Sustainable Farming in the Triangle

   The 3rd Annual Eastern Triangle farm tour by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association was a blast.  There were 19 farms this year, but you can never do more than 3 or 4 a day for the two days of the tour.  Cara and I spent several hours Saturday at just two farms, but they were both fascinating.  Dew Dance Farm had exotic wool and fur livestock, as  well as heirloom naturally colored cotton, and a live-in weaver to use it all.   The Piedmont Biofuels research farm was everything I’ve been anticipating for years.  Sunday I moved more quickly and did four spots, self-touring.  I learned a lot about the new agricultural culture, arising from plenty of inherited Southern values (and land), as well as the most cutting edge green/sustainable practices.  We are all eating differently, including more locally, and there is an interesting and decent market for these products. I was amazed to find that not only is this group sponsoring a national conference next month,  there is a Politics of Food conference taking place at NCSU this very week!

   Above is a native plant area at the Piedmont Biofuels research farm.  Its purpose is to provide haven and nectar for useful insects. The land is operating as an incubator farm for a couple, who are utilizing species and techniques from Japan on the site as they grow stores, develop contacts and search for land.   Below a co-op intern explains the use of bamboo guides for efficient root crop production.

                            

  The clickable thumbnails above illustrate the biofuel production process, which also takes place at the farm.  Lyle Estill started making biofuel as a kitchen science operation and with his partners developed this system for recycling waste vegetable oil, producing fuel and soap.  Now they produce a million gallons a year at a new facility down the road – using chicken fat.  This original operation continues, with the honor system pumphouse above right.

  Dew Dance Farm typified the average fare of the tour – a Boomer couple using the parents’ land to operate an intensive operation with a well-funded and slight hobby-like atmosphere.  As papermakers, we were entranced by the heirloom naturally-colored cotton.  Growing even a dozen plants of cotton requires a special permit, inspections, and the promise to burn it all if the boll weevil shows up!

   Lakeview Daylily Farm and Weston Farms on Highway 50 had a unique aspect – a koi barn and an outdoor koi pond with fencing to discourage turtles and herons.  But my final destination, pictured below, was the Covenant Community Garden, operating in the heart of Fuquay Varina.  Church and community volunteers use sustainable practices to grow food for a pantry, a kind of local food bank for those who need it.  It doesn’t get any cooler than that.  Go green!

 farm tour photo album

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Slow Food Triangle celebrates local food and the people who grow and make it.

 

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa!

     Two measly little tomatillo plants I picked up as discards from the farm where I got my heirloom tomato plants went crazy in our organic compost this year.  Tomatos have done great as well, so I’ve been playing with salsas.

     Tomatillos are a new thing for me: I first saw them on a homework field trip with my son to a Hispanic grocery several years ago, but this summer was the first time I have cooked with them.  The papery Chinese lantern green balloons grow first, then the fruit swells up to fill the inside.  When they’re ripe, they fall to the ground and the papery covering protects them quite well.   Below is a selection of our urban garden harvest: the tomatillos in the red bowl have had their coverings removed.

     Here is the procedure I followed:

Start a fire.  Skewer a pound of washed tomatillos.  Skewer a quartered onion, 4 small serrano peppers, a quartered bell pepper, and 4 garlic cloves. Roast these materials. (Mine ended up more smoked than roasted).  Place roasted vegetables in blender and puree with fresh parsley ( I dislike cilantro) and seasonings.  Sautee this result in olive oil.  Add a little lime juice and then a cup of broth.  Simmer, cool, chill and serve.

     Above are the roasting vegetables.  Below is the final product with libation.  To see a full album of pictures, including an alternative libation, go to the related post at Pecans and Mistletoe, my nature project blog, which is fast taking on a life of its own as a space for the fascinating issues of sustainable heritage agriculture and locavore food culture in this area, which will be adressed at an upcoming Raleigh conference.

     I would have never predicted a food post for Raleigh Rambles.  But Lily had exposed me to the best of the cooking shows, and reminded me of the great science lessons in cooking processes.  Sarah over at Quiet Quality has provided a post and links that reminded me of food as a hot blogging topic, and last but not least, my buddy Clyde issued a kind of challenge after I bragged about the success of my first batch of roasted tomatillo salsa – that first batch being roasted over a charcoal grill.

                             

     Now I have a confession to make.  Being overly enthusiastic to use my newly built brick barbeque for this project, and it being the first Friday night of the school year, with the ensuing enthusiasm and libations, I wasn’t on top of my fire game at ALL and, as previously alluded to, I trashwood smoked instead of coal/flame roasted my vegetables.  The final result was an overly sweet salsa totally dominated by the powerful smoky flavor.  The slightly hilarious twist is that my challenge salsa makes a truly magnificent barbeque sauce for chicken, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it that way.   I’m still going to make a fresh batch for Clyde!

Done!