Algarden Cafe debut in SF

Algarden Candelight Dinner

What: 4 course Vegetarian dinner,  featuring mustard greens, snap peas, kale, chard, cabbage and meyer lemons
When: Saturday, March 26th at 7:00pm. Limited Space, RSVP by Wednesday morning
Where: The Zomicile 2149 Harrison St. (At 18th St. Mission District, SF)
How Much: Dinner is $30 + cash bar (non alcoholic mint iced tea included)

Good news City people: the Algarden Cafe is coming to you!

For those of you who have not experienced the Algarden because it was in the East Bay and on a week day, you now get to enjoy it in the Mission, on a weekend night as a 4 course candle lit dinner in the Zomicile, Foodscaping's new home.

If you are unfamiliar with the Algarden cafe history and Mission here is a little bit of background.

In the winter of 2010, after two years of working the soils at the Algarden, we had a bounty of food, way more than what I and the neighbors could eat. I teamed up with Julia Abbassi creator of the community supported bread "Pandora's box" to collectively advance our passions for urban agriculture and local food production through the establishment of the Algarden Café. We prepared meals that celebrate local agriculture, fresh ingredients harvested at the peak of ripeness, and strengthened of the relationship between producers and consumers.

Unfortunately Julia had to move away but chefs Rachel Brand and Anna McGaraghan took over and were able to continue the tradition with new recipes.

The meals are composed nearly entirely of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, honey and eggs from the garden, and each course is intended to showcase the ingredients so customers can fully appreciate the flavor, texture and experience of eating farm-fresh food. The lunches are served at the garden itself and include an educational lesson, which typically focus on the ingredients used in the meal. Topics have included seed saving, cross-pollination, the wide world of Brassicas, the use of chickens in a garden for fertilizer, pest management and egg production.

The Algarden Cafe’s goal is to build community and increase awareness and value for locally produced, organic fare through the common medium of food. The café is a small-scale endeavor but since its inception we have attracted a wide range of customers, some already interested in local food and others who have become interested since experiencing the café and eating in the garden. We have also catered for a local conference on Regenerative Landscapes in Urban Areas for staff from cities of the greater Bay Area. At the conference, our

model was highlighted as an on-the-ground example of how to implement the principles and values that many of the cities espouse.

Join us fot the Algarden cafe in San Francisco this Saturday.

RSVP by Wednesday to patricia@food-scaping.com

Blessed Bee

After 2 years of being a bee tenderer, I finally decided it was time to join the San Francisco Bee Keepers Association. Over this last two years I have read and researched a lot about bees, I have gone to classes and workshops, and I have asked many questions to a lot of people. I went into this with pretty much zero knowledge and two years later I can tell you I know a lot about bees, but as with most things in life, there comes a point when you know so much to realize that you don't know anything.

Last week as I was inspecting my new hive 'Gloria' I noticed something really odd. There were multiple eggs per cell. See the picture below, you can see the multiple eggs per cell.

This can happen when working bees start laying eggs if there is no queen. 

This was not the case with my hive because the queen was present in the hive. Here's a picture of my lovely queen. 

Here's a picture of a normal egg laying patter. Only one egg per cell.

I did some research on this and I could not find any answers, so I went to the bee keepers meeting to ask the experts. Turns out they were just as perplexed as I was and did not know what was happening. One possible answer might be that because my queen is new (I got her last year in September at the end of the season, so she is just starting to lay eggs) she is still learning how to do this and might correct her behavior. Hopefully that is the case otherwise they recommended I get a new queen. 

I am happy I finally joined the SFBA, there was some really good information presented as well as the devastating news of so many hives dying in the city. It is really important to continue our efforts to learn and understand what is causing the deaths of this hives.

I am looking forward to another year with my bees and continue to learn about them and contribute to the bee association.

Foodscaping the business is born

Friday February the 4th was the official birth date of Foodscaping as an official business. 

I found this to be an auspicious date as it was Chinese new years and a new moon, a good time to start new things. Plus spring is everywhere in the city and I can't help but feel inspired with so much beauty.

 Foodscaping will offer design and installation of edible landscapes as well as consultation on any urban farming related issues.

I have been doing this for awhile but I have finally registered as a business. There are many factors for me doing this now, but one of the biggest ones is having a beautiful space to run my business from. Last month we signed the lease on a shop on Harrison St. and 18th which will be the headquarter for Foodscaping. I will be sharing the space with Rob Bell and we will eventually have a store/gallery selling local artist stuff as well as urban farming paraphernalia. 

There's lots of work to be done to remodel the space before we officially open it, but for now I want to invite you to celebrate the opening of my business and a soft launch of the space Tuesday night, starting at 6:30 at 2147 Harrison St.

 We will have drinks and magic curry cart will be there serving some food

Hope you can join us to celebrate the birth of Foodscaping.

Bee-ings altar

It's been a while since I have written. I have no good excuses, simply that I've been busy and unmotivated to write. Today after I heard Obama's speech on the attack in Tucson, I felt moved to write again, his words summed up what I have been feeling and have not been able to express.

There is a lot to tell about what has happened at the Algarden and what I did this fall. I taught a Foodscaping 101 class at the Algarden, built Zonotopia at burningman, taught a Social Factors in Design class at UC Berkeley Extension. But today I will focus this blog entry on the bee altar for Dia de Muertos that Rob and I built at Garfield park. While an altar might seem like an unrelated post to Foodscaping, I will try to explain.

Last year was a difficult year for me, it was a year of hard decisions that kept me up at night. I had the opportunity to move back to my home town in Mexico and pursue a long time dream of researching the work of my grandfather while teaching Landscape Architecture at the State University, in the very same Architecture Department started by my grandfather and my great uncle. At the same time I was personally confronted with the reality of the devastating war on drugs. Something that had seemed far and unrelated to me became a reality check when my 15 year old cousin, Miguel Ramon "Mike" was abducted by members of organized crime.

As I grappled with this reality and tried to make sense of the situation I realized that there are tens of thousands of people feeling like me, frustrated and powerless against a headless monster, victims of this senseless war and there is nothing we can do.

There is a tradition that bee keepers should always communicate good and bad news to theirs bees, so I have been doing that. I find it therapeutic, and during the most difficult part of my grief, it became a routine, a meditation, I would talk to my bees almost every day. Nothing made sense, but during my time with the bees the world would stop. I could tell them anything and their buzzing calmed me down.

Interesting anecdote: I have rarely been stung by the bees, but on the day I told them I was considering moving to Mexico I got attacked like never before. Coincidence? or can the bees actually understand what I tell them? I don't know...

Then, in July the bees at Hayes Valley Farm were massacred. They were sprayed with pesticides at the entrance of the hive, wiping out two thriving hives and killing about 60% of a third hive. I was quite shocked by the news, I still cannot understand why anyone would do such a thing. It is bad enough to be losing our bees to Colony Collapse Disorder but this saddened me even more as I saw it as a vicious criminal act against innocent creatures.

We had a ceremony for the lost bees at HVF shortly after it happened.

I recently became reacquainted with the term social ecology which holds that "present ecological problems are rooted in deep-seated social problems, particularly in dominatory hierarchical political and social systems." I thought about this as I grappled with the realities of organized crime in Mexico and the real reasons behind Colony Collapse Disorder. It became apparent that they are similar, both my cousin and the bees are victims of corruption at different magnitudes; victims of a big headless monster.

The bee altar was my best attempt at building something beautiful to honor and celebrate the tradition of Dia de Muertos. I wanted to build an altar for the loss caused by organized crime in Mexico and for all the victims of this senseless war. I had a hard time conceptualizing the altar, I had a lot of pain on my heart, but I wanted to keep the festive mood of the celebration. 

And so the altar became a hive, and it was dedicated to bees; to all the bees that we have lost due to Colony Collapse Disorder, and even more so for the bees that were killed at Hayes Valley Farm. 

One might say, metaphorically, the bees represent the souls of the innocent victims of senseless wars and conflicts.

 We still don't know where Mike is. This altar was built thinking of him. I hope that he is at  peace where ever he may be.   

This was hard to write, it is actually the third time that I have written it. The first time I wrote it, I was cynical and angry, but as I said in the beginning, I got inspired by Obama's speech and rewrote it because "we must speak to each other in a way that heals." I have had a lot of reflection on many fronts and just like Obama, I urge you not be discouraged and I ask you to look forward, to live your life to the fullest even when confronted with things that are beyond our understanding. See the beauty that surrounds us, and nurture the relationships of those who are still with us. Have kindness, generosity and compassion for all bee-ings.  Let's live up to our children's expectations. 

I leave you with this inspirational music made by bees

and I ask you to sign this petition to ban the pesticides that are killing our bees

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees_usa/?rc=fb

I wish I had a petition for you to sign that would stop the killings in Mexico...

New Chefs at the Algarden Cafe

My great friend, wonderful baker and parter in the Algarden Lunch Julia, decided to move away with her husband, who got a job in Connecticut. I was quit sad to say goodbye to her, especially as I thought of the incredible adventure and learning that had been working with her to create the Algarden lunch. 

But today, I'm happy to start a new chapter in the Algarden cooking adventure, and want to introduce the new members of the Algarden Lunch, our wonderful chefs Rachel Brand and Anna McGaraghan.

Rachel and Anna came to the lunch a few weeks ago, they are friends of friends, who came to eat lunch and experience the garden. Serendipitously they were there as I was talking about Julia leaving and needing to find some one to help me out with the lunches and they both were interested on jumping on board. 

They bring new creative ideas for recipes and great energy and I'm happy to have them be a part of the team. Here's a little something about them:

Rachel grew up in Berkeley not far from the Algarden and is thrilled to be a part of the Algarden café.  A local foods enthusiast, Rachel has taught cooking at The Edible Schoolyard, farmed on the Central Coast, helped to develop school and community gardens, completed a pastry internship at Chez Panisse Restaurant and wrote her Master’s thesis on garden based education.  Rachel currently works to develop community college Sustainable Agriculture programs, and can often be found in her backyard with her flock of beautiful chickens.  The kitchen tool that Rachel can not live without is a lemon zester.

Anna has always loved to garden and cook, and is excited to be a part of the Algarden Café. She has tended small gardens in every place that she has lived, includinggrowing tomatoes, herbs, and squash on the tiny balcony of an urban studio apartment. She was raised to think that it’s perfectly acceptable to run out in the garden and check on the vegetables while still in pajamas. Anna developed a school garden program in an elementary school on a small Maine island, and also helped to design and implement a community garden on the island. Anna loves to cook for family and friends, and is looking forward to creating healthy and creative meals with Algarden produce! The kitchen tool that Anna could not live without is her cast iron frying pan.

Come and meet them in person and try out their recipes.

Here are a few pictures of the wonderful foods they have been preparing.

  

  

  

I hope to see you there!

Pasta from scratch

Speaking about the pasta that we made, here's the process of making pasta.

Julia and I made this pasta about a month ago. It was a lot of work but it was worth it.

All you need to make pasta is flour, eggs, salt and patience!

Our eggs came from the garden chickens, patience was a little harder to find.

We made our pasta the old traditional way, mixing it by hand.

Started out by shaping the flour into a volcano and slowly pouring the mixed eggs in the middle

 being careful of not to destroy any walls of the volcano, or else you have a big mess of eggs. Trust me on this.

This is where patience comes in

Once the eggs and flower are integrated is time for kneading. Julia was a pro at this - I still need practice, and patience...

The secret of kneading dough is to use a well floured surface, press and stretch the dough with the heel of the hand, fold over, and rotate 90º repeatedly until your hands are about to collapse

Kneading is important because it mixes together the ingredients and adds strength to the final dough

Once the dough is ready, the rolling begins.
We borrowed this pasta machine from our friend Maria. She got it in Argentina, she claims everybody in Argentina makes their own pasta.

The dough has to be divided into small balls that pass through the machine 7 times, each time at a thiner setting, turning the dough into longer strips.

After that, the strips go through the machine one more time to be sliced.

et voilà we got fettuccines

The dough was still kind of sticky so we carefully hung the fettuccines to dry on a cloths rack

The problem was convincing the cats this was not a toy for them

They look so beautiful no?

After some time drying we were able so safely arrange them for their final drying

Is this beautiful or what?

The next day they were cooked al dente and tossed with sautéd New Zealand spinach, oyster mushrooms and the Moroccan lemons and herbs that I had preserved a few months ago (recipe coming soon) 

It was outstanding!

Thanks to our wonderful photographer Steve Pon