Shorter days and longer nights provide a chance to do the important work of reflecting at this time of year. At the Indigenous Health Garden, we are looking back at the successful year that passed, buoyed by the growth and transformation all of the programs have undergone and humbled by the challenges that prompt us to reflect on our own practice as we move forward. We look forward to sharing a summary of the year's successes and challenges with you in early 2015.
where we raked leaves to mulch the beds for winter, harvested the last of the medicines, and rebuilt pathways for next season. We are grateful for the hard work of all the volunteers who have helped get the garden ready for the frost and snow that soon followed!
for a medicine walk and sharing circle. The students, all teacher candidates, learned about and took part in cleansing ceremonies before breaking into groups to harvest medicines, reflect on their learning, and share with the class. It was a beautiful sunny day to explore the garden and students were excited to learn hands-on!
brought a diverse group together to prepare and eat a delicious meal of buffalo meatloaf, lentil loaf, cashew gravy, mashed potatoes and parsnips, bannock, wild rice pudding, and garden tea. We want to acknowledge and thank Francine Emmonds, who shared the wild rice so generously with us for the meal!
How to volunteer for the Feast Bowl: join us at the UBC First Nations Longhouse (1985 West Mall) any time after 10:00AM to help us cook, or 12:30PM to eat lunch with us. Extra help from any age or skill level is always appreciated, especially in the kitchen. If you can only join us for lunch, we encourage you to come anyway and we look forward to sharing a delicious meal with you!
Note: if you plan to bring a large group, please let us know ahead of time at hannah.lewis@ubc.ca.
January 30th 2015: UBC Farm Symposium celebrating student engagement
Registration is now open for the 2015 UBC Farm Symposium!
When: Friday, January 30th, 2015 – 9am-2:30pm
Where: Old Barn Community Centre
This year, the UBC Farm Symposium returns to the
Old Barn Community Centre to celebrate UBC student engagement in food sustainability on Friday, January 30th 2015. With more than 150 student projects conducted in collaboration with more than ten different faculties and schools, the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS) at UBC Farm generates much needed information about food system science, farming technologies, community engagement and environmental stewardship while giving students the opportunity to learn in a unique and increasingly rare hands-on way.
Registration for this day-long event is $5, and includes coffee, tea, snacks, and a warm and hearty lunch (vegan and gluten free options available).
Registration and program available here.
We are excited to share that
2014 Indigenous Health Garden Intern Danette Jubinville will be speaking at the Symposium! More information about her and her presentation below:
Danette Jubinville is of Saulteaux, Cree, German, Jewish, French and Scottish ancestry, and has had the honour of being a guest to Coast Salish territory since birth. Danette is in the fourth year of her BA in First Nations Studies and has been involved with the UBC farm since 2011, when she volunteered with the Faculty of Education’s Intergenerational Landed Learning program. Danette is an Indigenous feminist who is inspired by plants and the people who love them. This summer, as the Indigenous Research & Education Garden Intern, Danette had the incredible opportunity to learn from the Medicine Collective. Learning from and on the land in a community-based setting has helped Danette to better understand her responsibilities to her family, her communities, and the world. After she completes her degree, she plans to apply to the UBC School of Midwifery.
Recipe from the November Feast Bowl meal: Buffalo Meatloaf with Cashew Gravy
For the November meal, we cooked this delicious meatloaf with flavourful garlic and fragrant herbs from the garden. The cashew gravy really wowed the crowd!
Buffalo Meatloaf
Adapted from this recipe.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish
2 pounds ground buffalo/bison
1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, quartered, seeded, and ribs removed
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, quartered, seeded, and ribs removed
1 large sweet onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup cup chopped fresh oregano
2 cloves garlic, halved
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups vegetable, chicken, or beef stock
1 cup sundried tomatoes, julienned
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a large baking or roasting dish; set aside.
- Place yellow pepper, red pepper, onion, rosemary, sage, oregano, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor; process until well combined.
- Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Mix well with buffalo meat.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to bowl with buffalo mixture and season with salt and pepper; mix until well-combined. Using your hands, form buffalo mixture into a loaf and place in prepared baking dish. Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Add stock and tomatoes to baking dish; bake, basting meatloaf with juices every 15 minutes, until meatloaf is firm to the touch and pan juices are bubbly, about 1 hour more.
- Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before slicing and serving with pan juices.
Cashew Gravy
Adapted from Ripe: A Cookzine by Jae Steele.
Ingredients
6-8 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
8 T oil
2 C ground roasted cashews
2 tsp celery seeds
6 C water
8-12 T soy sauce (or wheat-free tamari)
8 T cornstarch dissolved in 2 C water
Fresh ground pepper
Directions
- In a saucepan, sautée the garlic in oil for a few minutes (don’t let it get crispy).
- Add cashews, celery seeds, water, and tamari/soy sauce. Turn up heat.
- Stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Turn off heat and grind in some pepper.
