Block By Block Cooperation » bonnie

Neighborhood Food Party

bonnie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:26:55 +0000

Raw milk? Homemade yogurt? Homemade sauerkraut? These and more local treats were on the menu last night at the inaugural meeting of the 1000 year old food club. Brett and I went to this amazing event with friends, Micah and Rachel. More of a grazing/snacking party than a dinner party, guests were invited to bring along things they had made or grown themselves. The hosts were the community group Prairie Table. Prairie Table is picking back up again after a hiatus and are hoping to help start a community supported shared kitchen. They want to educate and inspire folks in Champaign County around local food issues. New Prairie Table member, Daniel Schreiber, welcomed guests and shared his homemade artisanal chocolate. You can read more about Schreiber’s chocolate here.
My favorite thing was the raw milk and the local “spun” honey, eating these delicious flavors was a very peaceful experience. Schreiber told us the milk had been grass only 3 hours prior. Wow!
Block Steady hopes to host a local foods feast with Prairie Table this spring, so stay tuned for yumminess.

Respect Native Hosts Map

bonnie — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:03:09 +0000

I recently worked with Sharon Irish, Micah Bornstein, and Kerianne Quick to put as many Respect Native Hosts maps as I could find into a Google map so that we can see how far the project spread. It’s a great way to make solidarity with the Edgar Heap of Birds project visible within our community. This is a public map made for the closing reception of “Beyond the Chief” on the University of Illinois campus. If you have a sign in your front yard and you are not noted in this version, please contact us at Blocksteady and we will get you onto the map. To read more about “Beyond the Chief” and the “Respect Native Hosts” project click here and here. The closing reception for the art piece will be December 4th, 2:00pm at the University YMCA, Latzer Hall, 1001 Wright St. For more information click here.

View Respect Native Hosts in a larger map

Lynn Street Syrup Sunday!

bonnie — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:35:54 +0000

The big day is almost here. Our blocksteady neighbor, Sam V. worked hard all spring to tap the maple trees of pre-historic East Urbana. Sam working under the incredible ratio of 40:1, that’s 40 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of syrup, pulled it off. This Sunday we can all share in the fruits of neighbor labor. Some folks donated their trees, some their fire pits, some their large pots, some their pancake mix, some their graphic design skills, some their energy-none more than Sam! Yeah neighbor labor!

Blocksteady is hosting the Lynn Street Syrup Pancake Potluck party this Sunday May 3, 10 am -12noon in the driveway of 912 S Lynn St. We will provide pancakes and micro-local syrup, you provide a plate, a snack, and a smile. Details below in the awesome flier designed by Sarah R. and Sam V.

Seed Swap Success!

bonnie — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:04:33 +0000

On Groundhog’s Day Eve we, a group of neighbors from Un-historic East Urbana, organized a seed swap at the Common Ground Food Co-op . We wanted the swap to be open to all even if you had never saved seeds before. Kit Condell from Revolution Seeds spoke about the fine art of seed saving. There are many ins and outs if you want to save seeds to reap the same fruit the following year, Kit explained a few. Our group was excited to learn new things about growing.

We were most interested in the idea that seeds should be shared, not patented, and used to grow food every year! Once you start saving seeds and growing, then you can learn more about the ways to cross-breed and preserve varieties, but first you have to start.The 1rst annual Groundhog’s Day Eve was all about getting started. Lisa Bralts-Kelly gave a seed starting demo, complete with a giant lamp fixture, for regular flourescent bulbs-no expensive grow lights nesseccary.

About 60 people attended the event. Folks brought seeds that they had dumpstered, seeds that they had saved from purchased produce, seeds that they had saved from private gardens, seeds from collective gardens, and many more. There were seeds for edibles and non-edibles alike. We can’t wait to do it again next year.

Stay tuned to Blocksteady for upcoming events and info about local food growing and sustainability efforts.

: Photo By Bonnie Fortune