03.20.24

Around The Farm

Urban Farming in Japan

By Kove Janeski, UW Farm Student Staff, Operations Lead, Masters Student, Landscape Architecture, College Of Built Environments

I have been lucky to be a part of the UW Farm team since the fall of 2021. In September of 2023, after spending the summer working at the UW Farm, I left Seattle to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan.

While I was learning about the country’s rich history in landscape design, I also had the chance to experience small-scale agriculture operations across multiple contexts.

Japan’s unique agricultural system is influenced by many factors, including the country’s unique geography, zoning and land laws, and political landscape. As a result, agriculture in Japan appears to be less industrialized, more diffuse, and more urban than US agriculture.

Activists in Japan and the US both face their own unique challenges in providing access to urban agriculture, but I returned to Seattle and the UW Farm with more motivation and optimism than ever. Seattle is truly a special place – the P-Patch program, for instance, is well-known in landscape management circles in Japan for its success as an inclusive community gardening project. The UW Farm, while lesser known, also feels uniquely special – into the future, I hope that the UW Farm can continue to redefine how students and the wider community relates to and perceives its food.

Springtime Veggies Pasta Primavera 

By J. Kenji López-Alt

Image and Recipe Source: Serious Eats

Ingredients: 

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

• 12 ounces fava beans in their pods, or 4 ounces shucked fava beans (120g shucked beans)

• 12 ounces English peas in their pods, or 4 ounces shucked peas (120g shucked peas)

• Kosher salt

• 8 ounces (225g) asparagus, woody ends removed, stalks cut into 1-inch pieces

• 6 ounces (170g) snap peas, strings removed, cut into 1/2-inch slices

• 8 ounces (170g) broccolini, woody ends removed, cut on a sharp bias into 1-inch pieces

• 4 tablespoons (50g) unsalted butter

• 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

• 2 whole cloves garlic, lightly smashed with the side of a knife

• 3 ounces (90g) pine nuts

• 1 pound (450g) fresh egg pasta, such as fettuccine, penne, or gemelli (see note)

• 6 ounces (170ml) crème fraîche

• 2 teaspoons (5g) finely grated zest and 1 teaspoon (5ml) fresh juice from 1 lemon

• 1/2 ounce minced fresh basil leaves (about 1/2 cup packed leaves; 15g)

• 1/2 ounce minced fresh parsley leaves (about 1/2 cup packed leaves; 15g)

• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. If using fava beans and peas in their pods, shuck beans and peas from pods, keeping beans and peas separate. Discard pods. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath.
2. Working with one vegetable at a time, blanch favas, peas, asparagus, snap peas, and broccolini in boiling water for 1 minute each, transfer to ice bath to cool, then transfer to a paper towel–lined tray and pat dry.
3. Remove and discard skin from each individual fava bean. Set vegetables aside. Empty pot, refill it with fresh water, season generously with salt, and return to a boil.
4. Meanwhile, in a 3- to 4-quart saucier or a 12-inch skillet, heat butter, olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts over low heat until gently sizzling.
5. Cook, swirling pan constantly, until pine nuts just start to brown and garlic aroma is very strong. Do not let butter brown; remove it from heat occasionally if it starts to sizzle too rapidly.
6. Discard garlic cloves. Add blanched vegetables to pan and toss to combine. Remove from heat.
7. When water is boiling, add pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, about 1 minute total for most fresh pasta (see note). Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Transfer pasta to pan with vegetables and add crème fraîche, lemon zest, lemon juice, basil, and parsley.
8. Set over high heat and cook, stirring and tossing constantly and adjusting the consistency as necessary with a few splashes of the starchy pasta water, until liquid reduces to a creamy sauce. The sauce should coat the pasta and leave a creamy trail on the bottom of the pan when you drag a wooden spoon through it.
9. Off heat, stir in a generous shaving of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with freshly ground black pepper and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table. Enjoy!

News and Noteworthy:

UW Farm Internship and Employment Opportunities for Spring & Summer:

• Farm Education Internship

• Nutrition Education Internship
• Work Study UW Farm Student Staff – Paid Position

More available paid and unpaid opportunities to check out on the UW Farm Get Involved page of our website.

• UW Part Time Project Administrator for Blue Carbon, Green Fields: Mobilizing Marine Algae to Benefit Sea and Soil in the Pacific Northwest 
• WA Eat Local First Jobs Board 
• Farmers Markets Positions
• Tilth Alliance Summer Children’s Educators
• Farm Specialist EarthCorps
• Long Hearing Farm Field Crew
• Long Hearing Farm Field/Harvest Crew
• Farm Market Team Member- 21 Acres Farm
• Chef & Flower Garden Assistant– Heyday Farm
• Grower Relations Manager- Row 7 Seed Company
• Field Crew-Red Dog Farms

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

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 © 2023 The UW Farm, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
The UW Farm
3501 NE 41st St,
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Box 354115

NEW email address:
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