November 12th
Our Vibrant Friends!
Turns out… our hope last week gave way to yet more HOPE!!!
Champagne popped. Dancing under the moonlight executed. Happy tears aplenty.
While the road ahead is still looking to be bumpy AF – aka storms a brewin, aka please use caution when opening the overhead bins as heavy articles may have shifted around during the flight – we cannot deny our supreme joy at pulling through, and !omg hell yes! having a woman of color in the white house!!!!
All the exclamation points. Ring a ding ding dong. Yippee ay-ky-yay. Absolutely about time.
At the farm before, during, and after our daily tasks, we celebrate this wondrous win as we dually batten the hatches. We discuss the necessity of dedicated movement forward now more than ever as a community, as a city, as a nation, and as a people.
So. Much. Work to be done.
Some may say the first rule of social justice is; never stop fighting for social justice. This year has brought long overdue widespread attention to continuous and corrosive racism in our country. Ever the more the fight for protected equality must be loudly, proudly proclaimed. Progressive work forward will only garner change if it is not treated like a style of the moment. To find and denounce disparity as a passing fad is unacceptable. This historic election has, if nothing else, glaringly reminded us of the extreme polarity in each and every state between the masses who demand change and the masses who prioritize conservative self and the status quo.
What to do now? Continue the conversation. Write to leaders, new and old, asking for change. Read BIPOC fiction and unfiction alike. Support BIPOC businesses, creatives, philosophers, educators. Acknowledge gratitude for all we individually and collectively have. Offer kindness wherever possible. Investigate internally. Continue to cultivate hope. Prepare for a world unknown. Demand momentum.
Make beautiful food for one another. Admire the change of season. Treasure the way a shaft of sunlight in the winter can hit the soul just right, a warmth within, a quiet calling.
Until next week, with love and gratitude to you and yours,
-- Rosemary Stafford for Vibrant Valley Farm
ROSE’S RECIPE IDEA OF THE WEEK:
WHOLE ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH MAPLE SAGE BUTTER AND PROSCUITTO BREADCRUMBS
Recipe amended from https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/hasselback-butternut-squash/
Ingredients
2 small or 1 medium large butternut squash
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 stick salted cream butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage and 6-10 sage leaves
1 cup finely torn ciabatta bread
3 oz proscuitto
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a large spoon. Reserve for salting and oiling and roasting. Using a peeler, remove the skin of the squash. Or, wash well and leave skin on. Rub with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the halves on a large baking sheet, flesh down, and roast until the squash begins to soften, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the butter, maple syrup, and chopped sage until combined.
Remove the squash from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Allow to cool a bit. Using a sharp knife, and a kitchen towel held over the squash lightly but firmly to keep it steady, slice through the rounded sides of the squash halves, crosswise, very thinly, as thinly as possible, going as deep as possible but without cutting all the way through. Then return the squash to the baking sheet, scored sides up. Spread half the maple butter over the squash, allowing it to drip into the slices. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the squash for 30 minutes, then spread with the remaining maple butter, spooning any melted butter in the pan over the squash. Return to the oven and roast for another 15-20 minutes, until the squash is tender.
At the same time, toss together the bread, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the sage leaves, and a pinch of salt and pepper on a separate baking sheet. Lay the prosciutto around the bread. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until toasted. Remove and allow to let cool a bit. Then crumble the prosciutto and sage leaves into smaller crumbs.
Remove the squash from the oven and transfer to your most winter/autumnally pleasing serving plate. Drizzle remaining maple butter left in the pan over it. Top with breadcrumb/prosciutto/sage mixture. Consume each thin, decadent slice with verve.