Volunteer Vine, Vol. 1, Issue 1

Volume 1Issue 1November 2, 2011

Contents

Managing EditorAva Gunter

Chief Motivational Matriarch

Technical Editor Andy Pigg

Fiscal Woodsman

Creative Editor Bob Boyd

Informal Patriarch

Design Editor Dan Hood

Pixel Goddess

Marketing Editor Brandon Swinford

Social Synthesis

WritersAva GunterAndy PiggBob Boyd

Brandon SwinfordSarah Gosney

Rachel RamaswamyLiz Roberts

Contact UsVolunteerVine.com

Twitter @volunteervineFacebook.com/volunteervine

[email protected]

01 Volunteer Vine November 2, 2011

02 BikingMoonlight Bike$2 Bier Fun

03-04 YogaSunny SideIjams

05-07 Community SpotlightFarm VisitHippie HottiesDread Life

08 Creative SustainabilityMoss-ffiti

09-10 FoodFarmers Market QuesadillaRoaming Local-Vore

Letter From The Vine

It doesn’t take a degree to realize the im-portance of your health, happiness, or taking care of the environment. If you’re reading this, you’ve already made a conscious step towards bettering yourself and the world around you. Being students ourselves, we realize the stress and confusion that can mar the college experience, and keep you from reaching your goals outside of school.

Here at the Volunteer Vine we want to help you feel fulfilled. We want to provide you with in-formation that will act as a supplement to maintain your sanity, your happiness, and a love for the Earth that so desperately needs our care. We are ecstatic that our dream to provide the student body with a publication addressing these issues has finally taken form. Whether you spend most of your time with a fraternity, laying in a hammock in the amphithe-ater, or playing in the marching band, you have a home here at the Vine.

This is just the beginning, and we plan on evolving. The Vine exists to bring people together, to share the adventure towards happiness. That means we care about you and what you think. So, if you have any questions about our paper, or decide you want to throw your voice into the Vine com-munity then let us know. We have a commitment to reader content and opinions because this paper is, most importantly, about you and your well-be-ing. We look forward to being there for the rest of your college experience.

Namaste,

The Volunteer Vine Staff

“Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes.”Henry David Thoreau

Volunteer Vine November 2, 2011 02

Biking

Tuesday Nite Ride to $2 Bier Funby Ava Gunter

Ever rode the greenway in the dark? If not, then you’re missing the thrill of trusting your periphs to construct what the trail might look like as you charge onward in faith. Or, of course, you could just use a headlight. At any rate, night turns bike trails into a whole new experience, and there’s no better destination than a beer garden that’s ready to receive you like a mother and nourish you with the draft of your choice for only $2.

As I sat perched at one of the elevated picnic tables downing my brew, I was reminded of a country where it was acceptable to bike to a biergarten, take in the fresh air and witbier, and sprawl out naked in a meadow making daisy chains. That same freedom has now smiled upon Knoxville in the form of the Bearden Beer Market (although I wouldn’t recom-

mend disrobing until you at least get back on the greenway.) Needless to say, the ride back is hella fun.

From campus, shoot down to Cumber-land and hang a left. After the train track

Cades Cove Moonlight Bike Rideby Sarah Gosney

It was definitely a bear.A mama bear to be exact. I had casually rolled past the dark, furry mass in the trees and somehow concluded that it was a pony (because ponies are nocturnal, right?), but then it moved. It moved like the sleepy sack of maternal fur it was. And I moved like the scared sack of skinny white flesh I am. In other words, my demeanor quickly changed from tranquil bemusement to I-might-crap-myself, and I pedaled for my life while yelling over my shoulder,

“Guys! It’s a bear! It’s a mother f***ing bear!”

Ava followed suit and rode after me. To my amaze-ment, Andy stopped, calmly intrigued, and wiped the condensation from his glasses to get a better look at what he originally thought was a bear cub with an angry mama somewhere close-by.

“Hey, it’s an adult bear, not a cub! It’s fine!” he called after Ava and me, but by then adrenaline had taken over. It was the fastest I had ever completed a 100-yard dash. Eventually he stifled his love for wildlife and caught up with us. The rest of the ride was pleasantly uneventful. The closest we came to another confrontation with death—I mean, with furry woodland creatures—was hearing owls have a chat.

If you’ve never been to Cades Cove for the full moon bike ride, you should definitely experience this adventure while you’re in East Tennessee. I had never ridden my bike anywhere but the Knoxville streets before, and I emerged from the forest with nothing more than a bloodied knee and a bruised baby-maker.

Warning: this ride is not for the faint of heart. At

times the trees block the moonlight so well you can’t see the path in front of you—a real test of courage. But the beautiful scenery is well worth a little thrill. All in all, it’s a great way to mix up your outdoor adventures. The Canoe and Hiking Club goes every month, but all are welcome to venture out on their own.

overpass, descend into Tyson Park, where the trail will reveal itself to you. Go past the playground, across the street, and keep following the signs to Bearden until you reach Earth Fare about 20 minutes later. At one point, you’ll need to turn left to cross a bridge (after going under the little tunnel), but otherwise the path is pretty straightfor-ward. After reaching Earth Fare, get back on Kingston and go left. Ride about 50 yards and you’ll see the gates of the Bearden Beer Market on your right.

If you’re not 21 yet, then you can still sit with your friends or play corn hole. The $2 deal is only for bikers. You know there’s nothing you’d rather do on a Tuesday.

photos by www.danandholly.com

photo from www.beardonbeermarket.com

Volunteer Vine November 2, 201103

YogaSunny Side Upby Andy Pigg

New to yoga or just tired of the same old routine? Try ex-perimenting with Sun Salutations, an age old asana sequence to awaken the body early in the morning. This asana sequence is great for beginners as well as those well versed in yogic practice; however, before we begin to explore the postures in Sun Salutations, a quick introduction into the history of yoga is in order. The word yoga stems from the Sanskrit word yuj which means to yoke or to bind as in a union of the body and mind. The practice of yoga was condensed into the Yoga Sutra around 2000 years ago by the Indian sage Pata-jali. The sutra outlines the eight limbs of yoga: the yamas (restraints), niyamas (observances), asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawl of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyani (meditation), and Samadhi (absoption). Most yogis in the United States practice the third limb (asana) to purify the body and provide physical strength and stamina for meditation. The third limb is typi-cally thought of as the practice of Hatha yoga, which means willful or forceful. Hatha yoga aims to align the skin, muscles and bones to open the body’s many channels to allow energy to flow freely. The purposes of opening and restoring the body’s energy channels is to balance opposing masculine and feminine characteristics, establish-ing a harmony within the body. The meaning of hatha yoga further emphasizes the importance of union. The “ha” of hatha refers to the sun while the “tha” refers to the moon. Uniting the sun and the moon within each of our bodies signifies uniting strength and flexibility, ef-fort and surrender. Developing mindfulness, strength and clarity requires knowl-edge of posturing to affect body. Poses can require a great deal of con-centration or strength to achieve a desired outcome. Spending some

time in each pose is a great way to develop a body-mind connection to elim-inate unnecessary stress, anxiety, or energy while increasing vitality, strength and focus. All postures are not created equal, as some postures affect yogis in differing degrees. A great asana sequence that many yogis practice is Surya Namaskar, or Sun Salutations. Sun salutations ideally are practiced in the morning hours to stir the body and prepare it for the day’s challenges and abuses. Also, practicing the Sun Salutation sequence throughout the day is useful for stretching the body after long periods of sitting and listening to lectures. Varying styles of Sun Salutations have developed since the begin-nings of the sequence 2,500 years ago, but the style we will focus on incor-porates 8 poses into a series of 12 steps. The first step of Sun Salutations begins with Mountain pose (Ta-dasana). Stand with feet about hip width apart and with the hands pressed together at the heart. While standing, push firmly into the floor with your feet, and straighten the spine as if a piece of twine were suspended from the crown of your head to the base of the tailbone. Balance the crown of the head over the center of the pelvis and take several deep breaths.While in Mountain pose, inhale and raise the hands above the head in one sweeping motion into Upward Salute (Urdhva Hastasana). The hands can be pointed toward the sky at shoulder width apart or pressed together. Gently arch the back while pressing the hands overhead. On the next exhale, bend forward into Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) from the hips while keeping the feet firmly planted into the floor. Lift the tail bone towards the ceiling while pressing the chest inward towards the thigh and groin. Place the hands on the backs of the ankles or cross the arms and hold the elbows while bending forward. Push the hands to the floor beside the feet, inhale and step the right foot back into a lunge position. Exhale in the lunge pose, and inhale as you step the left leg back into the Plank Pose. Exhale and lower your body into Four-limbed staff posed (Chaturanga Dandasana) a few inches off the floor. The pose is similar to performing the lowering end of a push up, but only


Yoga

Destination: Ijamsby Ava Gunter

Working around the clock to bring you the best yogic escapes, I saddled my mat, grabbed a partner, and headed to Ijams Nature Center for asanas and deep-breathable air. Ijams is a pretty big place, and odds are that if you do some exploring you’ll find a secluded spot soon enough. We chose the first Ijams entrance on the left and rolled around in the big grassy area within eyesight before exploring some of the nearby trails. We got really excited when we saw that there was a Lotus Pond down Discovery Trail, but it turned out to be rather yucky and uneventful. Near the pond, however, were several little wooden bridges that suited our needs perfectly. An hour later we emerged from the darkening woods with clear minds and open hips, almost having forgotten who and where we were.

To get to Iajams, take the Gay Street bridge across the river and turn left at the light on the other side. After two traffic lights, turn left onto Island Home Ave. At one point, the road will fork and instead of going to Island Home Park you’ll follow the street right. After that you can just follow the signs to Ijams. It’s only about a ten minute drive from campus, but you’ll feel like you’re much further away! Bike there if you’re feeling rowdy.

your hands and feet should touch the floor. Inhale from this position and use the arms to push the torso up and away from the floor into Cobra. The tops of the feet and the palms should be firmly pressed into the floor while the shoulders should be pulled back and away from the chest. Exhale and press through the hands and feet into Downward Dog. In Downward Dog, actively press the fingers into the floor while pulling the shoulder blades back and away towards the tailbone. Keep the head firmly posi-tioned between the upper arms, and do not let it hang.On the next inhale, step the right foot forward out of downward dog into a lunge. Breathe easy in this pose. On the next exhalation, step the left foot forward into Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana). Inhale in Standing Forward bend and rise slowly out of the pose into Upward Salute, which involves standing tall with your palms pressed together high above your head as you look toward the sky. Rise into upward salute slowly and keep the arms extended in front of the body while moving. From upward salute, return the hands to the heart in Mountain Pose (Tadasana). The previous sequence was only a half round of sun salutations, so to complete a full round of sun salutations, the lead foot should be switched from right to left in the lunge pose. If you are relatively new to yoga, then try to build flexibility and comfort in each individual pose before trying to incorporate all the poses as a sequence. The sun saluta-tion sequence will be of great benefit in improving hip and groin flex-ibility which will aid in the growth of your future yoga practice. After you establish comfort in the sun salutation sequence, try to perform 10 to 12 consecutive rounds. Enjoy the sun salutation sequence, and Namaste!

Upward Salute. The final pose in the sunsalutations series


Community SpotlightFarm VisitA Visit to Broadened Horizonsby Brandon Swinford

As I drive along the backwoods of Rockford, Tennessee, the irony that leaves are the most beautiful right before they die starts to set in. Every turn of the road un-folds another beautiful menagerie of death, with branches of fiery displays burning against the autumn sky. Consequently, the back roads are leading me to a haven where death is the last thing to be found. Broad-ened Horizons farm is my destination, a place where the focus on sustainability and evolution is relentless, and the people who tend to the land there are boundless in their care for the earth. I pull up to find a modest wooden house perched at the edge of a valley, with a sign informing me of the products available. Milk, eggs, honey, and a variety of produce for much more modest prices than one would find at the local farmer’s market. The sign also informs me to ring a bell attached to a fence post for assistance. I ring loudly, and a holler from down the road leads me to a barn being fitted with some attractive vinyl siding. I am greeted by an intern of Broadened Horizons, Mechelle Kneidinger. A graduate of UT in Environmental Soci-ology, she has been living and working at Broadened Horizons for six months. The farm’s owner, Leaf Myczack, is vigorously pounding against the wood, and taking measurements to make sure the siding he has salvaged from his house is level with the walls of the old barn. “I’m a child of the sixties, so I was involved with bringing the Vietnam War to an end. Once you start trying to make a change in society, the rest just kind of

comes.” Leaf is telling me why Broadened Horizons exists as it does today, and school-ing me on some of the finer points in bring-ing about change you believe in. Broadened Horizons, founded in 2004, takes its name from a boat that Leaf and his wife Cielo captained when they were river keepers along the Tennessee River. Leaf and his wife both have roots in farming, so their current endeavor in the hills of Rock-ford is more of a return rather than a new engagement. Lacking an affluent market near their home, most of their practices are geared towards education, and providing enough sustenance for themselves and their interns. Something that became immediately appar-ent to me was the amount of attention paid to every inch of land on their 11-acre prop-erty. I asked Mechelle what made this farm special from the other places she had oppor-tunities to visit and work. “The amount of care that Leaf and Ceilo have is boundless.” She points out the young, well-fertilized trees we stand next to. “These trees were all planted six years ago by Leaf and Cielo.” The trees serve as shade during hot months, and as barriers to protect crops from wind chill. They make beautiful natural additions to The Lost Forest, an area of land that serves primarily as grounds for their bees to work and pollinate, and as a place for those lucky enough to live there to reflect and enjoy the work they put into the

land. Another example of their concern for their environment is that they never take too much hon-ey from their bees that would cause them to over-work. Also, most beekeepers will keep their hives closed, which prohibits the bees from constructing ventilation shafts in the hive, and makes the honey easier to access. Not at Broadened Horizons, where the hives are open, and the bees are able to just, be. There were fixtures abound that were a testament to their commitment to be as sustainable as possible for themselves. One of my favorites was the solar oven Leaf had constructed. An aluminum box insulated with only the wood it was con-structed out of, can reach 250 degrees and in Leaf ’s words, is dummy proof. “You just put the food in there in the morning, point it towards the sun, and you’ll never burn your food. At the end of the day, your food is cooked.” A solar light bulb is placed on top of the apparatus also, so when you go at dusk to get your meal, you have light to see, just like your oven at home. The whole unit sits on top of a boat seat so that it swivels freely and provides an adequate angle to catch the sun’s rays. During their siesta, I got a chance to ask Leaf a few questions about what truly makes his farm sustainable. “Every season we go into, we never want to face the problems we did last year. We’re constantly evolving.” Maybe sustainability isn’t solely in practice, but rather in the hearts and minds of those passionate about the world they live in. But exclusively using rainwater to irrigate your crops, as Leaf and Cielo do, certainly contributes. If you’re interested in any of the workshops held at Broadened Horizons, check out their website www.sustainability-teaching-farm.com


Community SpotlightLuscious LocksImmediately recognizing Michael Rasnake as the paint-covered dancer who ruined my dress at an electronic show, I nearly ran him over with my bike and asked him to be my first hottie. Fortunately for my ego, he just smiled and said, “Sure, what does this entail?” Good answer, Michael.First, I asked if he was single to make sure that I didn’t have to censor my approach, and then I went straight for the juggler of all personal questions.“How do you keep your hair so shiny?”“It’s easy,” he eagerly replied with a beaming smile. “Just don’t wash it!”Beauty and brains. Sigh.He first started growing it out because he liked playing with it, and he hasn’t stopped since. His favorite is feeling it swish around his head when he dances.Michael is 22 and likes intelligent, free-spirited, feisty women.

Astro AngelWith eyes that sparkle and fingernails that look like the galaxies, it’s no wonder that 19-year-old Grace Griffith is considering a career in astro-

physics. I first noticed her a week ago when I saw her walking around in a short dress that looked like the universe being born. It motivated me to start a newspaper so that I would have an excuse to snap pictures of her. I asked her what a person could do to get her attention, and apparently she likes getting to know pretty girls and people who seem mo-tivated to educate themselves. I tried to think of an impressive book title to impact her with, but they all seemed to get sucked in to her gravitational pull before I could remem-ber them. Grace is inspired by the complexity of life and how solar systems stay together. Her favorite thing to do is dance, because it makes her feel euphoric.

Painting PixiesScouting out artsy hotties, I was lucky enough to find a trinity of lovely painters outside of A&A. On the left, the abstract expressionist-inspired Andrea Markel. Beside her, Rebecca Kaufman, whose paintings have been described as hard-edged, abstract, and delicately mas-culine. Finally, there’s Mallory Cowan, who paints cosmic landscapes with bright, obnoxious colors.It soon became clear that these girls were on a whole different level than I was, so I asked what it was like to be a studio arts major.“Intense! We paint till we go crazy, and then we paint some more.”They love their major, but there’s so much work involved that even when they’re away from their studios they’re constantly thinking about their paintings.“Wow.” My business-major brain listened in awe. “How does painting make you feel?”“Elated!” “Frustrated!” “Liberated!” they chimed.

They probably couldn’t even see me past all the colors on their minds. Unless, of course, I was unusual enough to get a bone-structure analysis.“What do you look for in a partner?” I asked, hoping they wouldn’t notice that I had shifted the conversation away from painting. They didn’t.“A man should be like a painting-- visually seductive and conceptually strong.”“Men who are supportive of creativity and don’t mind if I spend all night in the studio.”“Unconventionally attractive men who would be fun to draw, ones with big asymmetrical noses, for example,…and beards!”

Hippie Hotties


Community SpotlightDread Life

Getting Hiredby Liz Roberts

After a long summer day of weeding and a couple of beers, I found myself sitting on the floor of my friends’ mountain shack amongst a washboard, a loop machine, another beer, and a ball python. A duo of kombucha-brewing mountain ladies ripped and knotted my hair into oblivion as my fellow farm hand cruised the internet in search of the Twinkle Brothers’ song, ‘Since I Throw The Comb Away’. I slugged the beer in an attempt to anesthe-tize my throbbing scalp, and tried to cuddle with Maya, the mountain ladies’ python, for additional comfort. At that point, I was WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) in Sylva, NC. In other words, my occupation consisted of playing in the dirt, pig wrangling, blasting awesome music, eating raw veggies right off the plant, and getting one of those sexy farmers tans. Granted, there was the whole ass-busting outdoor labor aspect, but farming didn’t involve the job uniform, time clock, soul eating manager, or snarl-ing customers I dealt with on the regular when I waited tables. In other words, it spoiled me. I got comfortable being myself in my work environ-ment, and I fell in love with doing work I could be passionate about doing. I never wanted to work another empty food industry job, but I knew my summer would come to an end, and I would be back in school in need of a job come August. As my hair got dreaded out, I came to the realization it would probably be pretty difficult to get a job I liked in Knoxville with dreads. Then, I realized it might be pretty difficult to get any job in Knox-ville with dreads. I drank another beer. Summer ended, so my trusty fellow farm hand and I packed our things, bid our employer Farmer Steve and the kombucha ladies farewell, and moved back to Knoxville to resume our lives as college students. The quickly approaching rent due date made me painfully aware I was no longer in Sylva, and was in fact back in Knoxville, with-out a job and without money. I needed a fricken job. I compiled a quick mental list of job possi-

bilities. There’s organic grocery stores, thrift stores, book stores, coffee shops...Shit, I got this, I thought to myself. Feeling confident, I decided to strike at dawn. Over the next week, I had to face the sad reality that everywhere I thought I could get hired was operated by the owners or was fully staffed. After two weeks, I entered a state of panic. I popped my eyebrow piercing out, threw the dreads up, and hit the dusty job hunt trail again. Even after attempting to clean up, and having four years of waitressing and a bit of bar tending under my skirt, I barley managed to eek through an interview for a crappy cashiering job. Two weeks into my cashier-ing, after getting instructed by my boss on how to do everything from tie a trash bag to wipe a table, I had begun to consider hanging myself by my dreads from the restaurant’s overhead light. I decided to do something I’d never done before, and do something pretty financially stupid. I quit before I’d even got-ten put on the official payroll. Then, a roommate reminded me of something I had forgotten some-time over the past few years; I had talents and skills I actually enjoyed doing that could be marketable. I had just been too lazy to actually hunt for jobs that incorporated them. I had gotten cozy in my food industry cocoon, and I’d stayed in it way too long for the sole reason that, before the dreads, the jobs were easy to get. I managed to find a job teaching swim les-sons on campus. The advantages: getting paid $10 a hour to splash around with kiddies, no shoes or shirt required, no one telling me how to do my job, and no guilty conscience about contributing to obesity in America. The disadvantages: only getting 5 hours a week. With my financial crises rapidly progress-ing, I felt intense self-doubt as I scoured Craigslist for English tutoring, freelancing, and swim coaching positions. I was hitting refresh on the library’s em-ployment page every couple of hours, with the NO POSITIONS AVAILABLE . It never occurred to me when I started my second job search that getting paid to do something I liked would be that difficult. Then, as I stared at another hopelessly misspelled Craigslist ad, I realized, Duh, dumbass. Everyone would do what they liked if it was easy. My mom’s bank account and I are happy to

report I eventually found a job in late Septem-ber stacking books in a library. The advantages: it’s the Buddha of all jobs, especially if you like books. Really. I get paid $8 an hour to listen to music, sip coffee, and put books on shelves in order. Beautiful boss. No job uniform. No cus-tomer service required. The musty book scent. No guilty conscience about contributing to the obesity in America. The disadvantages: I’m up in the morning before any normal student is thinking about getting their sweet sleeping ass out of bed, and I occasionally have to dust those huge ass books that no one reads in the oversized section. Every day that I stumble bleary eyed and happy into the library, or cannonball into the pool, I can’t help but laugh. It took a face piercing, gauges, and a ridiculous headful of hair that makes me look rather like a pirate-esque Raggedy Anne to force me into working hard enough to find work I like. It also took me years of working empty jobs, years that would have been better spent doing better quality of work. Trust me, it shouldn’t take that much. Bust ass. Don’t compromise yourself. Life’s too short to live for your time off .

Show us your vines!send your pictures to

[email protected]


Creative Sustainabilitygreen with moss art. Also, I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t think it was golden material myself. I have some art in progress right now. I must say it’s looking very promising. I feel obligated to share this other fabulous nugget of green information. If this tame fashion of painting moss onto surfaces doesn’t quite suit your fancy, there is a second option. Basically you do everything the same. Except, instead of painting the moss on, you can fill up balloons with the concoction using a funnel. Put a balloon at the end of the funnel and carefully pour some of your moss mixture into it. Blow a bit of air into the balloon. This will help it burst upon impact rather than hitting the wall and falling to the ground in lame fashion. If it grosses you out to get a little bit of moss on your face (and by face I mean in your mouth), then find a friend who has more intestinal fortitude. You can take your balloons anywhere you don’t think is green enough and lob them like holy hand grenades. Just be sure you don’t hit anyone. Just because someone enjoys nature doesn’t mean they want to be assaulted with it. Try to aim at walls, for it seems to work best. If you just cannot hit a wall with a balloon, perhaps you should consider something a little tamer. Perhaps putting your initials on desks or bathroom walls really is for you. Whatever you do, have fun with it and make it yours.

Moss-ffitiby Rachel Ramaswamy

Calling all vandals! And no, I do not mean the East Ger-manic tribe that enjoyed such activities as pillaging and plundering ancient Rome. I do mean any and all persons that have committed or thought about committing vandalism in some way, shape, or form in his or her life. I’m not talking about that one time in the third grade when you scratched your initials on the wall of the bathroom stall. This is about full-blown get-your-spray-paint-and-ski-masks-ready sort of vandalism. Believe it or not, there is an alternative to the clas-sic spray paint graffiti that is more environmentally friendly as it is completely biodegradable. Moss! Moss is the answer. It’s fairly simple and just looks too cool. This is a break down of the moss graffiti process.Get these: - Clumps of moss - 2 cups of buttermilk (can be substituted with yogurt) - ½ tsp. of sugar - Blender - Plastic container (with lid) - Paintbrush - Mist bottle With these items you are well on your way to being an eco-friendly vandal! You can feel like a bad ass and know you’re consid-ering the environment too. It’s a win-win situation.Do this: - Collect clumps of moss and ensure they stay damp - Wash to remove as much dirt and debris as possible - Break the clumps into manageable pieces and put in blender - Add the buttermilk (or yogurt) & sugar - Blend until smooth (paint-like texture) - Start on low setting to prevent damage to blender (Pebbles in moss can damage blades. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…) - Do not want mixture to drip - Transfer to plastic container - Use the brush to apply to your desired surface - Check often, no less than weekly - Mist occasionally to promote growth, especially if in a dry climate Seriously, you should try this. Let’s make this city positively

Art by Anna Garforth


FoodOh-No-the-Farmer’s-Markets-are-Closing Quesadillasby Bob Boyd So, here at the Volunteer Vine we spend about as much time researching the best outdoors adventures and all-green inventions as we do eating delicious, seasonal food. A simple (but versatile) recipe that always seems to pop up at Volunteer Vine Headquarters is the season appropriate quesadilla. The usual formula goes like this 1. Decide to go to the Famer’s Market, 2. Spend thirty minutes getting roommates out the door, 3. Drool over delicious veggies 4. Somehow manage keep wallet intact and leave with a bag full of seasonal foodstuffs. Sadly, with winter upon us the Farmer’s Markets are dwindling. In the spirit of this season I decided to head to one of Knox-ville’s Farmer’s Markets (Market Square’s is my personal favorite) and blend all of my favorite vegetables from the harvest season into one nutritious and gooey quesadillaIngredients

-1/2 cup chopped bell pepper -1/2 cup chopped yellow squash -1/2 cup chopped red onion -1/2 cup chopped mushrooms -1 tablespoon olive oil -6 (9 inch) whole wheat tortillas -1 1/4 cups shredded Sweetwater Valley Farm’s Jalapeño Cheddar -2 large cloves of garlic, minced -1 pinch sea salt -1 dash cracked black pepper -Whiff of chipotle pepper (optional) -As much Sriracha hot sauce as you can handle Directions

In a large nonstick pan, cook pepper, yellow squash, onion, gar-lic, and mushrooms in olive oil. Then add the salt and pepper while it cooks over medium to medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until optimal, personal deliciousness is reached. Remove vegetables from pan. Take the same pan, squirt some more oil in, and place one tortilla in pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese evenly over tortilla, and layer 3/4 cup of the vegetable mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle another 1/8 cup of cheese on the vegetables, and top with a second tortilla. Cook until golden on both sides, or until delightfully ooey-gooey on the inside. Remove quesadilla from pan, and repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut each quesadilla into 8 triangles with a pizza cutter. Serve hot and enjoy the quintessential seasonal quesadilla with Sriracha.

A Night at the Night Owlby Bob Boyd

The first thing you notice when you walk into the Night Owl Café is a tie between the pastel paint job, the owl themed knickknacks, and the “Sistine Cha-pel” of owl art on the walls. Now, I’ve been to the Night Owl before (if you look close enough you’ll find a porcelain owl candle holder I bought for the owners), but the art is always worth a gander because it’s always changing.After pouring over their hand-chalked menu I set my sights on the Tempeh Bahnmi Sandwich. After ten minutes of sipping on the daily brew of locally roasted coffee the Bahnmi arrived. Jody Marchant, one of the owners of the N.O. told me later that if she were to write which ingredients were local up on the menu board then she would have to, “write local before everything”. That may be too much work to ask of the Night Owl’s already busy staff, but I have the time. The Tempeh Bahnmi Sandwich includes: tempeh (made by the owners’ parents in North Carolina), spicy Thai peanut dressing (made in house), arugula (picked at Organicism Farms near Mechanicsville), pineapple (organic from Three Rivers Co-op), carrots (Three Rivers), onion (Three Rivers), pickled peppers (in house), garlic mayo (in house), and sweet potato fries (local). The truth of the matter is that each ingredient has a story more complex than “local” or “made in house” and if the menu board at the Night Owl reflected that it would read like a novel. However, this explosion of regional and local stories reads perfectly in the food. Every bite of my sandwich had tang, spice, and an explosion of pineapple sweetness. The tempeh was crispy, the pickled peppers were pitch-perfect, and the peanut dressing smothered all of it in saucy love. All of those wicked flavors were nestled in warm pillow of a bun (Oh, yeah the bread is baked

the montley crew


Foodin house. Did I mention that?). After licking the plate clean (…. The plates are made in house by Dwain. I kid you not.) and munching through the thick, spear-like sweet potato fries I was very much full, and very much satisfied.

The big thing I came out of my $8.50 meal with was a sense of how much the N.O. staff cares about their food, and given a couple of minutes to reboot from food overload I got a chance to sit down with them. The motley crew on this late Friday night consisted of Dwain Marchant, Jody Marchant, and Jessica Hammonds.Dwain and Jody are the original pair of UT art grads that started up the Night Owl in February of 2010 (although the work actually started around August of 08’). They both were working in the food industry and started experimenting with cooking after they’d both get off late night work shifts. Eventually, they began ruminating on the idea of a restaurant of their own and, while driving through the Old City, they came upon the future location of the Night Owl. While finding the inspiration was simple, the work was far from that. Dwain comments on the subject from behind the counter with a calm, welcoming air, “When I owned my own restaurant I thought I’d never have to mop again. I was wrong.” It’s pretty obvious that everyone at the café works hard. The kitchen nestled in the back corner of the building is always full (which means about two people are cooking at once) and yet, the food never comes late or cold. In fact, there’s always a steady stream of banter and jokes coming from the kitchen. Through the window Jessica Ham-mond comments, “Food is the new rock n’ roll!” That kind of energy is fairly typical of Jessica. In the short history of the

Night Owl she is a new edition, but she fits in with the café’s “everyone-does-everything/work-as-a-team” policy. She also speaks (literally and symbolically) about the Night Owl’s relationship with local food and its ingredients as a whole. Before working with Dwain and Jody, Jessica sold them vegetables for the café while working on Organicism Farms. So, after sitting down with Jessica and hearing her spiel on organic, local food I’ve come to realize a couple things: Everyone that works here knows what they’re talking about, the greens on my sandwich got picked earlier that day in the rain, and the Night Owl exists to make good food, no compro-mises. From what I’ve heard that entails frequent trips to farmers markets and a commitment to using the best ingredients there. That can have the menu changing up often, but, as Jody says over a pre-closing beer from Aisle 9, “We change things to get the most local food involved.” This isn’t a restaurant that’s going to feed you something over-priced or out of season. From the unanimous staff favorite pan-seared North Carolina trout to my lovely bahnmi sandwich these dishes are on the menu because they’re the best of what’s available and the staff honestly believes you’ll enjoy the hell out of them. There’s a lot about the Night Owl to discover, and I suggest you stop by. I recommend bringing a bottle of wine or your favorite six-pack (The Night Owl is BYOB/W) and enjoying something that catches your eye. You won’t be disappointed. While you’re at it, bring something extra for the management and tell them the Vine sent you. The Night Owl Café is located at 119 South Central Avenue in the Old City area of Downtown Knoxville. Its hours are from 5:30 p.m. till they sell out (which is usually between 11:30 p.m. and Midnight), Wednesday through Friday. They also serve brunch from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. If you’re of age be sure to bring your own champagne or vodka to take advantage of their make-your-own mimosa/bloody mary bar.

The Roaming Local-vore

the wall of owls

Dwain at work

Documents

Volunteer Vine, Vol. 1, Issue 1