A Community Kitchen That Will Build Community

Stacey Givens has a vision for her community of a place where people of all ages, from all walks of life, and from every corner of our city can gather and share their stories through the food they grow and make.

She started The Side Yard Farm in 2009 on a couple of lots in the downtrodden Cully neighborhood for just that purpose. A short summary of its work would include providing 20 local restaurants with organic local produce, giving space to schools to teach kids about farm to table, offering the farm's outdoor dining area to beginning pop-up chefs trying to get their foot in the door, donating large amounts of produce to organizations, providing space for instructors to teach classes, and hosting The Lost Table, a grief group for those who've lost loved ones. This year Givens' "Welcome Refugees" supper series benefited refugees here in Portland and gave attendees a chance to hear their stories.

"The Side Yard has become family to many chefs, artisans, instructors, kiddos, beginning farmers, aspiring chefs, grief group folks and people from all over that world who are interested in learning more about the seed to plate movement," Givens said.

And she's not stopping there.

To celebrate the farm's 10th year in business, Givens is planning to expand to build a Community Supported Kitchen (CSK) in her neighborhood. With a $175,000 price tag to build out a new kitchen space in the former Delphina's Bakery on Northeast 42nd Avenue, she's asking for help with a Kickstarter campaign (video above) dedicated to purchasing equipment for the new kitchen.

"We have been searching for a suitable kitchen for more than 5 years to allow growth in a shared space with other like-minded culinary entrepreneurs," Givens said. "When we heard that a spot was opening up right down the street from the farm, we grew excited about the possibility of building deeper connections through education and visibility of hyperlocal farming and sourcing. The CSK will exist to provide other local businesses with a holistic model that prioritizes the flow of local produce from the farm to the kitchen to the consumer."

As of today, Givens is almost halfway to that goal with slightly more than $22,000 raised. But she'll get none of it if you don't chip in to help before the deadline of December 22nd. Please consider doing so!

Go to The Side Yarm Farm Community Supported Kitchen page on Kickstarter for more information and to donate.

Hank Shaw's Guide to Cooking "Antlered Things"

On a weekend at the beach I started reading Hank Shaw's first book, Hunt, Gather, Cook, and was moved to write this:

"After reading the first couple of chapters, my usual single-minded march to the beach turned into a completely different experience. I slowed down and started scanning those patches of green with different eyes, wondering what that blooming shrub might be, whether its bell-shaped blossoms would turn into berries in the next few weeks and if they might be edible. What would I make with them?"

Yes, I'd foraged mushrooms and knew the names of a few edible plants, but Hank's way of writing about the landscape made it come alive in a way that I hadn't experienced before. And that's what makes his new book on hunting and cooking "deer, elk antelope, moose and other antlered things" so intriguing. You see, I'm not a hunter. But I have been gifted with a few care packages of venison in my day, and I know that Hank's advice on pulling the maximum amount of flavor from the meat, while not burying it under a mound of cheffy acrobatics, is going to make that next gift package—hint, hint, all you hunters—a meal to remember.

And even if those care packages are few and far between (sniff!) I know I'll gain a unique perspective I'd never get any other way, from a humane, thoughtful and, to my mind, incomparable writer on the natural world. So watch the video above if you care to, but please consider a donation to make this book a reality. You'll be supporting a great cook and writer in his effort to teach people more about their food and where it comes from, a mission I can totally get behind.

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Update from Hank:

Floored. Astonished. Gobsmacked. In less than 13 hours, we made our initial goal - the one that determines whether Buck, Buck, Moose will live or die. Not sure if we set a Kickstarter speed record, but it must be close. I am not an emotional man, but I gotta say I am genuinely choked up at the outpouring of support for Hunter Angler Gardener Cook and this venison cookbook.

Your efforts are a loud and forceful message to anyone who cares to listen about where the real priorities of North American hunters lie: Our trophies are at the table. Food is why we hunt, and your support of this book can be no louder affirmation of that fact. I salute you.

Now what?

The initial $30,000 goal makes Buck, Buck, Moose a reality. Every dollar spent beyond that goal helps us print more books, pay our subcontractors, save money for a second print run and to market the book when it comes out - without a big-name publisher to do that, we're on our own. And PR ain't cheap.

Finally, if we do really well, I'll squirrel away some cash to fund my book tour, which will start around Labor Day 2016. Every dollar chipped in now allows me to come to your town when the book is released next year. Visiting you was the highlight of my tour for Duck, Duck, Goose. Let me do it one more time!

So keep spreading the word. There are more than 14 million deer hunters in the US and Canada. We have a long road ahead of us to reach them. But it all starts with you telling your deer-hunting friends about Buck, Buck, Moose.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

~ Hank

Livin' in the Blurbs: Bites, Birds and Bikes

If free Northwest hazelnut-finished prosciutto sounds appealing, there are several tastings in Portland this month that have your name on them. Aaron Silverman and Morgan Brownlow of Tails & Trotters want to get their product in your mouth so you'll get excited about their sustainably raised and Food Alliance certified pigs. They'll also no doubt mention a project to open a retail store with donations from fans of their product that's being funded through Kickstarter, a micro-financing platform that allows people to pledge any amount of money to help fund a project. Check them out:

• Fri., Sept 10, 6-9 pm. Cook's Pots & Tabletops, 2807 Oak St., Eugene.
• Wed., Sept. 15, 5-7 pm. Papa Haydn, 5829 SE Milwaukie Ave.
• Wed., Sept. 22, 5-7 pm. Park Kitchen, 422 SW 8th Ave.

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There's no time like Indian summer in the Northwest. Warm days, cool nights and changing colors make it the perfect time to get outdoors, and the Backyard Bird Shop has a series of expert-guided bird walks around the metro area coming up that look fantastic. Free to anyone who calls to reserve a spot, they're great for families and individuals who want to know more about birds, habitat, bird calls and migratory habits. Offered pretty much weekly through mid-December, the next few are:

• Sept. 25: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
• Oct. 2: Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge
• Oct. 10: Jackson Bottom State Park
• Nov. 6: Vancouver Lake

Details: Free Guided Bird Walks. 8-11 am; free with reservation. Check the website for details and more trips, or browse the GoodStuffNW calendar on the left for dates and locations.

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You can celebrate the harvest and our community in classic county fair style at an Urban Farming Expo & Bicycle Rodeo sponsored by Grand Central Bakery. Coming on Sept. 18, it will have activities for the whole family including baking and preserving contests, a judging of urban grown produce, a bicycle rodeo and a wide array of baking, cooking and urban farming seminars and demos. Novella Carpenter (left), urban farming expert and author of "Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer," will share her experiences with starting an urban farm at 11 am, with a Q&A to follow. Best of all, the modest entry fee will benefit Zenger Farm and the Community Cycling Center.

Details: Grand Central Bakery's Urban Farming Expo & Bicycle Rodeo. Sat., Sept. 18, 10 am-4 pm. Admission $5 adult; $3 child; $10 family. Grand Central Bakery, 714 N Fremont St. Phone 503-546-5311.