Common Ground Garden

August 9, 2012 Volume 18, Issue 9

Greetings!

The Lorax: the Old and the New

As you know, video equipment and thunderstorms don't mix well, so we've rescheduled the outdoor movie at the garden: Thursday, August 16, 9:30 p.m. We'll watch the old and new Lorax movies and enjoy some garden snacks under the stars. Bring blankets or chairs.

Movie Review: No Impact Man

by Michael Benson (written earlier this summer when rainy days were more regular occurrences)

Rainy days are always so much fun; we get to go outside, listen to the gentle patter of rain as we do our weeding -- and when we decide that it's getting too muddy to work, we can always go to the library to learn about foods! It was on one of these rainy days that the Common Ground gardeners watched the documentary film No Impact Man, the story of one family's experiment to see whether it is possible to live with no negative impact on the environment. It was a fascinating film; though the family went to unrealistically extreme lengths to achieve their goal, it got us thinking about ways that we can reduce our lifestyle's impact on the environment, most of which, by happy coincidence, comes hand in hand with reducing our lifestyle's impact on our wallets.

One of the easiest and most intuitive of these, yet so often neglected, is power conservation: every time we leave a light on with no one in the room, the earth is drained a little with no benefit to us-- that's not responsible consumption. We became more aware of this and decided to be more proactive about it in our own homes: if we know that we'll be gone for a day, we won't leave the heat or the air-conditioning on. We'll consciously purchase Energy Star marked products, and choose more efficient ways to enjoy our luxuries. For example, some of us like taking long, hot showers- buying a low-flow shower head would be a brilliant way to enjoy our morning habit without overusing our resources -- and they're dirt-cheap to boot!

In the movie, one of the primary ways that the family tried to reduce their impact was by buying local food, food that they knew was grown using responsible methods and was not carried across hundreds or thousands of miles to get to them. We thought that this was a great idea. As friends of the garden, you are probably already aware of many of the benefits of buying from local farms, and those of you who are subscribers have already put it into practice. We'd suggest going one step further: go to where your food is produced and find out what it takes to get that food to you. You might make new friends, you'll certainly have a greater appreciation of your food, and it may prompt you to reconsider some things that we as a society tend to take for granted.

This Week in Your Bag

1. Cucumbers, 2. zucchini, 3. kale, Swiss chard, or collard greens (you'll get one of these greens), 4. green/purple beans, 5. carrots, 6. tomatoes, 7. red cabbage, and 8. peppers (bell and a variety of hot)

Vegetable Forecast

More kohlrabi, scallions, beets, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, beans, and greens. The corn and melons are coming soon!

rows of corn climbing cucumbers sprouting melons and starting to develop

Bread of the Week

Baguette and 2 Butter Croissants

You Pic Beans!
There are still beans to pick.

Subscribers, come out and pick yourself some more beans.

Friends of the garden, we'll be selling beans at the Farmer's Market for $4 a pound--come pick your own for $2.50 a pound. We are at the garden daily from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. with evening hours on Tuesdays from 5-7 p.m., and Thursdays from 4:30-6 p.m. We've got the scale, buckets and bags. Call Kate if you arrive and can't find a gardener: 262-339-7737.

Pick-Up Time and Place

Distribution takes place every Thursday afternoon, unless otherwise notifed.

4-6 p.m. at the Common Ground Garden---You really can't miss the barn at Saint Benedict's Monastery. Enter at the college entrance from Minnesota Street near 4th Ave SW. Make a right at the stop sign and follow the gravel road out to the barn.
5-6 pm at St. John's Episcopal Church in St. Cloud. For a link on google maps, click here.

Missed Thursday Pick-Up?

Never fear, your produce is still here. If you know you are going to miss a Thursday pick-up, invite a friend to come get it. If you forget to pick up, come out to the garden on Friday anytime between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; or be in touch and pick up your share at the St. Joe Farmer's Market 3-6:30 p.m. on Fridays. You can even pick up your veggies Monday morning; we go to the St. Joe Food Shelf and the Monastery at 12:30 on Monday afternoon with produce that has been left behind.

Reminders

Swap Bin

We want you to love and be able to use all of the produce you receive from us. If you know that you won't be able to use a certain vegetable, and you don't have a friend with whom to share it, leave it in the swap bin. Another subscriber who loves what you left behind can pick it up, or it will get distributed to another vegetable lover.

Bring us your Bags

We encourage you to bring your own bags to pick up vegetables--canvas bags are great. We recycle brown paper bags, plastic grocery bags, and egg cartons, too. All of those plastic bags in which you get your veggies are recyclable. Rinse them out and bring them in and we'll take them to Coborn's for recycling.

Composting

Bring us your food scraps! If you don't have your own home composting system, add them to the Monastery compost pile. No dairy products or meat, please. The pile is located just south of the big yellow barn.

Evening Hours in the Garden

Get your hands in the dirt on Tuesday evenings from 5-7 p.m. You all are the Common Ground Garden. Produce from the garden is widely distributed to subscribers, patrons of the Farmer's Market, Minnesota Street Market, and area food shelves, the Sisters of Saint Benedict, and friends of the garden who work in exchange for produce. Be part of the physical efforts. Kids and low mobility gardeners are welcome.

Coming Events

Outdoor Movie Night at the Garden -- rescheduled

Join the gardeners for a viewing of The Lorax on Thursday, August 16, 9:30 p.m. Bring chairs or blankets. We'll have bug spray and some snacks.

From the Catholic Worker

Join us for Family Potluck and Prayer at the Central MN Catholic Worker this Monday, August 13: 6:00 potluck, 6:45 family friendly prayer. This week we'll reflect and pray about showing love in our communities. All are welcome.Learn more about the community at www.centralmncw.org.

St. Joseph's Farmers' Market

The St. Joe Market is open every Friday 3-6:30 p.m. near the St. Joe water tower. Visit the SJFM website www.stjosephfarmersmarket.com for more information about vendors, what's new, and special events throughout the year.

Recipes

Zucchini Patties with Parmesan Sauce

Patties

1 ½ cups grated zucchini

½ cup grated carrot

1 small finely diced onion

1 garlic clove, pressed

2 tbsp butter

½ cup milk

1 egg, beaten

8 tbsp flour (approx.)

A pinch of basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil-for frying

Prepare vegetables and sauté in 2 tbsp butter for about 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside. Beat egg and milk together with basil, salt and pepper. Add to cooled vegetables. Add enough flour to allow you to press into a pattie. In a skillet, heat enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan-and fry the patties on both sides till golden. Keep warm in a low oven till sauce in prepared.

Sauce

½ stick butter

½ cup milk

1 Tbsp. flour

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

To make sauce: melt ½ stick of butter-add 3 tbsp flour and stir to make a roux. Add milk and stir well. Heat -- but don't bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup of cheese--simmer a few minutes, stirring constantly. Serve on top of patties.

Green Beans with Tomatoes (Everyday Food, March 2006)

Yield: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 can (14.5-ounces) whole peeled tomatoes in puree

1 pound green beans, trimmed

Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and oregano, and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

To skillet, add tomatoes and their puree, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon or your fingers; stir to combine. Add green beans, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until green beans are soft, about 30 minutes. Serve.

Red Cabbage with Apples and Honey (Adapted from Daniel Boulud's Braise)

4 cardamom pods

1 tsp. coriander seeds

1/2 cup honey

4 cups apple juice

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

4 ounces (about 5 slices) bacon,

cut into 1-by-1/2-inch strips

2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced

1 head red cabbage, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced

2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced.

Put a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 300ºF. In a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder, finely grind the cardamom and coriander seeds. Bring the honey to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the ground spices, apple juice and white wine vinegar. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by half. Meanwhile, in a medium cast-iron pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the red cabbage and apples and cook, stirring, until softened, about 15 minutes. Pour the reduced honey-apple mixture over the cabbage and toss to coat. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven. Braise for 2 hours, or until the cabbage is very tender.

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Every week we will send several recipes that make use of the produce you are receiving in your bag. We also have a significant collection of recipes on our website at http://sbm.osb.org/ministries/common_ground_garden/recipes/. Please send us your own recipes, too--either favorites from your cook books or your own concoctions.

Contact information

commonground@csbsju.edu

Ryan Kutter, Garden Director, cell: 320-219-3389

Kate Ritger, Production Manager, cell: 262-339-7737

The Common Ground Garden is a community garden that includes a CSA, volunteer opportunities, newsletter, educational events (pickling, cheese-making, eating locally on a budge, etc.), individual garden plots, and sales at the St. Joseph Farmers' Market and Minnesota Street Market. We are committed to supporting the St. Joseph Food Shelf and the St. Cloud Catholic Charities Food Pantry. We pride ourselves on producing fresh, clean, healthful food picked at the peak of flavor and nutrition. We use cover crops, rotations, compost and ingenuity to produce your food in a way that's healthier for you and healthier for the community. While we are not certified organic, we do not use chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers.

Common Ground Garden is the ministry of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict.

104 Chapel Lane
St. Joseph, Minnesota 56374