I Heart Farms

How to Spend a Perfect Birthday

A call for help from outgoing president of the Board of Directors for the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden, Jeffrey Caspary, come to my in-box last week. He needed people on Wednesday to help cook for the class of student apprentices that had arrived in late April at the farm. So I thought, "That can't be a bad way to spend part of my birthday."

I had promised a 2:00-6:00 shift, but when I checked in yesterday at 11:00 in the morning, I found that I was needed sooner than later. So I loaded up my Indian spices, my new mortar and pestle*, and several ingredients of promise, into the car, and arrived at the farm at noon.

Walking to the kitchen was a joy: a hillside of bright orange California poppies were blooming under fruit trees, surrounded by tall red clover, also in bloom. (No pictures except one, below: I was too busy and time was tight.)

"Many hands, light work." Is that a Shaker or a Quaker saying? I don't know, but it's one of my favorites, and Jeffrey himself said it as we started to shell some of the seventeen thousand pounds of fava beans he ambitiously had blanched. He then busied himself with other tasks as Edna, also on the board, tried to master the art of shelling favas. She admitted defeat early on, saying, "Never has a vegetable gotten the best of me so quickly," which left me to shell them for the next two hours, until my neck and shoulders could take no more.

* Both Jeffrey and Edna wanted to order one after working with this wonderful kitchen tool.

Getting My Ducks in a Row

How much fun was it the other day to hear a clamor outside my front door, and open it to find four white ducks snapping up bugs in our front yard? They've come back every day since—they live across the lane—and Logan and I are loving it.

So yes, long time no post. Life's been large. No real complaints, but there are a lot of moving parts, as a friend puts it. Lots of work, lots of happenings in our family, and lots for me to pay attention to.

One thing I'm excited about, and that I'll be spotlighting here, is the upcoming development of a new project in Santa Cruz that is VERY exciting for anyone involved in [real] food in our region. That is, in part, the Monterey Bay Culinary Arts Institute, as well as some other food-related businesses, in the very large complex on the west side of town, formerly owned by Lipton. It's 38,000 feet, and there is quite a vision being brought along, largely by Cynthia Jordan, an energetic and talented woman who, among her other talents, is a certified Master Gardener. The space will involved chefs, authors, farmers, artisanal producers of all things culinary and potable, as well as host a variety of other food-related businesses.

I will be posting details about city council meetings in which locals can have a voice: it's amazing how little of an awareness most of our local bureaucrats seem to have about culinary tourism in general. From what I've seen, the vision of this center is something that will serve to put Santa Cruz on the map as a culinary destination in much the same way Sonoma and Napa counties are.

Like I said, VERY exciting.

I should have the opportunity to get out to a farm soon, just as soon as I get my most recent project launched. Speaking of that, I finished the website for my landscaper friend, Ben Bording, who made the sweet "Tana in the Sunshine" stone piece for our garden. His site is Cool Earth Gardens.

And lastly: tomorrow's my birthday, Me and Willie Nelson and Kirstin Dunst. None of these things are much like the other.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "April is a promise that May is bound to keep."  —Hal Borland

Thanks for visiting.

Love Apple Farm: Seedling Sale & Joy, Joy, Joy; Plus "Your Comments"

Pictured here: hundreds of tomato seedlings at Love Apple Farm.

I used to write about my girlfriend, "The Tomato Curator" (as I think of  her), Cynthia Sandberg, and her beautiful Love Apple Farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That was before I introduced her to Manresa restaurant (matchmaker!), and she forged a partnership with the chef, David Kinch, turning her once-organic farm into a biodynamic enterprise. And then Cynthia entered the stratosphere of celebrity—if farmers can be celebrities, that is. (I wish more of them were, instead of the lot of  anorexic, plastic headcases that are plastered all over the internet. I keep saying: "Farms Are the New Black." Maybe I should make a bumpersticker.)

Now the people writing about Cynthia's beautiful little Eden are big media and publicists, as the farm provides Manresa with the most exquisite vegetables that human care and love can produce. People all over the world are becoming aware of biodynamic farming, and it helps that Cynthia makes it look so darned pretty, and that Chef David Kinch is so respected. (Is there a stronger word than "respected," when it comes to talent and genius? I dunno.)

But outside of that lofty realm, mere mortals like myself can avail themselves of a touch of Cynthia's magic by attending the wildly popular tomato seedling sales at the farm.

Tana in the Sunshine

Pictured here: a stone that my friend and client, Ben Bording, spontaneously carved yesterday. He called it "Tana in the Sunshine," and surprised me with it when I visited his family. (He's a landscaper, and I'd link to his site, but it's under development and in transition.) This sweet gesture is kind of the theme of the week: people have said and done and offered the kindest things lately.

Yes, it really has been two months since I wrote here. This week must have been some kind of watershed, because I got a bunch of e-mails from people who miss me, asking if my absence was because of "fabulousness" or "otherwise."

AB 1604 Passes: Sing "Hallelujah," Ye Masses

Pictured here: some of the beautiful milk cows at Deep Roots Ranch.

I am posting this update on the raw milk legislation action this week. It's from Mark McAfee, director of the Organic Pastures Dairy and Creamery. I'm not sure yet what the upshot is: it sounds like there was some kind of compromise. And it's gratifying to read that Assemblywoman Nicole Parra "read the riot act" to the CDFA.

That, I would have liked to have seen, but Logan has been very sick for three days, and I couldn't go. I suppose I could have taken him, but his runny nose would not have presented the assembly with the picture of health of a child drinking raw milk. (Why call it "raw"? Call it "real"!)

Read on for MacAfee's e-mail.

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Free Milk!! (Seriously: Come to Sacramento to FREE RAW MILK, and receive free, raw milk!)

An update on Wednesday's rally in Sacramento: I am publishing this that I received from Jean Harrah at Deep Roots Ranch. It contains more information about the rally on Wednesday at our state capitol, in support of raw milk.

RAW MILK GETS ITS DAY

Assembly Woman Nicole Parra announces Ag Committee hearings on AB 1735 raw milk issue.

You must attend! Raw milk needs every one of you!

ASSEMBLY HEARING FOR EMERGENCY AG. BILL TO BE HELD WED. JAN 16. AT STATE CAPITOL

Raw Milk Supporters Urged to Attend and Speak Out

Congratulations to all of our customers and supporters! Your hard work writing letters and making calls has paid off! NOW IS THE OPPORTUNITY OF YOUR LIFETIME TO PROTECT RAW MILK IN CALIFORNIA. There is a meeting by the Assembly Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, January 16th. The Committee is currently scheduled to hear three bills. Pending approval by the State Assembly on Monday, a fourth bill will be added to this list. This bill will propose technical corrections to AB1735, which took effect on January 1st. If these corrections become law, our raw milk will continue to be available.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL THAT YOU BE THERE! We need the impact of a multitude upon these legislators, who will be hearing our side of the story for the first time. This is the most important thing you will do to insure your supply of raw milk for the future. Do whatever is necessary to be there. Take off work, school, reschedule appointments, make it a field trip for your kids.

You will be making history. Otherwise, raw milk may be history.

WHERE: California State Capitol Bldg. Room 4202

WHEN: WED. JAN 16, 2008 - 12 Noon - Meeting begins at 1:30

WHAT TO BRING: Your infants, toddlers, tweens and teens: healthy children speak volumes! Letters you've written over the course of our campaign. (Bring copies to leave there.) A 30-second testimonial -  How Raw Milk has Changed My Life Your favorite raw milk t shirt (available for sale on site - $10)

NOTE: For security reasons, do not bring anything you would not bring on an airplane. We will provide banners and signs for you.

YOU WILL RECEIVE: Free quarts of Organic Pastures raw milk
"I Love Raw Milk" buttons to signal your support
Security-cleared rally signs
Satisfaction in mobilizing with the California "living foods" community!

OTHER PREPARATION: Before the hearing - Call the office of each member of the California State Assembly Committee on Agriculture and express key message points. Go to http://www.organicpastures.com/ag-assembly-info.htm for information on making calls

PLEASE RSVP at customerservice@organicpastures.com if you plan to attend.

REMEMBER TO CALL EACH ASSEMBLY MEMBER PRIOR TO THE HEARING. Go to http://www.organicpastures.com/ag-assembly-info.htm  for contact info and message points.

• • • • • • • • • • •

If you are interested in carpooling from the Santa Cruz area, please contact me [tanabutler at gmail.com] and I will pass your name along to a group who's going.

Thanks!

Raw Milk Imperiled: California and New York

Pictured here: one of the sweet Jersey cows at Claravale Farm, one of California's two raw milk dairies.

CALIFORNIA
Others have written eloquent and informed pieces about AB (Agricultural Bill) 1735, a sneaky "Trojan horse" piece of legislation as has ever been passed. Amanda Rose wrote about it back in October at The Ethicurean. She says, "Coliform bacteria are a mixed lot. Some are beneficial, some are pathogenic. This legislation makes no distinction between the two." [Emphasis mine.]

And:

"Raw milk has coliforms. That is simply its nature. That is why it sours in my refrigerator. The beneficial strains of coliforms, the other beneficial bacteria, and the immunoglobulins are why I pay more for raw milk.

"I know that folks at the statehouse think I’m crazy and uninformed. They visit dairies regularly and know that it is increasingly common to find E. coli 0157:H7 in their cows. I am playing “Russian roulette,” they claim.

"But there is something that humans and cows have in common. When we are living on a diet that God intended for us, our intestines are less likely to be a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria. When our gut is full of beneficial bacteria, it can fight back when we come into contact with pathogenic bacteria."

(I recommend reading the whole piece, which is intelligent and sensible, something you won't likely find inside Governor Schwarzeneger's office walls.)

There is also David Gumpert's piece at TheCompletePatient.com: "The reality, though, is that it is difficult to educate people about the true nature of coliform bacteria at varying levels. It’s also difficult to change legislation immediately after it's been passed. It’s especially difficult if the legislation was put into effect to accomplish a very serious long-term goal—namely, to deprive as many Americans as possible of the opportunity to obtain raw milk."

I have little more to add to the outcry beyond what I have already said here, but would like to direct your attention to something VERY IMPORTANT: Bonnie Powell, aka "Dairy Queen" at The Ethicurean, and deputy editor of Edible San Francisco, got a call from Collette Cassidy at Claravale Farm (one of the only raw dairies in California), alerting everyone to attend a rally on Wednesday in Sacramento. Assemblywoman Nicole Parra will hold a hearing on AB 1735, and your attendance could make a difference. Read Bonnie's talking points, please.

And if you can carpool and get to Sacramento, you might be part of making history. Failure to overturn this bill will effectively kill raw milk in California.

NEW YORK
Michael Ruhlman alerted me to Meadowsweet Farm in Lodi, New York, about an hour and a half southeast of Rochester. Meadowsweet Farm, owned by Steve and Barbara Smith, no longer sells raw milk products to the public, but to members of its LLC, a form of community supported agriculture that allows them to bypass the bureaucracy and mindless, uninformed restrictions that the state of New York would impose on them if they were doing business with the public.

The Smiths write: "Since March 2007, the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets has been trying to pressure us and Meadowsweet Dairy LLC out of business. For example, they have conducted numerous inspections, seized products, ordered the destruction of 260 pounds of raw dairy products, attempted to search our house, issued letters threatening fines and penalties, and have now issued an order requiring us and Meadowsweet Dairy LLC to show cause why the Department of Agriculture and Markets should not shut down the operation and levy fines. That show-cause order is now set for a hearing and a show down looms over whether the State’s police power extends to a group of private citizens who produce and consume their own food of their own choice."

There are two hearings coming up, and the Smiths would love your attendance at those:

January 17, 11 AM
Department of Agriculture and Markets
10B Airline Drive
Albany, NY
(Right next to the airport)

January 22, 1:30 PM
Seneca County Court
48 West Williams Street
Waterloo, NY

Please go to the link above and read what they have to say.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Never confuse movement with action." — Ernest Hemingway

I am really really really busy with work, and the weather's been horrid...but it's getting better and I hope to get out to a real farm real soon.

 

Thanks for visiting. Go rattle some bars in a government office: it'll feel good.

Delicious Treats, Part VIII: "No More Lobster Please!"

Pictured here: oh, one of the cutest little boys in the world. We had such a sweet Christmas, it's hard to let it go yet.

Here is the eight guest author, Monica Reyes, from Robin's Somers' writing class at UCSC, "The Meaning of Food." Her students are offering up their memoirs of childhood food, and it's my pleasure to publish them here.

Robin writes:

Monica Reyes, a sophomore at UCSC, was born and raised in El Salvador, where she ate more than her share of wild lobster. Her story of lobster reeks of nostalgia and nausea as she wistfully recollects her special family treks to the balmy seaside. Here, on El Salvador’s warm, salty beaches, her father caught and cooked lobster for his family, creating precious memories of a homeland which Monica revisits through the process of writing.

No More Lobster Please!
by Monica Reyes

For many people, their traditional dish comes from their native homeland. For Salvadorians, it is either popusas or tamales, while for Mexicans it may be posole, tamales, enchiladas, sopes and birria. The list goes on. One of my family’s favorite dishes is lobster with a side of salad—not what one would call a typical Salvadorian dish, but it happens to be our favorite.

I am not saying that we eat at Red Lobster. Instead we catch our own food, cook it, and eat it.  In the summer, when the sun is shining, and when it is the perfect time to go to the beach, we do what my dad likes to call “lagostear.” My mom gets the sandwiches and chips ready, and my dad packs his surfing wear, while my siblings and I wait in the car with our swimming suits on. It is on days like these that we have lobster for dinner, and it is precisely here where my story begins.

Delicious Treats, Part VII: "A Scrumptious Memory"

Pictured here: one of the many beautiful centerpieces that Logan's mother designed (and sold) for Christmas.

Here is the seventh guest author, Tanna Nguyen, from Robin's Somers' writing class at UCSC, "The Meaning of Food." Her students are offering up their memoirs of childhood food, and it's my pleasure to publish them here.

Robin writes:

Tanna Nguyen, a sophomore a UCSC, recalls family gatherings that honored ancestors on the anniversary of their death by offering special foods—crab soup, red rice, sliced pig. This poignant story of Vietnamese tradition underscores the importance of food not only in the here and now, but in the afterlife, as well.

A Scrumptious Memory
by Tanna Nguyen

It is ten o’clock in the morning, and I am awake. Not from the bright sun beaming onto my face, but from the clanging of pots and pans downstairs. My mom is preparing food for the family function and the aroma of different foods mixing together tickles my nose.

“Get up! We are going be late!” yells my mom as I stumble out of bed.

I am familiar with this routine now since about every month my family comes together at my uncle’s house to eat lunch. Not only is this a chance for everyone to be together but it is also a cultural tradition. In the Vietnamese culture, each family has a gathering when the death anniversary of an ancestor comes around to remember and pay tribute to their lives.

Delicious Treats, Part VI: Food, Weaponry, and Wheatgrass

Pictured here: our little grandson, Logan, who is almost four. Ya think he loves Christmas? He took some of his own money out of his piggybank to give his mama a present. (A silver picture frame that will soon hold this particular photo.)

I hope everyone's holidays are going smoothly: we had a very nice Christmas that was really about family, though my daughter is far away in Utah with her brothers, daddy, and his wife.

Here is the sixth guest author, Nicki Blaufard, from Robin's Somers' writing class at UCSC, "The Meaning of Food." Her students are offering up their memoirs of childhood food, and it's my pleasure to publish them here.

Robin writes:

Nicki Blaufarb writes about the uniqueness of being raised in the shelter of food conscious hippy parents only to be seduced by milkshake machines, packaged pizzas, and gooey sweets when she leaves the nest for college. Truly, a heroic journey, which tests and tempers Nicki’s love of good food.

Food, Weaponry, and Wheatgrass
by Nicki Blaufard

I am a product of proto-hippy type parents, the folks that followed around the Grateful Dead, took a liking to ‘Ghandi-esque’ ideals, hot tubs, and redwood trees and then became lawyers and nurses who practiced yoga and hiked religiously.  Being the offspring of such individuals threw me into the ever growing culture of those of us who strive to find the right way of living life, desperately seeking ways to make ourselves feel better, emotionally, physically, spiritually… It seems obvious then to start this adventure and deep search of the right way of living by embracing the essentials of what allows us as human beings to survive, the essentials, meaning, food.