Market Recipe Blog: Mustard Greens Spring Quiche
Mustard greens are some of the first fresh greens available at our markets in the spring and have a spicy kick that we love mixed into a fresh salad with lettuce or lightly wilted into sautéed dishes. This quiche is a great chance to pair these flavourful greens with eggs from our pastured hens and a bold cheese from Saturday Farmers’ Market vendor Haltwhistle Cheese Company. Not a fan of the mustard flavour? Try substituting the greens for other spring veggies like asparagus, arugula, or spinach!
Mustard Greens Spring Quiche
Recipe (adapted from Dishing up the Dirt)
- 2 cups almond flour
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- ground black pepper
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Water as needed
- 1 small onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 bunch of mustard greens, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine or 1/8 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup whole dairy or non-dairy milk
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup grated or cubed strong cheese, like Tomme de Vallée
- generous pinch of ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a 9 inch tart pan or pie plate with oil. In a large bowl whisk together the almond flour, half the garlic, thyme, 1/2 tsp salt, a pink of pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir in 1/3 cup of oil and mix until well combined; add a bit of water if too dry. Press the dough into your greased tart pan or pie plate making sure the dough goes at least 1 1/4 inches up the sides. Bake until the crust is lightly golden and firm to the touch. About 15 minutes.
- In a large cast iron skillet heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add the onions and remaining garlic and cook, stirring often until they begin to soften up and become fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the mustard greens and cook, stirring often until they begin to wilt a bit. Add the wine/vinegar and continue to cook until the moisture evaporates. Remove the veggies from the heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, cheese, nutmeg, and remaining salt and pepper. Add the cooked veggies and stir well. Pour the egg/veggie mixture into the pre-baked crust and place back in the oven and bake until the crust is a deep golden brown and the center is set. About 30-35 minutes. If the crust begins to brown too quickly place tin foil around the edges to prevent it from burning.
- Let the crust cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving
Pick up produce at any of our three weekly markets: Tuesdays 4-6:30PM at the UBC Farm, Wednesdays 11:30AM-1:30PM at the UBC Bookstore, and Saturdays 10AM-2PM at UBC Farm. Learn more about our produce and browse other recipes in our Market Recipe Blog. Recieve regular market recipes from our newsletter here.
ReachOut Feature: Thinking Small in the Face of Climate Change
ReachOut Feature: Thinking Small in the Face of Climate Change
CSFS researchers Dr. Juli Carrillo and Dr. Cara Haney were featured in the latest issue of the Land and Food Systems Faculty Journal, ReachOut, for their two-year research project investigating how beneficial soil microbes can help plants deal with the global rise in carbon dioxide.
Carrillo and Haney’s project is funded by George Weston Seeding Food Innovation Grant. Using a beneficial soil microbe, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Carillo and Haney are teasing apart genetic traits that can help in addressing the effects of carbon dioxide on plant health. The researchers are hopeful that they will be able to uncover microbial solutions that can be used in both organic and conventional farming.
Read the full article here.
ReachOut Feature: Better Veggies for Canadian Organic Farmers
ReachOut Feature: Better Veggies for Canadian Organic Farmers
CSFS researchers Dr. Alexandra Lyon and Dr. Hannah Wittman were featured in the latest issue of the Land and Food Systems Faculty Journal, ReachOut, for their latest Canada-wide research venture, the Canadian Organic Vegetable Improvement (CANOVI) project.
The CANOVI project aims to help organic vegetable growers find plant varieties better suited to Canadian climates and environments. The project focuses primarily on participatory plant breeding of peppers and carrots – two crops identified as top priorities for organic vegetable growers in a survey the CANOVI team conducted last year.
Funding for the five-year research project comes from the Organic Science Cluster 3, supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, a national group, has joined the project as an industry partner. Lyon and CANOVI’s collaborators are in the early stages of research, but are hopeful that their findings will improve things for Canadian organic farmers – “one carrot and pepper at a time.”
Read the full article here.
ReachOut Feature: Learning Tools for Just Food
ReachOut Feature: Learning Tools for Just Food
Joyce Liao and Meryn Corkery, fourth-year students in the Faculty of Global Resource Systems and former and current WorkLearns (respectively) with the CSFS at UBC Farm, were featured in the latest issue of the Land and Food Systems Faculty Journal ReachOut. The feature highlights their two-year research project, “Just Food: Building Equity Competencies with Food Systems Pedagogy.”
According to Liao and Corkery, the concept of intersectionality is a critical lens for understanding the different ways people shape and are shaped by the food system. Their research explores strategies to better integrate the concept of equity in the food system into the undergraduate curriculum for Land and Food Systems.
Liao and Corkery’s two-year project is supported by PhD candidate Colin Dring, and involves people from across UBC campus, including members from the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm; Faculty of Arts; Department of Educational Studies; and the Centre for Teaching, Learning Technology. The project is funded by UBC’s Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund. In the end, the project team hopes to build a collection of online multimedia and open source materials available to those within and external to UBC, as well as teach-back tools that could be used by both students and faculty members.
Read the full article here.
Food Roundtable: Knowledge from Agroecological Experience
Food Roundtable: Knowledge from Agroecological Experience
Peter Wall Institute
As Agroecology – in its multiple dimensions – has received considerable attention in the last five years on global and regional levels, multiple requests have been made on the part of governments for a better evidence base on the performance of Agroecology vis a vis other “sustainable agriculture” systems. There is an increasing recognition that we leave off a vast scope of knowledge by ignoring or not validating diverse sources of information: the knowledge and experience of farmers, local communities, and many community-level initiatives with a depth of knowledge far beyond the bounds of experimental stations and controlled environments.
In the context of providing a rapid review of such realms of knowledge to support the ongoing Committee on World Food Security High Level Panel of Experts project report on Agroecology, we explored methods to facilitate better capturing of local experiences and impacts that ultimately reflect larger patterns, seeking to expand observations and inferences from individual case studies beyond their spatial and temporal boundaries.
A photo exhibit on agrobiodiversity and food security called “Nature and Nourishment: The Agrobiodiversity and Food Security Nexus” will also be on display.
When, Where, and How Much?
- May 30 2019 from 4 pm until 6 pm
- Liu Institute, xʷθəθiqətəm (Place of many trees), formerly the Multipurpose Room, UBC
- A reception with light refreshments will be held from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m.
- Free entry, no registration required.
About the Presenter
Dr. Barbara Gemmill-Herren
Dr. Barbara Gemmill-Herren served as Delivery Manager for the Major Area of Work on Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Within the FAO, she coordinated the International Pollinator Initiative, building a global project on Pollination Services that was implemented in Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, India, Pakistan, and Nepal. She was also responsible for FAO’s work on Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Production and was engaged in FAO’s new focus on Agroecology. She presently works as a senior associate to the World Agroforestry Centre, supporting the United Nations’ work on agroecology and true-cost accounting in agriculture. In April 2018 she was appointed to the UN Committee on Food Security’s High Level Panel of Experts project team on ‘Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agrifood systems that enhance food security and nutrition.’
This event is an International Research Roundtable presented by CSFS Diversified Agroecosystem Research Cluster and hosted by the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies.
Bees & Wax
Bees & Wax
About this Workshop
Honey comb appears to be nearly perfect in it’s geometric composition, each hexagonal cell identical to its neighbour. Or is it? How bees make wax and how they use it is fascinating and surprising. Let’s explore wax and it’s wonders together, what it is made of, how the bees make it and how we use it. As a part of our exploration of wax we will make naturally flavoured lip balm that you may take home.
About the Instructor
Brian became immersed in the rich and amazing world of bees while he and his four sons spent many a glorious day observing the curious activities of bees, noticing the bees’ consistent patterns, collective activities, and the surprising comparisons to our own human patterns and behaviours. He’s never looked back and today is a Certified Beemaster and beekeeper, heavily involved in food security issues in Richmond and the Lower Mainland. Brian guest lectures for Gaia College’s Growing Food in the City certificate program, for adult education at Van Dusen Gardens in Vancouver, for Kwantlen’s Richmond Farm School and teaches young people in the city about honey bees as well as native types. He is President of the Richmond Beekeepers Association, a BC Association Master Gardener, Sustainable Gardening and Bee Master to West Coast Seeds, and offers classes in grafting fruit trees, food preserving, and other farm skills.
Date and Time
DATE Wednesday, August 7th | 7:00 – 9:00 pm (2 hours)
Location
UBC Farm
3461 Ross Drive, Vancouver BC
Cost
$29 Standard ($25 Student) + GST
Register for this workshop
Plant structure and hydraulic function
Research Seminar
Cluster Hire in LFS Applied Biology, Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment, and CSFS at UBC Farm
Novel insights into the coupling of plant structure and hydraulic function: Implications for sustainable crop management
Dr. Thorsten Knipfer
Assistant Project Scientist
Department of Viticulture and Enology
University of California, Davis
Click here to fill out the Feedback Form for Dr. Thorsten Knipfer’s campus visit
Planning for climate change and making agricultural production more sustainable requires a holistic understanding of plant physiological responses across multiple scales. In this seminar, Dr. Knipfer will talk about his ongoing research using in-vivo approaches to study xylem stress physiology and the role of roots and leaves in protecting long-distance transport. Using X-ray computed microtomography, he will present novel insights into the coupling of vessel cavitation and discharge of stored xylem water and the mechanism of embolism repair in intact plants. Subsequently, he will talk about the impact of environmental stress on root structure and hydraulic function, and I will introduce how pressure-probe technology can help us measure these responses. I will conclude by emphasizing the importance of determining stress thresholds at the root, stem, and leaf level for understanding crop performance and developing sustainable management strategies in BC, and the need for high-throughput measurements of plant physiological responses.
When and Where?
- June 12, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- McLeod Building, Room 254
About the Presenter
Dr. Thorsten Knipfer, UC Davis
Dr. Thorsten Knipfer was born in Bavaria, Germany. In 2007, he completed his Diploma at the University of Bayreuth, Germany, working on water uptake of corn roots using pressure-probe technology. Thereafter, he moved to Dublin, Ireland, to start a PhD at the University College Dublin investigating the role of aquaporins in water uptake and their involvement in regulating whole-plant water flow in barley. In 2011, he started a PostDoc at the University of California, Davis, USA, together with Profs. Kenneth Shackel and Mark Matthews. During his research he investigated cellular water relations and water transport dynamics of grape berries. In 2013, he transitioned to Dr. Andrew McElrone’s lab at UC Davis to study xylem hydraulic function using X-ray computed microtomography. In his current position as Assistant Project Scientist at UC Davis, his work focuses on xylem stress physiology and the screening of walnut rootstocks for drought resistance.
This seminar is part of the LFS Applied Biology Faculty Cluster Hire in Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment. Nine short-listed candidates will be giving seminars in May and June as part of their intensive interview process. Click here see a full list of events.
Advancing sustainable food systems in a changing world
Cluster Hire in LFS Applied Biology, Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment, and CSFS at UBC Farm
Research Seminar: Advancing Sustainable Food Systems in a Changing World
Dr. Selena Ahmed
Assistant Professor
Sustainable Food Systems
Montana State University
Click here to fill out the Feedback Form for Dr. Selena Ahmed’s campus visit
A multifaceted challenge of the Anthropocene is supporting healthy diets while conserving ecological resources in socially acceptable ways in a world experiencing climate change. In recognition of this challenge, ethno-biologist Selena Ahmed will present an integrative research framework and supporting case studies that examine the sustainability of food systems at the nexus of global change and resource vulnerability. From the production side of food systems, she will explore how environmental change and agricultural diversification impact crop quality, yields, and farmer livelihoods through case studies of tea in China and maple syrup in North America. From the consumption side of food systems, she will present a food environment case study from an Indigenous community in the United States regarding programs to evaluate and enhance access to local foods from sustainable agricultural systems. This seminar will highlight evidence-based innovations and will conclude with a research vision for advancing sustainable food systems.
When and Where?
- June 6, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- MacMillan Building, Room 258
About the Presenter
Dr. Selena Ahmed, Montana State University
Dr. Selena Ahmed is a transdisciplinary ethno-biologist and Assistant Professor of Sustainable Food Systems at Montana State University with research and outreach interests at the intersection of the ecological, cultural, and health aspects of food systems. The ultimate translational goal of her research program is to strengthen linkages and innovations in the food system from production through consumption and waste towards supporting environmental and human wellbeing. She collaborates with stakeholders in diverse socio-ecological contexts including indigenous communities to apply research findings to develop evidence-based innovations. As an educator, her teaching philosophy is founded on place-based experiential education. The theories and methods driving her research draw from training in chemical ecology and clinical nutrition (NIH TEACRS postdoctoral research at Tufts University); biology, plant sciences, and phytochemistry (PhD at the City University of New York); cultural anthropology and ethnobotany (MSc from the University of Kent at Canterbury); and economics (BA from Barnard College).
This seminar is part of the LFS Applied Biology Faculty Cluster Hire in Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment. Nine short-listed candidates will be giving seminars in May and June as part of their intensive interview process. Click here see a full list of events.
Plants and Pollinators in an Era of Global Change
Cluster Hire in LFS Applied Biology, Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment, and CSFS at UBC Farm
Research Seminar: Plants and Pollinators in an Era of Global Change
Dr. Risa Sargent
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
University of Ottawa
Click here to fill out the Feedback Form for Dr. Risa Sargent’s campus visit
Our agricultural systems are at a critical juncture in time where a key ecosystem service, pollination, required for production of up to 75% of the world’s crop plant species, is under threat. Many of the same practices that have driven yield increases over the past century, such as agrochemical use, deforestation/habitat change, tillage, declining on-farm biodiversity, and monoculture are all contributors to pollinator biodiversity decline. In this talk I describe how I apply my background in plant evolutionary ecology to address critical questions about the impacts of global change on wild and crop plant fitness. Finally, I will outline a research program that addresses questions at the interface of pollination biology, global change and agriculture, such as how land use can impact pollination and crop production in urban and suburban agro-ecosystems, how agrochemicals are impacting an important and diverse groups of wild pollinators, and how we can adapt economically important tree crops to the phenological changes in spring phenology, pollination services and/or pest populations that are likely to accompany climate change.
When and Where?
- June 3, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- MacMillan Building, Room 258
About the Presenter
Dr. Risa Sargent, University of Ottawa
Dr. Risa Sargent is interested in the adaptation of wild and agro-ecosystems to global change. She holds a PhD in biology from UBC’s Biodiversity Research Centre where she focused on how interactions with animal pollinators influence the biodiversity of flowering plants. After a NSERC funded PDF at UC Berkeley, where she studied how pollination impacts plant community assembly processes, Risa was hired as an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa. Risa’s current research focuses on applied questions about how changes to plant communities, through processes such as land use (including agriculture), climate change and species invasions impact plant fitness and crop production. Risa’s resarch has been awarded funding from a variety of external sources, including NSERC’s Discovery, University Faculty Award and Strategic Network programs, MITACS, and Ontario’s Early Researcher and Species at Risk programs. Risa has received speaking invitations from around North America and has served as associate editor for the American Naturalist, a top journal in her field, since 2016. Risa regularly organizes events and works on policy changes aimed at improving EDI in science.
This seminar is part of the LFS Applied Biology Faculty Cluster Hire in Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment. Nine short-listed candidates will be giving seminars in May and June as part of their intensive interview process. Click here see a full list of events.
Diversifying seed systems
Research Seminar
Cluster Hire in LFS Applied Biology, Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment, and CSFS at UBC Farm
Diversifying Seed Systems
Dr. Claire Luby
Faculty Associate
Department of Horticulture
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Plant breeding can uniquely diversify agricultural systems to respond to varying environmental and social contexts, an essential component of climate change adaptation. However, many modern plant varieties were not developed to succeed in low input agroecological systems, meaning farmers growing in these systems do not necessarily have varieties adapted to their contexts. Combining field-based and molecular genetic research methodologies with the input of local communities, I study how plants adapt to unique agricultural environments. My recent projects have included studying the effect of intellectual property rights on plant genetic diversity, exploring the genetics of carrot domestication, and developing community partnerships with regional Indigenous communities to rematriate historic plant varieties. These projects have the overarching goal of diversifying seed systems. At the University of British Columbia, I would expand these research objectives by collaborating across the research spectrum to develop participatory networks of growers with the goal of diversifying seed systems.
When and Where?
- June 10, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- MacMillan Building, Room 258
About the Presenter
Dr. Claire Luby, University of Wisconsin Madison
Dr. Claire Luby is a Faculty Associate in the Department of Horticulture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research uses plant breeding to diversify agricultural systems, focusing specifically on seed propagated vegetable crops. This research has implications for enhancing seed and food sovereignty, making agricultural systems more resilient in the face of climate change, and improving human health. In her role as an educator, she seeks to help students use systems-thinking to translate what they learn in the classroom and field into creative scientific and community-based approaches to solve agricultural challenges. In addition to her teaching and research, she has applied her community-engaged scholarship to the development of three organizations: The Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI), The Student Organic Seed Symposium, and the Society of Organic Seed Professionals.
This seminar is part of the LFS Applied Biology Faculty Cluster Hire in Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment. Nine short-listed candidates will be giving seminars in May and June as part of their intensive interview process. Click here see a full list of events.