Last Sunday, July 25, 15 people gathered at Oregon’s Museum of Science and Industry for Portland Tuv Ha’Aretz’s 2nd annual Jewish edible garden bike tour. Portland is laid out in grids, like Washington, D.C. Last year’s tour covered NE Portland; this year we set off to explore neighborhoods in SE.

Our ride leader, Tuv member Beth Hamon, is an old-school bike geek. Last year she created spoke cards for our ride (when you do something for the first time, it’s an innovation; twice is minhag) So of course she made a new one for this year’s ride. Here’s a picture:

Our route took us through the Sellwood, Mt. Tabor and Hawthorne neighborhoods. We started with a trip down the Springwater Corridor, a 40-mile multi-use trail that runs partway along the Willamette River and goes past some fantastic bird habitats.

We visited four gardens, ranging in size from a single raised bed to an urban micro-farm, complete with bees and a small orchard. All the gardeners talked about what they grew, how long they’d been growing food, and some offered perspectives on how their Judaism informs their gardening. For some, the conection is simply that they are Jewish and enjoy putting their hands in the dirt. Others talked about earth stewardship and one gardener deconstructed the Hebrew word pardes (orchard), as a way of explaining his approach: “Pardes begins with a Peh, which stands for p’shat, a simple explanation for things (what you see is what you get). The next letter, Reish, stands for remez, which means “hidden,” and suggests all that goes into making the plants grow: water, healthy soil, air, sunlight. Daled is drash, a commentary, and the final letter, Samech, stands for sod, which means “secret”, as in ‘The Secret Life of Plants,’ something you have to study and understand over a period of years.”

We ended our 14-mile loop with a picnic lunch at Sewallcrest Park, next to an enormous community garden. It’s worth mentioning that community gardens are very popular here; we have a three-year waiting list, with more than 1,000 people waiting for a plot.

Here’s a link to our Flickr page for more pictures of our ride. One rider used a nifty little GPS device he wore on his wrist like a watch to map our route. Here’s another link that shows where we went.

If you’d like to plan a similar event, please feel free to contact me for information.

In his blog Torah Flora, Dr. Jon Greenberg shares his unique insights and vast knowledge on Judaism and plants (or as he more articulately puts it, “biblical ethnobotany”). Some of us had the chance to witness that knowledge first hand today at the New York Botanical Garden, where Dr. Greenberg gave an enthusiastic group a “Torah Flora Tour.”

The goal of the tour (and blog), according to Dr. Greenberg, is to “use knowledge of plants and nature to better understand Torah and Halacha.” He cites a long-lost relationship during the biblical era between Judaism and nature, and a wish to reconstruct it.

Turns out this relationship goes well beyond the obvious of using Lulav and Etrog on Sukkot and bitter herbs on Pesach (though he discussed those as well, with exhibits A, B, and C proudly on view). This symbiosis exists in ways we have overlooked in our learning, in the very language of Tanach. Dr. Greenberg quoted Devarim in comparing a bitter man to wormwood, and wondered about the true identity of the desert Juniper in Jeremiah. It seems we’ve always turned to our green, leafy friends, for culinary, spiritual, and literary inspiration!

With every plant we passed, Dr. Greenberg pointed out its identifying marks and place in Jewish history (confirmed and fabled; Legend has it that it was a Jewish friend who showed Thomas Jefferson how to eat tomatoes…), and threw in some fun facts to sweeten the deal. He quoted sources with impressive speed and skill, citing the Talmud, Rambam, and Josephus in his fascinating botanical history lesson. Eventually, my intended event-reporting soon became a long list of “Who Knew?” facts and ideas I couldn’t wait to share on JCarrot!

For instance, while many Midrashic sources list the four species of Sukkot as metaphorical representations of people or senses, the Rambam sees them in an entirely original light: as an agricultural history of the Jews: The Lulav (date palm) grows in the desert, where the Jews wandered for forty years. The Aravot (willow) is a water-loving plant which finds its home on river banks, and represents our people’s crossing of the Jordan River on their way to Israel. The Hadasim (myrtle) grows in the Israeli highlands, where the people eventually spread out and settled, and the Etrog (citron, a cultivated fruit) represents the orchards that finally signaled the Jews’ agricultural growth in the land.

But the lessons didn’t end with interpretations of Judaic ritual items, oh, no. Some of the highlights of the tour were the “fun facts,” the stuff we might not use but sure are glad to know! For example, did you know that the word “scallion” comes from the Latin name for it, “Ascelonium”, so-called since the plants were imported from Ashkelon? I sure didn’t. Or that the original Maror (bitter herbs) probably wasn’t horseradish at all, but sea holly, the “prickly lettuce?” Dr. Greenberg and his wife offered us some samples of this spicy plant. Man, is it bitter. It could kick wasabi and romaine lettuce both to the curb come Hillel sandwich season. Funny thing is, sea holly starts out sweet. But as it matures, it becomes bitter and spiny, until it reaches a point where it’s no longer edible; just like the Jews’ experience in Egypt started pleasantly and ended in unbearable oppression!

As we walked among the rows of flowers and fruit, grateful that temperature had dropped a few degrees for the occasion (“I’ve got connections up there,” Dr. Greenberg joked), we came across familiar plants with hidden stories. “Not all of our favorite vegetables were always popular,” Dr. Greenberg shared, explaining how potatoes and tomatoes, both members of the Nightshade family, were once thought to be poisonous. In fact, eggplant took quite a while to find an audience. Quoting an Italian source from the 1890’s, he told us how the purple food was described as “a disgusting vegetable fit only for Jews.” Gee, thanks, guys. I’ll take that Eggplant Parmesan to go.

Dr. Greenberg spoke with such aplomb and excitement; it made me glad that I’d driven across the Throgs Neck Bridge to be there. Where else could I have heard so much about our shared history with nature? Next time I’m choosing my farmers’ market apricots, I’ll think for a moment about how some sources identify it as the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge in Eden.

At one point, we arrived at an ordinary, flowering sage plant.

“What does this look like to you?” Dr. Greenberg asked.

“A Menorah!” some brave or eager volunteer announced.

“Exactly. And where did we light the Menorah?”

“In Jerusalem, on Har HaMoriah.”

“Right. ‘Moriah’ is Hebrew for ‘sage.’”

Wow.

Dr. Greenberg will be speaking next at the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists in Southbury, Connecticut on Sunday, July 25^th. Those interested can register for the event at aojs.org.

See those blue ribbons? My challah (and my husband’s bagels) won those at the county fair last year. Both recipes always turn out reliably scrumptious, which should be enough for any baker, but there is something undeniably, down-home country-satisfying about serving your family and friends “blue-ribbon” baked goods.

Folks looking for Jewish food and culture might not head for the county fair; as Jewish pig farmers, pole benders and log-rolling lumberjacks are rarities in most parts, yet the lure of competition, fancy ribbons and yearlong bragging rights might make you wish to consider participating. That’s right, I suggest you get your apron on and whip, bake, pickle or jar up your Jewish delicacies and head to your county fair. Trust me, your homemade kosher dills will taste even better adorned with a Best of Show ribbon. All you need is a copy of your local fair’s open-class entry form to start planning your submissions.

Make great challah? Babka? Rugelach? Matzah? Bagels? How about hamantaschen? Home economics class B baked goods can be your proving ground. County fair food preservation judges have had plenty of pickles cross their palates, why don’t you see if they can gauge what makes a good gefilte fish?

Fascinated by fermentation? Budding oenologists and zymogurists can bottle up and enter their best kosher wine, beer, or hard cider. If you’re more of a drinker and designer than distiller, see if your county fair has a category for labels. Either way, bring some Jewish flavor to your county fair and bring home some blue ribbons! But don’t forget your cowboy boots; there is nothing to win with open-toed shoes in the livestock halls.

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Hey all you NY metro, cross-cultural foodies — this one’s for you. Tomorrow in Chinatown the Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Chinese-Jewish festival is scheduled, and it sounds like a blast. �Here’s an excerpt from their flyer:

Experience a unique slice of the city where Chinatown meets the Jewish Lower East Side, at our Egg Rolls And Egg Creams Festival.

Klezmer march and music – lion dance – synagogue tours – Chinese opera and acrobatics – Yiddish and Chinese lessons – sing a long – tea ceremony – scribal art – folk dance demos – mahjongg – art projects – kosher egg rolls and egg creams

This is a free event.�

Come join me and enjoy the festivities, 12 �- 4 pm at the Museum on Eldridge Street (12 Eldridge Street between Canal and Division). �I’ll be looking for all the jcarrot fans, and providing an updated post on the festival. �Hope to see you there. �

For more details visit their site (warning: you have to play a brief online game of mahjongg to enter. Seriously.)

Last week, I wrote about how I, dressed as “Chris P. Carrot,” had led the Veggie Pride Parade in New York City under my dual Jew-carrot identity. Now you can vote for a photo of Chris P. Carrot (with his “wife,” Penelo Pea Pod) from the event as the cutest photo in a PETA contest!

A post on PETA’s blog announced, “Calling all connoisseurs of cuteness: We need your help deciding which of the following pics from recent PETA demonstrations is the most aww-inspiring.” (Note: Although PETA owns the costume that I borrowed, the event was not a PETA demonstration.)

The other photos feature a little kid protesting against the cruelty of the dairy industry and someone in an elephant costume educating people about the abuse of elephants in circuses. Kids are formidable opponents in a cuteness competition, but I hope that I can count on The Jew & The Carrot readers to vote for the Jew and the carrot (i.e., me).

Yesterday, I embodied the dual identity of the Jew and the carrot once again to lead the third annual Veggie Pride Parade through the streets of Manhattan. Trailing a police escort and walking in front of hundreds of enthusiastic herbivores, I frequently shouted “Eat Your Veggies, Not Your Friends!” while dressed as Chris P. Carrot.

The event was organized by Pamela Rice, who frequently had control of a megaphone during the parade. While some of the cheers seemed corny (e.g, “Hey, ho, we’re so cool. Being veggie truly rules!”), she and other megaphone users tried to express a wide variety of reasons for embracing vegetarianism, including cruelty to animals, health, the environment, and many more. This should come as no surprise, as Rice is the author of 101 Reasons Why I’m a Vegetarian. Her book helped inspire my 2007 “Counting the Omer” blog, which offered a different reason to go vegetarian for each of the 49 days of the sefirot. Considering that tonight marks the 49th day of the omer, it’s a good opportunity to take a look back at Counting the Omer.

Photo by Robyn Lazara

How does the food movement intersect with issues of poverty?� For the hundred or so participants at the Growing Food Justice event last night we got a little taste of some of the issues and what we can do about it.� The event was sponsored by the AJWS-Avodah partnership and was co-sponsored by Hazon. They brought together three activists who are fighting in very different ways to prevent hunger in New York City.

Joel Berg, the Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger and author of All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America? started out with some numbers: 1.4 million New Yorkers living in households who cannot afford enough food and an estimated 400,000 (1 out of 5 children) in the City are hungry.�� “But,” he said, “hunger is not about lack of food � it is about the ability to earn enough money to afford enough food.”� What�s the solution?� A serious focus on living wage jobs and a serious support of food safety net programs and support local community support systems.� Food justice not just food charity.

Karen Washington, who started her discussion by describing herself as an urban farmer is also the President of the NYC Community Gardens Coalition.� “Let all the rich people pay for everything and food should be free,” she said.� Other points she made from her impassioned speech included: When you talk about changing the food system, it needs to be inclusive. Until rooms like this are filled with the people who are hungry, there will not be real change.� This has to happen from the grassroots up.� We have a generation of children who have no idea where their food is coming from.� We need to educate people around the process of agriculture.� And its not just about access to affordable food, but it is also about jobs.� Welfare and foodstamps was supposed to be a temporary thing � not generation after generation.� When talking about sustainable agriculture, the kids should be involved. Teach agriculture in schools.� Solutions need to be developed from the bottom up, not from the top down.�� Food levels the playing field.� It is a right and not a privilege.� The land of milk and honey has become the land of greed and money.� Food is the new civil rights.

Daniel Bowman Simon, who had founded the successful White House Organic Farm Project is now spearheading the People’s Garden NYC � respectfully asking Mayor Bloomberg to allow a Community garden in front of City Hall.� Daniel’s presentation included multi-media like the video above.� He showed photos of his trip across the country in what is now called the topsy-turvy bus.� And we know how the story ends, Michelle Obama planted an organic garden last year and in the process of expanding again this year.� Over half of the food from the garden was donated to Miriam�s Kitchen � a local DC food pantry.� After the White House, Daniel was hopeful that this idea would take root in other public places as well.� Baltimore, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Portland have all planted vegetables outside their City Halls – so why not New York City?� Daniel showed historical photographs of urban gardens in NYC from the early 1900′s.� His petition to Mayor Bloomberg is online here and it can also be printed out to gather additional signatures – like the South Bronx Food Coop does.

At the end of the presentations there was a brief but heated discussion about the state�s Fresh Program.� And interesting discussion of free and reduced school lunches and the idea of universal breakfasts.� There was plenty of time for shmoozing and networking after as well as yummy food catered from a restaurant that has the Tav HaYosher.

Overall it was a terrific event, hopefully the first of many food justice events for the AJWS-Avodah partnership.

As a Jewish community we have the capacity and potential to create our own unique and genuine response to integrating environmental education into our family life. That�s why we are so excited to present this first-ever Los Angeles Jewish environmental seminar � �Framing the Environment Through a Jewish Lens�. Join us on Sunday, May 23rd, 1:30-6pm at the Shalom Institute in the beautiful Malibu Mountains.

If you are a Jewish educator, part of a synagogue Green Team, communal professional, youth professional or lay leader, we�ve created the chance for you to meet and learn from thought leaders and organizations, gathering information on green certification of facilities, farming and gardening materials, curriculum resources and much more.

Seminar admission is $18.00. At 12:30pm an optional complimentary community lunch hosted by the Lisa & Maury Friedman Foundation will give you a chance to network with each other and seminar presenters.

The keynote speech, �Am I My Planet�s Keeper? Empowering Communities with Jewish Wisdom on the Environment�, will be presented by Evonne Marzouk, founder/executive director of Canfei Nesharim, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the importance of environmental protection education from the perspective of Torah and Jewish law.

Following the presentation, you can choose from two tracks: the Religious School and Day School Educator Track, led by Evonne Marzouk, Elana Havusha, Shalom Institute�s garden director, and other community environmental educators or the Green Team and Community Track led by Bill Kaplan, executive director of the Shalom Institute and Lisa Friedman, president of the Lisa & Maury Friedman Foundation. Either way you�ll experience the Marla Bennett Israel Discovery Center and Garden as well as the Institute�s organic farming center.

Ample time has been set aside for everyone to collect a variety of environmental education curriculum and teaching and organizational materials which you can use in your community. You�ll get an overview of Jewish communal learning approaches — from Torah text to the basics of greening our Jewish indoor and outdoor facilities and educating our families � surrounded by the very nature we are all committed to protecting.

The Shalom Institute Camp and Conference Center is located at 34342 Mulholland Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265. For more information call 818-889-5500 or visit the Shalom Institute website. To register, click here.

Listen to our new PODCAST, Episode 5 by clicking here!

Co-Founder Julie Wolk sits down with me on the latest Hazon Podcast. Listen to what Wilderness Torah is doing to revitalize the American Jewish Community. Also, don’t forget you can subscribe on iTunes by searching “Hazon”.

Also, don’t forget that it is Earth Day this week, so check out all the options going on in your area. For a good listing, check this website out

They have a map where you can choose where you live and find out what is going on near you!

And finally, for those in the New York area, come see “Tapped: The Movie,” a documentary about water usage and safety in America. It is screening at 5 pm at the Cowin Center at Columbia University (between 120 and 121 streets on Broadway). If you are one of the first 100 people to arrive at 4 pm, you can exchange a plastic bottle for a FREE Klean Kanteen! So look into your recycling bin and grab a plastic bottle. If you come after the first 100 people, you will get a great discount on Klean Kanteen.

When Alan Glustoff founded 5 Spoke Creamery in 2005, he put his years as a dairy technologist to work. Glustoff set out to make artisanal kosher cheeses that rivaled their non-kosher counterparts, and his success speaks for itself.  Today, 5 Spoke Creamery’s Kof-K certified cheeses are served in the finest non-kosher restaurants (including Per Se), sold in leading specialty food stores (like Zabar’s and Murray’s), and touted in major food publications (from Bon Appétit to Epicurious).

What makes Five Spoke Creamery’s cheeses different is that they are handmade from the raw milk of grass-fed Holstein cows that are free of pesticides and hormones. Because grass-fed cows get to roam, picking and choosing from a variety of grasses, herbs, flowers and weeds, raw milk from a grass-fed cow has a depth of flavor that cannot be duplicated.

In case you are wondering, raw milk cheeses are perfectly safe. They are made from unpastuerized milk and follow state laws requiring a minimum of 60 days for aging which eliminates pathogenic bacteria. In fact, the safety record for raw milk cheeses span many centuries, and over 70% of European cheeses are made from raw milk.

Not only are Five Spoke Creamery’s cheeses creamier and more flavorful than cheeses made from pasteurized milk, also they offer numerous health benefits that are inherent to raw milk, including:

•    Better digestion – Only raw milk keeps the enzyme phosphataze intact, which allows the body to absorb greater amounts of calcium and to digest lactose.
•    Stronger immune system - Raw milk has all the beneficial bacteria and lactic acids, which implant in the intestines and contribute to a stronger immune system.
•    Fighting allergies – Raw milk has a cortisone-like factor present in the cream, which aids in combating allergies.
•    The right fats - Grass fed, raw milk cheeses are one of the few foods that contain a perfect balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats, a ratio ideal for your health.
•    Cancer protection - Grass fed, raw milk cheeses are very high in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is among the most potent cancer fighters found in all foods.

On Sunday afternoon, April 25th, you’ll have an opportunity to learn more about raw milk cheeses and enjoy a sampling of delicious 5 Spoke Creamery cheeses at Say Cheese: An Introduction to Artisanal Kosher Cheeses with Alan Glustoff. The Upper West Side event, which is $72 (tax deductible), is part of Limmud Across NY:  A Day of Learning to Benefit Limmud NY. For further information or to register, go to www.limmudny.org/LimmudAcrossNY.