Friends are pressing apples for cider this weekend, and I was served a slice of birthday apple pie last night, so apples must be in season. No one in my Homesteading Circle has an apple tree, but several of us have very particular taste memories of apple butter, and we wanted to try making some. We decided to turn to the Bay Area Homestead Hookup to help us make it happen.

Elderberries (Sambucus nigra) were new to me. I'd made the acquaintance of elderflowers in the form of some divine mixed drinks, but I had no idea what to expect of the berry.

I'm on a quest. 

I want to forage and eat at least one thing every week for a year. I live in the flatlands of Oakland – so yes, there's a lot of concrete here. But there's also an amazing amount of fruit, wild greens, artichokes, nuts and cacti. It's just a perspective change to have it pop out at you. 

I love foraging invasive species.

I've recently joined a Homesteading Circle, and I'm still on a high about it.

For our first meeting, we picked a plum tree clean, ending up with huge bowls and buckets full of plums that we converted into plum chutney.

Last week, I pulled the bag of dried mushrooms out of the pantry and opened it, trying to figure out a way to use such a large quantity of candy caps.

You're probably thinking, “I didn't know we had olive groves in Oakland.” 

And we don't ... per se. But the trees are everywhere. Once you can recognize their distinctive gray-green silhouette, it's just a slight shift in awareness to start to see them everywhere you go. 

OMG! I thought my holiday shopping was done till I clicked over to the Pop Up General Store blog and started reading. The goodies being sold from 5-7 tonight right over on Martin Luther King way seem irresistable, as in who could resist them?

Photos by CB Smith-Dahl.

For the past few months, members of the Oakland Local team have been working with some of the food justice/food access organizations around the city, particularly in East Oakland, to help them improve their skills in understanding what is news and in using social media to get the word out about issues, events and programs.