On Wednesday, December 12, 2012, after successfully completing a Kickstarter Campaign to fund its completion and my involvement in events like these, the Breadmobile and I got on the road to take part in Interdependence Day, a San Francisco citywide event put on by 49 Farms.
Conceived as a follow-up to 350.org’s 10/10/10 Global Day of Climate Action* when the local urban agriculture movement helped start 350 “kitchen gardens,” Interdependence Day events celebrated the growing urban agriculture movement. My (pretty) regular urban ag gig is across town at Alemany Farm, where I did an Ecological Horticulture Apprenticeship a few years ago, so I was excited to spend the day with friends at Hayes Valley Farm where I don’t get to visit very often. Hayes Valley Farm has a cob oven, my destination. My breadmobile—though yet to be completed—carried all my breadmaking supplies, and a supply of kindling and almond wood.
Ian and I started a fire at 11 AM in the beehive cob oven which had been created by Living Earth Structures last May. The farm’s Seed Library volunteers set up next to the Outdoor Kitchen. Volunteers planted wheat in the bed closest to the oven. Others did yoga in a clearing. Riyana Sang, representing herself as a healer and the Ohlone Herbal Center, brought medicinal honey which she shared near the entrance. A steady stream of curious folks touring the farm for the first time came past my smoky setting and tasted samples of bread I had baked at home earlier. I also served honey from the Free Farm, given to me by my friend Pam Deluco, the beekeeper there.
I started my breadmaking demo at 1 PM for a dozen people, most of whom had never made bread before. We had to wait a while to put the loaf in the oven as the oven was nowhere close to 450 degrees by 1 PM. (I have found that the temperature of the outdoor ovens is the hardest variable to work with in the outdoor settings.) It was such a great day!! I answered lots of questions, and by the end of the afternoon people were circling back to the oven to sample one of the three loaves baked at the farm that afternoon.
Enjoy the photos, most were taken by Marty Castleberg, some by me, and some by Jay Rosenberg of Hayes Valley Farm.
Here’s a video that was taken by a local journalism student.
Here are also some lovely shots of the day, on The Daily Plan-It.
* I co-organized a bicycle action on 10/10/10, where we invited folks to Ride the Future Shoreline. Check us out.
FALL 2012 BREADMAKING WORKSHOPS
In the spirit of “free,” my kitchen is open to you on one of the nights listed below, to learn about my take on no-knead bread baking, and have dinner around my kitchen table. The workshops are mostly demonstrations, so you won’t get covered in flour, but you’ll witness all of the stages of making the bread, and even get to take some home with you! I can accommodate four to five people per workshop in our tiny kitchen. Dinner will be served after breadmaking (contains wheat of course, but let me know if you are vegan or have other dietary restrictions), so please plan to stay until at least 9:30 PM.
One thing I’ve learned I should mention is that this bread is baked in non-enamel, cast iron pots. If your household doesn’t already have one, I can offer suggestions on what size to buy and where to get them fairly cheaply and locally.
Contributions of wine, chocolate/dessert/fruit, salad, or side dish are welcome to add to the meal. The only dough you need to worry about will be that which we make here!
Here’s the list of dates and info. Please RSVP for your choice of one of the upcoming workshops, and I’ll get back to you to tell you where it is, and please tell me if you’ll be bringing something to contribute to the meal (and what you plan to bring). If we don’t know each other yet, please also tell me how you found me!
When:
Thursday, 11 October 6.30 PM THIS WAS A NICE EVENING!
Thursday, 25 October 6.30 PM FUN! CONVERSATION KEYWORD: BIKE TOURING ADVENTURES!
Sunday, 11 November 6.30 PM FIRST TIME BAKERS UNITE.
Thursday, 15 November 6.30 PM FREE FARM IN THE HOUSE! WWOOFing TOO!
Thursday, 13 December 6.30 PM A TABLE OF STRONG, POWERFUL WOMEN.
Check back for the Spring 2013 schedule coming soon, or contact me to be put on my email list to be contacted when the new dates are released.
What to bring:
an appetite!! also wine, dessert, salad, side dish contributions are welcome.
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May we all slowly move our focus from being breadWINNERS to breadMAKERS!!