Spotlight on Volunteers: Aidan Adelmann

September 7, 2010 – 2:58 pm

aidan & finn

We are so impressed with Aidan Aldemann.  The son of farmers Fox and Janet Adelmann from Portage River Farm, he is the youngest, and one of the most enthusiastic hoop builders on our team.  He has a great attitude and a solid work ethic.  He also has a great sense of humor.  Take a minute and read about this wonderful young man.

Tell us about yourself Aidan: 

I am a nine year old boy who likes the outdoors, sports, and video games.  I really like fresh veggies and enjoy being part of a CSA.  My mom just made a salsa from our veggies that was awesome.  I will be going to third grade at Farley Hill Elementary in Pinckney.  My favorite companion is my dog, Finn.
What is your role at Selma: 

I have helped with two hoop house builds.  I helped with tighting bolts, tying granny smith knots to hold the plastic, and picked up stuff around the work area.

What work, school or other activities do you do when you aren’t helping out at Selma?

I am in cub scouts.  I play soccer and baseball.  I watch TV and read.  I play outside a whole bunch.

Tell us 3 things that people don’t know about you:

I can sing well and even was in a talent show.
 
I have a very funny and contagious laugh.
 
I hope to study geology especially on other planets.

 What is your favorite food and drink?
My favorite food is zucchini lasagna.  My favorite drink is chocolate milk.

 What else would you like us to know about you: 

I really like to help build hoop houses.

By Lisa | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Spotlight on Volunteers: Matthew “Scooter” Merrins

September 3, 2010 – 7:20 pm

We’re happy to introduce you to Scooter Merrins, who has stepped up to take on the important volunteer coordinator role in our hoop house builds.  In addition to rounding up volunteers, he is also committed to working directly with Jeff to learn everything there is to know about hoops.  Scooter is an invaluable asset in our goal to continue to build hoop houses in our community.

Scooter, please tell us about yourself:
I came to Michigan nine years ago after graduating from Oberlin.  For most of that time I’ve been working professionally as a diabetes researcher.  I got my PhD in Physiology here at UM in 2008.  After that I decided to stay.  I’m thankful to be funded by the National Institutes of Health for another 2.5 years at the newly constructed Brehm Diabetes Center.  But whether I’m walking to the Farmer’s Market, or working a weekend with Jess and Abra at Bareknuckle Farm (in Northport, on the Leelanau Peninsula), I have never identified with a state, or invested in the people in it, as much as I have here in Michigan.
What is your role at Selma Cafe?
I started at SELMA in March of 2009 as a server and coffee runner, which I continue to do.  And in the not too distant future Rex and I will be collaborating in the kitchen to bring you some breakfast.  But most recently I’ve taken on the role of Hoop Build Volunteer Coordinator.  This new position was created in view of Jeff and Lisa’s vision and commitment to greatly expanding the Small Farms/Small Farmers Initiative next season and the number of hoop houses in our immediate area, with additional support from the Farmer Fund.  Next year we’re going to aim for 20 hoops.  That’s right.  20.  To accomplish this I’m working to (1) greatly expand our volunteer base, (2) improve the efficiency of the build process itself, and (3) generally promote hoop building as a fun way play outside with the other kids.

Our recent build at the Kangas’ Capella Farm was no exception to this:  with an outstanding volunteer turnout we got the hoop up in record time, ran a solar shower so volunteers could clean up, and finished off the day with a feast of locally sourced food.  Jennifer helped us build, and Dave spent the day in the kitchen with a team of cooks to support the builders.

I have a profound respect for our local farmers and the community we’re building.  I can’t thank you folks enough.  Perhaps you’ve heard the old working song, “The Farmer is the Man”.  The title sounds good until you’ve heard the chorus:

And they take him by the hand,
And they lead him from the land,
And the merchant is the man who gets it all.

Yeah.  We’re going to change all that.  Now.

What work do you do when you aren’t volunteering with Selma?
Most evenings you can find me running through Bird Hills Metropark with my dog, Shasta.  This year, after nine years playing club ultimate frisbee, I’ve ‘retired’ to make room for Wing Chun Kung Fu (inside fighting), which complements the Aikido (a more pacifist martial art) I take at the Asian Martial Arts Studio on 4th Street.
For some years my housemate and I have co-hosted weekly friends dinners at our house, which we call Potcook.  Our motto:  “Eat when your hungry.  Drink when you’re thirsty.  Play music if you wanna.”   Picture a more anarchistic,  scaled-down version of FM@SELMA, but still with a lead-by-example sustainability theme.  It typically includes local food and some combination of homemade beer, wine, mead, cider, sake, soap, bread, yogurt, candles… you get the idea.

To accompany Potcook we occasionally have ‘band night’ at our house, an endearing and sometimes (poorly) coordinated effort to play our music together.  This year we decided that adding a banjo player was must, so I’ve put down my guitar for a while, and started banjo lessons.  I can almost sing and play at the same time.  Almost.

What is your favorite food and drink?
Currently my favorite drink is the Rhubarb Mead I made early last spring.  The rhubarb came free from a local gardener, Dan Clark, and it took my largest hiking backpack to bike home the 60ish monstrous stalks.  But I only made five gallons so I’m going to need a new favorite drink within a year, or less if word were to somehow leak out.

My favorite food since I can remember is crepes.  For one, this is because the recipe is easy to remember (1c flour, 1.5c milk, 2T melted butter, a pinch of salt, and 3 eggs, all warmed to room temperature >30 min).  Second, they’re fun to make because the batter needs slight adjustments in the consistency– it’s always a surprise– depending on the weather conditions or which farmer’s ingredients I’m using.  And most importantly, crepes are really versatile as either dessert (home-canned jams or maple syrup), or savory dinner (either stuffed with sauteed portabellas and goat cheese, or finely shaved crispy hash browns, yogurt, and green onions).

What else would you like us to know about you?

You know what seems weird to me?  Most of my closest friends are the professionals working to make our community sustainable on a more global level:  they work for the Ann Arbor Energy Office, Get Downtown, Washtenaw County Strategic Planning, the AATA, Recycle Ann Arbor, Energy Works Michigan, and Bareknuckle and Tantre Farms.  But the strange part is that I don’t do it professionally.  For me living locally has simply been a lifestyle choice, and until SELMA cafe came along my efforts have been on a smaller scale.

But, harkening to the Oberlin College motto:  ”Think one person can change the world?  So do we.”

If you’re interested in assisting in our new outreach program to expand the Hoop Build Volunteer Core, please email me for some details.  Remember, I have to cure diabetes, too.

By Lisa | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Thad & Scott together again at Selma Cafe

September 3, 2010 – 2:46 pm

Thad Gillies, owner and chef of Logan restaurant, and Scott MacInnis owner and chef of Ann Arbor catering company Tranche de Vie, combined their creativity, their love of delicious food, their comaradarie, (Scott and Thad worked together at Logan) and their sense of adventure, and brought us a breakfast that was so flavorful, so perfectly balanced, so satisfying, and so damn good that we are already trying to get them on our schedule again.  Soon.

Their first special was a light-as-a-feather wild mushroom omelete, topped with creme fraiche, and served with a tomato cucumber salad and a warm croissant, fresh from the Croissant Shop.

Their second special was a Oaxacan inspired mole pulled- pork, served between two layers of crunchy corn tortillas, topped with a fried egg and served with a large dollop of lime sour cream and some fresh cilantro.  Both the specials were incredible, each in their own way.

For those who wanted a meaty, spicy, rich, toothsome keep-you-going-all-day breakfast, the pork and fried egg special was just the thing.  Others, who love nothing more than perfectly cooked eggs, balanced in flavor and texture by the sauteed mushrooms and succulent fresh veggies, the omelete was exactly spot-on.  Many table-mates got one of each and shared.  Regardless of personal preference, it appeared that everyone in the house was happy.  There was a whole lot of delighted sighing all morning long.

Thank you so much to our Thursday evening prep crew.  We had a lot of volunteers, who also brought some really good food for our shared meal.  We had couscous with beets, a savory fresh corn pudding, roasted potatoes and yellow squash, home made pizza topped with cheese and arugula, and pasta with pesto, just to name a few of the dishes. We ate well!  Thank you Jennifer and Conor Haines, Lisa Huntington, Alex Briske, JD Rubin, Christine Duecher, Dorran Dihle, Olivia Gramprie, Michelle Fortin, Mirac Boga and Chelsea Cendrowski.  Special thanks go to Jennifer Jensen and Cecily Donnelly, who not only helped with prepping food, they also get the chicken capturing award for the night.  One of our hens got loose, and it seemed that she was destined to spend the night roosting in a tree branch, where she would be prey to all kinds of night hunting critters.  Cecily, who has now earned the nickname of chicken whisperer came to the rescue, with Jennifer showing lots of patience and tenacity in finally coaxing the hen into the coop for the night.

We had a huge turn out again this morning, with 153 guests coming round for breakfast. Thanks to the awesome Friday crew for handling the crowds with friendly smiles and lots of coffee refills.  Thanks to Melanie Adams, Cae Keenan, Mary Rock, Codi Sharp, Robbie Moore (Welcome Back Robbie, we missed you!), Matthew Bertrand, Caroline Miller, Michelle Fortin, Joel Panozzo, Mirac Boga, and Charles and Simone Racine.  The volunteers not only worked hard during service, but they stayed until the kitchen was clean, which is pretty darn swell.

In addition to all the amazing food offered up, we were also lucky enough to have our favorite gypsy band come to play for us this morning.  The Prophetic, Synesthetic, Kinetic Collective, including stand up bass, accordion, guitar, mandolin, clarinet and vocals brought cheers and happy encouragement from volunteers and guests alike.

And, of course, we had Sunseed Farm’s Tomm Becker here delivering the weekly shares to his CSA members. And look what little beauties Tomm brought with him! These pie pumpkins bake up easy, to freeze for later, or put into soups, casseroles, or, pie! Sunseed farm usually has extra produce, in addition to supplying his CSA folks, so be sure to stop by and do some shopping with Tomm.

As we move into Labor Day weekend, I hope you have a little time and attention to focus on the beauty and bounty of our local harvest.  I’ll look for you at the Farmer’s Market tomorrow, or maybe I’ll see you picking blueberries or raspberries at one of our wonderful U-Pick farms, or enjoying a picnic at Pickerel Lake, or sharing some local food and drink at a down town eatery. What ever you do this weekend, relax and celebrate life here in the mitten, and I’ll see you round the kitchen soon.

~Lisa

By Lisa | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)