Patchwork planning has begun...any suggestions?

the break is over since our last season of Patchwork. nicole and i just had a meeting at the bank for the latest Spring shows (multi-tasking at its finest). Long Beach and Santa Ana are scheduled for Spring 2010 for sure.

(work it girl!)

Looks like our little event is really attracting people-we had record turn-outs for both events and i can already feel the excitement for 2010. the handmade, locally made movement is catching momentum here in Orange County-AWESOME!!!
So far we have the following scheduled:
Patchwork-SANTA ANA: MAY 16th
Patchwork-LONG BEACH: MAY 30th
**these dates might be changed-but are looking good so far!

we would love to hear any suggestions or things you would like to see at any of the shows this season...see you soon!

NOTE: just in case you decided to go on the Patchwork website, you might notice...well... nothing. we are currently building a new-and-improved site which should be up in a few weeks...i will post about it for sure!...see photos in this post for clues!

(my ideas...yes messy!)

(nicole's ideas-something we can understand!)

a play on CSA-Community Supported Fishery?

(David La Spina, NY Times)

i just read this amazing article in the NY Times Magazine article about Abundant Seafood, a Southern US fishing company that is creating a business based on localizing seafood and providing sustainable, abundant alternatives to conventional seafood products.
In addition to pollutants there is a silent, yet, serious threat to food from the oceans. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California- a leader in promoting healthy and sustainable eating from the oceans (please check out their info on what to eat and what NOT to eat seafood list) the fishing industry has taken a toll on what was once abundant:

"Humans have been fishing the oceans for thousands of years. But over the past five decades technology has allowed us to fish farther, deeper and more efficiently than ever before. Scientists estimate that we have removed as much as 90 percent of the large predatory fish such as shark, swordfish and cod from the world's oceans. In 2003, the Pew Oceans Commission warned that the world's oceans are in a state of "silent collapse," threatening our food supply, marine economies, recreation and the natural legacy we leave our children." (Monterey bay Aquarium)

scary right? Abundant Seafood seems to have found a market however on providing food while respecting where it came from. In addition to selling ocean-to-table seafood (with minimal miles), Abundant Seafood also created a brilliant program, taken from the good-ol' CSA:

"Closing the loop tighter, last month Abundant Seafood started a community-sponsored fishery. Home cooks pay a share to receive 2 to 10 pounds of fish a month, and the company receives full retail price. Marhefka [owner of Abundant Seafood] said he would use the direct relationship to teach the 60-plus members about the future of fish and its true value. 'It’s their resource, not mine,' he said. " (NY Times Magazine)

Can we PLEASE have something like that here, i do love fish and only eat it every once in a while (and when i would fish with Grandpa Stu in Oregon after 8 hours on a little boat). this is a great program to connect people who connect you to the food you are eating and respect that we live in a world with limited resources....any takers??

little veggie garden

a while ago i posted about the Harvest to Home mini-veggie gardens we were selling. What i forgot to mention was that we actually purchased 2 for our own home. i figured that we could try and grow the rest of the items (or at least a majority) of produce that we were not getting from our CSA. what is so great about these little gardens is that you can pick a number of items to grow. for the winter, we decided on celery, broccoli, cauliflower, onions and a few kinds of lettuce (i find myself eating more salads now that i know what good lettuce tastes like).

(before)

(after installation)

the recent rain (and diligent watering) have really made a difference in just one month-check it out!

(one month later)

little baby heads of cauliflower and broccoli are coming through-i think they will be ready in about a month. the lettuce is also just about ready to eat-which i think i will try this week. i will have another update about the veggie garden in about a month.

(other side of the stairs-onions, garlic, passion fruit vine and succulents)

celebrating Ryan and the debut of the bus

("Regulators! Mount up!")

(peace, love and the power of the Kombi)

(Andy explaining the philosophy behind of Color Me Mine)

today was the annual celebration of my dear friend Ryan. every year, a group of Ryan's friends gather at the home of his parents where we catch up and celebrate a wonderful person over food, crafts and friends. this very special time is always filled with reconnecting and sharing with people i went to school with-i am thankful that we have remained friends over the years.

(keep working everyone!)

(the best tile of the day-an ode to the labels and logos of our youth)

(all the other tiles-sorry not as good as Maui & Sons!)

(mamacita Dana needed a back rub)

this year was the debut of our new car, a 1973 VW bus, which after a few months in the shop was now ready to roll-perfect timing~! after we decorated tiles and grubbed on ribs and eggrolls (me-yummy strawberries/hummus/cookies/beer), we piled in some of the crew for a little joy ride around big bad Turtle Rock-good times!

(hot-box then Del Taco!)

affordable art: Matte Stephens

how great are these prints from Portland artist Matte Stephens?? although there are a number of pretty heavy-hitters as clients, we the normal, small wallet-types can still afford these wonderful pieces as prints for under $85 (and as low as $35!) a pop. i think these can look great on their own on a white wall or among a number of pieces on a olive wall.
if you are interested in these prints, check out his etsy store!

CSA cooking: sick soup

basket inventory: Valencia oranges, limes, mandarins, mac nuts, 2 kinds of lettuce, carrots, parsley, dill, chives, baby tomatoes, chard, radish sprouts, radishes
as already stated a few times, i was REALLY sick for the holidays. I made this quick and low-energy output soup during this time. Sometimes i would add radishes or tomatoes for a spin. Might I add that is a good soup for cleaning out the old pipes too as a warning.

SICK SOUP

• 1 onion, sliced
  
• 2-4 carrots, chopped
  
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• greens (chard, beet, mustard, kale or cabbage) chopped
• 1/2 c lime juice
• 2-3 tbs miso
• 1-2" piece of fresh ginger cut into a few pieces
  
• 2 tbs Braggs Liquid Amino Acids (or more)
• few squirts of Sriracha
• 6-8 c veg broth with (optional) lg can crushed toms (optional-only for large quantities of soup)
  
• udon noodles (optional)
• parsley, s&p, other fave seasonings (all opt)
  

saute the garlic and onions in olive oil for 2/3 min, add carrots, saute for another 2/3 min.
add the broth, bring to boil. add miso, sriracha, toms (if you want), ginger-bring to a boil.
during this time cook the noodles until just about ready, cool and set aside.
cook noodles (if you have them) in another pot until almost done, set aside
add everything else (not noodles) and season to taste... add noodles last few minutes or even add when it is piping hot in a large soup bowl. this will last the rest of the week in the fridge (cool before you put it in) and is great if you are too weak to make something from scratch.

I also recently added burdock root to this which makes it extra crunchier!.

Kimichi and Kraut to open the new year

(right before arrivals)

This past Sat, i had my first class of the year: Kimichi and Kraut: Makin' Old-School Foods. i was a little nervous about my first class after a crazy 2 weeks of being ill and another week of playing catch-up with life in general, but we had a great turn-out of people wanting to learn how to make fermented goodies. PLUS this was my first fermentation class...go away nerves!!!
2 students were familiar faces from my Laguna Beach class...(PS a GREAT gift is spending time together). i also happened by strange chance to meet Blair and Ando who live in Idaho (their last day in OC was taking my class!). Blair is studying sustainable food with an emphasis on preservation and knew more than i did....great for the nerves right!
This was an incredible group of people-all around a table filled with cabbage, radish, salt and ginger (the smell lasted the whole day!) and more than that...i have to say i was inspired by everyone there...washing and drying dishes was actually a ton of fun!...if only every day could be like this.

the next Kimichi and Kraut: Makin' Old-School Foods will me close to st. patties at the store, but there should be a few more classes popping up elsewhere...more to come!
here are some photos of the workshop:

(purple cabbage kraut-a little tough to work with!)

(Blair showing her Kimichi that she will finish later that day)

(the rest of the group making kimichi-yum!)

(preparing napa cabbage for kimchi)