Where Have We Been?

I'm sure the loyal followers of 2703 have been worried because of our recent silence. No worries we are all A-O-K. The truth is that we have been so busy doing our thing that not one of us has had time to log in and give y'all an update.

Here is what you've missed:

The 2703 Urban Tenant Farm is complete...seeds and seedlings in the ground and ready for action!

The whole farm took a field trip to Slaughterama!

And we graced the Hull St. bridge seeking out the elusive shad...the founding fish...unfortunately the only fish we were skilled enough to haul from the river up to the bridge were these white perch.

That is about all you missed...stay tuned for more frequent posts!

2703 Urban Tenant Farm Takes Shape

Yesterday a dump truck load of a rich 50/50 organic compost and soil mix was dumped on the front yard of the 2703 Urban Tenant Farm (for those of you unfamiliar tenant farming click here). It was a daunting experience to have a full truck pull up armed with only a small wheelbarrow to move whatever may be hidden inside. The man backed up, pulled a lever dumped his load and pulled away leaving behind this:Six hours, two backs, four arms, an obscene number of calories, eleven calluses, one hundred thirty-two grunts and countless trips to and fro the approximately 24,000 pounds (actually only about 16,000 pounds of it, the rest is still in a pile near the street) of soil/compost was transformed into this:I can taste the fresh veggies already!!!

Umm Umm Kefir Good

In addition to all the glorious fruits and vegetables you are used to seeing at 2703 we are now introducing a grain and not just any grain but the delicious and hearty kefir grains!!!

I must admit I was a little nervous when I opened the package my aunt sent down from Maine and saw what looked like a ball of cottage cheese. Once I read the instructions from my new kefir instructors, Marilyn and Eddie Jarzembski, I had restored confidence in our expansion to kefir grains. (sidenote: both Lane and Jed are starting neck beards like Eddie, Sean says a neck beard is too "crunchy" for a big time corporate lawyer like himself)

The kefir went into a recycled glass jar and waited to be transformed into the delicious edible grains.

Licketysplit the grains had become something more delicious than words. It was then strained and prepared to be added to a breakfast smoothie fit for a king. With Superfood as a base the kefir went in.















A mixture of fresh fruit on top.

A little bit of blending...
And then umm umm good the smoothie was done and ready to drink
Success!!! For more exciting kefir recipes check out here.

Improvements to the Adverse Possession Garden

Last Saturday, Jed, Wee-Bey, and I took a break from making tomato sauce to get the backyard garden ready for this summer's crops. First on the list: improving the adverse possession garden. We raised the bed and added a compost/soil mix. Wee-Bay barked a lot, provoking some concerned comments from one of our anonymous-note-writing neighbors.

Something delicious will be growing in the new and improved adverse possession garden in the near future, I promise.

The Farmers of 2703 Get Saucy

Greetings 2703 Urban Garden fans and followers!!!

In what has been a long winter of aging to perfection the excess tomatoes from the 2009 harvest finally hit their pinnacle of taste yesterday as they were transformed into a delectable sauce. Two of the 2703 Urban Garden Farmers joined forces in the kitchen while the third Farmer (Sean) slept the day away recovering from a raucous bash the night before with some of his big-time corporate lawyer friends.

The recipe was simple: Look up a real recipe and then decide not to follow it.

After a trip to Ellwood Thompson's and then on to Penzeys Spices we were ready to cook.

Veggies and herbs were chopped and diced

A variety of cherry, Brandywine and Goliath tomatoes went into the pot skins and allAfter 20 minutes of simmering we took this delicious looking pot of goodness and poured it through a waiting colander into a big salad bowl (all because we don't own or admittedly even know what a food mill is). From there the tomatoes, spices (secret blend), celery, onion, red wine and unrefined oil olive were poured into Sean's crockpot, without his consent because he was still sleeping at this point.

It turns out that a crockpot won't give a roiling boil...full mixture back into the pot on the stove...

Yes that is a carrot in the pot. A little traditional Italian trick apparently is using a full carrot to sweeten tomato sauce in lieu of adding sugar. While Sean may feel that nothing beats adding cups and cups of processed sugar to food or at the very least pouring corn syrup into things liberally, the rest of us at 2703 prefer a more natural path.

Great success! After hours and hours of simmering the sauce was ready to eat. The first meal consisted of some think spaghetti with the sauce poured over it and then covered with a mix of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese as it baked in the oven for 20 minutes prior serving. It was wonderful and definitely worth the wait and the work.

Sean probably microwaved some Ragu and poured it over Kraft noodles for dinner last night...

Squirrel Proof?

Sean Strikes Again!

Some days you get your hopes up and start feeling better about the world only to be sucker-punched with a reminder of the average person's complicity with so much modern society's ills.

I had one of those days last week. Upon returning home to 2703 Hanover after a hard day of fighting the good fight, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a number of organic seed varieties had arrived from FedCo. To top it off, someone finally got our address right:

(In case you can't read it, it's addressed to the "Hanover Urban Farm")

Whistling my favorite song*, I blissfully skipped into the kitchen to pick out the recyclable and compostable material that Sean throws into the trash. Upon opening the trashcan lid, I was stunned. My carefree mood quickly turned to frustration and inconsolable sadness as I witnessed evidence that Sean, in his never-ending mission to encourage corporate greed and irresponsibility, had visited his favorite Richmond restaurant for dinner, no doubt taking advantage of the drive-thru window:

* MJ's "Man in the Mirror"