookie artistry steal the show, but Chelsea and Cat womaned the sale during the rushiest hours with big smiles for everyone. Hats off to Chelsea of Cold Spring and Catherine of Brooklyn!
Hudson Valley Compassion supported the sale with chocolate cookies galore. Thanks to Shanti for her chocolate chocolate chip numbers, and Lauren for her chocolate chip cookies. You can help HVC's efforts to support sustainable farming and fight factory farming abuses: learn more here.
Lynn from Go-Go Pops loaned us the hot water thermos that allowed us to warm up the cold night with hot tea. Dana Devine O'Malley, whose Day of the Dead artwork is in the window of Zora Dora's, baked for the sale and donated a beautiful photograph: she also runs Cross St. Cupcakes Co. Carley of Ella's Bellas baked. You can try some of her creations at at Bank Square Coffeehouse). Franny, who volunteers at Mid-Hudson Animal Aid, made her very first vegan recipe for the sale, with ginger snaps in the prettiest little boxes. (I know one toddler who still cherishes the box her valentines cookies came in.)

A LOT of people brought food, helped out, and showed up to support the people of Haiti. There were a lot of generous people involved, and I am certainly failing to include everyone on this list. A profound thank you to every last one.

Accordions, Trash, Artshows, and Scraps

Bakesalers, Chapter Two!

Storms, power outages, no internet, oh my! We're behind in honoring those who made the Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti a success. Here are a handful of fantastic participants you should know about, thank, and support.
Lena DeLeo's artistry fit in with the variety of the Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti. She baked black bean flax brownies (wow!) and burned CDs of her band the Dandy Lions. If you didn't get a CD at the sale, have a listen here.
Joanne Boniello was moon gazing, and remembered the Chinese New Year, honored by her almond New Year cookies. She used to own a bakery in Peekskill, so has mad baking skillz (ha ha), but I'm even more taken by the bags she donated made out of reused materials. My dog chow computer bag gets compliments every day! (Reducing waste is important to Joann, as evidenced by her article on how to make rainbarrels in the Peekskill Daily, and her blog, Saved From the Landfill.)

Artists Theresa Gooby and Erica Hauser managed to whip up "Hummus for Haiti" and famed cupcakes, respectively, even though their group show was opening at Beacon Artists Union down the block on the same evening. The opening had even more of packed crowd that night than the bake sale for Haiti, so that's saying something!
My super talented mom donated fabric bowls she makes from her quilting scraps. Not only do her quilts keep wintergreens workers warm all winter long, but now she's ventured out into new territory with these fabulous bowls. Another reused materials artist at the sale (and I'm not naming names) was quite taken with them, and made me explain three times how they're made. Look at this, now we're an arts matchmaking service....

Anyway, the point is that we're proud to have had so many talented people involved in the sale. The community action can warm your little heart on the coldest night of the year.

The Cooks, the Singer, the Potter and her Students

Or Bakesalers, Chapter One.
First, we could not have had the Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti without a venue, and Steve Astorino provided his beautiful store, Zora Dora. Steve makes delicious paletas—if you haven't tried them yet, your summers have been incomplete. Because of the space, we were able to have hot tea, tables and chairs, be on Main Street, have music and mood lighting. It wouldn't have been the same without you, Steve, even if you were sunning in Central America at the time!
Lagusta Yearwood, chef, rabble rouser, and chocolatier, donated her exquisite truffles and bonbons. People especially went crazy over her "Vandana Shivas" and "Furious Vulvas," the latter being a salted chocolate that's my personal favorite. Adding Lagusta's food artistry to the mix bumped our classiness up a notch, no doubt.
My favorite country singer, Rachel Lee Walsh, baked five dozen chocolate chocolate chip walnut cookies, and than ran all over Brooklyn and Manhattan trying to get them to me. When I apologized for the hassle, she said "walking a handful of blocks when I'm tired is nothing when I think about what people in Haiti are going through." Bless your kind heart, your baking skills, and your velvet voice.
You may know Virginia Piazza Pottery from the Beacon Farmer's Market, area craft fairs, or because she's taught you how to throw on a wheel. Many, many thanks go out to Virginia and her students for donating many beautiful cups, bowls, and platters to the bake sale.

Bottle Trees

Here's a tree you can "grow" outdoors in deep winter, and one that conveniently traps bad spirits.

VD Present Perfect

I just got a sweet valentine in the mail from my sis'. She must've noticed the wintergreens kitchen towel craze, or be tuned into my brain vibrations from across the country, because she sent me a hand printed tea towel from The Heated (a lesbi-printi-furnituremaki-musician, apparently) featuring one of my favorite animals, the ratbird. Al, how'd you know it's what I've always wanted?

This leads me to wonder, what are the ideal ways I can think of to show love this VD?

There's always gifting: burning the hell out of someone you love's mouth with the Vegan de Guadalupe Cookzine; getting the garden started with a set of artpacks from Hudson Valley Seed Library.Or you could go deeper, my friends, much deeper. You can buy revolutionary versions of good ol' valentine standbys at the Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti. Better yet, bring your sweetie to the sale, and fill a box with their favorites.

No sweetie? No problem. Bring your dog, your neighbor, or someone you just picked up in a dimly lit bar and come hang with us. Let your pocket change help people who really need it. Now that's showing the love.

No animals harmed in the making of this relief effort.

Attention wintergreens members, Hudson Valley Compassion groupies, arm wrestlers, roller derbyists, farmers, activists, quilters, queers, country singers, chefs, hairstylists, veterinarians, cyclists, bloggers, and craft queens:

We're putting together a fundraiser for 2 groups doing good disaster relief work* in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake. We need your help:
1 - getting the word out
2 - baking, cooking, or making small artworks for the sale
3 - working the event
4 - coming and buying stuff

In solidarity with other Vegan Bake Sales for Haiti, ours, too, is a Vegan Bake Sale. But my pickles are better than my cookies, so we'll be deviating a bit and also catering to customers who yen for salt, salsa, or spring rolls. And there's one more way our bake sale is a little unusual. Since it'll be taking place during Beacon's Second Saturday artwalk, it made sense to ask all our artist and crafty friends to donate small works, which will be made available at the sale. (Nothing priced over $20, please, and please, no animal products. The point is to help some without hurting others.)

Yes, a quilted bowl makes sense.
Yes, a CD of your music is great.
Yes, your homemade granola is superb.

Do whatever you do best! To make donations, leave a comment here about what you're bringing, and drop it off between 5 and 6 on the day of the sale. Or, contact wintergreenscsa@gmail.com.

The "Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti: Sweets, Savories, and Still-lifes" will take place Saturday, Feb. 13th at 6 pm, Zora Dora's Paleta Shop, 201 Main Street, Beacon, NY.

All proceeds go to relief workers, Food for Life, and animal rescue group, Sodopreca, both on the ground in Haiti.

Thanks in advance for your participation!

*After witnessing a rich and large "relief organization" giving out New Testaments to Katrina survivors before drinking water was available, we're serious about researching the right groups to support.

Distribution - January 10, 2010

Woohoo, the first distribution of 2010! Here's what we've got:

• Purple pickled cauliflower (Madura Farm)
  
• Onions (Morgiewicz Farm)
  
• Frozen peaches (Glorie Farms)
  
• Frozen pesto (basil from wintergreens' garden, garlic from Huguenot Street Farm)
  
• Carrots (Huguenot Street Farm)
  
• Dried red beans (Cayuga Pure Organics)
  
• and, fresh from the greenhouse, Mesclun baby salad mix (Madura Farm)

Let's start with pickled cauliflower. It's not made with purple cauliflower, but white, and gets its color from a bit of purple cabbage thrown in during fermentation. The brine is hot pink, but the cauliflower itself is sort of a subtle pastel pink, to contrast with its sharp taste. It has some vinegar and hot chili added, but tastes closest to crunchy kraut, with an edge. It's a great accompaniment to mild flavors or soft textures. I'm eating mine snuggled next to mashed potatoes.

Put onions in all hot things (and some room temp salads, too), and put peaches in or on anything cold. Sweet peaches in winter—does it get better than that?

The pesto is made with basil, pine nuts & walnuts, garlic, sea salt, and olive oil. It is very concentrated, and should go a long way. I put my jar in the fridge to thaw first, scrape some off the top & mix with additional olive oil for use (or blend with tofu and spinach for a healthy version). I then put a bit of extra oil on top of what's left in the jar so that it doesn't discolor. It will keep in the refrigerator this way for quite some time. The basil is extra special, since it's grown with seed from the Hudson Valley Seed Library.

Carrots are holding up great in the root cellar. They're amazing little beasts—enjoy them!

We're thrilled to include New York State beans in the distribution. My taste buds and stomach will tell you that Cayuga Pure grows beautiful beans. But before I'd even tasted them I admired them, so glossy compared to those other, dingier red beans! But what to do with all those pretty beans?


Last but not least, we have very nice mesclun mix (heavy on spicy arugula). Many of you told me you'd had too much of EVERYTHING over the holidays. I bet you didn't have too much fresh greens!

Go forth and eat, and remember to bring back your jars for the next helping.

Food Art

A word about your tea towels from last distribution, and the artist who made them:

Tea towels have everything to do with a functional kitchen. They are reusable for practically forever and let you forego paper towels and napkins, and they make every kitchen chore easier. I use mine to move hot things because I never seem to have potholders close by. I use them, with a piece of string, to keep bugs and dust out of crocks of fermenting food. I wash my hands twelve hundred times a day and need them to dry off. I air dry stacks of clean dishes on them. I use them as a fine strainer.

Putting a calendar on a tea towel ups their functionality one more notch. People in England and Ireland have been making calendar tea towels for a long time—you often bump into them in vintage shops.

Claudia Pearson, the creator of your 2010 calendar tea towel, is a Brooklyn illustrator and children's book author who hails from England. She loves the farmers market and is very interested in local and seasonal food. You can check out her lovely portfolio here. For the food obsessed, she's collaborating with chef Sung Uni Lee to create a series of illustrated recipes that are simple and vegetarian. You received the recipe card for tipsy leeks, and Claudia's just posted one for fuschia mash.

Art and food seem like a funny combination to some, but without aesthetics and creative experimentation, we'd never enjoy eating (or cooking) as much as we do!

Distribution - December 27, 2009

We've made it through the holidays, and are ready for new beginnings. Yes?

Remember that the farm market is closed this weekend, and distribution will take place at the Beacon Bagel from noon to three. Skip breakfast and join us for a schmear (yep, they've got tofu cream cheese). We'll toast with wintergreens' own bubbly: homemade ginger kombucha. Here's what your distribution holds to help you with your local eating and healthy self promises:

• 2010 calendar tea towel by Claudia Pearson to remind you what's in season when.
• A scattering of radishes, rutabagas, beets, and turnips, because a bit of spiciness and earth brought up from the cellar are excellent defenses against the cold. Huguenot Street Farm.
• Fermented garlic dill pickles and sauerkraut to get your body back in balance. Cukes from Madura Farm and cabbages from Huguenot Street Farm.
• Frozen mulberries to help you get your days started right, with smoothies or sunshine muffins. Mulberries grown wild on the streets of Beacon.
• Butternut and delicata squash. Vitamin C! Antioxidants! (Here's a tasty recipe that's not soup.) Huguenot Street Farm.
• A smidgen of ginger. Local ginger! If you're sick, put in tea with your pear honey. If you're me, put it in everything. Huguenot Street Farm.
• A few more tasty apples, to keep you, um, on schedule. Fishkill Farms.

I guess this new year (new decade!) is about belly and digestive health!
Lucky for you, there's not much to rattle on about today, except that the weather fluctuations are crrrraaaazzzzy and the weather in the root cellar is SO consistent. Amazing. If I weren't so addicted to light, I'd live underground with the veggies.

Oh yeah, and the fact of local ginger. I have tried and tried and failed and failed to grow my own ginger because the stuff they sell even in the health food store comes all the way from China. China! But Huguenot Street Farm grew some this year. It was only enough for inspiration but I'll be sure to be pestering them to do more next year. Have you tried growing ginger?

Stay tuned for new year's recipes for prosperity and happiness. Get your black eyed peas ready....

*Pickle print also by Claudia Pearson.

Beets, the New Eco Graffiti Tool

I'm a fan of some of the illegal arts. I get, grudgingly, that gorgeous, bright colors of spray paint and mop markers are toxic. That's what makes moss graffiti, botanigrams, clean tagging (literally erasing grime), and other, newer forms of graffiti interesting.
As if beets aren't delightful enough, their gorgeous color calls out for brine reuse. And there are uses. If you're not drinking it as a tonic, or dyeing paper, clothes, or food with it, consider beet tagging.
Note that it does take some practice to get both your method and message right. Consider this grossness:
While you're practicing, why not be digesting this lovely Mediterranean Beet and Yogurt Salad? Here's how to make soy yogurt so that you can get the tang without the dairy.

New York Raisins & Prunes

"Sun Mad" is by Esther Hernandez, 1982.

New York grows grapes, New York grows plums. Where are the raisins and prunes? If you know of a NY (or close) farm that sells raisins or prunes, would you let me know?

When searching for my little wrinkled friends, I did come across the very interesting raisin tree. Ooh, those pesky Rare Fruit Growers!

What the World Eats (and eats and eats)

© Peter Menzel from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Thanks to Tea and Food for reminding me about this amazing book, and providing a link to some of the fascinating pictures of families in different countries with all their food for one week laid out around them. I'd be terrified to do this exercise!

Revolution Bread

"It will be a great day for America, incidentally, when we begin to eat bread again, instead of the blasphemous and tasteless foam rubber that we have substituted for it."
—James Baldwin in The Fire Next Time, 1962

A James Baldwin book wasn't a place I expected to find a quote about the U.S.'s wrecked food systems, but there it is, right in the middle of race and religion and violence and sex. Baldwin, of course, was also referring to our wider lack of basic sustenance, beyond food, specifically in Harlem in the Fifties and Sixties. Harlem still has a shortage of nutritious food.

It is interesting for me to think about how long we've been losing our connection to real food. On some podcast I listened to lately, Michael Pollan was talking about the commercialization of prepared food in the Fifties. When cake mix was first marketed, it didn't go over well because people felt that just adding water was cheating. Cake mixes continued to be sold, of course, but producers backed up a step, and made it so that a cook has to break an egg to use the mix, and therefore feel like they're doing some food preparation. Now that's better! We've made an effort!

I also heard about a diet recently where the guidelines were simple: eat [and drink] nothing out of a box, bottle, or package. Prepare your own food and drink.

Revolutionary idea.

Baggage

Hey members, we're giving out bags as part of the first distribution! We've hand-stenciled wintergreens tote bags for you to carry your treasures home. They're very cute (and reminiscent of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood era), so we'd understand if you wanted to put your food in a different bag, and use this one to show off when you're about town.Whether you're carrying your wintergreens bag or another one, you'll need to bring something to put your food in to all other pickups. We won't be giving out plastic bags—the world doesn't need any more plastic. You actually may want to consider bringing more than one reusable bag, since some veggies from the cellar will be dirty (dirt helps them last longer in storage, believe it or not), and you might not want the dirty stuff touching the clean stuff. Or the frozen stuff touching the fresh stuff. Or the peas touching the carrots.

If you don't have a stash of cloth bags, take inspiration from Bags for the People, and make a couple quickies out of whatever fabric scraps you have available. What's cooler than a tote bag made from your old t-shirt?

Sharp Glow

Notice this trend of painted pumpkins rather than carved jack-o-lanterns? My favorite thing to do with pumpkins is eat them, but I do appreciate creative carving as well. I'm not against painting things generally, but painting on a pumpkin for Halloween is a bummer, and I've quietly disliked it as I've seen it rise in popularity. I've never said anything out loud, knowing it's a stupid thing to get hung up on, but got pushed over the edge this week when I ventured into a big box hardware store, and saw pre-painted (truly ugly) pumpkins for sale there.

Carving pumpkins has always had a tragic edge, since you know you're wasting food when you do it. But, you do salvage the seeds (yum) and removed chunks, and end up with something aesthetically pleasing to light up and share with your neighbors. Glowing jack-o-lanterns, even the scary ones, are beautiful.I've never seen an attractive painted pumpkin, and I'm pretty certain those seeds aren't being scraped out and roasted or saved for planting the next year. And I worry that this painting business has come from adults who are unwilling to help kids safely handle knives. I think kids shouldn't be protected from everything under the sun, rather, taught to understand what is dangerous and why, and how to act with sharp things, fragile things, living things, sour things. (At the market, I've seen kids drawn to our pickled veggie samples by the pinks and yellows and oranges and purples, and parents literally drag them away saying, "Ug, pickles" or "Ug, no, c'mon, c'mon, let's go get a donut." as if it would hurt a child to taste something new. On the flip side, adventuresome kids have dragged their grown-ups over and made them buy radishes or mint carrots or dill cukes or kimchi.)
Let's all take our lives in our hands this year and carve pumpkins, shall we? Let's roast and save seeds. Let's bake the pumpkin parts we remove. Let's remind our young ones and ourselves that knives are not weapons, and that there are safe and proper ways of using them.

Bags for the People

I met the women who sell pickles for Hawthorne Valley at the Union Square Farmer's Market. They're concerned about all the plastic being used at that market, and wanted to find a way to avoid using plastic at all. It was like looking in a mirror, except that these lovely ladies were younger and hipper than myself, and had figured out a stylish solution: make quick cloth bags out of fabric scraps, and give them to market customers for free. Meet Bags for the People (dot org, of course). They're now spreading the word about the danger of plastics through teaching and social events called "sweatshop socials."

Artsy Seeds

I don't know the people behind the Hudson Valley Seed Library, but I can tell already that I'm going to like them. Not only are they bringing back the lost art of seed saving, they're going about it in an aesthetically pleasing way! HVSL asked local artists to design some of their seed packs, and the results are fantastic. Inside these beautiful packs are locally grown seed. What that means to you is that the plants are perfectly adapted to the Hudson Valley, they were saved by your neighbors, you can produce heirloom varieties in your own garden, and you can return some seeds so that someone else can grow those varieties next year. That's what living in a growing community is all about!