Food in the 'Hood

Friday, March 11, 2011 — Global Fund for Women

FitHing for compliments is easy in this neighborhood...

and so is FitHing for donations, like the $170 we raised at the last dinner for the Korea Policy Insitute and the $100 we raised before that for ANERA in Palestine.

This week, for the 100th Anniversary of Women's Day, we'll be donating to the Global Fund for Women.

"Thousands of events are being held worldwide to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. A handful of European countries first marked the day in 1911 following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. The United Nations has recognized March 8th as International Women's Day since 1975. Kavita Ramdas of the Global Fund for Women joins us to discuss the history of International Women's Day, the most pressing issues women face today, and the connection between women's rights and the fight for workers' rights in Wisconsin."

Their president, Kavita Ramdas, spoke on Democracy Now about how women's rights are workers' rights.

They're a magnificent organization. I've been part of their sustainer circle for years, but now I'm putting all of my donations through Food in the Hood so I can support our local community along the way.

The Food (and decorations which we'll be serving INSIDE from 6 to 8, also available to go, for Friday, March 11th

Lilac branches!
It's time to harvest the fatted lilac bush. For one week out of the year we have a bounty of purple lilac. Pick up your centerpiece along with dinner.
Split Pea Soup with Herbed Greens (vegetarian version) or
Potage de Guisantes Barcelona (Spanish Split Pea with ham and tomatoes)
This recipe calls for wheatberries but my version used the excellent whole-grain brown rice from our Farmer's Market, Massa Organics.
Gardner Mystery Bread
Although I now know that we'll be serving Healthy Multigrain Bread, while looking for a generic bread photo I did discover National Whatever Day. This month includes If Pets Had Thumbs Day (3rd), Middle Name Pride Day (10th), Everything You Think is Wrong Day (15th), and Extraterrestrial Abduction Day (20th).
Escarole Salad with Parmesan, Avocado, Sunchokes, and Almonds
What could be better than one good salad recipe? Two good salad recipes combined.
http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/02/what-salad-bowl-has-joined-together.html
+ http://olivetocook.com/olivetocook/2010/11/25/escarole-sunchoke-marcona-almond-salad.html
Alice Waters' Beef Stew over Noodles
My recipe comes from The Art of Simple Food but the photo is from Home of the House Proud, which sponsors World Ironing Championships. My daughters have rediscovered the art of pressing clothes - I'll gladly hand over the gold (and the iron).
Apple-Blueberry Crumble Pie
Who can resist a site called Butter Cream Barbie, designed by a 20-something accountant by day, baker by night? Her layout colors are also luscious and would look great as nail polish.

Please RSVP if you're coming to pick food up or eat here, and I'll book your reservation!
Tereza

Link to this Article Directly http://foodinthehood.org/fith_mar_11_2011.php

Friday, February 25th, 2011 — Korea Policy Institute

To my card-carrying Foodies in the Hoodies,

Hurray for Egypt! If you would like to see the faces of some of the brave men and even women who gave their lives for Egypt's rebirth, go to http://1000memories.com/egypt.

"The Facebook Revolution," however, can be two-faced. Facebook gives repressive regimes all the information they need to trace and crack down on activists. This petition tells Facebook to Unfriend the Dictators.

This week we'll be benefiting the Korea Policy Institute to help oppose the KORUS Free Trade Agreement. Christine Ahn of KPI wrote an excellent article, which appeared in Foreign Policy in Focus this week. It tells how it will displace 880,000 good-paying US jobs over seven years while undermining South Korea's agriculture, their near-universal healthcare, and their food safety standards. In addition to summarizing the dangers of the KORUS FTA, it's a good primer on how FTAs work.

Congress is home for the week. Sam Farr and Diane Feinstein voted for the last FTA with Peru, while Barbara Boxer voted against it. If you read my FPIF article you know that President Garcia hasn't implemented the labor, environmental, and human rights protections that Congress voted for, and yet the FTA stands.

We're urging Congress to finish one FTA before they start another. If you'd like to call Sam Farr's office this week, the number is 429-1976.

rain (10K)

This Food in the Hood will be indoors since rain is predicted. You can pick-up food to go or stay and eat here starting at 5:00 until 7:00 or whenever we run out.

Let's get to the food! for Friday, February 25th from 5-7pm or whenever we run out

Bacon-Wrapped Salmon and Asparagus
The gluten-free site where I found this, called Food Renegade, wanted to name them "Little Bites of Awesomeness" but said that didn't scan well into search engines. This uses the bacon from our Full Moon Pig, salmon from H&H, and asparagus from Gonzales, CA.
http://www.foodrenegade.com/bacon-wrapped-salmon-cakes-with-asparagus/
Applesauce Spelt Bread from Gardner
Roasted Ham Slices from our Full Moon Pig smoked by Freedom Meats
Garam Masala Roasted Potatoes
The byline of the Tigers and Strawberries food blog is "Cook Local, Eat Global." She made these for her traditional Fourth of July that always consists of food from elsewhere "in recognition that our country was founded by immigrants, and in support of my belief that what makes America strong and great is the diversity of cultures which call this country home."
http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/07/07/garam-masala-roasted-new-potatoes/
Cream-Braised Cabbage (multiply the size of the brussel sprouts by 20)
Although the Orangette blog gives the brussel sprout recipe, her book A Homemade Life, makes it with cabbage. When I make it for dinner, it's the first thing my kids eat.
http://orangette.blogspot.com/2006/12/best-thing-since-brussels-sprouts.html

Hoosier Mama Pie Company

Hoosier Pie
I couldn't resist the Chicago bakery sign. Although my recipe is from A Homemade Life, I found a blog that used the same one, as illustrated by their photo. Thank you to Lick The Bowl Good for the photo and link.

Extras for Saturday Breakfast:

Tea-Poached Prunes with Orange and Cardamom
Don't dis 'em if you haven't tried 'em! We'll have pint jars of these to go...er...wait, let me rephrase that.
Date-Pecan or Candied Ginger-Lemon Scones
Slightly under-baked, these are available to take and finish baking moments before popping them into your mouth.

Please RSVP if you're coming and let me know what you'd like. See you there!
Tereza

Link to this Article Directly http://foodinthehood.org/fith_feb_25_2011.php

Friday, February 11th, 2011 — ANERA, a Palestinian relief organization

FitH Fri-babies are NOT crybabies,

...because we sent $200 to Grassroots International to restore the Creole pig. Willow Katz sent me some even more heartbreaking background on how they were destroyed in Haiti:

In today's issue of the Huffington Post, Laura Flynn, writer, activist and Board Member of the Aristide Foundation for Democracy, writes:

"In the 1980s, when the armed forces of Jean-Claude Duvalier's regime set about exterminating "Haiti's Creole pigs", they would come to Haiti's rural villages, seize all of the "pigs", pile them up, one on top of the other, in large pits and set fire to them, burning them alive.

A Haitian friend recounted this story to me this week. It was an image that she could not get out of her head since Jean-Claude Duvalier returned to Haiti. Because that's what it was like for her, to watch Duvalier be greeted like a dignitary at the Port-au-Prince airport, and then escorted to his hotel by UN military forces -- like being burned alive."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE: In Haiti, Reliving Duvalier, Waiting for Aristide

This Friday, if this glorious weather holds, we'll be back outside at 4:00 and staying there until dark or 6:00, whichever comes first.

Our hearts this week are with Egypt, as the Food Bin sign says. To show your support you can sign a petition from Avaaz to express your solidarity - already signed by over half a million people. With money, however, things are trickier since the government is already claiming that this revolution is instigated and funded by foreigners. The Egyptian revolution is also the most hopeful thing that's happened to Palestinians in decades. Their success could result in the opening of the Rafah crossing so that Palestinians could work, go to college, export goods, and buy food and materials to rebuild.

Our Valentine funds this week will go to Anera, a Middle-Eastern relief organization that operates in Gaza, because our hearts are always with the Palestinians.

To help you NOT buy slave-trade chocolate we'll be featuring fair-trade truffles and pink heart cookies for your sweetie or your sweet tooth. A new documentary called The Dark Side of Chocolate is available to borrow.

On to the food! for Friday, February 11th from 4pm until dark or 6pm, whichever comes first

Winter Salad with Roasted Beets and Citrus Reduction Dressing
Onion-y Onion Sourdough from Gardner
Rigatoni with Mushrooms I'd Never Heard Of
This is from a blog called Dinner: A Love Story. Their bumper stickers say "Make Dinner Not War." This is made with maitakes.
Dark Chocolate Truffles
These are from a blog called Food Loves Writing and a post called "Just What You Need".
Jimmy's Pink Cookies
If you missed out on these last year, they're the best! Just enough cherry in the cream cheese icing to "taste pink." From A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg.

Please RSVP,
Tereza

Link to this Article Directly http://foodinthehood.org/fith_feb_11_2011.php

Friday, January 28th, 2011 — Haiti Creole Pig Restoration

FitH MitHsters and MitHus,

Thank you to everyone who helped us raise $100 for reforestation in Guatemala through Rights Action. And a special thank you to Kim, who has stepped up to help us be more organized with our bookkeeping. Your money will be skedaddling off to the causes in no time!

This has been an exciting week. Thanks to the generous and beauteous Anna Cameron of Ladysmith Jams, I was invited to go half-hog. This is a lot like going whole hog, but with more help. On Wednesday I attended the pig slaughter in Aromas. This wasn't my first, but it was certainly my best-accessorized. Wayne Holman raises his pigs in their own orchard, and they are the best-kept swine in the Bay Area.

Here is Wayne "dressing" the pig, which seems more like undressing:

Wayne Holman dressing a pig

On Thursday Veronica and I went back to do the butchering, without photo ops, since the lovely and enthusiastic Betsy McNair of My Mexico Tours was missing. But on Friday's full day of sausage-making, Betsy photographed the spices in the Sweet and Spicy Italian:

Italian sweet and spicy herbs

Wayne and Anna making the Ginger-Sage Breakfast Patties:

Ginger Sage Patties

And Betsy herself with her hands in the Green Chorizo, a Diana Kennedy recipe with Diana herself answering Betsy's questions on the phone. The best photo of Betsy is with the bucket of blood for the sausages, but I'll let her save that for her blog.

Betsy making green chorizo

This menu is going to be a celebration of our Full Moon pig. Because these dishes need to be cooked and served hot, I'll have some available to-go at 5 but have the sit-down dinner at 6:30. I'll also have a few quarts of concentrated chicken broth available for anyone who would like to pick them up.

Our cause this week is restoring the Creole pig to Haiti through Grassroots International. We'll watch Haiti's Piggy Bank, narrated by one of my favorite authors, Edwidge Danticat.

On to the food!

Blood Orange Basil Mojito
Alas, from Martha Stewart: http://marthamoments.blogspot.com/2009/12/blood-orange-cocktails.html
Full-Moon Chorizo with Yukon Gold Potatoes and Onions
This is a Rachel Ray recipe, renamed by Chez Loulou as "Recipe with the Lamest Directions Ever." I'm taking her advice and not attempting to flip my potatoes.
Avocado, Papaya, and Red Onion Salad on Mesclun Greens and Arugula
http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/05/08/mango-avocado-arugula-salad
Honey Cracked-Wheat Bread
http://www.foodinthehood.org/doc/irise_jan_2011.pdf
Full-Moon Porkchop with Chipotle Mustard Swiss Cheese Sauce and Carrot-Leek Saute
http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2009/08/31/grilled-pork-chops-with-chipotle-mustard-and-swiss-cheese-sauce/
Fudgy Brownies with Straus Organic Vanilla Ice Cream and Homemade Caramel Sauce
http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2009/04/26/fudgy-brownies/#more-3116

Please RSVP if having dinner here or picking dinner up!
Tereza

Link to this Article Directly http://foodinthehood.org/fith_jan_28_2011.php

Friday, January 14th, 2011 — Guatemala Reforestation

Dear FitHarians,

Welcome to a new Food in the Hood year! In 2010 we collectively gave $9000 to global charities, as seen in the six-month report below. This brings our total, in the 18 months since we started this gig, to $11,500. That's a lotta moola!

Summer 2010
	2-Jul	NRCAT	$100
	9-Jul	Jubilee	$200
	16-Jul	New Forests Project	$250
	23-Jul	Alive & Kicking	$200
	6-Aug	Nicaraguan Friendship Office	$450
	13-Aug	IVAW/ Bradley Manning	$150
	27-Aug	Avaaz/ Pakistan	$180
	27-Aug	IRC/ Pakistan	$520
	10-Sep	Ken Kimes Foundation	$350
	17-Sep	Door Step School	$150
			$2,550

Fall 2010
	Oct 1 & 10	Grassroots International	$200
	29-Oct	Witness for Peace	$150
	12-Nov	Partners in Health/Haiti	$250
	19-Nov	Sandblast/Western Sahara	$200
	3-Dec	Rights Action/Honduras	$100
GitH	Dec 10 & 17	City of Joy	$250
GitH		Friendship Office of the Am	$300
			$1,450
		Summer/Fall Total	$4,000
		2010 Total	$9,000
		FitH Total 18 months	$11,500

As some of you have noticed, though, we're behind on our bookkeeping, meaning that I'm good at throwing parties and writing checks, but bad at writing the letters to go with them. I apologize that some of your checks haven't yet been sent, and are falling into a new tax year. If anyone would like to volunteer to do this function for me, it would be a tremendous help and would get the money to these causes in better time.

All that it would require is developing a form letter that tells the recipient what we're doing and directs them to the link for their specific event. Then I make copies of the checks (without the signatures or routing numbers showing) and put them in a binder, and send them off. This doesn't sound like much, does it? So why am I so behind in doing it? Well, we all have our Achilles heel and I'm dangling by mine.

In 2010 we also introduced Goods in the Hood, which we look forward to doing more of in the coming year. It only took me three years to get the inventory and paperwork done to start that! At this rate we'll be inching towards world peace in no time.

This week we'll be raising money for Guatemala through Rights Action, since our New Year's event was more of a get-together than fundraiser. Here are the details from last year. Since John Sears is going there at the end of February, maybe we can get him to check up on it for us:

REFORESTATION OF HISTORICALLY DEGRADED INDIGENOUS LAND IN GUATEMALA

guatemalareforestation (36K)

Since this particular project was initiated, approximately 157,150 trees covering 164 hectares have been planted; another 72,000 trees covering 61 hectares are expected to be planted in 2011.

August 2009 Plantations from 2009 nurseries - 55,000 trees / 56 hectares [already reported]
May 2010 Plantations from nurseries established in 2009 - 31,650 trees / 48 hectares
August 2010 Plantations from nurseries established in 2010 - 70,500 trees / 60 hectares
Projected May 2011 Plantations from nurseries established in 2010 - 18,000 trees / 15 hectares
Projected September 2011 Plantations from 2010 nurseries - 54,000 trees / 46 hectares

In 2009-10, this project benefitted 6 communities in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan (sharing two nurseries), 2 communities in Rabinal (one nursery per community), and two communities in Aguacatan (one nursery per community).

The website article has an excellent historical background of how colonialism affected deforestation and forced migration to the "agricultural frontier." It's useful for understanding a much wider scope than just Guatemala.

On to the food! This is a vegetarian menu, since I've been slighting my vegetarian FitHy friends lately. Everything will be ready to go at 5:00, so you can come and get food to go or eat here.

Mesclun Salad with Butter-Toasted Walnuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette with Pan-Fried Goat Cheese
This is from Lauren Groveman's Kitchen in the Larchmont Gazette.
Mushroom Ragu and Spinach-Bechamel Baked Pasta
The recipe and photo is of gnocchi, but you get the idea. It's from a site called The Kitchen Illiterate, which looks interesting, but all my recipes this week are from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.
Broccoli with Garlic and Hot Pepper
Here's a recipe for lemon broccoli rabe from the food network – no relation to ours.
Tarte Tatin
Thanks to John and Betty for these green apples that we sliced and froze just for this occasion. For truth in advertising, we chose the least perfect-looking of the available photos. This will help our New Year's Resolution to get rid of all of our Teflon saute pans and replace them with cast iron or steel.

Please RSVP and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Tereza

Link to this Article Directly http://foodinthehood.org/fith_jan_14_2011.php

Friday, December 31st, 2010 — Guatemala Reforestation

First night for Fithies!

Thanks to everyone who made this such a wonderful year. Next week we'll be tallying up what we raised these past six months. For the last two events, including Goods in the Hood, the total for Eve Ensler's City of Joy in the Congo is $250. Way to go!

On Wednesday, January 5th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, I'll be a guest on a KZSC show called Talkabout. Kevin Spitzer will be interviewing me about my radio show, Food in the Hood, the UniverseCity, and "what makes me tick." Tune in at 88.1 or call in at 459.4036.

This past week we were invited for a game night for Genine's birthday. Their neighbors Susan and Alan taught us Bananagrams, which was lots of fun. I was also happily referred to Susan's one-a-day photo blogspot, which you should see too.

Inspired by this and a big batch of crabs from our favorite fisherwoman, Tina, we're hosting a game night on New Year's Eve. Come on over any time between 8 and midnight for a cocktail, some sushi, cajun crab bisque, chocolate torte, and a round of Pictionary or Out of Context. Bring your favorite game and teach us how to play it. We're fans of Uno and have plenty of poker chips for the fast crowd - which includes Cassandra. At midnight, while Veronica and her gang are jumping in the ocean, we'll toast to another year of being warm and dry!

We're going to finish off the year with the group we've featured most at FitH: Rights Action. When I look at who can make the best use of our money, they always seem to have something new up their sleeve. Their last email talked about this project in Guatemala:

REFORESTATION OF HISTORICALLY DEGRADED INDIGENOUS LAND IN GUATEMALA

guatemalareforestation (36K)

Since this particular project was initiated, approximately 157,150 trees covering 164 hectares have been planted; another 72,000 trees covering 61 hectares are expected to be planted in 2011.

August 2009 Plantations from 2009 nurseries - 55,000 trees / 56 hectares [already reported]
May 2010 Plantations from nurseries established in 2009 - 31,650 trees / 48 hectares
August 2010 Plantations from nurseries established in 2010 - 70,500 trees / 60 hectares
Projected May 2011 Plantations from nurseries established in 2010 - 18,000 trees / 15 hectares
Projected September 2011 Plantations from 2010 nurseries - 54,000 trees / 46 hectares

Here's the details of the menu, for Friday, December 31st from 8pm – midnight

Limoncello, Manhattans, Sake, Sparkling Apple Juice, Soda Water, and/or Italian 77's
My recommendation is that you start with the Manhattan or Limoncello with the spiced nuts with candied bacon, and then move onto the sake with the sushi - using my fair-trade sake sets. With the crab bisque you may want a beer, and then coffee with the chocolate torte, and then toast the New Year in with the champagne-elderflower mix called an Italian 77. We're all within wobbling distance of home, right? This photo is from a blog called "Eating, Drinking, and Swearing with Meghan."
Spiced Nuts with Candied Bacon from "Look I Made That!"
http://lookimadethat.com/2010/11/08/spicednuts/
Assorted Sushi with Maguro Tuna, Scallops, Avocado, Cucumber, Cream Cheese, and REAL Crab
Cajun Crab Bisque
Youx toux can doux a roux! This recipe is from October Farm, who boasts the largest collection of witches in existence. The recipe is New-Orleans-meets-Baltimore.
http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/2010/11/cajun-crab-bisque-recipe.html
Gardner's Country White Sourdough
This is a once-a-year treat — the whitest bread he makes! Git it while the gittin's good. As an experiment for the New Year, we'll also be posting Gardner's newsletter here. Besides the schedule for the month, he also writes a very Gardneresque intro and lists the baked goodies that are also available. Check it out!
Gâteau au chocolat fondant de Nathalie with loosely whipped cream
or, Kate's Winning-Hearts-and-Minds Cake — Adapted from Je veux du chocolat!, by Trish Deseine
In the original post, Orangette's author, Molly Wizenberg, and her friend Kate eat two pieces of this cake each and then have to lie down on the floor. It was that good. In her book it's the cake she chooses as her wedding cake. It's that good.

Please RSVP if you can come!
Tereza

Link to this Article Directly http://foodinthehood.org/fith_dec_31_2010.php

Are you Local to
Food in the Hood?
We welcome donations of:

FitH partners WitH:

Wide World Partners

UniverseCity

The Parent Network

RetroMetro

Transition Santa Cruz

Slow Money Santa Cruz

Third Paradigm

GrowFoodPartyCrew

FitHing for compliments is easy in this neighborhood...

The Food (and decorations which we'll be serving INSIDE from 6 to 8, also available to go, for Friday, March 11th

To my card-carrying Foodies in the Hoodies,

Let's get to the food! for Friday, February 25th from 5-7pm or whenever we run out