By Karen Kirchoff
Chlorophyll-rich green collard leaves, freshly picked from a Roslindale garden, lay neatly stacked on the kitchen prep counter at Roslindale’s Community Center on a recent Saturday. Members of GreeningRozzie’s Community Kitchen were gathered once more to prepare food, then divvy up the hearty meals made together.
In two-and-a-half hours of shared kitchen time, folks also had an opportunity to exchange information about food prep, gardens, and sustainable practices.
On this Saturday, we had the delightful companionship of tweens, who readily assisted in rolling up collard greens around rice pilaf. The collard bundles were then placed in a large pot to be steamed. The younger folks, in turn, showed their techniques for turning out a delicious apple spice cake with homemade topping, all made with organic ingredients. Meanwhile, pumpkin fritters sizzled in a fry pan, biscuits browned in the oven, and sun-dried- tomato-studded polenta thickened in a double-boiler. As her mom readied gigantic golden muffins bursting with cranberries, a toddler clutched her doll and danced to the ethereal musical strains of bowed saw accompanying bass and fiddle.
What’s new in the community? Community Kitchen participants heard about a GreeningRozzie member’s initiative to create a non-profit green space in Roslindale that would be a learning center for youth and adults, and grow vegetables and herbs. (Stay tuned!) A Community Kitchen participant relayed her role in transmitting critical information to Sandy flood victims in New Jersey, her home state. While her neighborhood in NJ was without power, and therefore cut-off from critical news about where supplies and resources could be found, she used her cell phone here to constantly call and connect them with breaking information. Such a model of how community can take care of community.
Watch for details on the date for the next Community Kitchen. If you’d like to help us pull together Community Kitchens, participate as a cook, come play music, or be added to the bulk flour order, contact Info@GreeningRozzie.org.
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