The Year in Review

It's been a busy year for the garden...

After finishing the expansion of the garden in the spring (adding 5 beds and 8 apple trees), we had 10 volunteers who helped us get our second successful harvest! Carrots, radishes, chives, apples, kale, strawberries, and lettuce were among the edibles.

At clubs day, we got over 40 newcomers who signed up for the club. We used that help almost immediately, filling a bed with new kale seedlings and Swiss chard, and those plants continue to grow today!

We gave a very successful presentation to the Prince of Wales PAC, and received the full amount we were asking for! We used some of this money to purchase a new composter, which we put to work right away.

With that said, we still have a lot to complete in the new year.

1. The FoodCorps Grant

We are in the midst of working out an application for the FoodCorps grant from Whole Foods. If we get the grant, we'll be able to use the funds towards lots of exciting new projects.

2. The sign!

We need to get our sign up to let people know what's going on in that little field beside the school! This'll be one of our first projects of the year.

3. Benches!

We will hopefully have some benches by the tree in the new year! Here's a simple design that we're thinking of going for: http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/main/pdf/bench30.pdf

4. Drip irrigation

We are planning to have a drip irrigation system up and running for the apple trees some time in late spring. Stay tuned for details!

5. Conferences? Workshops? Others?

We're certainly open to new ideas!

See you in the new year!

Harvesting + Recipes

On Thursday, the club came out to the garden to harvest the kale we planted last Spring. It was great to harvest some of our produce (there are recipes for kale listed at the bottom of this post).

...and here is our new composter from Metro Vancouver! We used the money we received from the PAC to purchase it, and it's already taken up all of the excess yard trimmings and food scraps we couldn't fit in our first one. Thank you, PAC!

Lentil Soup with Kale

Ingredients

*Note: these are flexible - you can mix and match as you like

1 cup dried lentils [brown or green], rinsed

1 Tbsp quinoa (if available)

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 rib celery, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3 cups water

5 cups torn kale leaves—discard thick center stems

1 tomato, diced

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse lentils and quinoa under cool running water. Place in a large pot.
2. Add chicken broth and water.
3. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic to pot.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until lentils are tender.
5. Stir in kale and tomato. The kale will quickly wilt and reduce in volume, so don’t panic. Cook until kale is tender.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sautéed Kale With Garlic

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds young kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic finely sliced
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored.
3. Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

Kale Chips

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale, washed and stems removed

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lime juice

1-2 tablespoon olive oil

sea salt or seasoning blend to taste

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Chop or tear kale into pieces.
3. Mix oil, salt and vinegar (or lime juice) in a bowl, mix well with kale and massage into kale pieces.
4. Spread onto baking sheet.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Take kale out immediately if it changes colour to brown.