Monthly Archives: October 2009

Planning Meeting #4 Recap

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Mariah| 2 Comments

After our last meeting on August 11th, the Shrinking Violets met again on October 24th to review existing projects and brainstorm around our ability to take on new ones. Having a planning party every other month seems to be working out well so far. Mariah has been initiating these meetings to date (thanks Dawn for hosting and for the cider and cookies!) but anyone who is interested in taking on this logistical responsibility is encouraged to volunteer.

Ongoing groups and events review: Book group is logistically solid, but attendance has dimmed down a bit in recent months. Hilary will work with Crystal to pull out a book group email list from the master list to encourage more involvement. Each meeting will now also have a discussion facilitator to keep the dialogue lively, Jane volunteered to be the first one. Let the book group coordinators know if you’d like to volunteer (contact info in other book group posts). Ladies Who Lunch has gotten to a point of stability where Mariah didn’t have to do much promo to get a good turnout. Dawn will be the new Ladies Who Lunch Coordinator. Hooray!!! Wine and Music nights are going steady, and the Writing Group will now be lead by Hannah Dutt Elder.

witches meeting

Communications and logistics: Some of the weaknesses in our contact list are being address by new Violet Gaia Borgias Brown.  This will help to prevent over-reliance on Facebook for promoting events. Mariah is documenting all the resources available and some of the process for putting on a Shrinking Violets event in an effort to cut down on the time it takes to conduct one-on-one event training and integration. This will be made available electronically to everyone. Crystal, Taylor and Gaia are working on a members survey to help gauge interest in various activities so people know who to approach when they want to work with people on something. All members are encouraged to organize events that would be of benefit to SVS, and co-hosting/promoting is an easy way to make things happen.

The group decided to create a planning meeting in mid-November to do a retreat in December where we hash out our mission statement for finalization by the larger membership at an annual gathering in January. We’re getting pretty sophisticated in our old age, aren’t we? If you’d like to be involved in this string of development efforts, please let us know by sending a message to shrinkingvioletsociety@gmail.com. It will be rewarding and we are a great group to work with!

We covered a lot of ground in this meeting without a formal agenda and we ended exactly on time. Please fell free to share your feedback in the comments below. We would just like to reiterate that membership is always open and new members are encouraged to join. Right now, “membership” just means that you are on the mailing list. To get on the mailing list, just send your name, phone, address and neighborhood (plus a personal introduction if you’re feeling ambitious) to the group email address.

We love meeting new people and making new friends!

Posted in Visioning

Recipe: Vegan Cheez Ball

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Crystal| 3 Comments

cheez ballOn October 17th a dozen or so Violets met at Andrea’s house for the almost-monthly Wine & Music Social. We had several bottles of wine to choose from while we listened to music and shared stories. We also had an array of tasty snacks to munch on, including Crystal’s vegan cheez ball. OK, it doesn’t really taste like cheese, but that’s not the point. It tastes good and you can eat it on crackers – that’s the point.

The recipe is pretty easy and the strangest ingredient required is smoked tofu, which can be found at a handful of local grocers, including Huckleberry’s. This low fat and cholesterol free appetizer is a great healthy alternative to your standard processed cheese product. As we know, the holiday season is right around the corner, bringing with it a veritable cornucopia of calorie-laden treats. So keep this tasty and healthy recipe in mind as you gear up for the numerous parties you’re sure to be invited to this season.

(Makes two small (baseball size) balls, or one large ball)

You’ll Need:

1 package smoked tofu, roughly chopped

3/4 raw cashews, soaked overnight

1 T plus 1 1/2 t soy sauce

2 T olive oil

1/2 t lemon juice

1/4 t paprika

1 T water

1 C almond slivers, toasted*

Method:

Soak cashews with 1 1/2 t soy sauce with water to cover in the refrigerator overnight. Blend drained cashews with olive oil, water, soy sauce, lemon juice and paprika in food processor or blender until smooth, scrapping down the side as needed. Add tofu and blend until smooth with no remaining lumps. Add additional oil 1/4 t at time if necessary to achieve consistent texture. Mixture will start to ball up and will be sticky. Once mixture is is blended, line a small bowl with plastic wrap. Divide mixture in half. Spoon onto plastic, wrap and form into a loose ball. Repeat with remaining half. Refrigerate for two hours. After balls have chilled, remove plastic and using wet hands, form into tight balls. Spread almond slivers onto a shallow dish and rolls balls in almonds to coat, pressing slightly to make sure they stick. Wrap finished balls in plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.

*To toast almonds, heat cast iron or non-stick skillet on medium. Add almonds and toast until just starting to turn golden. Remove from heat and allow to cool before using.

For more vegan recipes from Crystal, visit spovegan.blogspot.com.

Posted in Uncategorized

Of Course We Did! – Canning Party Recap

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Mariah| 1 Comment

On the night of October 2nd, a large contingent of violets was spotted at the Terrain art and music show.

Early the next morning (at the crack of 11am), two drooping violets made the journey to Carol Bryan’s little red house down in Peaceful Valley. There they were greeted with warm coffee, home made salsa and blue corn chips, and a nicely arranged assortment of canning jars, lids, rings, pots and cook books.

We kicked off the event by walking out in back of the house to pick a pot full of grapes from a large vine growing in the neighborhood. Pure, local and organic grape juice is one of Carol’s canning specialties. You simply heat the grapes over a pot of boiling water, the grapes burst and the juice is collected in a funnel that drains into a collection chamber with a spigot. The juice is divine and is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. No corn syrup or even sugar is added! Carol mentioned that she’d be willing to let the Violets borrow her equipment if they ever got an inkling to replicate the process.

“Raw Pack” Canned Tomato Recipe

Optional step: To remove skins, wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until the skins begin to split. Then dip in cold water, slip off skins, core and remove any blemished or discolored parts. If leaving skins on, you can choose to leave the tomatoes whole or cut them in any way you like.

Pack hot jars with prepared tomatoes and press down until the spaces between them fill with juice. Leave ½-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Before or after packing a jar full of tomatoes, add 1 tbsp. lemon juice or citric acid along with 1/2 teaspoon salt to each quart jar.  Wipe rim and screw threads and adjust lids and screw bands.

Process completed jars in a boiling water bath canner for 85 minutes. Remove from water bath and let cool until sealed. Ideal for use in soups, stews, casseroles and sauces.

Pears in Light Syrup Recipe

Choose ripe, mature fruits of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. Wash and peel pears. Cut lengthwise into halves and remove cores. (A melon baller or metal measuring spoon is suitable for coring pears.) To prevent discoloration, keep pear slices in an ascorbic acid solution.

Prepare a light syrup or pack pears in apple juice, white grape juice or water. For light syrup (20 percent sugar), use 5 3/4 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups sugar. This will be enough sugar for 9 pints or 4 quarts. Boil drained pears 5 minutes in syrup, juice or water. Fill hot jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2 inch head space.

Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner, 20 minutes for pint jars or 25 minutes for quart jars.

The fridge of a proud Violets supporter.

The fridge of a proud Violets supporter.

There were two take home messages for this event:

  1. Canning does not have to be intimidating or overly complex! It it actually quite fun and simple.
  2. The cost savings really come into play when you are buying in bulk direct from a local producer, or are growing your own crops. That is the way to go if you want to be thrifty.

Posted in Events