Home Made School Lunch Ideas
Dr. Betty Izumi, a child nutritionist, sustainable food systems researcher at Portland State University, and mother of young children, demonstrates three different homemade lunch ideas that may satisfy both parent and child alike. As Dr. Betty shows in the video, it’s not only what is inside the sack lunch that counts, but also how it is put together. In the end, school lunches that are healthy, fresh, and fun are the keys to a satisfying lunch-time experience.
A Small Family U-Pick Farm and Farmstand
Theresa Draper smiled when she talked about growing up among the orchards and fields of her family’s farm outside of Parkdale, Oregon. She remembered loving the feeling of picking fruit right from the trees whenever she wanted, and of helping on the farm driving tractors, changing sprinklers and thinning the fruit. These days she loves sharing the joy of the harvest with the families who come to pick fruit at her Draper Girls Country Farm.
A U-Pick Farm Diversifies Its Income Streams
Theresa Draper has up to 10 people relying on her and her Upick farm for their income. Draper has found that by diversifying her 40 acre farm, adding added value products, and being creative, for example, opening an old farm house to vacationers as a “farm stay”, she has been able to carry herself, and her employees throughout the year. As we see in the video, Draper continues to seek out new income streams with a steady eye toward her economic future, a future solidly connected to her family’s scenic Upick farm in Hood River area of Oregon.
Next Week: Artisan Butchering
Tuesday
- The Craft of Artisan Sausage Making
Chef Eric Finley, co-owner of Chop Butchery & Charcuterie, demonstrates how to make 3 different types of homemade sausages: Italian Chicken, Merguez Lamb and Chorizo.
Wednesday
- A Traditional, Old-Style Butcher
Tracy Smaciarz grew up as a kid in the meat business. Smaciarz helped his dad slaughter livestock, and learned how to butcher meat from the whole carcass down to the individual finished cuts of meat. Much of what Smarciarz does at Heritage Meats in Rochester, Wash., borders on a lost art that he continues to practice and teaches others. He also visits the ranchers who supply his meat, helping farmers select cows for slaughter, and offering advice on how to achieve the maximum weight and quality for each cow prior to slaughter.
Thursday
- Full Transparency in the Meat Buying Process
Livestock are living creatures deserving of respect and humane treatment during their lifetime. Artisan butcher Tracy Smaciarz (Heritage Meats) and rancher Tracey Baker (The Gleason Ranch) describe their philosophies on the care and treatment of livestock, and the importance of transparency throughout the entire process so the buyer ultimately knows where their meat comes from, and how the animal was raised.
The Weekly Roundup
- How to get started in urban beekeeping (Mother Earth News)
- Drought, famine are ‘enormous business opportunities,’ chief of world’s largest commodities brokerage boasts (Independent)
- The history of the pizza slicer (Serious Eats) This kitchen tool started off life as a wallpaper cutter.
- Cantaloupe farmer in anguish over salmonella accusations (Indy Star)
Farmer who has devoted his life to growing his business is terrified, sick to think his products could have been the source of illness and deaths. - How to grow your own mushrooms in your garage (Fair Companies)
- Alice Waters’ Personal iPhone Foodie Pix (Vanity Fair)
- Urban Farming: How to start your own business with fruit from your yard (or not) (LA Weekly)
Woman finds that harvesting fruit and dragging it to a farmers market is a lot harder than it looks. - Farmers Market baker feels heat for denying food stamp buyers her treats (Boston Herald)
Maker of artisan whoopie pies refuses to accept SNAP cards on the grounds that her items are “luxuries,” setting off furor among fellow vendors. - Who are you calling corporate? (Harvest Public Media) Some farmers are splitting their acreage among big corporate accounts and sustainable farming.
- Noisy restaurants yield higher income, faster turnover (NY Times)
- Food, water shortages could force world into vegetarianism (Guardian)
- The history of popsicles (Collectors Weekly)
Vintage posters help illustrate the history of popsicles, which were invented by a young boy more than a hundred years ago. - If lobsters are so cheap, why are lobster dinners so expensive? (Slate)
Trying to sort out the conflict between the price fishermen are getting and the price you’re paying at the restaurant. - Online, searchable antique cookbook archive (Michigan State University) Browse through 100+ year-old cookbooks.
Don’t miss our journeys of discovery connecting the dots between the earth, the farmers, and the food we eat. Join us throughout the week as we travel in the Kitchen, to the Field, and deep into Food Wisdoms on the “road to find out’ more about food, and the people behind our food. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for meaningful curated content.