White's Farm Stand & SugarhouseRt. 119
West Rindge, NH
603-899-5000
Off for a fall ride? In your travels, be sure to fit in a stop at a local farm stand. You can easily spot the vegetables, with their bright orange, shades of green and yellow mimicking the surrounding foliage. These fall crops make great side dishes roasted for the holiday table, or hearty stews or flavorful soups chucked with vegetables and simmering in the pot, or pumpkin pie or squash rolls, ready to enjoy on cold days or nights.
"Red" White, along with enormous help from son Bruce, owns and operates White's Farm Stand and Sugarhouse in West Rindge. The farm stand has been around since the late 1980s (the sugarhouse even longer, since 1970).
"All we sell is locally grown produce," White says, citing a string of vegetables. "Summer squash, beans, peas, lima beans, cabbage, beets, carrots- you name it, we grow it." Vegetables such as potatoes can be purchased in large quantities. And, White's Farm Stand has a huge selection of pumpkins. "Big, little, baby, and gourds and winter squash, we've got 'um all," White says.
Customers know a good thing when they see it (and taste it). Freshness is the key. According to White, "They love fresh vegetables. Not rubbery summer squash, they like it crisp, tender, and fresh!"
White's Farm Stand and Sugarhouse is open 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 7 days, until around the first of November. Stop in and say hello to "Red," pick up some quality local vegetables, and experience the unforgettable taste of fresh.
Offering farm vegetables:
Pete's Farm Stand
Mike Janiszyn
Rte 12
Walpole, NH
802-885-6443
Rosaly's Farm Stand
Rt. 123
Peterborough, NH
603-924-7774 |
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| Localvore Product Highlight |
Maple Granulated Sugar
Available at Hannah Grimes Marketplace
From Sawyer's Maple FarmBecause we are a small, family owned and operated business we are able to focus a great deal on the flavor quality of our syrup. This is harder to do in large commercial operations, where the focus is on the volume produced more than the overall flavor. Our family consists of me (Jonathan), my wife (Stacy), our two sons (Jonathan and Caleb), and our three daughters (Hannah, Emily, and Angela). Maple sugaring on this scale is a part time business, so I gather the sap after I get out of work then head for the sugarhouse, ready to boil the sap down.
Depending on the size of the sap 'run' we get, it might be 10 or 11 pm before we get to the end. My wife is well versed in all aspects of sugaring, so she can jump right in and help out whenever I'm not there. We produce all our syrup right in our rustic little sugarhouse, handbuilt from locally harvested native white pine and hemlock.
I guess you could say I'm a second generation sugarmaker, as my father did some sugaring when he was a child, but I've definitely taken it to the next level, and I hope my children will follow in my footsteps someday. I began my maple adventure in 1998 after I had a local forester walk my land to see the kind of trees I had. At that time I only knew a few trees, and probably couldn't tell the difference between the different maple species.
Jonathan Sawyer is shown in the picture to the left sitting in a sap bucket when he was just a month old!
Maple Sugar--A Gift from the Indians
By Linda Joyce Forristal, CCP, MTA
The Weston A. Price Foundation |
Maple syrup and maple sugar (dehydrated maple syrup) were the New World's first natural sweeteners. Long before European settlers arrived with the European honeybee to make honey, American Indians dwelling in the Northeast were setting up sugaring camps among the plentiful sugar maple trees each spring. These camps produced an indigenous nutrient-rich sweetener high in minerals.
Indian folk tales present several different versions of how it all began. One legend tells the story of an Iroquois chief who threw his tomahawk into a maple tree one early March eve. When he retrieved it the following morning to go hunting, he noticed sap oozing from the cut in the tree. He collected some in a container and his wife added some of the syrup to the meat she was cooking for dinner. As the sap boiled down, a wonderful sweet maple flavor remained.
The Indian process of sugar making, crude by modern-day standards, employed hollowed out logs, heated rocks for evaporating the sap, and handmade birch bark containers for collecting the sap and storing the maple sugar. Most of the tribes boiled and crystallized the sap they collected into a granulated maple sugar--bypassing the syrup stage as syrup was harder to store--ending up with a more transportable sweetener.
Although the Indians couldn't scientifically analyze maple syrup, they recognized it as a valuable food commodity. Today, scientists know it's composed of 88-89 percent sucrose, with fructose and glucose making up the rest. Maple sugar is particularly rich in potassium, containing from 1,300 to 3,900 ppm, and calcium, containing from 400-2,100 ppm, depending on the source. Other trace minerals present in appreciable amounts include magnesium, manganese and phosphorous. Maple products also contain trace amounts of malic and citric acids, as well as some amino acids.
I love maple sugar and wonder why it is not more popular and available. (If you've ever made sweetened whipped cream with maple sugar, you will never want to use anything else.) Many recipes in old New England cookbooks call for "Indian sugar," but few modern cooks have ever heard about it. Maple farmers sell granulated maple sugar directly to consumers under different names, such as maple powder, maple sprinkles or maple granules. I wholeheartedly recommend it for baking or making candy but suggest you buy it in bulk (5 or 10 pound minimum.) Otherwise, it is astronomically expensive.
As it turns out, the reason maple sugar became less popular and almost disappeared from the American culture was the rise of cheap white sugar produced by slavery in the West Indies. Hoping to keep America independent and not reliant on cane sugar or beet sugar imported from other countries, Thomas Jefferson, who was as much a connoisseur of fine food as a statesman, championed the native maple sugar tree. In 1808 he wrote, "I have never seen a reason why every farmer should not have a sugar orchard, as well as an apple orchard." Ironically, even though white cane sugar began to undersell maple sugar, the popularity of maple syrup started to grow which helped preserve the American maple tradition.Interested in 5 pound bags of granulated maple sugar
to make fudge, jam, &other Localvore treats?
Email jen@hannahgrimes.comIndian Sugar Fudge
By Linda Joyce Forristal, CCP, MTA
Maple sugar, sometimes called Indian sugar, and cream make this extraordinary fudge. The cream you choose will make a difference. Thin cream will make harder fudge, while a thick cream with more butterfat will make a softer fudge.
1 pound (about 2 3/4 cups ) maple sugar
3/4 cup thin cream
1/4 cup boiling water
2/3 cup walnuts or pecans
Put sugar in saucepan with cream and water, bring to boil and boil to soft ball stage, 240°F. Remove from the heat and beat until creamy*, add nuts and pour into a buttered stainless steel baking pan. Cool and cut. (*You should see crystallization begin within two minutes. If this does not happen, you need to reheat the mixture to a couple of degrees higher.) |
Local Produce, Meat, & Other Localvore Products
Extended Season CSA Shares Available - Bruce and Jenny at Picadilly Farm in Winchester, NH, are again offering extended season Community Supported Agriculture shares this November and December. Shares can be picked up at the farm, at The Works Cafe in Keene, or at Bart's Cafe in Greenfield, MA. Four bushel-sized share boxes, available Thursdays, every other week, beginning November 6. Cost is $120, deadline to sign up is October 31 or whenever we sell out. Much more information and sign up sheets are available on our website, www.picadillyfarm.com.
Looking for a way to get involved in local food and farms? American Farmland Trust needs your help to spread the word about the importance of farmland protection for local food. Take a stand by placing a badge on your site and linking to American Farmland Trust.
On-line Book Available: "The Politics of Farming: Moving Agriculture From Commodity to Community" by Billie Best, Released March 2008 is a very short book (75 pages) about the politics of farming. It connects the dots between issues that may seem unrelated, but together form a complete picture of what's gone wrong with farming, and how challenges to farms are symptomatic of the larger challenges facing our planet. Available to download, for free at http://www.billiebest.com/.
Localvore Jelly and Jam Wanted: Looking for preserves made with alternatives to white sugar. Email jen@hannahgrimes.com.
Food Comics For Sale: A regional cartooning group called Trees & Hills has just released a comics anthology called Seeds which is about food and comes with a recipe booklet and organic lettuce seeds. More than half of the comics in it relate to some social aspect of food, and the afterword deal directly with local vs. long-distance eating. $5; colintedford@gmail.com.
Farmers: Looking to sell your products direct to consumers? Send a description of what you're selling to jen@hannahgrimes.com and we'll post it in the next Localvore Newsletter. |
Rogue Vegetables:
Unusual Ways with Unusual Crops
By Terese Allen, Organic Valley Food Editor
It's party time for vegetable lovers. As we toast to the fall harvest, we're celebrating not just vegetable volume but the astounding variety of crops that are coming in.
Look around at the farmers' market and you'll see a world beyond mere peas and carrots. You'll see uncommon vegetables like kohlrabi, kale, Swiss chard and leeks. You'll find old favorites that are new again, like sweet potatoes and parsnips. You'll notice not just mushrooms, but chanterelles and porcini. Not just squash, but Green-Striped Cushaws and Pink Banana squash.
Today, these aren't oddball foods, they're exciting potential. With ever-increasing access to the out-of-the-ordinary at farmers' markets and grocery stores, and from CSA farms and home gardens, getting creative has never been more fun.Oven-Fried Parsnips with Horseradish Sour Cream Copyright by Terese Allen
Thick-stemmed parsnips may look like carrots with all the color drained out of them, but they have a complex, herbaceous flavor that's mysterious in its appeal. When I roast parsnips with other veggies, for example, guests can't distinguish them from potatoes or turnips until they taste them. Then it's, "What is this!? I love it." Here's another method that gets a great response.
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Organic Valley Sour Cream
2 finely chopped slender green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
salt and pepper
2 pound parsnips
2 tablespoons olive oil
coarse sea salt
Instructions:
1. Make the sauce by combining sour cream, green onions, horseradish and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel parsnips. Cut them crosswise into 2 1/2-inch chunks, slice the chunks lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick planks, then cut planks into sticks. Toss with olive oil and a little sea salt.
3. Spread parsnips in a single layer on baking sheets lined with unbleached parchment paper (for easy clean-up). Bake 15 minutes; toss well and add additional salt. Continue to bake, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes total. Serve immediately, with horseradish sour cream for dipping.
Note:
Parsnips prosper in northern climes and gain sweetness after a frost, making them a late-fall favorite. Choose firm, heavy-feeling parsnips and avoid any that are split or flaccid. Tenderness has little to do with size (and more to do with age), so feel free to buy large ones to reduce peeling time. Parsnips can be eaten raw (try grating them into a slaw-like salad tossed with lemon juice and olive oil) but cooking them brings out more of their fragrance and zip. Boiled parsnips mashed with cream and butter are downright unctuous, but for something a little different, simmer sliced parsnips in apple or pear cider with a tablespoon or two of butter, then raise heat and reduce the liquid to a glaze. Grated parsnips can replace carrots in carrot cake or zucchini in zucchini bread. They are great in soups and incredible in curried dishes. |
| Sustainability Project October Events |
Monadnock Seed Savers and Gardeners Meeting Tuesday, October (date to be announced). Learn about late season crops and preparing for your garden for planting next spring. Gather with new and experienced gardeners in a supportive environment to learn what it takes to grow your favorite foods and herbs and to save seeds of your favorite vegetables for next year's planting.
Work Day in the Emerson Brook Forest, Sunday, October 5th from 9 am to 4 pm. Join us for the final workday of the season. We'll be preparing the center for our upcoming "Open Forest" event, followed by WINTER! Come for all or any part of the day. Long pants, sturdy shoes and work gloves are recommended. Lunch is provided, so please let us know you are coming!
Remaking Eden: A Forest Garden Establishment Practicum with Dave Jacke, author of "Edible Forest Gardens" October 10th-13th Learn how to establish a forest garden by establishing a garden in the Emerson Brook Forest! We will spend three days learning how to prepare garden sites, improve soils, properly plant trees and shrubs, sheet mulch, and plant perennials. Both classroom and hands-on learning, including two evening talks and discussion periods, will help you integrate what you learn and experience and to extend it to other situations. Fee: $200-300 sliding scale for workshop, plus additional costs for food and camping.
Sustainability Fair at Green Energy Options and Open House in The Emerson Brook Forest. October 17-19. Mark your calendars. We'll be sending out more information very soon.
For more information and directions or to register for October events contact Valerie (603) 352-1887 or (603) 358-3444 or e-mail info@emersonbrookforest.org. |
Stonewall Farm October Events
Fall Fun on the Farm, Saturdays in October, 11a.m. - 2p.m. Stonewall Farm will be offering hayrides to our pumpkin patch. Experience the farm at its most beautiful! Horse-drawn hayrides, pumpkins for purchase, fall treats, and Stonewall Farm products will all be available, in addition to barnyard tours and a 'make your own scarecrow' activity.
Thanksgiving Farm Fare, Friday, November 21, 2008, 5-8PM & Saturday, November 22, 9AM-3PM, Free Admission! Everyone knows fresh is best when it comes to food, and your Thanksgiving feast is no exception! The annual Thanksgiving Farm Fare held at Stonewall Farm features top-quality locally-produced products and ingredients from over 30 vendors for Thanksgiving feasts as well as handmade crafts from local artisans.
Each year the Farm hosts the Fare to support local agriculture and encourage people to buy locally-produced food. This event draws visitors each year to sample a real "taste of the farm," including locally-raised natural meats, artisan breads, organic vegetables and specialty food products. Juried crafters will also have products available to help you get a jump start on the Holiday season!
Check here for other upcoming Stonewall Farm events. . . . |
| Regional Localvore Events |
Fall Fiesta: Puppet & Music Show Tuesday, September 30th, 6p.m.
Picadilly Farm, Winchester |
Here's some last minute news of a last minute fall fiesta here at Picadilly Farm...
We're hosting a fabulous group of artists/performers from northern Vermont. Come over and watch the OLD RELIABLE HORSEDRAWN SPECTACULAR!, a puppet and music show for all ages. This troupe will perform outside atop their horsedrawn wagon. Bring a blanket or chairs to sit on if you'd like (though we may be called on to dance!). Stick around for a campfire, roasted marshmallows, and more old-time music after the show.
Spread the word - any and all are welcome, and we'd love to have a good audience for these folks. They are also performing (sans horses) at the GreenTrees Gallery in Northfield, MA, on Monday night at 6pm. Performances are free, and they'll pass the hat for donations. |
Peterborough Grange Celebrates Re-opening
with Farmer/Musician Bennett KonesiThursday, October 2nd, 7p.m.
Bass Hall, Peterborough Historical Society |
The Peterborough Grange is celebrating its reopening with a film screening and songs by Bennett Konesni. There will be a screening of a short film on the musical labors of farmers, herders, and fisherman including original footage from Konesni's Watson Fellowship year in Tanzania, Mongolia, and Ghana. After the film, Konesni will perform a Swiss cattle call and Ghanian fishing song. Dessert and conversation will follow.
Bennett Konesni is a farmer and musician from Shelter Island, New York. His songs and study of international songs of farmers, herders, and fisherman earned him a Watson fellowship, where he spent a year documenting and learning the musical labor traditions in Europe, Africa, and Asia . His work has focused on the musical labor on farms, songwriting about journeys, and traditional songs around the world.
Tickets at the door are $5 per person and $10 for a family. There will be a raffle drawing featuring Grange members' products. Proceeds from the event will benefit Peterborough Grange #35, whose mission is to promote agriculture in the Monadnock region.
For more information contact Ruth at 924-4475 or Ron at 547-3395. |
| Post Oil Solutions October Workshops |
Cold Frames, (Rain Date: Oct 19) Oct-05-2008 01:00PM - 03:00PM - Putney, VT
Join Robert King, Post Oil's gardening mentor for an exploration into the role cold frames can play in extending your gardening season. Robert will demonstrate various types of cold frames and their uses in his garden on top of Putney Mountain. Workshop fee is $5/$10 sliding scale, no one refused. Pre-registration is required.
Lacto-Fermentation Workshop, Oct-12-2008 01:00PM - 03:00PM - Saxtons River, VT Post Oil Solutions continues our (Re)Learning to Feed Ourselves Series with a lacto-fermentation workshop. Learn how to preserve a variety of items using this traditional method of food preservation. Workshop fee is $5/$10 sliding scale plus materials, no one refused.
Pre-registration is required. Contact info@postoilsolutions.org or call 802 869-2141 for details and to register. Click here to see more POS Events . . . . |
New England Environmental Education Alliance Annual Conference
A Journey Home:
Fostering Ecologically Centered Communities
Friday - Sunday, October 3rd - 5th
Boston University Sargent Center, Hancock |
More and more people are acknowledging that if we continue with business as usual, an environmental crisis awaits us. We are confronting an ecological tipping point and a fundamental challenge: how to create a new and balanced way of living. At the heart of this challenge lies an imperative to apply the concepts of community, environment and individual values. Ecological systems provide an ideal example of connectedness and interdependence needed for strong communities.
The NEEEA 2008 conference will take a close look at strategies for coming home to a community built around basic ecological principles. Conference strands will explore approaches for creating and nurturing communities through systems thinking. Opportunities for exchange with groups outside the usual EE circle will help us explore ways to bring about change in our own backyards. Phone: 207-283-9951, http://www.neeea.org/. |
Season Extension:
Fall Annuals & Perennial Stockpiling
Tuesday, October 7, 10a.m.
Maple Wind Farm, Richmond, VT |
Bruce Hennessey and Beth Whiting will share their experience with both these season extending cropping system and discuss this year's planting of a Cereal Rye and Italian Ryegrass mix along with their experimenting with different grazing mixes, most of which include festulolium, a ryegrass/fescue hybrid that remain high energy in colder weather. Drinks and snacks provided. BYO lunch. Free for all organic and transitioning dairy & livestock farmers, $10 NOFA-VT members, $15 non-members.
Contact NOFA-VT or visit www.nofavt.org for more details and directions, 802-434-4122, info@nofavt.org, http://www.nofavt.org |
Putney School's Annual Harvest Festival
Sunday, October 12th, 11a.m.
Putney, VT |
The Putney School's Harvest Festival is a fun-filled day of music, entertainment, art shows, an International Café and booths from local artisans and non-profits. A school tradition for more than 70 years, this free event is a celebration of community and school spirit. For more information: 802-387-6273, http://www.putneyschool.org. |
2008 Maine Oyster Fest
Sunday, October 12th, 6 - 9p.m.
Union Bluff Meeting House, York Beach, ME |
Eight Maine oyster companies represented at this year's festival. Tickets $45 each. More information: http://www.maineoysterfest.com/Home_Page.php. |
Draft Horses I & II
Tuesday - Friday, October 14th-17th
Fair Winds Farm, VT |
Our workshops focus on building your skills & confidence in harnessing, hitching, driving & horse management. We use a single horse and teams for hands on experience and individual instruction. You will drive from the ground, on a wagon and a forecart. We cover horse management including the basics of safety, handling, foot care, feeding and horse health. We place a lot of emphasis on clear communication through effective use of the drivers hands and voice. Technical driving skill development is achieved with lots of time in the drivers' seat and one- on- one instruction. Put your hands on the harness to learn about different styles, correct adjustment & fit. Draft Horses I develops a solid foundation of knowledge and experience.
Draft Horses II builds upon the foundation of DHI, becoming quite technical and covering topics in more depth.
Fair Winds Farm is celebrating 30 years as a diversified, horse-powered, Vermont family farm. For fees and more information, visit http://www.fairwindsfarm.org/index.html. |
D Acres October Events
D Acres Farm, DorchesterOctober 18: Beer Brewing with Bill Errickson & John Morrissey 1pm-6pm $28
October 19: Root Cellaring with Bill Errickson 1pm-3pm $20 Tour the D Acres root cellar, and learn how you can best store those hearty crops that will last you all winter!
October 26: The Art of Fermentation with Louise Turner 1-3pm $28 Lacto-fermentation was used before the days of refrigeration, pasteurization, freezing, and canning as a means to preserve food. A first, easy step to incorporating lacto-fermented foods into your diet is to learn the preparation of old-fashioned sauerkraut and how it benefits your health and well-being! Participants will make and take home their own jar of organic sauerkraut; materials provided. |
| For more information: D Acres, (603) 786-2366,info@dacres.org, http://www.dacres.org. |
Great Maine Apple Day 2008
Saturday, October 18th
Unity, ME |
Celebrate the History, Flavor and Tradition of Maine Apples. Educational Workshops on growing, processing, and cooking apples, fruit tree pruning, cooking with apples, Maine's rich apple history, wine and cider making, and organic tree care.
For more information, visit: http://www.mofga.org. |
Experience the Flavors of Maine
At Harvest on the Harbor Thursday - Saturday, October 23rd-25th |
Whether you are a full-fledged "foodie" or an emerging gourmand, you are sure to find more than one event to whet your appetite at Harvest on the Harbor. There is something for everyone - from a food and wine tasting reception, to seminars and cooking demonstrations, to a marketplace with all things food related - tastes and temptations at every turn. Since there are a limited number of tickets for some events, you will want to plan your culinary emersion early in order to catch the demonstrations and tastings that appeal to your palate.
Harvest on the Harbor is the compliment to the increasingly influential farm-to-table movement whereby chefs create their culinary masterpieces from the freshest locally grown and harvested ingredients. Maine has long been renowned for its succulent lobster and impeccably fresh seafood. Now, in addition, creatively presented vegetables and herbs, organic meats, farmstead cheeses and artisanal breads have become epicurean favorites that have helped propel Maine into the culinary limelight. Bringing the producers, preparers and admirers of Maine's bounty together for a three-day festival is our way of celebrating the richness of Maine's food scene. Likewise, we hope to showcase our region's hospitality and scenic beauty to new visitors who may be tempted here by fabulous food and wine but leave captivated by the magic of Maine.
For more information: http://www.harvestontheharbor.com. |
Faces of Fair Trade: Uniting Global With Local
Saturday, October 25th, 7 - 9p.m.
Community Church of Boston, Boston, MA |
Celebrate Fair Trade Month! Banana farmers from Ecuador and Costa Rica, a pecan farmer from Georgia, and a local fruit and vegetable farmer may seem worlds apart, but they are all part of the same movement to build a fair and sustainable food system. Three New England-based organizations that dedicate themselves to finding markets for small farmers are sponsors of the farmers' story tour: Oké USA, Red Tomato and Equal Exchange. Local groups in each city are also sponsoring the tour.
Join us for a rare opportunity to hear these farmers from different regions of the globe talk about the challenges they face, their experiences in the market, and the impact of consumer support for fair trade and family farms.
For more information, visit
http://www.equalexchange.coop/dftfiles/DFT_FarmerFlyer_NE.pdf or
http://www.equalexchange.coop/faces-of-fair-trade. |
Nourishing Traditions Speaker:
Sally Fallon Morell
Sunday, October 26th, 1:30 - 3:30p.m.
Bellow Falls Opera House, VT |
Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions and president of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAP), is coming to Vermont for a special event. The WAP Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research, and activism. They are strong proponents of raw milk, grass-fed meats, and traditional diets, and strong allies of Rural Vermont.
Tickets $10 each - buy your tickets before October 17th, and be entered to win 2 seats at a private dinner with Sally that evening (one entry per ticket bought)! Call 802-223-7222 to order tickets with a credit card, or send a check to Rural Vermont, 15 Barre Street, Montpelier, VT 05602 - mark you check "Sally Tix." All proceeds from this event will support Rural Vermont's Farm Fresh Milk Campaign. |
It's Fresh, It's Local and It's On the Move:
Food Truck Keeps It Tasty, Affordable
By Toby Hatchett, business@seacoastonline.com
September 26th, 2008 |
PORTSMOUTH - The Fresh Local truck is just that: fresh, local food packaged in a bright, pumpkin-orange truck. You can't miss it on State Street. This past summer, it reigned in Prescott Park and has now moved more downtown for the lunchtime crowds that want something fresh, local and affordable.
It really doesn't get much fresher, or more local, than what this little truck has to offer in the way of good food. Owners John Lanahan and Michelle Lozuaway live on and operate a small, organic farm in Newington. Most of what they serve comes from their own farm, but not all of it.
"We buy from other local, organic farms, too," said Lanahan. "Yesterday, we went to a neighboring farm and picked 75 pounds of tomatoes. What we don't use now, we are bottling for our homemade salsa."
Both said they knew the concept would work because no one else was doing it, and because people are becoming more interested in local, fresh foods. They were right, judging by the number of customers, which keeps increasing daily, and the fact that they often they run out of food by the end of the day.
"We're going to keep things seasonal," said Lozuaway. "Now, we're serving cranberry apple ginger tea, but will soon offer hot cider and hot teas."
The Fresh Local truck runs on Simply Green biodiesel. Soon, they hope to install solar panels in the roof of the truck. A Simply Green biofueling station will soon be opening in Dover, and Fresh Local will be providing the food for the "convenience food" side of the station.
"It's just absolutely delightful to be in Portsmouth with our truck," said Lozuaway. "I love talking to the regulars and meeting new people every single day. http://www.freshlocaltruck.com.
To read the entire article: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20080926-BIZ-809260415. |
More, But Smaller,
Farms Redefine NH AgricultureBy Meghan Carey, Eagle Tribune
August 17th, 2008
The number of New Hampshire farms is increasing, but the amount of land dedicated to agriculture is shrinking. Perhaps just as significantly, the revenue from agriculture is increasing and the state is producing as much milk as it did 20 years ago. What has changed is the very definition of a farm. The stereotypical image of cows dotting green hillsides behind red barns and tall silos has morphed into something quite different. Where farming meant dairying not too many years ago, it's now likely to mean ornamental horticulture, vegetables or berries.
To read the full article: http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/local_story_229235936.html. |
Alice Waters: Heroes of the Environment 2008
By Joel Stein, Time Magazine |
It has been a slow 30 years of progress for all environmentalists, but Alice Waters has more right than most to be frustrated. She wasn't asking anyone to install solar panels or convert their engines to run on biofuels - she just wanted people to eat stuff that tastes better. And it wasn't like she was simply making claims that local, organic food tastes great. She was proving it every day at Chez Panisse, the Berkeley, California, restaurant she opened in 1971 - a restaurant so good (the James Beard Foundation named Waters America's best chef in 1992 and Gourmet named Chez Panisse America's best restaurant in 2001) that it doesn't even have a menu. You eat what Waters found at the markets that day, and you like it. You really like it.
Waters says she's thrilled that her cooking theories - fresh, local ingredients, simply prepared - have gone mainstream, thanks to health studies and the farmers' market movement.
It's much easier to grasp this philosophy of food when you're at the farmers' market, she says. "When people become real and you learn about your compost and how easy it is to make, you feel like you're empowered to do an everyday act that's good for your family and friends and the environment."
While Waters' restaurant and cook-books are credited with launching the locavore movement in the U.S., her Edible Schoolyard project goes one step further. Started in 1994, it encourages students in Berkeley to help grow and shop for their lunches, and it has shown results not just in environmental awareness, but in tackling obesity. Now it's being tried in other cities. "Remember when Kennedy put physical fitness in schools?" Waters asks. "We had to exercise four times a week, and we all went for it. We need that kind of passion. Going into public schools and teaching [children] about the consequences of the food that they eat can have remarkable results."
To read full article: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1841778_1841779_1841800,00.html |
Is Local More Expensive?
From LocalHarvest Newsletter
September 25th, 2008 |
We get this question a lot: "Is it more expensive to eat local food?" Usually we try to work our way around the question, speaking with enthusiasm about the quality and flavor of fresh local food, its healthfulness, its contribution to the local economy, etcetera. Sometimes we convince the questioners that they can't look at price alone, because the quality of stuff that's picked green and trucked in can't be compared with that of the fresh, vine-ripened produce. Other times the person hears us out and then says, "So it is more expensive then, huh."
The truth is, we don't know the answer to the question. As with so many substantive issues, the real answer is, "It depends." It depends on the product and the season and the vendor. Depends on whether its organic and how much of it the farmer or grocer is trying to move that week. Lots and lots of variables. Still, with the economy looming large in many people's minds, it seems a good time to try and find out.
A few days ago I took a notebook to my local supermarket, made a list of the prices for various fruits and vegetables, and then compared notes at my farmers market. The organic produce section at the grocery store was completely cleared out on this particular day, so I gathered conventional produce prices at the store and "low spray" at the market. Small watermelons (the ones they're calling "mini" or "personal size" this year) were $2 at the farmers market and $4.49 at the store. Local tomatoes at the grocery store were $2.49 a pound, and $1.50 a pound at the market. Peppers were less expensive at the market. Winter squash was about the same. Onions were cheaper at the store.
This small foray into price comparisons made me want to know more. I would like to have a good answer the next time a reporter calls to ask me whether 'local' is more expensive. Not that price is the only measure of value, but it is one, and sometimes an important one. Moreover, the perception about the relative price of buying local is also very important.
I'd like to ask for your help.
What I have in mind is a kind of collective research project. This newsletter will go out to about 50,000 people. Certainly a few dozen of you might be interested in doing a little comparative shopping over the next couple of months and maybe again in the spring? I have a spreadsheet that I will send to anyone who is interested. You can fill out the portions of it that apply to the foods that are in season where you live, and send it back to me. We'll compile all the data and report the findings back to the group. If you are interested in learning more about participating in this grassroots research, please contact me.
Meanwhile, please enjoy the rest of the newsletter, and as always, Eat well and take good care -
Erin
Erin Barnett
Director, LocalHarvest
newsletter@localharvest.org
http://www.localharvest.org |
Localvore Fact of the Week
From American Farmland Trust |
Every single minute of every day, America loses two acres of farmland. From 1992-1997, we converted to developed uses more than six million acres of agricultural land-an area the size of Maryland.
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Keene Farmer's Market Update
What's Fresh? |
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Located on Gilbo Avenue in Keene
Every Tuesday and Saturday from 9-2 Abenaki Springs Farm: Beans, beets, carrots , daikon, melons, peppers, potatoes, rutabagas, tomatoes, winter squashBasin Farm:
Basil, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, hot peppers, kale, leeks, melons, onions, parsley, peppers, potatoes, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatillos, tomatoes, winter squash
Milkweed Farm:
Cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, kale, radishes (daikon, German white - good for storage), salad turnips, snow pes, winter squash
High Hopes: Apples
Monadnock Berries: Apples, blueberries, jam, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries
Brown House Bakery
Saturdays - Breakfast burrito & sandwiches, wraps, and pastries
Ruffled Feathers Farm:
Fresh Eggs on Saturdays
Stonewall Farm:
Carrots, cauliflower, flowers, ground beef, heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, kale, onions, potatoes, pumpkins, winter squash
Sunset Farm: Beans, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, flowers, heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, onions, peppers, potatoes, winter squash
Sawyers Syrup:
Maple syrup, maple cream, maple roasted mixed nuts
And more! |
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| Local Products For Sale |
Price Road Perpetual Perennials:
Fall plantings of peonies, iris, & others;
Cut flowers;
Christa Patterson, Sullivan
603-357-5662
christahpp@verizon.net |
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