The Weekly Bushel, Week 23, 2009
LotFotL
The Weekly Bushel #23
10/19/2009
Welcome to another week of CSA shares. We've caught a nice weather window over the last two days, which has been a blessing for next year's garlic crop. The 10 day forecast though looks like the spring we missed has finally arrived: 8 days of rainy possibilities. In the meantime, we wrap up what has been a solid year of CSA produce, assess what needs to improve, and drink tea constantly, trying to stave off the coming flu's of fall.
Thoughts on the organic/local food divide
What is the significance of organic food in today's environmental, agricultural, and economic context?
At least once a month for every month I've ever been at market, both as a soapmaker and a food grower, a customer leaves our stall after making the statement "I don't care if it's organic!" Sometimes they leave with product in hand, sometimes they do not. I recalled this phenomenon after talking about organics with my mechanic-permaculturalist friend Micah this morning. Whenever I drop off vehicles (which has been frequent this year), Micah and I talk organic vegetable farming and business generally. He was unaware of the fact that .5% gross from my business goes directly to a certifier, just to be certified. Last year, that was thousands of dollars,and will likely be thousands of dollars again this year. His response to this was, "do people really care about organics that much?"
I'm tempted to say that bye and large, certified organic products are not that important anymore. Local is the new black, ideally in organic fashion, or with the farmer's word vouching for an inspectors pen. That is true for me, not as a producer, but as a consumer. I don't shop a lot, but I'm no depression era farmer either. No canned pig's snouts for me, at least not yet! Yet, I do not buy a lot of organic products when I shop. Frank's County Market in East Troy though is no Good Harvest Market.
Organics, Certified and truly organic "organic" production outfits though are terribly important for general soil health, water quality, carbon sequestering, animal health, antibiotic viability, and so many other common goods, that it is a shame to see and feel signs of organics going by the wayside.
One problem certified organic producers face at markets is equivocation. To use the term organic to describe your produce at a farmer's market, you legally are required to be certified. You may say "grown using organic methods, " but even that is like selling raw milk as pet food, legally risky business. Still, organics as a term is thrown around by everyone. I've heard farmer's claim to be mostly organic, only relying on synthetic fungicides 45% of the time, and using manure as an ingredient in their cocktails of fertility. The term is watered down. There's that whole carbon thing too. Anything derived from carbon in chemistry is considered organic. Finally, arsenic in my Ricedream!
Another problem is industrial scaled organic operations. You can get damned near anything organically these days, even those things you shouldn't really be eating, at least not often. The day the organic Twinkie hits the shelves is the day I pull my certification. The success of organics has been its utter demise with many of us that started looking at organics as better food, not just cleaner food and more of it.
But local isn't a label more promising of best farming practices than organics. Try this thought excercise. Imagine the worst types of agricultural practices possible. You don't have to be from a farm to bring at least some "bad practices" to mind, right? Now take that image, and corelate it to a specific product you seek out because it is local. Hang onto those Jones breakfast sausages, in my case. Look at the label, then picture how tucked together the pigs are as they live. Are they living happy lives? Are they physically comfortable? Are they sick when slaughtered? My goal here is not to torment you, honestly. Suffice it to say that organic production methods can be worse than many not certified organic ones. But, unless you've got a whole lot of free time on your hands, you don't have an ability to inspect what's going on. That's one blessing of Certified Organic production: that part's taken care of, albeit at a great expense to the producer. Sure people can cheat, but cheating is never as easy as just doing what you want with no accountability.
In the end, it's the triumvirate itself that is rocky. When the economy's down, people shrink their extra's. You'd hate to see positive food choices be one of those compromised first, but in America, that's how we get down. Our food expenditures are very modest compared to members of other countries. It's the economic implications that are and will always be the largest impediment for a strong local and hopefully certified organic movement to keep it's toehold. For now, we are a minute little movement. That's fine too. I most always dream big, and always accept what is, in good time. What I hope has occured, whether organic, local, or some yet to be named movement to come (sytbnmtc-the acronym for the movement to come) is that people have started to distrust products with their food dollars, and start eating food that looks as it does when it is growing. Once they make that switch, then talking about environmental effects could actually get somewhere. You can't talk soil over a bowl of Kangaroo Crunch.
10 important lessons of 2009
The following are a list of 10 things off the top of my head that I have learned this year, that should benefit those of you expecting to be members in 2010
1. Living with, playing with, and working with the same people for longer than 3 months is an equation for disaster, and should be discouraged whenever possible, unless you're sharing a bedroom. Then it's normal farm behavior
2. An early 90's, white, Chevy, 3/4 ton vehicle, with a 350 engine, with more than 150,000 miles, will invariably make it to the week before the last farmer's market of the year before it either blows a head gasket or the alternator dies
3. LotFotL needs a new name. Candidates are Kangaroo Crunch Organics, Micah's Junkyard, or H1N1 Organics
4. Growing too fast=borrowing too much money-enjoyable field timef for Tim/6 full time employees
5. I can grow a much greater variety of successful crops than I imagined
6. Direct sales(delivered from me to restaurants or CSA members) are the marketing strategies that allow the greatest amount of control over intangibles, and will be the bedrock of my business
7. Hoophouses are, as my mother used to say "the best thing since sliced bread," only better because I don't think sliced bread is very cool, while I firmly believe that hoophouses are indespensible in this climate
8. Craigslist.org is a great source for day labor
9. Michigan has the best tasting peaches on Earth, and is closer to East Troy than Door county
10. I do not have enough gumption, know how, or simply attention to effectively manage a business and a vegetable production outfit simultaneously, at least not without qualified, deliberate coaching this winter, and some key allies this spring
The nitty gritty
Down to business, we go. We have a pretty good share for you this week. I was hoping to have both broccoli, brussel sprouts, and celeriac to add to shares by now, but they've been crawling along out there, and may only make it to extended shares, unfortunately. That said, we'll round out what for many every other weeker's will be the last share of the year, with a healthy dose of beets, some herbs you haven't gotten in a while, and a good bag of russian banana or french fingerlings.
This Week's Share
* Thyme
* Sage-may sub parsley if we run short
* Fingerling Potatoes
* Beets
* Baby Turnips-not hakureis, but small purple top turnips
* Rutabagas
* Onions
* Kohlrabi or cabbage
* Baby Leeks
* Bok Choy
* Kale
Fixins
Krispy Kale Chips
http://www.ehow.com/how_4708077_organic-crispy-kale-curly-chips.html
Things You'll Need:
1 head clean, dry & chopped fresh organic green curly kale, woody center stems removed
2 Tbsp. organic olive oil
Pinch of kosher salt or sea salt
Place a rack on the lowest shelf of your oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Spread kale out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat completely. Sprinkle with salt.Place on the lowest rack of the oven and bake for 10 minutes.Remove from oven and stir so that kale can get crispy on all sides.Bake another 8 to 12 minutes or until kale is crispy. It should be just lightly browned and crispy to the touch. If kale still bends, rather than crackles, when you touch it, it isn't done yet. Return it to the oven. Turn down the heat if it is getting too brown. Continue cooking until crispy.Remove from oven, plate and serve immediately.
PAN-ROASTED FINGERLING POTATOES with BACON
http://baconshow.blogspot.com/2008/12/1304-pan-roasted-fingerling-potatoes.html
10 oz. fingerling, purple, or baby red potatoes
2 sliced bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper
Scrub the potatoes, leaving the skin on, and then add to a pot of cold water. Bring the water up to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are just fork tender, 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Cut each fingerling potato in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cook the bacon in a skillet or pot and remove with a slotted spoon when crisp. If there is more than a tablespoon of grease left in the pot, drain it so that only 1 Tbsp. remains.
To the pan, add the smashed garlic and stir around until fragrant. Add the potatoes, cut side down. Brown them until slightly crisp. Pluck out the garlic and stir the bacon back in. Top with chopped parsley.
Turnip or Rutabaga Puree with Leeks
http://www.mariquita.com/recipes/leeks.html
from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
1 small potato, peeled
2 pounds turnips and or rutabagas, thickly peeled
2 medium chopped leeks, white and light green parts only
1 garlic clove or 1 stalk green garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
2 T or more cream, buttermilk, or milk
2 T butter
2 t chopped thyme
Chop the potato and turnips the same size. If using rutabagas, chop them about half tghe size of the potato. Put the vegetables, leeks, and garlic in a pot with cold water just to cover, add ½ t salt, and simmer, partially covered, until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid.
Mash the vegetables with a fork for a rough-textured puree or pass them through a food mill. Add 2 T or more cream or reserved broth to thin the puree. Stir in the butter and thyme and season with S and P to taste.
Variations: Stir 1 cup grated gruyere cheese into the puree. Or simmer the vegetables in milk instead of water. Add a Tablespoon of roasted garlic and a teaspoon finely chopped rosemary to the puree. Or enrich the puree with a little creme fraiche and stir in 1 cup watercress sprigs that have been blanched briefly in boiling water, then finely chopped.
Be well, and if you feel like you're starting to get sick, head to Good Harvest Market in Waukesha and ask for April. She'll square you away and make probably make you giggle a bit too. She's the best.
Sincerely,
tim huth
LotFotL Community Farm
Save $25
Current CSA members, save $25 on your 2010 CSA membership.
Offer Expires: January 1, 2010
