Posts filed under 'Eat locally'
October 27th, 2009
That’s the title of the University of Illinois Extension presentation by Lenae Weichel and her husband, Kevin Holdmann from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the Extension office, 1925 S. Meridian Road, Rockford.
Lenae and Kevin will share their locavore experience (eating locally for a year): the what, why and how, the successes and challenges. If you’re interested in making “small changes,” RSVP at 815-986-4357 or online at http://winnebago.extension.uiuc.edu.
We’ve written about this before, in case you want to dig around the old links.
October 13th, 2009
The farmers markets are starting to wind down this time of the year however, you can still find an abundance of winter squash in many colorful shapes and sizes. There are many available and some of my favorites are Hubbard, Acorn and Spaghetti.
Selection
Winter squash unlike summer squash has a hard skin, which is inedible. They are harvested at a mature age and can be stored for 3 months or longer.Look for firm squash that feels heavy for its size. For a quality squash, choose one that has a smooth, dry rind and is free of cracks or soft spots. Look for rind that has a dull appearance. A shiny rind indicates that it has been picked too early or has a wax coating. Slight variations in color are not important.
Winter Squash is Good for You
An excellent source of beta-carotene (converted to Vitamin A in the body). A good source of fiber and vitamin C, as well as antioxidants. Low in calories
How to Use Winter Squash
There are many varieties of winter squash and most of them are eaten cooked. Their hard shells and seeds are not eaten. All winter squash bakes well and steaming works well for cut pieces.
Butternut
Winter squash, such as butternut, is at its best in the fall. Not only is it sweet and richly flavored, this vegetable is packed with powerful antioxidants. I like it because of its nutty flavor and it can be skinned with a vegetable peeler, which makes it easier to cut and prepare than some of the other varieties. A butternut has an elongated bell-shaped and usually measures about a foot long. Baking enhances its sweet, moist and nutty flavors. You will find it in local markets from now through March.
Spiced Roasted Squash
This technique—roasting cubes of peeled squash until they are lightly caramelized—makes a simple but stellar side dish.
Note: peeling and cutting hard squash can be a chore, but don’t let that dissuade you. You can purchase ready-peeled squash, packaged as halves or cubes, in most large supermarkets.
2 cups cubed (1-inched pieces) peeled butternut squash (9 oz.)
4 boiler onions (1 ½ inch diameter) , peeled and quartered
2 tsp. olive oil
¾ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground coriander
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with cooking spray.Combine squash, onions, oil, cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Spread vegetables in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast, uncovered, turning several times, until vegetables are tender and browned in spots, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, sprinkle with lime juice and cilantro, and toss gently to coat.
Yield: 2 (3/4-cup) servings
October 9th, 2009
When my family embarked on our year-long local eating challenge, we were frequently asked, “What will you do in winter?” There are many options if you don’t want to give up great food and community support when the growing season ends. To feed a family of four with entirely local food all winter long takes some planning and a season of preparation (from asparagus in spring to the last harvest of cold-hardy crops as snow falls). But what can the rest of us do, without the time or inclination for that commitment?
Even now there are foods you can buy (check the Winnebago County Local Foods Directory) that will last you well into the winter and even to spring. I need not state the obvious: frozen meats, local cheeses and eggs, and local grains will be available to some extent year-round. But there are “fresh” food options that will store for many months.
Hard-shelled, winter squash will keep in a cool, dark place; as will storage onions (not sweet onions which are intended to be eaten within a few weeks), garlic, apples, and potatoes (stored separately as apples cause potatoes to sprout). Beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and other root vegetables will keep very well for months in your refrigerator (remove greens – chop and eat these right away in quiche or omelets, sautéed with butter and garlic, or added to salads; or freeze them for later use) and store the roots in open plastic bags. Cabbage will also store in the fridge or cellar (remove any dried, ugly leaves from the outside before preparing).
Just be sure that you mouse-proof your stored bounty with wire mesh or you might end up like us last year… we found holes in some of our squash and a ski boot full of seeds!
Although pie pumpkins will keep well with the other winter squash, their higher sugar content reduces their shelf-life. Keep them longer by scooping the seeds, cutting the pumpkins into large pieces, and steaming them. Then just separate the flesh from the skin, puree the flesh, and freeze it in one-pound portions (perfect for one pumpkin pie or bread recipe). Zucchini can be shredded and frozen in two-cup amounts for making bread throughout the winter.
Dehydrating is another easy way to preserve. Local pears and apples are obvious candidates that make for great snacking or additions to oatmeal but don’t rule out more savory options. Onions of all types can be sliced or chopped, well dried, and kept in an air-tight container. Then just use what you need for flavorful soups and stews. Dried green peppers and tomatoes make great additions to winter chili. When using any dried foods, be sure to add a little more liquid than usual.
Even non-gardeners can grow herbs indoors. Check locally for close-outs on plants; if you find none, plant seeds (available online year-round). Keep them well-watered and in your sunniest windows and you’ll have fresh flavor and a little bit of green in the dead of winter and on into spring!
With a little planning and preparation, you can enjoy local foods year-round… and it’s not too late to start until the ground is white with snow.
October 3rd, 2009
As the University of Illinois Extension plans the Fall Openfields Farm Tour, I thought I’d take a look at the topic of Agritourism. The Agri-Tourism Partners of Illinois just announced that a pumpkin farm in Arthur has won their Agritourism business of the year award. My friend Anne Dougherty of Learn Great Foods, a food touring company based in Mt. Carroll won this award last year and I was happy to celebrate her success with her. So what is Agritourism, why is important, and what does it mean for our area?
A quick glance at a U of I Extension website supporting agritourism tells me that this is a growing segment of our economy and that there is a diversity of businesses that fall into this category. These businesses market a wide variety of produce, products, services and “agri-tainment” to a variety of consumers of all ages and demographics. Technically, we define agritourism as “any business activity that brings the public to a farm or rural setting in an effort to market farm raised or produced products or the enjoyment of related outdoor activities.” I have to take it a step further and suggest that our many local farmers markets provide a form of informal agritourism, providing consumers with the opportunity to learn from local farmers, delight in an assortment of fruits, vegetables and other products, and interact with other customers.
The most known form of agritourism is the good old-fashioned farm visit. Fall is the time when pumpkin patches are filled with schoolchildren; orchards are busy with visitors of all ages searching for that fresh apple cider donut or the perfect sauce apple, and soon we’ll be thinking Christmas trees and all that come with the season. Next time you make a visit, take a minute to think about the economic impact that the agritourism site may have. Are there many employees, products for sale that are grown and produced locally (more than the obvious) and are there partnerships evident, such as local non-profits providing booths and staff? All benefit us directly and indirectly, and are a value added bonus of our enjoyment of the visit.
The Fall Openfields Farm Tour will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2009. Participating farms will be open for visitors between noon and 5:oo pm. For more details, check the Extension website at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/winnebago/ or call the office at 815-986-4357.
September 23rd, 2009
I sure love the Midwest and its seasonality. The fall cycle takes place invariably in the execution of weeds, spent vines, brown harvested sweet corn stalks, and green bean debris. The weeds are all tilled under in the process. Hopefully most were tilled under before the seed heads matured. Weed whipping held most at bay when hand weeding became tedious and not worth the effort. The plants had already made their fruits. Rows become fewer, and the garden seems to shrink. The Guinea fowl are still delighting in the never-ending supply of Japanese beetles and are supplementing their diets with the weed seeds. They spend their days “working”.
Late planted lettuces, turnips, broccoli, green beans, and cabbages are coming to maturity. The tomatoes are lifeless lumps in their beds. There’s still a lot of tomato out there, although the last big rain seemed to “rain disease” on the vines. The serious pickers and tomato lovers will salvage the ugly fruits, chop out the bad spots and make wonderful bruschettas and flavorful sauces out of the garden ripened fruits. Peppers and tomatillos have come into their own abundance.
Our usual challenge is just when is a melon perfect for picking. For the last few weeks we pick a few here and there, but now the first tendril on the watermelon has turned brown. The cantaloupe is ready when the vine slips off the melon attachment. Oh my. Hidden under the vines were about 200 perfectly ripe fruits of all sizes. The melon options are fantastic when home grown. We have red, yellow, and orange watermelons. All have a tender rind, not good for shipping in big brown boxes, so seldom found in the big grocery stores. Check out the farmer’s markets! Picking day is also tilling day. The vines and weeds go with the tilling, leaving another flat place in the garden to receive wonderful organic manures and composts.
Potatoes and onions are still in the ground and can come out any time. Our little V-plow, lovingly dubbed the “potato popper”, is a back saver. Onions, fortunately, sit on the surface and just need to be lifted. Onions like to dry on the surface for a couple days. Potatoes would turn green if left in the light for very long.
After the first frost, we’ll snip off the sweet potato vines and “mine for gold”. We wait patiently for the parsnips to sweeten after a hard frost, and have topped off the brussel sprouts so the plant’s energy will feed the growing sprouts. The late crops are starting to look lonely as the garden shrinks.
Local food is still abundant, just changing with the season. Take advantage of the fall harvest by visiting local markets and the Openfields Dinner Series. There are only three dinners remaining. Visit www.extension.uiuc.edu/winnebago for the details. ?
September 18th, 2009
Reminder that the September Openfields dinner series will be hosted at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Noonan’s (Aldeen Golf Course, Rockford) — the catering is by Five Forks Market. Register here or call 815-986-4357; cost is $55 for five courses.
If you can’t make it, two more chances for locally grown and made cuisine are Oct. 8 at Cru and Oct. 24 at Kiki B’s.
September 12th, 2009
The fall season is upon us, and it is a time to appreciate the growth that occurred in the summer months by rejoicing in the bounty of the harvest that is ahead of us. If there was any a time to eat local, this season would be the time begin!
If a garden coming into fall was the color to paint on a canvas, the artist would have a rainbow of colors to choose from. So many vegetables, and fruits, are ready to be harvested and enjoyed at this time, it is almost too much to enjoy all at once. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and zucchini are either at the peak of their harvest. Late sweet corn is still available for our last bite of sweetness, as are the last crop of green beans. The first crop of fall vegetables are not far away and the first crop of potatoes are ready to be dug. Did I mention the winter squash that is just coming to ripen? And those are just the veggies! What about the sun-ripened melons that we can enjoy, the first pint of ripe raspberries, or the early apples that are now ready to be plucked from the trees? With this many goodies, how can one not enjoy them by eating local?
I think this is the season that is the easiest to make delicious full course meals from. With everything coming to ripen at the same time, one could make a bruschetta for an appetizer, a lovely summer salad to start dinner, gazpacho for a soup if one would desire, a mouth-watering ratatouille for the main course, and either a berry cobbler, grilled melon, or an apple crisp for desert! Many of these recipes can be found in several different variations in cookbooks, or they are also a simple google search away from enjoyment.
Another great task to consider at this time of year is canning or freezing for the winter months. I think the greatest piece of enjoyment on a cold winter day, is heating up a lovely tomato bisque that was made in the heat of the Indian Summer. Or, enjoying the taste of fresh green beans in a pasta dish! That will really make the cold winter months melt away! At first, I always thought that both canning, and freezing were both very time consuming tasks. The first time is always an adventure because there are little tricks to the trade that make each time easier, but those can only be learned if you give it a try the first time. The University of Illinois Extension offers canning workshops, and guidance is just a phone call away.
The many local farmer’s markets, pick-your-own farms, and CSA farms have many, if not all, of these products to offer. Please check out the local foods directory provided by the Illinois Extension Service to find sources for all of these delectable products!
August 31st, 2009
So how much U.S. cropland is farmed organically? Less than 1 percent, according to the USDA.
I learned this in Time’s recent story about the environmental price of cheap food. If you don’t read the whole thing, here is its message in a nutshell.
We don’t have the luxury of philosophizing about food. With the exhaustion of the soil, the impact of global warming and the inevitably rising price of oil — which will affect everything from fertilizer to supermarket electricity bills — our industrial style of food production will end sooner or later. As the developing world grows richer, hundreds of millions of people will want to shift to the same calorie-heavy, protein-rich diet that has made Americans so unhealthy — demand for meat and poultry worldwide is set to rise 25% by 2015 — but the earth can no longer deliver. Unless Americans radically rethink the way they grow and consume food, they face a future of eroded farmland, hollowed-out countryside, scarier germs, higher health costs — and bland taste. Sustainable food has an élitist reputation, but each of us depends on the soil, animals and plants — and as every farmer knows, if you don’t take care of your land, it can’t take care of you.
Each week on this blog, you can learn more from local experts and farmers about eating locally.
August 27th, 2009
The Illinois Food Farms & Jobs Bill was passed on August 18, 2009.
This law creates the Illinois Local Food, Farms and Jobs Council, which will work with state agencies, Illinois businesses, organizations, and citizens to build a fully functioning local farm and food system in Illinois. It will open new avenues of entrepreneurship, and we are grateful for the opportunities. This legislation will begin a long overdue transformation of our communities. There are plenty of business opportunities to go around.
Believe it or not, an estimated $46 billion of our money flows out of our state for food each year. Even if the number is off a bit, that’s no small potatoes. Currently, Illinois produces approximately 4% of the food we consume. The goal is to increase that to 10% by 2020 and 20% by 2030. The greatest natural resource in Illinois is our soil. It’s among the best in the world, and is absolutely irreplaceable.
People are needed to grow specialty crops, and workers will be needed to harvest and process the products. Engineers are needed to design and build equipment for those specialty crops. There will be an endless need for modern, reasonably priced, small scale equipment, and people to weld, paint, repair, and sell it.
Distribution hubs are also desperately needed. These will have to be built, furnished, and staffed. Other needs include farm co-ops that meet the needs of diversified growers; specialty crop advisors; and Illinois-specific seed and plant production, plus plant breeding work.
Value-added product development for the local food industry will offer quite a bit of work, including labeling, packaging, publicizing, and marketing these products. Suppliers of soil amendments will find an up tick in work. This could even be the start of diverting some of the organic material that ends up in our landfills, back to farms.
Financial advisors specializing in the local foods industry will be needed. And don’t forget all those farmers who will need to add infrastructure like buildings, storage, and equipment to their farms in order to diversify their cropping systems.
Different industries are specifically mentioned in the legislation, including agri-tourisim, which is already popular in some parts of America and abroad. People want to visit farms to connect with the source of their food. One area farmer, David Cleverdon of Kinnickinnick Farm, is already trying to do this.
The cosmetic/healthcare industry is on the list, along with dairy products and eggs. The fiber industry could see innovations in sustainable fabrics, dye, design, and production. Fish and forestry products include Christmas trees, wood, syrup, mushrooms, and nuts. Fifteen different grains are listed, plus herbs, honey, meat, ornamental plants, recreation, and renewable energy. How about some beer made with local grain?
To read the legislation, visit www.foodfarmsjobs.org. I think this may be the road back to the land of milk and honey, bread and roses.
August 13th, 2009
Last night, I snuck out to see a late showing of Julie & Julia, looking for inspiration from the French chef and her unlikely protégé. The irony of the blog-related storyline didn’t immediately occur to me but it struck me soon enough after the film began. I enjoyed watching the two women’s discoveries of the joys and pains of good food play out on the big screen (and I especially enjoyed the insight into the life of Julia Child).
Film critique aside, I did observe some local food happenings in the movie, especially in the scenes where Julia Child was shopping for food in the markets of Paris. You not only see her selecting the fresh ingredients but interacting with the shopkeepers and market vendors. She got to know the people and their families as well as the foods they sold. And she probably got to know the food better because of her relationship with those from whom she bought it.
I know you’ve read before in this column about the benefits of shopping locally (getting to know those who grow your food, keeping your money in your community, enjoying fresher and healthier foods) but what about encouraging your favorite eateries (for the same reasons) to buy locally as well? Asking your server (or better yet, the chef or manager) if the restaurant has sourced any ingredients locally is a great start to reminding restaurateurs that there are many of us who do care about such things. You see, procuring and preparing local foods may take a bit more effort on the part of restaurants but they could easily feature a dish or two with local ingredients as a noted menu item or special of the day. Let your favorite restaurant know that you value local foods, even when eating out. Chefs and others who purchase food for commercial operations can utilize the information resources of the local University of Illinois Extension Office, which can connect them with farmers and producers in the area.
Another way to eat locally when eating out is to treat yourself to a meal in the series of local foods dinners organized by the Winnebago County Local Foods Workgroup. The fourth in the series of eight was last Thursday night at Brio and it was fantastic. We were treated to a five-course meal that was well-conceived, well-prepared, well-presented, and well… just delightful. Don’t miss your opportunity to experience a local dinner yet this season. The next dinner is August 20th at Severson Dells, catered by Toni’s of Winnebago. Find more information on the U of I - Winnebago County Extension website.
With a little planning (and encouragement), we can spend our food dollars on great food that contributes something to our community. With any luck, we’ll enjoy it half as much as Julia Child, even if we haven’t mastered her art of French cooking.
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