Mid summer 2013

san juan edible mountains

Traversing the San Juans to bring you the story of local food, season by season.

Feed thy neighbor, know thy neighbor

No. 13 Mid-Summer 2013

(re)considering A Salad

Twin Buttes and Gabe Eggers dial in farm to table

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ii edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

2 Editor’s Letter 4 Who We Are 5 Letters To Us 9 Manna Plans

A Teaching Kitchen

| Malia Durbano

8 Southwest Memorial

Goes Local

| Malia Durbano

10 A Song To Herself an Edible Interview

14

Feed Thy Neighbor, Know Thy Neighbor

| Ivey Patton

22

(Re)Considering A Salad

28 |

| Rachel Turiel

Savory Summer Alchemy

| Lauren Slaff

26

Twin Buttes And Gabe Eggers Dial In Farm to Table | Gretchen Treadwell

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editor's letter

I

don't know my next door neighbors. I have never asked to borrow a cup of sugar, an egg, a hand. Nor have they. I live in a mountain-y neighborhood where houses are a little far apart, although with a good wind-up, I could easily hit my neighbor’s house with a rock.

The neighbor to my left is a retired priest. I only know this because, apparently, it is common knowledge around town. "Oh, you live next door to my former priest."

The retired priest does not acknowledge us. I have waved, I have said hello, I have tried to make eye contact as we both wheel our garbage cans out on a Wednesday morning. During these times I could toss a baseball to him underhand. We are that close. But nothing.

No nod. No smile. No grunt.

The neighbor to my right has a yard that backs up to ours. The yard is full of angular and dense olive colored trees. I know somebody lives there because I can sometimes see them through the thicket. One time, UPS delivered a package to us that was meant for them. I hand-delivered it, thinking this is fantastic time to introduce myself. The woman met me in the driveway. She looked athletic – like she had just come back from a run. I explained the situation and handed her the box, feeling strangely heroic. And that was it.

She gazed on me as if asking “why do you have my package to begin with?”

And I swear to you, the one other homeowner in proximity to us lives directly across the street. He is of retirement age. That I can safely say. Every morning he places his American flag at the end of his driveway. Every evening he takes it in. We, too, see each other as we pull out of our driveways, roll out our garbage cans, work in our yards. But despite numerous waves, and half-hearted "hello's," I have still yet to get so much as a wink in return.

Now, you would think I would start to take a good look at myself at this point. Reevaluate my deodorant. Possibly practice in the mirror softening my look. But I do these things already. I stare at myself in the mirror everyday wondering exactly who that is staring back. Granted, as has been pointed out to me, wearing ropers with cut-offs might just be enough to repel anybody ... but I can't imagine that is the only problem.

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Our writer, Ivey Patton, has a much closer relationship with her neighbors. They are like family to her. But in the Turtle Lake community, Ivey didn't know everybody. Love Thy Neighbor, Ivey thought. But in order to love them, you probably should learn their names first. But how? Ivey's friends (and neighbors) Kristin Harmon and Celeste Greene had an idea. Throw a party. Through local food, local drinks and bicycles, they threw a community-wide traveling party. It was successful. So they did it again ... and again (see page 14).

Meanwhile the now-developing Twin Buttes neighborhood outside of Durango is reinventing what a neighborhood can be.

Community (food included) is essentially being built in before the houses even go up (see page 26). How can you not know your neighbor when you are sustaining yourself and your family from the same garden?

I think what I need to do is give up on waving to my neighbor.

Quit forcing an empty "hi," expecting something in return. What I think I should do is work on our garden. Spruce up our yard. Fire up the grill. Ice down some beverages. And then invite them all over.

(Emphasis on 'should,' dear reader. I am intimately familiar with my limitations.) The priest, the retiree and the runner. Because just like many of us, they are probably starving. Not for food per se, but for the community that sharing can foster.

Rick Scibelli, Jr.

edible

san juan mountains editor and Publisher Rick Scibelli, Jr.

copy editor Chris Brussat

staff writers Rachel Turiel Laura Thomas Jess Kelley

contributing writers Malia Durbano Ivey Patton Gretchen Treadwell Lauren Slaff

photography and design

On the Cover: Celeste Greene, whose energy and ideas are one of the agents behind the magical community permeating through the Turtle Lake Valley.

Because of her efforts (and her cohorts, including the community catalyst, Kristin Harmon) the people in this ravine with the unusual geology have an unusual relationship. They almost all know each other.

If you go to Celeste's blog, the former Nashville native describes herself as part "Englishman hunter, quiet librarian and Berkeley in 1973.'" The people of the Turtle Lake Valley would probably describe her as somebody who can help throw one hell of a party.

Rick Scibelli, Jr.

Interested in Advertising? contact us info@ediblesanjuanmountains.com edible San Juan Mountains 361 Camino del Rio Suite 127 Durango, CO 81303 To send a letter to the editor, email us at rick@ediblesanjuanmountains.com. For home delivery of Edible San Juan Mountains, email rick@ediblesanjuanmountains.com; the rate is $32 per year.

Edible San Juan Mountains is published quarterly

by Sunny Boy Publications. All rights reserved.

Distribution is throughout southwest Colorado and nationally by subscription.

No part of this publication may be used without written permission of the publisher. © 2013.

Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our sincere apologies and do notify us. Thank you.

3

Our storytellers

Ivey Patton has three jobs, three kids, and a charming husband. She is a teacher. She is a ski instructor. She runs a nature camp during the summer. She dabbles in taxidermy and is trying to quit blogging at www.durangomom.com. Gone are the days of shoestring world travel and excessive bar hopping, but she gave it a good run. She lives and reigns in the Turtle Lake valley.

Gretchen Treadwell lives in Mancos, CO, and teaches writing at Fort Lewis College. She is an avid trail runner and spins tunes every Thursday afternoon at KSJD Dryland Community Radio. For favorites in her own garden, it’s a tie—columbines and cherry tomatoes.

Rachel Turiel is a regular contributor to Edible San Juan Mountains, NPR’s Earth Notes, The Durango Herald and Mamalode, among other publications. If it’s summer time, she probably has lettuce between her teeth (it’s OK to tell her)...or is it arugula, spinach or Swiss chard?

(See article within). The best salads contain: hard-boiled eggs, apples and walnuts. Read more of her work at her blog, 6512 and growing, where she writes about raising food and a family at 6512 feet.

4 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

Chris Brussat is a busy guy this year. He’s establishing a market garden business – TerraNova Gardens – with plots at home in the Pine River Valley and the Old Fort in Hesperus, where he is a charter member of the Farm Incubator program. Writer, farmer, artist, homesteader, and more, copy editing for Edible gives him the opportunity to sit down for a while and catch his breath.

Originally from NYC, Lauren Slaff spends her time cooking – cooking for friends (which her friends covet like a secret), cooking for students, cooking for clients and cooking for this magazine. Up for anything but generally paid for nothing, Lauren is a typical example of the average Southwest Colorado resident: financially strained with a world-class view.

Originally from Denver, Rick Scibelli, Jr., is a freelance photojournalist and this magazine's editor and publisher.

Along with Edible San Juan Mountains, his work can be seen at rickscibelli.com and rickscibelliweddings.com. He is grateful for everybody on this page.

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Letters to us To The Editor: Dear Creative and Inspiring Staff of Edible, your magazine brings me such joy ! It is beautiful, informative and a pleasure to the eye. I like the feel of the paper you have chosen for your pages.

Enclosed is my subscription request.With great enjoyment I appreciate each of you. Kudos. Duffy Brook, Durango To The Editor: I just read your article, "The Ballad of the Drylander," and can honestly say I think it is some of your best work yet. I also really liked the editor's letter from Rick Scibelli, Jr. and am impressed with how he embraces the true diversity of our region and does not resort to pre-conceptions about rural, farming folk. Chris Chambers, Durango To The Editor: I recently read, and thoroughly enjoyed, your article in “The Ballad of the Drylander”. My father is Mike Coffey; one of the folks you interviewed for the piece. The text was outstanding, and I was also struck by the quality of the photos in the article. After talking to my mother and my brother, we thought we might ask if we could get access to some of the photos that didn’t make it into the article (specifically the ones of dad). We would only keep these for the family, and would not disseminate them in any type of media. Thanks for your

6 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

consideration, and for a very well written article. Grant Coffey, Supervisory Archaeologist Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Cortez, CO (Thank you so much for taking the time to forward these photos. My family will enjoy them immensely. Grant Coffey) To The Editor: I really liked the photos in Spring/Summer 2013 Edible San Juan Mountains. You caught the spirit of all the people photographed. Thanks for the beauty. Lynn Wodell at Heartwood Cohousing Community, Bayfield To The Editor: As a newcomer to your magazine, I immediately became a fan. I especially savored The Ballad of the Drylander by Rachel Turiel. Her writing is lyrical, inventive and always respectful of her subject.This form of agriculture, and the sheer dream-driven grit of the farmers who practice it, was unknown to me. "Their day-to-day ordinary" life is anything but ordinary. It's a small miracle.

Also, Rachel's merry reference to "music-making" immediately elicited a Proust-like frisson of memory. Once, years ago during my previous life in Berkeley, I had dinner with a close friend at her house. Before serving her savory chili, she off-handedly passed around a jar of Beano (casual dinner, old friends). This was new to me, and a bit startling; I've always loved music (especially rock and roll).

Thanks for your beautiful magazine, and thanks to Rachel for triggering my jaunt down memory lane. Mary Benson, Durango

7

in the news

Long-time Manna facility assistant, Pam Gibson, left, welcomes her Wednesday night volunteer, Christy Polinsky.

Manna Plans a Teaching Kitchen | Malia Durbano

T

hanks to a $500,000 grant from the Karakin Foundation, Manna Soup Kitchen in Durango will construct a new 3,170-square-foot building to house administrative offices, a teaching kitchen, and conference rooms.

“We are conducting a needs assessment to determine if the operation can become self-sustaining in a few years,” Larry Turner, board member and Chairman of the Building Committee, said. “We will decide if using the kitchen to produce products such as soups and deli items for local grocery stores will be a good way to utilize the facility to generate income.”

At the new teaching kitchen, workers will learn knife skills, how to prepare sauces and soups, how to read recipes and measurements, cuts of meat, food combining and professional behavior. “With the high concentration of restaurants here, a large percentage of the classified ads are for restaurant work,” says Turner. “Our new program will offer training and experience to a population otherwise not served.”

8 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

Workers at the facility served almost 61,000 meals in 2012, and prepared an additional 4,500 weekend lunches for students on the free or reduced-price school lunch program. Food donations from all the local grocery stores, including City Market, Albertsons, Vitamin Cottage / Natural Grocers and Nature’s Oasis and many local farmers totaled 131,399 pounds in 2012, with approximately 70% to 80% of it organic produce. Whatever the soup kitchen can’t use is donated to other organizations such as the Safe House, Homeless Shelter and smaller food banks from Pagosa Springs to Silverton.

In a dining room adjacent to the culinary teaching kitchen, people will learn serving skills. The conference rooms will be rented to other agencies that serve the same population.

“By making people more employable, we help them get back in the work force and provide restaurants with trained, experienced employees,” Turner said. `

Where the Best of Local Comes Together.

Dan Viti checks in with his crew just prior to the lunch rush

Southwest Memorial goes local

P

| Malia Durbano

atients and employees of the Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez are eating well these days.

New Director of Hospitality Services Dan Viti is doing away with the frozen and canned vegetables and bringing in fresh, mostly organically and locally grown vegetables. He is purchasing mixed greens from Stone Free Farm in Cortez and an array of lettuces and vegetables from Eagle Tree Farm in Dolores.

“I want our services here to be viewed as a Five Star Hotel/ Resort.

The only difference is our customers are sick,” Viti explains. He believes the patients should reap the benefits of local food because good nutrition is part of the healing process and aids in speedy recovery.

His menus will include as many local vegetables as possible, including tomatoes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, celery, peppers, cucumbers, peas, potatoes and onions. An herb garden on the hospital grounds will soon provide parsley, basil, cilantro and dill.

Pork from Bertho Farms in Cortez (processed by Sunnyside Farms in Durango) will be served. Viti’s future plans include adding locally raised beef.

Viti is reaching out to the local farmers to establish mutually beneficial relationships. His recent in-house survey indicates that the staff will support a farmer’s market at the hospital. “I will hand pick products from local farmers and make them available. What doesn’t get purchased, I will use in my recipes. I’m all about spreading the wealth and creating partnerships.” Viti hopes to purchase fresh veggies throughout the winter from local operations with greenhouses.

Not many people consider going to a hospital for breakfast or lunch, but Viti says he has noticed a steady increase in the number of meals served. `

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in the Field

James Ranch apprentice, Patrice Treu, herds her girls back out to pasture.

A song to herself

F

On Being An Apprentice - An Edible Interview

arm apprentices and interns come in all flavors. There is the grad student from Yale and the sophomore from The Fort. There is the “I want to do this for the rest of my life” set, and then there are those just looking for a diversion. There is the live in a teepee kind, the live in the back of a Subaru with the dog kind and then there is the lucky handful who live in the nice cabin the ranch happens to supply. All of them, however, seem to have one thing in common: a desire for adventure. Patrice Treu is one such adventurer.

Treu had just completed her master’s degree in liberal arts (with an emphasis in philosophy) at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico prior to arriving for her apprenticeship at the James Ranch, an operation with a rich tradition of educating new farmers. For her, philosophy and farming go hand in hand.

One is not unlike the other. Her days off are not spent climbing or hiking or biking (except to the bakery) or any other of the list of standard Southwest Colorado activities. Instead, her time is SUPPORTING OUR REGIONS FARMERS, RANCHERS AND ARTISANS

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10 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

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often spent reading. And writing (And napping. "The days are long," she says).

It was Walt Whitman’s 194th birthday on May 31. And just who knew? Well, Treu knew.

“I wrote a bit of a recitative (in his honor),” she says, suggesting that is nothing to be taken too seriously, and not having the slightest notion that this writer would have to go home to look up “recitative.” Treu’s inspiration that day came from a Whitman phrase from Song of Myself (a poem included in his Whitman's iconic work, Leaves of Grass, a book Treu was reading at the bakery on her day off ): "I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, / If you want me again look for me again look for me under your boot-soles."

Walt Whitman is very much present under my boot-soles these days – present full and full. Sometimes I just want to plunge my whole self into the clear, fast running irrigation ditch (yes, the ditch) and drink and drink, to yell to the oak trees "Glory! Glory!" for all their new leaves and we together, the grass and I, always becoming closer cousins with the pendulous ambling cows – their wet hot breath on the dusty earth – together we want, and in our desire we call out at once to the sun and rain clouds, "For life! For life!" - Patrice Treu

Edible San Juan Mountains: Why philosophy?

Patrice Treu: I discovered philosophy and good organic food at the same time. I think the discipline of philosophy is simply a different kind of food from the kind we grow in fields – it’s food for the mind. The mind needs whole food just as much as the body needs it.

What one wants in both cases (philosophy and farming) is to get access to the heart of things, to participate in what is real, and to receive good quality, satisfying nourishment from it.

How did you go from philosophy to farm work? What was the thought process?

While I was doing philosophy, I was always working on some kind of farm or another – community gardens or CSAs. Being outside and working in the soil always seemed to balance the academic pursuits which can drive you to crazy places in your mind.

Is full-time farming harder than you expected?

12 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

Right off the bat it was harder than I thought because of the timeintensive nature of it. I couldn’t balance full-time farming with anything. There is no extra time for anything.

What do you find to be the hardest part of dairy work?

I have a fear of committing completely to one thing and it is being realized. There is a part of me that really wants leisure and there is no leisure in farming.

What is the most enjoyable part?

I am not a morning person, but the most enjoyable part is the morning. Going and letting the chickens out during the freshest part of the day. The beautiful Animas River valley is just fabulous.

I like being with cows as well. They bring me a kind of peace. They are sparking that curiosity in me that makes one ask “what are they thinking” and “who are these curious creatures?”

What do you do when you are not working?

I nap and I ride my bike to the bakery which is 11 miles away and I allow myself a pastry. Today I read a book: Walt Whitman. I was reading his inscriptions, “I dedicate this to.” And they are beautiful. It kind of spells out some of his intentions for Leaves of Grass. I also do laundry. Mundane things.

Your apprenticeship lasts until mid-November. What then?

I am starting to think about that. I’m looking for options back in Santa Fe that might be related to farming or cheese making. But it is kind of an open page. I am interested in trying to get grant money to study cheese making in Europe, but that might be a long shot.

What do your parents think about this?

Farming makes more sense to them than philosophy.

What is the best thing about working with Dan James?

He knows how to do everything. Ask him a practical question and he can answer it. And he is a really good teacher and really likes to teach. And he is an extremely thoughtful and careful person. So I know I learn what I am learning in a good way. I am not learning sloppy cheese making. I am learning good cheese making. And his awareness of the interconnectedness of everything is really cool.

We all think we know him because we see Dan James at the Durango Farmers Market and Telluride Farmers Market. He is a Durango native and seems to know everybody. But what is he REALLY like?

He has a distinctive trait: he has a method for everything and he is very particular about that method. And sometimes it is very specific. It is something that becomes admirable in this context. When I worked as a barista, there were a couple of customers who wanted their drinks just so. They told me exactly what they wanted. I came to enjoy them because they enjoyed what they were drinking. I made it right. It brought me satisfaction and it brought them satisfaction.

That is how I see Dan, in this light. He has a particular way of doing things right.

Would you say that is your personality too?

No, probably not my way. I feel I have more fly away and loose ends by far. Hopefully I find a way to tame those loose ends or learn to appreciate those tendencies. `

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in the neighborhood

Feed thy neighbor, know thY neighbor | Ivey Patton

"C

ommunity.” It's a word that conjures up goodwill and a peaceful, easy feeling. It's a song we all want to hum along with, in part because we love the sound of it, but truthfully, we hum because we don't always know the words. If we are being honest, and let's be, community can be a wee bit vague. It's a delightful collective word that can sometimes fail to actively include the individual. We all want to be a part of a vibrant and dynamic community, but how does that look in practical terms?

In the dictionary, you will find three concise definitions of community.

1. a body of people living in one place or district and considered as a whole; 2. a group with common interests or origins; 3. fellowship or being alike in some way.

That makes it a bit clearer, but my old-fashioned self in this postmodern world wants more. There is community the noun, when I think we are all longing for community the verb.

Maybe it's very simple.

Someone once said, "Love your neighbor." If we're quite literal, then we need to know our neighbors. We can't be in community when we are strangers, pure and simple.

I adore my neighbors. They are like family, but better. We don't get to choose them. They are delightfully serendipitous and, if we're lucky, they become the fresh air of daily life. The path between us is worn with urgent requests for the proverbial cup of sugar, the plunger, a black dress, a glass – or three – of wine , jumper cables (and a jump), the bicycle pump, a staple gun, and an endless parade of children. We carpool, we feed each other, we share and nurture.

Turtle Lakers, including (foreground) Kyle Stansbury, left,

14 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

Erin Jolley, center, and Brady Wilson, right.

15

But guess what? I've often felt a guilty twinge driving home through my quiet valley, admitting to myself that I know very few of the people with whom I share this slice of heaven. Mother Nature has granted us neighbor status with her lush folding of the very earth.

We are literally nestled together. We clearly have something in common. We have all consciously chosen the same geographical location to hang our hats. We wake up to the same coyotes howling, the same chorusing crickets and the same jackass dog barking. Shouldn't I know more of these folks?

So this is the story of a little valley, let's call it a neighborhood, that decided to run with the idea of building community in a tangible, tasty, and recurring fashion. It all started innocently enough, with two friends (both newcomers to the valley) wanting to get together for a drink on a summer evening. These two friends, one an event planner, the other an eternal optimist, quickly decided that the whole neighborhood might want to get together. Turns out they were right. Plans were hatched for a sustainable, progressive dinner, all with the goal of uniting strangers with similar addresses into a community of folks who know one another by name.

This is certainly not a new idea. Everyone knows that the best way to unite people is with food. I was raised in the Deep South, so this is coded into my DNA, but it was still a Eureka moment when my neighbor explained her idea for a monthly, five-course, progressive, bike-to-dinner party and casually asked if I would host the dinner segment with her.

"Of course!" I said, not pondering the logistics of a hundred or so friends and strangers for dinner. Never mind that when considering my home, I mentally cue the Sanford and Sons theme song. (If you are too young for that reference, then you missed some rock solid ’70s sit-com programming, but I'll fill you in. It's about a junkyard.) I love my home, but it's not the stuff of hostessing dreams.

The invitations spelled out the details. Five courses at five different houses, ride your bike, and bring your own plate, cup and utensils.

And yes, bring friends and family.

On the day of the dinner there is a buzz in the air. As we sneak up on five o'clock, my children are like woodpeckers to the skull, ‘Can we go yet? Can we go yet? Can we go yet?’ With their little packs (containing their dinnerware) slung over their backs, and the bikes on the ready in their usual spot (strewn in the driveway under the back wheel of my car), they are giddy to begin the evening. We zing down the driveway and join others headed in the same direction.

I drop my sturdy, stickered bike in the grass among several dozen others and make my way to a group of folks surrounding a rickety, vintage ironing board. Celeste Green and Kristin Harmon, the women behind the whole idea, are serving up spirited Colorado cocktails.

An elixir of Jackelope and Jenny pear gin from Peach Street Distillers in Palisade is mingled with batch-brewed Evergreen Elderberry Soda from Rocky Mountain Soda Company in Denver. Add a slap of mint from the next door neighbor and a splash of plain ol’ soda water, have a sip, take a breath, and let your cares go the way of the once local whooping crane. They fill the cups, mugs and jars that we have all 16 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

brought, and the distance between strangers dissolves into laughter.

A rousing coyote call at the top of each hour is the signal to move on.

Hors d'oeuvres are next and we gather in the Turtle Lake garden just down the road where the host, a single dad and his lovely daughters, have arranged plates of golden James Ranch raw milk cheeses, both Leyden and their signature Belford, with peppery, green chile summer sausages, from our award winning Sunnyside Meats and a mountain of crunchy chewy, just-made bread from everyone’s favorite local bakery, Bread. Creamy goat cheese from the Lazy Ewe Goat Dairy in nearby Del Norte, sliced tomatoes, a fat baggie of fresh basil yanked from a nearby garden, all topped with a shot of crunchy salt, are simple and sumptuous. Katrina Blair pulls a Turtle Lake rabbit out of the hat with her electric pink beet hummus and a deep pile of greens and edible weeds straight out of the grow dome for dipping.

Last year’s cherries debut for their final ovation from her deep freeze, plump and chilly, still bursting with flavor. Even early in the season, all is alive and well in the land of local food.

And so it goes. We eat and drink and eat some more. Abundant greens, organic early corn and avocados with homemade buttermilk dressing and two soul-soothing soups warm us as the sun sets at the third stop. The children travel in their own pack and find all their favorite neighborhood nooks and crannies. They are well fed and free on this near perfect summer night. They are more than willing to taste test all the many flavors of Rocky Mountain soda and vote Birch Beer as their favorite, with peaches and cream a very close second. The ironing board bar follows the group. Banjos come out and singers emerge.

For dinner, Dove Creek beans simmered long hours with organic molasses and chipotle peppers slow dance with potato salad studded with bright herbs and green onions from the garden of party-goer Erin Jolley. Brats from our local meat cooperative, LB brand, sizzle on an open fire and secure their final resting place in mini buns with tangy sauerkraut and mustard. Mysterious Mason jars, filled with a golden homemade wine, are scattered on the table for sampling.

The final stop is dessert. The stars and a few headlamps are our only light as bikes bob down the road. Mountains rise up on either side, hemming us in their shadow. We eat chocolate-dipped strawberries as we gather round a fire pit and relax into each other.

We are now a group of friends. We know each other. We can now chat at the grocery store or give a helping hand. We are available and open.

This will be our second summer of dinners. We are a funny bunch.

There are longtime valley veterans who have been here forever, and will never leave. There are itinerant seekers who find our little valley and call it home for a brief season. We are professionals and hippies and families and retirees. Deep roots or fanciful wings, we are all travelers on this same road and right this minute, we live on the same road.

We are neighbors. We are friends. We can now go about the business of community.

P.S. There is talk of adding a dance to the whole thing. There is one thing that I can say with certainty: “to be continued.”

17

Page 17 (clockwise starting at upper left): Lewis Patton takes a stab at dinner; Kristin Harmon gives a warm welcome to Paloma Gennari; Katrina Blair welcomes the party to her Turtle Lake gardens; and Kristofer Pleszewicz, aka “China,” gets ready to advance to the next course. This page, top: Kristin Harmon and Celeste Greene play bartender at Scott Smith’s hideaway; bottom: Will Hubert makes his way to the next course, banjo in hand.

18 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

Recipe for a community dinner

G

athering to break bread is nothing new. There is no right way and certainly no wrong way. There are those who go “all out” with their flown-in hoo-ha and fancy table, and those who throw together hearty comfort food with ease and little fanfare. Logistically, it can be a little overwhelming to entertain for an unknown (but large) group of folks, so here are some simple guidelines to help make a

community gathering an event that is doable, fun and stress free. Add your own local color!

Collaborate. No one person should take this on. By very definition, it should be a group effort. Find several people to coordinate the logistics and divide the responsibilities. Our dinner is a fairly elaborate progressive affair at five different locations, and while that may 19

seem daunting, in fact, it takes the burden off of any one person. You can relax in the knowledge that four other hosts have your back should you scorch the beans or over garlic the dip. A potluck would be an easy route to take, too. The point is not to oneup Martha Stewart. The point is to gather. Keep is simple and share the load. This will prevent burnout and assure that your event is sustainable over time.

Choose a theme. Does this sound hokey? I thought so too, at first.

It's not. It's oh-so-helpful. A large gathering needs some unity, a thread to weave it all together. If there are several different hosts for different portions of the meal, it just makes sense. It narrows the options from several million to a blessed few. Hors d'oeuvres for 100? No thanks.

A southwestern theme? Well, sure....chips and fiery salsa for all, no problem. Bear in mind that some themes lend themselves to budget entertaining better than others. French versus Mexican is a good example. By incorporating seasonal offerings, your theme just might create itself. A few that we have chosen and that worked well are Italian Garden Party, Mediterranean Garden, Spring in the Southwest, and Fall Harvest. A theme keeps it fresh and makes it easier.

BYO. If there were a way to make print media flash, this little section would be a blinding beacon. Pretty please, try our BYO trick for a sustainable event that does not leave the landfill groaning or your kind host washing dishes for hours after all have left. We all know what BYOB means. We aren't asking you to supply your own liquor; we gladly do that. But please do Bring Your Own plate, cup, and utensils.

Think of the savings: five courses, five hosts, five sets of disposables, or five epic dishwashings. This also means that after the group moves to the next course, there is virtually no cleanup.

Bike to dinner. This is optional, but boy is it fun. The biking is as much fun as the dinner. The kids love it. We collectively wheel from house to house in the fading sunset. We take over the road, kids screeching, dogs barking and any traffic behind us just has to wait.

The sun sets and headlamps come out, but a group of fifty bikers still rules the pitch black road. Some walk. Some drive. It's all good, but there is something about a bike. I highly recommend it.

On a budget. Serving a large group of people can get expensive. Printing invitations and mailing them to 75+ folks is not free. Here's the bald truth: it's doable. If invitations feel like too much, consider a group email. There are many ways to stretch your food dollar. Think beans, potatoes, hearty breads and soups, or whatever is running rampant in your garden. We easily served one hundred people dinner for less than fifty dollars with an unruly bed of mint and ten boxes of penne. Minty lemon pesto and pasta wove itself seamlessly into our Italian Garden theme, solely because my mint is invasive and noodles are cheap.

Just do it. Of course, there are a million reasons NOT to do this.

We are all busy (and we always will be). We are all hesitant to invite over a hundred friends and strangers. Don't worry about how your house looks. Don't worry about the food. Don't worry if you're just renting or are new to town or are soon moving on. Be casual. Relax.

Let it be easy. Don't sweat the details.

Here’s a final word on invitations. One neighbor designed them, another printed them and I have often volunteered to deliver them. I send my youngest daughter out with the neighbor boy. They go up and down our country road sticking invitations in all the mailboxes. We have come to learn that “This Is Not Okay.” I envision my mailbox as a portal of sorts. It's a diminutive tunnel of love. Yes, it can harbor bills and other undesirables, but its primary purpose is one of goodness and joy. You can stick an invitation, or a loaf of warm bread, or a gray squirrel in there. I don't care. We will be surprised and delighted.

I assumed that everyone felt this way, but it's not unusual for me to be wrong.

You can sleep safe in the knowledge that the federal government and the US Postal Service do not share my warm fuzzies for the common mailbox. They see it as a fortress not to be breached, and apparently some of my neighbors do too. I'm not going to die in this particular ditch, and the moral of the story is to mail your invitations with a stamp on them, rather than sending your young child and the neighbor boy to hand-deliver them. They are now serving two to ten at Canon City for mail fraud. Lesson learned. `

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22 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

in the kitchen

(re)considering a salad | Rachel Turiel

P

erhaps you think salads are the unsexy, lackluster territory of dieters. Maybe you remember the decades of uninspired restaurant salads: pale wedges of iceberg lettuce rising above mealy companion tomato slices and ponds of cottage cheese; a cup of lab-white fat-free Ranch dressing congealing “on the side.”

But today’s salad possibilities are like an edible manifestation of diversity on an urban street corner: spicy arugula, ruffled kale, sharp mustard greens, fluffy sprouts, salty chard, sweet, mild lettuces, and spinach that melts in your mouth.

And yet, we’re still talking about, well, leaves, which don’t exactly light up anyone’s brain pleasure centers in the way as, say, bacon. But no one’s expecting you to be the salad monk, nibbling through bowls of austere and unadulterated leaves, becoming boringly healthier by the day. Salad is not the consolation prize for a bereft dieter. Tuck enough tasty and colorful nuggets of fat and protein between the leaves and it becomes a filling and festive meal.

Because really, what is a salad but a collection of nutritionally power-packed leaves flavored to your exact tastes? It’s like a chooseyour-own-adventure book: will you add spicy arugula to your salad bowl? If yes, then proceed to your fridge for the balancing sweetness of chopped apples. Need a midday protein boost? Add crumbled blue cheese, turkey, or hard-boiled eggs (or all three). Vegan? Select walnuts or avocados. Drench with tasty dressing. Grab a fork. The end.

Oh, and would you like to prevent cancer as you chew? Arugula, bok choi, Swiss chard, spinach, kale and cabbage are all listed in the book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Dr. Jonny Bowden, due to tongue-bending cancer-fighters like sulforaphane (kale), isothiocyanates (arugula), indoles (bok choi), and dithiolethiones (cabbage). Also, each leafy green is its own complex multivitamin, walloped with vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, antioxidants, folate, and iron. Katrina Blair, proprietor of the Durango raw and wild foods restaurant Turtle Lake Cafe, notes that the enzymes found in raw greens are catalysts to all human bodily functions (respiration, digestion, elimination, muscle building, etc.).

On the day that salad greens get their own Walk of Fame, I would

like to nominate spinach for the first star. One cup of cooked spinach contains more than a quarter of the Daily Recommended Value (DV) of calcium, iron and vitamin C, and more than the entire DV of vitamin A and K. Thirteen different compounds, called flavonoids, have been discovered to function as antioxidants and anticancer agents in spinach. So impressive are these compounds, researchers have created spinach extracts to be used in controlled cancer studies. Research published in the 2004 issue of the Journal of Nutrition showed that these extracts slow cell division in stomach, skin, breast and prostate cancers. I’ll skip the extract and just eat the salad (with avocado, apple and feta, please).

It’s worth noting that in the nutritional parade of leafy greens, lettuces limp along at the end. The buzzword here is “nutrient density,” and according to Durango naturopath and midwife Joy Frazer, you’d have to eat more than twice as much lettuce to get the same nutrition as from the darker leafy greens (and forget about the anti-cancer compounds).

However, lettuce is a perfect “gateway green” (for children and some husbands) leading gently to the toothier salad options of kale and chard. If you hope to maximize your lettuce investments, Durango registered dietician Mikel Love suggests selecting the most colorful and strong-flavored lettuces. In my role as mother to two young ones, I consider it my job to instill kindness, generosity and an ability to enjoy salads.

And if my children want their salads to swim in a pond of salad dressing, studded with icebergs of avocados, olives and apples, I am no different. In my salad bowl, leafy greens shake hands with walnuts, avocados, hard-boiled eggs, blue cheese, apples and, yes, sometimes even bacon.

If you think adding bacon lowers the nutritional value of your salad, good news! On the Venn Diagram of diets, from Atkins to Vegan and everything between, the overlap of gastronomical correctness is undoubtedly, always, vegetables. The research shows over and over, in every way possible, this very simple fact: eating daily multiple servings of a diverse nation of vegetables will improve your health. (The oc-

23

(clockwise from top) Arugula, Kale, Spinach, Red Butter Lettuce, Mustard Green, Rainbow Chard casional bacon slice riding the coattails of leafy greens? No problem).

But, did you need just one more reason to eat a daily salad? First, a new term: microbiota. Microbiota is the collective population of the several hundred microbial species that inhabit our bodies, which incidentally, outnumber human cells ten to one. New research indicates that the diversity and specific make-up of our microbiota (which differ tremendously from culture to culture and generally exist in symbiotic harmony with human cells) correlate with specific diseases. That is, people who have auto-immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and fibromyalgia, share similarities in their gut microorganisms that unaffected people don’t. Microbiologists believe it is possible that our microbiota profile can protect us from, or predispose us to, disease.

We develop most of our microbiota by age three, but factors like diet and antibiotic use can alter populations. Eating the standard American diet (high in sugar, processed carbs and fat) seems to result in a low diversity of microbial species (which is less protective against disease). According to Stanford microbiologist Justin Sonnenburg, “The safest way to increase your microbial diversity is to eat many different complex carbohydrates and plant fibers.” Or as food writer and researcher Michael Pollan says, “The less a food is processed, the more 24 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

of it gets safely through the gastrointestinal tract and into the eager clutches of the microbiota.”

Surely over the coming years, the micro-scrutinizing of our food will increase. Even more information will come clear. But, when our mothers told us to eat our vegetables, they knew.

Where tomatoes and stone fruit capture a particular gustatory season all their own, as evinced by farmers markets swelling with starryeyed shoppers precisely as tomatoes and peaches ripen, salad greens span the entire Colorado growing season. Arugula, spinach, chard, bok choi, kale, lettuce, parsley and cilantro are the brave upstarts of the local food season, popping up through spring snow. At the season’s end, these same greens mingle in their no-fuss way with October’s potatoes and pumpkins.

It seems prudent to invest, gastronomically speaking, in the abundance of salad greens while they are locally available. The USDA recommends eating 2 ½ cups of vegetables a day (your neighborhood naturopath would undoubtedly recommend more). Eating one salad meal could cross “vegetable intake” off your daily to-do list. Your liver will thank you. As will your heart, lungs, blood, digestion, mouth and those 100 trillion or so bacteria that call your body home. `

Green Goddess

ingredients:

1 avocado 1 cup yogurt 1 garlic clove 3 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves (okay to substitute with cilantro, dill, tarragon or other fresh herbs) Juice of 1 lime ½ teaspoon salt

method:

Blend everything in food processor or blender.

Grandma Joyce’s Vinaigrette

ingredients:

1 cup olive oil 3/4 cups seasoned rice vinegar 2 garlic cloves 2 tablespoon mustard

method:

Whisk oil, vinegar and mustard together and place in jar. Nick garlic with knife, let sit in jar.

Salad add ins - avocado, hard boiled egg

fresh herbs, chopped meat, apples or other fresh or dried fruit, ol-

ives, nuts and/or seeds, cheese (strong flavors like feta and blue cheese),beans (garbanzos are tasty) sprout, spickles, sauerkraut

edible flowers: nasturtiums, pansies, violets, borage, calendula, johnny

jump ups, marigolds

25

Twin Buttes and Gabe Eggers dial in farm to table | Gretchen Treadwell

P

icture this: over eight pounds of spinach comes out of the garden at 8 am. At 10 am, the grower arrives through the back door of a Durango restaurant, delivering the greens right into the chef’s hands, and by 12 pm, those greens are on a plate, in front of a happy and hungry customer.

Two to four hours. That’s the time it takes for food harvested from the Twin Buttes gardens to arrive at various locations in Durango. Using a highly reciprocal network of alliances, Twin Buttes produce is often pre-sold before the seed even goes in the ground.

Growing since 2008, the Twin Buttes gardens have preceded ground breaking for homes at this 900-acre sustainable community located 2.5 miles west of Durango off Highway 160.

Gabe Eggers, agricultural director, explains how this precedence makes perfect sense: “It’s a realistic way to fulfill the vision of the place because it can take three to seven years to have the growing dialed.”

Of the 900 acres, 775 are dedicated to open space, and two acres to five farm lots. Add to this 40 hens, an apiary of 10 beehives, and ranchlands hosting 30 Black Angus mix cows.

Inherent in the Twin Buttes design is a self-sustaining community for future residents, and a CSA already feeding 25 members.

Residents will have the option to receive fresh produce based on this direct access system integrating the vegetable gardens, bees, poultry, and cows. The aim is a local and dependable food source that is sustainably produced.

But with gardens before houses, this picture is much bigger. Woven into the web are several Durango restaurants along with Nature’s Oasis and Durango Natural Foods grocery stores.

"Gabe is a wholesaler,” David Stewart, executive chef at Seasons Rotisserie and Grill, says appreciatively. “Participation in local agriculture has changed. We’re not going to the farmer’s market with a couple baskets anymore.” Now, they can call ahead – way ahead.

Stewart and Eggers begin discussing harvest as early as February.

Add to this arrangement fair and feasible. The wholesale system Eggers has developed with restaurants like Seasons, the Raider Ridge Café, and Zia Taqueria aligns with what Stewart at Seasons considers fair prices. And due to Eggers’ solid understanding of the demands, it works. On the table at Seasons, this may translate to baby lettuce with

Gabe Eggers, right, and Brian Petrie harvest greens for Zia Taqueria.

26 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

Stacey Carlson spends the morning hand washing just-picked greens.

Linnaea Farm goat cheese, or campfire garlic, roasted in embers on their wood burning grill for a smoky, sweet caramelized flavor.

Seasons dishes up Twin Buttes spinach, lettuce, and onions most of the year, and last year served potatoes, carrots, beets, radishes, broccoli, cucumbers, various herbs, and garlic.

At Raider Ridge, Eggers muses, college kids may get a “dose of local spinach – unbeknownst to them” in a breakfast burrito. At Zia, restaurant goers are likely to find cilantro, greens, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers from the gardens, along with ground beef from the Twin Buttes ranch.

Zia’s partnership with Twin Buttes includes Zia’s purchase of the Twin Buttes greenhouse and hoop house.

“We did this so we could help get production going sooner rather than later,” Tim Turner, founder of Zia Taqueria, says. “We've worked with Gabe since 2007 and wanted him to have the tools to grow as much for us as possible.”

Tools for Eggers and his cohorts at Twin Buttes go deeper than shovels and hoes, and tap into what Eggers calls cultural ecologist consciousness. Partnerships with organizations like Cooking Matters, the Growing Partners of Southwest Colorado, and the Old Fort at Hesperus further advance his goal to impact choices. It’s a shift in the way we eat our food, and the way we think about our food. If food is more accessible and available locally, Eggers believes, “that, in itself, creates a sense of community – relationships with the earth and with each other.”

Teaching also abounds onsite. “The design of the garden caters to education and diverse ways to work with landscape,” Eggers says. The hillside flows with herb beds, raspberries, and flowering perennials for

the bees. Day campers pick these raspberries and learn why the berries grow so well in the particular soil, and students visiting the apiary will explore methods of reviving honeybee populations.

Eggers has also led an apprentice program at Twin Buttes since its inception. Apprentices study cultivation and garden planning, while full-time and part-time gardeners and volunteers weed, water, and harvest.

That driving desire for food to travel the least possible distance has also prompted Eggers to help launch an alternative-market project for farmers around the Four Corners, beginning this summer. With the ties Eggers has already created, he hopes a distribution center can allow produce to remain in the wholesale market once the Twin Buttes residents actually arrive.

“It can be as simple as what we eat for lunch to what we do for a living – it all has a ripple effect,” Eggers says. ` For more information on the youth farm camp hosted at Twin Buttes, contact Katrina at 970-335-9692 or oldfortfarmcamp@gmail. com.

Animas High School, a public charter school, breaks out the books this fall at their new home at Twin Buttes (www.animashighschool. com).

For applications and information on working and learning in the Twin Buttes gardens, go to www.twinbuttesofdurango.com/projectplan/gardens/.

“Alternative Direct Marketing Methods" for Small Farmers in Southwest Colorado” is a community grant project led by Beth LaShell, coordinator for the Old Fort at Hesperus.

Pr actice a little culinary alchemy this summer (Margarita's included) | Lauren Slaff

P

ractice a little culinary alchemy this summer. ractice a little culinary alchemy this summer. Experiment with a palette of contrasting flavors: Salty. Sweet. Bitter. Sour. Marinate your fresh-sliced strawberries in balsamic vinegar and add a little fresh tarragon and some sugar and ladle them over your vanilla ice cream. Introduce a jalapeño and sparkling water to your margarita. How about spicing up your watermelon with goat cheese, mint and sea salt?

Lauren's Favorite Watermelon Salad (This recipe may sound a little odd, but trust me, your guests will love it)

ingredients:

1 small watermelon, seeded and cut into “dominos” 4 ounces Chevre cheese, crumbled 2 tablespoons fresh mint, coarsely chopped or chiffonade Juice of one lime Coarse sea salt, to taste

method:

Layer watermelon pieces on a serving platter. Crumble Chevre over the top. Sprinkle evenly with mint. Squeeze lime juice over salad. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.

LAUREN'S MARGARITA DU JOUR ingredients:

2 ½ cups "limonada" (see below) 1 ½ cups good reposada or añejo-style tequila ½ cup orange liqueur (like Cointreau) Coarse salt 6 cups ice cubes 1 jalapeño pepper, sliced

method:

Limonada: stir together one cup fresh-squeezed lime juice, ½ cup sugar and 1 ½ cups fizzy water until dissolved.

In a pitcher, combine the tequila, limonada and orange liqueur.

Use the lime and salt to crust the rims of eight 6-ounce martini glasses. Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice and a couple slices (your call, how brave are you?) of the jalapeño. Pour in a generous 1 cup of margarita mixture. Shake vigorously 10 to 15 seconds and strain into two of the prepared glasses. Cheers!

28 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

Peach, Chipotle and Red Onion chutney

ingredients:

1 medium red onion, sliced 1 tablespoon cooking oil ¼ cup chipotle in adobo, finely minced Juice of 1 lime 1 pound ripe peaches, peeled and sliced 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar Salt & pepper to taste salt & pepper to taste

method:

In a saucepan over medium/high heat, cook red onion in oil until tender and translucent. Add chipotle and sauté until fragrant.

Add balsamic and reduce until almost dry. Add peaches, lime juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer until peaches are cooked through, testing seasoning while cooking. Store in a jar in fridge for up to a month and serve with pork, chicken, lamb, etc.

LOOK

FOR THE

RED BEET

AT

THESE FINE RESTAURANTS

cortez

cortez

MANCOS

cortez cortez

DOVE CREEK

cortez

cortez

ly Prouded by nt prese

Friday, July 26th Saturday, July 27th Historic Downtown Pagosa Springs Liberty Theatre ”Waking the Green Tiger: A Green Movement Rises in China” Best of Fest 2013 Colorado Environmental Film Festival

“Watershed: Exploring a New Ethic for a New West” Best Feature 2013 Colorado Environmental Film Festival

plus many more films including: “Remains of a River” “The Last One” “Rooted Lands / Tierra Arraigadas” “Wild Things”

Proceeds benefit the nonprofit GGP Park More information and tickets at:

www.pagosagreen.org ggp@pagosagreen.org

29

Rick's easy fall-off-the-bone Pork shoulder

ingredients:

3 small peaches 1 banana (optional, given that it is not likely grown in Colorado) 1 large sweet onion 4 garlic cloves 4 tablespoons of Liquid Smoke (ignore the health risks) 4 ounces of local lager (optional)

method:

Using a long fork, poke several holes into the shoulder. Brush with Liquid Smoke. Generously coat with kosher salt. Quarter the onion. Peel the peaches and banana. Blanket the banana peels over the top of the shoulder. Throw everything as is into an oven bag (doubling up on bags is often a good practice: they can rip).

Rest bag in a baking pan and place in oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Turn down the heat to 250 degrees for up to 5 hours (the longer the better). Serve with chutney from page. 28.

MACERATED STRAWBERRIES WITH BALSAMIC AND TARRAGON ( four to six servings)

ingredients:

1 pint ripe strawberries*, sliced ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 3 sprigs of fresh tarragon

method:

In a mixing bowl, combine berries, vinegar, sugar and one sprig of tarragon. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least a half hour, ideally about 2 hours, stirring occasionally to help marry flavors. Remove sprig of tarragon. Remove leaves from other two tarragon sprigs and toss with berry mixture. Spoon over vanilla ice cream. Or anything else for that matter, it’s that good! *Tip: plan to make this dessert the same day you grab those gorgeous alpine berries at the market. Refrigerating is a no-no and lessens the natural sweetness and flavor of the fruit.

30 edible SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Mid- Summer 2013

Located on the Durango Discovery Museum Plaza, Powerhouse Eatery + Libations is grilling up tasty eats and pouring out all-local libations just off the River Trail.

So come by bike, raft, foot, or stroller and enjoy some serious food + drink for thought.

Open daily: Mon.-Fri., 11 am-8 pm; Sat., 12-8 pm; and Sun., 12-6 pm

DISCOVER THE POWER OF DELICIOUS. durangodiscovery.org

(formerly Cocina Linda)

Durango’s First Organic Restaurant fresh, healthful food grown by local farmers 309 W. College Drive (next to Albertsons) 259-6729 • www.LindasLocalFoodCafe.com

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31

outtakes

Growing Partners of Southwest Colorado presents...

COOKING COMPETITION

Saturday, July 20 & August 17 th

9:00am to 11:30am Durango Farmers Market

CHEFS

SAFARI NGUMBAO MAHOGANY GRILLE

SEAN CLARK

EL MORO SPIRITS & TAVERN

JOSEPH PREKUP MANNA SOUP KTICHEN

Chefs will have 90 minutes to shop and prepare dishes using all local foods from the Durango Farmers Market. Dishes will be judged on presentation, taste, creativity and innovation in using local ingredients.

For more information go to www.growingpartners.org

th