*Click image to view larger.
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Nws articles on local farming during
my career as a farmer and farm manager in Sammamish Valley, WA between
2000 and 2016
The Woodinville Weekly (October 21, 2013)
The Woodinville Weekly (June 2, 2008)
The Woodinville Weekly (May 12, 2003)
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I was also the interpreter for a group of agricultural researchers from Japan visiting the RC Farm. Later a book was published in Japan based on their visit, which is titled “Food Crisis and Choice of American Agriculture”.
Book and Publisher link:
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August 1, 2013
The
heart of Woodinville, Washington's wine country located just outside of
Seattle, is where you'll find the amazing 21 Acres
farm and center. When I first heard of 21 Acres from my friend Vicky at Stasty.com, I assumed it was another sustainable farm doing great
things for the environment and the community. But I soon found that what they
do is so much more. In fact, it blew me away!
With a farm, school, market,
kitchen, and event
center, the non-profit organization
operating in a state-of-the-art green building is
preserving our region's agricultural heritage; providing organic foods to
restaurants, childcare centers, local hospitals, and markets; educating the
public through cooking, farming and gardening classes; and that's just
scratching the surface of what they do and offer! On a recent trip out to 21
Acres I found I wanted to quit my job running Foodista to hang out every day
with the wonderful people that run the center. Their passion for what they do
is that palpable and inspiring.
John
I joined Vicky and Robin Crowder (Marketing and Development
Director) in the beautiful market where they sell their produce as well as
artisanal food products from their kitchen and other local producers. Then off
we went for a tour of the farm, 18 acres designed with permaculture principles,
a type of ecological and environmental design that develops and supports
sustainable and self-maintaining agriculture. In a nutshell, an
"eco-friendly approach to design that will yield a more sustainable
natural habitat," as the center puts it. We met John Eizuka, 21 Acres'
farm manager, who walked me through how, where, and what they plant. John
studied acting at UC Davis but has been farming in the region for the last
decade. As with acting, farming requires one to be observant, flexible and have
intuition. Of course, there's also a lot of science involved in farming and
John taught me some of his all-natural pesticide/repellant treatments, such as
simply planting sunflowers with corn to deter certain insects. Now I know why
my grandfather's rows of corn were always beautifully adorned with sunflowers! Root
worms killing your cucumbers? Mix 1 cup sugar to 1 gallon water and pour over
plants. Are flea beetles attacking your baby tomato plants? Simply sprinkle
powdered cat nip flakes over the plants to repel the critters.
The kitchen is where I truly fell in
love - both with the food they are creating and Chef Emily Moore and her staff.
I wanted to throw a sleeping bag in the corner of the kitchen and talk food and
food science all night with the kitchen crew. There was a whirlwind of ingenious
creativity that was abuzz and I didn't want to miss a thing. It's part test
kitchen, school, caterer, and food producer (products can be purchased in the
downstairs market), and as Emily put it, "we make the thing that makes the
thing that makes the thing." What does that mean, you ask? Everything is
done by scratch. In fact, the kitchen doesn't even own a can opener! They
strive to be virtually zero waste which is befitting of Emily's "never
throw away flavor" motto, so when an intern accidentally cooked the kale
chips too long they ground them into a powder to use as a flavoring for soups
and such. That's just one of the "how can we not waste this food and
instead, turn it into something delicious?" creative challenges they solve
daily. As a result of those burnt chips, they're dehydrating the
often-composted stems, skins and leaves of fruits and vegetables, then grinding
them up to use as colorants and flavorings. I'm now doing this at home with my
own dehydrator and coffee grinder.
TIP: dry and grind some of these umami flavor boosters
(and vibrant colorants!) and add to soups or sprinkle over salad or
fresh/roasted vegetables.
Skins/stems of beets
Stems/ribs of cabbage
Stems/leaves of radishes and chard
Skins of squash
Kale and other greens
Stems/ribs of cabbage
Stems/leaves of radishes and chard
Skins of squash
Kale and other greens
If the kitchen can't source an
organic item locally, they either make it or find it as close to Woodinville as
possible. For example, there are no lemons in the kitchen as citrus isn't grown
in the Pacific Northwest, so they use their own house-made vinegar or rhubarb.
Organic olive oil is also not produced in the area so they sourced the closest
thing to it, organic camelina oil (high in vitamins E and D, omega-3), from Old
World Oils in Eastern Washington.
Aprium Pits
Aprium (an apricot plum crossbreed) pits used to make almond-flavored extract)
Some of the many delicacies the
kitchen was working on during my visit were byproducts of the huge apple
shipment they received (apple butter and cider vinegar to name just two). After juicing the apples, the pulp (including the stems,
seeds, skins and cores) are stewed with honey, sugar, an acid (such as
vinegar), and herbs and spices such as cardamom and thyme, then reduced into a
luscious apple butter. Jars of the different variations sat atop the counter
alongside batches of cider in various stages of fermentation. Which begged the
question, do you ferment a lot of things? And off Emily and I went on a
culinary tour of everything else the kitchen ferments: kimchi, koji (inoculated
rice that's a key ingredient in the making of miso and soy sauce), pickles, and
a plethora of other foods.
Yes, it's time consuming and takes
great effort to create everything from scratch, but that's the way things were
done for centuries until the industrial age. While we may not have the time to
create foods and meals like the ones coming out of the 21 Acres kitchen, we can
support those working hard in the local food and sustainable living industries
by buying local. Even making small changes at home can make a difference in our
health and our pocket books (waste not, want not!). Little by little, we can
all live a more sustainable life, and places like 21 Acres can show us how.
Basket of fruits
Veg tarts
After nearly 3 hours of local farm
life bliss, I walked happily to my car carrying a basket under each arm of
local artisan food items and produce from their fields, and a selection of
better-than-grandma-made gourmet foods. The kitchen put together a selection of
house-smoked ham, chocolate cookies, the most yellow butter I've ever seen
(below), veggie powders, an almost-too-pretty-to-eat vegetable tart, and so
much more. No, 21 Acres is not just another organic and sustainable farm. It's
where great people are doing great things to make our world a better place. And
they're doing it on 21 small acres.
More from the 21 Acres agricultural
and environmental learning center:
School
Courses and classes focused on growing, eating and living sustainably.
*Check out the August kids' summer camp with Seattle Tilth!
Courses and classes focused on growing, eating and living sustainably.
*Check out the August kids' summer camp with Seattle Tilth!
Farm
Certified organic acreage producing food for the 21 Acres Kitchen, Market and community.
Certified organic acreage producing food for the 21 Acres Kitchen, Market and community.
Kitchen
Commercial kitchen for classes, rentals and value-added production.
*Have a food product you want to produce in a certified organic kitchen? You can do it at 21 Acres!
Commercial kitchen for classes, rentals and value-added production.
*Have a food product you want to produce in a certified organic kitchen? You can do it at 21 Acres!
Market
Selling certified organic and pesticide-free local farm products.
Selling certified organic and pesticide-free local farm products.
Membership
Support to help people move toward more sustainable lives.
Support to help people move toward more sustainable lives.
Special Events
Memorable location for programs, meeting and celebrations.
Memorable location for programs, meeting and celebrations.
Green Building
Leading edge sustainable design with advanced monitoring systems.
Leading edge sustainable design with advanced monitoring systems.
Food Hub
Aggregation and distribution center for local farm product to institutional buyers, low-income childcare centers, senior congregate meal sites, restaurants and caterers.
Stay in touch with 21 Acres on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIN
Aggregation and distribution center for local farm product to institutional buyers, low-income childcare centers, senior congregate meal sites, restaurants and caterers.
Stay in touch with 21 Acres on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIN
Dried
pumpkin skin which is then ground to make a flavorful and colorful powder.
Sweet
shortbread colored with vegetable powders.
The
farm's custom-built wood fire oven.
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Graham Kerr Talks On Local Food and Farming
21Acres, WA
May-2012
With Graham Kerr after his lecture for a non-profit organization/21 Acres where
I managed a USDA certified organic farm.
(Woodinville, WA - May, 2012)
I managed a USDA certified organic farm.
(Woodinville, WA - May, 2012)
I used to watch his cooking show The Galloping Gourmet years ago. Now GK lives in WA,
gardening, growing organic food and teaching/promoting healthy diet and
locally grown food. He still enjoys cooking, with fresh veggies and
herbs, but not much with butter and cream!
GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE written by GK with his autograph.
Graham Kerr's TV show: The Galloping Gourmet (1969–71)
The Galloping Gourmet
The Galloping Gourmet was seen in thirty-eight countries, including the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, France and Australia, with more than 200 million viewers.
"MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — He injected extra fat into already well-marbled
roasts, with a grin and an ever-present glass of wine. He laughed
uproariously at his own jokes, and told Americans that cooking at home
did not have to be particularly sophisticated or difficult (Julia Child,
the only other major TV chef of his era, had pretty much staked out
that turf anyway) to be wild, and wildly fun." Continue to read the article at NYT.com
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