Monday, August 17, 2015

First Farmers Market

With the first day of school approaching in just a few weeks, it is time for the farmers markets to begin! Our first market will be this Thursday, August 20, from 4-6 pm in the school parking lot. We hope to see you there!

Here is the list of what to expect this week:

Broccoli
Cabbage (Green, Napa)
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Flowers
Garlic
Green Beans
Herb Bunches (Basil, Parsley)
Kale (Dino, Curly, Russian)
Kohlrabi
Onions (Red, Yellow)
Peppers (Bell)
Potatoes
Radishes (Red)
Shallots
Shiso
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes (Heirloom, Slicing)
Zucchini / Patty Pan


Kimchi

Ingredients:

1 head napa cabbage, chopped into thin strips or chunks
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into strips or disks
5 radishes, cut into disks
1 chunk ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
1 shallot / onion
hot pepper
salt

Directions:

Mix together a brine solution of 3 tablespoons salt / 1 quart water. Place cut cabbage, carrots, and radishes in a large bowl and cover in brine (multiplying the brine recipe as needed). Let sit ~8 hours / overnight. 

Drain vegetables, reserving some brine. Mince ginger, garlic and onions, as finely as possible. Mix with the drained vegetables. Pack tightly into a large jar. Add enough brine as needed to submerge vegetables. Fill a small leak-free plastic bag with brine and place inside of jar, on top of vegetables (this serves to keep the vegetables submerged). Lightly place lid on jar. 

Leave the kimchi to ferment on the counter for 7 - 10 days. Taste it as it is fermenting, and place in fridge when it has fermented to your liking. Kimchi will keep for many months in the fridge and is an excellent way to preserve the bounty of the summer!


Apprenticeship 2, August 9 - 13

by Hazel

During this August apprenticeship there were lots of things that all of us enjoyed. Here are the top 11...

1. Catching birds in the chicken coop! There are always lots of little sparrows that get stuck in the chicken coup and can't figure out how to get out, so they keep smashing into the windows. We discovered that as soon as we caught them they calmed down, so then we went outside and threw them up in the air like in the movies and they flew away! We also enjoyed naming every one we caught: Sebastien, Samantha, June, Judy, Harold, Liam, Lexi, Stewart, and Callie.

2. We enjoyed cooking our own meals as well, including doing the dishes!

3. Watching the chicks hatch!

4. Getting up at 3am to watch the meteor shower and at 6:30 to watch the sunrise

5. Playing with the cats and mocha

6. Getting to know each other much better

7. Working in the garden and on the pizza oven

8. Making and listening to our playlist

9. Picking two water bottles full of wild berries and making an awesome pie that we ate with ice cream by the lake. 

10. Cleaning out the animal pens

11. Playing tiger, swimming at the lake, and movie night

We all loved the peacefulness and serenity of the Land School. Even though for many of us this will be our last official trip to the Land School, we are already making plans to come back often. And while this is only a five day trip, we appreciate and cherish the time that we got to spend here this week and thank the Land School staff for all the hard work they put into making this the best experience possible for all of us. 

The dome of the oven is complete!
Oven Door Facade
By Rio

This is my first Apprenticeship and it has been amazing! I got to know a lot of people that I hadn't known before. We have worked very hard and and had fun while working.  The first day when we got to The Land School we went on a hike and then went right to bed when we got back. The next day we woke up at 7 O'clock made our own breakfast then did animal chores and Stewardship. Some of us weeded and some of us helped build the bread oven. Now that I look back on that day it seems like it was so long ago, and everyday since has gone by WAY too fast. Today we did more Stewardship and in the chicken coop there is a hen named Mrs. Hen who laid 15 eggs and today one of them finally hatched, we named her Delilah. This has been SUCH an amazing experience and I am totally coming back next year!

¨Life Force!¨ - Cleaning out the root cellar
of last year's remaining aspirant potato harvest