Tag Archives: local food

Becca Griffith: Minneapolis/St. Paul Weston A. Price Foundation chapter brings together great food, people, science and practical know-how

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Becca Griffith: Minneapolis/St. Paul Weston A. Price Foundation chapter brings together great food, people, science and practical know-how
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There’s nothing like a gathering of like-minded people – especially when the get-together includes delicious foods created with highly nutritious ingredients. When it’s a meeting of Weston A. Price Foundation chapter members, participants share deep commitment to foods grown to restore the environment, cooked and baked to boost flavor and health.

Cattle grazing lush pastures


These are the hallmarks of the monthly meetings of the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, one of approximately 600 chapters worldwide. Held the second Saturday of each month, the Minneapolis/St. Paul meetings are organized and led by Becca Griffith and Susie Zahratka. Chapter members and guests travel from around the metro area to share a potluck, hear a short program, and purchase locally-produced vegetables, fruit, free-range chicken and eggs, wild-caught salmon, grass-fed beef, and pastured pork and lamb from local farmers.

I trust you’ll enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview with Becca. And I hope you’ll look for the chapter closest to you.

Sylvia

45th Parallel Distillery – WI, award winning, world-class and committed to local

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Deep Roots Radio
45th Parallel Distillery - WI, award winning, world-class and committed to local
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When you think scotch, whiskey, bourbon, vodka, brandy – what comes to mind? Maybe Makers Mark, Jamison, Wild Turkey, Dewer’s, Korbel? (To name a tiny few.)

And where does your mind go? For me, it’s Scotland, Ireland, Russia and Poland, Kentucky, and California for the brandy.

It was almost two years ago, to the day, that I was visiting organic and sustainable livestock family farms in England, Ireland and Wales, and had the good luck to be treated to a hot glass of slightly sweetened and barely buttered Irish whiskey. My host and I were seated by a small fire after a full day of touring farms and meeting musicians and civic leaders in wet and blustery Wexford.

That experience stayed with me, so it was with great joy that I learned about 45th Parallel Distillery, a craft operation in New Richmond, Wisconsin – just minutes from my farm and a very easy drive from Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

I hope you enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview with 45th Parallel’s founder and CEO, Paul Werni. He brings a passion, commitment to local sourcing and collaboration, and a team to the business that’s proven out in regionally- and nationally-recognized spirits.

Sylvia

Debbra Anne’s Jam it On! – taking jams, jellies and preserves to the grill, seafood, bar and more

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Deep Roots Radio
Debbra Anne's Jam it On! - taking jams, jellies and preserves to the grill, seafood, bar and more
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Late summer – a time for capturing the season’s best fruits and vegetables for great eating when the snow flies. One way to enjoy warm-weather flavors and aromas is by making jams, jellies and preserves. In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Wisconsin author Debbra Anne highlights easy ways for using her creative Slippery Moose jellies to create layers of flavor in meat, fish and vegetable dishes.

Yup, jam isn’t just for toast anymore!

I hope you’ll enjoy this interview.

Sylvia

Taking jams, jellies and preserves way beyond toast

Amery Ale Works – creative, new micro-brewery with real local flavor

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Deep Roots Radio
Amery Ale Works - creative, new micro-brewery with real local flavor
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I can practically smell the hops from my farm – the brewery is so near!
It’s a big statement of trust and faith when an entrepreneur brings her funds, hopes and dreams to your community. Amery, Wisconsin, population 2906, couldn’t be happier that Jenna Johnson chose to build and operate Amery Ale Works, a new craft brewery, here.

I hope you enjoy this Deep Roots Radio conversation about Amery Ale Works. It launched to great reception, and Jenna continues building local relationships. For example, she’s reached out to nearby sustainable farmers who will grow the herbs and crops she’ll use to develop unique brews.


Listen in, or download, and then come on out to enjoy craft brews and good food at Amery Ale Works.

Sylvia

Just what is a CSA farm? Is there one near you?

from CSA

CSAs, like farmers markets, have been increasing in number dramatically in the last 10 years. Here’s some basic information about CSAs and why they’re a good source of fresh, local produce.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, each CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or “share-holders” of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer’s salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests.
By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

Find a CSA Farm Near You Search National farm databases by city, state, or zipcode

Local Harvest – http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
AgMap – http://agmap.psu.edu/
Search the Business category for the term Community Supported Agriculture or use the Advanced Search to find a local CSA.
Wilson College, Robyn Van En Center, CSA Farm Database – http://www2.wilson.edu/CsaSearch/
The Eat Well Guide – http://www.eatwellguide.org/

Local Food Directories. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. Includes directories of farmers markets, on-farm markets, CSAs, and food hubs.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/local-regional/food-directories
Local Food Directories. ATTRA – The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service – http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/local_food/search.php

Three Wisconsin women farmers battle to legalize sale of home-baked goods

Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Three Wisconsin women farmers battle to legalize sale of home-baked goods
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In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Lisa Kivirist describes the multi-year battle to legalize the sale of home-baked goods in the state Wisconsin. The Badger state has been one of only two in the entire country that has not permitted the sale of home-baked muffins, cookies and breads.
Lisa is one of three women farmers who sued the state in this effort, and recently won a state Judge’s declaration that the ban against the sale of home-baked goods is unconstitutional.Her sister champions in this effort are Dela Ends (Scotch Hill Farm) and Kriss Marion (Circle M Farm and Bed & Breakfast).
Lisa is an assertive champion of women farmers and their ability to build their farm-based businesses. The author of several books on eco-entrepreneurship, she and her husband run the award-winning Inn Serendipity Farm and Bread and Breakfast in southern Wisconsin.
I hope you enjoy this lively interview.
Sylvia

French sourdough boules

How long has it been??? What’s happening on this city-girl’s farm.

What happened?? Where did the summer go?
Well, if your life’s anything like mine, your Monday-Friday went to work and family. And your weekends, if you planned well and were able to add a dash of good luck, were spent doing lots of chores. You know – the laundry, food shopping, buying school supplies, banking, and repairing this-and-that. Hopefully you took some time for coffee with friends, and maybe dinner out with your sweetie.

A few 2016 calves

A few 2016 calves

The growing season started with the arrival of our spring calves. All our new little BueLingos were born out on our pastures and unassisted. This season also required that we up our game and manage our pastures for a slightly larger herd. This summer’s frequent rains helped keep the much-needed grass growing.
We began harvesting in July, and will take our final two beeves to the custom USDA processor in a month or so. (Those two animals will go exclusively for ground beef and summer sausage.)
Today, we get ready for an annual right-of-passage – tagging every calf, and castrating the bull calves. Once castrated, the male calves are called steers, and they’ll graze for two years to harvest age and condition. Until that time, all the cattle will enjoy the best of care: 365 days a year on grassy fields, sunshine and fresh air, a 100% grass diet, and the company and calm of their herd. It makes for contented, healthy cattle, and, ultimately, great-tasting and highly nutritious beef.
And that’s the heart of it: health and happiness – for the the cows, the land, and for you and me.
We all benefit from farming and living with a tiny carbon hoof print (TM)*, truly sustainable farming.
Thank you for visiting the farm and sharing the story of your food journey. I really enjoyed making frequent deliveries in Amery, Polk and St. Croix counties, and the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.
I look forward to meeting you. Please visit. And until then, enjoy the cooling fall weather.
Sylvia

*tiny carbon hoofprint is a US registered trademark belonging to Bull Brook Keep.

Around the Farm Table’s Inga Witsher

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Around the Farm Table's Inga Witsher
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Inga is a pleasure to watch in her episodes of Around the Farm Table, and fun to chat with about why she visits and film sustainable, small, family farms all across Wisconsin. I hope you enjoy this Deep Roots Radio chat with her.

Sylvia

Chefs for sustainable food – James Beard Foundation VP Kris Moon on the new Impact Programs

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Deep Roots Radio
Chefs for sustainable food - James Beard Foundation VP Kris Moon on the new Impact Programs
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We all know that chefs can cook, some of them extraordinarily. And we know that what they cook can reflect and flavor local culture. But did you know our chefs can – and increasingly do – play a role in redesigning a more sustainable, healthful food system in America?
I really enjoyed this conversation with Kris Moon, Vice President of the James Beard Foundation because the foundation’s Impact Programs spotlight and promote chef-led efforts to rebuild a more nutritious and regionally-sourced food system in our country.
Experienced and trained in restaurant management, nutrition and major networking events, Moon is leading programs true to the values and heart of the foundation’s namesake, James Beard – the chef and cookbook author who was lovingly regarded as “America’s favorite chef.”
I hope you enjoy this Deep Roots Radio conversation.
Sylvia

Connecting the dots between what we eat and how its grown

Connecting the dots between what we eat and how its grown

Beth Dooley, live, Sat. Jan. 30 – local winter recipes in the land of ice and snow

In last Saturday’s (Jan 13, 2016) Deep Roots Radio interview, chef/author/journalist Beth Dooley described how she came to live in the chilly Upper Midwest, and how it’s not only possible, but delicious to cook with local ingredients in snow-covered Minnesota. This history and grounding is at the heart of her new book, In Winter’s Kitchen.

This Saturday, Jan. 30, Beth will take us to the next step and describe actual recipes – ingredients and spices – for winter cooking. Join us!
What: Deep Roots Radio conversation with Beth Dooley on winter cooking in the land of ice and snow
When: Saturday, January 30, 9:00-9:30AM CT
Where: Broadcast and streamed live from the studios of WPCA Radio 93.1FM, www.wpcaradio.org

Here’s a sample recipe for Curry Potato Salad from Beth’s website, Beth Dooley’s Kitchen,Curry Potato Salad Beth Dooley So many others can be found in her cookbook, The Northern Heartland Kitchen.
Beth’s other cookbooks include: Minnesota’s Bounty: The Farmer’s Market Cookbook; Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland (with Lucia Watson); with Tracy Singleton and Marshall Paulsen, The Birchwood Cafe Cookbook); Meat and Potatoes; and, The Heartland: New American Cooking.