Effects of the Storms on local Farmers

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. -- As Judith Winfrey walks the seven acres of her organic farm, there's little evidence that just days ago almost all the rows were green with one growing vegetable or another.

"This soil used to be so fluffy I could gently push my hand in and go all the way down past my wrist. Now i can barely force my fingers into it--it's all clay and silt," said Winfrey.

Monday's flood caused the nearby Anneewakee Creek to overflow it's banks and submerge Winfrey's Love is Love Farm under an estimated 10 feet of water. Two-thirds of the crops were destroyed. The floodwaters detroyed a bevy of vegetables including kale, spinach, endive radishes and carrots. A number of the fields were days away from harvest.

The farm itself sustained damage. Ancient, canopy trees were ripped from their roots. A bridge over the creek was washed away. The irrigation system is broken along with a pump that worked on the property's pond.

Winfrey's farm provides food to hundreds of people around Metro Attlanta. She and her partner, Joe Reynolds, run a small food stand next to the Atlanta restaurant Baccanalia and paticipate in the Peachtree Road Farmers Market.

"It's really devastating to think about how much care, time, effort and money was poured into this place and into this soil. It's hard to look at it and see it all gone," said Winfrey.

Winfrey's farm is one of several that's reported losses from the recent flooding. The Georgia Department of Agriculture is working on a dollar estimate of damage and has crews on the ground doing assessments. They hope to have some totals by the end of the week.

Meantime, Winfrey and Reynolds aren't wasting anytime in getting back to work. While it could take weeks or months, friends and fellow farmers have already offered to help with cleanup and re-planting.

"We've got to start over. There are a lot of people who depend on our organic food and this is more that just about our farm, this is a community that provides quality food for Atlanta," said Winfrey.

The Georgia Farmer Flood Relief Fund has been set up to take tax-deductible donations, administered by Slow Food Atlanta. To donate to the fund, checks can be made out
and sent to :

Georgia Flooded Farms Relief Fund

P.O. Box 2641

Smyrna, GA 30081

SOURCE www.11alive.com


This Sunday's Field of Greens festival at Whipoorwhill Hollow Organic Farm from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM brings together locally grown food, live music, and green living education all in a family friendly environment ($15 for adults, kids under 12 FREE!)

www.fieldofgreensfestival.com

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT SPLIT CEDAR FARMS (Neil Taylor's

Farm) They were also affected by last week's storms and need volunteers to do hand cultivation. If you are interested in volunteering as a group, get in touch with naomi.rabkin@gmail.com or Contact Volunteer Coordinator at taylorganic@bellsouth.net to find a time to go up on your own.

For more information about the fund and upcoming fundraising events you can also visit

www.slowfoodatlanta.org

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sukkot Potluck Thursday, October 8th 5:30-6:45
Farm Visit Sunday, October 25th 2:00-4:30 (RSVP for both to naomi.rabkin@gmail.com)

How to Plant Garlic

By Madeline Guzman
Newsletter coordinator from the Rockville, MD Tuv Ha’Aretz site

The best time to plant garlic is after the first frost date, this translating into mid-October in Maryland and much of the Northern regions of the country, which is coming up soon! Garlic is part of the allium genus (the onion plant family) which also includes scallions, chives, onions, shallots, and leeks. All of these are perennial bulbous plants which contain cysteine sulfoxide,a chemical which gives these plants their distinctive taste and odors There are about 1,250 species of this genus, making it one of the largest plant genera in the world!

Garlic is very easy to grow. It would make the perfect vegetable for the first-time vegetable gardener. You may begin with just one bulb of garlic. Obtain it from a farmers market, a seed company, your CSA farmers, or even a garlic festival. Do not use garlic from the grocery store, as those bulbs are usually imported and may harbor disease. Begin by dividing the garlic bulb into cloves. Each clove, with its thin, white, papery skin, will be a seed for a new garlic bulb. Allow the cloves to dry overnight before planting. Choose a garden site that is sunny, but not too damp.

Prepare your garden by loosening the soil and adding a scoopful of compost, working the compost into the rest of the soil with your shovel. Do not use any cloves that appear damaged. Plant each clove one inch deep and 4 inches apart. Each bulb of garlic usually contains about 20 cloves. You can plant as many of these as you want, and use the rest for cooking. It might be best to label the garden spot so you do not confuse the long leaves that will emerge as weeds (a sad experience I had last year within over-zealous garden helper in my own flower garden).

After planting, firm up the soil around each clove. Cover all with a layer of mulch or straw. Mulching the ground will prevent weeds from sprouting around each plant and will protect each clove from the biting cold of winter. The mulch does not have to be removed in order for the plants to emerge.

Your garlic bulbs will be nearing harvest time when you see the leaves withering and turning yellow (if you are in the northeast, this won’t be until about July). When the leaves appear almost completely dry, gently dig up each bulb without removing the dead leaves. Allow the bulbs to completely dry by spreading them individually on a screen or newspaper. When dry, cut off the leaves and stems to within an inch of the bulb. Store the bulbs either in a cool area of your home (the cooler, the better) or in your refrigerator. Never store garlic in plastic bags which does not allow the living bulb to “breathe.”

Your garlic is now ready to use. Once you harvest your own garlic, you’ll be so proud of having grown a self-sustaining (a word we love) vegetable. If you grow too many, simply bring them in to share with other CSA members or friends at work. Happy gardening!

Nutritional Labeling - Beware of So Called Smart Choices®

From Food Democracy Now!

Ever get the feeling that multinational food corporations are just trying to sell you a bunch of junk in a pretty package? Well, the new Smart Choices® Program proves that hunch to be true. Recently, an alliance of over a dozen giant food conglomerates and some industry “experts” came up with a new nutrition labeling program meant to help consumers make “smarter food and beverage choices.

You might be surprised what they define as a “Smart Choice”: products like Froot Loops®, Keebler Cookie Crunch® and Lucky Charms®.

Are they serious? In an age when childhood obesity and type II diabetes has become an epidemic, labeling sugar cereals as smart choices is unacceptable. Please join us in telling the FDA and USDA to investigate the Smart Choices® Program and put an end to deceptive labeling. http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/

The new Smart Choices® label, a large, bright green checkmark, is starting to appear on packages of processed food across the country thanks to the help of major corporations like ConAgra, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Kraft, PepsiCo, Tyson Foods and Unilever.

For only $100,000, a company can join the Smart Choices® program and “recommend” products that contain as much as 44% sugar to your children.

This new label is a sign of everything that is wrong with food industry driven labeling programs. According to Michael Jacobson, the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the criteria for the new “smarter food” label is so low that: “You could start out with some sawdust, add calcium or Vitamin A and meet the criteria.”

Jacobson, who was on the original panel of experts that worked to create the nutritional standards for the Smart Choices® program, resigned last September in disgust because the results were so far in favor of the industry. Thankfully, the FDA and USDA have taken notice. The agencies sent a joint letter saying they would “be concerned if any FOP (front of package) labeling systems…had the effect of encouraging consumers to choose highly processed foods…”

The letter is a good start, but The FDA and USDA need to do more. The Smart Choices program will encourage bad food choices if it's allowed to proceed. And the FDA and USDA have the ability to stop it. Please sign this petition now and tell the FDA and the USDA that Froot Loops® is NOT a Smart Choice for our children.

Kitchen Wisdom

This piece comes from Rabbi Dara Frimmer, of Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles. It was in part inspired by her work on the Hazon Food Conference executive committee and the work she’s been doing to create a healthier and more sustainable world for all.

Growing up, our kitchen was the room of gathering. It did not have the most comfortable chairs. No fine artwork decorated the walls. And yet, something about the kitchen drew people in and kept them together. As it turns out, some of my best learning took place in the kitchen.

The kitchen was a place to test out authority, to challenge tradition, to practice assertiveness:

Why do we keep 2 sets of dishes, but we eat Chinese food on paper plates? How come Laura, my babysitter, can have a glass of milk with dinner, but I can’t? If we eat crab cakes in Cape Cod, what’s the point of keeping a Kosher home? “We’re doing it for your Bubbe and Zaide in Brooklyn,” said my mother. “So they feel comfortable when they come to visit.” “We’re doing it because I said so,” replied my father. “When you’re older, you can make your own decisions.”

And so I did. I entered Stanford University with a strong critique of my Jewish identity: It felt hypocritical, fractured, non-responsive to questions of relevance, justice and inclusivity. For years, I studied other religions, in awe of their ability to reinterpret and reframe ancient traditions. And then someone taught me about eco-kashrut, a language that united food, justice and holiness. Eco-Kashrut suggests that the health and wages of farmers, day-laborers, and restaurant employees should be factored into the kosher-certification process. Environmental impact matters. Treatment of animals matter. Amidst these debates of tradition and innovation, I felt as though I was back in my childhood kitchen: Questioning. Curious. Engaged.

The kitchen taught me about my parents:

It was clear that my mother and father had very different ways of handling food. My mother followed recipes. Line by Line. All ingredients were placed on the counter ahead of time. Measuring spoons and cups close at hand. Timer ready. Kitchen sink clear. She was deliberate. Cautious. Ritualistic. She was loyal to her favorite recipes: for kugel, for fish, for matzo ball soup. She made notes in the margins of cookbooks: “Serves 8 not 10!” and “Perfect for Passover!” Seated around the kitchen table, she would ask, “How was your day?”– an addition she included every night as if it was the final line of the recipe.

My father, my his memory be a blessing, was her foil. He would commandeer the kitchen on special occasions. He’d tear recipes out of the New York Times. Sometimes a few lines would be missing. The flame would be heating up the pan of oil, as he rustled through the cabinets looking for ingredients. Spices were measured by pouring them into his hand and then emptying them into the pot. Food was tasted and sampled and adjusted along the way. Sauces spattered across the stovetop and tiles. Culinary magic and mystery came at the cost of a few mistakes. Sometimes we ended up at a restaurant for dinner. Failure was simply a part of the process.

My kitchen teaches me about myself:

Today, I line my kitchen counter with glass jelly jars, filled with beans and barley and quinoa and peas. They stand in a row, in perfect order. Recipes are clipped by magnet onto the fridge. Sometimes I follow them. Sometimes not. I measure in cups and spoons, and in-between pinched fingers and open palms. I try to remember that the experience of cooking – all of the smells, the textures, the shapes, the colors – the experience is as important as the final product. I try to take a moment before the first bite to bless the food that sits before me, the friends who have joined me, and the life that has carried me up until this moment.

Back in the days of the Temple, our ancestors would make pilgrimages to Jerusalem 3 times a year. 3000 years later, many of us find ourselves in a similar pattern. We visit our Temple a few times a year, seeking connection, a spark of holiness, a glimpse of the Divine. After the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the next generation of leaders called rabbis reinvented Judaism to survive without the central site of worship. Each home became a Temple. Each table became an altar. Each person became a priest. Our daily prayers served in place of sacrifices. Our braided challah on Friday nights became the sacred Sabbath offering.

We do not have to wait for our yearly pilgrimages to experience a spark of holiness. Invite over some family or friends and share some food…and some company…and some creativity…and some stories. Sit around the kitchen table and share some wisdom. Some of my best learning took place in the kitchen – what about you?

I Hate Jewish Food

The other night my husband and I were laughing with friends about how supermarkets in the south lump all of the Jewish holidays together, toting out the matzah, potato pancake mix, and honey cakes - whether it's Passover or Rosh Hashanah. I even saw Hamantaschen on display at the Briarcliff Whole Foods (you'd think the foodie mecca across from Kosher Gourmet would know better!).

Similarly, while Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, Purim and Pesach have their own signature items, the Ashkenazi holiday table still does not vary all that dramatically from season to season. As a veg-aquarian, the almighty brisket does not make it to my table, and I know, it's a shonda, but I just do not care for kugel - noodle, potato, sweet savory. It just doesn't do it for me. And while I love a good roasted root vegetable, the cloying sweetness of most tzimmes recipes is totally unappetizing to me.

It was not until a few years ago when I started experimenting with my own cooking that I began to realize that tradition is no excuse for bland and unhealthy cooking. Rabbi Norry, in a vegetarian Passover cooking class a few years ago, made the wonderful point that the best way to celebrate and honor creation is to celebrate and glorify the bounty of each season's produce. What could be more Jewish than that? The squashes, apples, and greens of this season have so much color, vibrancy and flavor to add to our holidays and celebrations. Let's challenge each other to reimagine "Jewish" cooking this season.

Join us on October 7th for our annual Sukkot Potluck from 5:30-6:45 and share your best vegetarian/dairy creations. I know from experience that there are some incredible cooks out there, so let's set the bar high!

Here are two of the "stars" of our Rosh Hashanah table this year featuring North Georgia Apples and Delicata Squash.

Shanah Tovah!


Delicata Squash and Celery Root Puree
I overheard some people at pickup wondering what to do with the oblong speckled delicata squashes especially if you don't like sweet veggies. The celery root balances out the sweetness to make a smooth and savory puree that my children like to dip roasted cauliflower in.

• 2 small delicata squashes
• 1 large celery root (celeriac)
• 1/4 cup cream or milk
• 1-2 tablespoons of butter
• one head garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives (divided)
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Cut squashes in half and remove seeds. brush halves with olive oil and spinke with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-45 minutes, or until squashes are soft. Cut top off of garlic head and brush with oil and a little salt and roast garlic head. Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Peel celery root and then cut into large cubes. Salt boiling water and cook celery root pieces for 20 minutes (until fork tender). Drain celery root and puree with roasted squash (skin removed). In saucepan melt butter and one tbsp chopped chives, and 2-3 cloves roasted garlic. Add milk or cream and heat at medium (do not boil). Add milk mixture to squash and puree again in food processor or use immersion blender. Season with Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with 1 tbsp. chopped chives if desired.


Flounder with Apple Saute

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. butter (optional)
• 4 apples sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced shallots
• 1/4 apple juice
• 1 tsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp. veggie broth
• 1 small-medium onion, sliced.
• 2 cloves garlic and 1 inch peeled ginger (minced)
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder (optional)

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp butter in pan. Add shallots and onions to pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown shallots and onions on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add minced garlic and ginger and curry powder, and saute for one minute. Add apples and stir. Deglaze pan with apple juice (or cider). Reduce by 1/2 and add vinegar and veggie broth. Simmer on low until fish is ready.

Bread fish with flour, eggwash and breadcrumbs. Pan fry in oil and another tsp. or so of butter for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until fish flakes. (Fish may be kept warm in 200 degree oven.)

Serve fish over puree, and top with apple mixture.

Elephants in our refrigerator?

As we all prepare to reflect, renew and restore ourselves for the new year, here are some interesting articles to ponder. and a yummy sounding recipe from celebrity chef Michael Ciarello that is an interesting take on apples and honey (you could even substitute the frisee in the recipe for the arugula we are getting in our boxes : )

Shanah Tovah everyone! May this year bring us all health, happiness and sweet and sustainable lives : )

Box items this week: Tomatoes, Pac Choi, Peppers, Apples, Eggplant, Arugula, Delicata Squash, Muscadines Shelled Peas

ELEPHANTS IN OUR REFRIGERATOR
by Susan Bodnar Adapted from the Jew and the Carrot

Recently, Michael Pollan linked the reduction of medical costs to the even more controversial reformation of the food industry, what he calls the elephant in the national debate about the health care crisis. While Washington dukes out the legislative challenges to securing a healthier national environment, the country’s children have already returned to another school year and the Jewish New Year is upon us. Can we really wait for all this legislation to be enacted? Not me. I’m joining others who believe that change begins at the kitchen table. This year we are going to do a family food tashlich and symbolically cast away the elephants in our own refrigerators, the habitual bad food practices of everyday life.

1) Casting away disembodied eating

We’ll be taking more family expeditions to Farmer’s Markets or the local produce section of the grocery store. We’ll be talking to the kids about how food is grown and introducing them to more farmers who make cheese, grow food and milk cows or goats. Our most recent hero is the cheese guy from Olde Oak Farm in Orono Maine. Teaching children about food’s origins will help them respect eating it. It will also signal to our kids how much we care about them. Active concern about what goes into your kids’ bodies and foods sacred relationship to the earth, teaches them that their body really is a temple. A healthy regard for the physical self reflected by parental behavior helps children establish good personal boundaries. Good personal boundaries are the foundation of healthy eating and respect for limitations.

2) Casting away processed foods

When we journey to the river’s edge this Rosh Hashanah, we’ll take a pinch of processed food. This is to establish that sound eating is a spiritual goal as well as a health one. When healthy eating is only about rules it robs nutrition of its aesthetic merits. Eating healthy expresses a love for self, other, nature, pleasure, and, by extension, that which we know as God. While banning processed foods, we’ll be emphasizing sugar as a spare pleasure by home-baking with whole grains, unprocessed sugars, and sweetener substitutes like agave nectar.

3) Casting away disconnection

Not only are we going to eat together we are going to prepare meals together. Shabbat dinner is a great opportunity for this but not the only one. Even school lunches can become a fun family activity. Cooking with kids teaches responsibility, self-reliance and collaborative thinking. Dining together promotes relatedness and non-verbal emotional synergy. Eating healthy food together is almost countercultural, a shared family brand that can help your children stand up to the pressure of consumerist messaging.

There is no reason to wait for Washington to do something about our country’s health and food crisis. As Michael Pollan says, changed consumer patterns brought on by transformed eating patterns will send a message to congress, not to mention the food industry. Just by being part of a CSA you already helping to be a part of change!


New Kosher Food Certification May Be Most Detailed In the Industry
By Nathaniel Popper
Reprinted with permission of The Forward

This article is about one of Hazon’s partners, Magen Tzedek. It is an update on the new kosher certification that they are working to establish. A representative from Magen Tzedek will be joining us at the Food Conference again this year.

The Conservative movement has released detailed guidelines for what experts say could be one of the most comprehensive food certifications in existence.

The guidelines for the new Magen Tzedek food certification are intended to ensure that ethical standards are adhered to in kosher food production, and they delve into nearly every phase of the production process. A group of Conservative rabbis began developing the certification more than two years ago after a Forward article drew attention to the poor working conditions at what was then the world’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, Agriprocessors, in Postville, Iowa.

The Hekhsher Tzedek commission, which created the guidelines with the backing of the national bodies of Conservative Judaism, has previously released rough sketches of what the certification would encompass. But the rules released this week go on for 175 pages and delve into great detail on the standards companies will need to meet if they want to earn a Magen Tzedek certification. (Hekhsher Tzedek means certification of justice in Hebrew, while Magen Tzedek means seal of justice.) Those standards broadly break down into five areas: treatment of employees, animal welfare, consumer issues, corporate integrity and environmental impact.

Among the specific rules laid out in the draft is one stipulating that a company would have to pay its lowest paid employee at least 115% of the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 an hour) and provide the same employee with health and other benefits that amount to at least 35% of his or her wages. These standards, and many others, would apply to workers who produce any ingredient that is at least 5% of the weight of the final product.

There are a number of certification programs that look at one or another of the specific categories that the Magen Tzedek is interested in — but industry experts say that there are almost no other food-certification systems that are as comprehensive and thorough as what the Conservative rabbis are proposing.

“The breadth is impressive,” said Scott Exo, director of the Food Alliance, which bills itself as the “most comprehensive third-party certification for the production, processing, and distribution of sustainable food.”

The guidelines are being offered for public comment, and the commission is hoping to have an application and a beta test of the program done by the end of this year — with the program starting next year. The Hekhsher Tzedek commission is in talks with an independent auditing company that would conduct the actual certifying audits.

To read the full length article, please visit: www.forward.com/articles/113750/


Piadini with Apples, Honey, and Blue Cheese
From Food Network at www.foodnetwork.com

• 2 apples
• 2 to 3 heads frisee lettuce
• Olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced, plus extra for sprinkling apples
• 5 tablespoons honey
• Grey salt
• Pepper
• 1 bag pre-made pizza dough (from deli counter)
• 4 ounces blue cheese

Directions
2 hours before the party: Core and slice the apples. If you’re not using immediately, squeeze lemon juice on them to prevent discoloration.

When your guests have arrived: Wash and roughly tear the frisee into a salad bowl. Add the apples. Drizzle with olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon of the honey, salt and pepper. Set aside

Divide the pizza dough into 4 sections. On a floured board, stretch and roll the dough into thin disks with a rolling pin. The dough may also be stretched by hand, but rolling will give you a thinner crust. Coat the flattened dough with olive oil and place onto a very hot, preheated outdoor grill. (this can be done indoors on a cast iron stovetop grill pan. Set the burners to medium, medium-high and make sure to preheat the pan.) When you see bubbles rise to the surface, flip the dough. It should be slightly browned on the bottom.

Put 1 tablespoon of the honey and 1-ounce of blue cheese, to taste, on the top of the crust. Close down your grill and wait for the cheese to melt. When it is nice and gooey, take it off the grill and top with the cool salad and apples. Repeat with remaining dough and ingredients. Fold it over, eat and enjoy.

Life with Goats at the Adamah Farm

This piece comes from Aitan Mizrahi, the diary manager at the ADAMAH farm, which is part of the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center in Falls Village, CT. The dairy farm raises goats and makes kosher, sustainable cheese and yogurt.

Life with the goats has been busy and fun. ADAMAH Dairy is a collective project of the Adamah Jewish Environmental Fellowship. ADAMAH is a three-month leadership training program for Jewish young adults in their 20s that integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, community building and contemplative spiritual practice. As the dairy manager, I have the honor of holding many of the pieces surrounding the dairy operation here at the Isabella Friedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, CT. My first introduction to this lifestyle was as an ADAMAH Fellow in 2004. Since then I have learned herd maintenance and cheese-making.

Around Pesach, in the springtime, our milking does (female goats) gave birth to a grand total of seventeen kids. Since then we have been watching the development of the kids and starting our kosher, organic, artisanal dairy production. While the mothers have been providing enough milk to produce, on average 30-40 pounds of cheese and 10 gallons of yogurt a week, the new kids are still bouncing around the barnyard. All of our products are being sold either through our CSA, which drops off at the Tuv Ha’Aretz Hazon CSA in White Plains, or at local farm stands and markets. Our small batches of cheeses allow for attention to detail. Our Falls Village Feta is a creamy and tangy cheese that is subtly salted, making space for the fresh clean flavors of Falls Village flora to unfold on your palette. Our Holy Chevre is a rich, gently tart, fresh spreadable cheese that is great to share with friends.

As a young Jewish farmer (and goat herder!), I am able to use this opportunity to blend the traditions of our ancestors with contemporary food and sustainability issues. The time I spend roaming with the goats through the woods of Connecticut remind me of the days of old when the Israelites roamed the land of Israel with their herds. With the current demand for local, fresh, healthy food, ADAMAH Dairy is filling a need for hand-crafted, kosher cheeses and yogurt. Come visit us, walk with the goats and taste our tasty treats. We look forward to sharing our tasty dairy products or a tour of the farm with you anytime you are in the area.