A Vineyard Grower Keeps Growing Along With His Grapes
Kevin Chambers of Resonance Vineyards in Carleton, Oregon, is on the 32nd harvest for this property, and he’s using everything in his three decades of growing grapes to create a broader theory of how an effective farm should operate-a theory that combines the best from biodynamics, organics, and conventional agriculture.
Good Value Wines for the Holidays
Fortunately, when it comes to evaluating wines, price is not necessarily the key defining metric for determining a good wine to drink. In this video, Bruce Bauer, a wine aficionado and proprietor of VINO, a boutique wine shop in Portland, Oregon, shares some of his favorite moderate to low-priced wines from the Pacific Northwest region, and the world.
Bauer provides solid wine buying tips in addition to specific recommendations, including suggestions for pairing certain styles of wine with different foods, flavor differences between oak barrel versus stainless steel barrel fermented wines, and a general guide to some of the defining characteristics of Rieslings, Malbecs, and other wine varietals.
Agriculture and Public Health: One Grape Grower Speaks Out
When it comes to organics vs. biodynamics vs. conventional farming, you get a lot of “you’re with us, or you’re against us.” As Kevin Chambers explains in this video, when it comes to his farming practices at Resonance Vineyards in Carleton, Ore., he uses wisdom from all three areas in what he calls a “three-legged stool” of “eclectic farming” — which can be hard for more dogmatic folks to take.
Coming Next: Carrots
- Tuesday
How to Make Rutabaga Carrot Ginger Soup
Chef Kathryn Yeomans of The Farmer’s Feast shares how to make a delicious hot wintry soup full of some great root vegetables that are readily available this time of year. A great, hearty meal to serve to family and friends. - Wednesday
Harvest for Healthy Kids
Good food habits develop early, and tend to last a lifetime. A local Head Start program has partnered with Portland State University’s School of Community Health to introduce young children to locally grown seasonal fruits and vegetables. The program is called Harvest for Healthy Kids and has found initial success, finding that the students “are more likely to ‘like’ certain vegetables than their peers who did not participate in the program.” - Thursday
Carrots
Did you know that carrots come in a number of different sizes, colors, and flavors, and are certainly not adequately represented in the typical supermarket. Farmer Shari Sirkin of Dancing Roots Farm talks about some of the lovely carrots she grows, and a new carrot variety for her, Shin Kuroda, that she is harvesting now.
The Weekly Roundup
- Chef Thomas Keller Explores Thanksgiving Leftovers (LA Times)
With three recipes, including Thai-style Turkey Soup. - Amaranth comes back into vogue (Columbia Tribune)
Ground into flour, it can replace about half of the wheat flour in recipes with no adverse impact on texture or taste. - Michael Pollan talks turkey (Mother Jones)
Guests were skeptical of heritage turkey, until they had a chance to taste it. - 8 Make-ahead breakfast casseroles (Chow)
- Orlando couple fights for the right to grow food (Mother Earth News)
The city had a problem with the garden in their front yard. - Invasive species: Cook what you hunt (Prevention)
In the new book “Eating Aliens,” Jackson Landers of the Locavore Hunter blog suggests that the best way to get rid of invasive species is to hunt and eat them. - Jennie Grant on goats and more (City Farmer)
Author of the book “Backyard Goats” explains why she fights so hard for them. - Cheaper fruits and vegetables can’t save the food desserts (NPR)
- Candied Walnuts (Farm Plate)
Easy, five-ingredient recipe. - How to peel a potato with your bare hands (Chow)
- Hunting feral horseradish to make a sauce for roast beef (Zester)
- Mr. President: Pardon the turkey, not industrial agriculture (Civil Eats)
- Seattle breaks ground on nation’s largest public food forest (Crosscut)
- Making sustainable ag information available to underserved farmers (NSAC)
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