wit wisdom & food

connecting with food

Archives for March 2017

Mat Davis of Flanner House

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Flanner House in Indianapolis has a long tradition in Indianapolis. Some new faces, including today’s guest, Food Justice Coordinator Mat Davis, are adding to that legacy. For over 100 years Flanner House has been serving the community on the Westside of Indianapolis. This summer they are bringing back a garden program that will be connected to an employment program with the hope of helping, even more, people. With the help of former podcast guest, Jonathan Lawler of Brandywine Creek Farms, they hope to have the largest urban farm in Indianapolis to feed, train and empower the youth of Indianapolis.

There is a lot of great information about the problems facing our communities in Indianapolis. If you are just learning about the issues of food access, food insecurity and food justice this episode will give you a lot of information and even more to think about.

Flanner House Links

Links from the show

 

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#14 teach someone to cook

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We are nearing the halfway point of this list of 30 ways to connect over food and we have hit my absolute favorite way to connect over food. Cooking is a tradition that is passed down from one person to another and the only way that happens is you have to teach someone to cook.

This isn’t exactly hosting a home ec class in your kitchen, though if you can pull that off please give it a go! Teaching someone to cook can be as easy as sharing a new recipe and as complicated as teaching a complete class from beginning to end.

Who taught you to cook?

Think back to who taught you to cook. For me, it is a long list and everyone on it has given me something different. If you view this on Instagram I will tag as many of them as possible.

  • My grandparents — As early gourmands and lovers of Julia Child & James Beard you could say it all started here.
  • my mom — not on Instagram so props are given only here. This is how most of us learn I think. She taught me how to measure, cut and some other basics. In classic mother-daughter fashion, we now disagree on topics such as basic knife skills. I think I am right since I use my skills from culinary school, but in her defense, I have cut my fingers more than she has. The fact is she has never cut her’s and I have two incidents that required stitches. I off course refer to these as a badge of honor.
  • my dad — also not on Instagram. He not only taught me how to grill but if we are camping I can make you a gourmet meal on a backpacking stove. We don’t disagree on anything, but only because we both know the other person’s method, which might get the same result, isn’t as good as our own. We do agree that when cutting weight on before backpacking, the wine isn’t what you should leave behind.
  • my brother — While he is younger than I am he has an ability to wing-it or adapt a recipe that I admire and try to make my own with varying success.
  • My sister-in-laws — Apparently my mother-in-law and her mother were both amazing cooks. A long tradition of matriarchal Mexican women. My sister-in-laws have been very kind to share these recipes and stories with me so I can continue this amazing tradition.
  • Chef Hawkins — I wouldn’t have the confidence to try a lot of baking recipes if I hadn’t been in her class at IVY Tech. I appreciated her help in breaking my perfection tendencies during cake decorating.
  • Perin — My comrade in the kitchen. We taught each other to be brave and try new things. I know how to make homemade pasta, pizza dough, coq au vin and many other dishes because of her.

There are so many others and they will be tagged in my post. Share the image from this post on your Instagram or Facebook and tag with all the people who taught you how to cook.

Who have you taught to cook?

head over to instagram and share a post about how you connect over food to be entered into the connect over food contest. you will have a chance to win a fun prize.

#13 have a pie bake off

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One of my favorite pies is strawberry rhubarb and we are getting close to the season for both. Pie is an extremely personal thing and pie bakers are usually happy to show off their favorites. They may not give you the secret pie dough recipe, but getting to taste a good pie is so worth it. If you want to bring a group of pie lovers together a pie bake-off is a great way to do it. You can make this as casual or as professional as you want it.

Tips for hosting a pie bake-off

  • Decide if you are open to all kinds of pie, just fruit, just cream, only pumpkin. You can vary this depending on the time of year, but the more you allow the more participation you will get
  • Get some well-respected non-bakers to be the judge.
  • As each pie arrives assign it a number and keep a list of who belongs to each pie. This will allow the judges to be more impartial.
  • Cut small slices for each judge. Be sure to number the slices to match the entry number.
  • While the judges are trying the pies encourage others to try the pies as well. You can even make a category for fan favorite.
  • If possible make a prize or a certificate for the winner. Who doesn’t love to brag and boast a little about their win?
  • Make sure the bakers list any major allergies like; gluten, eggs, dairy, and nuts.
  • Most of all just make if fun

What is your favorite pie?

head over to instagram and share a post about how you connect over food to be entered into the connect over food contest. you will have a chance to win a fun prize.

#12 visit a farm

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It now feels like spring. Mild weather and rain. That is a sure sign of the coming of spring and the growing season. There is a lot that can be learned about your food and where it comes from by visiting a farm.

With the rise of convenience food, the average American has lost some touch with how their food is grown and how it gets to the store. Some people have no idea. No matter how much you know about food there might be ingredients or processes that would shock you. Getting to a farm and seeing some of these processes first hand is an important part of making good food choices.

Visiting a farm

Decide what you want to know more about and look for a farm that does that specific type of farming. This isn’t a drop by and say hi kind of adventure. Be sure to reach out and make sure that the farm offers this and has time to accommodate your visit. Some farms offer events or volunteer opportunities that allow you to get up close and learn about how they farm. Here are a few in Indiana to look at if you want to make a visit this summer. Each one of these farms offers something different so be sure to check out their websites for more information.

Farms near Indianapolis

U-pick Strawberries

  • This is a great way to show kids how food grows and to pick your own berries for jam. This article lists most of the farms in Indiana that offer this option.

Fall Harvest (pumpkins & apples)

Agrarian

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Urban homesteading and specifically raising chickens has gained a lot of popularity. In this episode, I sit down with the owners of Agrarian and talk about their shop and they bust my myths about raising chickens.

They are some of the nicest people so if you have any doubts or questions about raising chickens head into the store and talk to them. They have a cute spot just off The Monon.

Agrarian links

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#11 raise chickens

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I really want to raise chickens. It sounds like it would be fun to hear the sounds of the birds in the yard. Plus, FRESH EGGS! Do you really need another reason? As with idea #10, this idea isn’t exactly about cooking or sitting down and connecting over a plate of food, but more about knowing and appreciating where your food comes from. Having a connection with your food really is as important as connecting with people. For instance, the price of certain items in the store might seem arbitrary to you, but I assure you there is a reason.

The price of your food

Here is a common situation to demonstrate this. You go into the grocery store to buy eggs. You just grab a package, probably the cheapest, and don’t give much thought beyond that about where your eggs come from. Then prices go up and now your eggs are fifty cents more a dozen and this seems astronomical to you. I mean you just bought eggs last week, so what could have possibly changed in a week. Now let’s say you are raising your own chickens. You are going about your days feeding the chickens and all of a sudden the feed price goes up because there is a drought and corn prices go up. Now it makes sense that egg prices might go up because imagine the increase in feed for the big chicken farmer. Someone has to absorb that cost and usually that is you the customer. This is just one of the scenarios that could happen. There are plenty of other things that can affect costs.

While as a grocery store customer you don’t give much thought to how the egg gets to the store, as the keeper of the chickens you notice these changes in price at a different point in the food chain. Now it makes sense that egg prices might go up because imagine the increase in feed for the big chicken farmer. Someone has to absorb that cost and usually that is you the customer. This is just one of the scenarios that could happen. There are plenty of other things that can affect costs like illness of the birds, a loss of birds, weather or short days that makes them not lay as many eggs.

Feeding chickens, housing chickens, and cleaning up after them are all tasks involved in raising chickens. All of these tasks have time and money associated with them. That is what gets built into the price. But when you go to the store you likely don’t give it a second thought. As a matter of fact, you probably forgot to check to make sure none of your eggs were broken before you put them in your cart. You certainly aren’t stupid, you know these things happen you just may not really connect them all in the moment, even when you are complaining to your friendly grocery clerk about the ridiculous price increase. Knowing the steps it takes to get your food to the store might make you less irritated when the price goes up. You will at least appreciate all the effort that goes into that job.

So this wasn’t as much about raising chickens and was more about knowing where your food comes from. To make it up to you tomorrow’s podcast with the crew from The Agrarian will answer a lot of the questions you have about actually raising chickens. SPOILER: It’s not has complicated as you think.

Do you have chickens, if so, what is your favorite part about raising chickens?

Head over to Instagram and share a post about how you connect over food to be entered into the connect over food contest. you will have a chance to win a fun prize.

#10 start a garden

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Connecting over food or with food doesn’t always involve cooking. The next three in this series all touch on that in one way or the other. Spring has sprung, at least on the calendar, and that means it is time to think about the plethora of fresh vegetables that are in our future.

Know where your food comes from and how to grow it can be very rewarding and eye-opening. It can also make you more likely to eat fresh vegetables. If you have never started a garden there are plenty of resources to help you get started. You can get some books at the library, ask the people working at your local nursery (your nursery will have better info than a large hardware store), or volunteer at a community garden and learn while doing. Another great resource that most communities have is a Master Gardener phone line or resource. These people spent a lot of time learning and studying so that they could be a wealth of gardening knowledge. Use that resource and help them keep their skills sharp.

Starting a Garden

I just ordered my seeds the other day and I am excited to get our garden going. We didn’t plant any vegetables the last two years since we were working on other projects so this will be our first potential harvest. I say potential because over my first few attempts my harvest wasn’t very good. I learned some lessons the hard way. You can see some of the photos from my last gardening adventure here, here, and here. We went big! The problem is I didn’t think it all through and our soil was not as ready to handle the grand plans I had. I am going to share some of the lessons I learned from that last project.

  • Topsoil, even with a little compost, doesn’t have the nutrients needed to create fruits and veggies. Lots of green, but not much to eat
  • Start small add new varieties ever year. While the seed catalog can be like a siren song, stay strong and only plant what you can manage
  • Be prepared to tend the garden. The plants will do most of the work for you, but you need to watch it and pay attention to potential problems. This is the key way to learn how to garden.
  • Ask questions. Know someone who gardens and loves to talk about gardening then hit them up with what you need to know. You will be amazed at what you will learn in one season.
  • Be patient. This is not a sprint. If you put zucchini seeds in the ground it will be a while until you see a blossom or a squash. Keep taking care of that plant and it will likely come through for you in the end.

What is your favorite vegetable straight from the garden?

Head over to Instagram and share a post about how you connect over food to be entered into the Connect Over Food Contest. You will have a chance to win a fun prize.

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