SLOW FOOD - It's not just food; it's a way of life

There is nothing new about Slow Food.  It's how our grandparents ate.  The modern day Slow Food movement began in 1986 as a reaction to the first McDonald’s opening in Rome.

Supporters of the movement see slow food as a way to counteract fast food and fast life.  Slow food is the antidote to the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

 

THREE WEEKS FROM SEED TO HARVEST

 

Many of our meals begin with a seed in the ground.  These mirror images of the beet/carrot/daikon bed shows the amazing amount of growth in only three weeks.

 

APRIL 8, 2008

    

Bob industriously created a container garden from a discarded IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) which he cut in half and filled with a mixture of compost, vermiculite and peat moss.  We made the floor of the garden from used cardboard and lumber.

  Deer can be a problem for gardeners in our area, so Bob sunk Tee posts using a sledge hammer to support the goat fence we hauled out of the woods.  He also strung electric wire that we found on the property around the perimeter.  Should deer push past or jump into the goat wire, we'll get an inverter and hot wire the outside fence.

In the background is Sunflower or the Lower House where Jessi, Ian, Greg and Jack live.  The Kubota riding mower (biodiesel powered) belongs to Lyle who graciously lends it to us on a rotational schedule along with Industrial and the Coop.

 

APRIL 15, 2008

 

The seeds are coming up nicely.  Our home, Camelina (formerly known as The Trailer) is on the right with our bicycles.

 

APRIL 23 - MORE PROGRESS

 

Bob added a herb garden and some native grass salvaged from Piedmont Biofuels administrative offices.

 

Jason and Haruka gave us these tomatoes which Bob placed in steel drums he cut down and caged with goat wire.  His mowing is expanding into a system of wide paths around the property.

 

APRIL 30, 2008

 

Sunny days, rainy days and Wow!  The root vegetables and greens are taking off!  These photos were taken after several harvests of arugula, lettuce, beet greens, chard, daikon greens and spinach.

 

Herbs and native grasses.

 

New seeds for later and the tomatoes.

 

LOCAL LUNCH FRIDAY

 

Camille sits with the vegetables we bought from Piedmont Biofarm to make fried rice and stir fry for our turn at Friday Local Lunch April 4th.  Bob made the fried rice - two enormous pans of it!  He also made tofu for the rice and Camille made Asian flavored Wheat Meat from gluten.

 

FREE FOOD

 

We consider free food to be local food.  Especially when there is nothing wrong with it beyond sluggish sales.  Tim Angert shows off a huge selection of food salvaged from the trash.  It is truly amazing what gets thrown in dumpsters by retailers.

It was early morning and Camille was laying in bed trying to think of what to cook for Potluck.  She had her sights set on Spaghetti Sauce but was missing a bell pepper and didn't want to have to drive to the store for one.  We heard a car drive up and there was a slight 'thud' on our porch.  When we got up and looked, we saw this fantastic crate of food and there, right on top was a beautiful red pepper!

 

TEMPEH - SUPERIOR PROTEIN IN 24 HOURS

 

Bob has begun making ten to twenty pounds of Tempeh a week.  What we don't sell, we eat and vice versa.  We label our Tempeh with the Black Spot anti-brand.  Our new a scale ensures standardized weight of each bag.  Here he has packed a large order for Link to take with him to Kentucky.  Seems that Link's friends have acquired a taste for Black Spot Tempeh.

 

UDON NOODLES

  .

When we realized we could make noodles for one tenth the price of store bought, Camille decided to try her hand at it.  These noodles were a success and we were able to freeze several portions for later.

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