Follow Your Food: Seed to Table

Farmland begins as an open canvas; it’s identity ultimately forged by the values of those tending the fields. The practical minded farmer approaches their land as a capital resource, and is managed to efficiently meet the demands of prominent crop markets. This form of agriculture is built as an economy of scale and supplies our export markets, feeds livestock and supplies the majority of food to wholesalers around the nation. A more romantic approach to farming, from the naturalist, tends to view land, not as a resource, but as an organism. Yes, the economics of running a business are major consideration, but are almost subservient to the goal of fostering a complete ecosystem. Oftentimes products from these farms are more diverse, but created at a much smaller scale than their commercial cousins. Food from these operations is often grown to sell at local farmers markets or directly to select restaurants. In between these two distal ends of agriculture exits a rich nexus of farms varying in scale, scope and long term goals.

When Audrey Tehan first approached food it was through a different vein. Her primary mission is neither economic or ecological; instead, the focus of Seed to Table, her creation, is community, and how to build a stronger one. The hard work of a well-intentioned farmer can be lost  in a world of priority if their surrounding community cannot afford or understand what is grown around them. For many, it is hard to rationalize buying local food when the prices are higher and seasons dictate what is available. Without a local community who embraces and understands the real challenges of farming, it is difficult for such an industry to thrive. To approach that very challenge. Audrey and Seed to Table founded three guiding principals, around which the operation runs.

The first goal is Access. Local food is often accompanied by the stigma that it is a luxury good; ‘people who have the money can afford to buy on principal, the rest of us have to do what makes sense’. Seed to Table works hard to break this pre-conception. They are one of the only farms that I have ever encountered that lists food bank donations and discount farmers markets as prominent avenues to share their produce. To them, the only way to get more food grown in Sisters and in Central Oregon, is if more people get their hands on local produce and develop an appreciation for the value of wholesome ingredients. Most any farm is left with unsold produce in the field, due to either lackluster demand, or physical blemishes. There is really no sense in allowing this valuable crop go to waste. This is why Seed to Table works with food banks; to turn waste into a community asset, for the good of the community.

The second goal is Education. People inherently become more invested in what they learn, and education through experience cultivates that knowledge as a sense of identity. For years now there has been much prosthletizing as how we, as a culture, allowed our food system to become an industrial entity? A powerful answer to this question is that we, as a culture, have disconnected from food production as a piece of our identity. Audrey drove to use Seed to Table as a medium to rebuild that identity by starting up a Farming class in Sisters highschool. The curriculum for the course balances components of economics, soil science, biology and turning compost. The intention is not to make a farmer out of every student. Rather, the goal to instil a foundation of knowledge for subjects like soil science, environmental science, biology, and nutition, so that students and parents may better understand the complexity of what they put in their body. Since classrooms can feel a little stuffy, Seed to Table also makes sure that their curriculem gets people outside with their hands in the dirt and show them what all of this information looks like in real life.

The third goal is to Expand the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables sold in Sisters, which arises naturally though the success of education and access. As their classes grow and more interns flock to learn through work, the ability of Seed to Table to supply school lunch programs, food banks and farmers markets grows as well. Ideally, their efforts in education, outreach and community development will open up some opportunity for neighboring farms, like Mahonia Gardens or Radicle Roots, as well.

There are a lot of farms that are closed enterprises. They have land, employees, crops and market stands; but most people can only approach them as a customer. And there exists a void where you can’t quite understand what it is that goes on at a farm. At that point, how are you to make out the difference between their Broccoli and Broccoli in the grocery store that was grown 500 miles away?

It is really a beautiful sight to watch the three goals of Seed to Table come into confluence and break down that void. The doors there are open, the customer, the community, is their farm. Summer workers are young interns out on a break from school, there to learn with their hands. As summer turns to fall, the interns are replaced with buzzing energy generated by droves of students from Sister’s Elementary. There they are out in the field, helping harvest winter squash, while learning how to store and cure produce for the winter. All the while, the squash and kale they pluck from the field is taken over to the food shelf to supply a hot stew as the days turn colder. For them, every step in the farming process is met with the smiling face of someone who just became more than a consumer. They might not be trying to make a farmer out of everyone they teach, but a little bit of the farm has a way of rubbing off once you experience it.

 

Follow Your Food: Fields Farm

 

Organic agriculture goes back millennia, with roots as deep as any human tradition. Our connection with how to select, cultivate and prepare foods has evolved over generations of farmers and meals from the family hearth. That natural evolution eventually led to a point where the goal of food production rose above the level of subsistence, where technology allowed farming to become a smaller piece of our larger anthropology. Inevitably consolidating agriculture led to a smaller number of farmers growing over larger acreage. Farming then became less a natural development and more a field of study. Of course this has allowed the concentrated field of agricultural science to make profound discoveries in areas like crop genetics and advanced breeding techniques which matriculated  into large yields and global food distribution. However, in the creation of any industrial system there are unforeseen externalities; details that were either overlooked or not accounted for. For years now people have been talking about the ills of the “conventional” food system, and how it is a broken model. Stacks of articles have been written about how modern agriculture has contributed to land degradation, pollution, biodiversity loss, obesity, diabetes, inequality… the list goes on. One source of these problems, a factor that is easily overlooked, again, is that the greatest externality is a loss of knowledge. Yes, of course there is more research going into food than ever, but the kind of knowledge we are missing does not come from a classroom; the form of knowledge that faded comes from the land, and from each other.

That is how organic farming emerged as a movement. In the midst of consolidation, there were those among rural and urban populations who realized that they felt disconnected. What they were disconnected from was, and is a cultural heritage between people, the land, and food grown in it. This movement emerged then, and continues to this day, as a populous voice seeking to rewrite the modern definition of agriculture to include those details that were overlooked as seeds started to be bought through growing corporations, instead of shared between a community of growers. In a sense, the farmers that emerged during the organic revolution were pioneers on quest to journey back into human history and reconnect with the heritage of traditional farming.

Fields Farm has long been a curator of mindful agriculture here in Bend, beginning a quest for creating sustainable land. Jim and Debbie Fields began their journey into farming 27 years ago when they purchased their 10 acre plot, nestled right outside the heart of Bend. It began as a small gardening experiment, their initial goal was simply to connect with their roots and build a lifestyle around living off the land. Over time Jim an Debbie began to grow their hobby into a business by implementing a small CSA. They only started with 8 members, but Jim’s philosophy is to ‘start small, grow slowly and observe a lot’, much like natural adaptation in plants. By 2006 they had grown their CSA to 68 members, engaged in two farmers markets, and finding their way to sell some produce wholesale.

Over the years their growth as a business has meant that their knowledge of farming has grown along with it. What began as a backyard homestead has evolved into a goal to feed the Bend community without a carbon footprint. Jim reached this goal by holding to his same curiosity that drove he and Debbie closer to the land in the first place. Over years of observing the services plants provide to the ecosystem, they became more attuned to what the land needed to give back to complete the nutrient cycle. This led them to building their own foundation of soil health through composting non-commercial plant organic matter; however, further inspection of the wider community revealed that this process did not have to end with the 10 acre boundaries of Fields Farm. So, Jim approached Deschutes Brewery and gave them a way to recycle their wasted hops and spend grains back into the soil to foster new life. Instead of contributing to methane pollution in landfills, Deschutes contributes their organic wastes towards growing food for the community. Now, those gasses are taken out of the atmosphere and added to a soil amendment strategy that reduces more than just the farm’s carbon footprint. This example right here is how Jim and Debbie Fields are writing organic farming into the modern context of community, taking us closer to the old days when agriculture was the beating heart of human culture.

27 years of farming has imbedded a lot knowledge at Field’s Farm, extending from carbon neutrality to season extension, to crop rotations. Jim and Debbie have realized that this information contributes diminished service if it stays locked in their own brains; because, as mentioned earlier, the cultural heritage of farming is shared around the community. Without the help of caring, and insightful neighbors, there is no way that a beginning farmer can know what experience doesIf you talk to most any young farmer around Bend, they will go on about how much their operation has learned from the wised counsel of Jim and Debbie Fields. Currently Jim offers consultation services to aspiring growers in the area, a way of helping them learn from what years of experience have taught him. Knowledge not only enrichens the lives of producers, but for consumers as well. This is why Fields Farm hosts tours on site for school groups, so that the next generation of consumers grow up knowing where there food comes from, how it was grown, and why that is important.

Our world is so concerned with the pitfalls of humanity, that we forget that the objective world exists in our collective ability to care. Fields Farm cares, and through their individual work, the community is brought closer around the identity of healthy land and good food. Food is the foundation of knowledge and, no matter how far we stray away, will always be origin of culture. So, I guess my piece in this is to call to you to explore your origins by caring about your food as Jim and Debbie do.

Follow Your Food: Juniper Jungle Farm

 

Human society is a complex biological system. Our higher knowledge as a species has evolved to create a pool of social structures that don’t naturally occur, essentially establishing the human brain as a biological anomaly. We naturally throw objective sciences like mathematics, economics and engineering into this pool. These fields of study are rooted in the human study  and manipulation of the world’s natural resources. Our ability to observe and develop the natural world has allowed for  an unprecedented population boom of a keystone species.

What is less often considered is the role that agriculture plays as a human machination. Since the roots of farming are in a field, not an office, it is easy to overlook the fact that agriculture is the original objective science. It wasn’t until we learned how to cultivate the land and grow a stable surplus, that all of the other philosophical “isms” and rational “ics” had the time to flourish. At the beginning, the two dominant human structures were: agriculture, to exercise our mastery of the land, and spirituality to celebrate our futility to nature. This was a natural evolution that considered our fundamental dependance on the natural world. Further evolution had deviated away from the spiritual structure of farming. Instead, human history has preferred to develop food systems to meet objective needs based on a rapidly growing and professionally specialized population.

In the early 20th Century an Austrian philosopher named Rudolph Steiner recognized this breakdown, and in 1924 led the first series of 8 lectures on a western idea of organic agriculture. These talks focused on the breakdown of species diversity on farms, corresponding loss of crop and livestock quality, and deteriorating soil quality due to chemical inputs. While only 800 farmers attended these lectures, the ideas indirectly proliferated into the Organic Revolution, which swept western culture in the 1970’s as people sought to reconnect with spirit of the land. The conferences also led directly to the creation of Biodynamic Farming, developed by Steiner himself.

Biodynamics evaluates agriculture from a wider, socio-ecological perspective, where humans and food production are dependent pieces of a harmonious ecosystem. The role of the farmer in this perspective is to, in the words of agronomist Donald Lotter, “restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony.” A element to consider in this role is the temporal role of land management, and ensuring productive fertility for future generations. One other idea that Steiner planted, was that farms should take the same principals of building ecological harmony to bring people closer together.

Many of you have likely heard of Juniper Jungle Farm, eaten their produce, or seen their farm stand at Farmer’s Markets here in Bend. For those who haven’t, Juniper Jungle Farm was started by Chris Casad five years ago, and is a 10+ acre operation just on the outskits of town. Chris started his operation from an understanding that farming should strive to meet wider societal needs other than simply food production. His farm philosophy is rooted in similar thinking to Rudolf Steiner; food is the center of community. Also, akin to the beliefs of Steiner, Chris believes that farming should  represent a two-way exchange with nature; farmers give the land the means to fertility, and the land repays with food. If approached mindfully and with due diligence, this philosophy generates cyclical sustainability. Chris and his team focus in on fostering a resilient farmscape that enhances the land around it. Constructive farming like this is a balancing act of biodiversity; holding the balance means allowing a biologically dynamic, or “biodynamic” environment to grow. Instead of a catalogued input/output of select mineral nutrients, a dynamic farm derives fertility from the endemic plant diversity contributing a less selective range of nutrients. By deriving nutrition from a variety of sources, farmers mitigate the risk of losing balance and over saturating their soil with any one mineral.

A further example of this dynamism is how Juniper Jungle plants their crops. Chris, and some other likeminded Biodynamic thinkers, seed and transplant their crops according to an Astrological calendar. This calendar was researched and developed by Maria Thun in the 1950’s, and provides a planting guideline based on the proximal location of the moon to the earth, and its relative location to astrological signs. When I went out to the farm, it was right in the middle of a biodynamic planting window for leafy greens; and the window was to close soon. So, upon my arrival, it was all hands on deck to get the greens in the ground before the moon passed through the water signs and the sun rose high in the sky. As the cool morning began to heat up, and the afternoon sun beamed fields with warm rays, the moon began to pass through fire signs in the cosmos. This was the queue to Chris and his team that it was time to get fruit crops in the ground. As soon as the last of the planting trays from the morning were stowed away, out came hundreds of tomato and squash seedlings ready for life in the soil.

This mindful approach to planting extends to all aspect of farming at Juniper Jungle, acting as a guide for cultivating and harvesting field rows. All of this is done in pursuit of maintaining healthy symbiosis amongst biological elements of the surrounding farm matrix. It isn’t only plant and animal life that benefit, but us people as well.  Juniper Jungle is a canvas for building the human social experience through education and, shared work and meals together. The farm works with Central Oregon Locavore to get students out from their standard classroom, and bring the curriculum outside and learn from the land directly. While we moved up and down the plowed fields planting new life, kids and teachers listened, watched, and played in the fields. In a human world that has become less aware, this form of education is the foundation of a new generation that is more aware of the impact of a modern lifestyle.

What is beautiful about Juniper Jungle is the dialogue it brings out in those who visit. Being outside, with your feet in the dirt, inspires us to think deeper about our purpose in the world. We are after all just another animal species; just one with the capacity for higher thought. Without perspective on how we meet our needs to survive, this intelligence spells consumption of the natural world. Given our intelligence, and a mindful commitment to balance, our survival can work with the biodynamic cycle that guides Juniper Jungle farm. So I urge you to get out there see it for yourself, and contribute to the dialogue of living.

 

 

Follow Your Food: Garlic Scapes

One major short fall in the American food economy is waste.  Farmers and agronomists have spent many years trying to boost yields as a means to wean national and international hunger. This goal has been met with general success as farms are more productive now than ever. Since the 1950’s the average American farm has doubled in size, and domestic food supply has followed suit. Currently there are 20% more calories coming from national farm operations than the at beginning of the Atomic Age. Many of these calories are now cheaper than they ever have been. However, under these numbers there are quite a few hidden costs that have bubbled to the surface, called externalities. These costs are not reflected in the direct price of food, but present problems elsewhere in a wider cultural perspective. One such externality of rising food production is an unprecedented amount of wasted calories. Food waste can occur at a few different levels: In the fields, during harvest, on farm storage, unsold food during retail, and consumer waste. Allow us, for the sake of brevity to focus on one small component of food waste: during harvest.

Crop harvesting is a business decision for many farmers; selecting what crops to picked is often determined by market demand and prices. Demand usually centers around a specified range of crops, and good prices are often earned through quality. To ensure that they cover their costs, farmers selectively harvest those crops that look best, and pick those parts of the plant that are best suited to match established consumer preferences. The ensuing loss from what is left behind amounts to about 7% of national yields, or 6 billion pounds of food per year; and remember, this is only one stage in the process of food loss. The total volume that is grown and uneaten adds up to somewhere around 40% of food produced per year, or roughly 20 pounds per person every month. So, it would seem that it is not necessarily a problem of yield that causes hunger, but one of use inefficiency.

In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of farmer’s markets around the country, places where people can interact directly with the growers to gain deeper insight as to how to use a wider diversity of crops. One such crop that has benefitted from this relationship is the Garlic Scape. Garlic scapes are the flowering shoots that emerge from primarily hardneck Garlic varieties (Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon). It is a natural process of farming to harvest these shoots early on so that the plant can direct more energy towards developing a larger bulb. Traditionally the scapes have been discarded post harvest due to nonexistent demand. However, as the dialogue between farmer and shopper got more face time, people began to learn more about this part of the plant and its culinary value. Now armed with more information, consumers have come to value this hyper seasonal crop. The subsequent demand for garlic scapes has spread beyond farmers market, and now proliferates in the produce aisle of larger grocery stores. It is a development that benefits both farmers and households alike: farmers can make money from what was once considered waste, and chefs can have a new flavor to add to their meals. A market development, such as the newfound demand for garlic scapes, allows farmers to get more out of their fields by using more than one part of a crop. It is very important that we strive for efficient use of farm resources since this is an industry that demands 80% of fresh water consumption and accounts for 50% of land use

 

Garlic scapes are truely a fantastic crop. There is no waste, as the entire scape can be used, which makes for easy prep and cleanup. The flavor can be best described as milder and sweeter than pungent garlic bulbs, which pairs well with light early summer meals on a hot day. It is rather versatile and can be prepared in a number of ways, and added to most any dish that requires garlic. Scapes can be eaten raw, stir fried, steamed or sauteed in with produce like zucchini, summer suqash, spinach or chard. And, of course, it is great with bacon!

Below are a few recipes that demonstrate ways to incorporate garlic scapes into your cooking. They aren’t anything complicated; I think I spend 30 minutes maximum to prepare all three dishes. The first is a simple vinagarette dressing; and the second, a basic squash and scape stir-fry. The third recipe  does not include scapes, but is a deliciously fresh fennel and organge salad from Lucinda Quinn’s Mad Hungry cookbook.

 

Garlic Scape Vinagarette

Ingredients

• 10 chopped garlic scapes (Organic Redneck)
• 10 basil leaves (from the Garden)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender until fully mixed. Use with salads, or as an oil dip for fresh bread

Sauteed Garlic Scapes and Summer Squash

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini (Groundwork Organics)
• 1 yellow summer squash (Groundwork Organics)
• 1-2 garlic scapes (Organic Redneck)
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt & coarse ground pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions

1. Wash and thinly slice squash into medallions. I sliced my about 1/8 inch thick. Whatever thickness you cut them, make sure it is uniform so they cook at the same speed.

2. Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat.

3. Once the oil is warmed, add in the squash and cook for 2-3 minutes while flipping every so often.

4. While the squash is cooking prepare your scapes. Make a cut just under the base of the flower and discard. Cut the scapes into 1-2 inch long sections. Toss the scapes in with the squash, give the pan a good shake to mix in the scapes well. Add a splash more olive oil if necessary. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for another 5-7 minutes. The squash should be tender [browning a bit] and the scapes should turn bright green. Sauteing scapes is similar to cooking asparagus. You don’t want to overcook it, or it’ll become stringy.

Crunchy Fennel Orange Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 Orange, peeled and supremed, with about 1/4 cup juice
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• Pinch of sugar
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Fennel Bulb, thinly sliced crosswise (Groundwork Organics)
• 4 Celery stalks, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 bunch of Radished, thinly sliced (Radicle Roots)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Whisk together the orange juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, sugar and cayenne in a salad bowl. Toss in the sliced fennel, celery, radished and orange segments to combine. Serve fresh!

 

Follow Your Food: Kohlrabi

Part of the joy to engaging in your local food community is eating seasonally. Part of the joy of eating seasonally is being open to catering your diet to incorporate some less common vegetable varieties. This requires flexibility, and is not always easy; but but a little creativity and passion, eating seasonally can open your world to meals that you would otherwise seek out only in restaurants. This week’s seasonal feature is Kohlrabi, as it is coming into season in the valley. I am really excited to include Kohlrabi in our produce boxes, as it is one of my favorite vegetables, and is not something that you can really find throughout the year, and because it is a cool weather crop, its spring growing season is short. So, we better enjoy it while we can right now.

Kohlrabi, like broccoli, kale and cabbage is another Brassica, meaning it is from the Mustard Family; more specifically, it is a cultivar of wild cabbage, brassica oleracea. It was first developed by German farmers who selected for cabbage plants displaying more lateral stem growth. Years of selection left growers with a bulbous, meaty, stem that earned its name cabbage (kohl) turnip (rabi). As a member of the Brassicaceae, it hosts many of the same nutritional benefits of its culinary cousins. Like kale and broccoli, Kohlrabi is high in iron, vitamin B, is very high in vitamin C and is well regarded for its antioxidant properties. Since “antioxidant” can be an ambiguous term, I will be more specific. Kohlrabi stems have high concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin, which are carotenoids (organic pigments) found in many green veggies. These two pigments are known to help scavenge free radicals that contribute to nerve oxidation in your retinas. By reducing oxidative stress, lutein and zeaxanthin have demonstrated value in longitudinal eye health, and reducing cataract development. I can’t imagine many German farmers needed glasses during their later years working in the fields.

Photo Credit: Alaina Dodds; Green Bean Delivery

This Sputnik look-a-like tastes similar to a broccoli stem. Since the plant has been selected for greater lateral growth, more starchy glucose is stored in the stem, giving it more tender and sweeter flavor than other brassicas. From a culinary perspective, Kohlrabi can be served in a variety of ways from raw slaws to baked pies. To prepare it, you must first remove the tough outer skin, exposing the tender inner flesh. My best description on the inner stem would liken it to the crisp consistency of a salad turnip, but some would say it is as crisp and juicy as an apple. From here you can shred it into a slaw with carrots and cabbage, bake it to make home fries, or serve raw kohlrabi spears with something sweet and tangy.

This was my first taste of Kohlrabi of the season, so I went ahead and made two dishes out of it. The first is a Greek inspired Kohlrabi Pie that I found on New York Times, written by Martha Rose Shulman, and is perfect for serving on a cool early summer evening with a side of mutton or lamb. The second dish calls for kohlrabi home fries. I guess these could be considered a healthy alternative to potato fries since kohlrabi is less starchy and lower in carbohydrates than potatoes. Anyways, these are delicious and are best served with a tangy yogurt and honey mustard sauce. Don’t let this limit you, let your imagination explore the litany of options for the german “cabbage turnip”

Greek-Style Kohlrabi Pie:

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds kohlrabi, with greens if possible (Organic Redneck)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium or large onion, finely chopped (Cinco Estrellas)
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced (Groundwork Organics)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• ⅓ cup chopped fresh dill
• ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (Cada Dia Cheese)
• 12 sheets phyllo dough (1/2 pound)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

1. If the kohlrabi still has greens attached, stem and wash the greens and blanch in a pot of salted boiling water for 1 minute, or steam. Refresh with cold water, squeeze out excess water and chop coarsely. Set aside. Peel the kohlrabi, making sure to remove the fibrous layer right under the skin, and grate using a food processor fitted with the grater attachment.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until it is tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt, stir together, and stir in the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and stir in the kohlrabi. Add another tablespoon of olive oil if necessary. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is very tender and beginning to color, about 10 minutes. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan from the kohlrabi, turn up the heat and cook, stirring, until it boils off. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the kohlrabi greens, dill and parsley, and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 10-inch tart pan or cake pan with olive oil. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and beat in the crumbled feta. Stir in the kohlrabi mixture and combine well.
4. Line the pan with 7 pieces of phyllo, brushing each piece with olive oil, or a combination of olive oil and melted butter, and turning the dish after each addition so that the edges of the phyllo drape evenly over the pan. Fill with the kohlrabi mixture. Fold the draped edges in over the filling, then layer the remaining 5 pieces on top, brushing each piece with olive oil. Tuck the edges into the sides of the pan. Make a few slashes in the top crust so that steam can escape as the pie bakes. Note: If making a gratin, use a 2-quart baking dish, brush with olive oil and fill with the kohlrabi mixture.
5. Bake the pie for 50 minutes (40 for the gratin), until the crust is crisp and dark golden brown. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Kohlrabi Home Fries. This one is super easy; doesn’t require many ingredients, nor does it take very long to cook. It is perfect for a Sunday Morning Breakfast. This Recipe is also from the New York Times, written again by Martha Rose Shulman.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ to 2 pounds kohlrabi
• 1 tablespoon rice flour, chickpea flour or semolina (more as needed)
• Salt to taste
• 2 to 4 tablespoons canola oil or grapeseed oil, as needed
• Chili powder, ground cumin, curry powder or paprika to taste

Cooking Instructions:

1. Peel the kohlrabi and cut into thick sticks, about 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide and about 2 inches long.
2. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet (cast iron is good). Meanwhile, place the flour in a large bowl, season with salt if desired and quickly toss the kohlrabi sticks in the flour so that they are lightly coated.
3. When the oil is rippling, carefully add the kohlrabi to the pan in batches so that the pan isn’t crowded. Cook on one side until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Then, using tongs, turn the pieces over to brown on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes. The procedure should take only about 5 minutes if there is enough oil in the pan. Drain on paper towels, then sprinkle right away with the seasoning of your choice. Serve hot.

Recipe Pictures from New York Times website.

Follow Your Food: Spring Latkes

Memorial Day is the unofficial marker of our transition from Spring into Summer. Now the sun rises early and sets late, giving plants longer hours of solar radiation for photosynthesis and metabolism. The increased photon energy provided by longer days allows for greater glucose sugar production. Naturally, as the plant makes more sugar, it must be allocated for storage. So, to keep up with energy production, the roots of certain species develop to accommodate the glut of glucose and store it as a carbohydrate. Over time this storage unit becomes a viable food crop, which we all enjoy in the form of a carrot or a beet. This trait to store increased energy is not ubiquitous among all species. Normally, it is either something represented in perennial plants, who must survive for a number of years or has been cultivated in annual plants from years of farming. Most plants would prefer to allocate available resources directly towards reproduction and setting a flower head. Eventually the fertilized flower develops into a fruiting body to provide life to a new generation, or to a hungry table. This requires an immense amount of energy, and if the plant has not met a critical mass of photosynthetic capacity, reproduction can stress a plant. So, it is critical that the season is right and the days are long to plant a fruiting crop. As Spring is to green, summer is to color; that color is derived by new growth in root and fruit crops. This week we saw an example the shape and color of early summer food with fresh Zucchini and Carrots.

Fortunately, for most, the introduction to summer is met with an extended weekend. I know how I will spend these long days ahead; sharing food and late afternoon memories with friends to grow our roots deeper.

This is an amended recipe to one I found online for some vegetable latkes (or fritters, whatever you prefer). I must say, this is an easy and delicious way to use seasonal produce, and nothing but seasonal produce. If you go online, there are a lot of iterations of this meal. I went with what worked best for the materials I had on hand. Find what works best for you. But here is a little kick to get you on your way…

Ingredients to serve 4 Latkes:

• 2 small Zucchini, shredded (Groundwork Organics)
• 3-4 medium Carrots, peeled and shredded (Organic Redneck)
• 1 medium Potato, boiled and mashed (Rainshadow Organics)
• 2 cloves of Garlic, minced (Groundwork Organics)
• 1 Green Onion, chopped (Cinco Estrellas)
• 1/4 tsp thyme (Sagestruck Herbary)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (Rainshadow Organics)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika, or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or both!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Half & Half

Cooking instructions:

1. Begin by prepping your zucchini and carrots by shredding with a large-holed cheese grader. If you are like me and lack this piece of equipment, this can be done with some dextrous knife work. Transfer veggies to a collander, add the salt and mix. Allow to sit for 15 minutes or so.
2. Add the potato to water and boil until soft all of the way through. This can be accomplished more quickly if the potato is quartered beforehand. Remove potato to a bowl, add the half & half and mash.
3. Add the Flour and Baking powder to a separate bowl and mix.
4. Squeeze the veggies dry, using either just your hands or a cheesecloth, and transfer to a bowl. Add the Garlic, Paprika, Cayenne and Thyme. Mix together. Now add the mashed up potato, mix. Lastly, add the flour/baking powder and mix.
5. Once mixed, grab a medium sized handful and pack into a ball, repeat 3 times. Place the uncooked latkes on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes so that they hold form better while cooking.
6. Heat up 2 Tbsp of oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add the packed latkes. Cook for 3-5 minutes and turn. They should be slightly charred and crisp when flipped. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. Fin!

I did not have the ingredients at my disposal to make an adequate sauce for serving, but these would be amazing served with a yogurt based side. Perhaps yogurt, cucumber and lemon.

This was so easy, so good, and almost 100% local, that it may just become a staple in my diet.

Follow Your Food: Artichoke Soup

Artichokes in Oregon? That doesn’t sound right, but indeed it is. These artichokes are grown just outside of Eugene at Groundwork Organics, and represent a minority category of American artichokes grown outside of Southern California. The U.S is the world’s 9th largest global producer of artichokes, behind Mediterranean states like Spain, Northern Egypt, and Italy. Just about 100% of domestically grown commercial artichokes come from America’s own Chaparral climate in California’s agrarian basins. 80% of that yield is found solely in Monterey County, one of the southernmost regions in the state. So, finding regional varieties here in Oregon is a rarity, and it represents the nuanced capacity of diversified small farms.

Despite my preconceptions, I just learned that artichokes are, in fact, incredibly healthy. They are packed with plant compounds that contribute to a number of medicinal benefits. First, they are very high in antioxidants, more than most any other plant. This is thanks to the presence of bioacive compounds lutolin and apigenin, which help prevent cellular oxidation from free radical molecules. It is good that artichokes are difficult to eat raw, because the bioavailability of these compounds actually increases as the plant tissue softens from cooking. A journal of medicine, the National Center for Biotechnology Information, published a reseach study that concluded that steaming artichokes increased the antioxidant capacity 15-fold, boiling increasing up to 8-fold. Now, I don’t know about you, but I want to eat something that gets better through cooking. Aside from antioxidants, artichokes are high in phenolic compounds, which are known to help lower bad cholesterol and help fight cancerous cell mutation. Its cultivation from wild thistle to a staple food crop was a project of the Greeks, Romans and Spanish Moors. Maybe this is why some of history’s grandest empires arose from the Mediterranean coast. All hail the Ceasar of superfood!

For those who have not roasted, baked or stewed their artichokes from this past week, here is a recipe to get you jump started. It has been a grey, rainy day, reminiscent of late fall. So, to combine the feeling of Fall with the palate of Spring, here is a recipe for a hearty Artichoke soup. This was pulled from an online food blog called Shutterbean, so I make not claim to be the originator, but I certainly did enjoy it! I will say, this recipe combined perfectly with some roasted carrots from Radicle Roots.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. artichoke hearts,  roughly chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1⁄3 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
• 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
• chopped parsley, for serving
• warm sourdough bread, for serving

Cooking Instructions:

Working in batches, purée 2 cups artichoke hearts with 2 cups water in a blender. Transfer puréed artichokes to a 6-qt. pot with the butter, chicken broth, garlic, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

In a small jar or bowl, whisk together cornstarch with 1⁄2 cup cold water. Vigorously whisk cornstarch mixture and heavy cream into soup. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, whisking frequently, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Strain soup through a mesh strainer into a clean pot over low heat; discard solids. Ladle soup into 6 bowls, garnish with parsley, and squeeze a lemon wedge over each. Serve with warm sourdough bread.

The recipe for the carrots is Moroccan Roasted Carrots with a Dukkah spice and yogurt sauce. The Moroccan Carrots require more complex ingredients than I traditionally aim for, so I pieced my Dukkah together with what I had available. Cook what works for you!

Ingredients

• 8 Large Carrots, scrubbed (Radicle Roots)
• 4 Tbs. olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed (Groundwork Organics)
• 1 ½ tsp. sweet paprika
• ½ tsp. cumin
• ¼ tsp. hot paprika
• ½ tsp salt

For the Dukkah

• ¼ cup slivered almonds
• 2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds
• 1 tsp. sesame seeds
• ½ tsp. mixed peppercorns (or just black pepper
• ¼ tsp. fennel seeds
• ¾ tsp coarse salt or Maldon salt

For the Yogurt Sauce

• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt, or plain whole milk yogurt (Flying Cow Dairy)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped mint (Sagestruck herbary)
• 1 ½ tsp. chopped dill
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3-5 tsp. water (for consistency

For the carrots:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400˚ F

2. Place carrots, olive oil, garlic, spices, and salt in a roasting pan and toss until the carrots are coated well.

3. Roast for 45 minutes until soft in the middle and caramelized on the outside. Turn carrots halfway through roasting time.

For the dukkah:

1. Toast almonds on a sheet pan for 3-4 minutes. You can do this in the oven while the carrots are roasting. Keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn.

2. In a small pan over medium heat, toast the sunflower seeds for 1-2 minutes and set aside.

3. In that same pan over medium heat, toast the fennel seeds and peppercorns for about 30-45 seconds until fragrant. Set aside.

4. Do the same with the sesame seeds for 45 seconds. Set aside.

5. Using a pestle and mortar, first crush the fennel seeds and peppercorns. Add the almonds and crush into small pieces. Then add the sunflower seeds and crush again. Lastly mix in the salt and sesame seeds. This can be made ahead and stored in an air-tight container for up to 3 weeks.

For the yogurt sauce:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. The sauce should be runny but not too watery. Add more water if too thick or more yogurt if too thin. Taste for seasoning.

Assembly:

You can keep the carrots in the roasting dish for a rustic look, or plate them on a serving dish. Drizzle the yogurt sauce over top, sprinkle with sumac (optional), and garnish with a good amount of dukkah. You can serve the extra yogurt sauce on the side.

I do feel like I have slighted you by not using my own pictures for this blog, as the images above are from the blog writers of “Shutterbean”, for the soup, and “I Will not East Oysters” for the carrots. Kudos to their hard work! I will try to get my own shots up later.

Nature: Friend and Adversary

Today is a pleasant rainy Sunday, which allows for time to slow down, read, reflect and catch up on built up chores. These calm showers provide just the sort of moisture to saturate annual row crops and helps ease the burden of irrigation for our regions farmers. However, while the weather is gentle today, there were some rather torrential periods yesterday. The thermometer is still bouncing between hot and cool, providing rather inconsistent range of air and soil temperatures; this also makes for variable forms of precipitation. Mixed in with Saturday’s precipitation were heavy bouts of hail, which as you can imagine, spells danger for vulnerable crops out in the field. During one such spell Story Hill Farm suffered a tragic loss of spring crops. Farmer Jack Bridges, and 20 others on a chicken coop tour, watched as cold chunks of hail pelted his lush vegetables. Lettuce, radishes, kale, onions, and anything else growing outside was at the whim of nature. Situations like these leave farmers feeling helpless to intervene. When the climate is cruel, there in only so much that can be done to fight it. While the damage may be done, plants often demonstrate their unabashed resilience in the wake of such an event. I have seen rows of corn and kale plowed down by heavy winds and rain, only to bounce back and continue with life when the sun reemerges from behind the clouds. Let us hope that Jack enjoys similar fortune in the wake of this storm; but, in any case this is a scary moment for any farmer and is a moment that all have endured.

Weather is the pivot around with all life hinges; it both provides life and takes it away. When climatic conditions are favorable, plants grow strong, water tables are full and human nutritional needs are met economically. When conditions shift unfavorably, plants suffer, wells are drained, yields diminish and we pay the price at the store. Rarely does a season pass without any sort of drought, flood or pest outbreak, so building resilience to these  events is constitutional to any farm economy. And we simply cannot accurately predict when those shocks will happen, nor can we anticipate how pests will adapt to conventional control. Since weather is fluid, adapting to climate patterns is an iterative process; never perfect, and always improving. Our developing passion for decentralized food markets is a part of this learning.

In the years since the Green Revolution of the 1950’s, large scale agrarian specialization has proven vulnerable to adapting to such shocks. Food systems catering to economies of scale often grow one crop variety over wide acreage. This allows for streamlined planting, cultivation and harvesting, from which consumers enjoy lower prices. But that price we enjoy is just a stagnant number at the store, and does not recognize the quieter costs we are paying. One such cost is vulnerability. While the price might be low in up front economic terms, it balances on a dangerous precipice of one storm cycle or pest outbreak from wiping out the majority of something like carrots in one region of the U.S. The price of all carrots then shifts, forcing us to then pay a scarcity price for what remains after the shock.

If you are of a business mind, think of our food system like your investment portfolio. If you just buy into  a high number of valuable shares, consolidated to one or two firms, then that investment stands vulnerable to much bigger losses when the firms suffer. Conversely, a diversified stock portfolio holds a balanced volume shares, spread horizontally across firms and vertically between businesses in the same industry. Much like diversified business investment, farmers invest in diversity to bolster security from variable weather conditions. But these are not stock and bond markets, these are farms. Farms produce food, and food is the second most basic component to fuel human life. Much hinges in how we invest in the sustainable security of our food system.

It is always sad to hear of losses in the fields. Thankfully our food portfolio is diversified here in Central Oregon, so we can continue eating spring radishes and lettuce without freighting it in from distant farms.

Follow Your Food: Radicle Roots

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon at Radicle Roots. As I had written in my recipe for Chicken Larb, Radicle Roots is a small, but very productive, sustainable market garden just outside of Sisters, OR. Radicle Roots is run by James Bernston, a first generation farmer from Snohomish, Washington. Farming is time and labor intensive work, even with a work force, and James does it all on his own, with help from his girlfriend Sydney when she is free from her Masters studies in Counseling. Due to the responsibilities of plant care, he operates at a small scale. As a market garden, James does his part to cultivate a variety of select crops for the Central Oregon Food system. Conscious of the capacity of his operation, James focuses on growing superb quality and cultivar diversity in his field beds. This care is reflected in the crops he brings to market; every head of lettuce and every bunch of radishes is a work of living art, full of color, crisp and fresh. He has to be selective about where he sells his food, so that his fields are not over harvested, and run dry. As such, he most often sells directly to his markets of choice, and has built relationships with restaurants and wholesalers around town. We are one of the proud partners of Radicle Roots, but you can also find his produce at the Bend Farmers Market over the summer, in Central Oregon Locavore’s store or on the menus of Drake, Jackson’s Corner and a number of other restaurants downtown.

James and his tomatoes

Radicle Roots

Cilantro for next weeks produce box

 

Small Farms are a cornerstone of building economic diversity in our community, and a critical component of fostering a resilient food system. In any agronomy, at any scale, the key to sustainability is balance. Though small, Radicle Roots is an important piece in the balance of Central Oregon’s agricultural landscape. James’s operation is a testament to the productivity of a small, intensively attended plot of land. Since everything is hand cultivated, James is able to plant densely and maximize the marginal food yield from the land at his disposal. As the human population  grows, our demand for food grows with it; as that population builds its aggregate wealth over time, demand expands exponentially.

In the world of expanding humanity, the agronomy can grow in 2 ways. One is what has been come to known as the “conventional” model; large, specialized farms that focus specifically on producing for economies of scale. While these farms can provide food at an affordable price and over a broad range, is requires large inputs of water fertilizer and land to make these operation function. As we have begun to see, through the years, this leads to some inherent externalities as management is stretched over large acreage; to state it simply, we don’t have that land available. The second model offers a bit more systemic sustainability. This model I speak of is the smaller, diversified farm that has come to define the local food movement in America. These farms do not individually produce food at the scale capable in their larger counterparts, but when working together, they create a diverse network that contributes to the dietary needs of their direct community. Since their operations cater to a diminished scale, they require less infrastructure and as a result tend to be more flexible to the whims of nature. This flexibility also extends into the land they occupy. Since market gardens like Radicle Roots focus on intensive hand cultivation, they are capable of producing high marginal food yields in small places.

Radicle Roots Romaine

James checking his cilantro

While we drive forward into a more crowded world, available farmland is dwindling, and food production has to find a way to adapt to the space that remains. James is a quiet member of the farmers adapting to such a world. His operation ingratiates itself into the neighborhood around him, providing more than just sustenance to his neighbors. In addition to his veggies, James offers his neighbors an opportunity to build their community by hosting greenhouse space for people to start gardens of their own. His presence there is that of balance; holding food production on one shoulder, land care on the other, and community development on his head.

What we hope to do at Agricultural Connections is help this sort of society to thrive by offering a central market to sell their food  so that it can always find a hungry plate. Our hope is that this sort of farming can become part of the larger hegemony in Central Oregon and create a community that is more engaged with the personalities of those who grow for them. This week we will be at Jackson’s Corner on the west side to celebrate the food that James and many other’s bring to our community on a weekly basis. Come out and learn more about these champions of the land.

 

Zebra Eggplant Seedling

New lettuce transplants

Watering in the new lettuce

Well ammended soil

Spring carrot crop is coming

Eggplant ready for summer

Washing Stations

Tomatoes are coming!

Follow Your Food: Baked Polenta “Pasticciata”

This week as we were receiving produce from the fields, Gigi from Windflower Farm stopped by with boxes filled with a colorful array of mustard greens, kale, turnips, and mixed chois. While we were stacking the waxed boxes in the warehouse, I mentioned to Gigi my excitement to include such beautiful produce in our shares this week but have a hard time finding recipes for cooking fresh mustard. She stopped what she was doing to recommend pairing the greens with pork. It was just a quick suggestion, but that little bit of sharing got my mind opened up to new kitchen ideas to diversify how I use greens outside of salad lunches. Every farmer that walks though our door wants comes with their own bite sized suggestion to share how they use these crops. The accumulation of these conversations adds up to create a robust foundation of the knowledge required to eat seasonally. These little moments that arise during our conversations with farmers provide access to information that simply does not exist while browsing though the supermarket.

To often, we shop individually. When left to our own devices, our food decisions are often stressed by imperfect information regarding buying responsibly, sourcing and finding a healthy diet. Ultimately this requires more time to read labels, check prices and find a good tomato in February. We have all been there: walking out through the sliding doors of the grocery store, pushing a full cart, wondering if you could have shopped a little more efficiently, a little more responsibly. As we engage more directly with those who live to grow our food, we gain a better idea of what exactly we are buying. By getting involved with local food systems, we know our money is going towards supporting not only personal health, but it helps develop the community around us. As we open up the dialogue around food,  perspective changes from prescriptive dining, to descriptive eating, where meals are flexible and revolve around what is seasonally available. With this shift comes the understanding that there aren’t really tomatoes in February, and instead creates the question, “what do I do with mustard greens?” It is an exciting question to confront because it requires reaching outside of our world to share ideas with other people. That question is an opportunity to learn what others in the community are doing in their kitchen, and try something new.

In talking with Gigi, my confoundment with mustard greens turned into an opportunity to expand my cooking knowledge. So, to continue the trend, I will pass on what I learned. Whether or not you cook this recipe, I hope that it inspires a new way to cook seasonally in your kitchen.

This recipe is pulled, and altered, from a cookbook by Esquire called “Eat like a Man”. Below is the recipe, with my own adjustments marked with an asterisk. The actual recipe does not actually call for mustard, but it seemed an ammenable alteration. The mustard’s bite provides sharp contrast to the rich, nutty flavor of pork. For anyone who does not eat meat, a similar effect could be gained by sauteing an egg with the greens, then baking in walnuts. Who knows, your alteration could make this even better! But i digress… and here is the recipe:

Final Product

Recipe in Esquire Cookbook

Windflower Mustard

Sauteeing Pork & Greens

Ingredients:

Polenta:

9 cups water

2 tsp coarse salt

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cup ground cornmeal (Hummingbird Wholesale)

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Ground black Pepper

Sausage: 

2 tbsp unsalted butter (I used olive oil*)

4 garlic cloves, chopped (Groundwork Organics)

2 lb ground pork (DD Ranch)

Red pepper flakes *

1 cup milk (Gerry’s Dairy)

2 cups chopped mustard greens (Windflower Farm) *

1/2 red onion (Cinco Estrellas) *

12 sage, or tarragon leaves (Sakestruck herbary)

Cooking Instructions:

To make the polenta: Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the salt and olive oil, reduce the heat until the water is simmering. Gently rain the cornmeal into the simmering water; add slowly and whisk as you pour to prevent lumps. Cover and set on a very low heat; periodically remove the lid and stir. The polenta will get very thick. After 25-30 minutes, or so, stir in the parmesan, butter, and pepper. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm until ready to stir.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

To make the sausage: In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter until foamy (or heat the oil). Saute the garlic and herbs, onion until the garlic is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and pepper flakes and stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up any chunks, and cook until the pork loses its pink color and is slightly brown around the edges. Add in the mustard, and sit until it begins to wilt, less than 1 minute. Add the milk,  cover and reduce heat to braise. Cook until almost no liquid remains, 20 min.

Spread oil in the bottom of a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Pour the polenta in first, covering evenly. Spoon the sausage mixture over top. Then, top with crumbled gorgonzola cheese and a bit more parmesan. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it cool for a bit, and then serve.

If you get the pork and polenta going at the same time, the total cooking period is about 50 minutes. This dish is easy, has simple prep, and it loaded with flavor!