The Week of November 28th, 2011Read/Post Comments

Brought to you by Earthworks Urban Farm,
a program of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen

Peace everyone,

The earthworm lives by consuming waste of others.  Of which, it converts into humus, improving the soil quality for itself, micro-organisms and plant life.  The earthworm is part of the web where the outputs of one are inputs for another, producing no waste.

What does “producing no waste” look like in your community?

Please send your thoughts to earthworks@cskdetroit.org.  We want to hear from you!


I. Volunteer Opportunities for the  week o f 11/28//2011:
Wednesdays only, 9am-12:30pm; Regular Volunteer Hours:  Please join us after working in the gardens for lunch in the soup kitchen on Wednesdays.

All volunteers, please meet at Capuchin Soup Kitchen at 1264 Meldrum, Detroit, MI unless noted differently. For individual volunteers, feel free to just come on by.  No need to RSVP.  For groups, please contact us in advance to schedule a day. Please come dressed appropriately for the weather and work.  Long pants and closed toe shoes are required.  

For questions, please email us at sbernardo@cskdetroit.org or call (313) 579-2100 x 204.


II. Chef Alison's featured recipe of the week:
Chef Alison from the Capuchin Soup Kitchen highlights quick and easy recipes featuring produce grown in Earthworks gardens.  Recipes can be modified according to taste.

Cauliflower Steak  with Quinoa (Serves 4)

2 large heads cauliflower cut into 1 inch thick steaks
Olive oil for sauting
Salt /pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups veg. stock
1 cup quinoa
2 shallots or small onions
1  leek rinsed and sliced
1 small apple peeled and diced
1 clove garlic
½ cup zucchini in ¼ inch dice
1 tsp. fresh thyme or other favorite herbs

Brown the cauliflower steaks in oil, season w/s&p. Sweat quinoa in 1 T olive oil until it smelly nutty. Turn down heat and add 1 cup of stock. Cut remaining cauliflower in florets. Blanche, drain and place in 300 F oven until dry.

In pan, shallots, leek, apple and garlic. Add florets and season. Remove from heat, place in blender and puree. Sauté zucchini until golden brown. Add quinoa and remaining vegetable stock. Season with s&p. Add remaining puree to thicken, add thyme and other herbs. Drizzle w/a flavored oil if you’d like.  

Plate by placing cauliflower steak on a bed of quinoa & zucchini mixture.



III. Community Announcements:
1. Foreclosure Prevention Workshop
University of Michigan Detroit Center 3663 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI
Monday, November 28 and Monday, December 5, 201
5:30- 7:30 PM

To register for one of these workshops, please email Tammy at: TammyL@umich.edu

2. Activist Training
Ferndale Public Library 222 E. 9 Mile Road, Ferndale, MI
Monday, November 28th
6-8:30 pm

Do you want to be able to effectively involve people in your campaign or cause? Want to avoid the ever-prevalent “Death by Meeting?”

Come to the Food & Water Watch activist training workshop to learn principles and tips on how to recruit people to an event and how to run an effective and productive meeting.

3. Detroit Future Media Info Session
4126 3rd St, Detroit, MI 48201
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
6PM-8PM.

Detroit Future Media (DFM) will host an info session about their free media training workshops.  DFM Coordinators will explain the program as well as the application process and criteria for participation. Additionally, alumni will share their experiences and provide additional insight.

The highly in-demand DFM workshop series, now in its second year, are 20-week trainings for Detroiters interested in building Detroit’s media economy through the creation of grassroots media, and community cultural production. The workshops offer intensive trainings in video, graphics, and web design with a focus on education, entrepreneurship and media-based community organizing.

The session is free and open to the public. Those that apply can be ages 18-80, have a basic understanding of computers and passionate about positively transforming Detroit.
Applications will be accepted Nov. 28 – Dec. 4. You can apply online @ media.detroitfuture.org

Childcare will be provided at this info session, and will be available upon request throughout the 20 weeks of the workshops for students who are accepted into the program.  

4. Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) Informational
Gleaners Community Food Bank 2131 Beaufait, Detroit, MI 48207
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
6-8PM

Community Legal Resources’ in partnership with The Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) is hosting an informational workshop on the functions and tools of the DLBA.

The mission of the DLBA is to stimulate neighborhood stabilization and economic growth through the acquisition, management and disposition of tax-reverted and acquired properties by working collaboratively with community stakeholders, developers and other government agencies in a transparent and fiscally responsible manner to promote conscientious stewardship of land.

Please join CLR and the staff of the DLBA on Thursday, December 1st, to discuss the DLBA’s capacity to fulfill its mission, due in part to the unique set of tools acquired from the Land Bank Fast Track Act of 2003 (State of Michigan Public Act 258).  The set of tools includes, but is not limited to: owning, managing and selling property; assembling parcels; holding land tax free, leveraging development incentives and expediting property title clearance.

RSVP to: snesfield@clronline.org or (313)969-7128

5. Legal Forum on Emergency Financial Manager
Sacred Heart 3452 Rivard, Detroit, MI
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
6-8PM

Concerned Teachers United presents a legal forum on the impact of emergency financial managers on the nullification of our vote, Detroit Public Schools and the City of Detroit.

Join keynote speaker, Detroit’s Native Sun Attorney Chokwe Lumumba.  Other special guest include lawyers and lawmakers who challenged EM law and lawyers from: American Civil Liberties Union, National Conference of Black Lawyers, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

For more info, please call (313) 244-9909.

6. Making Race Heard Summit
University of Michigan School of Social Work 1080 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
11am-5pm

Making Race Heard is a student-driven initiative at the University of Michigan School of Social Work that aims to bring race to the forefront of our experiences as professionals and future social workers. It was our hope to foster an environment that would allow students, faculty, staff, and community members to come together and discuss how issues of race and other social identities impact our personal and professional lives. We aim to use dialogue as a tool to work to identify concrete ways in which we can collaboratively move from theory to social justice action.

Dr. Cornel West will be the keynote speaker for the summit kick-off event, on Tuesday November 29th at 7pm at the Rackham Auditorium. Summit will still be on Friday, December 2nd in the School of Social Work from 11am-5pm. Both events are free and open to all departments and to the public. Those who are interested in reserving a ticket for the kick-off event and/or registering for the summit must visit makingraceheard.com and follow the directions provided on the website.

7. Undoing Racism in the Detroit Food System Monthly Gathering
Michigan State University Center 3408 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI
Saturday, December 3rd, 2011
1-3pm

Reach out to family members and others in the food system i.e. community growers, eaters, processors, distributers, grocers, policy makers, cooks/chefs, and restaurant workers/owners etc to be a part of this important dialog. We will cover key events that will inform us of the background that shaped Detroit’s agricultural landscape. We will discuss what we can learn from the past resistance and advocacy for addressing current racism in the Detroit Food System.

8. 7th Annual Peace and Justice Banquet
Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center
Sunday, December 4, 2011
6:00 PM

The 7th Annual Peace and Justice Banquet presented by Central United Methodist Church will feature keynote speaker, Ed Schultz, host of “The Ed Show” on MSNBC, known for getting “fired up” and for offering America a “straight-talking, no-nonsense voice of reason in unreasonable times,” whether it’s about Occupy Wall Street, worker’s rights issues or economic justice.  

The evening also will include a VIP reception, silent auction, and the presentation of the 2011 Peace and Justice awards to:  Cindy Estrada, vice president, UAW; Vanessa G. Fluker, Detroit attorney; Fr. Roy Bourgeois, senior cleric, Maryknoll Missionaries; and Dawud Walid, executive director, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Michigan, and Iman of Masjid Wali Muhammad.

Tickets for the dinner event are $125 and $200 (VIP, with preferred seating and admission to a VIP Reception).  Tickets are also available by calling (313) 965-5422, ext. 130.  Proceeds benefit the many programs and ministries of Central United Methodist Church, which each year impact thousands.

9. Detroit ReNailed, A Reclaimed Materials Competition

A wealth of valuable Heart Wood from Michigan’s ancient forests is hiding within the walls of Detroit area homes built prior to 1929. The unfortunate demolition of thousands of homes presents the decision of how to pay respect to these resources: demolition and landfill or deconstruction and reuse. We say: RENAIL IT! and we invite artists and craftsmen to be a part of that process.

To enter, please fill out entry form and return no later than December 8, 2011 with $20.

Further Information: Please feel free to contact us at 313-831-6100 or check out  http://detroit-renailed.blogspot.com

10. Friends of the Detroit River 1st Holiday Social
Dossin Great Lakes Museum 100 Strand on Belle Isle; Detroit, Michigan
Wednesday, December 14th
6 to 8pm

Celebrate and learn about our 2011 successes, including our RESTORATION PROJECTS ON BELLE ISLE  that will create beneficial habitat for wildlife.  And meet like-minded people who care about improving the quality of the Detroit River. Hor d'oeuvres and beverages will be provided.

RSVP  by December 9th to (734) 675-0141 or river@detroitriver.org

DIRECTIONS:  Take the bridge onto Belle Isle, follow the road to the right - this is a one way street - follow the road 1.5 miles until you come to the single story blue brick building on your right.


IV. Update from Patrick

Another short week, I could get used to this - but its back to normal this week.

Short week equals less work done, but still some work done. Down at Gleaners we installed another row of quick hoops, and filled up lots of sand bags with compost and used them to cover up the quick hoops over the leeks, onions and spinach. We also put some more mulch down over the garlic. That pretty much all we did down at Gleaners. Like I said slow week.

In the hoop house we installed the row cover, harvested a bunch of greens and radishes, and killed lots of cabbage worms. We also sifted some compost and brought it inside so we would have more for the winter.

I think that’s really about it for field work. We been working on all the evaluation work and planning. Lots of that to do.

This week? I think its time to start cleaning all the tools off and getting them sharpened up, work on cleaning out the bee equipment and maybe finish that path we have been working on.

until next week

onward.

VI. Outreach Update from Shane

I'm feeling a little pressured in getting this newsletter out this week because there are some timely events listed above that should get out.  If you check back in later this week, I may be able to find the time to write an update.

In the meantime, check out this article covering some of the policy challenges of growing food in the City of Detroit.

See ya later...

Readers' Comments The Week of November 28th, 2011