How do I find these things?

OK Foodies ..... ready to jump into the deep end and do some reading for extra credit? An opinion piece by Martin Harris Jr., "an architect and former farmer" in Farming Magazine takes us there (the deep end, that is ......).
The discussion starts with "elasticity of demand" for food. Whew .... back to college economics. But ---- any article that features food retailers Wal-Mart and Whole Foods, plus organic food, has plenty of room for debate. Paul Roberts' book The End of Food is referenced, so I guess we all have to read that one.
Wrapping up the discussion in the article is a mention of backyards and urban land being turned into gardens. We go to Portland Oregon and Growing Gardens for a video on Digging at the Root of Hunger for a look at that. This is one view of where some folks think that our food model is headed in part for that.
Food for thought?
Are you growing a garden this year?

Foodie Blogging Etiquette?

OK, so now we've got to worry about snapping pictures as we log in material for our blogs ......!?! Ruh-roh! In the Sunday, February 22nd Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, restaurant critic China Millman delves into the subject of food photo policy.
You have to be utterly amazed at the number & variety of foodie blogs floating around out there. They all have their own complement of pictures. This blogster has learned to snap a few pictures and move on ....... It does take some getting used to and requires that you show respect for your fellow travelers!
The majority of photos taken here deal with farmers' markets and other public places, but occasionally pictures are taken in retail establishments. I've asked staff at most stores if it's alright to take display pictures for a "local food blog" and have been told "ok" so far. Looking back over the blog, you'd have to agree that we present a positive spin on local food and the sources that bring it to us. Unlike some of the people in the PG column, I've never been inclined to photograph food in a restaurant or large grocery chain. But of course, this blog is about LOCAL. Most "locals" are proud of their products & welcome the publicity!

Which brings us to a recent local experience. Last Monday, we visited The SpringHouse in Eighty-Four, PA. after delivering lambs to the Eighty-Four Auction. It's a great place to stop in to get lunch or sometimes just milk, cheese, baked goods, & their own deli/catering foods. You won't be disappointed. The great thing is that you can "come as you are", since plenty of farmers and livestock haulers run over for a meal when they're coming and going to the auction just across the road.
This is a great family run operation with the farm up on the hill behind the store/restaurant. On the way home, we stopped & picked up some Walnut Creek butter at The Kauffman Family Marketplace on Route 18 in Burgettstown. Stop in and stock up on a few items when you're going past here. They also carry local meats from Albert's Packing in Taylorstown,PA, more local foods from Holmes County, OH, as well as local honey & Brunton Dairy products.
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Back to the PG story for a second. Did you see the phrase "food porn" in the column? The first time that phrase popped up was quite disconcerting. It was in the sidebar of a foodie blog with the title " Vegan Food Porn 2008 ". Whoa ---- what hesitation clicking on that! But go ahead ..... it's nothing but a gorgeous collection of food pictures.

Local Farms .... Local Fiber!

Your virtual tour of local farms has swerved away from the usual food offerings/musings and turned toward local fiber. Over the weekend, the road less traveled took us to the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival. There were several "fiber farms" from Pennsylvania selling some beautiful yarns, garments, and wool products. The top picture is Puckerbrush Farm of Shelocta, PA. BTW foodies, Puckerbrush Farm is also a member of Penn's Corner Farm Alliance, so check out their web-site and CSA.

This next picture of the McMahon Fiber & Rabbitry booth says it all! Everyone was gathered around the Angora rabbits so it took a while to get this shot. Dunn Spun Yarns had really nice hand-spun natural colored yarns and beautiful hand-turned wooden knitting needles. They are from Coal Township, PA and can be emailed at laundunn@yahoo.com if you "have to have" the needles or the yarn! Another interesting service that Laun provides is camelid shearing! Yes, she specializes in shearing alpacas!

A couple of thoughts ......

Yesterday we enjoyed a side dish of cabbage & noodles. This used about 1/3 of the last cabbage bought in December at the Beaver Farmers' Market from Oak Spring Farm, so there's still more to go! The last items in cold storage right now are several Carnival winter squash and a couple of onions obtained at that last market. Is it too early to start thinking about the first markets opening in MAY?????
Which brings us to the next topic ...... seed catalogs! Here's an interesting variety of sweet corn found in the Burpee catalog. It's called Ruby Queen. This is one that I am planning to grow myself to try it out ..... if you're a farmers' market grower, do you think it would attract customers? If you're a foodie, would you try it? Some folks look for different or novelty veggies and others won't touch them. There is a definite trend in mixing colors that many market vendors use to play up their veggies. Red & yellow pear tomatoes in the same container, red/white/blue new potatoes, purple & green string beans (refer to the beautiful beans above), red/pink/white/lavender radishes in the same bunch, the rainbow colored carrots, & mixed salad greens/mescluns are just some of the examples that we saw in 2008.
If you're interested in open pollinated & heirloom veggies & flowers, try the Seed Savers Exchange catalog. This was the first catalog to arrive for the season and it's full of great reading and descriptions. It's almost impossible to pick favorites out of this catalog --- there's so much variety --- but how about Striped Cavern Tomato, a unique stuffing tomato?

Time to settle back into studying the catalogs ........

EcoGastronomy <--- say what?

Well, here's something new gleaned from my readings and research. It's a one of a kind program at the University of New Hampshire - EcoGastronomy
This certainly goes beyond the typical ag sciences or nutrition or sustainabilility offerings seen at most colleges & universities. Know any college bound people who might be interested in this?