You asked, we listened, and you showed out! Thanks for spending your Friday morning with us on the farm last week! We are excited to announce that Friday Farm Walks will become a monthly installation, so don’t worry if you missed the first one. Come on down in the coming months to see the leaves change and the fields turn over. In the late fall and early winter, you can look forward to guided hikes on the trails around the farm.
Once again, we want to thank you all for a fantastic first-time turnout, and we hope to see you all on Friday, September 27, for the next one! Keep an eye out on social media and our newsletters for further updates.
We Made a Beer With Trellis Brewing
Ready to celebrate the Fall? We’ve got the perfect brew for you. The new Ugh Boots Spiced Squash Beer debuted at Trellis Brewing last week. We kicked off our new collaboration with the brewery on Wednesday, September 4, from 6 – 8 PM. Special thanks to Red Hog Butcher for smoking our butternut squash for this special collaboration. We were happy to celebrate with small organizations and businesses like Tommy’s Pizza, Derby City Run Club, and The Outsiders.
If you couldn’t make it out last Wednesday, don’t worry! Our beer will be available to enjoy at Trellis while supplies last.
Meet Alberto Gonzales Ruiz, One of the Farmers
In March 2022, Alberto arrived to work with the harvest team right before the start of the CSA season. Alberto isn’t new to farming. When he isn’t at Rootbound, he works on his family farm, where they raise cows and grow coffee. Alberto recalls a fond memory, “cuando iba mirar los vacas con mi abuelo cuando tenían babies,” when he and his grandfather used to see the cows as they were having babies. He is used to a farm that has multiple facets of work, from animal tending to harvesting, cleaning, vending, and more.
Here at Rootbound, the farmers have a lot of responsibilities across the fields and land that we steward. “Hací caminos en el bosque,” I made the hiking trails in the forests, Alberto recalled when I asked him what jobs he had outside procuring produce daily. He doesn’t use the trails often but does enjoy them from time to time. In his free time, he likes to go to clothing stores, “salir a tienda,” talk with his family, “hablar con mi familía,” and watch movies “ver películas.” He likes the part in World War Z “cuando encuentra la cura,” when they find the cure.
When he is home in El Real Del Zopilote, Nayarit, Mexico, Alberto likes to relax in the same way when he goes home. He plays volleyball with his coworkers here on the farm and with his friends at home. The only difference between his home life here and in Nayarit is the food. In Nayarit, his mother makes his favorite foods–tortillas hecha a mano handmade tortillas, tamales de pollo rojo, tamales stuffed with chicken stewed in red sauce, and pozole rojo de puerco, green pozole (hominy soup) with pork. When he goes back home later this year, he’ll get to enjoy these delicacies to his heart’s content.
Recipes
Romano Beans are for stewing, braising, and dressing.
Need to use up all your veggies? Try Pav Bhaji.
This is a popular afternoon snack item originally enjoyed by people from Mumbai, but now all over South Asia. Laden with butter and spices, this indulgent and multidimensional dish consists of a gravy blended with almost any kind of cooked down vegetable with a side of buttered buns. Those in the diaspora make it with different vegetables that are locally available to them. You can make this recipe from now to the beginning of fall. Try incorporating beets, cauliflower, Romano beans, carrots, and other hardy root vegetables like turnips along with the potatoes.
Take Red Russian Kale Out to Dinner
The Kale this week is coming in half-pound bags, so keep note when reviewing this week’s recipes. One bag yields about as much as a de-stemmed bunch. Make sure to double up when a recipe calls for 2 bunches or a full pound, and keep the green onions in the cart for the Dubliner cheese salad. We know the default idea is to saute with salt, roast, or toss into a salad, but we also wanted to include some warm recipes like the Sukuma Wiki from Kenya and other Western African countries.
| Sukuma Wiki – African Bites |
| Kale, Apple, and Dubliner Cheese Salad – St Francis Winery |
| Red Russian Kale and Chorizo Soup – Sunset |
| Lemon Parmesan Raw Kale Salad – Brooklyn Supper |
What to Do With Broccolini?
Believe it or not, we never posted a broccolini recipe in the spring! We’ve got some great ones here for you, from a quick air-fried preparation to a Japanese take on Gomaae that traditionally uses spinach.
