Food in the 'Hood

Food in the Hood is a biweekly neighborhood dinner to raise funds for global charities.

617 Walnut Avenue
Santa Cruz, California

Click on the links below to view a slideshow from the fundraiser for:
El Andalon
Caravan for Cuba

Customers take whatever they want and donate whatever they want. All proceeds go to a different global charity each week. Ingredients are fair-trade and as local as possible, from the Farmer's Markets or backyards. Students from Santa Cruz High School sometimes help out, play ukuleles, or play with the baby chicks.

Are you Local to
Food in the Hood?
We welcome donations of:

» Backyard produce
» Baked goods
» Homemade food
» Preserves
» Canning jars
» Plants & seeds
» Plant containers & flats
» Scraps for chickens / rabbits

FitH partners WitH:

Wide World Partners

high school students raising awareness and funds for global causes.

UniverseCity

enabling the great reskilling through affordable small classes.

The Parent Network

how to raise giving kids in a taking world.

RetroMetro

artisans and entrepreneurs making the practical beautiful and the beautiful practical

Transition Santa Cruz

a catalyst for relocalization

Slow Money Santa Cruz

an investor co-op for a return to small-scale agriculture & industry.

Third Paradigm

A radio thinktank about community sovereignty and regenerative economics.
FRSC 101.1 FM
Sunday 1:30pm

GrowFoodPartyCrew

helping to make santa cruz into an edible oasis.

Friday, December 31st, 2010 — Guatemala Reforestation

First night for Fithies!

Thanks to everyone who made this such a wonderful year. Next week we'll be tallying up what we raised these past six months. For the last two events, including Goods in the Hood, the total for Eve Ensler's City of Joy in the Congo is $250. Way to go!

On Wednesday, January 5th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, I'll be a guest on a KZSC show called Talkabout. Kevin Spitzer will be interviewing me about my radio show, Food in the Hood, the UniverseCity, and "what makes me tick." Tune in at 88.1 or call in at 459.4036.

This past week we were invited for a game night for Genine's birthday. Their neighbors Susan and Alan taught us Bananagrams, which was lots of fun. I was also happily referred to Susan's one-a-day photo blogspot, which you should see too.

Inspired by this and a big batch of crabs from our favorite fisherwoman, Tina, we're hosting a game night on New Year's Eve. Come on over any time between 8 and midnight for a cocktail, some sushi, cajun crab bisque, chocolate torte, and a round of Pictionary or Out of Context. Bring your favorite game and teach us how to play it. We're fans of Uno and have plenty of poker chips for the fast crowd - which includes Cassandra. At midnight, while Veronica and her gang are jumping in the ocean, we'll toast to another year of being warm and dry!

We're going to finish off the year with the group we've featured most at FitH: Rights Action. When I look at who can make the best use of our money, they always seem to have something new up their sleeve. Their last email talked about this project in Guatemala:

REFORESTATION OF HISTORICALLY DEGRADED INDIGENOUS LAND IN GUATEMALA

guatemalareforestation (36K)

Since this particular project was initiated, approximately 157,150 trees covering 164 hectares have been planted; another 72,000 trees covering 61 hectares are expected to be planted in 2011.

August 2009 Plantations from 2009 nurseries - 55,000 trees / 56 hectares [already reported]
May 2010 Plantations from nurseries established in 2009 - 31,650 trees / 48 hectares
August 2010 Plantations from nurseries established in 2010 - 70,500 trees / 60 hectares
Projected May 2011 Plantations from nurseries established in 2010 - 18,000 trees / 15 hectares
Projected September 2011 Plantations from 2010 nurseries - 54,000 trees / 46 hectares

In 2009-10, this project benefitted 6 communities in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan (sharing two nurseries), 2 communities in Rabinal (one nursery per community), and two communities in Aguacatan (one nursery per community).

The website article has an excellent historical background of how colonialism affected deforestation and forced migration to the "agricultural frontier." It's useful for understanding a much wider scope than just Guatemala.

Here's the details of the menu, for Friday, December 31st from 8pm – midnight

Limoncello, Manhattans, Sake, Sparkling Apple Juice, Soda Water, and/or Italian 77's
My recommendation is that you start with the Manhattan or Limoncello with the spiced nuts with candied bacon, and then move onto the sake with the sushi - using my fair-trade sake sets. With the crab bisque you may want a beer, and then coffee with the chocolate torte, and then toast the New Year in with the champagne-elderflower mix called an Italian 77. We're all within wobbling distance of home, right? This photo is from a blog called "Eating, Drinking, and Swearing with Meghan."
Spiced Nuts with Candied Bacon from "Look I Made That!"
http://lookimadethat.com/2010/11/08/spicednuts/
Assorted Sushi with Maguro Tuna, Scallops, Avocado, Cucumber, Cream Cheese, and REAL Crab
Cajun Crab Bisque
Youx toux can doux a roux! This recipe is from October Farm, who boasts the largest collection of witches in existence. The recipe is New-Orleans-meets-Baltimore.
http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/2010/11/cajun-crab-bisque-recipe.html
Gardner's Country White Sourdough
This is a once-a-year treat — the whitest bread he makes! Git it while the gittin's good. As an experiment for the New Year, we'll also be posting Gardner's newsletter here. Besides the schedule for the month, he also writes a very Gardneresque intro and lists the baked goodies that are also available. Check it out!
Gâteau au chocolat fondant de Nathalie with loosely whipped cream
or, Kate's Winning-Hearts-and-Minds Cake — Adapted from Je veux du chocolat!, by Trish Deseine
In the original post, Orangette's author, Molly Wizenberg, and her friend Kate eat two pieces of this cake each and then have to lie down on the floor. It was that good. In her book it's the cake she chooses as her wedding cake. It's that good.