“We will have to develop much more sustainable, or durable forms of food production because the way we have done things up to now are no longer as viable as they once appeared to be.” Prince Charles speech on the future of food, May 4th, 2011

Mankind is not on a timeless journey; as with all of life, our destiny is defined within the bounds of finite hope and promise. The magnificent bounty of nature, easily mistaken as being endless in supply, provides the foundation for all living things; it sustains the air we breath, the land we sow, the water, and other essential minerals in the earth, to create the necessary conditions for life to begin, and for it to continue to flourish. But nature’s abundance is not without limits, and in particular, the human species must learn how to navigate life’s path less destructively, and less rapacious of the natural world’s finite resources. Quite simply, unless we change course in time, having consumed both house and home—we may find ourselves plunged— as other civilizations before us— into sudden extinction.

Lubbock, Texas area from the air, showing center pivot irrigation circles.

The single source of irrigation is ancient water from a massive, underground aquifer. The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest, fresh water aquifer’s in the world, and was formed millions of years ago from the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. It traverses through portions of eight states (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming), providing 30% of the total water used in irrigation of agriculture, and accounts for an astounding 20% of the entire agricultural output of the country.

More efficient center pivot irrigation of a cotton field in Hale county.

This short documentary provides a glimpse into an unusually important, and long-running research and demonstration project, called the Texas Coalition for Sustainable Integrated Systems Research (TeCSIS) and the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC) that started with a grant from SARE to form TeCSIS. This combined project (TeCSIS/TAWC) involves scores of scientific researchers, educational institutions, government agencies, and local area farmers (producers) that are trying to find answers to extend the life of the aquifer, and promote more sustainable, economic viability for this invaluable agricultural region.

TAWC project manager, Rick-Kellison, talks to dry-land farmer Keith Phillips

There is another ambitious goal of this project that may be as important as its efforts to extend the life of the aquifer in this region. Only 2.5% of the Earth’s water is freshwater. Roughly two-thirds of that water is frozen, leaving less than 1% available for growing crops, and for drinking supplies. The transferrable knowledge that is gained through this unique type of cooperative research effort may offer valuable clues to other semi-arid regions in the world who are facing similar critical water scarcity challenges.

When we look toward the very near future, with an anticipated 2 billion more global inhabitants expected by 2050, better conservation of these fresh groundwater resources will be critical for our continued well-being.

Additional Resources:

• Future of Food
  Speech by HRH The Prince of Wales, May 2011
• Groundwater Management in the High Plains Aquifer in the USA: Legal Problems and Innovations (pdf) 2007
• Rethinking Groundwater Supplies in Light of Climate Change: How Can Groundwater be Sustainably Managed While Preparing for Water Shortages, Increased Demand, and Resource Depletion? (pdf) 2008

Can the 2012 Farm Bill protect the Ogallala Aquifer?

• One Hundred Years of Agriculture– the Giant Side of Lubbock (doc)
  Lubbock Chamber of Commerce
• Water Pressure
  National Geographic
• Ogallala Aquifer
  Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
• Ogallala Map Series
  Texas Tech University
• Map of Ogallala Aquifer- 41 counties in Texas (pdf)
• Water Worries: Declining Aquifers Threaten Agriculture; May, 2011
• Ogallala Aquifer
  High Plains Underground Water District No. 1
• The Ogallala Aquifer: Saving a Vital U.S. Water Source
  Scientific American Earth 3.0-March, 2009 (paid download)
• Ogallala Aquifer: An Introduction (doc)

I remember it was a typical hot, dry day in August. I wanted to get a short trip to the Farmer’s Market in before the day was gone. So many beautiful fruits and vegetables to pick from. I was in heaven. Almost.

I passed a booth with 2 ladies with bright aprons selling…hmmm, let me see, what’s in those bottles? Mustard? And it’s called Monastery Mustard? Why? I looked around to get a hint. Up on their big banner, behind where they stood, was printed “Benedictine Sisters”. Oh, okay. Of Mt. Angel. Okay, too coincidental. There’s something more here, there’s bound to be a good story.

I walked over and introduced myself to one of the ladies, who turned out to be Sister Terry. I began to ask her about the mustard and how it came about, and I was intrigued. We exchanged information and I contacted her in a few days to come down to Mt Angel to visit, talk, and film the making of their mustard.

Community life is important to these Sisters. The community in their Monastery, the town community of Mt. Angel, and the larger community they reach through their participation at local farmer’s markets. And I think, in part, that’s what Sustainability speaks to. Acting locally, participating in your community, has an effect, eventually, on a much larger, global level. Like water rings from a single drop of water, it spreads outward.

After filming the making the mustard, and seeing how it’s made (and about it’s intent) Lynn and I bought a couple of jars. I had not yet tasted any of their mustard. It was mid-afternoon and we stopped to pick up a sandwich at a local shop. Once in the car, sandwich in hand, I opened a jar of Glorious Garlic, and took a small taste. And then another, and yet another. It was hard to stop. I had never tasted a mustard quite as good. Now I was in heaven. At least my taste buds were!

Curt Ellis has a definition of Sustainability that I agree with: “It’s food you want to eat when you know it’s backstory”. This fits in to what I learn about foods more and more.

Willamette Valley Marionberry Frozen Pie

Those frozen pies that seem to fill the supermarket frozen display bins, who made them, and how are they made? We discovered one company, the Willamette Valley Fruit Company in our own backyard, that processes fresh picked berries, and within hours, the fresh berries are frozen, and made into frozen pies for shipment. The pie crusts are made from flour and whole ingredients, if you are not able to make your own fresh fruit pies at home, this may be the next best thing. Check out these related recipes that are perfect for this holiday season: Holiday Pecan Pie with Scotch; Zesty Marionberry Sauce.

Frozen Berries on Conveyor Belt

Pie Dough Being Mechanically Flattened

Frozen Pies Being Completed By Hand

Close Up of Frozen Pie Being Prepared

It was fall, and crush time for the grape harvest. The weather was gorgeous, the skies were mostly clear with only a hint of possible rain. I heard (through the grapevine) about a doctor who practiced both traditional and nontraditional medicine, and also owned his own organic winery, Cooper Mountain Vineyards. This piqued my curiosity, and also that the winery began incorporating Rudolph Steiner’s biodynamic principles years ago when it was a fairly obscure practice here in the United States.

I must say, I also enjoyed filming the grapes, their different colors and shapes.

So when I “had” to go to the featured cheese shop, Curds and Whey, to scout this story, it took no arm-twisting. And once I met David Schiffelbein and heard his story, I knew I’d found a mecca for this cheese lover.

David happily turned me on to Pat Morford’s (Three Ring Farm) cheeses and again, no arm-twisting necessary to see how she created these great little cheesy gems. She was, as David promised, open, friendly, and very generous with her time and her product. Before her interview, she fed us an olive tapenade chèvre on a rustic piece of toasted bread and another little number that went well with avocado. Nirvana.

Pat Morford, of Three Ring Farm, attending to a batch of cheese

I say, thank you! —Beth Harrington

Beth Harrington—Grammy® and Emmy® nominee—is an independent producer, director and writer for television, radio and the education market.

I have a soft spot for flowers.

Years ago I took some painting classes from a great watercolorist, Susan St. Thomas. The subject I always picked to paint was flowers. Gladiolas, stargazer lilies, Johnny jump-ups. They are all my favorites, for various reasons.

Near to where I live there are many farms and nurseries. Out driving one day, looking for fresh berries to pick, I stumbled upon a field of sunflowers in full bloom. There were acres of them, which translated into thousands of perky yellow and black heads craning upwards. Which also translated into millions of seeds for birds, and, perhaps, for people.

Aha! There might be a story here after all.

I pulled over into the fruit stand, and asked for the owner. His name was Don, farmer Don, and he was great. I just had to ask him one question—Tell me about your field—and he took off.

Sometimes you never know where the next story will pop up.

Recipe from the show: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

I met Ray Lampe at the American Royal Barbecue contest in 2003. Larry Mayes, another top competitor, said you gotta meet Dr. BBQ, his cooking classes are raising the bar for us competition cooks. Easy going, yet tenacious, Ray invited me to film him as he worked.

He’s somewhat a regular guy with a bulldog exterior. What makes him stand out – besides his goatee and flat top – is his ability to articulate in a down to earth manner. He’s got a story about so many different experiences. And considering how many miles he travels and people he meets every year, those begin to add up to more than just a lot.

While he was in town recently, Lynn and I rode along in his van. He added nearly another 100 miles to his odometer, and I had over an hours worth of dialogue on tape. We threw him some questions, and he talked. I wasn’t being lectured to, it was more like sitting around a campfire and listening to a storyteller. I began picturing in my mind the places he spoke of and people he met, and chuckled at his honesty. And these answers were all derived from a life devoted to bbq. It’s pretty amazing to think how something like food can create a new life.

—Rebecca

I read this in my local paper awhile back: “Oregon is one of the only bright spots in the country where we’ve got young farmers coming into the business…”. Hmmm, I knew most farmlands were industrialized, but I thought, with the growing interest in locally produced food, I would think the family farm would also be growing.

I contacted Dianne Stefani-Ruff from Portland Farmers Market, who made the quote, to see who might just be one of those new young farmers. She gave me the names of 4 or 5, and I never got past the first one I called, Mike Paine of Gaining Ground Farm. I knew right away he was someone who was very passionate about farming. He wasn’t born to farming, like many are, but raised in the suburbs. He had a garden as a young adult, but that was about it. His drive to become a farmer really sprouted from his experience in Africa in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, and, finally from working on his Masters degree at UC-Davis in Agriculture.

Sustainable agriculture is a growing field. Many farming methods that may have been lost to time are now returning. One that Michael puts to practice is using chickens to ready his fields. He puts them in portable coops that are moved along the field after the group of chickens scratch, peck the ground, and leave behind a rich manure. Recently he created a pond to catch the natural drainage of water from the hills. This water will be used to irrigate his crops.

Using organic methods, some of the vegetables he grew this year were tomatoes, melons, squash, mixed green lettuces, eggplant, and beans. They were all beautiful. I really enjoyed his sharing all the different varieties he grew, many I never heard of. I think the people who come across his vegetables at the farmer’s market and who are shareholders in his CSA are very lucky indeed. If you’re not familiar with what a CSA is, check out the story I did on Laura Masterson’s farm, in Food Network: Community Supported Agriculture

Recipe from the show: Fall Carrot Soup

There is a lot of hard work involved in farming. I knew that. But what really surprised me is how hard it apparently is to get your first farm. It even surprised Mike. Does it surprise you? Here’s some alarming information about the state of family farms in America today, and the respective ages of these existing farmers.

From Farm Aid:

In the 1930s, there were close to seven million farms in the United States. Today, just over two million farms remain, and only about 25% of these are family farms. In 2004, the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) predicts that 98 percent of total farm operator income will come from off farm sources and at last count only 7 percent of all farm families reported 100 percent “on-farm” income.

More than half of today’s farmers are between the ages of 45 and 64 and a quarter of the farmers in this age group plan to retire by 2005.

Only six percent of our farmers are younger than 35.

The complete Farm Aid article is titled, “Why Family Farmers Need Help”

*Update: According to the latest 2007 USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service, roughly 4 million family farms have been lost since the 1930’s, though it should be noted that small farms (50 acres in size, or less) have increased about 13% compared to the earlier USDA 2002 census data).

I was looking forward to the road trip to the Imperial Stock Ranch, and learning more about what it takes to run a large ranch. Thoughts of open spaces, corrals, and cowboys on horseback all came to mind.

The eastern side of Mt. Hood is a beautiful part of the country, one that I continue to savor discovering. As Lynn and I came out of the Columbia Gorge, past the communities of Hood River, and The Dalles, the land began changing from the majesty of the gorge to rolling green hills to hills spattered with black and brown craggily rocks and tufts of grass. After miles and miles of this kind of landscape we came into the town of Maupin, a population of 411 people, and our new home for the next several days.

The next morning we left early, filled our coffee cups and headed further into the high desert. It was early spring, the air was cool, and the landscape contained a great expanse of rocks, dry earth and short clumps of grass.

Baskets of rock dotted throughout the high desert landscape of Eastern Oregon

Finally, I came to the road I was looking for, Hinton Rd, named after the man that came across the plains in a covered wagon with his family in 1852. How did R.R. Hinton ever find this place?! After yet another mile, or so, down this road, I finally came upon the homestead that was originally built by Mr. Hinton, and for the past 21 years, the current home of Dan and Jeanne Carver.

Dan and Jeanne Carver, Imperial Stock Ranch

Later in the day I got to meet Bruno and Babe, the 2 Maremma sheepdogs, who guard, well, the sheep! They fit right in – big and white themselves – and are at home on the rocky landscape. The Carvers introduced them into the sheep family when they were losing up to six lambs a week, and since their arrival they have not lost any lambs to predators. These big dogs may look lovable from the outside but they spend their days and nights with the sheep, and the only humans they have regular contact with are Dan and Jeanne Carver. They consider everyone else a possible predator, and so I kept a respectful distance as I filmed their sheep ‘family’.

The second day I spent wandering the property and filming the different buildings, fields, and livestock. Many of the buildings were built by the original founder of Imperial Stock Ranch, Richard Roland Hinton. The buildings were beautiful in their simplicity and well-aged in character. The planks on the outside wall of the shearing shed undulated from one end to another. I imagine the decades in dry desert heat had this effect.

The Museum Room

The Carvers are working hard to preserve the original buildings that serve as a symbolic link to the past, while continuing the proud tradition of ranching responding to the ever changing economic landscape, and thriving.

At the market I discovered a wonderful new product I had never heard of before: goat milk fudge. It had won several top awards, as had the goat cheese that was also displayed on the table. I learned the farm was just a few miles away and the woman who offered samples suggested I go visit…which I’m glad I did, for I met goat farmer Evin J. Evans, of Split Creek Farm. When she was a teenager she had her first encounter with a goat, and as she tells people who ask ‘How come you got into goats?’ she answers, “I didn’t get into goats, they got into me.” She now has 350 goats of varying ages and she knows them all by name (none are ear-tagged by a number) on her small dairy farm.

Evin J. Evins with her Goats on Split Creek Farm

Coincidentally, while I was there, Cathy Payne of Our Natural Life came to purchase 2 goats for her new farm. I tagged along as Evans answered Cathy’s questions and showed her several wethers. Evans knew the history of each and it was evident she was attached to them all.

As Evans explains in the video, there is a price to be paid for her love of goats. A couple of years ago Evans was diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. This is sometimes referred to as farmers lung, which can develop after prolonged exposure to moldy straw or hay. In Evans’ case, her allergic sensitivity is due to contact with the goat’s proteins. “It’s been the biggest blow to my identity,” says Evans. “I tell people if I had been put in a room and asked to be as masochistic as I could be and write my own demise, that I couldn’t have come up with this diagnosis.”

Earlier this month she underwent a double lung transplant at the Medical University of South Carolina. As of today, she is making good progress in her recovery — far from her goats.

Evans plans on returning to the farm, and for the farm to continue production. Knowing her exposure to the goats will be less than it used to be, Evans’s doctors are working with her in order for this to happen.

We wish her all the best in her recovery.

As many of you might already know, I’m a berry big fan of berries—all berries!! On top of that I love to see how things are done. So, going to visit where they freeze berries was a match for me.

If you’re ever planning a trip to the Northwest (Oregon especially), I highly recommend the summer months. For that is the season for fresh berries. Berry picking time is so short compared to the enjoyment of them. I recently went out to pick one of my favorites: Marion berries. I found some that were just reaching their peak. Yum. I was picking at a good size berry farm, not too far from home, I walked around to see what else was ripening. I found a berry I had never heard of before: the Anne raspberry.

It doesn’t look like your typical raspberry, you know, that raspberry red color. This one was cream-colored, pale yellow. And the taste! Oooh! Melt in your mouth, almost like butter. I took them home and they were a hit with my boys, too. Fortunately I put some aside, washed them gently, spread them out on a cookie tray, and put them into the freezer for a few hours. When the Anne and Marion berries were frozen nuggets, I swooped them into a sealable bag to be put away for future use. A day down the road when the leaves have turned, and the chill has set in, I’ll reach into the berry bag and pull out a memory of hot days, dusty hillsides, and an orchestra of flavor.

Check out the recipes from the show: Blueberry Muffins; Blueberry Delight Pie

—Rebecca

I admit that I was one of those kids who took their time eating the chocolate bunny. It was full of wonder and delight, and I wanted it to last a long time. Starting at the bottom (thus keeping the head and ears intact as long as possible), I slowly made my way up. No way could I keep it as an iconic image to treasure. It tasted too good. By golly, it was chocolate!

Artisan Chocolate Spiritual Icon

As an artisan chocolatier, Sarah Hart, Alma Chocolate, takes her craft seriously. It’s remarkable that it can take years to acquire the specialized knowledge of how to work with chocolate, and there’s always more to learn. This is one of our earlier stories, filmed several years ago, and Sarah continues to expand her knowledge of chocolate. Two years ago, about this time, she returned from France where she had taken another master class.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, this may be a good time to visit your local artisan chocolate shop for a gift. This holiday may be one of those occasions (though year-round, there’s always an excuse) where you buy two items, one for yourself, and the other for that special person in your life. Enjoy!

PS. For those inquiring minds that may wish to better understand the distinction between a chocolatier and a chocolate-maker, David Lebovitz provides a good description in this post: Chocolatiers and Chocolate-Makers

My backyard came with a grape vine. It was winter when I moved in, and I had no idea what type of grape it was. Canes were stretching their arms out and under it all I found an old gnarly trunk. Never having a grape vine before, I left it alone, figuring, if I was lucky, I’d get some grapes at the end of summer.

Sure enough, some of the most delicious seedy Concord grapes emerged. My family ate them up. The 2 youngest complained of the seeds, but everybody loved the flavor. Last summer Lynn made some jam, and I made a pie. Otherwise, it was just pick and pop them in your mouth.

This past winter I looked at the vines, all going this way and that, and thought, boy, you need a haircut! But I don’t know the first thing about that. Through the video Biodynamic Vineyard I was able to connect with someone whose life grew up around grape vines, Lon Rombough. In addition to what I learned first-hand through Lon Rombough, I also discovered some useful online resources, as well. Vitisearch is a viticulture and enology directory that’s an excellent index to a wealth of information on the subject of wines and grape growing. The North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX) is ” a network of individuals throughout the United States and Canada devoted to the discovery, cultivation and appreciation of superior varieties of fruits and nuts”.

I shouldn’t stop with just grape vines, though, for he has an affinity with all plants. His yard is also full of fruit trees, each with its own story of how it came to be. One in particular caught my eye. It is an apple tree near his house, but it is no ordinary apple tree. It was 4 varieties growing and producing from one trunk! Ah, the magic of grafting .

I learned a lot about grapes that day with Lon. I learned a lot about other plants too. In fact, several weeks later I actually had the nerve and, more importantly, an idea of how to prune that grapevine-gone-wild in my backyard. It is now all ready to produce more awesome grapes this season.

Oh, I had a big surprise too. Turns out I had two vines, not just one, under all those tangled canes. It was a ‘grape’ surprise.

—Rebecca

Recipes from this show: Favorite Grape Pie; Green Grape Pie

What goes on at a small winery during the winter months?

I wanted to do something on wine. But here it was, January. I missed those plump juicy grapes by months. But hold on, isn’t that what I usually see when it comes to wineries: the harvest and the crush? Then wonder set in. What exactly does a winery do in the winter months? I had images of roaring fires, cold toes getting warmed, and mugs of hot cocoa being passed around. Sounded cozy to me. Lynn Penner-Ash was game for me to make a visit to their Penner-Ash Winery and document what actually did transpire during a ‘typical’ winter day.

It turned out the biggest challenge for the shoot was to accept the fact that the sun was not going to burn off the dense fog. As luck would have it, the day before was partly sunny, with a nice view of the snowy mountains. As I drove down into the valley that January morning, I entered near zero visibility. But, I was hopeful that in a few hours the fog would lift, and the crisp blue skies would appear, like magic. But, alas, it was winter, and the valley was socked in for the duration of the day. As Lynn led us into the vineyard, calling du jac, I began seeing the vines winter beauty in a new way.

Have you had a winter experience at a winery? What was it like?

Summer has to be one of my favorite times of the year. It’s not that the Winter and Spring rains have finally stopped (I love the rain and all it brings!). It’s the fruit! The berries, cherries, peaches, pears, apples, figs, apricots, nectarines, and, well, you get the picture. I feel so fortunate to live in an area of great abundance when it comes to many of these fruits. And Steve McCarthy, of Clear Creek Distillery, appears to be like minded. His family has been growing pears off and on for over 100 years, and about 23 years ago he began his quest to turn those pears, and eventually other fruit, into Eau de Vie. It may have taken him 2 decades to accomplish, but almost single-handedly, he has created the market for Eau de Vie in North America!

Eau De Vie enjoys a rich history in Europe. Cognac and brandy are types of Eau de Vie; in effect, any fruit whose essence is distilled, qualifies as one. Quite often consumed as a digestif (the opposite of an aperitif), taken (in small amounts) after a meal to (perhaps) aid in digestion. The key to a great Eau De Vie is its aroma; the smell almost lies to you with the pure sweet essence of fruit, delivering upon its sweet promise instead, the taste of a bone dry alcohol.

As fascinating as it was to observe the process of hand-crafting Eau De Vie, and learning about other brandies and liqueurs, I’m more drawn to the personal story of Steve McCarthy. Against the odds, striving year after year to perfect his products, he persevered, and developed it into a successful business endeavor. He is a true renaissance man: an artisan, businessman, engineer, manufacturer, marketer, retailer, and optimist—rolled into one.

Recipes from this show: Clear Creek Brandied Pear Salad; Pear and Currant Chutney

I’m one of those people who like to make things from scratch—when I can, which usually translates into when I have the time. But when it comes to birthdays I make a scratch cake whether time allows or not. I just make the time, even if I have to stay up extra late. For me it is a way of celebrating in a special way someone’s birthday. If you want to get sticky about it, it’s a way of showing your love.

Robin Hassett Putting Finishing Touches to One of Her Fondant Cakes

I was scouring around on the internet, looking for something different to do. My son’s birthday was coming up, and he has such a sweet tooth. And I discovered fondant. It looked like so much fun. Great colors, endless possible shapes to make, and oh-so-sweet too.

In another life I could see me becoming a fondant wizard. I loved how the colors became more intense as the gel was added to the fondant and then blended as Robin kneaded it. As she rolled out each color I was reminded of my years making clay sculptures. She even had the same type of tool box and cutters as I did. Maybe I should have majored in fondant instead of clay. I wanted to put down the camera and get in there and decorate a cake!

I went home armed with new possibilities. But wouldn’t you know it, my son requested good ole carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, which I was happy to oblige.

Recipes from the show: Chocolate Espresso Pot de Crème; Harvest Spice Cheesecake

I discovered Otto’s through the newspaper. What grabbed my attention was the on-premise use of an old smokehouse. What was that about? And the fact the business had been in the family for 4 generations. Cool. Bound to be some interesting stories there. I called and talked to Gretchen about filming a mini-documentary, and she said, sure, come on over. It was a cool morning in early March when Lynn and I showed up. We walked in, introduced ourselves to Gretchen, and did a quick survey of the shop. I put a wireless microphone on Gretchen and began to check levels on the camera. I heard her say, “Hi Grandpa! I’m glad you could make it down!” I turned and saw an elderly man walk in from the back of the shop. “This is Edwin, Otto’s son.”

During an earlier phone conversation I had asked her about sharing any old photos she might have because I did want to explore some of the history of the shop. She invited Edwin to participate, but didn’t tell me because she wasn’t sure if he would be able to make the 50+ mile drive that morning (he is 86 years old, she later told me). Well, he did. After introducing myself, and not knowing how long he would be able to stay, I immediately put a microphone on him, found a place to sit him down, and Lynn began an impromptu interview with the eldest member of this sausage making family, the Eichentopf’s. Afterwards we all drifted to the back area where all the sausages are freshly made, and grandpa rolled up his sleeves, and went to work with the others.

Does anyone still make their own sausages? Let us know if you tried to make them, and whether you succeeded.

Check out one of the favorite family recipes, from this show: The Best Mushroom Soup

—Rebecca

This is a story of a seasoned BBQ champion, Larry Mayes, and his quest to win at the American Royal that I produced specifically for CUpS in 2006. For those who may want more, here’s additional information about the feature length DVD, Inside The World of Championship Barbecue that this shorter story is based upon.

It’s a long road, and it’s not easy, a personal look at a barbecue world champion:

Background:

Larry and Ginny Mayes; American Royal Barbecue 2003

Larry isn’t competing nearly as much as he had been when I first met him. He is now owner of a BBQ restaurant in Memphis, Fat Larrys BBQ. Anyone that runs a restaurant knows it takes up a good part of your life. But I do believe that the personal characteristics that have made him a champion on the competition circuit, aside from his great cooking skills, can only help to give him a competitive edge in the restaurant business.

Recipes from the show: 2 Fat Larrys Rib Rub; Barbecue Beans; Wonder Peach Cobbler; Larry’s Slaw; and Grilled Catfish.

—Rebecca

Have you gone to your local farmer’s market lately and tried to make your way through the bustle? Have you noticed at the grocery store they sometimes highlight items from a local grower? Ever notice in growing numbers the restaurants offering dishes made from ingredients grown locally? I have. And it seems to be a growing trend.

Laura Masterson, 47th Avenue Farm

It was a natural fit for me to meet Laura Masterson, who runs a small local farm. It was fascinating to watch her zoom from restaurant, to farm, and back home where members pick up the weekly harvest. And she is not alone. I know there are thousands of small farmers across the country (and many around the world) who are facing great odds day to day, producing and selling through a Community Supported Agriculture program. Laura brings up many important points to think about. Is there a future for the small farmer near urban areas? If Oregon leads the nation in slowing urban land development, how well are other areas handling these issues? How important is it to preserve a direct connection between the land, and the food that we eat?

Recipes from the show: Oven Roasted Tomatoes & Herbs; Spanish Eggplant Salad; and Caponata Pasta.

It’s no easy task being a farmer. What makes it even more challenging these days is to find affordable land in the first place. I hear frequent stories along these lines from those just starting out, and, from those who have been farming for awhile. The veteran farmers shake their heads and say something has to change if we’re going to rely on getting our food locally.

That’s why when I heard about Donna Smith and Robyn Streeter of Your Backyard Farmer, I got really excited! For the right farmer, and the right landowner, this is such a no-brainer. It’s one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that moments! There is so much unused garden space in people’s backyards, most covered in grass (resource intensive, and inedible for humans), many of these plots would make a suitable space for a food garden.

Donna says you’d be surprised by the amount of food that can be harvested from a relatively small space. She figures 100 square feet of space will feed at least one adult (up to a family of 2) throughout the growing seasons (this will vary by geographic region). Picture it, a 10 by 10 bed or plot; that’s not so big. Multiply the number of people you’d like to feed in your family by that 10 X 10 figure, and that’s roughly the amount of growing space you will need to keep your family well stocked with fresh vegetables and herbs (PDF).

So many communities and organizations around the world are looking at creative ways to bring good, clean, fresh food closer to home. There’s City Farmer in Vancouver, BC; Pittsburgh, PA; and Middlesbrough, UK. A successful campaign spearheaded by Kitchen Gardeners International to create a White House Garden serves as powerful inspiration for many of us to start working on our own backyards!

There are lots of different ways ( Resources For City Farms ) to accomplish this effort of growing and providing food locally and lots of folks working hard to make it happen. Do you have other ideas to share? Or, know of other groups that are working toward bringing food home…right to your doorstep? Building a local food economy is just one more step toward a more sustainable way of living. A win-win for everyone including our planet.

—Rebecca

Recipes from this show: Kale Philo Bake; Crookneck Squash and Tomato Slices

“More grows in a garden than what the gardener plants”
- Old Spanish Proverb
That proverb stands true to what I witnessed at the Food Works project recently. Each year, through the Janus Youth Programs, a group of up to 10 teenagers from various NE Portland neighborhoods have a chance to give back to their community, and themselves, by growing food.

The project is designed as a job that pays in dollars and school credit. These young people learn how to grow food on a one acre plot of land, manage it as a business, and sell the produce. But that’s not all, they learn what it means to give back to their community by giving away, once a week during the summer, the fresh, clean, and good food they grew with their own hands.

Many of these young folks are from low-income families and many are immigrants. Some struggled with the language, some struggled with their shyness. But they all grew. They grew in self-assurance. They became urban farmers by planning, planting, and harvesting their crops on a farm within a metropolitan area. They learned about the value of food by selling at the local Farmers Market. They discovered there is a growing need for local access to fresh, clean foods, and through their own involvement helped people within their community. They learned through hard work and direct community involvement that there are important roles for young people to play in society.

So you see, food, works. It really does.

—Rebecca

It was a deliberate choice that he made. Schwen believes that we, as a society, have been lured down the path of consumerism, and profit, at the expense of the environment and of our souls. “I think it’s important for people to understand that we are all connected to land and labor… When I started out, I thought I’m going to change the world. And all of those people who went back to the land who are still doing this, we are going to do something to change this world. And you know, we are helping shape people’s thinking but I think there has been a lot of resistance because of the comfort levels that material security has been providing people. People have been saying, yeah, I want to do that someday. But circumstances are becoming such that people will not have those choices anymore, and people realize that.”

Steven Schwen was not born into farming, and in fact, first went to medical school before realizing it was living a more sustainable existence that he needed to pursue.

…”I guess I grew up in the country, and my family lived a mile and a half out of town. I spent my childhood looking under logs to see what lived there and running around in the woods, and just animals and nature were my life.”

His parents recognized his early love of nature, especially of bugs, and suggested it could lead to a career in science, and so they encouraged him to become a doctor. But Schwen later discovered that the concept of general practitioner that he had growing up, the country doctor that paid house visits, was quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Yellow Peppers, Earthen Path Organic Farm

Upon graduating college in the early 1970’s, Schwen developed a vision of a sustainable world based upon the model of an agrarian society: small towns, local economies, and more people on the land. It was the only vision he could imagine that presented a lifestyle without the need for oil. During our interview, Schwen asks, “You know what one family can do with a team of horses, or with their own labor”?

As you can see in this, and the other related videos, Schwen shows us his answer— a lot!

Calvin is a 10-year old boy with a deep enthusiasm for life. But every day is a constant battle against an unrelenting foe. One that requires constant vigilance and treatment; an enemy that science can not—as yet—defeat. Calvin has Type 1 Diabetes: this is Calvin’s War.

Spending a day with Calvin was an eye opener.

First off, I want to say something about the ‘hi’ reading he got on his pump that morning. I traded emails with his Dad later, to understand what had happened and this is what he wrote back: The “hi” reading doesn’t happen very often (thank goodness)–that means that he’s over 500 and means that it’s time for a big-time fire drill to get him down immediately. Anything over 200 is bad news, and over 400 is awful. When it says “hi” it’s almost time to panic. He also later told me that was about the 4th time in 3 years he had a ‘hi’ reading.

It was a Saturday morning. I grabbed a cup of coffee and the newspaper, and flipped through the pages. It caught my eye on the front page of the Living section A Day in the Life of a Diabetic, by Calvin Kocher (see his original article below). I knew a little about diabetes, but I had no idea what a day entailed. I had no idea how critical everything he ate and did could affect his body. Afterwards, I sat there and imagined doing what he did everyday.

With the article in mind I pursued filming a day in the life of Calvin. Again, I go into a story with a general (unscripted) idea how it will turn out, but stay open to what occurs. Though I spent the day with him, so much happened that morning at the soccer game–getting a ‘hi’ reading, taking a bolus of insulin to get it down, discovering it was a false reading due to a dirty finger, drinking Gleukos and Gatorade to counter the extra insulin, and still wanting to play soccer–I decided to concentrate his day around his game. It’s just a small piece of his life, but what a slice it is.

Recipe from the show: Nasi Goreng (fried rice).

A Day in the Life of a Diabetic, by Calvin
published in The Oregonian, Living Section, May 6th, 2006

Picture yourself like this: You have sudden thirst all the time, you’re always hungry, you have blurry vision, have lost weight, and suddenly have urination problems. You go to the hospital, and your doctor says you’re diagnosed with diabetes. Then you go to sticking yourself with a 1⁄4-inch long needle 50 times a week. That’s what happened to me and 23 million people all over the United States of America. Are you scared now? Wait until you see our average days!

The day starts at 2 o’clock in the morning for me, even though I’m not awake. My dad comes in and tests the amount of sugar I have in my blood. Oops. I’m high. See, the normal range is 80 to 180. I’m 274. I have a portable I.V. that I carry in my pocket called a computerized insulin pump. It gives me insulin, a hormone I need to stay alive, constantly throughout the whole day, which is connected by means of an infusion set.

To give an example, insulin is like a drawbridge that connects the red blood cells to sugar wanting to get in. The insulin “drawbridge” lets the sugar in, which is then converted into energy. However, when you have diabetes, you don’t produce insulin, so the sugar can’t get in over the drawbridge. When your drawbridge is up, the cells are literally starving all the time because they are in need of glucose, even though the blood is thick with it. The body wants to wash out the extra sugar, and so you need to drink and go to the bathroom a lot. A lot can go wrong when that drawbridge isn’t working properly, so my pump puts in insulin regularly via my set, which is an infusion set in my body for up to five days at a time. This constant input of insulin is called a basal rate.

So, back to our 2am blood check. Since my blood glucose is high, my dad gives me enough insulin to get it in range. You figure out how much insulin to inject by subtracting your goal from the high blood sugar, and dividing by the patient’s correction rate. My goal is 135 and my correction rate is 50. So 274 (my reading) – 135 (my goal) = 139 (the amount I need to come down). Then he takes the 139 and divides it by 50, which equals 2.78 units of insulin. So, he programs my insulin pump to inject that much insulin into me via my “set”, which is called a bolus since a lot of insulin is being injected at once, and everything is normal and peaceful…until morning comes.

Today is a Saturday, which means it’s a soccer game day. The game is at 11 o’clock. I wake up at about 9:30, get my contacts in, and head downstairs for breakfast. I read the paper as I test. Oh, look, Phoenix won! BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! That’s my meter! I’m 146. Perfect! I’m having 2 waffles, 30 carbs, honey, 15 carbs, butter, and milk, 15 carbs. So 30+15+15=60 grams. My breakfast ratio is 1 unit of insulin to 10 carbs, so I bolus 5.75 units, because I’m going to be burning a lot of carbs with all the exercise at the soccer game. Then I eat, bolus and we head off to the soccer game.

As we get there, I shed my sweatsuit and head off to warm up before the game. Then, just before we take the field, I test. 131. Normally, this would be perfect, but since I’m going to be exercising, I swallow a drink of my Gatorade® and jog onto the field.

At halftime, I test again. 187. Good! I don’t do anything. But then, later in the half I feel low. You know what it feels like to be low? It’s like running a marathon with only water to quench your thirst. You’d feel woozy, ready to drop, and ravenous, right? That’s what it feels like to be low. So, my dad calls me off the field. Yikes!!!!! I’m 39! I quickly slurp my whole Gatorade®, and ten minutes later, after testing to affirm that I’m at a good level again (107), I go back on the field to savor the last five minutes of a 6-2 win.

At the end of the game, I test again. Oh, good! I’m 156, so I can eat the after-game game snacks: Tropicana® fruit punch and a bag of chips. I will need to bolus for them. So, 30 for the juice and 15 for the chips is 45 on a 1:15 mid-day ratio, that’s 3 units. I bolus, and then, since I was exercising, I activate a setting on my pump that, for a short time, lets me reduce the basal rate of insulin my pump puts in to a fraction of what it was, called temporary basal rate. The basal insulin is the amount of insulin that my pump puts into my body continuously. My normal basal rate is about .8 units per hour.

We then, in good spirits, go to Outback Steakhouse™ for lunch. I order a steak, a baked potato, diet Dr. Pepper®, and a sundae. Then, after we order, I test: 126, and when I see the food, I bolus: 60 for the potato and toppings, 0 for the steak and the soda (they are carb-free), and 60 for the sundae. On a 1:18 ratio is…6.67 units. So I bolus and we dig in to our food like stray dogs at a deli.

At three o’clock, I go outside to eat a Popsicle and grab a bag of pretzel/cheese sandwiches and relax in the hammock. This is a snack I don’t have to bolus for. I look forward to it every day. Eating without testing and bolusing. It seems so normal for everyone else, but for me it’s a luxury.

At dinner, we’re having creamed corn, my mom’s really good fried potato slices, and steak outside. I rack it all up. My number’s a bit high 324, so maybe I shouldn’t have had the popsicle…. Anyway, so 324-135=189, and 189÷45=4.2 units, plus the meal. Milk’s 10, potatoes are 50, creamed corn is 30, steak is 0, and a fudge sickle is 15, so that makes 105, divided by my dinner ratio, 1:20, is 5.25 units plus the 4.2 units from earlier, which makes 9.45 units. It’s a lot of insulin, but that’s what I need. I bolus, and we eat. Later, right before I go to bed, I test. Terrific! I’m 110, so I eat a half a banana (15) so I won’t go low overnight. Then I go to bed, waiting for yet another eventful day.

It was back in May. Or maybe it was June. I passed by a group of folks selling plants for a community fundraiser. It was a good cause and I was looking for some geraniums to plant out back, which they had. There were also a handful of tomato starters. Should I give this a try? I love homegrown tomatoes. I knew I didn’t have the time for a whole garden, but maybe one tomato plant would work. There wasn’t a varietal name attached to it, or the others. I took the nameless home along with a small geranium, and planted both.

It was wise of me not to plant a whole bunch of tomatoes. With my schedule, I was happy to coerce the few I got from the plant. There was one surprise. I expected it to be red. And it is definitely orange.

My one plant was not going to satiate my taste for tomatoes—especially when my inner clock said—HEY! It’s time for tomatoes! So what a great opportunity it was to go visit the local farmer’s market and experience a Tomato Tasting.

I got there about 8:30am, as the plates were being filled with cut samples. The morning light filtered through the tall leafy trees and buildings surrounding the market. The light was beautiful and so were the colors of all the different kinds of tomatoes. Colors and types I had never seen before. Soon folks were lining up, equipped with toothpicks and pencils. Poke, taste, rate. Jab, taste, exclaim. Pick, taste, pick, taste, oooh, pick, taste, hmmm, move on. There was a quiet symphony of sounds stirring in the background as I filmed the activity and lushness of colors. What a great way to celebrate one of my favorites of summer.

Recipes from the show: Baked Roma Tomato Pasta; Tomatoes Vinaigrette.

—Rebecca

Dan Forgey visiting local John Deere dealership, Gettysburg, South Dakota

Gettysburg, South Dakota. This is a story about a farmer, Dan Forgey, and his connection to the land, and the community in which he has lived throughout his life. This is also a story about a true pioneer, and the pioneering spirit that seems to inspire this particular community of farmers to farm in a different manner.

Potter County is an enclave of no-till farmers. As the name implies, no-till is an alternative method of farming that leaves the land undisturbed (not tilled) for planting crops. Among the purported benefits of no-till, it improves (rather than diminishes) soil health, increases productivity, reduces input costs (lesser need for fertilizers) and sequesters (holds) atmospheric carbon in the soil that otherwise would contribute to climate change.

Forgey’s home town of Gettysburg, South Dakota, was established in the 1880′s. With the arrival of the railroad, and the federal government’s offer to Civil War veterans of free open land for homesteading, new settlers arrived in droves to this area. By the turn of the century, Potter County comprised 860 square miles of area; most of this arable land became dedicated to agriculture production on 160-acre plots.

As Forgey explains in more detail about his no-till methods (see related how-to video: The Next Step: Adding Cover Crop to a No Till System ), he has been growing crops on the Cronin Family Farm for more than 40 years. What he has always loved most about farming is the soil. It’s been his cherished belief that if you take care of the land, it will take care of you.

For Forgey, the land not only provides the means of making a living as a farmer; it grounds his connection to the open prairie, the howling winds, and to Potter County, his home.

Last year, while attending the Sustainable Food Institute at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I was curious to learn more about sustainable seafood first hand. I wanted to visit a sustainable seafood operation and see what was entailed. I found out there was a small company in town that raised abalone on their farm on the wharf. Well, actually it’s under the wharf, as part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Abalone Farmed Seafood, Monterey Abalone Company

Art Seavey has been raising abalone at Monterey Abalone Company since 1994. Trained in aquaculture, with an advance degree in Ecology, Seavey and his business partner Trevor Fay, work hard to keep the water of the Monterey Bay pristine. Their methods of harvesting the kelp have no adverse impact on the plant nor its environs, and because the abalone require clean water to thrive they have educated those around them about the importance of keeping the bay free from pollutants.

Similar to traditional farms of the land, Seavey noted that there aren’t many young people turning to aquaculture as a career. He’s not sure why, but he’s glad he has made a career of it. It’s environmentally and financially sustainable. He is quick to note that it’s not a get rich quick scheme. “Certainly abalone farming is not a get rich scheme. We’re not driving Porsche’s and we’re not going on long vacations, but we do have employees here that have been here for years, who do a great job, and we support as best as we can. We really care for them. So we think we’re financially sustainable as well as environmentally sustainable.”

As an added bonus, farmed abalone is listed on the Seafood Watch Guide as a Best Choice.

I started to really think about the food the animals I ate were fed, after I saw “King Corn” and talked to Curt Ellis.

As I was breaking down the equipment and packing it all away, I said, more or less to out loud to myself, ‘I ought to do a story on pasture fed cows’. Curt was right there, responding, ‘You should!’. I nodded my head, thinking, Okay, I’ll look into it.

The looking didn’t come right away. But evidently the forces in the world were at work, for not too long after, I finally started reading “Omnivore’s Dilemma” . The second chapter was all about Michael Pollan visiting Polyface Farm where Joel Salatin raises his animals as humanely possible and on pasture. Not concrete, not alongside thousands of others, not full of injections, and not 100% grain fed. Sounded like a good idea to me. But Mr. Salatin was nearly 3,000 miles away. It wasn’t going to work, at least not right away. In the meantime, I started to read his book, “You Can Farm,” and I liked what he was doing and wanted to learn more.

In the meantime I met with Michele to talk about films and food. I mentioned to her I wanted to do a pasture fed story and she immediately lit up and told me about the Abundant Life Farm
buyers club, for that’s where she got her meat, and it was all grass fed and pasture raised.

So I gave the Jondles a call and found quite a story. Not Joel Salatin’s, mind you (but they did mentor under him!), but their own story that was quite compelling. What a wonderful environment they’ve created for their animals. The pigs get to root under brush and tree, the chickens get to scatter, and the cows and lambs run at will. In fact, when Marilyn opened the gate for the cows to go to a fresh area of pasture, they ran and kicked up their heels! What a sight that was. I’m not an animal psychologist, but these are happy cows!

A website that is dedicated to news and facts surrounding grass fed food is EatWild. Yes, pasture fed meat is more expensive, but I believe it’s healthier to eat, and more humane for the animals as well.

Check out the recipes from this show: Mom’s Potato Salad; Easy Baked Chicken

We’re surrounded by images through billboards, television, magazines, the internet…the list is long. And since food is a part of everyone’s life, in some form or another, many of those images are about food. Some are blah, some are tantalizing, and some go unnoticed. But the ones that do grab my eye make me wonder and I begin to dissect. Why did they choose that background, who designed the arrangement, how did get that cheese get to look so yummy, and the lighting, how was it lit? These questions lead me wondering exactly what is happening outside of that frame.

I visited a food photographer’s studio to find out for myself. And boy, was it an education.

The day I spent at Ed Gowans Studio, he was doing a shoot for the Pear Bureau Northwest. In my naiveté, I thought everything was done by the photographer. Wrong. It’s a team effort. Besides the photographer there is a food stylist, or two, and the client pulled up her sleeves and was involved too. Each food item was prepared from scratch on site. Everyone put their 2 cents in. They took as much time as was needed for each shot, and then moved on to the next. It was a full day. Food that is prepared for filming purposes are not intended to be eaten. Food photography is one of the most difficult specialties of commercial photography, getting food to look just right on camera involves considerable skill and experience to get it right.

Ed Gowans with Client Christie Mather of the Northwest Pear Bureau Examining Image Monitor

I feel a kindred spirit with people like Ed and his team. They’re not just technicians, they’re artists. While there are so many images we are bombarded with daily, when it comes to images of stunning beauty, and artistry, there can never be enough!

Recipes from the show: Pear Bread; Ed’s Tangy Eggless Caesar Salad

Rosie (and the girls), 12 years old and still milkin!

This is the director’s cut version, a story about Jon Bansen, a 3rd generation Oregon dairy farmer who switched from conventional to organic dairy farming in 2000. The Double J Jersey 450 acre farm is located about 20 miles west of Salem.

Originally, this story was divided into two parts, his roots in agriculture as a 3rd generation dairy farmer (Organic Dairyman: A Family Tradition), and his life after converting to an organic practice (Organic Dairyman: The Farmer). More than just the combining of both parts into one, it also contains a new open, and the pacing throughout is more consistent with the slow pace of his natural environment.

It’s impossible to have a conversation with Jon Bansen without asking about his favorite cow Rosie. She’s now 12 years old (she was 9 in the film), and for an active producing cow, well beyond the average productive years for a dairy cow. And yet, Bansen proudly shares, Rosie is producing 120% of capacity compared with the rest of his 165 jersey cow herd. By contrast, Bansen explains, the average conventional dairy cow will last about 4 years, and during their first two years, will not produce any milk at all. To Bansen, organic cows are healthier, and remain on average, productive longer, than their conventional counterparts because of the differences in how they are treated, and their access to open pasture for grazing.

Organic milk offers additional advantages to consumers in the form of higher nutrient levels, such as Omega 3 fatty acids; better taste (I’ll personally vouch for this one); and is free of antibiotics, and growth promoting hormones. In conventional dairy operations, cows often do not have access to pasture for grazing, instead they spend much of their lives in confinement lots, and are fed conventional feed that according to Bansen is both unnatural, and stressful to their stomachs, and to their overall lives.

Just recently, the USDA enacted tougher requirements for organic livestock practices, to ensure that animals receive a considerable amount of their food from pasture grass, and lead more natural lives, without undue confinement. Organic agriculture, and by extension, organic livestock management embraces a holistic view of farming that seeks to work with nature, not against it. The new access to pasture requirements will likely effect more organic dairy operations in the West and Southwest where larger herd sizes (300+ cows) will no longer be economically viable due to the amount of grazing land needed . The majority of organic dairy farms are located in the Northeast and Midwest, and contain much smaller herd sizes.

From the USDA site, these are the main components of the new rule:

1. Animals must graze pasture during the grazing season, which must be at least 120 days per year;
2. Animals must obtain a minimum of 30 percent dry matter intake from grazing pasture during the grazing season;
3. Producers must have a pasture management plan and manage pasture as a crop to meet the feed requirements for the grazing animals and to protect soil and water quality; and,
4. Livestock are exempt from the 30 percent dry matter intake requirements during the finish feeding period, not to exceed 120 days. Livestock must have access to pasture during the finishing phase.

For organic dairyman, Jon Bansen, the consistent health of his Jersey cows, their added years of milk production, a sustainable approach to the ecosystem of his farm operations, and his continued economic well being as a member of the Organic Valley farmer owned co-op, despite the recent economic meltdown, and a nationwide decline in organic milk production, he appears to be optimistic for the future of organic dairy farming.

Rosie too, says, moo!

There are so many benefits to raising chickens. They are a great addition to any garden, they clear out whatever area of land defines their boundary, and they also leave their nitrogen rich manure for the next round of plantings. The eggs from these naturally raised chickens are higher in the good omega-3 fatty acids than eggs produced from factory farms, not to mention being fresher. Typically, eggs from the supermarket are at least 2 weeks old before they even reach the shelf.

Eastside Co-op and Volunteers

If you have some tips to share, I’m all ears! This is something I’m considering doing myself.

—Rebecca