CT Green Scene

As Close to the Cow Without Milking It Yourself

by Eileen Weber

For those with a bovine sense of humor, here’s a cow joke for you: Why did the cow jump over the moon? The farmer had cold hands.

If you’re a dairy farmer, you’ve probably heard that one before. And there are enough dairy farmers in this state to get a chuckle out of it. In Connecticut, there is a $2 billion agriculture industry with dairy farmers a good percentage of it.

Some of those dairy farmers decided to go into business together. The Farmer’s Cow, based in Lebanon, has been spreading the word about the value of supporting your local dairy farmer.

Four years ago, six family-owned farms joined together to provide milk for parts of New York and Massachusetts and most of Connecticut. Between them, they milk 2,300 cows on nearly 7,000 acres of land. They’ve been so successful with milk they decided to try other products. They have half and half, eggs, and cider. In November, they launched their newest product: Heavy cream. With the holidays upon us, it’s just in the nick of time.

Some, however, have already sampled the heavy cream as a holiday treat. The Unquowa School in Fairfield got the jump on The Farmer’s Cow early on.

“Unquowa has been with us since Day One,” said Robin Chesmer, Managing Director at The Farmer’s Cow. “They buy our milk because they liked our concept.” Last month, the school made a Thanksgiving meal made in part by The Farmer’s Cow product.

But heavy cream is only one stop on their way to a world of lactose domination. The company is looking to include farm-fresh ice cream as part of their upcoming product line. With an April launch, they are planning for six flavors. Besides the usual kinds like chocolate and vanilla, they’re thinking a little outside the box with chocolate mint chip and cookies and cream.

Goats: Not Great Gardeners, But the Cheese Is Great

by James Simpkins

This past Sunday on route 2E about ten miles southeast of Hartford, I realized that I spend very little time in that part of the state. This was not exactly a revelation since I spend most of my time in Canton in the opposite corner, but it is rather beautiful out that way. However, I wasn’t just out for the colloquial “Sunday drive” (though I wouldn’t have minded); I was on a mission. For goat cheese. 

While attending a party in Simsbury at a colleague’s house, I met a Latin teacher named Mark. Though he insulted the French language (pronouncing it “badly spoken Latin”), which normally removes people from the Christmas card list, he quickly redeemed himself by sharing some of the goat cheese be had brought. There were four different kinds of fresh chevre on the plate—chive, herbes de Provence, black pepper, and dill—and all were delicious. When I inquired where he acquired such bon fromage, Mark further endeared himself to this gourmand when he said “we made them at our farm.”

The “we” Mark was speaking of includes his husband Paul, the main cheesemonger and their farm—already well-known to more local residents—is called Beltane Farm located in Lebanon, CT. Mark and Paul breed, raise, and milk their flock of Oberhasli and La Mancha goats twice a day to bring lucky Connecticut residents their fresh goat’s milk and cheeses. And from my own experience, the goats appear really happy to be there, too. And why shouldn’t they be?

Vegetarian What? (part II of at last II)

by James Simpkins

Last week I’m sure that there were more than a couple raised eyebrows or sighs of exasperation at my writing on the fake meat thing—and that’s fine. I actually didn’t realize I was so fired up about it until I read it again later. It’s funny how that works.

My personal truth about the whole fake meat topic is really “live and let live.” I don’t actually keep myself up at night worrying whether or not people should eat tofu shaped like a turkey. Honestly, though, I think it’s a little strange. Then again, if you saw the wildly un-hip sweatpants that I like to wear around the house, I should think to be understood at least as bizarre.

One of the comments on my previous article was by Julie Braun, of particular note as she mentioned something I don’t hear very often by folks trying to justify their weirdness. She pointed out the taste that she liked. Now here is the pickle that most of us are in: What costs the most in trying to eat (pick one) “green”, “organic”, “healthy”, “natural”, etc.—aside from perhaps succumbing to whim while shopping at Whole Foods Market—is loss of flavor. And meat tastes better than almost anything. Properly cooked meat is, gastronomically speaking, a much more pleasurable experience than most tofu, seitan (pronounced ‘say-tahn’) or tempeh I’ve ever had and you’ll waste your time trying to convince me otherwise. But, I regularly eat all of the meat substitutes listed above. I’ll get to why, later.

Meatless Mondays - Coming to a School Near You

by Heather Burns-DeMelo

I often wonder how old my son will have to get before his peers notice he's a vegetarian. He's in kindergarten, and so far, no one's the wiser that his "turkey sandwich" is made from spelt and soy-beans and his "hot dogs" are SmartDogs. It was no big deal last year when I could afford to send him to Waldorf, but this year we headed to, gulp, public schools.

Even so, I keep thinking that with a little luck (and global warming + overpopulation = not enough land for raising animals) being vegetarian will become the norm and he won't have to cope with being seen as different (doesn't every family have a bug relocation program?) Well, the Baltimore school system is one of the first to introduce Meatless Mondays, where they'll serve 80,000 kids up an all veggie menu. 

And they're not stopping there. From The Green Fork, "BCPS has teemed up with local farmers and distributors to provide students fresh, locally raised fruits, vegetables and milk. They’ve also introduced Great Kids Farm, a 33-acre teaching farm, home to chickens, goats and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Educators on the farm teach kids and adults how to produce home-grown fresh food, even in an urban setting."

I'm staying the course and letting the tides turn - and if they don't, he can go to therapy like nearly everyone else.

Cooking Through the Autumn Blues

by James Simpkins

If you’re anything like me, autumn is merely a signal that the bounty of garden love and affection is about to hibernate. Cooking in the fall climate is a little rough after summer’s spoils, but perhaps a little guidance for you fair-weather cooks out there could help you avoid despair.

1) Do NOT give up on local foods after the farmers’ markets close.

While most of the CT markets will board up in October, there are plenty of folks around who milk Mother Nature for all she’s worth, even through the “killing frost.” While you’re going to have to give up on the tomato plants (if you hadn’t composted them already), basil, cucumbers and peppers pretty soon, you can look forward to leeks, squashes, beets, and heartier greens like escarole and my favorite post-frost buddy, kale. Actually, there’s a great website I found here that you can bookmark for easy reference. Not only can it aid you amateur gardeners in harvesting as well as next spring’s plantings, but all you foodies can start scouring your region for those who already have it down pat. Turns out, it’s pretty much good sense—notice I didn’t say “common?”). Look at a Brussels sprout plant: Did you really think it was going to fold after just a couple of cold nights? Not a chance.

Camouflague Green: The Unknown Gardener

by: James Simpkins

I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t miss much. Not about everything, mind you, but specifically around food related issues. Of course, this doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement. On the contrary, the more I look for foodishness around Connecticut, the more I find--the more I realize how much I’ve been missing. While this week was no exception to that rule, the folks I came across are birds of a different feather. Usually, when people talk about the players in food world they are recognizable entities like Whole Foods, ideas like fair trade or organic, and brand names like Kashi, Silk or Stonyfield Farms. Others are also well-known but reside outside the realm of mass distribution, like “farmers’ markets”, “sustainable and responsible agriculture”, and “compost.” This week, I added “The Unknown Gardener” to my list of those making a difference in American gastronomy thanks to two households near North Canton. As I’ve mentioned before, this summer I’ve been driving quite a bit and have found myself looking for short-cuts wherever I can find them. Heading north from Canton, Case Street cuts off some distance between route 179 and route 219 on the way towards Granby and the airport. This wasn’t a new discovery as I’ve driven this way many times during my tenure in the Farmington River Valley. What was new to me was a certain table with fresh cut flowers that I saw a few weeks back. At first I thought this was someone who was trying to make some money by selling unsuspecting drivers whatever they could pull out of their backyard. In some ways, I was right. When I stopped being cynical about it, I realized I was looking at the front line of sustainability, the effort of individuals homes----and driving right by. So I stopped.

What I saw were four gorgeous bouquets of cut flowers, protected from the heat by the (now charming) pink umbrella overhead and sitting in fresh water from which they were certainly drinking deep. These were not only generic “flowers”, but a lovely mixture of daisies and black-eyed susans and at least five other types of blooms that I don’t know (I’m not very knowledgeable about flowers). The result is in an almost wild aesthetic that brings to mind idyllic, windless, locust-filled meadows of summer that seem to delight in their efforts in growing under the still, even encouragement of the midday sun. And they are five dollars. I am nearly sick with appreciation.

What kind of person tends their flock of flowers throughout this strange Connecticut  summer then shares them with the rest of us for pennies on the effort? I don’t know. Somewhat romantically, I don’t want to. It is enough to stop the car, leave my money on the saw-horse table and look forward to the next time I drive by. My wait isn’t long. A mile later I see another umbrella---and more flowers. I pull over again, incredulous. This time, however, the scenery is not as beautiful, but more delicious. Underneath this second umbrella I found a pile of green peppers, as well as a half-dozen or so cucumbers both proffered for fifty cents each. I don’t care for green peppers, so I left the pile undisturbed. However, the dollar I had left in my wallet proved useful and I took two cucumbers for the road. Slicing them for dinner later that evening I found them as fresh and crisp as my imagination wanted them to be. The small, white thorns (that’s what the little bumps are) were still intact on the startlingly unwaxed skin—a perfect cucumber indeed. I put my dollar in the metal box on the table and yelled a quick “thank you” to the man working up near the house. He waved and said I was welcome.  I certainly felt that way…and for a dollar. I have spent thousands and not felt the wave of satisfaction that came from eating those two cucumbers that evening.   I started to think that I was supporting these folks by putting my six dollars in their respective pots. Thinking about them again, I realize it is quite the opposite. Gardeners who will sell their wares to the rest of us are supporting others, their bodies, their health and their families just by setting up a table and an umbrella and using the honor system. How many of us can say we do that…and on the honor system?! What I like thinking about this is that the individuals and families who set up these tables, these “Unknown Gardeners”, do not think about it like this at all. The poetry of the offerings demands that the proprietors owners simply be offering unused blooms and produce on the cheap, unaware of the gift they really are. Even if they are aware, I still hope they’re making a couple hundred tax-free dollars on the side. In any case, they can have my money, and my gratitude along with it.

Art of Bee Wrangling

by Melissa Waldron Lehner
Fertile Ground USA

Bees have been seein' red these days. Well, actually they can't see the color red, Ted Jones explains, they only see black. But they have been getting pretty ornery from all the rain here in Connecticut. While picking up some eggs, I had the pleasure of running into Ted, expert bee-wrangler, owner of Jones’ Apiaries in Farmington, Connecticut, and president of Connecticut Beekeepers who was at Hard Rain Farm in Burlington with his son to smoke out some bees. Hard Rain Farm rents 10 of his hives to pollinate the myriad of apples, kale, eggplant, herbs and other vegetables and fruits that grow on the 4 acres of well managed farmland.

Today, father and son were out to collect the honey. A thunderstorm had just come through and the sky was bluish-black. Tom eyed the sky and held out his hand for rain, not a welcome thing for bees. “Bees don’t like the rain too much, it’s best to stay away from them.” That’s why Ted was sending in his son to check on the hives. His son, dutifully suited up for what looked like a trip to the moon, had a long-nosed smoker by his side. The smoke apparently sedates the bees and reduces the chance of being stung. Ted explained that a bee’s behavior is triggered by pheromones, or rather, chemical signals which then elicit a response from the bee, a response like stinging for example. “Another thing is, you don’t ever want to go near a beehive with a banana, you know,” says Ted dryly, as if there was a punch line coming. The only punch line is for the poor sucker who peels one back while standing in front of a hive - even one lone bee can wreak havoc. Bananas have an aroma which set off the alarm response and can cause quite a stir of stingers directed at said banana holder. “It could be ugly,” he grimaced.

Only 10% of honeybees remain in the wild. Tom says his business has really picked up nowadays and he has hardly had a day off. “It used to be that you just dropped off the hives at the beginning of the season and then you come to pick them up at the end. But no more.” Now Ted needs to visit the hives every two to three weeks to make sure all is well. “Some get wiped out when farmers spray their crops with all those pesticides, others have been wiped out by disease.”

French Wine: Might Be Red or White, But Is It Green?

by Eileen Weber

My family and I just returned from a long-awaited two-week vacation in France. A few lovely days in Paris bookending a stay at a country house in the middle of the Champagne region was just what the doctor ordered. The house was surrounded by vineyards consisting of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay grapes. What could be more bucolic than the pure essence of “green” Europe?

That is, until I saw the pesticide spraying. They sprayed the fields using farming equipment reminiscent of Transformers, the alien robot toys manufactured by Hasbro. The U.S. may have Extreme Sports. But France, apparently, has Extreme Farming.

These tractors have wheels large enough that, if placed on their side, would seat a party of 12 comfortably for dinner. Add to that a tall compartment where the driver sits and these “arms” that fold up like stork wings when not in use. (These contraptions provide some extra fun when passing them on winding, hairpin turns. Just so you know, a few well-placed hand gestures can transcend any language barriers.)

But it isn’t just the tractors. One balmy evening, my family and I sat outside to eat dinner on the stone patio adjacent to the open kitchen. It was exactly what I had come to the French countryside for: a light, soft breeze, the dimming rays of sunlight, mussels in white wine sauce, a mesclun salad in a light vinaigrette with a crusty baguette and a bottle of bubbly to wash it all down.

All was well until a helicopter flew past and began to crop dust. With precision and skill, the pilot darted around the vines like a pollinating bee. So much for eating à la terrace. Bon appétit!

Europe has made great strides to be environmentally friendly—so much more so than the United States. Their efforts to Reduce-Reuse-Recycle have preceded us by several years. We are sadly lagging behind them in so many ways. Because of that, I was surprised to see such wide-spread pesticide use.

I’m not entirely sure what I expected, though. Perhaps a dark-haried man lovingly tending each neatly sown row of sun-drenched fruit, his beret cocked jauntily to one side. He’d whisper softly to the vines in rapid Français tweaking his Hercule Poirot mustache with nary a chemical in sight. But no, organic practices for these tender shoots were not readily apparent.

Obamas to Plant White House Vegetable Garden

March 19, 2009
The New York Times
By MARIAN BURROS
WASHINGTON — On Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn’t like them) but arugula will make the cut.

While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.

In an interview in her office, Mrs. Obama said, “My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”

Twenty-three fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington will help her dig up the soil for the 1,100-square-foot plot in a spot visible to passers-by on E Street. (It’s just below the Obama girls’ swing set.) Students from the school, which has had a garden since 2001, will also help plant, harvest and cook the vegetables, berries and herbs.

NOFA: Cultivating an Organic Connecticut Conference

Join the conference to hear from two urban agriculture pioneers, Ian Marvey and Dan Ross, to learn more about what is going on in our state and how you can become involved!

When: Saturday, February 21, 2009
Where: Windsor High School, Windsor, CT
Time: 8:30am to 4:45pm
Register by 2/7/09 and save $5.00!

The conference will also feature a track of workshops focusing on strategies to close Connecticut's food gap with urban agriculture, small farms and gardens.  There will be a panel discussion on urban food systems, a workshop on exciting urban gardening initiatives, and a panel of young farmers who hope to dispel some myths about farming in Connecticut and reach a growing audience of young first-time farmers.

Other sessions during this conference will address "Edibles in the Landscape", "Is A Commercial Kitchen For You?", "Soil Compaction", and "City Chickens" to name a few.  For those interested in raising and preparing their own food there are workshops on bread making by Bantam Bread and cooking with winter vegetables by Jonathan Rapp.  For those more interested in sustainable living there are workshops on global warming solutions and making soaps and body butters with local ingredients.