Written by Christine Laymon of farmfolkways.com, Yellowbird Member
Week 3 for our family brought lots of leafy green vegetables which is a very welcome sight in February! We really try to eat by the seasons, but let’s be honest - after being conditioned for so many years (or even decades) to having produce and fruits accessible year round, it is hard to not expect to eat strawberries in February.
Written by Christine Laymon of farmfolkways.com, Yellowbird Member
My second Winter CSA box was full of surprises, including blueberries! That’s right a package of Ohio blueberries that were picked in season and then packaged and frozen by Wholesome Valley Farm. And then there were mushrooms, and carrots and these really sweet red onions that caramelized beautifully, apples, 3 types of greens, a sampling of butter and a package of oats! It was a wonderful blend of winter greens, storage fruits and vegetables and value added farm items. For all my farmer friends out there please take note of the all the ways we can increase our revenue streams by thinking outside of the box on how we market and sell the whole food products we produce.
Written by Christine Laymon of farmfolkways.com, Yellowbird Member
But the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope. - Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America - 1977
Wendell Berry penned these words in 1977, in reaction to the edicts of the then Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Earl Butz. Mr Butz “had issued the most optimistic, the most widely obeyed, and the worst advice ever give to farmers: that they should plow “fencerow to fencerow.” Butz is also known for his quote, “get big or get out”.
Written by Christine Laymon of farmfolkways.com, Yellowbird Member
First, let me begin with a disclaimer:
I was born during my parents “Back to the Land” years and grew up on a small family farm where a freezer containing a half of beef, a large garden and organic food co-ops were the norm. When my husband and I purchased the adjacent thirty acres to our home we knew our end goal was to provide as much of our own food as possible. Fast forward exactly 8 months and what started as a family vegetable garden quickly grew into an on farm market and CSA. During those years the problems with our food system became very clear to us as we became eager participants in the counter-cultural movement to make a change on a local level. Almost a decade has past since we started down this road, its been a winding, bumpy, sometimes washboard ride, but we are still trucking along. We now live on a new farm, where we are trying once again to grow as much of our food as possible. We are huge advocates for soil health, organics, and local foods - so it’s pretty clear what side of the food debate I’m on.
The following post is about POPCORN.
The last decade the Ballmer house has been without the appliance that is most commonly referred to as the microwave. I am sure that most of you reading this right now both own, and continue to use, this handy appliance and so the following paragraphs are in no way an attempt to persuade you to do otherwise. HOWEVER, in an attempt to be funny and relay some otherwise boring information, I will probably come across as an advocate for not exposing yourselves or your food to electromagnetic radiation (the “micro” waves that the Microwave Oven uses to heat and cook whatever you happen to shove into that little death chamber).
Most stories that connect with us as humans at the deepest level involves a group or individual on the margins or underside of power, rising up and defeating the giant that is holding them down.
Systems exist to perpetuate themselves…In the Matrix trilogy, our minds are melted by not only the special effects but also how the story played out after the first installment. We see that the agents who ran the Matrix wanted…needed…the Zion/Neo movement and the “Tho One” to exist in order to give the marginalized something to believe in so that they would continue to think that they were making a change.
It’s finally summer here at the shed, and with the new season comes new varieties. We’re getting into more tomatoes, summer squash, shelling peas, and even some unique varieties like red kale and garlic scapes. We’re looking forward to berries, peppers, sweet potatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe and more!
To make sure you’re well-equipped to get the most out of the best growing season in Ohio, we’d like to share the free Produce Storage printable that we’ve created with Sally at Real Mom Nutrition.
We hope you have wonderful summer!
Food On-The-Go is the name of the game. Here are our tips for creating the easiest and healthiest food week for you and your family:
–Meal Prep on the weekends for the upcoming week.
Set aside a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon to get 4 or 5 things going at once. Throw potatoes in the oven, rice in the cooker, chop and wash lettuce, brown onions, and garlic.
By Kathy Neal, Farmer, Hand Hewn Farm and part-time Yellowbird Employee
Why cook? Because it requires you to slow down, to work for your food at a time and place in history when a tiny percentage of the population raises 99 percent of the food for everyone else.Because it’s fun. Because it’s cheaper than eating out. Because it’s easier to be healthy. If you are buying a Yellowbird box with all of its delicious contents . . . that means you are cooking. Whether they are elaborate meals or simple ones, you are chopping, slicing, dicing, braising, frying, and EATING. And that is spectacular!
Author: Jennifer Suchland, Yellowbird Foodshed Member
Ingredients:
One block of tofu (12 ounces)
1 Tablespoon healthy oil
1 (generous) Tablespoon of Braggs Amino Acids
1 Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
Fresh Crushed Black Pepper to taste
