green
Bison beats Beef!
08/12/2009 15:29
Went to 24 Carrots, looking for a replacement for mainstream meat. After watching Food, Inc. Got some venison and some ground Bison, from a farm called Yankee Farmers in Warner, NH. They have two other locations, with about 300 acres and a thousand acres of pasture, where they raise their bison for processing. The small herd (16 animals and a water-buffalo that actually makes them look small!) at Warner is for show. The Farmers (that’s their name, as well as their occupation) are looking to attract visitors, tourists, school groups, etc.
They’ll need to add a little to the “things to see” at the farm, to be a destination. But the store is well-stocked and the prices seem reasonable. You can go up there and buy bison, elk, deer, ostrich and organic chicken in bulk to fill your freezer. The other animals are not grown there; the Farmers have made meat from other local growers available in their store. Or, you can get bison, and several of the other meats from the freezer at 24 Carrots.
We made meat-balls from a pound of ground bison. They were complete a replacement for ground beef. I used to use 93-95% lean beef, so I was used to the leanness of the buffalo meat. According to the Farmers’ info, it’s actually lower in fat than CHICKEN! A few days later, we had bison sausage, fried up with onions. Really good sausage! Tasty, and you can eat it without wondering what nasty stuff is in it. It’s been a long time since I’ve let myself enjoy a good Italian sausage – this will ADD sausage and pepper sandwiches, and all kinds of dishes back into our menu. Nice work, Yankee Farmers and 24 Carrots!
Dave's Keene Mushrooms
08/09/2009 15:28
On farmer’s market day in Keene, we ran into a surprising sign that announced one of the alleys between the downtown blocks as “Mushroom Alley.” I couldn’t resist, so we strolled down it to find Dave Wichland under a white tent at the corner of the parking lot behind the main farmer’s market area. His homemade sign announced him as “Wichland Woods Mushrooms,” and he had a variety of fresh and dried mushrooms, mushroom art, and even two flavors of sun-brewed mushroom tea, which he was offering samples of to passersby.
Paul Stamets’ book Mycelium Running was prominently displayed on the table, so we had a starting point for conversation. Dave has been to Stamets’ seminar, sells his sporulated chain-saw oil, and is probably the local expert in the same way Stamets is the expert on northwestern mushrooms. One of the things that became apparent in our conversation, is that Dave has taken a lot of the general knowledge in books like Stamets’, and adapted it to the particular conditions of the New Hampshire climate and landscape.
We bought a package of fresh Chanterelles and Black Trumpets, which went into a nice white sauce for pasta that evening (it’s always a challenge for me, finding out how to use new and different foods, because I’m not a big fan of recipe-reading. I like to start by using the new thing in something I’d normally eat anyway). Dave also has a landscaping business, and can consult on or implement mycological projects for bioremediation (cleaning up toxins in agricultural runoff, for example) or permaculture-style biological diversity.
Dave has developed a hardy local strain of “garden giant” mushrooms that have been very successful outdoors in Keene. He grows them in his yard, which is walking distance from my yard, so I’m looking forward to dropping by to see his plantings. And then putting some around the yard, so maybe we can pull mushrooms from the garden next year! Dave has tackled all the issues I thought were the “Hot buttons” when I was reading Stamets. It’s great when someone does cool stuff, so you don’t have to do it all yourself!
If you miss Dave on market days, ask Michael and Barb at 24 Carrots – that was the first place I saw his mushrooms.
If you miss Dave on market days, ask Michael and Barb at 24 Carrots – that was the first place I saw his mushrooms.
Making Bread
07/07/2009 08:58
The recipe we used was the simplest I could find: flour, water, yeast, and small amounts of oil, salt and sugar (to start the yeast). I’m new at breadmaking, so it’s an ongoing education for me, too. But I think it’s cool (and important) that the girls had a chance to see the amount of work that goes into making something as basic and universal as a loaf of bread.
I don’t know how much of the process these girls will remember, or if any of them will actually ever make another loaf of bread. But at least, they’ll have a different appreciation for the next sandwich they eat. And maybe for the uncounted millions of women who spent (and still spend, in places like Chile) part of their days doing exactly the same thing.
Green adults?
04/01/2009 10:06
Steph and I have been helping Lucy get her Green Keene Teens group started, and as a result we’ve gotten fairly excited about some green ideas. We’ve been interested in this stuff for long time (I went to college for Ag. & Resource Economics), so I thought I’d start doing my own blogs about green stuff.
We got our winter 2009-2010 pellet fuel yesterday from pelletsales.com (you get a better deal if you buy it in the spring, and we have the space to store it). It comes on 3000 pound pallets, and we got three. The two in their original shrinkwrap are a little tilted because the driver pushed them into the barn with the forklift. The third one (which he used to push the first two back) couldn’t quite make it, so I restacked it on a pallet from last season. It’s not as nice a stack as they did at the factory, but it’ll do. I was happy I only had to move one pallet – 3000 lbs rather than 9000!
We got our winter 2009-2010 pellet fuel yesterday from pelletsales.com (you get a better deal if you buy it in the spring, and we have the space to store it). It comes on 3000 pound pallets, and we got three. The two in their original shrinkwrap are a little tilted because the driver pushed them into the barn with the forklift. The third one (which he used to push the first two back) couldn’t quite make it, so I restacked it on a pallet from last season. It’s not as nice a stack as they did at the factory, but it’ll do. I was happy I only had to move one pallet – 3000 lbs rather than 9000!
GKT Logo
03/26/2009 18:52
Made a new Green Keene Teens sticker for Lucy (using the logo my lovely bride Steph made), and labels for the GKT laundry soap. Looks like the soap may soon be seen on the shelves of 24 Carrots Farm Stand in Swanzey!
Wind in NH!
02/15/2009 20:43
On the way to watch the horse skijoring at the 93rd annual Newport NH winter festival (longest-running winter fest in the US), we happened upon these really cool windmills in Lempster, NH.
Went online to find out what’s up, and I really couldn’t find out a lot of good information, because the web was swamped with BS from a group that calls itself the “Industrial Wind Action Group.” Apparently these folks are up in arms at the idea that America is going to pollute its environment with wind energy stations.
No, REALLY.
Their website says “Industrial Wind Action Group seeks to promote knowledge and raise awareness of the risks and damaging environmental impacts of industrial wind energy development. Information and analysis on the subject is available through its website, www.windaction.org.” I wonder where they get their funding…
It’s clear where they get their science, though. From the people who brought you the arguments for “Clean Coal.” The folks against the turbines on Lempster Mountain were supposedly afraid a turbine blade would break loose and land in granny’s bedroom. Hmm…I wonder how they’d feel about a coal-fired plant or a nuke in their neighborhood. Oh wait, that’s the difference! Those dirty, dangerous power plants are always in someone else’s neighborhood. Not to mention those nasty mines. When you think about the number of people we’ve gotten used to dying for the coal power industry, it makes the whining of the anti-wind folks sound a little weak, doesn’t it?
In any case, they got it done somehow. In spite of the fake environmentalists and concerned grandchildren who tried to block it. Way to go, Lempster!
Went online to find out what’s up, and I really couldn’t find out a lot of good information, because the web was swamped with BS from a group that calls itself the “Industrial Wind Action Group.” Apparently these folks are up in arms at the idea that America is going to pollute its environment with wind energy stations.
No, REALLY.
Their website says “Industrial Wind Action Group seeks to promote knowledge and raise awareness of the risks and damaging environmental impacts of industrial wind energy development. Information and analysis on the subject is available through its website, www.windaction.org.” I wonder where they get their funding…
It’s clear where they get their science, though. From the people who brought you the arguments for “Clean Coal.” The folks against the turbines on Lempster Mountain were supposedly afraid a turbine blade would break loose and land in granny’s bedroom. Hmm…I wonder how they’d feel about a coal-fired plant or a nuke in their neighborhood. Oh wait, that’s the difference! Those dirty, dangerous power plants are always in someone else’s neighborhood. Not to mention those nasty mines. When you think about the number of people we’ve gotten used to dying for the coal power industry, it makes the whining of the anti-wind folks sound a little weak, doesn’t it?
In any case, they got it done somehow. In spite of the fake environmentalists and concerned grandchildren who tried to block it. Way to go, Lempster!
