November Events
Pruning Shrubs to Maintain Natural Form and Beauty
Saturday, 11/2, 10:00am-11:00am, Free, Palo Alto Demonstration Garden, 851 Center Drive, Palo Alto
Learn how to keep your landscape shrubs shapely by choosing appropriately sized plants, understanding the two basic pruning techniques (thinning and shearing), and knowing when to prune.

Fruit Tree Pruning
Saturday, 11/2, 10:30am-12:30pm, Free, Bascom Library,1000 S Bascom Ave, San Jose
Join us to learn about pruning fruit trees, including pruning different types of fruit trees, why, how and when to prune for both structure, shape and fruit production.

Backyard Fruit Tree Basics
Friday, 11/8, 1:00pm-2:00pm, Free, Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto
OR: Saturday, 11/9, 11:30am-1:00pm, Free, Mountain View Library, Mountain View
Learn the basics about choosing, planting, and caring for fruit trees in your backyard. Winter is a great time to plant bare-root fruit trees for summer fruit bounty.

Seed Saving
Saturday, 11/9, 11:00am-12:30pm, Berryessa Branch Library, 3355 Nobel Ave., San Jose
Learn how seeds are formed, and how to prevent cross pollination as it relates to seed saving. Specific seed saving instructions along with proper storage techniques will be given for many common vegetables.

Master Gardener Winter Plant Clinic
Saturday, 11/9, 9:00am-11:00am, Free, Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto
Come to a walk-in clinic to learn about fall and winter gardening tasks--bring plants or pest samples in sealed plastic bags. 

Great Plants for California Gardens: Make the "Green" Choice for Your Great Looking Garden
Saturday, 11/9, 1:00pm-2:30pm, Free, Sunnyvale Library, 665 W Olive Ave, Sunnyvale
Learn about Arboretum All-Star plants, which are grown and trialed by Master Gardeners in our demo gardens. They are low-water, look good all year, require low maintenance, and provide habitat for beneficial wildlife.

Growing Asian Vegetables and Other Favorites in a Cupertino Garden
Wednesday, 11/13, 7:00pm-8:30pm, Free, Cupertino Community Hall, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino
Learn how (and when) to plant and harvest. Slides will illustrate the talk--some taken locally, others from trips abroad.

Japantown Farmer's Market -- Master Gardener Table
Sunday, 11/17, 8:30am-12:00pm, Free, Japantown Farmer's Market, San Jose
Drop by the Master Gardener Table when you visit the Japantown Farmers' Market. We'll be there to answer your gardening questions.

Beginning Gardening: From Scratch, No Experience Necessary!
Wednesday, 11/20, 6:30pm-8:00pm, Free, Campbell Library, 77 Harrison Ave, Campbell
Developed for people who haven't gardened before, this presentation will cover basic principles of getting started in gardening, including clearing weeds, amending and fertilizing soil, and basic planting.

Bon Appetit! Grow Gourmet Herbs
Tuesday, 11/26, 7:30pm-8:30pm, Free, Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos
This talk is designed to acquaint the home gardener with a basic understanding of growing various herbs. You can successfully grow and preserve oregano, thyme, tarragon, sage, marjoram, rosemary, and others.

Tomorrow, October 16 is World Food Day, and the theme for 2013 is "Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition".  
World Food Day (WFD) was established by FAO's Member Countries at the Organization's 20th General Conference in November 1945. The Hungarian Delegation, led by the former Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food, Dr. Pál Romány has played an active role at the 20th Session of the FAO Conference and suggested the idea of celebrating the WFD worldwide. 

It has since been observed every year in more than 150 countries, raising awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger. 
See the video on Hunger below, and here's an Events Page showing what you can do in your area.

Crunchies dried fruit and vegetable products are great because you're getting healthy and nutritious snack food.

Here's a great Crunchies Recipe for you, courtesy of Crunchies and Carol Kicinski.

Gluten Free Banana Berry Muffins with Raspberry Butter
Makes: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
Gluten free, non-stick cooking spray
1 cup rice milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
¾ cup certified gluten free rolled oats
½ cup coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
2 bananas, mashed
1/4 cup grapeseed (or other neutral tasting) oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup superfine white or brown rice flour
½ cup tapioca starch
½ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 One ounce package Crunchies Freeze Dried Raspberries
1/3 cup dairy free butter, softened
1 tablespoon honey  

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard muffin pan with gluten free, non-stick cooking spray.

Heat the rice milk until hot but not boiling. Add the vinegar or lemon juice and stir to combine. Put the oats in a small bowl and cover with the hot rice milk. Let sit for at least 10 minutes or up 30 minutes to soften the oats. Add the sugar, bananas, oil and vanilla, stir to combine.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the banana/oatmeal mixture and stir to combine. Reserve ¼ cup of the freeze dried raspberries for the butter and stir the rest into the muffin batter. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins and bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until they are gold brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.

Place the reserved freeze dried raspberries in a small plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Stir the crushed raspberries into the softened butter along with the honey and serve with the muffins.

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Dr. Frank Sacks, Professor of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health shares, “We need omega-3 fatty acids for numerous normal body functions, such as controlling blood clotting and building cell membranes in the brain, and since our bodies cannot make omega-3 fats, we must get them through food. Omega-3 fatty acids are also associated with many health benefits, including protection against heart disease and possibly stroke."

I really enjoy Linwoods' Delicious Omega3-rich Flaxseed Superfood Blends and put them in my breakfast cereal or tea, especially the Ground Flaxseed, Cocoa, Strawberries & Blueberries Blend.

A Vegetarian Quinoa Recipe courtesy of Linwoods using their Flaxseed with Goji Berries Blend is here for your reference. Enjoy! :)

Need more Omega 3's and Fiber?

Check out this great Apple & Flax Seed Muffin recipe from Carrington Farms which features non-genetically modified 100% Organic Milled Flax Seeds and  Flax Chia Blend.

Ingredients:
Makes 12 to 24 muffins depending on your preference.

·         1 and 1/4 cup milled flax seed
·         2 teaspoons baking powder
·         1 Tablespoon cinnamon
·         1 teaspoon nutmeg
·         1/2 teaspoon salt
·         3/4 cup sugar or sweetener
·         4 large organic cage-free eggs (hopefully eggs from well-cared for chickens from your backyard or a friends) or egg substitute
·         1/4 cup oil
·         1/2 cup liquid (syrup or water)
·         1 Tablespoon vanilla
·         1 medium apple, chopped fairly finely
·         1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preparation:
1.     Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 12-muffin tin very well.
2.     Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the rest of them.
3.     Let batter stand 10 minutes, then put into the muffin pan and bake for about 18 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and muffins just barely start to pull away from the sides of the tin