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Lyndale/Whittier Thursday Meal Celebration

Last Thursday night we celebrated with the youth’s families and community partners the great success that the youth had in our Thursday cooking class. We ended our cooking winter session with lots of great food made from a family member, youth, and somali restaurant. We had lots of fun times cooking together and building relationships among ourselves. Lyndale and Whittier youth are growing more into our programs and we hope to see more youth get involved in our spring session. We had over 60 people eating great healthy meal last Thursday night. Thank you everyone for coming and supporting the youth in their great success here in Youth Farm.

 

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Lyndale Cooking Up for Harvest Fest Tonight!

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We’re cooking up in the Zion Kitchen for Lyndale’s Harvest Fest TONIGHT! These guys are pulling apart roast chicken to go in enchiladas. Our kitchen assistant Jesse has been using his home recipe to make up a green sauce with Youth Farm grown green tomatoes and tomatillos. See you at the corner of 33rd St and Pillsbury Ave tonight at 5:30!

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Frogtown Cooking Class wrap-up in photos

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Project LEAD serve a community meal to members of Saint Stephanus Lutheran Church for the kickoff class.
Project LEAD serve a community meal to members of Saint Stephanus Lutheran Church for the kickoff class

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busy kitchen and busy chefs!
"Can I try a piece of the Turkey neck?"
“Can I try a piece of the Turkey neck from the soup?”
Refreshing our knife skills
Refreshing our knife skills
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Another Sweet Week in Frogtown

Week 5 in Frogtown was filled with sweet moments. After learning about compost we had our annual “compost eating” competition between Youth Farmers and staff.   We ate watermelon and learned about backyard chickens with a Youth Farm parent.  Then we ended our week caring  for abandoned kitties that got left at one of our farms. We can’t wait to see what the final week of program brings our way.

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Powderhorn Loves Beets!

Post by Hashep Seka

Youth Farmers in Powderhorn love their beets, so we threw them into a swiss chard salad and had a delicious early evening snack!

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Spring Connections over Tacos

Last Tuesday our All Stars cooked up some delicious smoothies and chicken tacos with all the fixings for the elders at North Oaks Assisted Living. In the weeks leading up to the dinner, the All Stars, with the help of the LEAD, carefully planned out what they were going to make, how it was going to be prepared and they even went a little shopping spree to pick up the ingredients. Everyone had a good time getting to know one another and getting reacquainted over some good food. In our reflection afterwards, the All Stars were excited about the experience of showing off their cooking skills and having people like the food they prepared. Everyone is ready for the next feast and for the garden to produce abundance for our Wednesday distributions that the All Stars will carry into the summer.

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Cooking Cooperatively at SOCC

On Tuesday, we had our last All Stars cooking class of the winter and it was packed full of silliness and camaraderie. At the end, we reflected on different ways that we had seen our group agreement in action. Here’s what the group had to say (between mouthfuls of Mac & Cheese and Miso Kale Salad):

If someone didn't want to do a certain task, they did it anyway and the group helped make it fun.
If someone didn’t want to do a certain task, they did it anyway and the group helped make it fun.
Everyone contributed in some way.
People shared their ideas and listened to others’ ideas.
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Everyone contributed in some way.

 

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Building Community One Meal at a Time

Caleb Prepping a Root Mash
Caleb Prepping a Root Mash

We are deep in our larders now, cooking up tasty meals for families and community. Last week Project LEAD cooked up the Lyndale Community Dinner and the next night our Cooking Class served up their own Family Dinner. We’re back in the kitchens the next two Wednesdays (March 28th and April 1st) for more Community Dinners. All are welcome to join us! Dinner is served at 6pm at Zion Church on the corner of 33rd St and Pillsbury Ave. This week we’re bringing back our famous Collard Green and White Bean Soup, with our frozen collards, and next week we have some good ole Youth Farm Spaghetti! See you there, and bring your appetite!

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Cool Beans: A Journey

First they were meticulously planted by last year’s Nellie Stone Johnson 3rd graders. Then they grew in the summer sun and were tended to by Hawthorne Youth Farmers. They loved to sprawl along the fence and everyone admired their beautiful white and red flowers. In the fall, the big bean stalks started to get cold and their bean pods were very full. This year’s 3rd graders harvested those pods in their first month of school. The pods have been drying all winter until last Friday when NSJ 3rd graders crunched into those pods to free the prettiest beans. This spring, these same 3rd graders will have the opportunity to pass along these beans to next year’s NSJ 3rd graders by planting some of these seeds in the garden this spring. We’ll also get to eat them too!

Shelling Beans

 

To celebrate our cool beans, we made a delicious Black Bean and Corn Salsa Salad. Yum!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa Salad