It's Here! -- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading

The book is available! I'm excited to announce that "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading" has been released, and can be purchased online. 

Last August I was approached by the editors from Penguin Publishing, who oversee "The Complete Idiot's Guide" books. Despite their goofy-sounding titles, I've always been a fan of the Idiot's Guides. I like the way they're structured, and I feel like I'm getting comprehensive information when I read them.

The editors asked me if I would write the book, and what followed was a period that was both challenging and immensely rewarding. I'm pretty proud of the result. The goal was to make the book accessible to beginners, but also provide a depth of information for those that have been homesteading for a while and want to expand their repertoire. Just to give you an idea of what's inside, here is a listing of the book's chapters:

Part 1: What It Means to Homestead in the City

Ch 1 - What is Urban Homesteading?

Ch 2 - City Considerations (lots of information about zoning, and how to change your zoning code)

Ch 3 - The Life of an Urban Homesteader

Part 2: City Farming

Ch 4 - Growing Without a Yard (container & rooftop gardening, sprouts, mushrooms, etc)

Ch 5 - Growing in Your Yard (bio-intensive growing*, succession planting, yard-to-garden conversion, etc)

Ch 6 - Growing on Someone Else's Land (community gardens, land-share agreements, guerrilla gardening)

Ch 7 - Seed Starting in the City

Ch 8 - Keeping Your Garden Healthy

Ch 9 - Enjoying Your Bounty (harvesting, extending the harvest, sharing/selling)

*Appendix C contains a detailed plant information chart, sample garden map, and sample garden planning chart

Part 3: Raising Animals for Food

Ch 10 - Livestock in the City (zoning issues, barnyard basics, neighbors, fitting animal care into a busy life)

Ch 11 - Chickens Coming Home to Roost

Ch 12 - Getting Your (Dwarf) Goat

Ch 13 - Raising Rabbits

Ch 14 - Bee Busy

Ch 15 - Aquaponics: Raising Fish and Plants Together

Part 4: A Homemade Life in the City

Ch 16 - Small Batch Food Preserving (canning, fermenting, drying, root "cellaring," etc)

Ch 17 - Preparing What You Harvest (cheese, yogurt, butter, stock, herb infusions, etc)

Ch 18 - The Finer Things (soap, shampoo, lotion, spinning yarn)

Ch 19 - Cleaning Your Home, Naturally (cupboard ingredients, recipes, etc)

Part 5: Making the Most of What You Have

Ch 20 - Energy-Wise Living (powering down, getting off grid, getting around town, etc)

Ch 21 - Water is Precious (conservation, rainwater harvesting, recycling water, etc)

Ch 22 - Turning Waste Into Gold (composting, worms, etc)

Ch 23 - Foraging in the City (fruit trees, wild plants, discarded items, etc)

Appendix A: Glossary

Appendix B: Resources

Appendix C: Garden Planning Guides

The book was enriched greatly by the wonderful people (almost all of them from Denver!) who gave me feedback on the chapters, and who are thanked in the acknowledgements. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the wonderful 2010 Heirloom Gardens urban farmers, who kept things going when I was working on the book.

The book is available at various places online and at bookstores. However, if you'd like to purchase it, I'd love it if you ordered it here (there's no shipping cost). By ordering the book through Heirloom Gardens you're helping to support urban farming and sustainable food advocacy in Denver, and it allows us a much bigger slice of the "pie" than if you purchase the book somewhere else. Thank you!

Recipe: Radish Greens Soup

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Large Shallot, finely chopped
2 Cups radish greens, roughly chopped, packed
2 Cups Vegetable Stock
1 Tablespoon Fresh Mint, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
Sea Salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Fresh Chives for serving

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; add finely diced shallots.
Sauté, stirring often, until shallots are soft and translucent.
Add the radish greens and wilt, then add the stock.

Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the chopped parsley and mint. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Remove from heat; purée with an immersion blender or in blender, in batches.
Top with freshly chopped chives just prior to serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe & photo from Vegan Visitor blog.

http://veganvisitor.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/dont-toss-those-radish-greens/

Recipe: Spinach and Orzo Salad

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces orzo pasta

Salt

1/4 cup pine nuts

6 ounces feta cheese, roughly crumbled

2 ounces Kalamata Greek olives pitted, roughly chopped, about 1/2 cup (about 20 olives)

4 ounces baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped red onion (about half a red onion)

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (can substitute white vinegar or lemon juice)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Pinch dried basil

Pinch dried tarragon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

METHOD

1 Cook the orzo pasta. Bring to a boil a pot with 2 quarts of water in it. Once the water is boiling, salt it with a couple teaspoons of salt. Once the water returns to a boil add the orzo to the pot. Leave uncovered, cook on high heat with a vigorous boil. Put the timer on for 8-10 minutes, or whatever your pasta package says is appropriate for al dente (cooked but still a little firm). Drain. Rinse with cold water to cool quickly.

2 Toast the pine nuts by heating a small skillet on medium heat. Add the pine nuts and stir occasionally until the pine nuts are lightly browned. Pay attention or you'll burn the pine nuts.

3 Take half of the spinach and purée it in a food processor or blender, adding one tablespoon of the olive oil. Roughly chop the other half of the spinach. In a large serving bowl mix the spinach purée olive oil mixture in with cooked orzo until the pasta is well coated with the purée. Then gently mix in the remaining spinach, the red onion, feta cheese, pine nuts, and the Kalamata olives.

3 In a small jar, combine the remaining olive oil (2 Tbsp), balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, mustard, dried basil, and dried tarragon. Put a lid on the jar and shake to combine. (You can also just whisk together these ingredients in a small bowl, but the jar method works great to get a good emulsion.) Pour over orzo spinach mixture and gently mix in until well incorporated.

4 Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Serves 4.

Recipe & photo from Simply Recipes.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spinach_and_orzo_salad/

Recipe: Peas With Lemon and Tarragon

Ingredients:

16 ounces frozen baby peas

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt and pepper

Place peas, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan; add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer about 6 minutes. Drain.

Return the drained peas to the saucepan and add all remaining ingredients. Toss well to coat. Serve.

Recipe & photo from www.food.com
http://www.food.com/recipe/peas-with-lemon-and-tarragon-166409#ixzz1OdshtxwB

The LAST Action Alert -- Let's Make it Count!

The City Council public hearing and final vote on the Food Producing Animals ordinance is this Monday, June 13th at 5:30 in the City & County building (click here for more details). We need everyone at the hearing -- a strong show of support will be very important. 

But, in the meantime, we need to do one last action alert to really make a statement to City Council about the ordinance before the hearing. I can't overstate how helpful the input from all of you has been in getting the ordinance as far as it's come. We need to take that last step to get us there!

This one is a two-fer -- both parts are important. And both are quick! You can make a real difference with just a 2 minute email and a 2 minute phone call.

Action Alert -- Part 1

As always, please feel free to craft your own email from scratch, modify the sample email below. or use the sample email in its entirety.

Please copy and paste the following text (including commas) for the "To" field of your email:

jeanne.faatz@denvergov.org, paul.lopez@denvergov.org, peggy.lehmann@denvergov.org, marcia.johnson@denvergov.org, charlie.brown@denvergov.org, chris.nevitt@denvergov.org, judy.montero@denvergov.org, jeanne.robb@denvergov.org, michael.hancock@denvergov.org, linkhartatlarge@denvergov.org, boigon.atlarge@denvergov.org, carol.boigon@denvergov.org, sustainablefooddenver@gmail.com

Subject line: Please vote for the FPA ordinance


Dear Members of City Council,


I am a resident of Denver, living in the _____ neighborhood. On Monday you will be asked to vote on a new Food Producing Animals ordinance for Denver. This ordinance has the support of Community Planning & Development and the Department of Environmental Health (including Animal Control). It passed unanimously through Planning Board, and was supported by the Mayor's Sustainable Food Policy Council.


The FPA ordinance represents a reasonable compromise that addresses the interests and concerns of a variety of different groups. It contains numerous protections for neighbors and neighborhood context, above and beyond what exists in successful FPA ordinances in other cities. It contains numerous protections and considerations for the welfare and keeping of the animals, above and beyond what exists in successful FPA ordinances in other cities (and, incidentally, above and beyond what we require for other animals that are kept in the city).


This is a well written, balanced compromise that remedies the unreasonably burdensome current process for legally owning backyard Food Producing Animals. I ask you to vote in favor of the FPA ordinance on Monday night.


Sincerely,
(your name)
------------------
Action Alert -- Part 2


Councilwoman Carol Boigon is an At-Large councilmember, which means that she represents every resident of Denver. She is currently undecided about the FPA ordinance, and we would very much like her to vote in favor of it.


I would like everyone to take 1-2 minutes to place a quick phone call to Councilwoman Boigon's office. You should certainly ask to speak with her, but my guess is that she will be unavailable. However, you should leave a message with her aides. Leaving a message is a concrete way to register your "vote" in favor of the ordinance.


Call Councilwoman Boigon's office at (720) 865-8100 now. Explain to her aides (or the voicemail) that you are a Denver resident, and you would like her to vote in favor of the Food Producing Animals ordinance on Monday night. You don't need to have lots of specific talking points as to why you want her to vote in favor -- just tell her whatever your reason(s) might be.


Thank you!

Recipe: Mint Lemonade

(This is so simple, it really shouldn't count as a "recipe.")

Boil 2 cups of water. Remove from heat and add mint leaves to steep. Cool in the refrigerator.

Once it's cool, strain (or pick) the mint leaves out of the water. Use the mint water as part of the liquid for making lemonade. For example, I like the Minute Maid Lemonade that's made from concentrate. Use the mint water, then any additional water that the concentrate directions call for.

Use additional mint leaves for garnish, if desired.

Recipe: Radish Leaf Pesto

2 large handfuls of good-looking Heirloom Garden radish leaves, stems removed

1 ounce hard cheese, such as pecorino or parmesan, grated or shaved using a vegetable peeler
1 ounce nuts, such as pistachios, almonds, or pine nuts                                                               

1 clove garlic, germ removed, cut in four
a short ribbon of lemon zest cut thinly from an organic lemon with a vegetable peeler (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to get the consistency you like
salt, pepper, ground chili pepper

Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender or mini-chopper, and process in short pulses until smooth. You will likely have to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. This produces a thick pesto; add more oil and pulse again to get the consistency you prefer. This can also be done with a mortar and pestle.

Taste, adjust the seasoning, and pack into an airtight container. Use within a few days (it will keep longer if you pour a thin layer of oil on the surface) or freeze.

Recipe adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini blog.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com