Thanks to Susan Rodgers and Tom Abrams for a delightful tour of their garden and a chance to forage for volunteer spices and wild plants around Meadowbrook Park. We found dill, lamb's quarters, mint, and more mint. Photos of our garden visit are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arboles/

Relationships...

Here are a couple of excepts from books I've been reading. Both of these epitomize what it is about this project that excites me most!

How interconnected are we all?

“In the eye of the or the gardener or the farmer who grew it, this food reveals itself for what it is: no mere thing but a web of relationships among a great many living beings, some of them human, some not, but each of them dependent on the other, and all of them ultimately rooted in soil and nourished by sunlight. I’m thinking of the relationship between the plants and the soil, between the grower and the plants and animals he or she tends, between the cook and the growers who supply the ingredients, and between the cook and the people who will soon come to the table to enjoy the meal. It is a large community to nourish and be nourished by.” -Michael Pollan, from In Defense of Food

On the discussion of Public Art: “Is ‘public’ a qualifying description of place, ownership, or access? Is it a subject, or a characteristic of the particular audience? Does it explain the intentions of the artist or the interests of the audience? The inclusion of the public connects theories of art to the broader population: what exists in the space between the words public and art is an unknown relationship between artist and audience, a relationship that may itself become the artwork.” – Suzanne Lacy, from Mapping the Terrain, New Genre Public Art

Let the foraging begin!

Also don't miss this week's workshop, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Organic Gardening and Foraging for Wild Edibles
lead by Susan and Tom at Meadowbrook Park. (Meet at the community organic garden plots off Race St. and Windsor Rd.) Keep scrolling down for more info./resources on this...
A worksheet/list to get you thinking on this subject.

Bring bug spray, drinking water, a notepad, and appropriate shoes/pants for hiking around in the tall plants!

We Can Can!

Thanks to all that attended the Canning workshop. And special thanks to Anna Barnes for the instruction. The canning workshop was great fun, not that messy or hot, and highly educational. One of the neatest parts of the workshop was all the family stories that came out during the cooking. We all shared recipes, tales of grandmothers' and mothers' methods, childhood memories, and kitchen traditions. For those of you that missed the workshop: here's the recipe for the lovely Peach Jam we made and some photos. There is no doubt that this pretty stuff will be served at the Big Neighborhood Supper in August.

Map of Edible Fruit Trees in Urbana/Champaign

View Larger Map

Urban Edibles

Here's a website from the West Coast about urban foraging, to prep people for Susan and Tom's workshop. Did you know that bok choy is a member of the mustard family?