Made in Oregon

Community Supported Agriculture Links.....Boston, Santa Cruz and Portland

This is a link to Metro Boston community supported agriculture
http://www.farmfresh.org/food/csa.php?zip=02215

This is a link to Santa Cruz community supported agriculture
http://www.ecovian.com/s/santa-cruz-ca/csa-food-delivery

This is a link to Portland Oregon community supported agriculture
http://portlandcsa.org/

Fish Tale Organic Amber Ale.........Olympia WA

Fish Tale Organic Ales

Nestled in the lush bosom of the Republic of Cascadia, the Fish Tale Brewery has been home to celebrated ales since 1993. Hand-crafting here at the famed 40-Barrel Brewhouse, the Mighty Fish Brewers create their proudest achievements: Award-winning Fish Tale Organic Ales.

Brewed in the great Cascadian tradition, Fish Tale Organic Ales spring purely from Certified Organic malted barley and the finest hops available. What results are robustly delightful ales that salute organic farming and all of the benefits it brings to our table.

At Fish Tale we believe that fresh beer, fine food and hearty friendships are what the Cascadian life is all about. It's an honor being part of this happy heritage. We welcome you to share in it with us.

Cypress Grove Chevre is an amazing goat cheese producer with sustainable practices

Cheesemaker Recognized for Support of Local Family Dairies and Land Preservation

ARCATA, CA – April 1, 2008 - Northern California cheesemaker Cypress Grove Chevre (www.cypressgrovechevre.com), America's leading goat cheese producer, has a new reason to celebrate its 25th anniversary: the company recently received recognition for its sustainable business practices with a Green Entrepreneur award from SAFE-BIDCO, a California organization that recognizes companies that champion sustainable business practices and are committed to environmental stewardship. Cypress Grove was nominated for the award by California Assemblywoman Patty Berg, whose nomination letter noted the company's "deep commitment to local environmental sensitivity" and the fact that much of its goat milk "comes from small, local pasture-based family farms, preserving open space, and sustaining the livelihoods of small goat dairies."

Cypress Grove founder and cheesemaker Mary Keehn started making cheese in 1983 after buying a small herd of Alpine goats to provide the healthiest milk for her children. She soon had a surplus of milk and began experimenting with cheese, which quickly led to a winning chevre recipe and demand from Northern California's best chefs and retailers. "We've always believed in being a community-based business and are passionate about preserving the small farms and healthy land that produce top-quality milk," said Keehn. "So I guess you could say from the beginning 25 years ago, we've been a green business." Keehn received the prestigious award, presented by Assemblywoman Berg, at a luncheon ceremony in Sacramento on March 26. The SAFE-BIDCO Green Entrepreneur awards, which are in their sixth year, support its mission to cultivate economic development through programs for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

ABOUT CYPRESS GROVE CHEVRE

Cypress Grove Chevre is the leading producer of fine American goat cheese including the top-selling American artisanal classic, Humboldt Fog. Founded in 1983 by Mary Keehn, Cypress Grove celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2008 and continues a tradition of innovation by introducing original American cheeses to the marketplace. Cypress Grove produces fresh, soft-ripened and aged cheeses and was awarded Outstanding Product Line at the 2007 Fancy Food Show New York City. Based in Arcata, CA, where the Redwoods meet the Pacific, Cypress Grove's award-winning family of products are found at fine retail outlets and dining establishments throughout the United States.

Why Choose Organic

Why Choose Organic

OMSCo, The Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative which represents nearly 400 organic dairy farmers in the UK, has recently combined all of the recent research in to organic dairy farming in three handy fact sheets. This will give you the most up-to-date information out there on the health, environmental and animal welfare.

It tastes better

Many people buy organic food because they believe it tastes better than non-organic food. No one is quite sure why this should be. It’s thought it might be because organically reared animals and fruit grow more slowly and the fruits have a lower water content than non-organic ones.


It's better for you and your family

Research suggests that organic milk is very beneficial to health and well-being. Organic milk is typically higher in vitamins and beneficial nutrients. It includes more Omega 3, vitamin E and beta carotene (which the body converts to vitamin A) than non-organic milk.

Eating organic food also means you’re reducing your exposure to potentially harmful pesticides, additives and antibiotics.

On non-organic farms, over 440 pesticides can be used. Their residues can often be found in the food they produce. The Soil Association only allows organic farmers to use four pesticides – and these can only be used as a last resort. Instead, organic farms control pests using natural predators. They maintain fertile soil using traditional methods such as crop rotation.

Non-organic animals are routinely fed antibiotics to help speed up their growth. These antibiotics are linked to bacterial resistance to the same and closely related antibiotics in humans – making any antibiotics we may take when we’re ill less effective. Soil Association standards prohibit the routine use of antibiotics.

It’s better for the Environment

Organic farms have 44% more birds and five times as many wild flowers as non-organic ones, helping to preserve biodiversity.

The UK government has admitted that organic farms cause less pollution from sprays and create less dangerous wastes. They also admit they produce less carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas.

It’s better for the animals

No system of farming has higher levels of animal welfare standards than organic farms working to Soil Association standards. All organic farmers aim to keep their animals happy, comfortable and contented.

Unless they are ill, organic animals are never given antibiotics. This means that they grow at a rate that is natural and healthy. As a result they live longer and have a better quality of life. If our dairy cows are treated with antibiotics, they’re removed from the herd and their milk is not used until the antibiotics have cleared their system. Organic dairy cows produce more milk over their lifetimes than non-organic ones.

Keiko Oikawa photography

The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems @ UC Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz

The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems

is a research, education, and public service program at the

University of California, Santa Cruz, dedicated to increasing

ecological sustainability and social justice in the food and

agriculture system.

On the UCSC campus, the Center operates the 2-acre

Alan Chadwick Garden and the 25-acre Farm. Both sites are

managed using organic production methods and serve

as research, teaching, and training facilities for students,

staff, and faculty.

http://casfs.ucsc.edu/index.html

Organic Milk Is that important

http://www.organicmilk.org/

Organic dairies struggling, too

The demand for organic milk and dairy products has grown by

double digits each year since 2005, until this year. Now the shrinking

economy has pushed consumer demand for pricey organic products

down and that has left some organic farms in trouble.

Home Preserver Wins Nobel for Economics

Home Preserver Wins Nobel for Economics
From DailyFinance, October 12, 2009

On Monday, Elinor Ostrom became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in economics, along with fellow American Oliver Williamson. In addition to being a surprise winner, Ostrom's research had a surprising inspiration: her mother's tomatoes and carrots. "My mother had a victory garden during the war," Ostrom notes in her National Institutes of Health profile, "so I learned all about growing vegetables and preserving them by canning."

Describing how others in her hometown of Los Angeles--as well as other communities in the U.S. and Britain--worked together during World War II to grow food, Ostrom used her research to demonstrate how government bodies, neighborhoods, even schools of fish can act together for the common good when they face a shortage of resources. . . .
Ostrom's work deals with transactions not commonly considered by financially focused researchers. Having studied water management in Los Angeles and irrigation systems in Nepal, Ostrom also has researched fisheries worldwide to discover that the most sustainable way to manage fish stocks is to let the fisheries determine how to share the resources. She found that privatizing public resources--allowing one body to make decisions about the use of resources--is inferior to letting a diverse group of bodies (such as a group of fishermen) make collective decisions. . . .

It's just the kind of enlightenment we need, I think--not just a statement of women's power, but a jolt that, like the Obama award of the Peace prize last Friday, challenges convential wisdom. Regulation and privatization has done nothing but made a mess of our valuable public resources--particularly in the food systems Ostrom studies. Unconventional farmers tend to make the right decisions when they rationally manage their natural resources, she has found, in conserving the soil, finding new ways to manage crops without excessive irrigation, and putting livestock on the land that sustains it most efficiently.

In that sense, the Nobel committee has awarded an economist whose work applauds sustainable agriculture and urges fewer state regulations and incentives (like petroleum subsidies and encouragement of destructive monocultures). The decision bodes well for future policy decisions by agriculture and marine-management bodies around the
world--perhaps it even foretells their disbanding. Best of all, it could ultimately result in better food for all of us.
--Sarah Gilbert

Pacific Northwest wallpaper...........This place is truly amazing

Walnut-Lavender Bread............Jerry Traunfeld

Walnut-Lavender Bread

• SERVINGS: MAKES 2 LOAVES

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 1/2 cups water, at room temperature
2. I package active dry yeast (not rapid rise)
3. 3 cups unbleached bread flour
4. 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
5. 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh lavender buds or 3/4 tablespoon dried
6. 2 teaspoons salt
7. 1 cup walnut halves or pieces (3 ounces)
8. 
   
   
   
   

   DIRECTIONS

   1. I. Pour the water into a food processor and sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the flour, honey, lavender and salt and process for 1 minute. Add the walnuts and pulse just until they're evenly incorporated into the dough. Scrape the side and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula. The dough should be very soft and sticky. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover and let rise in the refrigerator for at least 12 and up to 24 hours.
   2. On a lightly floured work surface, pat the dough into a 10-inch square. Fold it in half, pat it out a little, then fold it in half again so that you end up with a 6inch square. Cut the dough in half.
   3. Stretch out each piece of dough to a 9-by-4-inch oval. It will look like the sole of a very big shoe. Transfer the loaves to a lightly floured baking sheet. Cover with a dish towel and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
   4. Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the loaves on the middle shelf for 30 to 35 minutes, or until browned. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.
   
   
   
   
   

keiko Oikawa Photographer

Keiko Oikawa is an amazing photographer and has produced stunning work.  She is one of my favorites and I hope you visit her website to see more of her work.

Parducci Wine Cellars......1st U.S. Carbon Neutral Winery Mendocino, CA

Parducci Wine Cellars, Mendocino, California, U.S.A.: 100% Carbon-Neutral
In April of this year, Parducci announced its switch to 100% solar and wind power, making it America’s first carbon-neutral winery. Nestled in California’s Medocino County, the family-owned winery buys its grapes from local vendors, practices organic farming methods and pest management, and uses biodiesel tractors and eco-friendly packaging. Consider packing their July Wines of the Month—Parducci Sustainable White and Sustainable Red—into your picnic basket. ::Parducci Wine Cellars

Fields Of Plenty.....The search for real food and the people that grow it

"The chronicle of a farmer's journey to the frontiers of American agriculture today, Fields of Plenty is a book of rare beauty and hope. American agriculture is in the process of being reinvented by the farmers Michael Ableman introduces us to here, and to overhear these pioneers in conversation with one of their own is exhilarating."
- Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma 


http://www.fieldsofplenty.com/

Urban foraging redefines local food........sent from Heather

Today Heather sent me a couple of really great videos worth checking out.  I posted one today and the other will be tomorrow.  How amazing natures treats all around us passing by along our hikes and strolls.
Get out your containers, dinner is just a walk away.
http://www.boston.com/video/viral_page/?/services/player/bcpid21962023001&bctid=35781766001

Rooftop Gardens are a University success

From Rooftop to Restaurant - A University Cafe Fed by a Rooftop Garden

Co-written by Aimee Blyth and Leslie Menagh
aimeeblyth@trentu.ca

First published in Canadian Organic Grower Magazine

Visible from either side of the Otonabee River, a mere five-minute stroll across the Trent University campus bridge, a rooftop garden and little café are working toward social and environmental change, specifically a shift in food culture.
For about a decade now, Professor Tom Hutchinson, a local farmer and ecologist, has been supervising an intensive vegetable garden on the roof of the Environmental Sciences building at Trent University. The reasons for the garden are many. Historically, it has provided a site for monitoring the effects of air pollution and smog on agricultural crops. More recently, it has served as learning space for students in the Food and Agriculture Emphasis Program at the school. And in Toms' own words, "it demonstrates our ability to use unused space for productive purposes. Since most people live in cities it behooves us to maximize the ecological aspects of the urban environment. Rooftop gardens clean up pollution and create esthetically pleasing, calming places to be."

Today, the garden grows organic food for local groups interested in food security and sustainable agriculture. Among these is The Seasoned Spoon Café. "The Spoon" as the restaurant is affectionately called, has a mandate to source its ingredients locally thereby reducing the energy it takes to transport healthy food to consumers. It is the only restaurant of its kind at the university as it is a student-run, independent co-operative that stands as a politically driven alternative to Aramark. The American food catering giant which predominantly provides food on campus contracts other corporations such as Tim Hortons and Pizza Pizza. So, like Tom's rooftop, The Spoon also provides unique opportunities for practical learning, from studies in small business operation to bioregionalism.
While most students are away for the summer, the rooftop and the restaurant have hired us: a gardener and a summer cook. With a shared love for all things gastronomic and growing, staff, volunteers, and Spoon customers are increasingly aware of the varied components of local food culture, and their interdependence. Spoon cooks can often be found weeding, sifting compost, or harvesting food, in turn deepening their appreciation for seasonality.
Whereas fast food may have been an attractive novelty some decades ago, we have seen a significant shift in the desires of eaters at the university and beyond, toward food that is ethically produced. It tastes better because the flavours are as fresh and varied as local farmers' produce. Furthermore, the price is as easy to swallow as any other food served at the school, and is often less costly. In fact, what we're seeing is that taste is determined by much more than what generically-produced, hyper-packaged products could ever offer - the ingredients of which have travelled farther than any human is likely to travel in their lifetime, chocked full of unpronounceable preservatives that enable it to do so. People like to feel good about what they're eating. It feels - and therefore tastes - better "to know that the means of production are ecologically and socially sound", says TimWilson, customer and member of The Spoon. And at the rooftop garden, we are committed to doing just that.

New Burger Buns

Tonight we had our great friend Shells Bells over for dinner on her way back to Bend from the coast.  It was good times, love ya Shells.  We all ate burgers and fresh hand cut fries.  I got this ancho molasses bbq sauce by Tom Douglas and it was amazing.  I also had to add Rogue Valley blue cheese and peppered thick cut bacon mmmmm good!  The Beef was local organic running about $6.99 lb but we got 20% off and the cheese was $4.30.  Andrea had told me about these buns to try that were about half the bread, we gave them a shot and were actually really good and manageable especially if you were to add lots of toppings.  They are somewhat like a pita but not really..........?  Give em a try an tell me what you think.