Guidestone Volunteer Opportunities!

Guidestone is growing as our mission and work continue to create more opportunities in the Upper Arkansas River Valley. With several projects underway, we are now looking for volunteers to help us achieve our vision of local agricultural growth.

We see volunteers becoming the heart of our work and will only grow stronger through the time and efforts provided by them. If you want to become part of the Guidestone volunteer team, now is the time to let us know. We have many volunteer opportunities that range from blog and recipe writing, to fundraising, farm cleanup and beyond.

Current volunteer opportunities:

Blogger
Help us write blogs about the local food movement, agriculture in the Arkansas River Valley and recipes that showcase local foods.

Adult Education Class Coordinator
Guidestone hopes to expand its educational offerings to adults. Help us coordinate such classes as “Food Preservation”, “High Altitude Gardening” and “Composting 101”. Suggestions for additional classes are always welcome!

Guidestone Fundraiser
Become a part of Guidstone’s first fundraiser of the year. Help is needed prior to and during the event.
Date: April 11, 2010
Location: Boathouse Cantina, Salida, CO

Spring Meadows Cleanup
Don your work gloves and overalls! This event is a great opportunity to get to know the Guidestone Board and Staff and the farmers of Weathervane Farm, Cottonwood Creek Dairy, and Colorado Grown. Help us to prepare the farm for the upcoming Farmhands educational programs and the growing season ahead. Participate in the maintenance of this beautiful land and creek setting here in the Upper Arkansas River Valley.
Date: To be determined

Farmhands
Do you love to work with kids and animals and dig your hands in the soil? Guidestone’s Farmhands education program will be in need of volunteer assistants this coming season. Please let us know if you are interested and stay tuned for more information.

If you would like to volunteer with Guidestone, please contact Lindsay at laj324[at]yahoo[dot]com or Katie at katie[at]southmainco[dot]com.

Quinoa and Sausage Stuffed Squash

This dish has quickly become a household wintertime favorite. The original recipe that this one is based on comes from the Joy of Cooking although it has evolved quite a bit since then. The nice thing about this recipe is that it is easy to get creative and come up with your own combinations of flavors. Have fun and enjoy!

Squash – 3 acorn or 1 butternut
2 T olive oil or butter
1 cup quinoa – grown in the San Luis Valley by White Mountain Farms
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 lb ground sausage – Use any type you like. Visit Colorado Grown for delicious choices
1 cup chopped kale – I saved some in my freezer from last summer’s veggie share through Weathervane Farm
½ cup Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping, grated
Seasonings and salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350

Halve and seed squash. Place a steaming basket in a pot with water (be sure to not allow the water level to be higher than the level of the bottom of the basket). Bring the water to a boil and add the squash halves. Cover and steam until soft, usually 10 to 15 minutes.

Rinse 1 cup quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve and drain. In a medium sized pot heat oil or butter and add chopped onions and garlic. Cook until golden. Add quinoa, toasting for about 3 minutes. Add broth and other seasonings (I used coriander and turmeric… just get creative). Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 12 – 15 minutes until the liquid is gone.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet cook sausage. Add chopped kale, stirring until wilted. Turn off heat.

Combine quinoa mixture with sausage mixture and parmesan cheese. Make any final seasoning adjustments. Spoon into squash halves and place in baking dish. Top with remaining grated Parmesan. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

David Lynch Interviewed on KCFR "Colorado Matters"

Guidestone's David Lynch recently sat down with Ryan Warner of Denver radio station KCFR's Colorado Matters for an interview about the Chaffee County Land Link Initiative. The discussion highlights the concepts and motives behind this new program and also details some of its first participants. To check out the interview click on the following link, then scroll down the page to Wednesday, January 27 and click on the title, "Cultivating New Farmers & Ranchers":

Colorado Matters: Cultivating New Farmers & Ranchers

Chaffee County Land-Link Initiative: An Update

By: David Lynch, Land-Link Director

In early 2009, Guidestone began exploration of the idea of launching a Land-Link Initiative here in the Upper Arkansas River Valley (see Introducing Guidestone's Land Link Intitiative). Since that time, the Chaffee County Land-Link Initiative has been gaining considerable momentum. The Chaffee County Board of Commissioners recently embraced the program committing $5,000 in matching funds toward the USDA grant proposal that is currently being prepared by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. Seven area nonprofit organizations and agencies have lent their support to this initiative by providing endorsements and several have stepped up and made pledges in matching funds toward the project. In addition, the program has received considerable attention state-wide from other organizations and leaders thanks to a recent article featuring the Land Link Initiative in the Denver Post.

At the recent annual convention of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU), policy was adopted by the delegates from a three-state area, to support a region-wide land link effort. RMFU’s Cooperative Development Center under the hand of director Ben Rainbolt is eyeing the Chaffee County Land-Link Initiative as the pilot for a statewide undertaking. Additionally, RMFU covered all expenses for David Lynch, Guidestone’s Land-Link Director, to attend a western region farm-link conference held in California. Considerable information and resources were provided at this event and David returns with increased enthusiasm for developing a Central Colorado region land-link program.

The USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant that is in progress, will provide the initial funding to get the Initiative off the ground. The grant proposal will be submitted in February, and if approved, will be awarded this next summer. Expectations are high and the land-link steering committee will continue laying the foundation in the coming months. Stay tuned for additional updates!

We would like to thank all of the organizations who have expressed their support of this program:

Central Colorado Foodshed Alliance
Chaffee County Board of Commissioners
Chaffee County Heritage Area
Chaffee County Planning Commission
GARNA
Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas
NRCS
Sonoran Institute

Another Splendid Pumpkin Patch Festival

Guidestone’s Pumpkin Patch is an annual event, hosted over two weekends in October, which provides a festive celebration of the harvest season for children and families. Activities include crafts for kids, a hay bale maze, face painting, pony rides, and a horse drawn wagon ride out to a pumpkin patch where children can pick their own pumpkin to bring home. For three years the event has been held at Cottonwood Meadows in Buena Vista, where there are farm animals to visit and Weathervane Farm’s beautiful gardens to peruse. Or participants can take a walk through the golden leaves of the Cottonwood trees along Cottonwood Creek. Music and food round out the festive atmosphere.

This year, our 3rd annual, was the most successful one yet, with around 1000 people in attendance over the two weekends. People came from Chaffee, Lake, Fremont and Eagle Counties to enjoy this abundant time of year. All of the event’s proceeds go to support Guidestone’s Farmhands Education Program, which provides hands-on, experiential farm & nature-based education programs to groups, children and families. Community support is invaluable to the success of these programs, and Guidestone is grateful to everyone that attended this year for appreciating and celebrating agriculture, community and education. We would also like to thank the farmers, volunteers, and the folks at Cottonwood Meadows for their continued support of this festival.

By: Andrea Earley Coen

Online Farmers Market Makes Buying Locally a Cinch for Central Colorado

The Arkansas River Valley is rich in agricultural abundance and now a new company is making it possible for residents to access local products by providing a convenient way to buy locally from dozens of producers over the web.

Lindsay Diamond is the founder of Colorado Local Market, a new year-round online local foods market dedicated to bringing the people of Central Colorado freshly picked, locally produced food and related products. “There are dozens of local food resources in the Arkansas River Valley alone,” says Diamond. “My goal is to make it very convenient to purchase from all of them so eating locally can become an easier and richer experience.”

The new website, www.colocalmarket.com, enables local producers to list what foods they have available each week. Customers can shop from those items, add them to a shopping cart and pickup their order on Tuesday afternoons in Buena Vista.

Diamond is targeting farms and producers and consumers of all sizes. “The beauty of this site is that it provides the abundance of a farmers market (CSA), the convenience of community supported agriculture and the selection of a grocery store all in an easy-to-use website.”

While there are active farmers markets and CSAs in the area, Colorado Local Market fills the need for individuals who don’t want to commit to a CSA or who can’t always attend a weekend farmers market. “With Colorado Local Market you get more choice. You can choose what you want and how much you want,” says Diamond.

Colorado Local Market will begin selling items spring 2010. It is currently accepting producer and customer registration. Items ordered from Colorado Local Market (www.colocalmarket.com) will be available for pick up on Tuesdays from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Jala Blu Yoga, behind the Evergeen Café in Buena Vista. Visit www.colocalmarket.com to learn more.

Pumpkin and Pistachio Risotto

By: Jeff B.

This elegant combination of creamy golden rice and orange pumpkin can be as pale or bright as you like by adding different quantities of saffron. Who doesn’t love cooking with saffron and, better yet, this recipe cleans out the frozen pumpkin left over from Halloween and Colorado Grown. Please be careful, this risotto recipe is likely to be a stepping stone to booking a spring trip to Northern Italy.

Serves 4

Ingredients
5 cups fresh vegetable stock or water
Generous pinch of saffron threads
2 tbsps olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb Arborio rice
2 lbs pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into ¾ in cubes
¾ cup dry white wine
½ oz parmesan cheese, finely grated
½ cup pistachios
3 tbsps chopped fresh marjoram or oregano, plus extra leaves, to garnish
Salt, freshly grated nutmeg and ground black pepper

1. Bring the stock or water to a boil and reduce to low simmer. Ladle a little stock into a small bowl. Add the saffron threads and leave to infuse.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the rice and pumpkin and cook for a few more minutes until the rice looks transparent.
3. Pour in the wine and allow it to boil hard. When it is absorbed add ¼ of the stock and the infused saffron and liquid. Stir constantly until all the liquid is absorbed.
4. Gradually add the stock or water, a ladleful at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more and stirring all the time. After 20-30 minutes the rice should golden yellow and creamy, and al dente when tested.
5. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, cover the pan and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
6. To finish, stir in the pistachios and marjoram or oregano. Season to taste with a little salt, nutmeg and pepper and scatter over a few extra marjoram or oregano leaves.

Enjoy!