Story Harvest 2013

StoryHarvest is a happening, a conversation about food. It started 3 years ago as my thesis and it is great to see it is still going.

The activities we ended up doing in the kitchen this year were closely tied to food donations I was able to get for the festival. This year, it started with a friend’s offer of several baskets of apples. From there we made apple sauce, apple lather “fruit rolls” to give to the kids, apple crisp, and used apples as one of the ingredients we could talk with folks about nutrition while serving soup during Story Harvest. Russell Sage College Nutrition Club made a hand out as well. apple_sauce_brochure_

The event took started 1pm on Saturday, September 28th 2013 at 101st Street (corner of 5th & 6th ave) Troy, NY. With spiritual performances by gospel singer Don Byron, accompanied by local music artists, and “mystic pop diva” Nawal, we invite you to begin our fall season with the StoryHarvest celebration!

We fed hundreds of people with the help of great volunteers. Special thank you: Capital District Community Gardens, Collard City Growers, Honest Weight Food Co-op, Nine Mile Farm, The Prout family for the apples, Russell Sage College Nutrition Club, Stewart’s Shops Soul Fire Farm, Pastor Willie for the Collard Greens

Please check out more photos of the event here and

http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Photos-Harvest-of-food-sound-4853100.php#photo-5250356
I made stone soup with the help of wonderful friends: Nancy Weber, Andrea, Mary Baldwin, Sharon Lastique, Erica Krupp, Amy Ellis, Anasha Cummings,

And here the recipe for we made:

StoryHarvest 2013 Stone Soup
Curried Butternut Squash Red Lentil Soup
by Ellie Markovitch

3 large onions from Capital District Community Garden
olive oil
15 pounds of Denison Farm CSA butternut squash
1 pound of Soul Fire Farm carrots
1 pound of Soul Fire Farm zucchini
5 apples, peeled and cored
1 bouquet of lemon grass
6 garlic cloves
3 Tablespoons of ginger
1 Tablespoon turmeric
1 Tablespoon of curry powder
1 Tablespoon of cumin
hot peppers to taste
3 cups red lentils
3 cups of coconut milk
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup of chopped cilantro
1 cup of chopped parsley
1 cup of chopped Soul Fire Farm green onions
salt to taste

1) Sauté onions in oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
2) Stir in vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes
3) Add water to cover the vegetables
4) Add all spices, red lentils, lemon grass, apples, hot peppers
5) After simmering for 20 minutes, add coconut milk, vinegar, cilantro, parsley, green onions
6) Adjust salt to taste, let it heat through and serve
Curried Butternut Squash Red Lentil Soup simmering for StoryHarvest–Thank you Denison Farm CSA for donating amazing butternut squash and Nine Mile Farm, Soul Fire Farm, Capital District Community Gardens, Collard City Growers.