day six.....

One of the best parts of working on a CSA organic farm is of course, the produce.  Tonight we are having one of my favorite meals planned around the bounty of the weekly harvest.....Ye'abesha Gomen!  This traditional dish from Ethiopia has got to be the reason I love collard greens so much.  Well that, and a fond memory of the Sunday afternoon community meals after an elating morning singing with the choir of the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church.  That little store front on Divisidero used to shake and thump so loud, the people would stand out in the street feeling the spirit of the sound baptism inside and get pulled in.  I was always a bit afraid we'd break the glass and all go bursting out onto the sidewalk!  What a sight!

Thinking on the story of my youthful appreciation and association with collard greens got me thinking on community and how we have foods that make us feel that connectivity even so far away.  Maybe that's why I love collards, it brings me closer to that community through the memories, no matter where I am, when I eat them, we're eating together.  

Maize is also like that for me.  In fact, I eat it everyday.  The smell of fresh champurado,  (a semi-sweet hot chocolate like corn drink from Oaxaca served in the morning)  not only makes me feel at home as I prepare it, when I drink it I feel a warmth of spirit in me simply due to it's corn nature! Silly I know pero aqui estoy far from home finding a little bit of mi tierra in a tiny seed.

I leave you today with three things;

A Love Supreme by John Coltrane

The History and Evolution of Corn by Steve Peters via Seeds of Change

Emah Nava's Ye'abesha Gomen southern style (sub honey for sugar & try it with ginger!)