8/26/26
On August 26th, the Sembradores joined together for a morning of learning about seed-saving techniques and some traditional food preservation methods.
It was very important for us to highlight this time of year because the crops are starting to come in and the freeze will happen any day now.
We need to think about how our elders and ancestors kept their crops through the cold winter months without large coolers, freezers, or electric dehydrators. They knew they had to save for the winter, otherwise they wouldn’t survive . . . they had to plan on their homegrown goods. It’s crazy how differently we lived even just 60-80 years ago.
We started the morning by going over all the traditional steps I know about for processing corn for posole: soaping your pot for easy cleaning, building a fire to get that water boiling, mixing in the cal slurry, adding the corn, and letting those sweet blue corn babies boil until their shiny hulls are easy to come off. We talked about all the amazing ways we eat this type of corn . . . corn tortillas, tamales, chips, posole, grits, and so much more.
We also worked on some different seed-saving techniques because it’s also the time to save seeds and prep ‘em for the year to come!! Together, we pulled some cilantro/coriander and got to work processing the seeds. We put them in sheets/ tarps, tied them up, and stomped/crushed them. Then we used the wind to help remove the extra debris. In the end, we got a little over 3 lbs of seeds, which we were able to share amongst the crew. We also did a little compare & contrast because it’s so important to know a seed’s worth! We looked at cost, value, time invested, and what it takes to save and process your own seed versus buying it. In less than 1 hr, we cleaned about $150 worth of cilantro seed (CRAZY COOL)!
We also tried to work some peas and got some lil’ seeds out. But it was still early morning, and they were holding onto the smallest bit of moisture, which made it harder to do our job easily. Sooo, they have been left to dry, and I’ll continue to work on them.
Soon we will be cooking a nice big pot of posole to share! There’s something special about sharing food, working with our hands, and working with elements that grow from the earth. It continues to be healing, eye opening, and last but not least AMAZINGLY FUN!
Cheers to harvest time! Remember to help your elders, especially those who have a harvest! Remember to help your homies<3 May all your gatherings be abundant, yummy, and nutritious!
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