December Local Food Potluck

Local Food Potluck
Wednesday, December 8th at 7 pm

The Indiana Humanities Council
1500 North Delaware Street, in Indianapolis

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Come celebrate Indy's healthy farms, families, and locally-grown foods at our seventh monthly Local Food Challenge Potluck The Indianapolis Food, Farm, and Family Coalition invites you to come share a meal at the Indiana Humanities Council. We recognize the Indiana Humanities Council for superbly raising awareness of Indiana's Food Culture. Food for Thought, a project of the Indiana Humanities Council is an examination and celebration of the ways food helps to define Indiana's culture, considering food in the context of history, law, politics, science, the arts, religion, ethnicity and our place in the world. Through this program, Hoosiers will share and sample the cultures reflected at the state's table and address the local and global issues of hunger, nutrition, food production, obesity, food security and safety.

Dinner starts at 7 pm

Admission is Free: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Simply bring a potluck/pitch-in dish to share made with locally grown/produced food. Dining ware will be limited. Please bring your own plate and utensils for yourself and your family, if possible. Think Reduce, Reuse, Recycle =) RSVP on Facebook: December Local Food Potluck

Remember to bring along the recipe: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bring a copy of your recipe for the dish you brought. The Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition will post these recipes on the blog [http://indyfoodsecurity.blogspot.com] Like last month, the Earth House Collective may pick one recipe from the Local Food Potluck to serve at the Earth House Cafe for the Month to come!! Please bring your recipe cards to participate.

More about Indiana Humanities Council:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Council encourages Hoosiers to think, read ­and talk. How? By creating its own programs, such as Community Conversations, Evenings at the House and Novel Conversations; by providing grants for humanities programs throughout the state; and by providing a space-physically and digitally-for people to connect and converse.

Mission Statement: The Indiana Humanities Council connects people, opens minds and enriches lives by creating and facilitating programs that encourage people to think, read and talk.

Read more, visit the website:
www.indianahumanities.org

SustainINDY Press Release

PRESS RELEASES
MAYOR BALLARD ISSUES URBAN GARDEN CHALLENGE

November 19, 2010

GOAL IS TO CREATE 50 URBAN GARDENS IN CENTER TOWNSHIP BY END OF 2011

INDIANAPOLIS – Announcing a goal of 50 urban gardens in Center Township by the end of 2011, Mayor Greg Ballard today at the Felege Hiywot Center garden in Martindale Brightwood issued his Urban Garden Challenge, joined by neighborhood residents, local health experts and urban gardeners.

“Urban gardens strengthen the fabric of our communities. They turn vacant land into a positive and active space, they grow healthy food for people to eat, they teach individuals of all ages new skills, and they help promote community involvement by actively engaging neighbors to work together toward a common purpose,” said Mayor Ballard. “Urban gardens encapsulate the Thanksgiving message of family, community, harvest and renewal. Creating more urban gardens and engaging more individuals and organizations in growing healthy food at the community and neighborhood level is a worthy pursuit for our city.”

Founded in the spring of 2004, the Felege Hiywot Center created its first 20-square-foot garden in the summer of 2006. Now, its urban garden encompasses a half acre.

“A need for healthy food sources and education about health and nutrition in Martindale Brightwood inspires us to make a change,” said Aster Bekele, executive director of the Center. “At the Center’s summer gardening camp and at the in-school and after-school gardening education classes, each youth participant develops gardening skills, an awareness of nature, a commitment to environmental preservation, an ability to make nutritious food choices and expertise in recycling and composting.”

Marion County Health Department Director Dr. Virginia Caine, a longtime advocate for Center Township residents, detailed the health and disease prevention benefits of a nutritious diet including fresh produce.

“The Marion County Health Department is very proud to support this initiative to help improve the health and wellness of the people of Indianapolis,” said Dr. Caine. “We recognize that poor nutrition is one of the greater challenges facing our urban populations, one that contributes to an array of diseases and conditions. Changing that equation starts at the source: reversing the shortage of healthy food options. Much of our focus is on preventive measures, from vaccines to environmental issues and much more. We believe expanding urban gardens in the urban core will help contribute to our ongoing efforts to improve the health of the community.”

The Butler Center for Urban Ecology innovatively explores, stewards and enhances urban ecosystems. Its director, Tim Carter, Ph.D., specializes in landscape ecology with a focus on urban systems.

“Urban gardens and urban farms create opportunities to access local food in neighborhoods that did not previously offer such benefits,” said Dr. Carter. “Urban gardens can restore ecological health to the area. Improving biodiversity, giving access to local food and building a sense of community are all components of successful urban gardens and urban farms.”

Mayor Ballard today also announced the Urban Gardening Mentor Program, an effort that will teach and encourage urban gardening and growing food. This program, a partnership between the Office of Sustainability and Purdue Extension of Marion County, aims to assist individuals and organizations who are new to urban gardening.

“This partnership and the mentoring program are a key part of achieving the goal of having 50 urban gardens in Center Township by the end of next year,” said Mayor Ballard.

Mayor Ballard is committed to making Indianapolis the most sustainable city in the Midwest. Urban gardens play an important role in helping Indianapolis achieve that vision. In 2008, Mayor Ballard created the Office of Sustainability, and in June 2010 at the Indy Urban Farming Forum, Mayor Ballard announced the City’s first urban garden program. The collaborative partnership between the Department of Metropolitan Development, the Indy land Bank and the Office of Sustainability allows community groups and individuals to use Land Bank properties for the purpose of growing healthy produce and creating urban gardens.

For more information about Mayor Ballard’s Urban Garden Challenge, visit www.sustainindy.org or email urbangardens@indy.gov.

Sarah Holsapple
Public Information Officer
Indianapolis Department of Public Works
Email: sarah.holsapple@indy.gov
Office: 327-4669
Cell: 223-1375

http://sustainindy.org/press-events.cfm?news_id=354

November Local Food Potluck

Local Food Potluck
continuing the "Feast"ival

Monday, November 29th at 7 pm
Irvington United Methodist Church
30 N. Audubon Road

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Come celebrate Indy's healthy farms, families, and locally-grown foods at our sixth monthly

Local Food Challenge Potluck
The Indianapolis Food, Farm, and Family Coalition, Slow Food Indy and the Weston A. Price Foundation invite you to come share a meal with the presenters and participants of the Irvington SkillShare, a spectacular event of the Spirit & Place Festival organized by the Irvington Green Initiative.

We would like to honor the organizers for all of their hard work planning and preparing. We all could feel how much time and effort was put into the event and it made the day all the more worthwhile.

To continue in the spirit of the SkillShare, please bring any seeds you would like to SEED SHARE/SEED SWAP at this month's potluck. The more seeds the merrier =)

o Dinner starts at 7 pm
o Seed Share/Seed Swap 7:45 pm

Admission is Free:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Simply bring a potluck/pitch-in dish to share made with locally grown/produced food.

Dining ware will be limited. Please bring your own plate and utensils for yourself and your family, if possible. Think Reduce, Reuse, Recycle =)
RSVP on Facebook:
November Local Food Potluck

Remember to bring along the recipe:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bring a copy of your recipe for the dish you brought. The Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition will post these recipes on the blog [http://indyfoodsecurity.blogspot.com]

Like last month, the Earth House Collective may pick one recipe from the Local Food Potluck to serve at the Earth House Cafe for the Month to come!! Please bring your recipe cards to participate.
More about Irvington SkillShare "Feast"ival:
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The Irvington SkillShare on November 7th, 2010 was a triumph among Local Food events with over 800 people in attendance.

The Irvington SkillShare "Feast"ival, part of the Spirit & Place Festival, featured topics like garden planning (including tenant and small-space gardening), soil building, edible landscaping, composting, seed saving, solar cooking, and canning. (Whew.) The event covered rain barrels, lactofermentation, beekeeping, bread, grass-fed beef, and more.

Find the "Feast"ival on Facebook or visit their blog at
http://irvington-skillshare.blogspot.com

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Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition
Working to make Indianapolis a more food secure city through education, awareness, public programs, and connecting farmers to consumers. www.IndyFoodFarmFamily.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April Hammerand
Program Manager
email: april@indyfoodfarmfamily.org
phone: 317-417-8449

Networking at Mo'Joe CoffeeHouse Nov. 18th

The Food Farm and Family Coalition invites you all to attend a networking opportunity at Mo Joe's on Thursday, Nov 18th, at 8:00 pm.

This will be a casual opportunity to find connections, discussion our common purposes, and build relationships that will strengthen our growing community!

While the meeting is on short notice, it will be the first of several that will be held in the coming months. If your unable to attend this meeting email me at acope967@marian.edu and we'll work out a better arrangement next time. We look forward to seeing you!

Andrew Cope

Upcoming Events Nov-Dec 2010

You may already know about these upcoming events, but if not, I thought that they may be of interest to you all:

1) Louisville, November 3-9 http://www.festivaloffaiths.org/ There are many sessions in this events that I would love to attend, but I'm going to try to make to about the only one I can. If any one wants to join me, let me know. You can find a full calendar of a week packed full of great speakers, conversations and workshops on the web site.

Nov 6 10:00am - Sacred Soil and Soul: Farming with a Purpose - Panel Discussion
A panel of experts speak on interfaith and community organizations working together to create food justice. They will discuss and garner support to come together, uniting in a chorus of commitment to sustainable agriculture and to responsible stewardship over the planet, Earth. Panelists include Josh Viertel, President of Slow Food USA; Patrick Holden, Soil Association International; and author and translator Martin Palmer, who serves as Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture and Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation. Free. The Henry Clay, 604 S. 3rd St., Louisville, KY

2) Indianapolis, Dec. 6-11, 2010 Acres USA Conference & Trade Show, http://www.acresusa.com/events/10conf/about.htm The pre-conference sessions sound great, as does the speakers list.

(Sara Swan, if you are interested in attending this, let me know.)

Of course there are the many great Spirit & Place events starting this weekend in Indy. For those on this list who do not live in Indy, check http://www.spiritandplace.org/ for opportunities to see Michael Pollan, Will Allen, Chef Dan Barber, Frances Moore Lappe, the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra and many great locally based events!

Hope you're all well,
Laura

--
Laura Henderson

Executive Director, Indy Winter Farmers Market
www.indywinterfarmersmarket.org

Co-Director, Growing Places Indy
Visit our initial Slow Food Garden @ White River State Park this Spring!
www.growingplacesindy.org

Local Food Potluck Recipe #12

Papa Morton's Canadian Apple Crisp

courtesy of: April Hammerand, april@indyfoodfarmfamily.org

10 T butter, melted
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cups sifted flour
14 T brown sugar

5 baking apples (Yorks from Wild's Apple Farm are my favorite), chop into 1/2 inch pieces
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 T flour

Mix first 4 ingredients together, firmly pack 2/3 of mixture on bottom and sides of 12 inch pie plate. Cover with apples and sprinkle with sugar/flour mixture. Cover with remaining at mixture.

Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Local Food Potluck Recipe #11

Red Pepper, Cherry Tomato, & Cilantro Frittata

courtesy of: Julianna Thibodeaux

8 eggs
2 T Olive Oil
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 small red peppers, chopped
cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Mix eggs with chopped cilantro, salt and pepper. set aside.

Saute peppers in olive oil until starting to soften. Pour egg mixture over peppers and lift edges of frittata until eggs set on bottom or are lightly golden brown. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top; arrange tomatoes on top. Broil for 3-5 minutes until bubbly and just starting to brown.

Local Food Potluck Recipe #10

Baked Squash & Apples with Walnuts

courtesy of: Kaitlin Haskins

2 lbs. Butternut Squash
2-3 baking apples (red skins look nice!)

1/3 cup brown sugar
3 T. butter or vegan margarine
1 T. flour
1/3 cup Walnuts (or Pecans)


Cut squash and apples in 1/2 inch strips and arrange in large, flat baking dish.

Mix Walnuts in a small bowl with brown sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Sprinkle on top of squash and apples.

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, until soft. Enjoy!

Local Food Potluck Recipe #9

Mini Pork Pies
(Great Welsh Dish)

courtesy of: Big Ed

1 onion, chopped (Vogel Organic Farm Market)
2 Tbsp. Raw butter (Swiss Connection Grassfed Dairy)
1 lb. lean ground pork (Simpson Family Farm)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup water
pastry for pies (using Daina's Petite Pie secret recipe)

Sauté onion in butter until golden. Add meat and cook over medium heat,
stirring, until cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper
and spices. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water then stir in remaining 3/4
cup water. Pour water into meat and mix well. muffin tins with
pastry and pour in meat mixture. Add top crust. Pierce in several places
to allow steam to escape. Bake at 425 degrees for 10minutes. Reduce
heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 minutes or until crust is golden.

Local Food Potluck Recipe #8

Local Grass Fed Beef Stew

recipe from: Mark Cox and Chef Joshua Henson, FERMENTI ARTISAN

1 gallon water
1 pound beef soup bones (Rhodes Family Farm)
1 pound diced stew meat (Rhodes Family Farm)
1 large onion, diced (Fermenti Artisan Farm)
1 large sweet potato, cubed (Fermenti Artisan Farm)
2 large carrots, diced (Fermenti Artisan Farm)
5 cloves garlic, minced (Fermenti Artisan Farm)
1 chili pepper, diced (Fermenti Artisan Farm)
1 pound tomato, diced (Fermenti Artisan Farm)
2 Tablespoons lard (Rhodes Family Farm)
1 Tablespoon each fresh Rosemary and Thyme (Fermenti Artisan Farm).
Sea Salt and Kampot Pepper Corns to taste (Atlantic ocean, Cambodia)

In a stock pot
Take bones, water, salt and pepper and make a simple broth for 12 hours on low heat, strain and put to the side. Water will reduce by approximately 1/2.
Pick off any additional meat and fat from the bones and save for the stew.
Take onion, garlic and lard, add to stock pot, season with salt / pepper and sautee gently on low until translucent. Add broth.
Take the stew meat and add to broth. Continue to cook on low until tender.
Add sweet potato, carrots, chili pepper and tomato. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until vegetables are tender.
Add fresh rosemary and thyme, stir in, remove from heat for 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend together.
Add additional salt and pepper to taste

Bonus: To make this a complete heart / healthy meal add one large scoop of fresh RAW butter to bowl of stew and serve with fresh homemade sprouted grain sourdough bread.

Local Food Potluck Recipe #7

Bruschetta on sliced French Bread

Recipe from: Rachel Bennett

3 pts. diced tomatoes
3/4 -1 pt. diced tomato
fresh garlic, minced
fresh basil, minced
balsamic vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
fresh banana pepper (opt'l)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together and spread on toasted slices of french bread.

Local Food Potluck Thursday, June 29th

Local Food Potluck
[Picnic]
at the 38th & Meridian Farmers Market
Thursday, July 29th at 5:30 pm
38th & Meridian, North United Methodist Church parking lot

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Come celebrate Indy's healthy farms, families, and locally-grown foods at our second monthly
Local Food Challenge Potluck.

The Indianapolis Food, Farm, and Family Coalition invites you to come support the 38th & Meridian Farmers Market and share a meal with fellow market-goers. The North United Methodist Church has generously offered to host the potluck outside on the church grounds. If the weather proves uncooperative we also have access to the community room inside the church. Picnic tables and chairs are limited, so we will sit the grass.

Make sure to bring along those picnic blankets (and perhaps extra to share)!

• Wander the Farmers Market 4-6:30 pm
• Dinner 5:30
• Word from the Market Master Joel O'Neil 5:45 pm

Admission is Free:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Simply bring a potluck/pitch-in dish to share made with locally grown/produced food.

The church is unable to provide dining ware . Please bring your own plate and utensils for yourself and your family, if possible. Think Reduce, Reuse, Recycle =)

RSVP, on Facebook:
Local Food Potluck [Picnic] at the 38th & Meridian Farmers Market

Remember to bring along the recipe:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bring a copy of your recipe for the dish you brought. The Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition will post these recipes on the blog [http://indyfoodsecurity.blogspot.com]

Like last month, the Earth House Collective will pick one recipe from the Local Food Potluck to serve at the Earth House Cafe for the Month of August!! Please bring your recipe cards to participate.

More about the 38th & Meridian Farmers' Market:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
United Methodists have long had a reputation for acting on behalf of social justice issues and for taking any opportunity to show hospitality by eating together. So North Church acts according to type when we blend the gathering of produce from local farms with concern for neighborhood food shortages at our Farmers' Market.

38th & Meridian Street Farmer's Market will be open for the season starting Thursday, June 3rd from 4:00 - 6:30 and every Thursday until the last market on October 28th. Our vendors bring in loads of locally grown fruit and vegetables, fresh baked bread, cakes, ethnic ingredients, pickles, jams, flowers, eggs and fresh meat. But community is more than locally grown food; we believe that a healthy community needs fun places for families and neighbors to gather together.

Keeping in this tradition North Church will play host to a family night the 3rd Thursday of August, September, and October. Clarian Health is sponsoring the event and providing produce to WIC and Senior voucher participants. Clarian dietitian experts will be on hand performing food demonstrations for the community. The event will culminate with a dinner for anyone that wants to be served, free of charge, in the church fellowship hall at 6:30. The dinner will focus on items given out in free produce bags to encourage the participants to prepare their food in creative ways for their family. Recipes will also be included.

For more information, email the Market Master Joel O'Neil
indydodad@yahoo.com

Food Security Issues hit home with youth working at the K I EcoCenter

Last Tuesday, I was invited to come to the K I EcoCenter on Capitol Ave and 28th Street to meet some youth working on a community garden project. While I was facilitating a conversation about local food, environmental vitality and human health I realized that there was a definite pattern in the conversation. These youth had a clear picture of the benefit of food security in our homes, neighborhoods, state and country.

Here are a couple quotes from the boys that stuck with me.

"Local Food is a better alternative to corporate farm crops that use chemicals. It is important to have a garden because it's another way to feed yourself."

"Why local food? Because we need to help our country and state."

"Local Food makes you healthy, it makes your strong, and it makes you smart. It is important to have a garden, so that you don't have to go out and buy food, but you already have the food in your yard."

"It's not only do you have a garden for food, you have a garden for plants and flowers."

"Have a garden, in case you can't go to the store."

"It's cheaper and makes you more independent. It you grow, you can feed more people other than yourself."

"The purpose of our garden is to teach us how important it is to know how to grow food."

Local Food Potluck Recipe #6: Kale Salad

(Super Simple) Kale Salad
Recipe from: Mystery Guest (comment if you know who brought this tasty dish=)

Kale (fresh from the Farmers Market), steamed
Toasted pine nuts
dried cranberries

dressing: add ingredients to taste
olive oil
honey
vinegar

tada! Told ya it was simple =)

Local Food Potluck Recipe #5: Foundberry Cobbler

Foundberry Cobbler
Recipe from: Mystery Guest (please comment if you know who brought this dish=)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups mulberries/black raspberries (or what you find in season)

Directions:
Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, milk and salt in bowl. Mix and pour into greased 9 x 16 x 2 inch baking dish.

Heat blackberries and 1/2 cup of sugar in saucepan until it boils. Pour over batter.

Bake at 400 degrees F about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Local Food Potluck Recipe #4: Italian Style Stawberry Tary

Italian Style Strawberry Tart

Recipe from: Kaitlyn Shaw (intern with Earth Charter Indiana, Summer 2010)

modified from www.epicurious.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 eggs
1 pint strawberries, hulled and cut in half, leave additional whole strawberries for garnish
fresh whipped cream (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a spring-form pan.

2) Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.

3) In a seperate bowl, beat the butter and the sugar. Add the eggs and milk. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir by hand until moistened. Do not overmix.

4) Spread the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Press strawberry halves deeply into the dough in a circular patters of 2 or 3 rings.

5) Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the tart comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped cream and strawberries, if desired.


Message from Kaitlyn: Look for local flour, butter, and eggs at the Farmers Markets or stores that carry locally-grown food. If you substitute local honey for the sugar, leave out the milk. Use garden fresh local strawberries or any other in season fruit.

Local Food Potluck Recipe #3: Roasted Beet Salad

Roasted Beet Salad with Beet Green

Recipe from: Erin Kelley

Ingredients:
1 bunch beets (approx. 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons olive oil (total)
1 '' piece of ginger, minced
2 green onions, sliced thin
zest 1/2 lemon
juice 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Cut beets from stems, scrub, wrap in foil and roast at 425 degrees for 45 min.

• Discard stems, wash and chop beet greens. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the pan. Add ginger and green onions and cook, tossing, for approximately 5 minutes. Add lemon zest and juice. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• When beets are done roasting, remove from oven, open foil packet and let cool until they can be handled. Rub between towel or using rubber gloves, slip skin off and slice beets.
• In large bowl whisk orange zest, juice, vinegar, 1 tablespoon oil, and sugar. Toss in beets and season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange beets in middle of platter with beet greens surrounding. Enjoy!
  

(picture not representative of recipe)

Local Food Potluck Recipe #2: Brown Butter Pasta & Tatsoi

Brown Butter Pasta & Tatsoi (from the Butler Campus Farm!)
Recipe from: Julie Elmore

Ingredients:
Pasta of your choice
1/2 stick of butter
2 bunches Tatsoi

Boil Pasta. Melt butter until it begins to brown. Toss in pasta. Add in Tatsoi to wilt (about 3-5 min). 2 servings.

Local Food Potluck Recipe #1: Cherry Crisp

Cherry Crisp
Recipe from: Candace Glass

Filling ingredients:
5 cups fresh pitted sour cherries
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup cherry juice

Topping ingredients:
3 sticks of butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
3 cups oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup almonds, chopped
1/4 cup crystalline ginger, chopped

Directions:
Mix filling ingredients and let stand while mixing topping. For topping, first cream the butter and sugar, and then add remaining ingredients.

Butter 11 x 17 inch pan. First, pour filling evenly in pan and then crumble topping over the filling.

Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 45-50 minutes. Serves 20.

The 1st Local Food Challenge Potluck and a visit with the Green Riders!

Last Friday, June 11th was the 1st monthly Local Food Challenge Potluck of the 2010 season and don't worry, if you missed this one there will be many more to come. Since I am new to the Indy community and because this was the first potluck I have hosted in this city, I had some insane fear that we would have less than a handful of attendees and everyone would starve...of course, that didn't happen=) The Potluck went superbly and not only did we have two tables full of delicious locally-produced food to share, but there were about 50 participants! (Picture on top right taken by NUVO)

And somehow we did stay on schedule =) A group of bicyclists riding with the IndyCog Courteous Mass Critical Manners arrived at the Earth House around 7 pm. And the Green Riders, Catherine and Oliver Bock, arrived a few minutes later with thier two custom-built recumbent electric bikes. The Green Riders are a brother/sister team on a adventure biking from California to Washington DC sharing stories of sustainable communities along the way. We were happy to have them as our guests in Indianapolis Friday night!

I am personally amazed that after nearly two months on the road, the Green Riders had only one flat tire incident, never rode through a thunderstorm (until they biked down the Monon Trail in Indy that Friday=) and still managed to arrive in Indy on the day they planned for the event. That takes planning and endurance!

In an article Robert Warren wrote in NUVO this past week, Robert said, "Oliver and Catherine Bock look like string beans in their lime green colored shirts." I would have to agree! These folk are healthy and another thing, they barely trained for this ride. I was amazed by thier healthy, energized body and mood that I had to ask them, foolishly perhaps, how old they were. Both Catherine and Oliver Bock are in their 60s and going strong! As Catherine and Oliver mentioned at the potluck, I believe that Catherine and Oliver are great role-models as elders. On a personal note, for the past couple years I have been working toward the goal of being healthy and active when I am in my 60s, 70s and beyond and here are two examples of that exact dream. Kudos to them!

After the Green Riders energizing presentation (I know I have been writing energy/energized alot in this article, but it is true!), I noticed a bunch of people sticking around to chat and catch up with each other...somehow the time flew and around 10 pm some satisfied, well-fed and happy-looking folks finally made their way back home.

Thanks to everyone who came and hope to see you next time! I want to give a shout out to some key people and organizations that helped make the event. Thanks to the Green Riders, Earth House Collective, and Ed and Theresa Stites (for the much needed help with clean-up during the presentations) I couldn't have made it through the event with out you!

The next Local Food Challenge Potluck will be in mid-July. I know better than to compete with Independence Day =) If you have any ideas about where we might host a potluck, please let me know. Email me at april@indyfoodfarmfamily.org


Eat Simply and Savour-April

1st Monthly Local Food Challenge Potluck

Local Food Potluck with special guests The Green Riders

Friday, June 11^th at 7 p.m.

Earth House on 237 N. East Street, Downtown Indy

Come celebrate Indy’s healthy farms, families, and locally-grown foods at our first monthly

Local Food Challenge Potluck

Admission is Free: Simply bring a potluck dish to share made with locally grown/produced foods plus a copy of your recipe for the IndyFoodFarmFamily.org blog. Dining ware may be limited, so please bring your own plate and utensils for yourself and your family, if possible.

- INDYCOG Courteous Mass arrives at Earth House 7pm

- Dinner 7:15

- Electric Bike Demo 8:15

The Indianapolis Food, Farm, and Family Coalition invites you to meet The Green Riders, a brother and sister team, Oliver and Catherine Bock will give us a taste of what it is like to journey across the country on electric bicycles. They will also demonstrate how electric bikes are a fun and easy alternative to cars.

More about the Green Riders:

Oliver and Catherine Bock are explorers traveling across America from Palo Alto, California to Washington, DC learning about sustainable solutions happening right now and sharing those stories with others. The ride is designed to focus attention on what's going on locally that is moving human behavior towards sustainability. When they arrive in Washington DC, they hope to have lunch with President Obama and ask him if he would like to take a spin on one of their electric bicycles! You can track the ride on their blog www.thegreenriders.blogspot.com and find more information about their mission on their website www.thegreenriders.org

About the Courteous Mass and IndyCOG:

IndyCOG is a bicycle advocacy group that is focused on uniting the voices of all people on bikes to push for better cycling infrastructure to make biking a safer and more viable mode of transportation in the city. As much as they are an advocacy group, they are also trying to help support and nourish the growing bicycle culture in Indianapolis.

Recent Courteous Mass/Critical Manners blog: http://www.theindycog.com/blog/?p=958

Co-hosted by the Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition and the Earth House Collective

Pledge Your Support of the Food Charter Here!

If you support the Indianapolis Food Charter, click comment and add your full name and city.
To read the Indianapolis Food Charter go here: http://indyfoodsecurity.org/ourprojects.html

New Website Launching!

Hello everyone!

Our new website will be launching within the next week. Check back for the web address!

Our blog will stay, but get an update. We want to hear from you!
Your stories on local food and sharing recipes!

And April Hammerand, our new Project Manager will be updating her stories as well.

Indiana Horticulture Congress and Tradeshow

January 19 - 21, 2010
Wyndham West Indianapolis

Special Events
Pesticide Applicator Training
CCH & PARP credits
Cider Contest
Hort Congress Social Hour
Trade Show - over 60 exhibits

Educational Sessions
Agritoursim
Farm Marketing
Fresh Vegetables
Fruit
High Tunnel
Organics
Processing Vegetables
Wine Grapes