Posts from the “Jones Valley Teaching Farm” Category

Consistency, Discipline, and Execution

Posted on October 16, 2022

Alright y’all, I’m three (maybe four?) weeks in and maintenance is working. I am convinced that it’s because of the internal work I’ve been doing alongside Optavia. I am remaining consistent and disciplined while also creating space for the unexpected, but what’s been so interesting is that I prefer to make choices that I know will make me feel better. This is a completely different mindset so I often feel like I’m on a bike with training wheels these days. I’m also realizing that this is not just a “diet phase,” but a daily choice I’m making, which is also a very different mindset than I’m not necessarily used to. For example, I used to go on diets that I would think were temporary and I’d lose the weight during that temporary time period and exercise while in that phase, but internally believe I could just “go back” once I hit my goals. I think going through COVID-19 impacted this mentality more than I even knew because I realized that “going back” might not be the answer. What does “going back” even mean if it wasn’t working in the first place? Still tying to understand ALL of that — personally AND professionally.

I’m also learning as I go. This past week was definitely one of those weeks where I could have gotten completely consumed by our Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s annual Twilight Supper. In years past, I would operate without a lot of boundaries because hosting 350 people on the downtown farm just isn’t an easy thing to do. But, this year was a completely different experience. I managed to stay true to my plan while enjoying the treats my friends brought by. I welcomed Rob McDaniel’s Angel Biscuits Friday morning and Emily Nabors-Hall’s Breakup Cookies Friday afternoon. I also normally rely on wine to get me through this event as well, but guess what? This year I preferred Harvest Root’s Kombucha instead and then quickly found myself on the dance floor.

More about the Twilight Supper a little later because it was absolutely incredible. So incredible that I still haven’t found the words. We were wrapped in love and support from so many people and we felt every single bit of it.

Now here’s a curve ball so get ready: I was listening to Nick Saban’s press conference today (I’m not sports ball person, but I always like to listen to his press conferences even though I can’t understand 3/4 of it what with all the receiver, safety, tackles, tips, running and blocking talk). Told you it was going to be a curve ball. I heard him say this: “You can’t have consistency without discipline and execution.” And so after feeling rather proud of my balancing act during such a stressful time last week, I got back in the meal prepping and planning game today. I was short on lunches a few times last week and needed more gas in my tank, honestly, so I’m taking Nick Saban’s advice and working on the discipline and execution part even when it is hard.

Lunches will be a spinach salad with orange bell peppers, feta, sunflower seeds, quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, a sprinkling of cooked center cut bacon, and vinaigrette. Got it all prepped and ready to go.

For dinner, I made Green Healthy Cooking’s Low Carb Spaghetti Squash bowls and they were delicious. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buvE9NpT_Hs

Feeling grateful after a very full week!

Categories: Community, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Lunch Adventures, meal prep, Prioritizing Me, Uncategorized

Tagged: recipes

To Gather During Quarantine? (That is the question.)

Posted on May 17, 2020

Every year in May, Jones Valley Teaching Farm‘s GATHER fundraiser happens in homes across Birmingham, Alabama. We have a GATHER Squad that meets regularly, recruits hosts, and over a few days in May, we watch as families and friends GATHER at each other’s homes for potlucks, bbq parties, cocktail hours, and seated dinners to celebrate and raise money for Jones Valley Teaching Farm. We had 20+ events scheduled for this weekend. Everything was going great and then…hashtag COVID-19, hashtag quarantine, hashtag what is happening!?!?!

Our April Twilight Supper Series Fundraising Dinner was canceled. Schools closed. Offices closed. Restaurants closed. It seemed like the world was moving in slow motion. I don’t know about you, but it took me the entire month of April to get my feet steady (and I use “steady” verrrrrrry loosely here). The GATHER weekend was around the corner and I struggled to even think how we could pull off a concept of GATHERING when we can’t be together. I struggled thinking about how to ask for donations when so many people are suffering right now. I went back and forth between canceling yet another fundraiser or choosing to re-frame it and use it as an opportunity to connect. I mean, who even has the answers these days? Not me, that’s for sure.

Three weeks ago, I went on a walk and listened to a podcast featuring Ross Gay, an author and community gardener. He said:

“I don’t know if a scientist has found this out yet, but when something good happens, do we gather around a thing? It is a feeling that I have, a deep feeling that I have, and I feel like it’s something that I witness, too, that people kind of want to share the stuff that they love.”

Yes. Exactly. We want to share the stuff we love and GATHER around it. It won’t look like our normal GATHER, but that’s okay. In a time of great uncertainty, what if I shifted my thoughts and expectations to be more about HOW we GATHER around the GOOD right now? It may not raise the same amount of money we had hoped, but what if it shared more connection and joy? What if it allowed families to spend more time together doing activities together at home? Well, here I am on the third day of our VIRTUAL GATHER experience, and I can honestly say WE ARE DOING IT!

Instead of events, people are GATHERING around our educational content we’ve been posting — trying out our recipes, making compost bins at home, growing food in NEW gardens or containers, going on scavenger hunts with their kiddos, and sharing ALL of that good stuff on social media. And yes, we are also raising money. Here are just a few examples of the love we are seeing this weekend:

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My heart is full and because it has been such a success, we are going to keep this going throughout May! Please join us as we GATHER around Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

Our content WITH lesson plans can be found here: https://jvtf.org/our-blog/

You can also just re-post our content by sharing our Instagram posts here: @jonesvalleyteachingfarm

Our fundraising page is here:https://gather.swell.gives/

Other folks have been using the Facebook donation button and that works fine too.

In a time when the world feels so divided, it’s been refreshing to see so many people come together to support our work. It has also helped shift my own uncertainty and fear this weekend — probably when I needed it most. So full. So grateful.

Categories: Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Uncategorized

Tagged: Content, food-based education, fundraiser, Gather, Good School Food, Non-Profit, project based learning

The Great Pause

Posted on April 11, 2020

Anyone else out there bouncing back and forth on the pinball machine of emotion? As you can read in my previous post, the news that John Prine passed away truly brought me to my knees earlier in the week. It opened up so many emotions I’d been pushing down. Way, way, way down.

But then a lot of really good things started happening. The night after he passed, I sat in a chair in my living room with the window open, with a glass of wine, and listened to John Prine songs back to back. I haven’t done that in forever. Normally, I’d have some movie that keeps the kids interested on as background noise, but they were forced to actually play with each other in their rooms while the adults listened to music. Before the great pause, we never slowed down long enough to just sit and listen to music, so I hope this new habit sticks after all this is over.

This week had many bright spots to balance out the dark. My friend T Marie King asked all of us what the following statement meant to us, “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness,” and as I watched the actions of others this week, I saw this statement come to life.

For example…

I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to follow Jones Valley Teaching Farm yet on Instagram or Facebook, but you should. In a time when we were forced to abandon our daily lessons, after school programs, and time with students, our staff is churning out educational content for kiddos and parents!

Compost 101 Part One (The kids and I will be building out our compost bin following these instructions today.)

Here’s a link to a lesson from Farmer Fern: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-stR2tBHfY/

Here are the lessons you can download: https://jvtf.org/compost-101/

Compost 101 Part Two

Here’s a link to a lesson from Farmer TJ: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-yBazAht40/

Here are the lessons you can download: https://jvtf.org/compost-101-part-two/

This week also marked the very first week that we distributed food and flowers! When Spring arrives on the Farm, it reinvigorates us. The first flowers and veggies mean all the work during the winter prepared us for this moment. We were proud to partner with HICA to distribute 25 family produce bags filled with lettuce, collards, carrots, radishes, and green onions.

We also participated on a community- focused phone call (thanks to Mashonda Taylor and the Woodlawn Foundation for leading the way) and when I announced we needed more masks and cleaning supplies, we got them the very next day (thank you, Canterbury and Christian Service Mission).

On Friday, we celebrated the first bouquets of the season and dropped them off at UAB Medicine. Two of the arrangements will go on the nurse stations and the rest will be handed out at shift change for first responders to take home with them. Jones Valley Teaching Farm will continue to donate our flowers throughout the Spring and Summer.

We ordered seeds so that we can begin sowing and sharing with our community. Our friends at Yellowhammer Creative launched a new campaign to support Jones Valley Teaching Farm and so many of our friends and now you can help out by clicking here: https://www.yellowhammer.org/localsseries/jonesvalley

Finally, as I was sitting at one of our teaching farms this week all covered up with a mask made and donated to us, I saw this mama bird fly over to her babies and feed them. There was something about that moment mixed in with the other great things happening at the same time that brought all of it in focus. I told our staff to take half a day off because they worked so very hard all week and during this really crazy time, we all need breathers. I’m not so sure I took the breaths I needed prior to the Universe sending us all to our rooms. I’m welcoming the uncomfortable waves of realization that I was participating in this big, wide world in a very unsustainable way and that directly affected my work, my colleagues, my family, my friends, and everything in between. I doubt I ever paid as much attention in my daily life to the things I pay attention to now.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and said that this time – this pause – this “time spent in our respective rooms,” has forced me to get down to the barest of bare. You have to strip all the stuff away to find where you actually really are in all this. I spent a lot of time keeping up with the world and all of its expectations and even at my most “stripped away self” right now, I’ve realized that I’ve actually been enough this entire time.

A lot of folks are asking me about Easter and the kids. I’ve always struggled with the commercialization and capitalization of holidays, so this weekend we are going to take a break, which means no baskets full of stuff that never really mattered in the first place. We just found old baskets and are hiding the plastic eggs from last year and that will be absolutely enough. The world has paused for a reason and I really do think this is part of the why.

Okay so here’s my last thing. I read this article and want to shout it from the rooftops. Wherever you are in “the great pause” – because I do know it has affected each of us differently and our worries are not all the same – I hope you know you are enough in this very moment – a moment we will never get back, but could learn so much from moving forward.

Categories: Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Uncategorized

Tagged: Alabama, Birmingham, Buy Local, Canterbury, Christian Service Mission, Compost, Compost Stew, First Responders, Front Line Workers, Good School Food, HICA, John Prine, Lessons, Locals series, masks, UAB Medicine, Woodlawn Foundation, Yellowhammer Creative

Jones Valley Teaching Farm Continues to do the ESSENTIAL Work of Growing Food

Posted on April 5, 2020

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Jones Valley Teaching Farm and where our produce will be during this quarantine. I thought I’d use my personal blog to talk about it before it goes public tomorrow on our social media sites.

Jones Valley Teaching Farm operates seven teaching farms (six of which are on Birmingham City Schools’ campuses). We employ 24 incredible folks working across production/farming, education, operation, administration, and development. We employ 8 incredible Woodlawn High School juniors and seniors as part-time employees.

Before the pandemic, we would be growing food on each of our sites to align with our daily lessons reaching 3,000+ students, to use in our afterschool programming, to sell in our student markets, to sell to the amazing chefs who have always supported us, and to sell to our larger community via Pepper Place Farmers Market, Woodlawn Street Market, and on our on-site produce stands. This week, we’d normally host 30+ community gardeners on our downtown site to begin prepping and planting out their individual plots we offer on a sliding scale. We would be filling our on-site produce stand with the vegetables we are harvesting on the downtown farm and polishing off our honor box to collect payment for those veggies. Our high school apprentices would be transplanting seedlings and direct sowing the seeds – seeing the crop plan they worked so hard on come to life. Volunteers would be filing in on our sites helping us get all of the crops planted, beds weeded, and projects completed. We’d still be planning our huge Gather weekend in May (more on that in another post). We would be finalizing our plan for the April Twilight Supper Series dinner we had planned to happen in the Pepper Place parking lot. You know, all of the things that normally kept us moving at warp speed in early Spring.

You see, Spring is an important time for us. We’ve spent the winter catching our breath, doing culinary lessons, letting our sites rest a bit, and letting our own bodies and minds rest. We’ve been preparing for this season all winter despite all that crazy rain and flooding. We’ve been sowing seeds that are ready to be planted. But, things changed quickly. Very quickly.

The pandemic hit fast. Schools closed. Our work halted. We immediately began prepping and planning for how our work could continue. The first week we developed strict protocols. We leaned on other states hit hard before us to see what their best practices were. Our sites did an amazing job before all of this happened sanitation and safety-wise, but we were dealing with a completely different set of circumstances. Now we had to adopt safe distance practices, tool-handling protocols, how we touch EVERY single item while in the spaces, and everything else in between. Our team crafted safety and harvest protocols as well as a plan for how we – a small, but mighty team of 24 – can implement them. We were all in agreement: We MUST continue to do the ESSENTIAL work of growing food now more than ever.

We distributed the protocols and our site managers began implementing them the second week of the pandemic. It was working. Then, we realized that we needed more hands on our bigger sites. Remember, we’d normally have corporate and individual volunteers helping us, which is no longer an option. Our Director of Operations began crafting a schedule on how we could accomplish our tasks as a team paying close attention to groups not crossing over to another group and being small enough to maintain the 10 ft requirement. We launched that plan last week and it is working. I announced to our team last week that we may have to adjust when Alabama hits the peak of this pandemic to lessen the amount of people on sites, but for now we continue so that every transplant can get in the ground. Our masks are being made. We are stocked at every site with the materials and sanitation items we need. Every single member of our staff is growing food – no matter what our jobs USED to be. I have said it before, but there is NO other place I’d rather be in a pandemic than with these colleagues doing THIS work.

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We’ve made some big changes in our day-to-day work.

Obviously, we are not doing Good School Food lessons on our sites with kiddos, but we ARE doing them online so that kiddos can access them. We are also including our lesson plans for parents to download.

We are a non-profit and most of our funding comes from grants and foundations. We felt it was necessary to forfeit our place at Pepper Place Farmers’ Market so that farmers reliant on the income could benefit from the drive-thru market. Here is a link to the drive-thru info! Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network’s link to local food resources is also a great tool!

Because our funding is dependent on foundations, grants, and individuals, we feel that the most responsible thing for us to do (and our driving force as to why we do this work in the first place) is to continue to grow seeds and produce and distribute them at NO COST to our community. So, how does that look?

Seedlings: Normally, once all of our seedlings are transplanted, we stop growing in our greenhouse until the next season. We’ve made the decision to KEEP growing seedlings to distribute to our community. We are sharing with local community gardeners doing work across Birmingham and we will begin sharing with individuals across our community (stay tuned).

Produce: Since we had a delay getting all of our plants in the ground, we are still waiting on the bulk of our harvest to come in and when it does, we will be distributing produce and flowers to local agencies and our neighbors AT NO COST. Stay tuned for more info.

High School Apprentices: We are building out a plan for our high school apprentices to continue to do the essential work of growing food at their homes. We are also reading books, researching, and working on projects so that we can also do the essential work of employing young people.

Fundraising: If you work in a nonprofit, you are always worried about fundraising. All I know is we have to keep going and use Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s essential skills of growing food to help right now. It is my job to do everything in my power to do the essential work of keeping our staff employed and our community fed.

Sites: Our sites are closed to the public right now – including our community garden plots. It is our goal to keep our staff safe so that it doesn’t impact our overall work at seven total sites. We will open our sites up the MINUTE we get the green light, but until then, our 24-person staff will be working as hard as we’ve ever worked to get fresh food to our community in the safest way possible. That is our priority and we hope you understand.

I know that’s a lot, but that’s where we are. I’ll keep updating you as I go because I’m sure things will change constantly over the next few weeks. Thank you for supporting Jones Valley Teaching Farm. Especially now.

Click on the following links to follow our journey:

Jones Valley Teaching Farm Blog

Instagram: @jonesvalleyteachingfarm

Facebook: Jones Valley Teaching Farm

Twitter: @jvteachingfarm

Categories: Community, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Uncategorized

Tagged: Alabama, ASAN, Birmingham, Birmingham City Schools, farmers, Farmers Markets, Good School Food, local food, Local Food Access, Pepper Place Saturday Market, Produce, seeds, Teaching Farms

Quarantine Discoveries and Purple Fried Rice

Posted on April 1, 2020

I am not going to lie. Monday was emotionally hard. For a number of reasons. I had deadlines that morning and started working on them immediately. The kids were running in and out of the room asking questions and looking for attention and for three hours, I waved them away. Let that sink in. For three total hours I waved them away with no explanation. I needed to tackle the to do list, my deadlines, my conference calls, and my WORK. There’s something to that “waving away” thing that got to me. I mean, by now they should already know how much this WORK means to me, right? My relationship with my work has always been a driving force. For very good and for bad. Anyway, around 11 am all of that started falling apart. My kids were rebelling (rightfully so). My kids were confused as to why I was sitting in the next room but completely unavailable to them for hours on end. So around 11 am I started to realize I was operating just as I always have by sticking to the schedule, doing all the things, and running around “all busy” because “all busy” has definitely become my norm.

(Pausing here to acknowledge that I’m extremely lucky to do work I absolutely believe in with people I genuinely care for immensely. When the “work” is actually something you care about and something that you believe is incredibly important in our community – things get even muddier. Ooooooooof. Lots of layers are peeling back during this time, which I guess is the point.)

Okay back to the first paragraph. Things broke down. There were frustrations and disappointments on full display. I put the laptop down. I gathered 15 books and got in our bed and asked them to join me and we read for an hour. My phone was dinging, but I decided to leave it in the living room rather than take it with me. Then we had quiet time. All of us. I put on a timer so I wouldn’t miss the next conference call and I was STILL for the first time in a really long time. I realized that I needed the quiet time as much as they did.

Maybe that’s the point of all this? This “Universe sending us to our room thing.” When the world was LITERALLY forced to slow down, I simply transferred my normal “too busy for anything” rat race behavior to quarantine life. But things ARE in fact different. We are operating in a completely different circumstance and my brain is slowly adjusting. The world is literally pausing and here I am rebelling. I’m in denial. Apparently, I’m also afraid to confront all the stuff attached to this reality like what it says about the world we continue to operate in and especially what it says deep down about ourselves. Double ooooooooof.

Here’s what I want to say to all of you if it is helpful: Monday was a good day because I adjusted. I was still and attentive to the kids for 2 hours of my work day. I made time for a walk. I wasn’t 100% kid-focused, 100% work-focused, or 100% me focused. I was all over the place and it was messy. It will continue to be messy. And it is okay if the ONLY thing you do right in one day is make one positive adjustment. Why? Because yesterday (Tuesday) was a total you-know-what show. I hope today will be different. It’s day-by-day at this point because there is no map for any of this.

We are all responding to this global pandemic differently. Some have their schedules down to a science. They have increased their exercise to twice a day. They are creating projects for their kids to do. I’m not that person. I’m truly figuring this out as I go. I’m eating too many Cheetos. I sometimes skip my walk just to skip it. I am checking my phone constantly and either devoting every ounce of energy to my kids or I’m absolutely ignoring them. I am learning more about myself every single day and some of it isn’t pretty.

Maya Angelou says, “When you know better, you do better.” Phew. Trying, Dr. Angelou. I’m really trying. Okay let’s weigh ALL this out with something positive, shall we?

Remember when I mentioned Chef José Andrés in my last post? Well, his video on Twitter inspired me when I needed it most. He made fried rice in 4 minutes all while listening to Hamilton soundtrack. To honor all of the work Chef José Andrés and his team are doing, here’s my own fried rice recipe COMPLETE with Jones Valley Teaching Farm purple carrots (that dyed everything purple) and Rapini. Seriously, watch Chef’s twitter video first before doing anything.

Today we’re cooking #RecipesForThePeople in 3&1/2 minutes! This is angelhair pasta & tomato sauce (a SPANISH invention..! But we love Italy 😘👨‍🍳🇮🇹😈) to the tune of #Hamilton You’ll Be Back…because WE’LL be back, we can get through ANYthing if we keep singing&cooking @WCKitchen pic.twitter.com/H1kokwzb7O

— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) March 31, 2020

FoodRevival’s Purple Fried Rice
I think this rice kind of sums up where I am these days. I combined perfectly cooked white rice with the most delicious purple carrots I got from the Jones Valley Teaching Farm. It dyed everything purple. My eggs turned green. I think it represents my feelings these days – like, letting go of the structure and what’s supposed to be and improvise each day and let some of it GO because it still tastes good. Right? Right. This is my quarantine brain. You are welcome.

First, I cooked my rice the day before in the instant pot
1 cup of rice with 1 cup of water and a little salt
I used the rice setting
Store in the refrigerator until ready to cook

Next Day:
I scrambled my eggs first and put them to the side
Next up, I added some butter to my pan and sautéed the following veggies (because I had them on hand):
Purple Carrots (thanks, JVTF)
Rapini (thanks, JVTF)
Onion

I let them cook until the veggies were soft, but still had a bit of a bite. I added some leftover chickpeas (why? Because I needed to use them and why not?)

Then I added the cold rice. I cooked all of it for 10 minutes and then added some garlic powder and those scrambled eggs. I poured in a few swigs of soy sauce. Continued to cook.

I removed the pan from the heat and added 1 tsp of sesame oil and stirred. Be sure to taste it as you go. For example, I needed a little more soy sauce. Serve it up. We added some chicken we grilled the day before.

But remember, the most important part of all of this is taking the lead from Chef José Andrés and simply add whatever you have and listen to the Hamilton soundtrack while you do it.

Categories: Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Recipes, Uncategorized

Tagged: carrots, Chef José Andrés, Fried Rice, Hamilton, rapini

Quarantine Discoveries: Week One

Posted on March 29, 2020

I hope we are all finding new and improved ways to live our life during quarantine. I thought I’d start keeping a journal of my own journey with the hopes that it either resonates with you or serves as a way to document my feelings so that I can revisit them if I get off track again after all of this is over.

Personally, I’ve realized MANY things that about myself that needed adjusting. I was running in a rat race – work work work – no time to do the things I want to do – pick up drop offs with kiddos – meetings meetings meetings – no time to read or answer texts. I knew deep down that it was unhealthy and not a responsible way to mirror behavior and expectations to my 8-year-old and my 4-year-old, but the world kept moving and so did I. That is, until the Universe sent us all to our rooms (because that’s how I’m choosing to look at this). There’s only so far you can push yourself, your resources, your stamina, and your health and it is clear we were not listening. Some folks are still not listening, but we can’t let that noise interrupt the larger message. THE PEOPLE – families, young people, older folks, communities, restaurant owners and employees, teachers, non-profits, child care teachers and employees, first responders, nurses, doctors, and every single person risking their lives to save ours – this is where the power is right now and we have to claim it. I’m choosing to focus on how my life should and will change after this. I’m choosing to focus on who I plan to remove from public office after all of this. I’m choosing where my money and support will go after all of this.

Now is this journey as easy as the paragraph above sounds? No. Am I completely overwhelmed by despair at times? Yes. I can’t stop thinking about how hard this is for me when I have SO much help and resources. I can’t help but think about parents who have to leave their kids with someone because they have NO choice but to be at work. I can’t help but think of SINGLE PARENTS trying their best to make this work. I can’t help but think about kiddos who rely on school to be their one safe place. I can’t stop thinking about the individuals who have always lived at or below the poverty level – who already didn’t have the resources needed – and what this does to their sources of food and assistance once everyone else piles on top of the already massive need. I can’t help but think about the people who will simply NOT eat during this time. It haunts me most days. I can’t help but think about my friends – my dear, dear friends in the restaurant and service industry who have helped me over the years by raising money for Jones Valley Teaching Farm—and I have limited ways to help them now. I can’t help but think about the broken food system and how intertwined and broken it has always been. I can’t help but think about all of the other systems I know less about that have been also broken in ways I never paid attention to. I can’t help to think about people who are sick and can’t be close to loved ones or are literally dying all alone. I can’t help to feel overwhelmed by the need to keep a non-profit alive while also responsible for my kiddos who need structure and education and enrichment. I can’t help but wrestle with my own doubt, concern, and optimism for what this “unprecedented time” means for all of us. There’s my brain, folks: full of worry and hope.

Speaking of hope, I have found some bright spots in quarantine time and I’m going to link them here. At the end of the day, this is where the hope and optimism can squarely challenge all that worry (at least for a few moments). Here’s hoping you are in a situation where you can find these glimmers and for those of you who are having a hard time finding those glimmers, I am holding you in the light and sending love. YOU ARE LOVED.

First item of hope: BAREFOOT CONTESSA!
In a world that feels less and less comforting, there is still one person who continues to bring me comfort: The One and Only Barefoot Contessa. Over the last few days she has been sending me (okay, okay…all of us) recipes to follow. They have the Barefoot Contessa swagger, but with things already in the pantry. Last night I decided to make her Tuscan White Bean Soup using carrots from Jones Valley Teaching Farm and rosemary from my yard. I didn’t have pancetta – go figure – so I skipped that step. I also didn’t have celery or leeks (gasp!). I just used onions, carrots, garlic, and rosemary as my base. Then I followed the rest of the directions. The kiddos helped with chopping and pouring and stirring, which helped with quarantine life. Once it was ready, we had it for dinner and it was a huge hit (even by my picky kiddos’ standards).

Second: Massimo Bottura is filming his dinners from his home in Italy most nights. This has been such a HUGE source of inspiration for me and a powerful example of how to infuse ENERGY and SPIRIT during a crisis. I’ve been watching him on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/massimobottura/

Third: Chef José Andrés continues to help heal our communities through World Central Kitchen. If you haven’t read his piece about mobilizing restaurant workers to feed America now, please do so. He is an inspiration for all of us and I feel like if we do NOT do something this drastic, our community will NOT be fed. Plain and simple. Let’s be bold locally and find ways to be as bold as Chef Andrés. And by the way, he is ALSO cooking from home on Twitter.

Fourth: In Birmingham, our Pepper Place Farmer’s Market Drive-Thru is thriving and supporting local farmers and it makes me so happy. Simply order online here: https://www.pepperplacemarket.com/drivethrumarket

Finally (for this post): There are so many restaurants that are doing whatever they can to survive while also feeding us. Incredible examples of perseverance and drive and determination and survival. Wonderful examples of talent and creativity and a desire to take care of our community. There are too many to name, honestly, so I’m going to start with just a few and each week continue to highlight others. Don’t forget to buy gift cards or donate to these restaurants! Shout outs to:

THE AMAZING CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM STAFF AT SCHOOLS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTING FOOD EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Nourish
Eugene’s Hot Chicken
Post Office Pies
Rodney Scott’s BBQ(offering 50% off meals for first responders)
Hero Doughnuts (also offering 50% off meals for first responders)
Sol y Luna
Bandit x Essential
Automatic Seafood
Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn

Space and Grace,
Amanda

Categories: Community, Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Recipes, Uncategorized

Tagged: Automatic Seafood, Bandit x Essential, Barefoot Contessa, Child Nutrition Program, Eugenes Hot Chicken, Hero Doughnuts, Jose Andres, Massimo Bottura, Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn, Nourish, Pepper Place Saturday Market, Post Office Pies, Restaurants, Rodney Scott's BBQ, Sol y Luna, Tuscan White Bean Soup, World Central Kitchen

March Reading List

Posted on March 1, 2020

How in the world is it already March? As I always send to my Jones Valley Teaching Farm colleagues, here are some articles I found interesting last month:

The Aspen Institute Impact Careers Initiative
https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/files/content/docs/pubs/winning_the_talent_report.pdf

A Generation for Causes: A Four-Year Summary of the Millennial Impact Project
https://foodrevival.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/66cf0-mip_4year_summary.pdf

Small Family Farms Aren’t the Answer
https://medium.com/sylvanaquafarms/small-family-farms-arent-the-answer-742b6684857e?fbclid=IwAR2rM_LtO74ORa-SV7_wLkWd7TEPIIswYob9rfbVzKfCYo0n4jAk_yWMn30

The Future lies in FLEXIBLE WORK PATTERNS
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-lies-flexible-work-patterns-brigette-hyacinth/?fbclid=IwAR2boeY3OYhzlubH8YW8fROwzBewCNAXLFbrD350f81jGz_Z3kt_CpHQHjg

A New Bill Aims to Fix Food Waste in Schools
https://bit.ly/2uOjcK6?fbclid=IwAR0ZU0bAHYEzuPFlKpPFO2wXWKuD7m8eUqbbN9Qo1nkMVcrHd1VRzAR4trs

Just Mercy’ Attorney Asks U.S. To Reckon With Its Racist Past And Present
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/20/796234496/just-mercy-attorney-asks-u-s-to-reckon-with-its-racist-past-and-present?fbclid=IwAR0–YiSgOJtLBIjHnxrLamBtZcdYgB5SAE9ypP9Mlu8RfC70pwTxR-vm_s

The Woman Working to Combat Palestinian Food Insecurity, Seed by Seed
https://zora.medium.com/the-woman-working-to-combat-palestinian-food-insecurity-seed-by-seed-ada2a57abd90

Why Poor People Stay Poor
https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/12/linda-tirado-on-the-realities-of-living-in-bootstrap-america-daily-annoyances-for-most-people-are-catastrophic-for-poor-people.html?fbclid=IwAR07Yb4afbqPwkcPNugK9giQS3wEvX9yRXETxqXmUbeBB4Nt9iJXVFYtpjY

A native plant guru’s radical vision for the American yard
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/in-the-garden-rethinking-the-nature-of-nature/2020/02/11/656fc87a-46ce-11ea-ab15-b5df3261b710_story.html?fbclid=IwAR33dOSkg2g7i9krAcllwU39W36fEiuQtiJeJa3v1lSmcqWGmX5sSuuSApk

Toad Visits Man Every Night, So He Makes Him Little Hats
https://nerdbot.com/2020/02/27/toad-visits-man-every-night-so-he-makes-him-little-hats/?fbclid=IwAR3Np8XlDHX5aSz-qTxVa22OCnzZBFl7cOiFrXn6ng5c6ok1rixMLxpEWkc

Oh, and look at the mini version of all of our farms! Can’t wait to start transplanting…

Categories: Community, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Reading Lists, Uncategorized

New Cookbook and February’s Reading List (also Kale, Farro, and Pancetta)

Posted on February 3, 2020

Y’all I’m kind of obsessed with Joshua McFadden’s Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables cookbook. I heard about it first on Alexandra’s Kitchen. Then I asked my husband to reserve it from the Hoover Public Library (which reminds me that I need to return it).

So what have I cooked? I thought you would never ask!

First up, The Kale Salad That Started It All (for real, that’s the name).
First you need some Jones Valley Teaching Farm kale (I used lacinato). Then it is all about the chiffonade (you can do this with collards, too). I dressed it up with fresh lemon, olive oil, chile flakes, salt, pepper, garlic (lots of garlic), parmesan cheese, and some toasted walnuts and almond slivers (he uses homemade toasted breadcrumbs and I just flat ran out of time for that). It was delicious.

My favorite favorite favorite thing so far was the Farro. Yeah, I know, it’s Farro. But this recipe makes Farro seem like more than Farro. I no longer know if I’m making sense, so just trust me and make this Farro. The trick? You toast the Farro first WITH the smashed garlic and chile flakes. It changes the entire Farro game. I feel so strongly about this Farro that I will only use a capital F when talking about it. Then you add water, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil then cover and let simmer for 15-30 minutes. I ate it by itself. I fried an egg and put it on top of the Farro for breakfast. I snacked on it. It’s that good. And my chef-forever-friend, Tiffany agreed. I was like, “TASTE THIS FARRO.” The rest is history.

Today, I decided to make the Pancetta Vinaigrette. I haven’t had it yet, so I’ll report back. I’ve been meaning to make it for a couple of weeks, but I mean, it involved cooking pancetta and mixing things together and I haven’t had time for ANY of that. But today I had the time and managed to make it all work. Think pancetta sizzling in a cast iron skillet. Once you get the pancetta cooked through, you take it off the heat and wait for it to stop sizzling. Then you add in 3 chopped scallions, minced garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt. My plan is to bring it to room temperature and either toss it with kale and roasted potatoes or just flat out use it on a salad ( I mean, why not?).

I can’t wait to try more recipes and plan to put it on my wish list!

In other news, it is FINALLY February. I never thought it would get here. Here’s the reading list I shared with the Jones Valley Teaching Farm staff and hope you enjoy them too!

Finding Secular Spirituality Through Literature
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/01/14/secular-spirituality-books

Small Family Farms Aren’t the Answer
https://medium.com/sylvanaquafarms/small-family-farms-arent-the-answer-742b6684857e?fbclid=IwAR2rM_LtO74ORa-SV7_wLkWd7TEPIIswYob9rfbVzKfCYo0n4jAk_yWMn30

The Future lies in FLEXIBLE WORK PATTERNS.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-lies-flexible-work-patterns-brigette-hyacinth/?fbclid=IwAR2boeY3OYhzlubH8YW8fROwzBewCNAXLFbrD350f81jGz_Z3kt_CpHQHjg

A New Bill Aims to Fix Food Waste in Schools
https://bit.ly/2uOjcK6?fbclid=IwAR0ZU0bAHYEzuPFlKpPFO2wXWKuD7m8eUqbbN9Qo1nkMVcrHd1VRzAR4trs

The Woman Working to Combat Palestinian Food Insecurity, Seed by Seed
https://zora.medium.com/the-woman-working-to-combat-palestinian-food-insecurity-seed-by-seed-ada2a57abd90

Satellite ‘surveillance’ reveals which sustainable farming methods work—and which don’t
https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2019/11/satellite-surveillance-can-tell-us-if-sustainable-farming-methods-work/?fbclid=IwAR10wOnTLDuT_NnqOQts2yzoBq2-1xlr2ChQ3_j48XBrWQXiyPTfX59qeMU

Categories: Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Reading Lists, Recipes, Uncategorized

Tagged: Alexandra's Kitchen, farro, Hoover Public Library, Joshua McFadden, kale, pancetta, Six Seasons, Vegetarian

January 2020 Reading List

Posted on January 10, 2020

Happy Friday!

Each month, I collect articles that teach me something new, inspire me, challenge me, and everything in between. I then share them with the Jones Valley Teaching Farm staff. I decided in my new attempt to continue writing and sharing on my personal blog, that I’d post them here too!

Three Part Harmony Farm
Community Supported Agriculture – rooted in DC since 2012
http://threepartharmonyfarm.org/

The New #TheStew
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/dining/the-new-thestew.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage

Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/30/dining/climate-change-food-eating-habits.html

“Latinx” is growing in popularity. I made a comic to help you understand why.
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/10/15/20914347/latin-latina-latino-latinx-means?utm_campaign=vox.social&utm_content=voxdotcom&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1pLx0DM7qKEuTUIUbDSodH7hLX6zv33w5EekcQzYsKcB63FTMTYtHX3d0

Toni Morrison on the Power of Language
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/toni-morrison-on-the-power-of-language-her-spectacular-nobel-acceptance-speech-after-becoming-the?utm_source=pocket-newtab

‘Like sending bees to war’: the deadly truth behind your almond-milk obsession
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/07/honeybees-deaths-almonds-hives-aoe?fbclid=IwAR3NxyuMXKcDP3bWVR4IzzhA1-ezFK0Won7Dq4oZuSF7OfAR20-vHeqRLCc

Who Killed the Knapp Family?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/opinion/sunday/deaths-despair-poverty.html?fbclid=IwAR2SbEQKm9EOepJ-Enzmz4N0AALWxqDNg0cyvAFBYwmcVnxBsV8VfW1L_W

UAB bolsters Birmingham Promise: They’ll match $$$
https://www.al.com/news/2020/01/uab-bolsters-birmingham-promise-theyll-match.html

Categories: Community, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Reading Lists, Recipes, Uncategorized, Work

Tagged: Alabama, Almond Milk, Bees, Birmingham, Birmingham Promise, Climate Change, Food, Latinx, Life, Love, Power of Language, Three Part Harmony, Toni Morrison, UAB, working class

Winter Dinner

Posted on January 5, 2020

Time. That’s the key, y’all. I miss planning and cooking complicated and semi-fancy dinners. I miss trying out new recipes not knowing if they’ll turn out. I miss trying new recipes and being completely surprised how great they turn out. I miss my tried and true recipes. Let’s face it, I miss Ina Garten.

Reality is setting in. I know that next week when school and work start back up, we’ll be back in the routine where cooking won’t look the same when you have days off, but I’m finishing the break STRONG.

Truth is, I haven’t seen my friends this year. I’m not sure how in the world that happens, but it does and I’m sure you can relate. Last night, I had two of my dearest friends and my Mama over for dinner and I decided to throw down. Here’s the menu:

Appetizer:
Smitten Kitchen’s White Bean Soup with Crispy Kale
https://smittenkitchen.com/2019/10/white-bean-soup-with-crispy-kale/
I started on this recipe earlier in the day so that all I had to do was warm it up when it was time for dinner. It’s rather straightforward and simple, but tastes incredibly complex and delicious. We added crispy kale and pancetta and a little bit of a sour cream as toppings. Truthfully, it was great on its own. The photo below is of my leftovers: White bean soup with crispy kale AND the walnut/parmesan/olive oil mixture I used on the cabbage (see below).

Main Course:
Barefoot Contessa’s Chicken Piccata
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-piccata-recipe-1952866
There are a few recipes that you know will be good no matter what and they tend to have one common denominator: Ina Garten. I love love love her Chicken Piccata and Chicken Parmesan recipes (both are similar). I decided to do the Piccata recipe. The trick is making sure you get the chicken breasts pounded (yes, pounded) flat. The other trick (and something I’ve learned from Ina) is to mix olive oil with butter when pan frying. The lemon reduction sauce on top (as well as the cooked lemon slices) added the perfect brightness.

Sides:
Smitten Kitchen’s Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan
https://smittenkitchen.com/2019/11/roasted-cabbage-with-walnuts-and-parmesan/
When I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen’s website, I got excited. Sure, I could have done a salad of some sort, but I liked the idea of highlighting cabbage. First things first: Savoy cabbage is hard to find. I asked my colleagues atJones Valley Teaching Farm if any of our sites had it before trying grocery stores. Nada. Called every grocery store and they didn’t have it either. My heart was SET on this recipe, so I decided to grab a huge head of Napa Cabbage determined to make it work. I cut the cabbage horizontally in thick rounds and guess what? It worked. The only thing I’d add next time is a little sweetness (maybe balsamic?) to dress it up. Also, because it was Napa cabbage, it kind of fell apart on the plate, which was totally fine because it ended up coming together as a warm salad.

Alexandra’s Kitchen’s Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple Butter
https://alexandracooks.com/2014/10/03/roasted-acorn-squash-with-maple-butter-new-york/
So by now you can see that we have lemons featured in the chicken dish and lemons in the cabbage dish. I really needed a sweet side to round us out. I found this recipe on Alexandra’s Kitchen’s website. Pause. Do y’all follow her on Instagram? You should. Her stories and how-to videos are equal to 15 minutes of meditation. Okay back to the dish. I’ve never cooked acorn squash and was a little nervous. This couldn’t have been easier and during the meal it got the most comments. It was much easier than cooking a butternut or spaghetti squash. Embrace the acorn squash, y’all. It’s absolutely worth it.

Alexandra’s Kitchen’s No Knead Buttermilk Pull Apart Rolls
https://alexandracooks.com/2019/11/24/no-knead-buttermilk-pull-apart-rolls-overnight-or-not/
Shoooooo-wee! I was capital S-C-A-R-E-D to do these rolls. I don’t do bread. I don’t do rolls. Never have. I honestly never thought I had the patience. There were a few bumps in the road, but overall it turned out great. First bump was the yeast. I didn’t get instant yeast — I got active yeast (ugh), so I got behind in my timeline, borrowed some instant yeast from my Mom, and then just scrapped the part where the rolls were supposed to sit overnight in the fridge. See? This is the patience part that comes into play. The good news is that it all worked out in the end. I encourage you to watch her videos first before trying it out. Will you fold over the dough and perfectly separate them and round them out like she does? Nope. Not at all. Will it still work? Yep. The husband and kiddos are eating them this morning and can’t stop talking about them, so go for it. Go forth in your buttered roll confidence — you GOT this.

One other thing I wanted to share, was a book that was mentioned twice in two of these recipes. The husband checked it out from the library for me and I can’t wait to start reading it.

As the holiday break comes to an end, I’m completely aware that I may not post again until next break. It looks like the last time I posted was around the same time last year. I hope that’s not the case, but jussssssst in case, I’m sending love and light to all of you in this New Year.

Categories: Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Recipes, Uncategorized

Tagged: Acorn Squash, Alexandra Cooks, Alexandra's Kitchen, Barefoot Contessa, Cabbage, Chicken Piccata, Ina Garten, Joshua McFadden, New Year, No Knead, Rolls, Six Seasons, Smitten Kitchen, Soup, Winter