The Serving: June 2023

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Friends,

Summer is (nearly) here! From coast to coast,Giving Grove orchards are setting fruit, with some orchards already in their first harvests. (Yay cherries!) It’s the season we wait for all year… the growing season!

In urban orcharding, growth occurs on many levels. While fruitlets grow on trees, community relationships take root around each orchard. Local programs expand, supporting more neighborhoods in nourishing people and our planet. And The Giving Grove National Network canopy spreads, reachng more cities than ever before.

Our friends, volunteers, partners and supporters make all this growth possible! We’re excited to share some of their stories with you today:

Chef Pyet: Watch her cooking demonstration using Giving Grove pecans to make a delicious Pecan Pesto with Smoked Mushrooms and Wild Rice.
Matt’s Cherries: Giving Grove horticulturist Matt Bunch provides expert insights into choosing and growing cherries.
Dael’s Passion Project: Discover why 14-year-old Dael might just be the promise of a better future.
Meet Our New Partners: Learn more about Giving Grove’s newest affiliate partners: ReTreeUS and Unity Gardens.

Happy growing,

Erica Kratofil & Ashley Williamson

Giving Grove Co-Executive Directors

Chef Pyet Dishes Up A Treat

Smoky oyster mushrooms. Hand-charred peppers and corn. Earthy aromatic wild rice. Herbaceous, garlicky pecan and nettle pesto. Enticed yet? Drawing on her expertise in Indigenous cooking, Chef Pyet DeSpain developed this Giving Grove-inspired recipe to share with you!

In this 15-minute cooking demonstration, she shows us how to make an amazing dish and shares the history of the ingredients. While the recipe is simple, the flavors are complex and rich - and smell absolutely delicious!

Feeling inspired to give it a try? Below is an ingredient list; click here to watch the film and download the recipe.

3 cups fresh nettle leaves (or parsley)

2 cloves garlic or to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup of pecans
1/2 cup corn

1 cup wild rice

1/2 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic, smashed

2.5 cups vegetable broth
8 ounces oyster mushrooms

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1/4 cup of sherry or white wine

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 tablespoons duck fat (optional)

salt & pepper

Bon Appetit!

With a Cherry On Top!

contributed by Matt Bunch, Giving Grove Horticulturist

The long-anticipated first harvest of late spring and early summer is now upon us! In the fruit world, I speak of cherry season. Yes, serviceberry, strawberry, and goumi have been ripe for a couple weeks, but these are considered minor crops compared to cherries. Cherries are plentiful, sweet and tart; they demand your harvesting attention! Notice I use the word tart. This implies a brightness, puck and zing, whereas sour (as some people refer to cherries) connotes fermentation and a fuller mouth feel. So let’s get to the pit of cherries.

Continue reading here.

Dael’s Passion Project

The Giving Grove is honored to introduce you to Dael Umanzor, a budding environmentalist who designed a passion project as part of his school programming. Based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Dael’s project includes planting 150 trees in Kansas City. Our Giving Grove partners at Kansas City Community Gardens, with support from Sporting KC and AD Franch (goalkeeper for the Kansas City Current), helped Dael take the first step toward his goal with a Giving Grove orchard planting in the spring of 2023.

My name is Dael Umanzor and I have a big dream. My dream is to Reforest Kansas City by planting 150 trees…

Continue reading here.

The Giving Grove is pleased to introduce you to our new affiliate partners, ReTreeUS (Auburn, ME) and Unity Gardens (South Bend, IN)! Both of these organizations bring incredible knowledge and skills to our national network. We are excited to collaborate with them on their program goals and support their growth. With every new affiliate joining our network, we gain a community orchard champion that becomes a resource hub.

“This affiliation enables us to expand our organizational capacity, resulting in more fruit and nut trees planted, improved programming, and more seeds of thought germinated to empower generations of healthy environmental stewards,” said Richard Hodges, ReTreeUS Program Manager and founder. “We are delighted to be part of a network that shares resources and best practices around community orchards, amplifying our organizations’ positive impact nationwide.”

“Unity Gardens Inc. is pleased to be ‘growing together’ with The Giving Grove National Network!” said Sara Stewart, Unity Gardens Executive Director. “Both organizations have congruent missions to offer free food and improve the urban environment with welcoming greenspace. We are thrilled to add orchards to [our] uniquely dignified free food model and to expand our reach through Giving Grove’s expansive network.”