7.13.22

Around The Farm

An Urban Gardening Journey from Tibet to Toronto to UW

By Quying Danzeng, Junior at UW, double majoring in Nutritional Science and Education, UW Farm Summer Nutrition Education Intern

Hi everyone, my name is Quying Danzeng or "Tenzin", and I am a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Nutritional Science and Education. I am also the Nutrition Education intern this summer at the UW Farm.

I was born and raised in Tibet. Many of you probably have seen This Week’s Recipe and the Nutrition Corner sections in The Weekly Dirt newsletter. I have been writing these for the past couple of weeks. Today, I wanted to talk about my experience before and since joining the UW Farm team and how it has expanded my knowledge and abilities. 

Before I came to the UW Farm, I had some experience volunteering at a community garden in Toronto. My passion for conservation of natural resources, urban gardening, and urban farming were especially valuable when working in the city of Toronto to promote food production in urban environments. I was a volunteer that helped educate residents about services to support development of gardens in vacant spaces in the metro-Toronto area. My primary duty at the time was to:

• Organize volunteer schedules and assignments to maximize efficiency and program effectiveness.

•  Promote urban food production and create an accessible space to share cumulative knowledge on plants and food.

• Educated residents and families about available services and resources.

The first time I learned about the UW Farm was in NUTRI302, Harvest To Health course, taught by Professor Eli Wheat. We had our labs at the farm site at the Center for Urban Horticulture a few times. That was when I first learned that UW has this inspiring community farm.

I love being out in the field and getting to work with soil, which was also my initial reason for apply for the Nutrition Education internship on the UW Farm for the summer quarter. My primary goal and responsibility during this internship is to educate, inspire, encourage, and to produce user-friendly recipes for our community.

Many of our community members, including food bank customers, receive fresh produce that might be unfamiliar. By doing a research on produce grown at the farm, I am able to share nutritional and/or cultural information, and then create an original recipe to cook the fresh produce in a quick, affordable, and efficient way, I hope to increase the consumption of raw produce and decrease the food waste for a healthier campus and community.   

Year at UW: Junior

Hails From: Lhasa, Tibet

Favorite produce that is grown at the UW Farm: Kohlrabi

This Week's Recipe:

By Quying Danzeng, Nutritional Science and Education Major, UW Farm Summer Nutrition Education Intern
 

"Ratatouille" Zucchini Dish

Photo by Quying Danzeng 

In this week's CSA box, we have zucchini as our fresh produce item. Zucchini has very mild flavor, and that blandness also makes it very versatile and makes it incorporates with different sauces well. We could see zucchini being widely used in both Asian and European cuisine. 

Korean Bibimbap is a stone bowl that served with rice and different cooked vegetables, and zucchini is used in this dish. In European cuisine, we know the famous cartoon movie "Ratatouille". The recipe for Ratatouille originated in the Nice and Provencal regions of France. The traditional recipe calls for tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, garlic and different seasonings. 
 

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini
• 1 eggplants
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons basil seasoning
• 1minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons parsley seasoning
• 2 table spoons of salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven for 356˚F (180˚C).
• Chop and slice the eggplant, tomatoes, and zucchini into thin slices. Approximately ¹⁄₁₆-inch (1-mm) rounds, then set aside.
• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a skillet or any oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the garlic until it softened. Season with salt and black pepper, then add the chopped tomatoes. Stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated with each other. Turn off the heat, then add the basil seasoning. 
• Arrange the sliced veggies in alternating patterns, (for example, eggplant, tomato, zucchini) on top of the sauce from the outer edge to the middle of the pan. Season them again with a pinch of salt and pepper. 
• Make the herb seasoning: In a small bowl, mix together the basil, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spoon the herb seasoning evenly over the vegetables.
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes in the oven. Uncover the foil, then bake for another 20 minutes, until all the vegetables are softened.
• Ready to serve!

Nutrition Corner:

Nutrition Facts: Zucchini 

Zucchini is packed with many important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It has a high fiber content and a low calorie count. Fiber plays an important role in digestion and may limit the likelihood of suffering from a variety of GI issues.
 

Source: USDA
 

News and Noteworthy:

Food Justice Gala

When: July, 16th 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm 
Where: In the garden at MLK Fame Community Center, 3201 E Republican St, Seattle, WA 
Hosted by: Community Alliance for Global Justice

Our SLEE (Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere) Gala is just around the corner! Join us for a garden party on Saturday, July 16 3-6pm PT to help CAGJ fundraise for our yearly programming to strengthen the global Food Sovereignty movement!

This year, our SLEE Gala will feature Keynote Black Star Farmers, and take place in one of the gardens they steward at MLK FAME Center.

There will be food, drink, good company and a stimulating program!

Sliding scale tickets and event info can be found here: tinyurl.com/SLEE2022tickets

VOLUNTEERS & INTERNS: Volunteer or intern before SLEE or the day-of (get in for free!).

Learn more: https://cagj.org/volunteer-for-slee/

Agriculture and Food Systems Employment Opportunities:

• Seasonal Farm Program Assistant, Pike Place Market 
• Red Dog Farms – Field Crew
• Oxbow Farm – Multiple
• WSDA Organic Programs – Inspectors
• 21 Acres – Multiple
• Tonnemaker – Field and Farm Stand Crew
• Cascade Markets – Market Manager
• Carnation Farms – Director of Sustainable Agriculture
• Common Ground Farms – Assistant Camp Director
• Kirsop Farm – Veggie Crew
• Pacific Coast Harvest – Food Aggregator and Driver
• Seattle Neighborhoods Farmers Market – Farmers Market Manager

Food Access Resources

The UW Farm donates regularly to the UW Food Pantry. During peak season we also donate to nearby food banks. The links below are resources to help you or someone you know with food access.  

• UW Food Pantry: The UW Food Pantry | Any Hungry Husky (washington.edu)
• Northwest Harvest Food Donation sites: Public Drop Sites – Northwest Harvest
• University District Food Bank: Donate Food and Items – University District Food Bank (udistrictfoodbank.org)
• Food Lifeline: Volunteer – Food Lifeline

Correction to Last Week's Issue:

Correction to Last Week's Issue, July 6, Around the Farm Section, fourth paragraph, "While we delivered 1,193 pounds, or nearly 2 tons of our organic, locally grown food to the pantry, much of the discussion and continued work in our partnership has centered on educational resources for pantry users and volunteers." This should have read, "over a half a ton of our organic, locally grown food to the pantry…." We apologize for the miscalculation. The amount represents off-season and shoulder-season amounts. It is estimate that the UW Farm will donate nearly 2 tons to food banks by the end of 2022. The campus farm also sells to UW Dining outlets and runs a CSA program for households. Last season, January 1 to December, 31, 2021, the UW Farm delivered 5035.77 lbs of produce to the UW Food Pantry.

Help The Farm Grow!

Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm online

Copyright © 2022 The UW Farm, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
The UW Farm
3501 NE 41st St, 
Seattle, WA 98105

On campus mailbox
Box 354115

NEW email address:
uwfarm@uw.edu