Interview with Eli Rogossa

This week, an interview with Eli Rogosa of GrowSeed.org. Rogosa has been traveling the world to bring heritage wheat back to western Mass with the goal to provide non genetically modified wheat that will thrive in New England soil.

She will discuss her efforts trialing 13 varieties of wheat at UMass Extension, including a breed that was successfully grown in the region in the 1600's and talk about bread she makes from an ancient wheat she discovered ten years ago in middle east. The wheat, einkorn, is pictured here.

The work Eli is funded by various sources and collaborators from the area and internationally to provide a nutrient rich soil and plant winter wheats which do better in New England. Soft has less gluten, hard has more.

EVENT:  Growing Local Bread with Heritage Wheat

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

 1:00 to 3:00 UMass Research Farm, River Road, Deerfield
3:30 to 5:30 Colrain Seed Farm, 400 Adamsville Rd. Colrain MA (Growseed.org Farm)

Next Show - May 4, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Featuring:


Anatomy of a Farm: Mountainview Farm


Interview with owners Ben and Liz Perrault at their Easthampton home. Best local farm (CSA) according to Valley Advocate Readers Poll in 2009 and 2010

AND

Interview with organizer of Biker Benefit for Seeds of Solidarity of Orange MA.

News and Calendar as well....

April 20, 2010

Featuring:


CISA and Chicoine Family Farm 


Interview with Margaret Christie, Special Projects Director of the Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) will discuss the organization's funding opportunities for small farms and local food producers.

Chicoine Family Farm is a purveyor of local beef to Local Burger, Sylvester's Restaurant, River Valley Co-op and other establishments. Owner Susan Chicoine will be in the station to speak about their battle to continue leasing land for their farm from the City of Easthampton.  

News and Calendar as well....

Next Show - April 6, 2010

Featuring:

Wild Blueberries....
interview with owners of Benson Farm of Heath, MA. Hear about their wild blueberry harvest (unsprayed and low bush) and efforts to create at trust for the farm. We will also be speaking with Margaret Christie of CISA who how local food producers can attain funding for growth.

News and Calendar as well....

Benson Place Wild Blueberries
Heath, MA

Photo by Melinda Baughman

Why a Salad Costs More than a Big Mac

This Week's Show - March 9, 2010

Featuring:
interview with Ryan and Sarah Voiland, owners of Red Fire Farm of Granby, MA. Hear about extended season growing, their expansion to Franklin County, the growth of the farm itself and upcoming summer events.

and

the Owners of Tabella Restaurant of Amherst will talk about farm to table cuisine in the Valley and how they have forged relationships with local growers and customers.

This Week's Show - Jauary 12, 2010

Featuring:

Interview with Joel Salatin, the keynote speaker at this week's upcoming NOFA Winter (1/16) event in Worcester will discuss his book, Everything I Want to Do is Illegal, war stories on the local food front and other topics relating to keeping food real.

In 1961, Joel's parents purchased an eroded farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Using nature as a pattern, they and their children began the healing and innovation that now supports three generations. The Salatins planted trees, built huge compost piles, dug ponds, moved cows daily with portable electric fencing, and invented portable sheltering systems to produce all their animals on perennial prairie polycultures.

Today the farm, Polyface, Inc ("The Farm of Many Faces") represents a model of America's non-industrial food production. Joel strives to develop emotionally, economically, environmentally enhancing agricultural enterprises and facilitate their duplication throughout the world while pushing environmentally-friendly farming practices toward new levels of expertise. Polyface achieved iconic status as the grass farm featured in the New York Times bestseller Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. Most recently Joel has been featured in the movie Food, Inc that explores the hidden, and often shocking, side of the nation's food industry.

Photo: The Salatin Family, photo provided by Polyface.

We'll also be speaking with Amy Cotler, author of The Locavore Way. The Berkshire resident who has tested thousands of recipes and wrote the definitive guide to serving healthy local food in Massachusetts Public Schools will talk about her new book.

Plus news & upcoming events......

Bean Farm Public Forum

Monday, Dec. 7 at 6:30pm at JFK Middle School.

Fate of Bean Farm: Boys Soccer or Broccoli? December 1, 2009

Featuring:

Interview with Wayne Feiden who will talk about an upcoming public forum on the fate of the Bean Farm. Listen to the show tonight at 6:30 to hear Wayne's side of the story. Feiden is Northampton's Director of the Office of Planning and Development. The city will seek funds for the property appraised for around $2M from the Community Preservation Act.

Also we will be speaking with Writer Jennifer Acker and Amy-Louise Pfeffer, owner of an olive oil distribution company called Tuckaway Farm in Conway. They will be speaking of olive groves in Umbria, where Amy-Louise got her chops. Today Pfeffer and Michael Sola bring the harvest of Trasimeno mill in Italy to the Valley in the form of first press virgin olive oil; opaque, green and viscous....
plus news & upcoming events......

This Week's Show - November 17, 2009

Featuring:

Interview with Anne Diamand, owner and proprietress of Diamand Egg Farm in Turner's Farm. Anne will discuss this season's turkey flock and the challenges of poultry production during the busiest season of the year.

We'll also be speaking with Garth Shaneyfelt who will pair a couple of his brews and elixer with poultry.
plus news & upcoming events......

This Week's Show - November 3, 2009

Featuring:

Interview with Mary Schjeldahl, Elmer's General Store Cook & Manager who will outline the menu and the strategy behind an upcoming 100-Mile Thanksgiving.

We'll also be speaking with Sarah Swartz of Swartz Family Farm in Amherst. The farm that grows throughout the year has a history of hydroponics and hopes to extend its footprint by selling shares in the enterprise.

plus news & upcoming events......

This Week's Show - October 20, 2009

Featuring:

Interview with Danny Botkin, owner of Laughing Dog farm, will discuss preparedness for winter with minimally heated hoop houses and more tips on creating your own utopia of flora and fauna in New England. Seed saving, permaculture and other topics under discussion. (Photo of sunflower and bee by Dan Botkin.)

and.....

Recipes from Amherst resident, Don Lesser, writer and cook.

plus news & upcoming events......

Farm2Fork Recipe: Zucchini Pasta

Zucchini Pasta

The recipe is pretty loose on this one. It is more a technique than a polished recipe. The key is to have a mandoline, the French slicer not the instrument. It has a number of blades that you can raise up to cut your ingredients in varying thicknesses and cuts. Use the rippled cut blade and make a couple of passes to get the adjustment correct: you want shreds that look like linguini or al chittara.

This recipe works well on those large footballs you somehow overlooked in your zucchini patch. Exact amounts will vary, but if you’re making it, you might as well make a lot. One or two big zucchini or four or five smaller ones will probably serve 4 as a side.

Adjust your mandoline. Cut the ends off of the zucchini and slide it all the way down the mandoline. Repeat until you hit the seeds in the center. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat. When you have all four sides done, discard the seeds.

Place in a colander and sprinkle with 1 – 2 tsp kosher or sea salt. Let sit for 15 minutes. This will draw some of the moisture out of the zucchini and make it a little more firm. You can wash the salt if you want, but make sure to drain well. I usually don’t bother.

Heat 3 TBS olive oil or butter in a large saute pan or wok. Saute the zucchini over medium heat until it is cooked through. Again, your timing will vary so taste or press one edge against the pot with a spoon to see whether it is as done as you like. Al dente is better than mushy.

While it is cooking, in another pot, saute some garlic in about 3 TBS olive oil. Add a minced hot red pepper if you like. Add three or four chopped tomatoes and cook briefly. Place the zucchini pasta in a bowl and top with the tomatoes. Sprinkle with julienned basil leaves and coarse ground black pepper. Pass with plenty of parmesan cheese.

--Don Lesser

This Week's Show - October 6, 2009

Featuring:

Interview with CDC's Larry DiLuzio, Manager of the CDC of Greenfield. Hear about CDC's entrepreneurial support services and discover how a commercial kitchen can turn your pickled green tomatoes into ..... cash.

and.....

Jon Reske of UMass Five College Credit Union will talk about farm share loans and coop month. River Valley Coop members can join the credit union.

finally,

Recipe from Amherst resident, Don Lesser, writer and cook. Don will share his recipe for Zucchini Pasta at the end of the show.

plus news & upcoming events......

This Week's Show 9/22/09 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM

Featuring interviews with:

Joel Berg, author of "All You Can Eat."

Berg will be the Keynote Speaker at The Food Bank's 1st Western Mass Hunger Summit, Making The Connection on Thursday, September 24 at the MassMutual Center, Springfield, MA

plus

News & Current Events

This Week's Show - September 8, 2009

Featuring:

Interviews with people from:

WGBY's "On the Menu" food show
&
Northfield Mount Herman Farm

plus

News & Current Events