Super foodie paradise: Abingdon, VA

Until this weekend, I had no idea that Abingdon, Virginia was such a foodie paradise- my version of a foodie paradise anyway. I am so inspired by the work going on there, that I have to recount to you the most perfect (and unbelievably packed) day, a.k.a. last Saturday.

Brother Al and his lady Miranda were on the east coast for Thanksgiving. They traditionally come to Abingdon to visit Miranda's parents and I could not pass up the chance to see them! So I hightailed it down for Thanksgiving, arriving just in time for the cooking festivities.

Now, Thanksgiving was great- such wonderful food and company. (I even got to fulfill one of my nerdiest foodie dreams- to try Susan Stamburg's cranberry relish!) But, lest this winds up being a tale a la Alice's Restaurant, I need to jump ahead and tell you about what happened on Saturday.

The day began with a trip to the Abingdon Farmer's Market, which was surprisingly busy for the weekend after the eating marathon (or was that just us?) I walked away with a couple of bottles of viognier from Abingdon Vineyard and Winery, a local food guide, and a market cookbook.

The folks at Moyer Family Farm showed off the largest radishes I'd ever seen- a hardy black variety and one that looks like a heart!

We also ran into ladies from Healthy Families ~Healthy Farms who generously talked with me about their project getting fresh food to food pantries- something I hope to work on in RVA next year.

When we left the market, we headed over to the Abingdon Olive Oil Company, where we were free to taste as many oils from all over the world as we wanted- plus flavored vinegars! The staff answered all of our novice questions with such grace. After much internal wrestling, I wound up with a hojiblanca olive oil from Spain and an 18 year old balsamic vinegar. I haven't bought balsamic vinegar in years, but this was sweet and thick, much more interesting than I remembered. We felt like it would be fantastic on ice cream- that is how thick and sweet it is!

Alex and Miranda's mom, Judith, outside of the Abingdon Olive Oil Company.

Then, of course, it was time to eat again. And you know what restaurant is right outside of Abingdon? Barbara Kingsolver's family restaurant, the Harvest Table. That's right...

Alex and Miranda outside of the Harvest Table.

What a warm place! The Harvest Table calls itself 'the most dedicated farm to table restaurant in Southwestern Virginia'. With most ingredients sourced locally, they keep to a very simple menu, sandwiches and pizza for lunch, and seasonal specials for supper.

When faced with the option of pizza or no pizza, I always go with pizza...

Yes, that is a glass of Barboursville Rosé beside this gorgeous salad/ pizza combo. So perfect!

We had heard that Tony Flaccavento was planting garlic, and after we finished eating, we headed over to his farm to see if we could help. Yes, I was wearing a dress and had already had my fair share of rosé, but I have probably gardened in fancier shape than that, so I was in. Turns out, Tony was done planting, which we really didn't mind because he was then able to talk with us about his good work.

Tony founded Appalachian Sustainable Development, (an amazing organization- how does RVA not have something like this?) and is now consulting on food system development all over Virginia. He and his wife Laurel also run Abingdon Organics, a 7 acre certified organic farm, which is where we found him on Saturday. Abingdon Organics is one of the most popular stands at the farmer's market, with individual customers and local chefs alike standing in line for the beauty of his well grown produce. I can see why- Tony's clear vision of what the food system could be is one of the most inspiring I have ever heard. (They take interns btw...)

Alas, we headed home- probably to eat again. Thank goodness for Thanksgiving, and for leftovers, and for kind and adventurous souls. Many, many thanks to Craig and Judith, Alex and Miranda for such an amazing visit. Abingdon, I hope to see you again soon!

Edible R-evolution Tour this Saturday

Tricycle Gardens is hosting a tour of kitchen gardens around town this Saturday, July 17. The event promises to be super fun and inspiring!
The folks at Tricycle Gardens sent out this info about the tour:

Tickets are $20 per carload or group of four bicycles. The price includes a map, access to some of the most creative food-producing backyards from 1pm-5pm AND a cookout at our Jefferson Avenue garden from 5pm-8pm. What a deal! And what a way to celebrate the summer (and fresh tomatoes). Highlights include the joint Strawberry Street Vineyard/Belmont Butcher garden, executive director Lisa Taranto’s backyard and the community garden at Holton Elementary School. Tickets can be purchased online, or at the 9th and Bainbridge Urban Farm, or by emailing will@tricyclegardens.org. Proceeds go toward helping expand Tricycle Gardens programs throughout the city.

Backyard Farmers

My friends Jay and Rochelle started an organic garden last summer, and could not figure out why their tomatoes would not fruit. They were really disappointed, as they had purchased topsoil from a local farm, and had researched and purchased beautiful, organic plants. And after all of their work, nothing much happened.
Backyard Farmers came to their rescue, helping them amend their raised beds with compost and planting a cover crop. Shawn and Tim, two of the Backyard Farmers, tested the soil that Jay and Rochelle bought and found that it was dead and that the soil structure was too loose, so they introduced components that would encourage microorganisms and water retention.
Jay was so excited because the Backyard Farmers pulled all of the weeds, re- worked the beds then planted garlic in one bed, buckwheat in another, and rye grass in the third. These cover crops will help break up the hard pan under the amended sections, bring nutrition for later crops to access, and remain a weed deterrent. Jay and Rochelle can also add the biomass to their compost pile when they are ready to clear the beds to plant in the spring.
The Backyard Farmers will come back to the garden in the spring, and walk Jay and Rochelle through what seeds to purchase , when to plant and how to care for the crops. These knowledgeable horticulturists have made themselves available to their clients, and Jay and Rochelle are looking forward to growing their own food, and learning a lot in the process. Check out the BF website to get in touch with these mobile farm gurus.

My Love Affair With October Beans

I work for an organic farm. I handle and eat more produce in a week than most people do in a year. I snack daily on raw sweet peppers, fresh-picked asparagus, thousands of cherry tomatoes and every kind of melon. And yes, this is a kind of foodie paradise. I am lucky and I give thanks every day. Still, I have reached a point in my life where it takes a lot for a vegetable to thrill me. Most of what we grow on the farm is comforting and familiar, but sparks no longer fly when I fix a fresh salad, roast new potatoes or sample an heirloom tomato. Sad, cynical? Yes, absolutely. So as the 2009 season went on, I desperately needed to light a new fire in my culinary soul. My cooking was tired, and I was curling my lip at all the tomatoes. Finally, I had a brief fling with a new melon variety in July. Succulent, green and extra-sweet, that melon left me slavering for more.

When the october beans started coming out of the fields, I couldn't help but notice their mottled cream and pink shells. The color itself was enough to intrigue me. The beans themselves match their lovely pods, and emerge slightly shiny, smooth and medium-sized. After a couple of weeks, I finally managed to snag a bag of extras. Fresh beans can be treated like lentils: after hulling, place them in a nice big pan with a 1:2 ratio of beans to water, then bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste for texture -- they should be al-dente, and the color will have transformed into a pleasantly light tan hue.

The first bean was transcendant, and it wasn't just a crush -- I was in love. It was rich, earthy and full of flavor, tasting of autumn and carrying a depth and roundness that compelled me to eat them plain, warm and lacking even a hint of salt. The freshness, I learned, is the key to this robust depth of flavor. Most beans have been dried or canned and kept for quite a while before they are consumed. Flavor and complexity are muted. Not so with these little gems of the field. You'll never want another bean.

A bit of research on the internet yielded confusing results. October beans may either be related to, or the same thing as, borlotti beans, 'French horticultural beans' and cranberry beans. All beans of this type are pink and white, and must be hulled. They can be planted any time from late May through August and take 10-12 weeks to reach maturity. Amy tells me the plants are prolific, but of course it takes a lot of land to grow enough beans, especially these, since you will want to eat them every day. Ask around at the market for october beans instead. They can be a bit pricey ($5 / pint), and are not always available in abundance. However, farmers always appreciate a discerning customer, and if you express an undying love for a particular item, they may take the trouble of putting it on the truck just for you.

How to use them? Beans so delicious can be added to everything. Fall greens are just coming in; why not try an october bean and arugula salad? Check with Cabbage Hill Farm, the booth right next to Amy's Garden, for micro greens and a nice bag of salad mix. Make the most of what's left of the summer as the season begins to change. October beans, tomatillos, apples and walnuts on arugula and mixed asian micro greens made a delicious combination last night, dressed with a simple blend of olive oil, cider vinegar, salt and pepper and chopped fresh basil. The less messing around, the better. You could also saute some onions and garlic, then toss them with the beans and add salt and pepper or other spices, then throw them on rice (long grain wild rice would be beautiful; brown rice, I think, is too similar in color and earthiness to the beans themselves).

While you're at it, check out this episode of Splendid Table, my favorite podcast. The first interview on the show is with Steve Sando, the proprietor of Rancho Gordo, and the author of a book called Heirloom Beans. Now, this blog is all about local eating, but I can't help but be tempted by some of the beans offered by Rancho Gordo online. There is a whole world of beans out there we're missing out on with our plain blacks, pintos and cannellinis. When will there be bean tastings? I'll be first in line.

New Study Says No Nutritonal Benefit to Eating Organic

(This post was originally written on August 4th)
I've been hearing a lot of headlines over the last few days about a newly released study comparing the nutritional quality of organically grown foods to that of conventionally grown foods. Until today all I had heard was the big headline "New study shows organic produce to be no better for you than conventionally grown produce." A headline very similar to this was running on NPR.
I knew I had to learn more about this study. I immediately bristled at this headline and am concerned about the impact such headlines could have. Just a few minutes into my own 'research' and I was feeling a bit better about the reality behind those headlines. The UK study conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and published July 29 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is based on a close examination of 162 previously published articles from a 50 year period, starting in 1958 and leading up to February 29th, 2008. 50,000 papers were looked at and of these the researchers deemed 162 to be relevant and in the end only 55 of those were deemed rigorous enough to be included. From all that I have now read the conclusions drawn by these researchers may not match the full scope of their findings. More than that, the media has been trumpeting headlines that dismiss all conflicting evidence even perhaps from within this very study. And yes, I know this is what media headlines do.
All the same, here are a few ways the type of head line I mentioned above is problematic...

1. The study did not look at chemical residues or other contaminants
2.The study only looked at Nutrient differences for the 13 most commonly reported nutrient categories.
3. There actually seems to have been some significant differences in 2 of the 13 nutrients in addition to what this research team deemed "nutritionally insignificant" differences in the other 10 nutrients. At issue here for me is the history of science claiming to know the full scope of nutrients and nutrient levels needed to meet all of our bodies needs. What seems to follow is the discovery of previously unknown, but necessary elements of our natural diet, or the realization that previously known but disregarded minerals, acids and nutrients are far more important than once thought.
A response written by The Organic Center states in part that "The London team reported finding statistically significant differences between organically and conventionally grown crops in three of thirteen categories of nutrients. Significant differences cited by the team included nitrogen, which was higher in conventional crops, and phosphorus and tritratable acids, both of which were higher in the organic crops. Elevated levels of nitrogen in food are regarded by most scientists as a public health hazard because of the potential for cancer-causing nitrosamine compounds to form in the human GI tract. Hence, this finding of higher nitrogen in conventional food favors organic crops, as do the other two differences.
Despite the fact that these three categories of nutrients favored organic foods, and none favored conventionally grown foods, the London-based team concluded that there are no nutritional differences between organically and conventionally grown crops."
In response to the amount of criticism leveled against this study, Tim Smith, the Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency ( the agency ultimately responsible for the UK Study) has written an open letter to interested parties about the independent organic review. In part, his letter states that "The Food Standards Agency would like to set the record straight, following publication of the study last week that compared the nutrient content of organic food with conventionally produced food. This review was commissioned by us to ensure that our position on organic food is up to date and reflects the weight and balance of current scientific evidence. This research had also been called for by the organic sector to review emerging research in this area.
Pesticides were specifically excluded from the scope of this work. This is because our position on the safety of pesticides is already clear: pesticides are rigorously assessed and their residues are closely monitored. Because of this the use of pesticides in either organic or conventional food production does not pose an unacceptable risk to human health and helps to ensure a plentiful supply of food all year round."

To Read the full response to the UK study from The Organic Center click Here.

To Read an informative article concerning this study by Paula Crossfield in the Huffington post , click here. ( This one is good and full of links to information on other recent studies)

To Read the Science Daily Article Click Here. ( A general sort of media response)

To Read a response by Marion Nestle click Here.
Finally, To read the post that I think really hit the nail on the head read This.

Vegetarians Can Grill Too!

After a seemingly eternal hiatus from posting, I am back, and inspiration has been coming from all directions. On this gloomy Monday night, I decided to make my first foray into grilling. Plans for providing grilled food at a Saturday party fell through for several reasons, leaving us with an overflowing refrigerator full of vegetables and Erin's lovely charcoal grill still begging to be used.

Last year around this time, I was all about fancying up my culinary creations. I am as yet quite new to cooking, and back then I was even newer. The more ingredients, the more flavors, the more steps involved in the recipe, I thought, the better. I loved making curries, soups, casseroles, sauces, anything that involved a lot of chopping and sauteing. And, it's true...I still love making meals like that. However, heading into this summer, I have realized that summer cooking is all about enjoying food close to its original state. Southern cooking styles are key here. Simple methods rule the plate. Now is the time to appreciate foods for what they really are. Can or freeze the extra and then dress it up during the cold months.

So with that in mind, I have determined to learn how to grill. Okay, so Ron and I are vegetarians, and grilling a few thick pieces of squash is about a thousand times easier than doing a good burger. But still, I was a bit intimidated, though firmly out to prove that grilling is still worth it without the meat.


We cut this huge zucchini (3 like this lurk in the produce drawer!) into 1/2 inch rounds and covered them liberally with melted butter and crushed garlic. These pieces are so hefty in diameter they almost remind me of burgers. At a later date I'd like to try these on a delicious roll, or maybe even as part of a po-boy. For those who are not vegetarians, you could even put one in the roll with your burger.

Though I've seen people grill pieces of sweet corn directly, I learned a neat trick from the internet that I decided to try. Pull the husk back but don't detach it from the base of the ear. Coat each ear liberally with olive oil, then pull the husk back over, tying at the top with kitchen twine or whatever you can find to hold it together.

Not grilled, but we had to include mashed potatoes, since I was going for the classic American feel. Joy of Cooking tells us to boil the potatoes until soft, then combine them with 1/3 cup of hot milk or buttermilk, plus salt and pepper. We added plenty of garlic as well and kept the skins on because these are certified organic potatoes. I admit they are new potatoes and not dried, meaning it's really a waste to eat them mashed (new potatoes should be barely modified from their original form, cooked just enough and combined with some kind of fat, salt, and parsley), but I wanted mashed potatoes!

Into the grill! My dad lent me that nice grill basket. The corn husks browned and blackened and everything together took no more than 15 minutes to cook. Anyone else need to grill something?


Obviously, pair this meal with beer. A black bean, tomato, red onion and microgreens salad adds necessary protein. Dress the beans as you like...I like to add a dash of cumin, a dash of chili powder, something spicy and plenty of salt and pepper. So the final plate is:

Buttery garlic grilled zucchini rounds
Smoky sweet corn
Garlic mashed new potatoes topped with spicy refrigerator pickles
Black bean salad

The corn was amazing, imbued with a very pleasant smoky aroma and flavor and plenty sweet. The zucchini rounds were al dente, golden brown and delicious. No salt necessary, just butter and garlic there. Having done all the grilling myself, my hands still smell like smoke, a pleasant memory of this July meal. I pronounce my grilling a success. I do recommend trying to get organic or at least 'ecologically grown' sweet corn, as any traditionally grown corn will inevitably be GMO and laden with pesticides. Here's a rule of thumb: if your sweet corn doesn't have a worm inside the husk, it's not good for you.

June Greens

It's getting warm, but that doesn't mean you have to stop eating salads! Lettuce gets bitter and bolts when the weather heats up; ditto for spinach. However, there are plenty of delicious alternatives to your basic salad greens, most of which have delicious, unique flavors. You can always buy your salad pre-washed and mixed at the farmers' market...Root Force Collective Farm, currently vending at the Bryan Park and South of the James markets even sells a blend that includes borage, fennel green and edible flowers. If you've got a bit of dirt available though, why spend all the money when you can grow it yourself? Just direct seed any of the following varieties of greens, and you'll be cutting salad in no time.

Arugula
The ultimate green. Spicy and unique, prolific, a perfect companion to salads with fruit, nuts and creamy cheeses.

Pak Choi (small varieties)
A great salad base, this asian green has a very mild and slightly sweet flavor. The stem is pleasantly crunchy and slightly juicy, reminiscent in texture to celery, though not as aromatic. Make sure to buy a small variety, as the large ones can get big like swiss chard and are really not suitable for salads.

Osaka Purple Mustard Greens
Any variety of mustard greens will hold up just fine, but I love the Osaka purple because...well...it jsut makes me so nostalgic. I love Osaka. Southwestern Japan will always hold a special place in my heart. Nandeyanen...anway, I also just love the color and the intense spicyness (similar to horseradish -- a completely different sense of 'spicy' than you find with arugula). Be careful with this one if you've got a sensitive tongue. I recommend chopping it and just adding a little at first.

Tatsoi
This Asian green competes with arugula for my favorite. It looks like spinach but tastes better...very vibrant and almost citrusy. The stem is also crunchy and pleasant.

I will also note that the best thing about these salad greens is that every one of them doubles as a sauteing green. They all hold up amazingly well as parts of soups or curries, on pasta or rice, on pizza, or anywhere else you might use a denser green! Seeds for all of these are available from Johnny's, and they ship fast. Summer greens are the perfect filler for a space in the garden where you've harvested overwintered veggies like garlic and onions. They are also really easy to plant: just throw some seeds down. You could thin later if you like, but honestly, you don't really need each individual plant to get that large if you're planning on eating salads. I sowed these greens in my median garden about a month to a month and a half ago and they are ready to go. You could even just toss a bunch of seeds together and sprinkle them in a big patch, then just gently clear-cut with a pair of clippers. They will flush back out as long as you don't cut down to the base.

Any summer salad greens I'm missing? Don't hesitate to let me know!

New CSA in Richmond

April Muniz , the Operations Manager for Horse & Buggy Produce, a Local Natural Foods Cooperative, located in Charlottesville, VA, wrote the other day, letting us know about a new service they will provide with Ellwood Thompson's.

They are expanding their services to the Richmond area (one drop spot per week)

She writes:
Our season in Richmond will run from July 2nd – Nov 19th and we’ll be set up in the parking lot of Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market in Carytown on Thursday evenings from 4pm – 7pm. We offer the following subscriptions:

· Local Fruits & Vegetables
· Pasture-Raised Hens’ Eggs
· Pasture-Raised Meats (Beef, Bison, Pork, Lamb)
· Spring-Raised Trout
· Bread and Granola
· Pasture-Raised Chicken

The farmers that we work with in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia have more produce that we can distribute to our current drop spots and we’ve had numerous request to expand our service area. We know that there is more demand than supply of local foods in the Richmond area and are hoping to work together with some of the existing farm businesses to help address some of this need.

To learn more about Horse and Buggy, click here.

Spring Meals!

I've been in a bit of a culinary rut. The limited variation in spring vegetables, combined with an exhausting work schedule and a general cooking malaise has led to some very uninspired dinners around my house. Recently, however, I've been inspired by my sister and her boyfriend, who have embarked on an experiment with the 'raw diet.' As you probably know, raw foodists don't eat anything that has been heated in any way. No bread, cheese, or beans, three of my favorite things ever...sounds pretty terrible, right? Well, I can't say I'm planning on 'going raw' anytime soon, but the creativity required to maintain such a diet and still take in a healthy level of nutrients has inspired me. Ron and I enjoyed a (primarily) raw dinner the other night, celebrating what's in season and (of course!) some good wine thanks to Once Upon a Vine.


Recipes for this simple, fresh and (mostly) raw meal...

Spring Slaw

Ingredients:
2-3 Carrots
4-5 heads baby pak choi
1 bunch white or pink Japanese turnips
A few radishes
1 apple (or 1 pear)
1 Tbsp. currants
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
Olive oil
Red wine or cider vinegar
Salt & pepper
4 leaves (or so) finely chopped fresh basil

Grate carrots, turnips, radishes and apple/pear. Finely chop pak choi, and mix with all grated ingredients. Add currants, basil and ginger. Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil and a few dashes of vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slaw is a great way of enjoying all these spring veggies, especially if you're sick of sauteing. The ginger is key here, as are the currants. This was really good, and would also make a great filling to stuff squash with. I do recommend doing all the grating with one of those disc-like food processor attachments. We don't have one, and this did take a while to do by hand.


Strawberry Shiso Salad

A bit of explanation here. Shiso is a most wonderful asian herb with a very distinct flavor, useable in place of basil in salads, salad dressings and on pizza. The botanical name of Shiso is perilla -- check out the wikipedia article on this plant. I ate green shiso (青紫蘇 or aojizo) all the time in Japan, often wrapped inside makizushi or as a salad dressing, and came to love its unique flavor. I'm not sure if it's for sale in Tan-A or other asian grocery stores, but of course I prefer the idea of growing it myself so I've got lots in the garden. Honestly, I couldn't begin to describe the flavor...you'll have to taste it for yourself sometime. Suffice to say, it is vibrant, green and unlike anything you've ever tasted. Worth pursuing, definitely, for those (like me!) who sometimes get into cooking ruts, or are constantly searching for new flavors.

Ingredients:

Salad
1/2 pint chopped fresh strawberries
Mesclun mix (Amy's Garden sells great blends! I mix and wash them myself.)
Roasted walnuts
3-4 shiso leaves
Chevre cheese (I have been getting mine from Lovingston Dairy, a new vendor at the South of the James market)

Dressing
Olive Oil
Cider Vinegar
Herbs (anything goes here...basil, thyme, oregano)
Dollop of grainy mustard
Lemon juice or orange juice

Place mesclun mix in a bowl and top with other ingredients. Salad dressing should be a 2:1 ratio of olive oil to vinegar, then however much you want of the other ingredients. Shake well and drizzle over the top of the salad.


Strawberry Toast

Ingredients:
Norwood Cottage bread
Twin Oaks herbed tofu
Fresh strawberries

This is just a good way to get some protein along with all the veggies. Ron is always focused on maintaining a good protein intake, so we always have some tofu hanging around, though I am a bit dubious about the hormonal effects of eating too much soy. I do love tofu though. My dad used to make it from scratch, and ever since then, I've been hooked. This herbed tofu from Twin Oaks is great sliced thin and served as-is on bread. If you haven't eaten uncooked tofu before, you should; it tastes amazingly fresh and clean.

Wine: Friuli Pino Grigio 2007. Some random Italian wine they had available for tasting at Once Upon a Vine that we ended up liking. It's cheap and I'm really into whites lately.

Seven Springs Farm CSA and Organic Farm Supplies

Thanks to Ron for sending us the link to this Farm. Seven Springs Farm is in Floyd County Va and has been in operation since 1990. They supply all manner of "conventional organic" farm supplies from back pack sprayers and dormant oils, to poultry manure and sea kelp based fertilizers. They also sell organic cover crop seed with a separate page on their site dedicated to cover crops. It looks like this Floyd County Farm has been making a business of supporting organic farming for almost twenty years, however my only knowledge of this farm is what I have picked up from their website.
I decided to pass the link to this farm along here primarily because of some interesting and possibly inspiring elements to their CSA program. Thir Vegetable CSA operates from May 12 through mid December providing 32 weeks of produce and what seems to be a tremendous amount of flexibility. In that 32 week period they allow each member 3 weeks "off" from their CSA for travel etc. They do half and full shares. They also offer the option of Working and Non-Working Shares for both Full and Half, with the number of work hours required (16 hours per season) cut in half for a half share. On top of all that they have the option of an additional Herb CSA for those who like a bundle of several different culinary herbs added to their box. I feel a little tired just reading all these options, much less managing them all!
Finally, and here is the most interesting part, they have lower income CSA options. One paragraph on their CSA page reads "LOW INCOME SHARE FUND – Through the generosity of CSA members, we have established a fund that allows us to give discounts to families on limited incomes who want to participate, but cannot pay the full price. If you are interested in making a donation to this fund, please indicate this on your sign-up form. If you would like to apply for a discount on your share, please check the ‘apply for a low income share’ box."

The issue of affordability for those families who have no financial wiggle room is always out there and this farms small scale, and possibly unsustainable, approach is thought provoking.
Not only the issue of those who cannot afford to buy fresh and healthy produce, but those who can afford to grow it! Seven Springs Farm's Payment information reads " If you can pay the full price of your share upon sign-up, please do so. Pre-payment provides the working capital needed to purchase seed, supplies, etc., and pay employee salaries for work that begins months in advance of the first vegetable distribution.If you cannot pay the entire amount at sign-up, you may use an installment plan... We offer a sliding scale of prices. You may choose what you will pay within the range of prices given. The low end of the scale is designed to cover the estimated budget for the year. That budget allows for a yearly salary for the farmer of only $18-$20,000. Since it is so difficult to make a living wage farming, the sliding scale allows for those with the means to help subsidize the farmer’s income modestly and also to make a contribution to the low-income share fund. All money collected that is over the minimum price is distributed 80% to Polly’s salary, 20% to the low-income share fund." Interesting stuff, and I would like to find out more about how it really works.

Red Wiggler Community Farm- A New Inspiration

There are three versions to my 'life in the future' fantasy. One is to have a simple green grocery, a store with fresh veggies and beautiful baked goods, all made and sourced locally, of course. In the back room would be a long table with picnic style benches where I could make dinner for friends once a week, or thereabouts. Doesn't that sound dreamy?

The second fantasy involves breaking up the concrete in the Azalea Mall parking lot, keeping the buildings, (one of which is a library, another a church which used to be a bank, as well as a garden center- all crucial) and planting a food forest/ park. Yes, I am serious. It would be beautiful- hazelnuts, blueberries, apple trees. Some peanuts as ground cover...

Ok, so the third fantasy is an actual farm where people would come to camp out with their families, or get married, or watch movies projected on a barn, and to just be together, outside, with good food. I have even gone so far as to scope out property with my friend Casey. We have had many a fun drive, exploring our native land, dreaming about this life...

This weekend, I met a man who was doing these things, more intentionally and much more nobly than I have let myself dream. Woody Woodruff is the exective director of Red Wiggler Farms in Montgomery County, MD. By 'doing these things', I mean that he has a notion that we are all in this together, so we should make it good. Check out the website- there is a gorgeous (like I needed a new fantasy...) solar powered farm house, a CSA which employs developmentally disabled folks and many other programs devoted to bringing us into the good work. Thanks, Woody for the inspiration.

Keeping Up With Vilsack

Just in case you haven't been keeping up with the latest on our USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack...

"About the time that Chemical Ag spokespeople were chiding Michelle Obama for promoting home-grown organic food with her White House garden, compost from the Rodale Institute farm was landing on a new organic garden right in front of U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters...

...Vilsack has kept ultimate responsibility for the project in his office, giving the small space a big symbolic role in showing how organic agriculture can benefit the nation. Produce will be donated locally. Maintaining the garden will be USDA staff members who volunteer, backed up by the department’s commercial landscape maintenance firm."

Whole article here.

Dr. Bug

A few years ago at the Heritage Harvest Festival my mother-in-law got see Dr. Richard C. McDonald speak on the use of beneficial bugs and strategic plantings to organically protect your garden from some of the most troublesome garden pest. Going only by the name "Dr. Bug" McDonald uses beneficials in conjunction with a system that uses both sacrificial plants to lure bugs away from your precious crops and plants that repel various bugs.
His website is full of information, including links to countless works on growing organic broccoli.
My mother-in-law loves this guy and has a lot of fun plotting out her organic garden using some of his techniques. Check out the Farmscaping link on his site for information on what protective crops to grow where and in what season, as well as the top beneficials and the insects they go after.

Sunday Cooking -- Fresh Arugula Pasta!

Lately my Sunday cooking endeavors have begun to spiral out of control. I've gone from tortillas to artisan bread to yogurt, and this weekend I got bit by the Italian bug...so I had to try to make my own fresh pasta. Having just been blessed by a fresh harvest of organic baby arugula, I figured it would be exciting to experiment with making a fresh green pasta. I have never made pasta before so this was all a learning experience!

My sister was kind enough to lend me a spare hand-crank Italian pasta maker like this one. We tried hand-cutting some of the pasta we had rolled out, but getting the noodles to a uniform thickness and length was difficult, though I'm sure experienced pasta makers are able to do it. The machine is definitely worth the money if you want to make pasta more than once or twice.

We used the Joy of Cooking pasta recipe and doubled it. The recipe is as follows:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour (when I doubled the recipe I did 2/3 white flour and 2/3 whole wheat)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
(optional) 2-4 tablespoons blended cooked spinach or other fresh green; make sure to drain the greens quite well before using.

Mix egg with water, salt and olive oil. Make a well in the flour and pour liquid into it. Work dough with hands until sticky and blended. Add greens into dough and work in. Knead for about 10 minutes, the way you would bread, then allow dough to rest for up to 1 hour. We chopped our arugula instead of blending it, and it turned out to be too coarse, so I recommend putting it in the food processer and making it the consistency of pesto before incorporating in the dough.


Cut the dough into sections. We did a preliminary rolling with a rolling pin, to form the dough into the right shape...then we passed it through the flattening part of the pasta maker. The machine has different settings for thinness, depending on what kind of pasta you want to make. Start on the thickest setting, then gradually roll the dough through on thinner and thinner settings until you get to the one you want. It got really long and we kept dividing the pieces into shorter chunks so we could manage them as we fed them into the rollers! Throughout, it's important to keep everything -- the work surface, your hands, the machine, the rolling pin and the pasta itself -- well dusted with flour. We also spread a sheet of parchment paper on the counter as a resting place for chunks of dough and finished pasta.


Cutting the flattened dough was fun, and took the least amount of time out of all the steps to the finished product. We slid on the cutting attachment and fed pieces through, careful to keep them well floured. Without enough flour, noodles tended to stick together. They also stuck together where larger chunks of arugula were lodged in the dough -- definitely a reason to puree the greens.

Finally, we cooked some pasta up and ate it, simultaneously strategizing about how to store the rest. We decided to create loose bundles and freeze them in a ziploc bag, hoping they do not re-form into a blob of dough. I'm hoping we can just take them out of the freezer and throw them right into a pot of boiling water. And the fresh pasta we tried? It was SO GOOD! Salt, pepper and a little pat of butter was all I needed. I am not a huge fan of 'normal' pasta and I can't remember the last time I was willing to eat plain spaghetti, but I could have eaten a mountain of this stuff. You could really taste the egg (organic & free range definitely helps with this...we are so lucky to have access to good eggs.), though the arugula was for all rights and purposes undetectable. Good for you though in terms of nutrients, and the pasta was pretty!! I'm looking forward to making some egg noodles and also roasted red pepper pasta this summer. I hope you are inspired to try your own round of pasta making, and readers who have advice on pasta or questions are highly encouraged to comment.

That's all for now...the verdict is still out on what I ought to try next, though I do have a notion to experiment with crepes...

New York Times Article on Sustainable Ag and Local Food

A great article out in today's edition of the NYT asks, "Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?"

In mid-February, Tom Vilsack, the new secretary of agriculture, took a jackhammer to a patch of pavement outside his headquarters to create his own organic “people’s garden.” Two weeks later, the Obama administration named Kathleen Merrigan, an assistant professor at Tufts University and a longtime champion of sustainable agriculture and healthy food, as Mr. Vilsack’s top deputy.

Mr. Hirshberg and other sustainable-food activists are hoping that such actions are precursors to major changes in the way the federal government oversees the nation’s food supply and farms, changes that could significantly bolster demand for fresh, local and organic products. Already, they have offered plenty of ambitious ideas.

For instance, the celebrity chef Alice Waters recommends that the federal government triple its budget for school lunches to provide youngsters with healthier food. And the author Michael Pollan has called on President Obama to pursue a “reform of the entire food system” by focusing on a Pollan priority: diversified, regional food networks.

Check out the entire article here. It's good to see that the big names are still out there, agitating for change! I didn't know Vilsack had jackhammered up the pavement to plant a garden until reading this -- great gesture, I must say. Let's see how things go, though. The reality of implementing regional food distribution systems, etc. will take a lot of hard work from grassroots people like us...we've still got plenty to do, even as the government slowly catches on to these ideas!

No Way!!! Obamas to Plant Kitchen Garden on White House Lawn!!!

Catering to insistent requests by countless members of the local and organic food movement, the Obamas have agreed to plant a 'first garden' on the South Lawn of the White House! Check out yesterday's New York Times article on the garden here. Quote:

On Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn’t like them) but arugula will make the cut.

While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.

In an interview in her office, Mrs. Obama said, “My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”

Michelle also said, for those who don't have the time or yard to garden, “You can begin in your own cupboard by eliminating processed food, trying to cook a meal a little more often, trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables." I'm so excited to see the Obamas encouraging Americans to take little steps toward a better lifestyle! I have heard so many people talking about this garden, including the Eat the View campaign, Michael Pollan and Alice Waters. The garden plan is already available here, and they are planning to fertilize with in-house compost and crab meal from the Chesapeake Bay. Congratulations to everyone who helped this dream to become reality.

VABF Conference Recap

Before we jump in to my report from the 2009 VABF conference, I wanted to draw your attention to the organization as a whole: the VABF is, according to the website, "an active network of citizens in and around Virginia whose primary focus is to provide information and services to farmers, gardeners and consumers about biological agriculture. Biological agriculture involves the use of natural methods and materials, and focuses on soil building, recycling of organic farm materials, and protection of wildlife and water resources." It's obvious the VABF and the Richmond Food Collective share some important goals. So with that in mind, you won't be surprised to hear that the conference was great!

Speakers I heard included the following:

Gary Scott, owner of Twin Springs Farm in Nelson County, VA. Since they are located outside the range of Richmond farmers markets and natural foods stores, I had never heard of Twin Springs, but it turns out they are a great little organic farm dedicated to 'ecological' farming practices, working towards sustainability and avoiding the use of pesticides at all costs. Scott's lecture was focused on production: the practicalities of growing crops for market. Though I'm not running a farm, I liked this lecture because the realities of making a living as a market farmer were set in the context of sustainable practices. Twin Springs focuses on high value cash crops like blueberries, strawberries and salad greens. Ron and I just bought a bunch of blueberries from Edible Landscaping (also in Nelson County) last week, so the detailed information on blueberry growing was very timely for me! I'd also like to mention that Twin Springs does U-pick blueberries in June and July...guaranteed clean fruit and a nice drive: can't beat that!!

Michael Clark of Planet Earth Diversified, a specialty produce operation with a focus on hydroponics located in Stanardsville, VA, showed a video from his project Meet the Farmer TV. Sporting a jaunty straw hat, Clark showed us around his own hydroponic greenhouse and introduced other farmers, chefs and extension agents. Check out the pilot episode:



Later on in the day, I noticed Clark interviewing Keith Langley of the Virginia Farm Bureau about his own green project of the moment: Save our Food, an effort to "educate consumers about the foods they eat and encourage everyone to seek out and sauté, bake, roast, fry and otherwise enjoy all of the delicious locally grown foods available." The Farm Bureau has just come out with a glossy mag called Cultivate, available to all Farm Bureau members, featuring local foods and farmers.

David O'Neill, owner of Radical Roots Community Farm, a market and CSA farm located in the Shenandoah Valley with a focus on education, including 3 interns each season, and permaculture design and practice. O'Neill explained some of the basics of permaculture, then went on to demonstrate how they are implemented at Radical Roots. There were some neat illustrations of the 'concentric circles of use' often seen in permaculture designs, wherein the resources on the farm most often needed are located closest to the living quarters, while rarely needed components are placed on the edges. We also saw some swales and some nice solar buildings. Very inspiring. I will say that it seems that whenever I talk to people or read about permaculture, there is some discussion of the impending agricultural apocalypse...the idea is 'peak oil' and 'peak soil' are either drawing near or have already occurred, and we urgently need to learn skills and implement systems that will allow us to live without oil and replenish soil as we look toward the greener lives we will be forced to live...it's definitely something to think about. Though folks disagree as to when these peaks will occur, these are very real concerns and permaculture is an amazing ideal I think we could all aspire to. O'Neill is doing some great things on his farm, and also happens to be a teacher at the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network, which is currently running an intensive course in permaculture design.

Will Allen of Growing Power Inc, an amazing urban farming and composting group located in Milkwaukee and Chicago, was the keynote speaker for the conference. Allen was a candid and warm speaker, inviting questions from the audience throughout his lecture. He talked about his massive composting operation in Milwaukee, where he collects food waste from all over the city and combines it with brewery waste and woodchips to generate massive amounts of compost. He discussed the importance of engaging the community, especially when initiating controversial urban projects. I was amazed to learn of Allens aquaponics projects (growing thousands of fish for local restaurants) and Growing Power's outreach programs.

That was Friday. On Saturday, we started bright and early with more Will Allen, and a workshop on vermiculture. A big part of Allen's farming operation uses worms to digest precomposted waste, transforming it into an ideal fertilizer. In the keynote speech we saw pictures of Allen's home 'worm bins,' which were atually huge wooden boxes full of dirt and worms. Here at the conference, he showed us how to make a small bin for home use. Owning worms, one must keep in mind, is like taking care of any small livestock -- you need to feed and monitor them frequently. However, there is nothing better for fertilizer, claims Allen, than fresh worm castings. Growing power has its own page about vermiculture: check it out here.

After Allen's lecture, we moved on to a really fun workshop on Farmscaping for Biological Insect Control by Dr. Richard McDonald, a passionate entomologist who energetically lectured on how to plant trap crops and control common crop pests. McDonald runs his own business doing consulting for insect control called Symbiont (check out their website: it's a great resource). I was really excited by his recommendations for different 'filter crops' and 'trap crops' to attract bad bugs away from cash crops, and draw predatorial insects onto the farm to eat the bad bugs. McDonald is clearly excited about his work and his mood was infectious.

The final lecture of the day turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. During lunch on Saturday, I ended up with a winning raffle ticket, meaning I got to choose from an array of prizes donated by attendees and speakers at the conference. When I got to the table, I knew what I wanted: a 5 pound bag of oyster mushroom spawn! I've been interested in the idea of growing oyster mushrooms for some time now, and free spawn was just too good to pass up. I ended up getting to personally chat with Mark Jones, the owner of Sharondale Farm in Keswick, VA and a serious fungi fanatic. He gave me some tips on how to inoculate a log with my newly acquired spawn, and told me how long I'd have to wait before harvesting some delicious mushrooms (6-9 months). I was so excited I headed to Jones' mushroom lecture for my final session of the day, where we learned about different kinds of mushrooms and how to grow oysters and shiitakes. I hope to experiment with both kinds of mushrooms soon, though we won't know if we're doing it right until September, since it takes the spawn quite a while to grow through the log and put out mushrooms. Jones will hold a workshop on his farm on March 14th for those interested in further investigating mushroom growing. Click here for more information.

That final lecture brought the conference to a close. I really enjoyed all the lectures, as well as my visits to the Trade Show, where I chatted with folks from the Permaculture Activist magazine, Dominion Harvest (featuring home-delivered produce in the Richmond area), Cindy Connor and the Backyard Gardeners. All in all, a great time, and very inspiring! Now, if this darn snow would just clear up...we could get to planting!

Free Back Issues of Organic Gardening

Our friend Eric just filled us in on a great opportunity for all those who enjoy Organic Gardening Magazine. Google Books has site where you can view and read back issues of this informative publication free of charge. Click Here to check it out.

Let's talk beets.

Last winter I made my first real acquaintance with beets. I had never considered eating them until I tried one sliced and roasted. Delicious! My RFC co-blogger Erin taught me how to cook beets just right: cut them up into bite-sized pieces, drizzle and coat them in olive oil, then roast in the oven at 400 until al dente. Now that the yearly love affair with tomatoes, sweet pepper and squash has come to a temporary close, it's time again to start enjoying beets.

It seems like most people, like me, tend to overlook beets as a culinary option. Perhaps they were forced to consume stewed beets from a can as children, or in general are repulsed by anything that is squishy and red. Or maybe some people have just forgotten about beets. In any case, they're worth a second look. In addition to being one of the most vibrantly colored winter vegetables (sometimes I just get sick of orange, though butternut squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes are all delicious), they are incredibly good for you, with the usual quantities of cancer-fighting nutrients and anti-heart disease agents folate, manganese, potassium, dietary fiber and Vitamin C.

The best way to eat beets is as part of a salad. They provide a delicious textural counterpoint to greens, fresh fruit and nuts. I love the flavor so much, though, that I will sometimes just serve them as a stand-alone side dish. Other ways of cooking beets include baking, stewing, or pickling them, or adding them to vegetable juice mixes.

Chioggia Beets -- how can you resist a vegetable with stripes? I'm growing a solid red variety, but Chioggias are available through Southern Exposure!

On the grower's end, a compelling aspect of beets is their hardiness and versatility as a garden vegetable. They are a perfect illustration of the concept of what I'm calling 'garden root cellaring.' This is how most people extend their garden harvests on into the winter: plant vegetables towards the end of the season, so that they are generally large enough to eat by the time the temperature turns cold. As the winter days go on, most cold-tolerant plants will fall into a kind of winter-induced stasis, refusing to grow but also refusing to die. As you are ready to eat them, you can gradually harvest these vegetables one at a time, leaving the rest inside the ground, waiting inside a cool, natural 'root cellar.' My beets are a bit small because we planted them in early October, which means they had less time to strengthen and get big before the frost. Still, they are surviving, and, of course, delicious! The Southern Exposure Seed Exchange catalog, in its handy guide to planting dates, recommends that us Richmonders plant beet seeds between August and September 7th for a winter harvest, and March to April 15th for a summer one (you can keep planting them all the way through mid-May, though hot and dry weather may result in a tough and stringy root). This said, you can get beets at the farmer's market during the first half of the season or so, but they always seem to come into the spotlight in the winter, when the range of vegetables narrows to only the ones that happen to also be cold hardy.

If you're growing beets for the first time, or plan to, here's a tip for checking the size without pulling up the whole root: just scrape the dirt at the base of the plant and feel the top of the root with your fingers. You can estimate the size this way, and won't waste beets by pulling them up too small.

My beets are thriving, in spite of those pesky weeds...I guess I forgot to mulch -- oops! I'm positive my beets would be bigger if I'd been more vigilant.

Let's not forget beets are in the same vegetable family as swiss chard, meaning that their leaves are also delicious and full of nutrients. Beet greens can be treated the exact same way as collards, chard, tatsoi, pak choi or spinach -- sauted with garlic and olive oil, added to salads or incorporated into soups. So, if you get the chance, give beets a try: they're easy to grow (remember: this is my first year of gardening!) and absolutely delicious to eat.

Yum! Winter Soup and Butternut Squash Dinner

In an effort to add more recipes to the RFC archives, as well as to inspire you to do lots of exciting winter cooking, here are some tips and instructions on cooking a hearty soup with cold-season flair. My tips for cooking a great side of butternut squash are also included.

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Fennel, White Bean and Olive Soup

This soup is based on a recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook, called 'White Bean and Olive Soup.' That recipe calls for celery and zucchini, but I've changed mine into a delicious December version. I admit my 'locavore' factor is a bit low in this recipe, but I believe January through April is the time to allow yourself some wiggle room. It's still necessary to eat, and I think we should eat well, even if it means using a couple things from elsewhere while simultaneously maintaining the goal of doing better next year. For example, I'm ordering fennel seeds. We'll see how it goes...

Ingredients:
1 fennel bulb, chopped. Preserve foliage for use as a garnish.
2-3 medium carrots or 6 small carrots, chopped
2 smaller onions
Salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Pepper
1 cup halved and pitted kalamata olives
1 can cannellini beans
1 6oz can tomato paste (you could probably substitute canned or frozen tomatoes, maybe 2-3 chopped)
4 cups water
4-5 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used pre-chopped frozen sweet peppers for this that I preserved this summer-- yay for reaping the benefits of seasonal labors!)

Pour olive oil into a big soup pot. On medium high heat, cook onions, fennel and carrots with roughly a teaspoon of salt in olive oil until tender, about 10 minutes. Add pepper, garlic and bell pepper, and saute for about 5 more minutes. Mix the tomato paste with 4 cups of water and add to the saute along with the rest of the ingredients, including spices. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Serve hot and garnish with fennel foliage.

Butternut Squash Side

Easy if you're an experienced cook, but I wanted to pass along my favorite way to cook butternut squash, since I only discovered it in the last couple of months. Take a standard cookie sheet that has sides, and fill it with about 1/4 inch of water. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds, then place each half face down in the water. Bake on 400 for 30-50 minutes, depending on the size of the squash. Just check periodically for softness. When ready, remove from oven and cut into chunks. Apply a small pat of butter and a sprinkling of brown sugar to the top.

Bread

A slice of your favorite hearty bread finishes off this meal. Ours was the French white bread from Ellwood Thompson's (a leftover from bread and cheese offerings to relatives on Christmas afternoon), but I really am partial to some of the darker breads they offer there. I will mention that the No Wonder bread guy is still selling at Byrd House market, and Montana Gold also bakes their bread in-house.