County Fare

Friends Neighbors Countrymen lend me your ear (or your farm beginnings info)

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 | County Fare Site, Food Activism, Food Writing, Health, Minnesota | No Comments

It may seem that this little food media experiment has bit the dust. I assure you it has not. In fact things are looking pretty exciting for the next year.

First, a little about the extended hiatus. Last summer as I excitedly worked my first real job in over three years at a reputable advertising agency here in Minneapolis my youngest daughter developed eczema as a result of some nasty FOOD ALLERGIES. At the same time the eldest daughter became violently ill with Lyme’s Disease. It took six weeks and five doctor visits to find this out. AND THEN I came down with shingles! Uber stress I guess. So I decided I was going to stay home for awhile and get things in order. Shingles and Lyme’s are treatable and were nipped in the butt within a couple of weeks. Food allergies on the other hand are a real nightmare. 9 months later we are still adjusting our family diet and have found an herbal remedy that has helped immensely with her aczema, at the recommendation of our acupuncturist. We still don’t get much sleep at night with the poor little girl, now 1yr, rolling around and itching at all hours; but things are greatly improved from the days when her skin literally bled day and night.

Instead of pursuing my working career at full steam I’ve opted to enroll in graduate school. Something I’ve always wanted but thought was a few years down the road, oh well. In hope that my wife could stay home with the kids we have been brainstorming ideas for extra income. A few have come and gone but one lingers nagging us on. Starting a small farm. After some research we have found that there is an abundance of help for people who wish to start farming. And get this, a lot of it is from the good ole USDA! WOW! Beginning farm loans! Business planning resources! Classes! Everywhere we look this is a positive for us, the planet, and profit. We are truly  amazed and are excitedly attempting to start a business plan. Tough with only a couple weary hours of production time available. We’ll get there.

So it seems this will be our contribution to County Fare. We will document as much of the process as possible and post it for the community as a resource. Hopefully it will be useful.

If anyone has relevant information please post it here. I’m currently looking for current accurate data regarding sales prices for berries and mushrooms (these are my lead crop contenders). I have a meeting with our local FSA person in a few days and hope to get some of this data for my region.

Sorry about the sloppy post and writing. What can you expect with an average of 4 hours of sleep for months. This ship will only get tighter as time goes on. I’m very much looking forward to it.

Dustin

VEGETARIAN’S NIGHTMARE

Friday, May 8th, 2009 | Food Activism, Food Writing, Organizations | No Comments

VEGETARIAN’S NIGHTMARE
by Baxter Black

a dissertation on plant’s rights

Ladies and diners I make you
A shameful, degrading confession.
A deed of disgrace in the name of good taste
Though I did it, I meant no aggression.
I had planted a garden last April
And lovingly sang it a ballad.
But later in June beneath a full moon
Forgive me, I wanted a salad!
So I slipped out and fondled a carrot
Caressing its feathery top.
With the force of a brute I tore out the root!
It whimpered and came with a pop!
Then laying my hand on a radish
I jerked and it left a small crater.
Then with the blade of my True Value spade
I exhumed a slumbering tater!
Celery I plucked, I twisted a squash!
Tomatoes were wincing in fear.
I choked the Romaine. It screamed out in pain,
Their anguish was filling my ears!
I finally came to the lettuce
As it cringed at the top of the row
With one wicked slice I beheaded it twice
As it writhed, I dealt a death blow.
I butchered the onions and parsley.
My hoe was all covered with gore.
I chopped and I whacked without looking back
Then I stealthily slipped in the door.

Read more at:

Baxter Black

Tags: baxter, black, cowboy, plant, poetry, rights

Ital recipes. rasta vegan natural food

Thursday, November 6th, 2008 | Food Writing, Health, Recipes | 1 Comment

I’ve heard of Ital cooking before. And after reading one of Natalia Rose’s book on raw food I’ve been introduced to a whole new cuisine. This is something I will follow up on soon.

“Ital is a term used by Rastas, derived from “vital”, which means a natural and healthy way of life. One aspect of Ital is the Ital food: because the body is a temple, you should not eat unpure food. Also you must take care of your body, cause it is Jah creation. Body is the Chapel. Ital is generally a vegan diet, even if some Rastas eat fish. Some prohibit salt, some not. In all cases, Ital prohibits pork, preservatives, chemical ingredients. Ingredients have to be the most natural possible.In Jamaica, Ital cooking is most often inspired from Indian and African cooking. But lot of recipes can be “Italized” if prepared only with vegetables and natural ingredients.”

- Ital Recipes

ital recipes. rasta vegan natural food

Tags: ital, raw, cooking, rasta

Tags: cooking, ital, rasta, raw

P is for Peach

Monday, November 3rd, 2008 | Food Writing | No Comments

Once I had the opportunity to eat a peach. This experience was the inspiration for exercise one chapter one.

Have you ever eaten a peach? And, I don’t mean any orange wedge that slops out of a can and hits the bottom of a bowl with a dull phwap like a wet sock. I mean an honest to goodness fuzzy ball of light orange that deepens to crimson as you turn it in your hand…intoxicated by the sweet smell of magnified Sol. By the time the soft fuzz brushes your lips the aroma is firing nearly every synapse of interconnected gray matter. The bite. Thick ripe juices flow over your tongue and down your cheek. The sweetness of life sends a shock wave from your mouth to your brain which in turn ricochets its report to every last cell. Your eyes roll and close. Surely, an involuntary reaction to this toe curling delight.

Tags: creative, food, Food Writing, peach

Food Writing

Friday, October 31st, 2008 | Food Writing | No Comments

As you may be able to tell this blog is my first. As a result I have been wandering aimlessly in the dark. While everything that has been written thus far is related to food and to fostering a shift to a local food economy there is a lack of a basic structure that would help in getting the message out. So, today I am announcing my first structured project. A weekly entry of creative food writing.

A friend of mine suggested I read, “Will Write for Food” by Dianne Jacob. To my delight the book comes with writing exercises after each chapter. My hope is to post one of these writing exercises every week. With this practice and some newly discovered knowledge from the book maybe this little blog can be polished into something more meaningful and shiny.

Dustin – admin

Tags: project