politics v. Politics

Tonight I had an odd dilemma: get to Mountain Mary's to pick up my Full Circle Farm box, or get to the Democratic caucus. But cilantro was calling me, so Barack lost out.

I have never seen so many folks participating in a caucus! This Gen-Xer has a hard time wrapping her mind around a primary election causing a traffic jam.

There, and Back Again

Life's been crazy lately.

Herding with Brady takes a chunk of time on Saturdays.

Visit from family at Thanksgiving.

The push toward the end of the semester and Christmas.

Who can keep up?

Especially when that long stretch of brown and gray without snow ate away at our spirits and our energy.

But I'm back, despite the craziness of this week. Why is everyone's life falling apart?

NPR : Will a Warmer World Have Enough Food?

NPR : Will a Warmer World Have Enough Food?

I am very interested in the question of how climate change will affect agriculture. On a personal level, as we consider where to live for the next 20-3o years of our lives, we want to know that the land we choose for our farm/ranch will not become a desert!

FW: Full Circle Farm 10/31/07

This week's order had some disappointments--also known as learning experiences.

Here's what was in the box...

Red potatoes. Looked good. Haven't had them yet--still working on Arctic Organic and Sunset Acres Farm potatoes.

Spaghetti squash. Should be interesting. Have never cooked spaghetti squash before, but lots of folks say they love them. Hope operator error doesn't get in the way of our enjoyment of it.

Yellow Onion. Had half of this last night with some potatoes and turkey sausage. Seemed sweet and flavorful.

Golden beets (double order). Arctic Organics spoiled me. The golden beets look a bit sad. Perhaps once they're roasted and peeled...or peeled and roasted.

Jonagold apples. Four apples, a few bruises. My sweetie has just learned about Marzetti's caramel dip, so I may purchase some to encourage apple consumption.

Stark Crimson pears. They don't look crimson. Hope they didn't send Anjou instead.

Garlic. Looks good. My plan is to teach myself how to roast a head of garlic. Unfortunately the wipe-out rate on the foodie learning curve is quite high.

Celery. Nice tops that I'll probably use in chicken soup.

Braising mix. Forgot to sub this out--I don't care for braised greens, especially if there's kale involved.

Red leaf lettuce. A few icky leaves on the outside, and more dirt than I'm used to with Arctic Organics.

Roma tomatoes. Never again. They're from Mexico, and at least two of them don't look very good.

Cremini mushrooms. I'll do something with these tonight, I think. Maybe tossed with some pasta.

That's the scoop. Cranky about other things today, so some of the negativity may be bleeding over into my thoughts about FCF.

FCF: First Box Evaluation

My second box from Full Circle Farm arrives next Tuesday. I'm on the every-other-week plan, which feels about right for the two of us.

Here's how I did with the first box.

The scallions are languishing in the crisper.

As are the beets. Perhaps they will join with their golden cousins (arriving in Tuesday's box) in a lovely roasted beet salad. Thank goodness for sturdy, patient root vegetables.

I still have a backlog of carrots from Arctic Organics, despite having discovered a delicious method for making glazed carrots that both of us really like. So Brady has been the only one to taste the new FCF carrots. He likes them. And he's a very discriminating dog. Ha!

Garnet yams are apparently only red on the outside. I'm sure they would have been better had I not been such a novice vegetable roaster.

Haven't had the Valencia oranges yet. I want to make juice out of them and don't have the right tools yet.

The first D'Anjou pear wasn't ripe. The second was better. Maybe I'll have the third later.

I'm not sure that I like Fuyu persimmons. They seem to get sweeter as they get mushier. But there's still a funny texture to them--kind of stringy.

The broccoli was good. Better than frozen, not as good as Arctic Organics.

The Golden Delicious apples were nice. Good flavor.

Didn't care for the Asian pears. The grainy texture was almost like sand.

I didn't like the Japanese eggplant, but then again I don't like any kind of eggplant.

The lettuce held up remarkably well. They say organic lettuce has to be hardier, because it doesn't get chemical help fending off pests.

Week One was a good adventure. I'm looking forward to Tuesday!

Crazy, Sweater-Herding Dog

Brady and I have been going to herding lessons for the last three weekends, and he's really getting "turned on" to the sheep (I suppose that's a technical term!).

So turned on that today when I wore my Icelandic wool sweater for the first time this winter, he decided I was a sheep. Guess there was something in the wool that got him going. Funny, but not OK.

Full Circle Farm--Initial Impressions

When a friend started with Full Circle Farms, I asked her how she was liking the produce. She paused, then said, "Well, it's not as fresh as you're used to with the Beans...but it's good."

I opened my first box of Full Circle Farms yesterday, and understood what she meant. There is a difference between veggies produced forty-five minutes north of here, and those flown in from Seattle (and produced along the West Coast). They look less shiny, somehow, and, well, a bit tired.

That being said, the variety of things packed into my box is both daunting and exhilarating. Everything from persimmons to garnet yams to Valencia oranges!

I tried the Japanese eggplant last night. Didn't like them, but I think it's the cook's fault, not the veggie's. I really liked that Arctic Organics pushed me to cook unfamiliar vegetables, and I think Full Circle Farms will push me even more. What will I do with the persimmons?!! And how do I know when D'Anjou pears are ripe? And then there are Asian pears, which look more like apples. As my sweetie said, "I didn't know pears came in any other shape than 'pear-shaped.' "

All in all, I think it will be a good adventure, one that prompts me to be the better person I would like to be.

Cheap GMOs Are In Your Gas Tank

The environmental news and commentary website Grist posted a story this week about federal crop insurance. Yawn, right?

Wake up! The story talks about what is, in effect a subsidy for companies creating genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and at the same time a punishment for organic farmers. Here's a brief quote:

Last Wednesday, Monsanto announced that the Federal Crop Insurance corporation (FCIC) approved a pilot program that will give farmers a 20 percent discount on insurance premiums if they plant a majority of their corn acres with seeds featuring Monsanto's trademarked YieldGard Plus with Roundup Ready Corn 2 or YieldGard VT Triple stack technology. This is the first time the FCIC Board has approved a crop insurance discount for specific crop traits, but not likely the last.

For more information about GMOs, read this article from the Land Institute.

Arctic Organics Week Sixteen

Thanks for joining us this season! We did it! We made it into October for the first time ever! If you’ll remember, adding this week was to make up for starting one week late in June. The produce this week is certainly compensating well. The extended subscription season as well as the warm weather has allowed our shrinking fall crew to accomplish quite an autumn harvest! The leeks are in fine form, well worth waiting for to let them size up. We are very happy that the broccoli is matured in time. And it’s been a real boon to have the last planting of lettuce protected by hoop houses. Enjoy these last veggies! If you run out, we’ll be at the Anchorage Farmers Market until October 20th with more. Thanks again, and see you next year!
- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Yellow Finn potatoes
Brussels sprouts
Beets w / greens
Purple top turnip
Carrots
Broccoli
Leeks
Kale
Lettuce
Thyme

Arctic Organics Week Fifteen

Last delivery is next week! We had another frost last Saturday, but the weather has been very nice to the vegetables since then. Nevertheless we think it’s time to get the tender greens harvested out, as we see the snow line descend down Lazy Mountain! Better to harvest the baby turnips, mibuna and red mustard early than to lose them.

Next week’s order will most certainly consist of hardy vegetables. Enjoy ‘em while you’ve got ‘em!
- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Russet potatoes
Red cabbage
Rutabaga
Carrots
Baby turnips w / greens
Collards
Red onions w / greens
Mibuna
Red Giant mustard
Lettuce
Sage

Arctic Organics Week Fourteen

Frost came Monday morning…but it warmed right back up by Tuesday. It was cold enough to kill the zucchini plants. It didn’t damage any of the heartier greens and vegetables, but you might see some signs of frost on the some of the lettuces. We are in full scale “haul it in” mode now, knowing that more frequent freezing overnight temperatures are (sadly) inevitable. We’ve got loads of potatoes, beets, turnips, etc., to get into storage for the winter. Meanwhile, plan on two more deliveries of vegetables this CSA season. The last one is October 2-3. Enjoy the veggies!
River and Sarah


Today’s delivery includes:
German Butterball potatoes
Brussels sprouts
Beets w / greens
Carrots
Redbor kale
Rainbow chard
Purple Top turnips
Red onions w / greens
Catalogna dandelion greens
Lettuce
Parsley

Arctic Organics Week Thirteen

No frost yet, but it’s nipping at our heels!

We have stayed ahead of the frost successfully so far. This week you’ll be seeing the most frost sensitive crops for the last time: zucchini, celery and fennel. The field is still loaded with other more autumnal offerings for the next three weeks of your subscription.

We harvested carrots for the first time, and look forward to bringing you as many of those as we can find in the field. Enjoy the veggies!

River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Red French fingerling potatoes
Savoy cabbage
Beets w / greens
Carrots
Winterbor kale
Rutabaga
Celery
Fennel
Zucchini
Yellow onions w / greens
Tat soi
Lettuce
Dill
Apples – Norland and Oriole

Carrs Gets with the Program

I've been enjoying my Fred Meyer reusable grocery bags for months now, and grumbling about Carrs lack of such bags--somehow it seemed inappropriate to use FM bags in Carrs.

Yesterday when I stopped in at our remodeling-in-process Eagle River Carrs, there they were! A huge rack of reusable grocery bags, front and center, right there where people might actually see--and buy--them.

Yes, they were packaged in plastic, making it difficult to purchase them and use them on the same day.

Yes, they are missing that helpful plastic insert in the bottom that makes the FM bags sit nicely in the car.

But at least they had them! Last time I saw them, months ago, there were about five of them, located under the counter at the customer service desk. Then they disappeared completely.

I celebrated the arrival of this new bunch of bags by purchasing two of them. Gotta reward the good behavior of whoever put so many of them in so visible a place.

Beautiful Beets

This week's beets from Arctic Organics were beautiful! I roasted them while roasting some potatoes for dinner, then took some of the beets to work for Potluck Friday (as part of a green salad). The rest I ate when I got home--because the ones in the salad had been so sweet and delicious!

They are red beets, golden beets and chioggia beets. What a combination!

Another foray option...

briciole: Edizione speciale: Novel Food