Tag Archives: local food

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin: Taking local, sustainable food to scale. It’s about the chicken crossing the road.

Deep Roots Radio
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin: Taking local, sustainable food to scale. It's about the chicken crossing the road.
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Reginaldo (Regi) Haslett-Marroquin gets the big picture…the very big picture when it comes to understanding what’ll take to re-imagine and re-install a sustainable food system in America. No, not just sustainable; resilient. And, no, he’s not just about an abstract picture of the economics, agricultural theory, social linkages and ideal delivery systems. He’s very much about dirt under the nails: about working with Latino immigrants to develop an integrated set of systems to get and grow chickens, feed them, process and market chickens, package and transport chickens, and get them into the hands of everyday buyers – you and me. And while doing this create a web of capabilities that provide living wages, future growth, and ability to respond to changing markets. He’s fostered a working model in Minnesota. It’s exciting to hear what happening, what’s showing real results for a growing community.

I hope you’ll enjoy this Deep Roots Radio conversation with him.Resilient agriculture

Regi is the chief operating officer of Main Street Project, in Northfield, Minnesota, and designer of MSP’s Sustainable Food and Agriculture program. His work started, however, in much warmer place and very different circumstances. A native of Guatemala, Regi received his agronomy degree from the Central National School of Agriculture and studied at the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala. BA in International Business Administration from Augsburg College. He began working with indigenous Guatemalan communities in 1988. He has served as consultant to the United Nations Development Program’s Bureau for Latin America. He also founded the Fair Trade Federation and co-created Peace Coffee company. He has also organized several stewardship-certified cooperative forestry businesses in the Midwest and Guatemala.

About Main Street Project
Mission: To increase access to resources, share knowledge and build power in order to create a socially, economically and ecologically resilient food system.

Its strategy is to: change the current food system, which is dominated by major producers, by deploying an alternative, small-scale sustainable poultry-based system that’s accessible and economically viable for aspiring Latino and other immigrant farmers, and easily scalable to meet market conditions.
MSP focuses on building a sustainable food and ag economy that offers pathways out of poverty for low-way, primarily for the Latino workforce.
They’ve developed new models of sustainable production that provide opportunities for ownership and control – key to building rural family and community prosperity.

Enjoy.
Sylvia

#GrazingItalyUK – B&B breakfast and Slow Food at Casa Visconti

Nov. 19 Not all food is authentic Bolognese
The Casa Visconti B&B in the heart of Bologna is proving to be a find, in great part due to lively proprietress Claudia Visconti. Our room and sitting area are bright and art filled, the bathroom tidy and efficient, and the breakfast lovely and tasty. (What’s not to like about frothy espresso, sliced stawberries and Kiwi, and an assortment of pastries?)
The gem, however, is Ms. Visconti herself: energetic, enthusiastic about her city, and discerning about the origins and preperations of meals.
Not everything is “authentic,” she asserts, and she goes out of her way to point us to bistros and restaurants grounded in sourcing from local farms anchored in sustainable practice and in excellent preparation. I’m hoping I can connect with the Slow Food leaders she recommended.
Dessa and I shared our table with a couple from Luxemburg, owners of a store dedicated to artisinal foods from around the world. Real food devotees, they were in town for a Dillan concert. They shared their outlooks on the slow appreciation of links between agricultural practice, nutrition, taste and the cost of good food.
More on these conversations in a future posts.
Sylvia

#GrazingItalyUK – at Derbyshire grass-fed dairy. And rain. Of course.

November 14th.
In Wisconsin, it’s about the snow. In Derbyshire, rain’s the thing
Especially after last night’s misadventure (missed plane), today’s farm visit felt like a special gift.
My early morning flight out of Dublin brought me to the East Midlands, a place of fat white sheep on rolling hills, ancient stone walls, and lovely thick-walled houses hugging narrow, winding roads. Low, stone buildings, many of them hundreds of years old, are home to families, small shops or public services.
The day was grey and chill as I exited the terminal and made my way to a platform where frequently running buses provide convenient and very economical transportation to a wide network of towns and villages.
Robert Thornhill, grass-based dairy farmer, is a 2014 winner of a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, an award and grant given to farmers who want to conduct practical research about sustainable farming on their home turf and by visiting foreign farms. He met me at the Bakewell bus stop and drove us back to his 300-acre Standhill Farm. I am so grateful for the time he and his wife devoted to converation and comfort. He pulled on boots and walked out into the rain to show me his milking parlor and pastures. It was wet out there. Then he and his wife introduced me to their two young sons (just back from a rock climbing lessons) and we all sat down to lunch and steaming tea.
This post will be short, but I promise a longer report on this particular visit because Thornhill is nothing if not both committed to sustainable grazing and to thorough research about how to make this work on his farm. Again, more later.
Right now, I’ll say that Thornhill is a successful dairy farmer for what I observed to be key attributes: thorough, curious and experimental, steadfast and forward thinking.
Thanks, again, Robert.

#GrazingItalyUK — Stranded in Dublin Airport.

…”the best laid plans…”
Nov. 13. Dublin Airport. 10:30PM
Today’s itinerary stated: 7:30PM fly from Dublin to Derbyshire.
We’ll here it is, 10:30PM and I’m sitting in – drum roll – a McDonald’s in Dublin Airport.

McDonald's busy while rest of food court sleeps

McDonald’s busy while rest of food court sleeps


And guess what? It’s crowded. It was fairly quiet 30 minutes ago, but I’m guessing hungry customers will come in waves as planes arrive and depart.
I gotta say, I appreciate the noise and activity. I’m a bit nervous about that time of night when all foot traffic stops. I think it’ll be a bit scary. We’ll see.
Well, I’ve chowed down on a chicken sandwich, fries and a diet soda. Yes, every food rule broken. In my own defense, McD’s was my only choice because the rest of the food court, a fairly large area, is shuttered for the night. Go figure.
Boy, I hadn’t had McD’s in a long time, so it was interesting to note everything tastes exactly as it did years ago. Consistency – yes. Nutrition? A different story.
Stomach full (if body not truly fed), I’m plugged into an outlet, charging up laptop and phone, and talking to you!
Things could be lots worse.
Oh, and how did I end up in this pickle? My bus from Wexford to Dublin took an hour longer than scheduled because of traffic tie-ups. Why all this congestion in small seaside towns? Who knows. I can attest to the fact that there were at least a couple of other bus riders who were very fearful of missing flights. I hope they didn’t.
Ah, my devices all charged up. I wonder if there’s a pub around here?
Sylvia

#GrazingItalyUK – Dublin, and then Wexford

Day 2 in Ireland – a second day of great travel, friendly people, very poor Internet, and non-existant international phone service (although it had been arranged much in advance)
I lost an hour’s worth of writing earlier today. Let’s try this again.

Dublin
My daughter Maggie and I were wheels down in Ireland 8:30AM Nov. 11 and were treated to a ride to our hotel by two bright musicians, entrepreneurs in the local scene. The ride was unusually long (lots of haulted and rerouted traffic) but conversation was lively, so, no complaints.
We made it to the Grafton Hotel, situated in the heart of a busy downtown shopping district. We spent about an hour checking out small shops and a vertical shopping maul a stone’s throw from the hotel. Any American would be comfortable here.
The narrow, winding streets were crowded. The pace was fast and the look very sharp indeed. Dublin is a big city, make no mistake about it. Black is the color, and tight is the mode. Skinny pants, black hose and leggings paired with leather boots – ankle or knee high – or 3″ heels. Long scarves around necks of both men and women, and light-weight jackets the standard issue.
The population, at least in the city center, is surprisingly young, mid-20s to early-40s.
Our initial needs met, we both crashed for a couple of hours.
After a refreshing shower, we dressed for the evening out. It was a 10-minute walk on rough brick and cobblestones, and across a quaint foot bridge to the Winding Stair restaurant. Mag (who performs as Dessa with the rap crew Doomtree) used smartphone navigation to get us there. Much needed given the twists and turns on streets and alleys that change name every other block.The street fairly throbbed with the energy on the street. Lots of people out on a weekday evening. Felt a bit like NYC, although I felt a bit of New Orleans in the mix – a definite upbeat vibe.
True to it’s name, the Winding Stair features a circuitous staircase from the first to second landing. The spot was suggested by Bill and Sharon Gunter, the conveners of Slow Food Dublin. It proved a good choice – local foods put to their best advantage in creative dishes. I washed mine down with a local hard cider. Yum.
I’ll review lots more of the Slow Food Dublin in an upcoming Deep Roots Radio show. Throughout this trip, I’m hoping to gain some understanding of how different countries feel and demonstrate the good-food-good-agriculture connections.

On to Wexford
This morning, I got to the Dublin Connolly rail station with 30 minutes to spare. Lots of time to grab a yogurt and watch the crowd surging through the turnstyles. Connolly Station is an intersection for commuter trains, rail travelers, bikes and buses.
DublinWexfordI love UK rail service: comfortable sitting, picture window views, smooth and quiet travel, and Internet service. (I’m having an awful time with both Internet and International cellular service so far, so I think I’ll bite my tongue on this for the moment.)
The rails from Dublin to Wexford hug Ireland’s eastern shore and so I was treated to spectacular views of waves crashing just yards from the road bed. And when I looked to the west it was to farm fields gradually sloping up to hills dark against a grey sky.
It’s a wet landscape of puddles, creeks, shallow wetlands (I could almost see the trout), and ponds. Wooded hedgrows marked field boundaries, and houses nested into hillsides.
A good trip.
Now, I’m sitting in a small coffee house in windy, raining Wexford. The forecast is more wet with lots of wind. Raincoats are ubiquitous. I picked one a slicker in Dublin.
I expect a call any second. It’ll be from William Considine, organic farmer/owner of the Nicharee farm in Duncormick, about 20 miles from Wexford.
It’s at this farm that my farming research begins. How are organic/sustainable farms in Ireland the same or different from those I’ve come to know in the U.S.? How are they the same?The adventure continues.
Sylvia

Agrilliance – global website for local food independence and data sharing

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Deep Roots Radio
Agrilliance - global website for local food independence and data sharing
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In this Deep Roots Radio interview, engineer and social-justice advocate Julien Roberge describes the 2015 launch and future direction of Agrilliance, a global web platform and project of Sustainability Innovation & Strategy, an organization he co-founded in Quebec, Canada.
According to its website, Agrilliance aims to transform “the landscape of food supply and demand by making it local – globally.
“We are developing a range of solutions with that intent and our first initiative comes in the form of a web platform that facilitates connections between consumers and food producers. By building trust between customers and suppliers, we aim to strengthen local quality food access.

Agrilliance website

Agrilliance website

“Much more than a farmer-to-consumer directory, Roberge says the aim is to develop a rich resource for access to increased biodiversity in crops and livestock, climate data and producer networking. The focus is on good healthful foods produced locally: revived food independence, food security.
I hope you enjoy this interview.
Sylvia
This and other Deep Roots Radio podcasts can be found on my website and on iTunes.

Fermentation Fest 2015 – the Wisconsin terroir of chocolate, wine, yogurt, music, kimchi, bread, farm art and lots more

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Deep Roots Radio
Fermentation Fest 2015 - the Wisconsin terroir of chocolate, wine, yogurt, music, kimchi, bread, farm art and lots more
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Fermentation Fest 2015: A Live Culture Convergence is about lots more than hands-on classes and taste samplings of outstanding beers and wines, kimchi and yogurt. It’s about the terroir of local Wisconsin foods and the culture – social, agricultural and artistic – that springs from the land, water and people of Reedsburg, Wisconsin.
In this Deep Roots Radio conversation, event organizer Jay Salinas describes the arts, food and music of this 10-day event and why it’s bring more and more people together every year.
Fermentation Fest is the major annual celebration of the Wormfarm Institute, in Reedsburg.
I hope you’ll enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview, and take in the music, classes, farm-art instillations and conversations of this unique event.
Sylvia

Deep Roots Radio, 91.3FM and www.wpcaradio.org

Deep Roots Radio, 91.3FM and www.wpcaradio.org

Home canning: the good, bad and ugly, and how Napoleon helped out – with Master Preserver Perry Rice.

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Deep Roots Radio
Home canning: the good, bad and ugly, and how Napoleon helped out - with Master Preserver Perry Rice.
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Did you know that the French military played a big roll in developing canning methods? Or that people used to – and some still do – can in the oven? Are you aware that the canning recipes prior to 1994 may be suspect, or that the push to breed sweeter tomatoes means you can’t can them like the older, more acid varieties?
In this Deep Roots Radio interview with Master Preserver Perry Rice he gives a quick survey of canning history and important tips for safe canning.
I hope you enjoy this lively conversation. And here are a couple of canning resources:
– www.foodsafety.wisc.edu
– www.foodsafety.gov

Sylvia

Also: Perry and Emily Leuer, also a master preserver, will lead a hands-on workshop covering the ins and outs of tomato canning on September 29, 2015 in the New Richmond, Wisc. community education space. This session is co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Extension. Many methods of tomato preservation will be covered and demonstrated during this one-night workshop.
What: Tomato Processing/Food Preservation hands-on workshop
Date and time: Sept. 29, 2015, 5:30-8:30PM
Where: New Richmond, Wisconsin, Community Commons – 118
Cost: $10
Limited to: 15 students
To Register: https://newrichmond.cr3.rschooltoday.com/public/costoption/class_id/3788/public/1/

Apple sauce and apple butter - edible jewels for the winter.

Apple sauce and apple butter – edible jewels for the winter.

The long road to the new, small, 100% grass-fed Cosmic Wheel Creamery.

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Deep Roots Radio
The long road to the new, small, 100% grass-fed Cosmic Wheel Creamery.
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Amery, Wisconsin
Rama Hoffpauir and her husband Josh Bryceson have run their 250-subscriber CSA, Turnip Rock Farm, for a close to a decade. They added a herd of beautiful big-eyed Jersey dairy cows a few years back, and just this summer, the young couple began delivering their farmstead cheese to retail outlets, restaurants, and CSA customers.
In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Rama describes their 5-year Cosmic Wheel Creamery journey: getting her cheesemaker’s license (required in the state of Wisconsin), building the herd, constructing and licensing the cheese processing facility, and creating the aging “cave.”
Enjoy.
Sylvia


Deep Roots Radio, 91.3FM and www.wpcaradio.org

Deep Roots Radio, 91.3FM and www.wpcaradio.org

When it’s too hot: Get ready…set…ferment!

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It feels like 150 degrees out there; way too hot for picking beans, weeding beets and thinning carrots. And the thought of putting huge pots of water to boil to blanch greens and can veggies is crazy-making. But that’s what summer’s about, isn’t it – enjoying what you can now of the fruits and veggies from your garden, CSA box or farmers market, and preserving the rest for the much cooler days we know are ahead.
Fermentation is a great way to preserve veggies without heating up the kitchen. For example, yesterday – when it was 84 degrees – I put up kimchi (think of a very spicy Asian version of sauerkraut) and swiss chard stems. It was easy.
What is fermentation, you ask? It’s a method of preserving foods that’s been used for thousands of years by cultures the world over.
In a nutshell, and at its most basic, what you do is submerge your chopped, sliced or whole veggie in salted water (a brine) and then let the action of anaerobic bacteria do their work to “sour” the food. The beneficial micro-organism harnessed for this work is lactobacillus bacteria. That’s why this process is sometimes referred to as lacto-fermentation.
By the way, although the terms sound similar, lacto-fermentation has nothing to do with milk and lacto-intolerance. Instead, lacto refers to the lactic acid produced by the bacteria which acidifies the food, releases additional nutrients from the veggie, and keeps it safe to eat. Think of sauerkraut – fermented cabbage. Fermented foods can be ready to eat in a handful of days or after several weeks, and then stored for months more. Key to this process is constantly keeping the veggies submerged.

Napa cabbage kimchi and swiss chard stems ferment

Napa cabbage kimchi and swiss chard stems ferment


Oh, and what did I do with the chard leaves I stripped from the stems? I blanched them in boiling water for two (2) minutes and then plunged them into ice water to stop the cooking and ready them for the freezer. Again – easy.
So what’ll it be this weekend (after it cools down enough to head out to the garden)? I think I’ll pick green beans to ferment with a brine and a variety of other spices. Fennel? Caraway? Dill? What will work best with my grass-fed beef burgers, pot roasts and steaks?
Here are some of the books I’m using to build my fermentation skills:
– The Art of Fermentation, by Sandor E. Katz
– Fermented Vegetables, by Kristen K. Shockey & Christopher Shockey
– The Kimchi Cookbook, by Lauryn Chun
– The Nourished Kitchen, by Jennifer McGruther
– Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning, by The Gardeners & Farmers of Terre Vivante
What are you fermenting?
Sylvia