Join us for this month’s book selection is Moral Ground – Ethical Actions for a Planet in Peril by Kathleen Dean Moore. The book is a collection of essays and book club readers can pick one or more essays to read and lead a discussionon them. For more info contact Edwina Goodhue.

Location: Holton Hall, First Parish Church Newbury

Stir the Pot is co-sponsored by the by First Parish Church of Newbury and the First Religious Society

A festive feast to start the new year.

A rite of spring at New Eden is the holding of the organizational meetings of the Chicken co-op and the community gardens.  Old and new members have a chance to meet each other and the veterans get their first chance to welcome the newbies into  New Eden community.

One of the innovatoins this year at the community gardens is that each gardener is required to volunteer 6 hours for the benefit of the  community by signing up for one of a lists of task forces. A sampling of  task forces include: compost committee , berry planting brigade, tool and fence maintenance, compost tea posse, irrigation, food bank donation coordinator and bee keeper apprentice.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup in mid consumption

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

4 T butter divided

1 T tamari sauce

1 T Hungarian paprika

3 T flour

1 c milk

Freshly ground black pepper

2 t fresh lemon juice

1/2 c sour cream

1/4 c chopped parsley

2 c chopped onion

1 t salt or to taste

12 oz (3/4 lb) fresh mushrooms,

sliced

2 t chopped dill weed, divided

2 c beef stock, chicken stock or

water divided

In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt two tablespoons of butter and saute the onion until translucent,  about five to seven minutes. Add salt.Add mushrooms, one teaspoon of dill weed, 1/2 cup stock or water, tamari sauce and paprika. Cover and simmer 15minutes.

Meanwhile, melt remaining two tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring or whisking constantly, about three minutes. Add milk. Cook, stirring frequently, over low heat about 10 minutes, or until thick. Stir in

mushroom mixture and remaining 1 1/2 cups of stock or water. Cover and simmer 10 or 15 minutes. Just gefore serving, check for seasoning and add more salt, if desired, and pepper to taste. Add lemon juice, sour cream and, if desired, the remaining one teaspoon of dill weed. Serve garnished with parsley. Makes four to six rich servings

As our goal at the New Eden Collaborative is to create an earth friendly, sustainable community, is the use of  petrol, combustion engines compatable with our vision?

There are multiple positions with in our NE garden community:

One position posits that the use of small gasoline powered garden machines like lawn mowers and rototillers should not be allowed as they dump carcogins and other toxic material into the air that settle into the plants and soil and also contribute to global carbon emissions.

Another position is that this effect is negligible, and it is out weighed by the labour it saves thus allowing people with limited time to be able to participate in the garden. While gas powered tilling is allowed at this point, we should strive to raise the funds for an electric tiller.

Yet a third position coming from the perspective of Permaculture, argues that any tilling of the soil is destructive as it destroys  living organisms in the soil like worms and other creatures that are essential for healthy soil and eco-systems.

I am not doing justice  to these positions. Please make comments to this post and bring forth your reasons for your position on tilling.

By creating a community dialouge, we can find a way through education and respect to come to a position that everyone can work with.

Erin