Friday, October 7, 2005
Watering Times

We have our first Saturday arts and crafts day this weekend. On Saturday, October 8 from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. we’ll be playing games with the kids, serving up some pizza, and making puzzles. Come by yourself or with your kids to play in the sunshine! We’ll be having these arts and crafts days every Saturday in October.

And get ready for our grand End-of-Season Cookout with a Halloween party! The food and fun will be happening on October 29 from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. We’ll have costumes, games, prizes, arts and crafts, and, of course, candy! Invite your families and friends, young and old. There’ll be lots to do and lots of hands needed.

To help with any of these October events or to offer your ideas, please contact Anne Crow.

The growing season is slowly winding down; we’ve been clearing unused beds and planting cover crops to prepare for the spring. Cooking greens such as kale, chard, and collards will continue to grow through the fall, along with herbs and peppers, but it’s time to clear out your squash and tomato plants.

If you’ve planted flowers that will continue to bloom (like marigolds and zinnias), please save the nicer blooms as you deadhead, since we will be using them for an art project later on. There is an orange bucket in the shed dedicated to these.We’re collecting recipes for a Chicago Avenue Community Garden Cookbook to be ready next spring, and we’d love to get your favorites, whether they’re old family classics or new loves. Here’s one submitted by Linda Bazarian that was served up (and gone fast!) at our last cookout.

Green Tomato Pie
From Noteworthy (Recipes from Ravinia Festival)
4 cups sliced green tomatoes
1.25 cups sugar
.25 teaspoon cinnamon
.25 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons flour
.25 teaspoon salt
1 9 inch unbaked pie shell
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter
rind of 1 lemon, grated
1 unbaked top crust

Soak tomatoes in boiling water 5 minutes. Drain and set to the side. In a small bowl combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and salt. Mix well. Layer tomatoes and sugar mixture in pie shell. Sprinkle water and juice over top. Dot with butter and rind. Cover with top crust. Bank in preheated 450 degree oven 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pie Crust
2 cups flour
.75 teaspoon salt
.5 cup vegetable oil
.25 cup milk

Combine flour and salt. Mix well. Mix oil and milk. Add to flour and salt. Stir lightly with fork to form a ball. Divide in half.

Form half the dough into smooth-edged pancake on 12x12 inch sheet of wax paper. Place equal size wax paper on top. Roll out dough for pie pan. Remove top paper. Invert pastry carefully on pie pan and gently peel off paper.

Fill pie and repeat procedure for top crust.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Anne Crow at the church at 312.573.3369 (acrow@fourthchurch.org).

Garden Hours
Saturdays (through October) from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays (through October) from 4:00 p.m. to dusk

For more information, contact the Project Light Leadership Team at PLLeadership@fourthchurch.org.