Mar 09
Turn Old Pallets Into A Chicken Tractor! – More DIY How To Projects
Check out this great video from Instructables about how you can turn old shipping pallets into chicken tractors. The accompanying article and supply list can be found here:
Mar 08
This upcoming Sunday, March 27th from 2pm-5pm Durham Central Market will team up with Elodie Farms and Benjamin Vineyards for a Family Farm Day at Elodie Farms in Rougemont. Bring the kids, a picnic lunch, and try out some of Elodie’s goat cheese and sip on wine while you tour the farm and play with the goats. Locopops and Dolly Mama Chocolates will be on hand to sell some tasty treats, and there will be games for the kids. The cost is $10 for those 21+, $5 for under 21, and children 3 and under are free.
For more information and directions to Elodie Farms check out the Facebook page for the event.
Mar 08
Coon Rock Farm breakfast sausage links
This morning I fired up my favorite piece of kitchen equipment – my cast iron skillet. Within a few minutes it was roaring hot and I had some breakfast sausages from Coon Rock Farm sizzling away on the stovetop. I paired them with some fresh biscuits I made this morning (using local pork lard!) and the result was a delicious, filling, and local breakfast. I can’t think of a better way to start my day!
Mar 07
Please take a moment and fill out the survey for the Piedmont Local Food Community Visioning Process – at stake is upwards of $30,000 to invest in our local food community and the greater sustainable agriculture movement in the area! You have until March 10th to take the survey, and I’ll be sure to post the results when they are published.
Mar 07
Catch a free screening of the acclaimed, Oscar-nominated documentary Food, Inc. this coming Wednesday, March 10th, 7pm, at American Tobacco Campus in Durham. The screening is sponsored by the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. (Who knows – by Wednesday Food, Inc. could be an Oscar winner!)
Check here for more details and directions to American Tobacco Campus
Mar 07
One April 24 and 25 the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association will host its 15th annual Piedmont Farm Tour. A great way to meet your local farmers and see how they work, CFSA’s Farm Tour has grown over the years to become the largest farm tour in the nation. They even created a Google map of farms on this year’s tour! Check out the CFSA website for more information and to buy tickets. See you on the farm!
Mar 04
From the lovely folks at the Rodale Institute comes this gem of an article describing five ways in which you can scratch your farm itch without investing in some serious acreage. Tips include starting or joining a Crop Mob (like our nationally recognized one right here in the Triangle), becoming a WWOOFer (travel + organic farming? Sign me up!), and getting some backyard chickens.
Read the whole article here, and check out the other amazing resources at the Rodale Institute website.
Mar 03
When we talk about making sustainable food choices we often think of organic veggies or pastured livestock, not seafood. The truth is, however, than our oceans are just as integral to overall sustainability as our farmland. Most people would not even begin to be able to make a conscientious choice when presented with a menu at a seafood restaurant, which is why many organizations have devised lists of best choices when it comes to seafood. My favorite list is published by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and can be tweaked depending on what region of the United States you live in. Some of the best choices for the southeast include tilapia, oysters, barramundi, and catfish (all US farmed, not wild caught). There are even farmers in the Triangle region experimenting with farm-raised, sustainable fish (more to come on that in a later post). Some popular menu items to avoid include grouper, yellowfin tuna, and farmed salmon. Don’t hesitate to ask your server about your meal’s provenance, and if he or she is unable to provide a suitable answer, go with something else. Sustainability doesn’t end at the shoreline, and by making a point with your food dollars you can help impact a fishery system that in many places is ravaging the seas.
Mar 03
Alex & Betsy Hitt of Peregrine Farm profiled on UNCTV
Follow the link for a video that provides great insight into the sort of farmers, businesses, and consumers that have made the Triangle a national leader in the local and sustainable food movement.
Learn more about the people and places featured in this video:
Mar 02
Poulet rôti à la Normande
This past Sunday I made Poulet rôti à la Normande from the epic Julia Child tome Mastering the Art of French Cooking (with credit to Mmes. Beck and Bertholle, of course). Unfortunately due to poor planning my chicken was not local (I just plain forgot to buy one at market on Saturday) but the livers for the stuffing came from Fickle Creek Farm and the spinach for the side dish came from Ever Laughter Farm. The meal was delicious and the FCF’s livers were the perfect match for the recipe! I even have some left over that I plan on using to make some appetizers later this week.
Poulet rôti à la Normande – recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, posted to foodgeeks.com
(Side dish was mushrooms and shallots in a Madeira-cream reduction on top of a bed of local spinach)