Saturday on the Farm....Again

A couple of weeks ago Sal and I went for our first visit to Grassy Ridge Farm in Reigelwood. We had been wanting to stop by before just to check it out, but that particular weekend we had a specific purpose: chicken breasts.

For the past few months, all the chicken we've eaten has been the whole, roasted variety. Our ritual is usually to pick up a frozen chicken from Grassy Ridge at the Saturday market, put it in the fridge and roast it with whatever vegetables are in season that week. We use the leftover chicken for soup or sandwiches, and boil the bones for stock. It's been a lovely way to eat chicken, but it gets a little monotonous. So when Marie at G.R. invited us to come to the farm on the day of the kill to get the chickens before they were frozen, we were more than willing.

We pre-ordered 6 chickens, and made sure we showed up after the slaughter. I'm all about knowing where my food comes from, and have witnessed my fair share of animal slaughters before, but I opted out this time. When we got there around 1:00, Marie and her family had our fresh chickens cleaned and packaged for us, which left us some time to wander around the farm and meet some of the brothers and sisters of our dinner.

In case you were wondering, the chickens (and therefore the eggs) at Grassy Ridge are about as free-range as you get. When we drove up, they were roaming all over the road, into the wood, across the fields, and well, pretty much everywhere. Tommy and Marie move the roosting houses every so often, so the chickens have a fresh grazing area, and their waste fertilizes different parts of the fields. Compare that with most large scale egg producers: even those that call themselves "free-range" technically only have to provide a couple of weeks of access to the outdoors for their chickens, who are often corralled into a crowded hen house and never even realize they can go outside (chickens really aren't that bright, really). So as far as chicken lives go, the Grassy Ridge birds have it made.

Since Grassy Ridge also sells pork products, we got to see some pigs and piglets as well. If you have ever met a piglet in person, you know how completely adorable they are...which does make it a little harder to eat them, in my book. I actually stopped eating pork about 15 years ago when my dad decided to bring home a pig to raise and eat. It's not like I was ignorant about where pork came from, it's just that it became a little too personal for me. Never name your dinner.

But I digress. Visiting Grassy Ridge was a fabulous way to spend the day, and we hope to visit again. Tommy and Marie are caring, responsible farmers who look after their layers and livestock like doting parents. As for the main point of our visit, we brought home our fresh chickens and my neighbor and I cut them up into parts to freeze separately. Finally we've got the option for grilled chicken breasts, chicken wings and my fave: chicken and dumplings. Ahh, the simple pleasures in the life of a locavore.

Spotlight on Local Producer: Whispering Dove

Last week at Poplar Grove, I chatted with Linda Klose of Whispering Dove Goat Ranch and Apiary, and thought I'd share this resource with you. I hadn't really had the chance to talk with them before, since my Wednesday market day is always kind of rushed. I've only begun eating meat again and I've got a good stash of honey, so I've always kind of passed them up in my hurry to get my shopping done. Linda and I found ourselves together at the Wayne Batten's cooking table though, and we talked over Collard Stuffed Turnips and Ruttebaga Potato Salad. Here are some of the things she shared with me about Whispering Dove.

They are located within 50 miles of Wilmington - so in good range for any strict 100 milers out there. They are open year round at the ranch and welcome visitors by appointment.

Whispering Dove sells pastured, hormone and antibiotic free goat and rabbit meat along with raw honey products and natural goat's milk soap and skin care products. You can check out their listings on Local Harvest and the NC Agriculture website.

If you want to visit the farm, here is their contact info:
Linda and Dale Klose
Whispering Dove Goat Ranch & Apiary
689 Harris Creek Road
Jacksonville, NC 28540
(910)455-7123

Hello again

How time flies when the craziness of the holidays is upon us! Apparently it's been almost a month since I've updated this blog, and I'm here to make amends. I'm going to make a goal of updating at least once a week - I think I can handle that. I've never been someone who journals, so it's hard for me to remember to keep up with these posts. Anyway, blah - blah. Here are some thoughts from the past weeks:

1. Carrots are in season - yay!
2. Where the heck is spinach? Collards - check. Cabbage - check. Spinach - nada.
3. The Farmers' Market is coming to an end - I've got the hookup with most vendors so that I can continue to shop through the season if needed, but it still stresses me out a little.
4. Ruttebagas are delicious, especially when made into potato salad with Nature's Way Chevre. (Thanks to Wayne Betton for cooking up that particular treat at Poplar Grove)
5. The newly released Blue Cheese Walnut spread from Nature's Way is to die for.

FYI: Free Event @ UNCW

For all of you who are interested in the politics, processing and distribution - and well, eating, of food, UNCW is presenting a free film: The Future of Food tomorrow night at 7:00 PM in the Lumina Theater.

Heck, if you just want something to do that's free, that's good enough reason to go as well.

Here's the info from the UNCW website:

The Future of Food

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

Directed by Deborah Koons. 88 mins.
A discussion will follow the film.
Lumina Theater is in the Fisher Student Center.
Brought to you by UNCW Presents.

Thanksgiving Prep

Hello all. It's been crazy busy around here, so Thanksgiving has kind of snuck up on me. Luckily I've been planning for it since we started eating locally, because I knew that some of our Thanksgiving favorites would be out of season in November. I've frozen corn, green beans, and chicken broth; stocked up on sweet potatoes; foraged for pecans; and put in my order with Jackson Dairy. I'll be cooking for 6 this year, so I had to consider what would satisfy everyone. After lots of OCD like organizing and planning, I've come up with a menu that's going to be local and delicious. Here's what I'll be making:

• Herb roasted turkey with homemade pan gravy
• Chestnut stuffing
• Mashed potatoes
• Sweet potato puree with struesel topping
• Baked corn
• Sauteed green beans
• Country white rolls
• Chocolate pecan pie
• Pumpkin pie
• Mulled white wine

Phew. Luckily I'll have lots of hands on deck for the prep work. I did have to make some non-local purchases to make everything come together. I bought sticks of butter, since the butter from Jackson Dairy is salted, and I need unsalted for the pie. I also picked up an onion, since my storage onions sprouted, and some shallots since my sisters rely on my shallot pan gravy every year.

The rolls and pumpkin pie are from Great Harvest - bless them for being such fabulous bakers.

I'll try to post some recipes later. Does anyone else have any delicious local Thanksgiving ideas to contribute?

FYI: My laptop died this week and my camera is broken. Makes blogging a real pain.

Word up, locavores

How about that? Oxford American Dictionary has chosen its Word of the Year. In a move that is the epitome of lazy blogging, I'm just going to share Mike Nizza's New York Times blog entry on the topic:

November 13, 2007, 9:04 am
Oxford’s Word of the Year, and Runners-Up
By Mike Nizza

Not everyone has joined the local food movement, but it has won over Google’s cafeteria, Barbara Kingsolver’s kitchen, writers at The New York Times, and now, leading wordsmiths at the Oxford American Dictionary, who are adding their lexicographic seal of approval:

The 2007 Word of the Year is (drum-roll please) locavore.

The past year saw the popularization of a trend in using locally grown ingredients, taking advantage of seasonally available foodstuffs that can be bought and prepared without the need for extra preservatives.

The movement has been building for years, from Chef Alice Waters’s pioneering work in the 1970’s to the opening of a Whole Foods grocery store in the middle of Manhattan. But the word locavore was coined only two years ago in San Francisco.

Falling just short of the top prize was the crucial word in a catchphrase for the ages, born at an appearance by Senator John Kerry at the University of Florida in September. In mid-scuffle with security guards, Andrew Meyer blurted out a verb formed from the brand name for an electric stun gun, and the dictionary authorities approve:

tase (or taze): to stun with a Taser

Other runners-up have also made prominent appearances in The Times, including colony collapse disorder, cougar (redefined), MRAP vehicle and bacn.

There are several more listed on Oxford’s blog. And if your appetite for new words and word uses is still unsated, the Dictionary Evangelist is kind enough to name some runners-up to the runners-up.

Saturday shopping

We got down to the Farmers' Market late again today and as a consequence, didn't get any eggs. Plus, Bill sold my by-request Ricotta to a smooth talking lady named Cathy. Thanks alot Cathy - no lasagna for me this week. Well, at least until Wednesday.

We did however, pick up our Thanksgiving turkey. If you live in Wilmington and didn't get a chance to pre-order your turkey from Grassy Ridge about 4 months ago, then I'm sorry for you, because it's too late. I'll try to remember to remind you next year. But I did see that you can pick up a full Thanksgiving meal from WalMart for $37.77. Just kidding - please don't do that.

Our turkey weighs in at about 10 lbs. and cost only $27.00, which I think is a bargain, considering the amount of time and effort that Marie Wallace and her family put forth to raise each bird. This is the first year that we will know exactly where our turkey came from, and it helps me to be truly thankful for the sacrifice of labor and life that will make our dinner complete.

Cold days a'comin

Hey, if you live in New Hanover County, heads up. The previous Frost Warning for this evening has been upgraded to a Freeze Warning. Which has me rethinking my "I love Fall" stance. I think what I actually meant to say was this: I love September, October and so far, the first 6 days of November.

I hate cold weather.

Sunday at the farm

Hi there. I've been totally slack at posting this week and I'm sorry. Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you about a fun little trip that Sal and I took today. We've been meaning to go up to Nature's Way Farm and Seafood for awhile, and today was the perfect opportunity. The weather was gorgeous, and we had finished all of our housework (raking pine needles for Sal; making pickled okra and apple butter for me), so we headed up to Hampstead for a tour of Nature's Way.
It was easy enough to find - Bill gave us good directions on Saturday. Take Sloop Point right off of Market Street/17 and then follow the signs. We were greeted with bounding enthusiasm from the family dog, and found Bill and Tina in the back by the sheep. Although I chat with Bill at least twice a week, I have never met Tina, so I was happy to finally shake hands with the woman behind Nature Way's delicious cheese. We spent some time talking while petting the sheep, then moved on to their large vegetable garden. Tina's jalapeno plants put mine to shame, and her still-producing tomato plants towered over Sal. Her secret - don't water anything. Seriously, it absolutely makes sense when you think about - survival of the fittest. She waters once when planting (she grows her veggies from seed) and then mulches with about a foot of hay. That's it - it's up to nature after that, and the results were amazing even in this draught. Tina and Bill were kind enough to let Sal pick his heart out in the pepper section. Let's just say he'll be stocked up for awhile.
But I digress. The crowning jewels of the Farm are the milk producing goats, and they are some lovely girls. They're so well cared for that Tina will sometimes put sweaters on them in the cold of winter so they don't get too chilly. Now that's love! Tina's cheesemaking room where she processes their milk is tiny, but efficient. We spent some time looking it over, and learned about the various processes for soft and harder cheeses. Finally, we checked out the storefront, Bill's walk-in seafood cooler and last, but not least - the billy goats. Those guys have some great beards!
By the time we left, I had a much better understanding for the cheesemaking process, plus a deeper appreciation for the time intensive nature of farming. We had a great time and plan on going back when the kids are born in February, if not before. Unfortunately, I have no photos to show for our day because I lent my camera to my sister this week... so, you'll just have to go visit for yourself!

RAIN!

I can practically hear my flowers and veggies sighing with relief. Supposedly 4 more inches on the way - could it be?!

Local generosity

On Saturday I got a phone call from lovely older woman who had seen our photo in the paper. She and her sister had been trying to figure out what to do with some canning jars they had dragged up out of the basement, saw the article, and looked me up in the phone book. Sal and I happily went over to take the jars off her hands. We spent some time chatting with her - her family built her home in the 1930s, back when Market Street was a two lane road that you could park on - imagine that. Her mother lived to be 100 and had used many of the jars that she gave us. We came away with 7 boxes of beautiful jars of all different shapes and sizes - plenty for canning and some to use for storing pretty things. Love this small town.

And this here is why they call it North Cackalacky...

Letter to the Editor published in the Star News on 10/23:

Local vittles
Editor: I think these here locavores is on to somethin'! Why, after I read the paper this mornin', I swallered down a big 'ol Krispy Kreme slathered in Duke's Mayonnaise and Texas Pete, follered up with a cold Cheerwine.
Nothin' like eatin' local!

Robert Thompson
Caswell Beach

Awesome.

State Fair

On Saturday, Sal and I made our annual trek up to Raleigh for the North Carolina State Fair. We decided to make this a tradition when we first moved here, and have looked forward to it every year since.

I looove the State Fair for lots of reasons, but mostly because its a giant, messy, conglomeration of all things great and disturbing about North Carolina. It's supposed to be a celebration of NC Agriculture, and really is, despite the amount of commercialized junk that prevails there. I love seeing the craft and food entries; cases and cases of displayed jam, pickles, preserves, and even cakes, diligently created by folks all over the state and submitted with the hopes of winning the $8 or so first prize. I also love the art show, the produce competitions, cow judging, flower and garden displays, and all of the animal shows.

For all of the wonderful opportunities at the fair, here are some things I pretty easily managed to restrain myself from doing:

• Buying an airbrushed sweatshirt with my own name on it
• Joining the military
• Eating a deep fried anything

Here are some things I couldn't help myself from:

• Eating a scoop of NC State creamery ice cream as big as my head
• Rubbing the heads of some cute animals even though the signs clearly said NO!
• Pocketing a banana at the hotel buffet

Another fun year celebrating the varied agriculture of NC, and all the weird people who enjoy it.

Seriously, could you resist these guys?

In case you missed it...

Yesterday, our local eating made front page news. I was a little nervous about having such exposure, but I think Sam Scott did a great job on the article. Didn't make us seem like weirdos at all. I've gotten alot of positive feedback from people so far, not to mention lots of questions and stories about food. I love it! So, if you're checking out this blog as a result of the article, would you please leave a comment just to say hi? Thanks.

Pecan pickin'

My fingernails are still black from picking pecans this weekend. Soooo pretty. I'm not complaining though - the outcome was absolutely worth it. On Saturday, Trace over at Cricketbread was awesome enough to show us where there are some quality pecan and hickory trees around town. I for one couldn't have picked out a pecan tree had it dropped a big fat pecan right on my head. Now I least know what to look for and how to identify when they're ready to pick. Also to maybe wear some gloves next time. In a couple of hours we got around 8 lbs. of pecans and a smattering of hickory nuts... I'm already envisioning the holiday goodies.

Score!

I made a glorious find this weekend while conducting a thorough cleaning out of all our closets, drawers and various nooks and crannies throughout the house. I was looking for stuff to put in the yard sale we had Saturday, and came across our hurricane food supply shoved into a corner of the garage. We had stocked up on various canned goods when we moved here - convinced that a hurricane induced power outage would indeed one day force us to sit in the dark for a week eating green beans out the can while sipping Crystal Light. Needless to say we haven't had a storm that's left us without power for more than 10 hours and so haven't touched the kit in years. Well, except for the cans Chef Boyardee ravioli Sal has pilfered a few times as a snack.

The contents of the kit are expired, but we're going to give them a try anyway. The shining star of the group is the box of Saltines which is a key ingredient in Southern style squash casserole. I've been substituting bread crumbs, which are okay, but aren't quite right. There are also canned peaches, pineapple, fruit cocktail, pears, peas, corn, green beans and tuna. I'm not so sure about the tuna though. We've also got some boxed soy milk, peanut butter crackers, cereal, crunchy peanut butter, strawberry jam, cran-raspberry juice, applesauce, and the aforementioned Crystal Light lemonade mix. That's some high class hurricane planning, folks.

I'm going to figure out what I can make using all this found food, and incorporate it into our menus over the next few months.

A Monday moment

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind around here. Besides the brisk pace of our day jobs, Sal and I have had several home improvement projects in various levels of completion to contend with each day. We've been getting up around 6:30 - working all day, fulfilling other commitments - teaching, tutoring, etc. after work, then coming home to paint, clean, shop or organize our way through some aspect of our home transformation, usually followed by falling into bed exhausted around 10:30. Next day: repeat. Weekends: ditto. In reality, the projects aren't huge, just time consuming, and have eaten up lots of our "free" time. I have no idea how we'd do it if we had children - part of the reason we're taking care of these things now.

So a bit of my going on about how busy I've been is to offer an explanation of why the past few weeks have been more about others than about how we're faring here. Much of our busy-ness has been due to local eating issues: in direct ways - like planting veggies, and in not so obvious ways - like putting in a fence gate and an additional door in our garage for easier access to our garden and composter.

Instead of posting a Local Producer Spotlight this week, I thought I'd introduce you to some of our newest crops - which will be our own local producers in the coming months and years.

Here's proof that life is moving way too quickly. There was nothing sprouting in this pot just 48 hours ago. I went out this morning to find a ton of little carrot plants fighting their way out of the soil. I'll have to thin them out later, but for now; look at them go!

Here are our newest surprise additions from Shelton Herb Farm: Lemongrass and Ginger. I had no idea either of them would grow here. Ooooh, the cooking possibilities!

Part of our little potted jungle: basil, chives, dill, cilantro, parsley, tarragon, mint, jalapenos, rosemary, lemongrass, ginger, and avocado.

Oh, and by the way, I'm also hoping to make this site a little more user-friendly, as I'm anticipating some increased traffic in the next few weeks. So if you get an "Under Construction" message, don't fret.

Farmers' Market in the news

I also wanted to mention that the Farmers' Market was highlighted in Si Cantwell's Newcomers column on Sunday, October 7th. Our favorite folks were mentioned, and there's even a quote by yours truly.

Local Producer: Nature's Way Farm and Seafood

Let me just say that I cannot live without cheese. (If you haven't noticed, I like to make dramatic statements.) I tried once, for awhile, when I was on a non-dairy diet for health reasons - recommended by Woody Harrelson during a yoga class, but that's another story. I was okay with switching to soy milk, and made do without butter, but I just could not do without the cheese. I have actually been called "the crazy cheese girl" once. If the shoe fits...

That said, I was a little worried about the cheese factor going into this way of eating. Lucky for us then, and everyone else around here, that Nature's Way Farm exists. Over the past few months I have tried their chevre, mozzarella (smoked and regular), pepperjack, cheddar, feta, gouda, romano, parmesan, and raw caraphilly - all made from goats' milk - and have never been disappointed.

Nature's Way is run by Tina and Bill Moller. Bill is their representative at the Farmers' Markets on Wed. and Sat., and he does his job well. He's friendly, generous and kind - which is a good business plan in my book. I'm looking forward to stopping by Nature's Way soon, when life is a little less hectic - you can too. In the meantime, stop by their stand and stock up on some amazing cheeses, fresh seafood, and great goat's milk products like cucumber-melon lotion and coconut soap.

Tina and Bill took some time out from their busy schedule to answer my questions:

You've got quite the combination of products - from shrimp to soap to cheese! Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started in the seafood and goat business?

I've been commercial fishing since 1971. In 1981 I hired Tina to pick clams for me on my clam dredge, by 1983 we got married. With the same goals, we got 3 1/2 acres in Sloop Point about 1/2 mile from the sound. Tina wanted livestock for pets, so sheep were selected followed by goats. Both being milk & cheese lovers Tina wasted no time in trying her hand at cheese making. By trial and error she developed a goat milk chevre that won best in show at the North Carolina Dairy Goat Breeders Association 2 years in a row. By then the soaps were also doing well and we started retailing some of my shrimp at the house. We slowly made the transition from selling wholesale to fishhouses to dealing direct with the public. In 2000 we became the only certified goat cheese dairy east of I 95. Our sales at the farm weren't enough to make it, but thanks to the Wilmington River Front Farmers' Market and now the Poplar Grove Farmers' Market, we are able to continue doing what we enjoy.

I'm always impressed with the number of cheeses you produce. What are some of your specialties, and how long does it take to make them?

The chevre was Tina's first cheese and is still her personal favorite. She makes it in 8 flavors - it takes 2 days to make. The mozzarella and blue are both very unique. The blue takes 6 weeks to make. Mozzarella takes about 2 days. The pimento is made with 3 different kinds of goat cheeses. Besides feta, Tina makes a variety of hard cheeses & they take 2-6 months. Oh, she's always working on something new, like a hard cheese soaked in red wine.

What are some of the differences between goat's milk and cow's milk products?

Goat's milk is easier to digest for two reasons. First, the fat particles are very small and second, the lactose is different from cows milk so many people who are lactose intolerant can drink it. It is also lower in fat and higher in calcium.

Where and how do you catch your seafood?

I mostly work close to home out of Topsail Sound. I fish crab pots, which not only supply my crabs but also stone crab claws. I set nets for the flounder, and the clams and oysters are caught either locally in public bottom or out of the 7 acre clam/oyster lease I have. Do to multiple reasons I chose to sell my shrimp boat this past spring. My many years in the business allow me to be able to get shrimp from friends still shrimping that maintan the same high standards I do. The dry pack sea scallops and hand picked crab meat is from Garland F. Fulcher Seafood Oriental, N.C. The crab cakes are made by Caroon Carb Co. Southport, N.C.

Is there anything else you'd like us to know about Natures Way?

Being a small working farm we not only enjoy our livelyhood but take pride in the products we offer to the public.

Nature's Way Farm is located at 115 Crystal Ct.Hampstead, NC. You can reach them at (910)270-3036.

Local Producer: Black River Organic Farm

This Saturday the Farmers' Market will be blessed by the return of Black River Organic Farm after a well deserved vacation. They took a break during the transitional season between summer and winter crops, and I can't wait to see what they bring with them. Black Rivers' assistant farmer and market manager, Noel Mooney, answered some of my questions a while back:

1. You obviously know alot about what grows in this region - did you grow up here?

Yes, I grew up just north of here in Jacksonville, NC.

2. How did you get started with Black River?

I've known Stefan, the owner of Black River, since I started farming. I started a vegetable growing operation on another farm's land and worked a sharecropping situation for three years. During those three years I built a loyal customer base at the local farmers' markets and restaurants. Stefan asked me if I would work with him and continue the farmers' market with his farm.

3. I hear you're quite the forager. What's the oddest thing you've ever foraged for consumption?

I guess a lot of things I forage some people would consider odd. Lately I've been collecting Purslane, Black Cherries, Peppergrass, Indian Fig cactus pads, Chufa nuts, Yarrow, various Pine parts, Mullein, Chantrelle Mushrooms, Reishi mushrooms, Huitlacoche (aka corn smut) and several other plants and funguses.

4. Black River is the only certified organic grower at the market - tell me about that process. It's pretty complicated, no?

We have an on farm inspection every year, which inspects the operation from top to bottom. Not only inspecting what we do, but also looking for any potential for contamination through water, neighboring farms, etc. We also have to keep records for every seed and activity involving the land. All of this ensures that products carrying the USDA certified organic seal are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or genetically engineered organisms.

5. What are some North Carolina specific things I can look forward to in the fall? Also, will I ever be able to find the following things around here: artichokes, asparagus, rhubarb, portobello mushrooms - or do I have to say goodbye to them forever?

Well, North Carolina is the number one producer of sweet potatoes so you'll definitely see plenty of them at the market. You'll also see crops such as: broccoli, kale, collards, mesclun mix, carrots, radishes, arugula, turnips, and rutabaga.

Artichokes can be grown here and I have heard of one farmer in Jacksonville who had them but your best bet would be to grow them in your garden. There are new annual varieties that can be grown in one season and don't need zone 9 conditions. Asparagus can also be grown here my mom has a patch in her garden, and if I'm not mistaken I believe Lewis Farms carries them in the spring. Rhubarb isn't typically grown in NC since it likes cool temperatures and hates hot summers but if you baby it you could probably grow some in your garden, but I wouldn't expect to ever find it at the farmers market. Shiitakes would be your best bet for a Portobello substitution for the time being. Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen of NCA&T is working hard with lots of farmers from across the state to turn North Carolina into one of the top mushroom producing states in the country, so I wouldn't be too surprised to see local portobellos soon.

Noel is a fountain of knowledge - there's more where this came from! Stop by the Black River Organic Farm stand at the market and visit Noel, Danielle and the other lovely staff this weekend. Or, visit their website at http://www.blackriverorganicfarm.com/

The reason for the season

If you had asked me to tell you about my favorite season, up until about last year I would have gone on and on about how much I love Summer. Summer, Summer, Summer. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, or perhaps it's the irritating drought conditions or stifling humidity getting to me, but I am now a total Autumn convert. Summer had a good run, while I lived in Pennsylvania and the blessed microclimate of Northern California, but in North Carolina, Fall is where it's at.

Not only is the weather absolutely perfect, but all of the yummy produce that I've been missing since Spring is coming back! (Spring is great too, but because I prefer Halloween to Easter, Fall wins in the favorite season category) Thank you Mother Nature for creating the climate here that way. I'm already salivating over the recipes I've got in the works to include the sweet potatoes that are already showing up at the Market. And the lettuce - oh, the lettuce! I bought 5 varieties from Shelton Herb Farm today, and will use some for dinner tonight before even planting it- why wait?

Photo: 20 lettuce plants. Did I go overboard? I think not.

Local Producer: Gilbert Farm

It's always a pleasure to talk with Don and Jane Gilbert of Gilbert Farm! You can find them together on Saturdays, working as a delightful team in a way that only people who have been married over 50 years can. They've always got something new to try - the past few weeks have brought baby turnips and scuppernong grapes to the table. Recently, the Gilberts were kind enough to take the time to answer some of my questions:

You both used to have other professions (a teacher and small business owner)-tell us a little about how and when you started Gilbert Farm.

Gilbert Farm really was never officially formed. It just kind of evolved after we sold our hydroponic business back in the late 90's and went into growing for farmers' markets and restaurant direct sales exclusively. However, I had been active in the local farmers' markets since we moved here in 1985.

Some of your produce is hydroponically grown. What is the benefit of growing this way, and how is it different than produce that is greenhouse grown?

Hydroponic growing is done in a greenhouse with strict controls without soil or chemical pesticides, and allows us to grow fresh vine ripened produce during the off season when local field grown produce is not available. Growing this way allows us to feed the plants exactly what they need when they need it to obtain maximum yields and superior taste in the off seasons.

What is your favorite produce to grow?

I like it all. In addition to regular produce, we attempt to grow as many specialty crops as possible that are normally not available in the supermarkets, such as Kohlrabi. My favorites are tomatoes and red raspberries.

You recently switched to the Southport Farmers' Market on Wednesdays. How is business down there?

Business at Southport is about the same as at Poplar Grove except we don't have as much competition as we did at Poplar Grove. The riverfront location is also nice and since I live in Brunswick County I feel some obligation to support Brunswick County business.

Is there anything else you'd like us to know about Gilbert Farm?

It should be noted that in addition to what we grow at our home base Leland operation, we network with two other quality growers in Pender County who do not desire to sell at farmers market. They are Thomas Produce Farm just west of Burgaw on NC53 and St. Helena Nursery in St. Helena just south of Burgaw. They grow a large variety of field grown and hydroponic grown produce. We work together on who plants what and when, and assist in the harvesting, packing, and selling of the products. This is an oncoming trend in the agricultural business, particularly with small growers who are being forced out of business by large growers and cheaper foreign imports.

Local Producer: Grassy Ridge Farm

I absolutely love the chicken and eggs at Grassy Ridge Farms! The broiler chickens we buy there make at least three meals for us during a week: we roast the chicken with some veggies, use the leftover chicken in another recipe, and make broth for soup later on. That's a great value when you consider the quality. They also reuse egg cartons that customers return, which is both resourceful and ecologically sound. Tons of reasons to visit them at the Market or on the farm. Here's an interview with Marie Wallace, owner of Grassy Ridge Farm:


Tell us a little about the history of Grassy Ridge Farm, and your involvement with the Farmers' Market.

We started Grassy Ridge Farm in 2003. We visited Joel Salatin's farm in Virginia and got interested in raising free range chickens. We also raised 100 laying hens and started selling eggs off the farm and at Tidal Creek. We were one of the first vendors at the Wilmington Downtown Market. We sold our eggs and vegetables. We are able to sell our chickens at the Market for the first time this year because we now have our meat handlers license. We also sell at Poplar Grove market on Wednesdays.

What makes your chicken and pork products different from what is available in the average grocery store?

We do not feed our animals antibiotics or hormones. They are raised free range and are happy chickens and hogs. We feed them organic feed which is shipped from Virginia and we mix corn and oats with the supplement. The pasture where they graze is all organic.

How often do you process your animals?

The broilers are processed when they are 7 weeks old. We have been trying to have a batch to process every month. We will raise them until the end of October. The hogs take longer to raise and at the present time we only have two more to process this year. We have three hogs which we breed, and hope to raise our own pigs.

Your eggs are delicious! How many layers do you have, and how many dozen eggs per week do they produce?

We have approximately 225 layers and they are producing 50 dozen eggs a week so far. 125 of them are young and should start producing more. We are also going to purchase 125 more in September.

Is there anything else you'd like us to know about Grassy Ridge Farm?

I would like my customers to let me know how many chickens they need yearly. I can only raise the chickens from March to October because of the weather. I would also like customers to come to the farm and purchase chickens when we process so they can cut them up and package as they like. We are interested in raising grass fed beef and hope to get started soon. Thank you to all of our customers and we are glad you are enjoying our product!

Note: Grassy Ridge Farm is located at 399 Beaver Ridge Dr. in Riegelwood, NC. You can reach them at (910) 655-4665

The Cadillac (make that: Prius) of composters

This weekend we finally got around to purchasing an upgraded composting system fromProgressive Gardens on Oleander. We went for the EnviroCycle Composter (in fashionable green), which looks like it's going to be a whole lot easier than what we had before. Our previous bin was a plain ole stacking tier system that fell apart regularly and was just a general pain to deal with. Plus it took forever to get a decent product.

Our new fancy shmancy deal makes it easier to produce compost more quickly because it rolls on its base, which keeps the ingredients well mixed and aerated. It looks like one of the better rolling composters on the market, because it doesn't take a ton of muscle to spin - which is important for this weakling girl. We also like the added bonus of the 5 gal. liquid collecting base - we can use the collected "compost tea" to the rest of our garden as an organic fertilizer.

I think it's going to be fabulous - we'll let you know.

Me on a soapbox for a second.

I don't know if you've heard about this study yet, but it's been all over the news today. As a Behavior Specialist and local eater, this breakthrough information solicited a big "Well, DUH!" from me.

Here's an excerpt:

THURSDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Some common food colorings and preservatives appear to increase the risk of hyperactive behavior among children, British researchers report.

The link between food additives and hyperactivity has long been suspected, but this is the first study to show a direct connection.

The findings have already caused the British government's Food Standards Agency, which funded the study, to issue a warning to parents about food additives.

"Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an increasingly common problem, and theories abound to account for that," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "Among them is the notion that food additives induce hyperactivity."

It goes on to say how they gave two groups of children either commercially available additive loaded or additive free drinks (who lets their kids be in these studies????) After 6 weeks, the kids who consumed the drink with additives displayed significantly more hyperactive behavior, as well as shorter attention spans.

This is beyond disturbing to me, but also - is there anyone out there who thought that perhaps additives may be good for kids? I totally understand the appeal of convenient food, and will admit to partaking in a delicious bowl of Cap'n Crunch once in awhile as a child. But by no means were additives a regular part of my diet, nor are they now - and I certainly won't be feeding them to my future children. Maybe I'm being too harsh on parents, not being one myself, but I think that there has to be a link not only in the additives, but in the type of parenting that would allow children to be consuming that level of additives on a daily basis. Throw a Pop Tart in your kids hand before sending them off to school with their Lunchable, mix up some Kool-Aid, toss some dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets in the oven for dinner and serve them up with a side of FD&C Red No.40 and ADHD. Fabulous.

Okay, seriously, I do understand that parenting is the most difficult job ever - that's why I've avoided the position for so long. And I also understand that companies are sneaky about throwing in a little Quinoline Yellow into an otherwise healthy looking beverage. It's just that I think there is something to be said for just slowing down to give our kids what they need, not just what's most convenient.

Photo: Tartrazine (E102), commonly added to carbonated beverages and lollipops. Mmmm.

Local Labor Day

To celebrate our long weekend, Sal and I decided that we were going to do nothing - absolutely nothing....which of course blossomed into three days of doing all kinds of work around the house. It was a good kind of work though, the kind where you feel productive, but not overstressed and resentful.

We started off Saturday with our trip to the Farmers' Market downtown - stocked up on some essentials and picked up some treats for an end of summer celebration. Sal also bought a 1/2 gallon jug of Organic Lager from Front Street Brewery which turned out to be lovely - and refillable to boot. Sweet.

We then ventured up to Swart's in Castle Hayne because we heard word that they were selling tomatoes for $1.25 a pound. True, true, so we got 25 pounds to make up for the sauce disaster of August '07. We also found beautiful garlic there from Boone, as well as muscadine grapes, which are destined for jelly.

The rest of the weekend had us trimming back plants, transplanting herbs and generally preparing the garden for some winter veggies. We also managed to make some tomato sauce with great success. Bless that food mill.

For our end of summer grill out session, Sal opted for Tarheel Beef burgers on my homemade hamburger buns, topped with my pickles and mixed peppers, with a side of fries cut from Pridgen's potatoes. I opted for a fried green tomato from Hanchey's for my sandwich, which was maddeningly delicious. We were so stuffed after that we didn't even get to our seedless watermelon from Mr. Gilbert, but we're on assignment to taste it before Saturday to give him a quality report.

All in all it was a yummy, busy weekend. I hope yours was as well.

I was the only one taking photos of beer in Front Street Brewery. Strange.

Our super-efficient tomato sauce making set up. I really did help, I swear.

The best part of waking up

Full disclosure time: During my local eating, I have never given up coffee. Not like, I really tried and just couldn't do it - I just never even tried. I'm not one of those 5 cup-per-day habit folks...I just need my one, perfect, black, cup per morning. Plus, I don't think I could resist the smell of coffee brewing at work - or anywhere else for that matter.

I think I may love the smell of coffee even more than I love the coffee itself. There's something entirely seductive about the smell of freshly ground coffee that just takes over my olfactory system. To me, it's the crispness of early morning, the laziness of a rainy day, the comfort of routine, the company of friends - and the nostalgia of my grandfather. So, I'm not giving up coffee. That's all there is to it.

Well, not really. I mean, if I'm going to keep on with the coffee habit, I can at least make a better choice than the giant tub of Folger's we've been buying. A little social responsibility is in order, perhaps? Anyone want to devise a way to grow coffee beans in the greater Wilmington area? No? Alrighty then, I started by ditching the Folger's (once we were out of course) and headed over to Folks Cafe on Market Street to get me some socially responsible coffee. Now apparently, I can get Folks coffee cheaper at Tidal Creek, which I may do in the future, but since I was on my way to Centro Latino anyway, I went straight to the source.

Folks serves/sells only Organic and Fair Trade coffees and teas. That's important because there are lots of choices to fuel my coffee drinking habit, without making me feel too guilty for the non-localness of my morning beverage. This go-round I chose a half pound of Bolivia coffee which was roasted that morning and ground for me on the spot. As a bonus, I left the package in my car while I went to my Spanish class, and now my car still smells like coffee. So much more effective than one of those hanging tree air freshener thingies.

Photo: No, this coffee is not from Bolivia, North Carolina.

The way to a man's heart

One of the things that has been slightly challenging about a local diet has been making sure that meals are filling enough for Sal. I could easily make a meal out of a tomato and piece of bread, whereas I'm married to a man who once ate a 3 lb. cheeseburger in under 30 minutes (it's a long story). Not to say that I'm not an eater - case in point: I once finished an entree at Carrabba's and was told by the waiter that he had never (his emphasis) seen anyone finish it before....which made me simultaneously feel like popping him in the face, and also, a bit proud. But typically, I can get by on a small meal and feel adequately satisfied. Not so much for Sal.

So I feel kind of bad on evenings like tonight. I came home from Spanish class and found the guys next door grilling out Bratwurst - very manly, and one of Sal's favorites. However, I had different plans for dinner...

we were having crepes.

Just saying the word crepes probably makes some men feel a little girly, but whatever. I had been planning on making them for weeks, and after being inspired by Trace's sourdough pancakes over at Cricketbread, I decided that tonight would be as good as any to give them a go. Sal, in his good natured way (and probably unaware of the Bratfest happening under his nose), had made up the batter while I was gone - but the making and flipping was up to me. Apparently I have some sort of French gene that has gone undetected until now, because I flipped the heck out of those crepes and didn't break a one.

We each ended up with four crepes, which turned out to be an amazingly filling meal for both of us. This go around we filled them with some Herbs d'Provence spreadable goat's cheese from Nature's Way and some sliced tomatoes - but the possibilities are endless. I actually saved one of mine to use as dessert - I filled it with peanut butter from the Farmers' Market and some contraband chocolate chips we've had in the freezer for awhile. Holy delicious goodness. They're super easy to make, so when you're in a bind for a filling, delicious, and dare I say - manly - meal, go on and make yourself some crepes.

Goat Cheese and Tomato Crepes

You can substitute pretty much anything you want for the tomatoes and goat cheese. Get creative wittcha bad self.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

Butter

Whisk together the flour and eggs until they form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the milk, olive oil and salt.

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add a little butter and spread it around the pan. Add 1/4 cup of batter in the middle of the pan, like a pancake. Let it cook, untouched until the edges start to firm and brown. Then, use your chef skills to flip the crepe, using a plastic spatula. Cook on the other side about 30 seconds, then slide it onto a plate. Add a little more butter to the pan and repeat. Crepes can be stacked on each other as you make them - it may help to put a paper towel between stacks to soak up any excess butter.

Lay the crepes out on a plate and spread your favorite filling over the whole crepe. Roll it up and enjoy!

Makes about 8 crepes.

Technical difficulties

Hey there. I was having some computer issues last week before I went out of town, but I think I'm back on track now. I won't tell you the cause of my technical difficulties, but will simply say that it was embarrassingly simple to fix. So no Local Producer spotlight this week because of the aforementioned issues, as well as the fact that my travel caused me to miss the past two Farmers' Markets, which is where I hound the friendly folks for information. I'm making up for it with several posts for today, including a way to use up any lingering zucchini laying around. You're welcome.

Up North again

I was away again this past weekend - one last hurrah before the year gets really crazy. I got to see some longtime friends, which was fabulous. Amidst all of the catching up, I managed to fit in some local eating, which as I've mentioned before, is really easy to do in Pennsylvania. Among this weekend's bounty was some (okay, a lot of) locally produced wine - including some made by the parents of a friend, tomatoes from my friend Laura's garden, some seriously delicious raspberries from a roadside stand, and of course, the must have - sweet corn. I also got to bring home some Amish-produced cow's milk cheddar cheese as a gift for Sal, which he used in the Zucchini Quiche recipe below. Oh, and also...I stocked up on a regional (though of course, not really local) delicacy that my sisters love: Tastykakes. Lord above those things are delicious and nostalgia inspiring. My great grandmother always had Butterscotch Krimpets on hand, and I pretty much ate a pack of Kandy Kakes every day in 7th and 8th grade. Charming, I know. Anyway, it was an excellent weekend overall - here are some photos to prove it.

Roadside produce stand


Some PA produce offerings


I couldn't resist this anatomically correct eggplant! :)


Laura's yummy tomatoes

Zucchini Quiche Casserole

I first tasted this super easy dish in California when my coworker, Maria, brought some leftovers to work. Her sister had gotten the recipe from a magazine and added some of her own flair - the results were to die for. I then proceeded to pester Maria for the recipe until she finally handed it over - it's been part of our repertoire ever since.

Ingredients:
3 cups finely shredded zucchini (patted dry with a paper towel)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1.5 cups Bisquick
1 cup Gruyere or Swiss cheese (or whatever you have), shredded)
1/4 cup cooking oil
4 green onions, chopped (or substitute other onions, depending on season)
2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill or 1.5 tsp dry dill

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Pour into a greased 9 inch round casserole.

Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. The consistency should be like a bready quiche.

Getting on track

In an effort to bring some sort of structure to this website, I'm going to attempt to post information about a local producer every Monday. Here you go:

Local Producer: Tarheel Beef Co.

One of my favorite people at the Farmers' Market is Ron Koster of Tarheel Beef. To be honest, for the first month or so of my regular FM shopping trips, I basically ignored him. Not maliciously, it's just that I'm not a beef eater myself, and since I make the menu, I pretty much just passed him on by in search of some veggies. That all changed when we had out-of-town company, and Sal wanted to cook up something "special." Special to Sal almost always means meat - when I'm out of town I suspect that his diet consists mostly of ribs, burgers and chicken wings. Anyway, once we stopped by Tarheel Beef and got to know Ron, Sal makes it a point to drop by every week and at least check out what he's got on special.

Since I'm pretty clueless about different kinds of beef, I asked Ron to answer a couple of questions for me about his company, and how the beef is raised. Like I said, I don't eat beef, but I don't have a social objection to eating it, if the cow has been given a humane and decent life to live while it's on the earth. Unlike Tarheel Beef's product, most, if not all, of the meat that is available at the larger chain grocery stores is from CAFOs (or CFOs) - Confined Animal Feeding Operations, also known as Factory Farms. There are thousands of people out there who could explain a CAFO better than me, so I'll let them. You can get a head start on Farm Aid's website.

Here are Ron's answers to my questions - I'm a far cry from a journalist, but he was a good sport and humored me anyway. Stop by and say hi to Ron next time you're at the Market - he's a great storyteller...

1. You seem to know a LOT about beef! When did you get into the cattle business?

I got into the cattle business by accident a hobby that grew and got out of hand. Seven years ago my son called me up and said he had leased some land near Commerce Texas and had purchased 4 bovine pairs ( a pair is a cow with a calf at her side), giving us 8 animals. He said he knew I enjoyed riding and knew I had always wanted to have a small ranch. He said, "How about it?" and I said "I'm in." So I started a hobby. We attended Auction Barn sales in the area and acquired more animals that we thought were good, young stock and moreover were pregnant and ready to deliver calves in a relatively short period of time.

We had acquired by this time some 1000+ acres of scrub range land and pasture where the animals were set free after receiving the required vaccinations, ear tags, branding, etc. We have 6 ponds on our property that supply the animals with plenty of clean water.

2. What's different about the way that you raise your cows as compared to larger CAFOs?

We have cleared about half the land and planted crops of rye grass, oats, clover etc. Unlike the CFO's we do not confine our animals in large dirt pens and feed them regimented grains, growth hormones fillers etc. Every late winter I select and bring aprrox. 15 to 18 weaned Angus cross-breed calf's weighing approx 300 to 375 lbs to some leased pastureland in the Greensboro area. We put them out to pasture for approximately a year on fresh green grass and water. For the last approx 120 days we grain feed the animal to create the marbling effect in the meat (which gives you the flavor and taste you desire in a good cut of meat.)

We now after seven years have what is called a commercial cow calf operation. We no longer buy unknown stock and now have on our ranch some registered Angus breeding stock with superior blood lines and endeavor to raise the best cross breed animals we can. We have on average about two hundred and fifty cows and calves on the three different locations at any one time.

3. How often do you process meat? Where is the processing done?

We process no more than one or two animals a month and only one at a time. They are processed at a Federal monitored USDA plant in Siler City. NC. The split carcasses are hung in a controlled atmosphere of 33 to 38 degrees at low humidity for a minuim of 21 days to a maximum of 35 days. During this period known as the dry aging process the meat begins to break down the cell walls naturally tenderizing the meat and forming a jerky type covering on the meat. After the aging process is complete the meat is cut to specifications and the hard jerky coating is discarded which approx.results in a 20% loss of yield because of shrinkage. You sacrifice yield or volume for tenderness and taste.

4. If you were stranded on a desert island with only a grill, what type of beef would you want to have with you?

If I was stranded on a desert Island and only had a grill I would take any steak cut (filet, t-bone, porthouse, rib-eye, NY Strip etc.) Sirloin Tip, eye round or London broil for that matter would make a great roast on a spit, and nothing beats a Cowboy Steak (Rib-eye with the bone-in)!

5. Anything else you'd like us to know about Tarheel Beef?

Tar Heel Beef is a family run business. As of now we only sell at the Riverfront Farmers Market on Saturdays between 8:00 AM and 12:30PM and Poplar Grove Market on RT17 on Wednesdays Between 8:00AM and 1:00PM. We also deliver for free in the Greater Wilmington Area for orders over $125.00. We use no Hormones, additives, fillers, dyes or preservatives. Our meat is all natural.

Photo: Ron Koster and one of his handy little helpers at the Riverfront Farmers Market.

You say Tomato, I say shmomato

Here are some things Sal and I did not register for when we got married: a food mill, pressure canner, dehydrator, giant stockpot and cheesemaking supplies. Silly us. Turns out we've had a need for all of those things in the past few months, and have slowly started acquiring what we can from various sources. My loving husband bought me a dehydrator for our anniversary (and jewelry as well, folks - he knows what's up) and we scored a pressure canner and food mill from my dad on our trip to PA. (Thanks, dad! I know - I'm just "borrowing" them.)

I was really excited to use the food mill and pressure canner for the first time today in processing 20 lbs. of delicious, perfect tomatoes. The food mill is this awesome industrial sized contraption that you attach to the counter. You can press the tomatoes through raw, so it should have been super easy. Wellll, far be it from me to just do something the easy way. I got the bright idea to cook the tomatoes first so the skins would come off easier - not a bad idea in itself, I just decided to use our junky old stockpot to do it. Everything was lovely until the last minute of cooking when a terrible stench filled the kitchen - apparently the bottom of the pot reached its maximum temperature and burnt chunks of black scorching stuff into the sauce. Needless to say - 20 pounds of tomatoes down the tube. I'm still irritated about it to say the least. sigh. I hate wasting food. We didn't even get to use the pressure canner, which is sure to be another adventure. I'm going to put on a happy face, though, and give it a go again next week with a brand-spankin'-new stockpot.

Lucky me

Let me just say for the record that my husband is fabulous. It's been a long summer for me, going to work while he gets to sleep in, but he has totally stepped up to take care of lots of the household stupid chore stuff, including cooking. (Okay, cooking isn't a stupid chore, but it does take time.)

Last night I came home from my Spanish class to the delicious smell of simmering Aloo Gobi. Bless that man. There's nothing better than coming home from a long day to something yummy being cooked for you by someone else. If you haven't been fortunate enough to try Aloo Gobi at your local Indian restaurant, I hate to inform you that you have totally missed out. It's a simple but delicious combination of cauliflower, potatoes and tomatoes cooked in spices. Sal made a modified version of the recipe in The Everything Vegetarian Cookbook, and it was faaantastic. We just ate ours plain, but it's equally delicious served over rice.

I'm also including the recipe for the Dill Zucchini-Potato patties I made tonight, adapted from a Black River Organic Farms recipe. We used the fresh dill we brought back from Pittsburgh, and they were amazing - if I may say so myself.

Aloo Gobi

Adapted from The Everything Vegetarian Cookbook by Jay Weinstein.

Ingredients:

1 large head cauliflower

2 lbs. potatoes

3 Tbs. olive oil

2 large onions

3 chili peppers

1 tsp. dried ginger

3 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. coriander

2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. garam masala (or 1 tsp. of each of ground cardamom, cumin seed, cloves, black pepper and cinnamon, or whatevery you've got)

Cilantro or parsley, chopped (if in season)

Cut the cauliflower and potatoes into large chunks. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the onions, chilies and ginger until brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chili powder, turmeric, coriander, and salt; cook 5 minutes more, until spices are fragrant and evenly disbursed. Mix in the potatoes and cauliflower, plus enough water to come halfway up the vegetables.

Cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and cauliflower are very tender. Add the garam masala powder; cook 5 minutes more. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Serves 8

Dill Zucchini-Potato Patties

This recipe was adapted from the Zucchini Patty recipe that's posted on Black River Organic Farms website. I added potatoes, substituted dill for oregano and changed the topping.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup grated raw zucchini

2 tablespoons minced onion

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

2 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon fresh dill

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Press excess moisture out of grated zucchini between paper towels. Mix together everything but olive oil to make the batter. Heat 2 tbs. olive oil over medium heat. Spoon batter (about 2 heaping tablespoons per patty) into skillet. Flatten lightly with spatula. Cook over medium heat until nicely browned on both sides. Continue adding olive oil and making patties until batter is gone. Makes about 8 patties. Serve plain or topped with sour cream, dill and tomatoes.

Food vs. Energy

We've gotten to the point in our freezer where something's got to give - we're pushing capacity here. We've canned as much stuff as possible, but some things are just much better in the frozen form - eggplant for instance. Besides everything we've got stuffed in there already, there's our new batch of produce from PA that's got to fit in there as well. What's a local eater to do?

I've been contemplating the idea of getting a small chest freezer for the garage. I went back and forth on it for awhile - is the amount of additional energy expended to run the freezer worth the amount of food that we're putting away for the winter? It would be kind of stupid to try to use up all of the energy we've saved from buying local produce on storing it for a couple of months. Plus those freezers aren't exactly cheap, so we would have to factor that cost in.

To complicate things, I was looking for no-refrigeration food ideas for a three day canoe trip we had planned, and came across Little Blog in the Big Woods. This guy and his family don't even have a refrigerator, and haven't had one for 30 years. Hmmm. That really got me thinking about the possibilities of living totally green and how much further we could take it. Don't get me wrong - we're not getting rid of our fridge - it's just that the thought had never even occurred to me. Ever. It really does make a lot of sense, though, especially for people who live in cities and can walk on down to their local market to pick up fresh food every day. It's a little different if you're in a rural or suburban area and have to drive into "town" to get your food, or if you rely on the twice a week Farmers' Market. I wonder if the fuel you'd use driving around to get all that food every day would negate the energy expense of the refrigerator. It's an interesting thing to ponder, and that's just what I plan to do - you can do so as well by reading his post.

As a side note to my "To Freeze, or Not to Freeze" dilemma:
I was mid-deliberation the week before we left for PA, when our neighbor called and wanted to know if we wanted the free freezer her friend is giving away. I kind of took that as a sign, since she didn't know we were thinking of getting a freezer, just thought maybe we'd want it. And it's free. So we've decided to go for it - Sal's picking it up this week and we're going to work on packing it full, since a full freezer actually uses less energy than a kind-of-full one. I'm going to do some research on the energy use and let you know how it goes...

Flour and Polenta

One of the greatest aspects of eating locally has been making connections with others who are doing the same thing. I've been able to learn a lot from so many people, and have had the opportunity to pass on some of my connections as well. My brain has been completely fried lately, but I wanted to share a recent discovery that was shared with me through the local grapevine. It's not earthshattering, per se, but useful nonetheless.

I've been using Southern Biscuit All Purpose Flour since we started eating a local diet. I didn't have a lot of information about it, but I did know that it's processed by Midstate Mills, located in Newton, NC, about 300 miles away. Not necessarily local, but a heck of a lot closer than say, Montana.

I had been wondering about where they got their wheat, but always seemed to think to call them when they were closed. This week Trace clued me into the blog of another NC local eater, "Stew", who has apparently mastered the use of a wonderful technology called "email" that she utilized to contact Midstate Mills and get the lowdown on their wheat. This is her response from Midstate - you can link to the One Local Summer entry where she posted it (The South, Week 6 Take 2) on the sidebar to the right.

Most of this wheat comes from North Carolina and South Carolina. Since there is not enough wheat grown in Catawba County to last us a month we also need to get wheat from eastern North Carolina around Greenville, Wilson, Plymouth and Washington...Sometimes we buy soft red wheat from Ohio and Indiana but because freight costs get so high, that is limited.

Contrary to what I was told by several folks around here, wheat can be grown in NC, and if I had just done a little investigation, I would have found out how much. According to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, about 25,000 bushels of wheat were harvested in 2006. Not too shabby.

Stew also found out that the Old Mill of Guilford, located in...Guilford, uses all local corn in their cornmeal and polenta. So thanks to Stew and her handy technology, I can rest easier knowing I've got options for flour, cornmeal and polenta. That opens up a world of recipes for me and makes the Autumn months look that much more promising.

The 'burgh

We're back settling in to NC, but I wanted to give a quick recap of our Pittsburgh visit:

On Saturday we went down to the Strip District, one of my favorite areas in the heart of Pittsburgh. The Strip is a glorious mish mash of cheap Steelers merchandise, handcrafted art, flowers, panhandlers, and tons of ethnic and local foods. First stop for us, as always, was to pick up a couple of Mung Bean pancakes from the stand outside Sam-Bok. Those guys are out there year round - in the winter you can warm your hands on the little foil packaging.

This summer was somehow the first time in all my years that I've gone to the Farmers' Market there. I was like a kid in a candy store - people definitely looked at me weird when I was like "OOOOH, Cauliflower!" at the first stand. There was just such a variety of produce that we either can't get in Wilmington or is out of season: dill, cauliflower, broccoli, apples, portabello mushrooms, shallots, and greenhouse-grown lemongrass of all things. Slow Food had a stand there and were giving out some tasty bite sized portions of a salmon panzanilla type salad, and a sausage something-or-other - honestly with all the little samples and tidbits you can pick up in a stroll through the Strip, there's really no reason to get lunch - but with all the delicious options, who could pass it up? We somehow resisted Primanti's and opted instead for pizza at Sunseri's Bella Notte. We finished our Strip visit by picking up 20 ears of perfect peak-season corn for $5.00 from the Amish farmers down by Wholeys.

From there we headed to a farm owned by Mike, a friend of my father-in-law. My F.I.L works for him during the winter, helping out in the greenhouses and whatnot, so Mike gives him produce and plants in the summer. He was generous enough to extend his free-picking offer to us, so we went off into the fields to stock up on eggplant, squash, zucchini and banana peppers. Mike sells most of his vegetables wholesale to grocery stores around Pittsburgh. I was actually extremely impressed with how much local produce you could get in the grocery stores around there - they put us to shame. We ended up getting 20 lbs. of local tomatoes from Kuhn's for .89/pound - are you kidding me? No way you're getting that deal at Harris Teeter.

When it was all said and done, we came home from Pennsylvania with shallots, apples, cauliflower, dill, corn, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, eggplant, banana peppers, peaches, blueberries, potatoes, jam and venison. It was fun to shop local somewhere other than Wilmington, and even better to be able to pick a lot of it ourselves.

Some photos from Pittsburgh:

The Strip District

The Farmers' Market


Slow Food Pittsburgh


Sal and Sal go picking


Mike's farm

One of the fruits of our labor