Day 2: Toledo to Chicago to Madison
Posted: April 23, 2012 Filed under: Artisan Eats | Tags: agriculture, ethical eats, food culture, local food, road trip 1 Comment »The longest leg of our journey is over Day 1 – 9.5 hours from the Hudson Valley, NY to just outside of Toledo, OH.
Yesterday we trekked it straight on I-90 to Chicago and then Madison. Having only an hour to spend in the Windy City, we headed over to Millennium Park to see the famous reflective bean. Yup, it’s a giant shiny bean all right:
For whatever reason, Wisconsin has always been at the periphery of my potential-new-home-vision. Maybe it’s the state’s reputation as an agricultural and dairy hub (the license plate slogan is “America’s Dairyland” afterall); maybe it’s my secret obsession with the midwest. In any event, Madison is the city I’ve been holding out for.
Of course there’s the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I still have a foot in the graduate school camp, and their programs in agroecology, rural sociology, dairy science and animal sciences (nerd alert) are really hard to pass over. But my one critique is dairy in Wisconsin is synonymous with cow – maybe some sheep – but goats are nowhere to be found.
Enough of the nerding anyway. Unfortunately, our trip had us arrive in Madison on a Sunday around 4PM – just as all of the businesses were closing for the weekend, including Fromagination, a cheese shop on Capitol Square that showcases local farms and creameries. From what I could see from the outside, the shop is bursting at the brim with cheese, wine and other artisinal ephemera.
We had dinner at the Old Fashioned (“Where Wisconsin is King”) also on Capitol Square. Check it out: over 150 Wisconsin beers and all for around $4.00 a pint! Hot damn! And (as if that wasn’t awesome enough) beer battered cheese curds and beer and cheese soup topped with popcorn. We were hoping to eat at Harvest, which boasts local and organic fare, but the white linen table cloths and oversized wine glasses seemed a little unfitting for our road trip/camping attire.
Our stay in Madison was too short for sure, but we’re hoping to someday head back out this way and tour some of the dairy farms and creameries in the area. For now, onwards to Minneapolis!
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Dirty Girls – Meet the Urban Women Farmers of New York City
Posted: October 20, 2011 Filed under: Farm Women Fancy, Finger Foods | Tags: agriculture, bees, brooklyn, feminism, food justice, local food, NYC, school food, urban agriculture, women, women farmers Leave a comment »
Women farmers have hit the big time – the BUSTy, feminist, big time. I can barely believe it, but if you pick-up the Ocotober/November issue of BUST magazine you’ll see my humble name in the table of contents! “Dirty Girls: Resourceful urban farmers are giving new meaning to the term asphalt jungle. By Stephanie Fisher” Over the summer I spent a month running around Brooklyn interviewing women farmers – from bees to sub-irrigated planters to organic vegetables, all of these seven women are doing their part to bring a little bit of nature into this hectic gotham. The women also gave us some farm-centric projects that you can do at home, like a low tunnel cold frame and beet infused vodka. Check out the issue (it’s the eco issue, so there’s tons of good stuff) and meet a few of the beautiful women farmers of New York City.
Real Food Challenge – Gearing Up for The Year Ahead
Posted: September 12, 2011 Filed under: Finger Foods | Tags: agriculture, campus dining, ethical eats, food justice, food policy, food systems, hunger and nutrition, industrial food system, local food, real food challenge, USDA Leave a comment »
Have you heard about Real Food Challenge? It’s a non-profit supported by a network of student leaders across the country who are working toward shifting 1 billion dollars in campus dining money to “real food” by 2020. Isn’t that amazing? I’ve been working with them since July on a few projects, and I am perpetually impressed by the enthusiasm and passion of this network. As we’re gearing up for an uber-busy year ahead, I wrote a piece for the Real Food Challenge blog in reaction to the USDA’s bail-out of the chicken industry to remind us of why we work.
{Originally posted on the Real Food Challenge blog on August 31, 2011.}
Throughout August and September, the Real Food Challenge is hosting regional summer trainings for student leaders all across the country. Student leaders will be participating in intensive, four-day trainings as they prepare for a jam-packed year ahead of them. Come September, they’ll embark on a year filled with campaigning and strategizing on their campuses. The leaders are working towards the Real Food Challenge’s long term goal of shifting $1 billion of campus dining funds away from industrial food and agriculture to more sustainable, community-oriented farms and processors – or ‘real food’ – by 2020.
These regional trainings couldn’t come at a more relevant time. Last Monday, the USDA purchased $40 million in chicken products in a move to bail out the chicken industry. (Thankfully, they’ve pledged to donate the food to soup kitchens and families in need.) The chicken industry (read: industrial agricultural conglomerates) cited the rising cost of production and the apparent struggle to turn a profit as reasons for the bail out. We can’t help but wonder where these funds are actually going to end up, and something tells us that it won’t be in the farmers’ wallets. Some argue that the bail out was necessary, but this is just another example of the government supporting the industrial producers who are “too big to fail” as the smaller, real food farmers are left in the dust.
This is why we need passionate student leaders and people like you – because real food farmers, those who are farming for our environment, our animals, and our communities, don’t have the USDA to bail them out when times get tough. They instead depend on a network of people who believe in shifting power away from the industrial conglomerates that abuse the environment, laborers, and animals, and into the hands of real food farmers.
The USDA transferred $40 million into the chicken industry, but Real Food Challenge hopes to shift $1 billion of campus dining funds to real food farmers and processors over the next nine years. Imagine what kind of change $1 billion affords: increased access to markets, higher wages for laborers, improved farm infrastructure, just to name a few. The prospect of that change is exciting, and should empower our student leaders, grassroots leaders, field organizers, and anyone passionate about transforming our food system as we continue working toward our goal.
Don’t forget to check out this inspiring video of the 2011 Northeast Regional Summit! It captures the importance and influence of the Real Food Challenge’s radical regional student summits:
Summer Green Tomato and Tomatillo Fresh Salsa
Posted: August 15, 2011 Filed under: Recipes | Tags: brooklyn, local food, recipe Leave a comment »
Summer is lazily winding down, and yesterday’s rain over Brooklyn was a refreshing break from the heavy, sweaty days of August. But before we begin trading in our beach towels, there’s still time to appreciate the bounty of summer’s harvest at your local farmers market. Our market here in Bushwick was teeming with exciting produce this past weekend: mini bitter melons, okra, and a few varieties of eggplant, just to name a few.
My favorite veggies of the moment, however, are the tangy tomatillos and green tomatoes. Tomatillos are funky little guys: they look a bit like tiny onions, taste like sour tomatoes, and are actually members of the nightshade family (shared with potatoes!). Green tomatoes are simply under-ripe tomatoes, but they’re prized for their tangy, fresh flavor.
On their own, these guys have a bit of a punch, but throw in some salt, fresh garlic, and vinegar and you’ve got a delicious, fresh and flavorful summer salsa, which tastes great on some toasted, buttered leftover baguettes.
Green Tomato and Tomatillo Salsa
Ingredients
1 pound tomatillos
2 medium green tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
1. Peel the outer skin off the tomatillos, and rinse to remove the sticky film.
2. Roughly chop both the tomatillos and tomatoes. Place them in a medium bowl, add salt and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
3. Mince the garlic and mix into the salsa. Add the vinegar.
4. Eat it with tortilla chips or on toasted bread like bruschetta!
Eating Rockaway Beach: Sand, Sun, Savories, and Sweets
Posted: July 20, 2011 Filed under: Finger Foods | Tags: babycakes, blue bottle coffee, caracas arepas, local food, NYC, rockaway beach, vegan Leave a comment »
This past Friday, Noah and I packed our day packs with various beach-going paraphernalia: tapestry, sunscreen, sunglasses, Nalgene water bottle… We were headed out for a day at Rockaway beach. But we left the cooler and cold-cuts at home in favor of the pop-up food shops along the Rockaway boardwalk.
$2.25 and an hour later, we found that we had escaped the exhaust fumes and car horns of our Brooklyn apartment, and were staring straight into the endless Atlantic ocean. Bliss.
As if the prospect of baking in the sun and sand of this urban beach oasis wasn’t enough, the boardwalk boasts some of the city’s best finger foods.
So what did we eat? We began with Caracas at Beach 106th Street, easily one of our favorite restaurants – visit the original storefront in the East Village, or check out their relatively new location in Willy’burg. We had the traditional arepas, which are kind of like spongy, corn pita pockets. I had mine filled with shredded salty cheese, tomato and avocado, Noah had his with salty cheese and sweet plantains. And don’t forget the fried green plantains topped with a mojito mayo and shredded salty cheese. Yup, it’s as devastatingly delicious as it sounds. And no, Noah and I are not worried about arteries…at least not on our days off.
After an hour baking in the sun, I headed back to the food outpost at Beach 106th to freshen up with a New Orleans style iced coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee – cold brewed, with chicory and milk. Perfect beach pick-me-up.
Finally, we ended our day over at Beach 96th Street with the ever twee Babycakes – the beloved Lower East Side vegan and gluten-free bakery. We shared a vanilla-frosted mini doughnut and a chocolate chip with vanilla ice cream cookie sandwich. Sugary, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth (and hands! it’s hot outside!) goodness.
The best part of this food tour of Rockaway? It doesn’t end here! Check out this quick bite in NYMag for some other pop-ups, and this piece in NonaBrooklyn for a complete list of the food options for your next Rockaway getaway.
