A Farmer and His Corn
Organic farmer Anthony Boutard sells direct to the public rather than to distributors, he (and his wife Carol) joined what they describe as a “cook’s market,” the small but well-curated selection of vendors at the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market just outside the city’s core. Many of the city’s premier chefs soon heard about the quality and unusual variety of Ayers Creek’s produce, especially the chicories, tomatoes, garlic and the polenta that Anthony grinds from heirloom flint corn. And many became regular customers.
That corn has become Anthony Boutard’s passion, so much so that he wrote a book about it called “Beautiful Corn: America’s Original Grain from Seed to Plate.” (You can read the chapter Soon the Snow Flies on Cooking Up a Story.) Not bad for a crop he says was originally just a whim, borne from childhood memories like the smell of cornbread fresh from the oven.
Street-Style Enchiladas with Homemade Adobo Sauce
Chef and restaurateur Kelly Myers of Xico in Portland, Oregon shows us how to make a quick form of enchiladas she refers to as street style, they are cooked on a grill or stovetop without any baking. Myers also whips up a tasty adobo sauce from scratch using dried chilli peppers, and spices. Check out the Red Chile Enchiladas with Zucchini, Potatoes, and Cheese recipe (including making Adobo sauce) from this video on Cooking Up a Story.
Cornfield in Winter: A Farmer’s Reflections
Organic farmer and former forester Anthony Boutard speaks of the meaning to him of his cornfield. Not just during the more active periods of the growing seasons, but over the dormancy of winter; his cornfields serve as a sanctuary for insects, birds, and other wildlife, helping preserve a vibrant ecosystem that extends beyond just the idea of producing yields of edible corn.
Coming Next: Corn
- Tuesday
Food writer and cookbook author Ivy Manning takes the mystery out of making homemade crackers. For the upcoming holiday season – she shares one of her favorites, a hazelnut cracker recipe. In addition, Manning shows us how to make a complimentary spread called Figgy Bourbon Conserve that she also uses as a spread for her crackers. What a way to begin the holidays! - Wednesday
Along a rushing creek, in a small, rural community in south central Washington, there sits Cedar Creek Grist Mill, an old hydro-powered grist mill. Unlike many of her bygone counterparts, this mill not only has survived, it operates as a working museum that draws scores of daily visitors from around the world. A handful of volunteers –“The Friends of the Cedar Creek Grist Mill” — set to work to restore the building to its original splendor. Watch how they used to grind grain into flour and meal and get a memorable sense of living history. - Thursday
Where did all the small grist mills go? Why did they shut down? Museum volunteer Tom Henrich, explains the demise of the local community grist mill.
The Weekly Roundup
- Meet four African women who are changing the face of coffee (NPR)
- Investors angle for a piece of precious farmland (Harvest Public Media)
How hedge fund managers and other big-bucks investors are impacting the price of farmland in Iowa and Missouri. - My adventures in salt (Seattle Seedling)
A visit toThe Meadowawakens the author to what it really means to put salt on your food. - Crop rotation and the future of farming (NY Times)
Why farmers should look to the past to keep soil alive. - Big cluster granola (Serious Eats)
What’s the secret? Egg whites. - The egg map | How to accelerate local famer abundance (City Farmer)
How to make your own map of local egg producers. - The era of the celebrity farmer (Huffington Post)
- Storing vegetables in the ground for winter (Organic Gardening)
- Valuable viburnums (Eat the Weeds)
Foraging website explains how to find and prepare viburnums. - Kitchen adventures with pumpkin pie (FarmPlate)
How to make pie using fresh pumpkin. - The truth about brining turkey (The Food Lab)
- Forget sea bass and eat some sablefish (Seafood for the Future)
Sablefish is a delicious, sustainable alternative. - What is the legacy of Slow Food? (BBC)
- Urban Agriculture Law Project (Community Law Center)
A new resource for urban and backyard farmers. They answer questions over email. - Interview with Eric Schlosser (Edible Communities)
Ten years after he wrote “Fast Food Nation,” how does Schlosser feel we’re doing when it comes to food? - Wild watercress potstickers (Fat of the Land)
Another delicious recipe from Langdon Cook using foraged ingredients.
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