Rain! Its rejuvenating the ground water, and giving the food producers a chance to catch up on pre-season planning, seed buying, and networking. Our local growers aren’t just hiding out indoors while it rains – our farmers are tech-savvy and I’m lovin’ it.
So many rainy days in a row have kept me inside, and, I’m almost ashamed to admit … spending more than a healthy amount of time in front of my computer screen. But even while I’m house-bound, I can (and you can too !) learn about the day to day chores on the local farms, watch ranchers visit their animals, … even plan ahead to summer by signing up for a CSA subscription. Its not clairvoyance folks, … no, its YouTube, facebook and twitter! Yeah – your iPhone … don’t leave the farm without it!
Local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription announcements, as well as announcements for locally raised broiler chickens and lamb are posting now on the Local Food Coalition email network. And, up-close and in-person, many of our local ranchers and farmers have been sharing their tech tips and growing know-how — at the SYRCL Film Festival workshops last week, the Eco-Farm Conference this week, and preparing for the PlacerGROWN Farm Conference next weekend.
Now, granted, some of my time in front of the computer has been spent working … but, I’ve found myself sliding down the slippery slope of the ‘information-seeking-junky’ that I swore I would never be! If you know the internet, you know that you just can’t stay on that one page …. while searching for veggies, I’ve stumbled from the farm right into a class reunion. Thanks to facebook, I’ve learned more in the past week about my childhood friends lives than if we had never grown up and gone out into the world! Happily, I’ve learned that many of them are fans of local food – local to where they live!
I’m really making an effort to do some work on the computer, but I find myself – almost unconsciously hitting the ‘refresh’ button on fb to see if there are any earth-shattering updates. I guess it is a handy way to combine work and social life without ever leaving your chair.
As I jump back and forth from recipe research (work), to preparing my bit for the conference (work), to my fourth grade best-friend’s daughter’s husband’s new cat’s photos (social life ???)….. I start noticing similarities.
“Has she lost her mind?” you may be wondering. Well, no. Not entirely.
Just pondering the old ‘Ugly Duckling’ notion. Just look how well those old friends have turned out …. and not only the ‘one’s most likely to …’
… and then there’s that ‘who’d’ve ever thought … !’ moment where you realize that the kid who bugged you in pre-school is now a rock star … or, a farmer – nice !
Maybe my screen or my vision is blurring … but the very same theme is running through my recipe pages …. ‘who’d’ve ever thought…’ I’d be searching online for new ways to accommodate my infatuation with cooked carrots and brussel sprouts into my meals. And then – in a new tab – looking up the most inviting recipe for those ‘wall-flowers’ of the meat world … kidneys and beef tongue …. (yes, work).
I guess, to those of you who knew me when …. it would come as no surprise. Me – the kid who always liked spinach and wanted liver and onions for my birthday dinners! Lucky I even had friends left to find on fb ! Thanks Mom for insisting I should have spaghetti and cake for the birthday parties …. “eat that other stuff when you’re alone !”
But, seriously – I am having a glorious affair with those cool weather veggies. And thanks to the facebook posts from Four Frog Farm, I know that those carrots only get sweeter with the cold. And brussel sprouts ! I always knew I liked them … even in high school …, but now that I’ve grown up and learned a few things about olive oil, butter and cast iron skillets – they’ve become a frequent dinner companion. And, now everyone knows … because BriarPatch twitters !
Now I’m thinking of food again– click to facebook. Why there? All of my favorite local growers are on fb, I’m collecting farm-fan-pages like baseball cards, and I don’t want to miss any breaking news on winter veggies … (especially carrots).
Ok, ok, back to work … and those lowly organ meats. These may be the true ‘ugly ducklings’ of this story .. but I’m inspired by my fb friends’ success stories. Once a staple of the diet .. for economic and nutritional considerations .. liver, kidney, tongue and heart may have faded in popularity as the handsome ribeyes, tenderloins and New Yorks enjoy their day in the sun. But, don’t underestimate those unassuming cuts of meat. With a little encouragement, and some social networking …. plus these recipes I’ve just found … these may just become the next local ‘rock stars’ in your kitchen! Watch for their debut at the meat counter at BriarPatch … date and time to be announced via twitter …….
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Links to local CSA Farms
Four Frog Farm, Honey in the Heart Farm, Living Lands Agrarian Network, Mooney Flat Farm, Mountain Bounty Farm, Riverhill Farm, Sunsmile Farms, Fulcrum Farm, Grass Valley Grains