VABF Conference & Trade Show

The Virginia Association for Biological Farming will hold a conference this weekend (Feb 15-16) at the Sheraton Hotel on West Broad. (Visit the website here). The conference promises to focus on "Opportunities in Organic Farming," including lectures with titles like "Grassfed to Finish: Gourmet Quality Beef," "Organic Fruit Production," and "Community Supported Agriculture Panel Discussion." This sounds like a great gathering of folks interested in organic and sustainable agriculture, with speakers coming from Arkansas and Iowa as well as Virginia. Unfortunately, none of us at the RFC are able to attend the conference, as the registration fees are a bit steep. However, the RFC is glad this kind of event will be held in Richmond, and is eager to hear comments and impressions from any readers who were able to attend.

Beat the Cold-Season-Blues through Baking

In my opinion, post-holiday winter months lend themselves to three things: tea, books, and baking. Not half-way through February I find books lining my car seats and the floor beside my bed, while my little tea pot is permanently stationed beside the sink (I always mean to clean it out, but before I clean anything I have to make a cup of tea). The counter is also cluttered with a giant, tea-grimed mugs (my teeth are tea stained a bit, too. Oh well. Time to switch to Earl Green). This may seem like the behavior of an addict—of the harmless tea-drinking, library haunting variety— but I contend that the Power Three are needed as weapons in the war on the winter blues.

A note on winter blues: there’s a condition called SAD— Seasonal Affective Disorder. Victims show symptoms of depression, and are, indeed, in a sort of depression, the cause of which is thought to be the dark winter weather. Turns out humans need light like plants; cold and dark are lethal to the joy molecules. Wintertime, those of us affected tend to turn a little blue.

After a spring semester in London, I found out I was prone to be down with the SADness. Not that I don’t love winter—the landscape is still lovely, in a quiet way— but January through March I’m better if I get up a little earlier to hear dawn’s bird calls, walk mid-day to soak up sun, cover my desk top with pictures of gardens, and, of course, use my Power Three to encourage my body and soul.

The most important thing about the Three is that they provide warmth, nourishment, and a chance to relax. The tea is always hot (I was born in New England; when I think of tea I think of hot steam rising out of mugs, not Southern porches and tall, water-beaded glasses.) The books I read are all old favorites: the most beloved have been read, re-read, and are even stained from baking goop that spattered out from a mid-read mixing. And the baking projects are all delicious, whether easy or imaginative. Below are two recipes: one crazy and one a steadfast winner. I hope you try them accompanied by a hot drink (Rostovs or Ashland Coffee & Tea has loose leaf Earl Green) and maybe a good book, familiar as an old friend. I know I will.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies adapted from almost any church cookbook ever

With only four ingredients, these are the easiest cookies you’ll ever make. They also are an all-time favorite of any adult who’s been a child. They can be made with any type of peanut butter: crunchy or smooth, fresh ground from Elwood Thompson or from a giant jar of Jiffy—though beware the added (and perhaps unwanted) ingredient of sugar in most commercial butters. Smucker’s Natural is my choice: it comes in a glass jar, it’s available in Organic and is just more grown up. The butter is a bit grainy, which I like, and the first thing you see is the layer of oil that has separated from the rest of it—which is easily banished by stirring it in and refrigerating the jar, or by pouring it off (I like peanut butter really grainy) and using in Thai cooking.

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar (I’ve skimped on the sugar before, and still enjoyed the result, or substituted half a cup of honey for the same amount of sugar)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg

A little flour for rolling.

Stir together all ingredients except flour. With flour covered hands, roll dough into inch round balls (they get bigger). Lay them out on a cookie sheet and lightly press each one twice with a fork to make a criss-cross design on top. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.


Tart fruit scones with Chocolate Coating from my own experimenting

This recipe is original. One dark night I was longing for scones with my tea (I think I was reading something British), and most of all, chocolate. This is the result. I always miss the fruit of summer, and when what I’ve frozen from last harvest is gone or freezer-burned, dried fruit is my last resort. I made these scones with the remains of a bag of dried Bing cherries from Trader Joe’s (Richmond, when, oh, when will you get a Trader Joe’s?). I did not include any sugar in the recipe, because I intended to coat the scones in chocolate. Next time, I’m going to use fresh cranberries, and I will add some sugar to the “tart” scones to balance the sour red fruit.

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold butter 1
1/2 cups milk
¾ - 1 cup chopped dried cherries (or whatever is left in the Trader Joe bag) You can also used dried cranberries (like Craisins). I like the idea of scones made with red fruit. It’s nearing Valentine’s day, and we all need a little red in our lives.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Sift together wheat and all-purpose flours, baking powder, and salt (Sifting helps distribute the baking powder, which is the rising agent, equally through the gluten portion, which is the flour). Cut butter into dry ingredients until it resembles fine crumbs (chop the butter a little before sticking the pieces in the dry mix, to aid the process of cutting in the butter). Mix in the milk and dried cherries carefully, until just blended (once you add liquid to the rising agent and gluten, you don’t want to be too rough). Plop heaping spoonfuls of the dough onto a cookie sheet, spaced apart a little. (You can form the dough into a ball and roll it out to a half an inch thick and cut out round shaped scones, but I never bother. You’re coating the ugly things in chocolate, anyway.) Bake in preheated oven until risen and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Take them out of the oven to cool while you whip up the chocolate coating.

Chocolate Coating:

Take some chocolate—milk, dark, 70% cocao, baking, old Hershey Truffle Kisses or whatever you find in the bottom of the candy drawer (hey, winter nights, I get desperate)— and put them in a microwave-able bowl. Add a touch of vegetable oil. Put it the microwave for 20 seconds or until the chocolates’ melted. Gently stir the oil into the melted goodness, so your final product is a bit more creamier than just plain melted chocolate would be. Only a little oil or butter is necessary for this. Microwave in short increments (from 5 to 30 seconds) until the chocolate is spreadable and lovely, then smear over the cooling scones.

Shannon's Baked Whole Chicken

Finally, here is my (actually my father's) recipe for baking a chicken. I personally find this method safer for the less experienced cook since there is less risk of the chicken drying out than in pure roasting. This is great surrounded by halved potatos and onions(or quartered depending on the size of your bird) with carrots, parsnips or other winter veggies.
I bought two whole chickens at brookview farms and prepared both this way. I'd like to say they both came out great, but sadly the first chicken was done cooking half way through a movie we were watching and we made the mistake of letting it sit atop the stove inside the roasting pan for a full hour after removing it from the oven. Do not do this. The bird was of course still cooking inside the hot pan and became rather chewy. After the effort and money that goes into the meal it's best to eat it when it's ready!

1-2 cups of white semi-dry to dry wine
1.5 cups chicken broth
Little water (1/2 cup)
1 Lemon (or an orange if that's what you've got)
2tblsp butter ( or olive oil)
Thyme, Marjoram, Kosher Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper

Those Liquid ratios can be tinkered around with. Last week I made it only using Home made stock because I had plenty of that and no open white wine. The amounts on those liquids are also assuming about a 4.5 pound bird. So you might need less...or maybe more since the bigger bird would actually raise the liquid level. Basically you only want 1.5-2 inches of liquid in the bottom of your pan.
Okay ....
1. Clean out the bird. Make sure nothing is being stored in the cavity, pull it and either freeze it for stock or toss it if you find anything wrapped in there. Rinse the whole bird inside and out really well under the tap. (and in the case of the chickens from Brookview farm you'll want to chop off the neck first as well)
2. Salt and pepper the inside of the cavity really well
3. Roll your citrus on the counter under the palm of your hand to loosen the juices and then Pierce the fruit all over with a fork. Put this up inside the cavity. This is the point when you will be putting the chicken in your roasting pan. Place it breast side DOWN to let all of the juices run down into the breast meat. If you have any twine tie the legs (that are now facing up) together just above the end bones. If no twine don't worry about it.
4. Squeeze lemon juice (the real deal or from a bottle) all over the chicken. Then pour your wine over the chicken and into the pan... ditto the broth.
5. I use butter... Take your fat and massage the chicken like you love it, working the butter all over the skin till it's nicely coated.
6. Toss a nice sprinkle of salt and pepper and your herbs all along the top of the chicken.
7. Peal and quarter (if you had a bigger bird I'd say halve) your potatoes, and onions. Chop your carrots and what have you. Place them all around the bird along the sides of the pan so that they are in some liquid ideally. Cook at 350 for about 20min per pound... some people say less but lets be safe and keep the lid on until the last minutes to brown the skin if you like. I never eat the skin anyway so when it's just for us I don't remove the lid just to keep it extra juicy.' Plus I cook it upside down.
8. Your chicken is done when the meat under the legg is nolonger red and 180 degrees on a meat thermometer is good and safe. I've also read 165 degrees, but my meat thermometer says 180 for chicken so I am sticking with that for now.
9. LET the chicken sit in the pan for a good 10 minutes before you start to carve into it. And remember to flip it over after you've fished out your veggies in order to carve off the breast meat. Happy Roasting. Shannon.

Gardening Classes at WBCH

According to Richmond community blog Oregon Hill, a variety of gardening classes are being taught at the William Byrd Community House this spring. All classes are reasonably priced and developed by John Wise, an experienced and knowledgeable Richmond gardener. Please view this post for more details, and don't hesitate to sign up. We have heard you can maintain a community gardening plot at the WBCH, and it is also the location of the well-known Byrd House Market -- what a great place to learn about growing your own food!

RFC Visits Brookview Farm

You probably noticed follow up posts by Shannon and Erin for our visit to Brookview Farm, an organic beef cattle farm in Manakin-Sabot, VA. Brookview specializes in grass-fed beef, but you can also buy pork, chicken, eggs, honey and natural cosmetics at their weekly farm market, open from 9AM-1PM every Saturday. Though a couple weeks late in coming, here are my summary and pictures from the trip.

Brookview Farm is easy to find. Take Patterson Avenue west out of the city and keep going. City quickly fades into rolling fields and rows of trees, punctuated by wooden fences and the occasional home. Brookview is on Dover road, a long uphill drive leading to wide cow pastures (occupants grazing in the distance) and a line of cozy white houses. We had chosen a cold day for our visit, and the fields looked winter brown, imbued with an invitingly pastoral sense of calm. We pulled into a small parking lot next to an old-fashioned compost truck and followed a small stone path to the one-story white building that was the Brookview farm market.

The Brookview Farm Market.

Inside, we found exactly what we had been looking for. Two young women assisted a steady flow of customers, ringing them up or pulling dark red, packaged portions of meat out of various refrigerators. On one side was a big chest freezer labeled “hamburgers and roasts.” A look inside revealed a wide selection of pre-made hamburger patties, cuts of meat for roasting, and ground beef. Another upright refrigerator held everything else, including whole chickens, eggs and pork. Everything was cleanly packaged and had an air of professionalism, and despite the farm market’s small size, there was an amazing amount of meat available to buy. Eggs, however, were a different story. We had been told over the phone to “show up early” if we wanted any, and every egg had been sold by the time we left the market that Saturday. One customer kindly said he’d “go without” instead of taking the last dozen from a woman who sadly mentioned she had come just for the eggs.

The market 'menu.'

While I shopped, Sandy Fisher, the owner of Brookview Farm, appeared inside the building and began slipping recipes to my RFC companions. By the time I noticed them chatting, he had already bestowed upon us a veritable stack of instructions for how to cook meat. We ended up speaking with Fisher for a long time, talking about grass and compost as well as meat. He encouraged us to improve the composting practices in our own gardens, and was even happy to provide us with a copy of BioCycle, a monthly composting journal. “A lot of my customers are foreign, or originally from the north,” Fisher told us, and we wondered along with him where the neighbors were.

A wealth of meat in the 'Hamburger and Roasts' freezer.

Fisher’s wife, Rossie, entered the market building after a few minutes and joined in on the conversation, which turned to the finicky habits of chickens. The dearth of eggs was explained: “If things aren’t just right, they won’t lay,” Rossie told us. This Saturday was a bit cold. We could expect a greater yield when the weather warms up.

Fisher seemed both excited and frustrated in his position as a certified organic farmer. He overwhelmed us with information about the health benefits of grass-fed beef and the pros of supporting local agriculture. Beside the door to the market, we had noticed a table with piles of fliers for things like a sustainable agriculture course at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, a bumper sticker from the American Farmland Trust declaring “No Farms, No Food,” and a booklet entitled “Great News About Grass.” Fisher gave us all these things and more, and he seemed bursting with a desire to educate. I was interested to learn he had spent time on a cattle ranch in Columbia, after doing service in the Peace Corps.

A shelf of honey, skin care products and Brookview logo items.

As we left the farm market, carrying piles of meat, eggs and honey, we waved at Bunny, an Indian Red Brahma with surprisingly long ears. “We’ll come back,” we said. It was worth visiting Brookview just for the drive – a calming rural route beside pastures and quiet houses. But the true value in our trip to Brookview was in reminding ourselves of the connection between our food and the farms it comes from. Brookview is a place where you can meet the farmers and see where the animals you plan to eat have lived, allowing you to draw your own conclusions about the quality of the meat and the morality of the farming practices. As a tentative meat eater, I felt confident I could trust in the quality of the ground beef and pork sausage I bought at the market. We hope you will head out to Brookview next Saturday and take the time to judge for yourself.

Bunny takes a break from eating.

RFC Visits the Environmental Film Festival

I am excited.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the RFC was in attendance today (represented by me, Natalie) at Richmond's first Environmental Film Festival. I was able to see a wonderful film entitled "Planet Earth: Into the Wilderness," as well as part of a documentary about a bicyclist movement in San Francisco (and around the country) called Critical Mass. However, the most exciting part of the day was listening to a speech by Ralph Nader, who came all the way to Richmond to speak to us about civic action, corporations, and the possibilities of change through exerting influence on the U.S. Congress. Needless to say, I was quite inspired by his call to action. Nader suggested people start their own Congress "watchdog groups," imparting his heartfelt belief that the pursuit of justice can be fun, because it is a means to the achievement of real human liberty. Another point was the need to assert the dominance of the American people over enormous corporations which are simply out of control. However, the most important part of the speech, in my opinion, was Nader's emphasis on inspiration being only one part of the process of change; the real key being perspiration, a continued expenditure of effort and the willingness to keep working until you see success. Nader demanded for us to go out and do something, to assert our role as American citizens and members of a "democracy."

What does this mean for us, members of a local food community and advocates for sustainable agriculture and local economy? Keep eating! Keep supporting the farmers you trust and the small businesses around town like the Belmont Butchery (read our post on the Butchery here). Don't shop at big grocery stores just because it's easy. We at the RFC (and Ralph Nader, we hope!) are there with you, continuing to work towards a change in the way the world sees food and agriculture.

At the end of the speech, Nader signed his newest book, The Good Fight. I have yet to read this book, but it promises to be a "call to awareness and action that will captivate readers of all political stripes." I chatted with Nader for roughly 60 seconds as he signed my book "To Natalie, For Justice," and he told me about a restaurant in D.C. called Busboys and Poets, which includes a dining room, a bookstore, and a 'performance space.' He seemed excited because the restaurant has been "packed," hopefully bringing people together to eat, read, and exchange ideas. Nader certainly seemed receptive when I opined that food is a great way to build local communities. Everyone loves to eat, right? In any case, I was certainly interested to go on an "RFC Travels" venture up to DC to check out a restaurant endorsed by Ralph Nader, and it was an amazing opportunity to speak with him.

In conclusion, the film festival and the Ralph Nader talk were well worthwhile. I hope some of the other members of our food community were also able to make it out to the Byrd theater today, or have a bit of time tomorrow to listen to the other speakers. Environmentalism and the need for civic action are a big part of what motivates me as a consumer and a member of the Richmond community, and I believe I am not alone. I'll close this post the same way Nader closed his speech, with an 'ancient Chinese proverb:' "To know, and not to do, is not to know."

Garden Update- February

Argh. So, the bad news is that my dad planted his lettuce and snow peas without me. The good news is that he took my advice and ordered his seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange. Anyway- it is time to plant, and that is always good news.

Trellises waiting for climbing peas

Also, Lewis Ginter is hosting the Horticulture magazine Symposium this Saturday. Of course, the RFC will represent, and we will report back. There will be several lectures on organic gardening (is there any other kind?) which we will be happy to share.