Monday, April 25, 2016




Hill High Dairy Farm 


Nature and food freedom under attack


While Americans in the nearby city of Detroit face life in third world conditions, unable to even afford running water, the state of Michigan decided to direct its resources towards cracking down on a small food co-op in Standish for having the utter audacity to provide milk, butter, cream and eggs to people who bought shares in the organic dairy.

Cultured Veggies - Millers Organic Farm

Fermented Veggies!
Most of the produce is grown locally here in Lancaster County, PA
and always chemical-free, processed here on the Miller farm.
We always use only Celtic Sea Salt and only use the apple cider vinegar.
Fermented veggies are excellent for digestive health of the entire meal.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture must be so proud of their deeds, after they forced Joe and Brenda Golimbieski, the owners of Hill High Dairy and Jenny Samuelson, the owner of My Family Co-op, to dump out 248 gallons of milk, to break 100 dozen eggs, and to destroy an undisclosed amount of fresh cream, butter and cheese.
According to a post on the Hill High Dairy page on Facebook, the agents from the MDA stood over the family, watching as the food was destroyed.
 Farmer Forced to Dump 248 Gallons of Raw Milk & Break 1200 Free Range Eggs by Michigan Dept of Agriculture
100 dozen eggs… Each egg had to be broken. 248 gallons dumped in a sprayer that had to be witnessed by MDA being dumped and sprayed on the field.
hhd3
The MDA threatened to arrest the co-op owner, Jenny Samuelson, for “selling food without a license.” However, the farm is a co-op, where people must buy shares. The MDA, contends, that the co-op contracts were invalid, and therefore, instead of being shared, the food was being sold. Because co-op members had paid for their shares, technically the MDA stole food that belonged not just to the Golimbieski family, but to every single member of that co-op.



This is such a shame! I paid for these products! They are basic criminals! Our own Government stealing our healthy food!  Shame on Michigan's Department of Agriculture; criminals, each and everyone one of you! 
Looking at the website and Facebook page, all I see are happy, well-treated animals, actually roaming around in fields. How is it that Michigan approves of the horrific conditions in its state’s factory farms, where animals are tortured, drugged, and crammed into cages for the entirety of their miserable lives, but raising animals humanely and naturally is considered “dangerous”?
What is wrong with the world when REAL farming is treated like a crime and fresh food is treated like the crystal meth?
-COOP Member 
I’ll tell you what’s wrong – big corporations do not want us to have options. They want a monopoly and they are working hard to destroy our other choices. Big Agri clearly has many good friends in the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Clearly the “Department of Agriculture” really means the “Department of Big Agri”. They aren’t there to support small farmers or people who wish to be self-sufficient. They are there to lock down the market for corporate farms. (Like Dean Foods, who also owns Horizon Organics – read more about the way this company does business - they own up to 90% of the corporate milk business in the state, according to an article on The Complete Patient )




David Gumpert, a raw milk advocate and owner of the site The Complete Patient wrote:
 The government-sponsored dump of nearly $5,000 of milk, eggs, butter, and cream from Michigan’s My Family Co-Op yesterday carried a very clear and powerful political message to all Americans: We control your food and we don’t like you buying your food outside the corporate food system. Every now and then, we are going to remind you of what bad children you are being by taking your food and throwing it in the garbage. In fact, we are going to do more than remind you, we are going to completely humiliate you by preventing you from even feeding it to farm animals and instead forcing it to be disposed of in a landfill or dumpster…
…If you think I am exaggerating the intent of what is going on here, ask yourself this question: When was the last time you saw government agents seize and condemn food from a place like Foster Farms or Taco Bell or Del Monte or Kellogg’s or Trade Joe’s when their food has been found to contain pathogens, or made people sick? There’s been not even a suggestion that food at My Family Co-Op contained pathogens or made anyone sick. (Read the rest of Mr. Gumpert’s excellent essay on the subject)
The state of Michigan appears in the news again and again for infringing upon the liberty of its residents to choose what they wish to consume. Recently, they took away the “right to farm” from ordinary people, rescinding a law that had been on the books for years. Before that, Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources destroyed a farmer’s heritage pigs, calling them an “invasive species.”
This horrible visual of a farmer destroying fresh food while an “agent” stands over him to make certain that it’s inedible will stick with me. It’s like a scene from a movie, where the vanquishing enemy goes “scorched earth” on the denizens of the area they have conquered, ruining their crops, stealing their food stores, and most of all, making certain that they know they’ve been defeated.
Except it’s not a movie. It’s life in America. The barbarians are members of the government, and it is our own farms that are under siege.

Pick up Daisy's new book

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Fermentation Fest! Calling all San Diegans!









  • Event Details:

The San Diego Fermentation Festival is a family-friendly outdoor festival featuring:

  • Fermented Food & Beverage workshops from Local Experts
  • Beverage Garden featuring local mead, beer, & wine
  • Keynote speech by Dr. Rob Knight, UCSD & American Gut Project
  • Sample Food & Beverages from 30+ Local Artisan Makers
  • Do-It-Yourself pickle jars at the Fermentation Station
  • Live Music & Entertainment
  • Wholeness Pavilion- Give your Whole Self a break! 
  • Yoga classes, sound healing, other relaxation and rejuvenation activities

Sunday, January 31 | 10AM - 5PM
General Admission w/Jar $20.00 ($21.69 w/service fee)
*$35.00 with Beverage garden...

Includes General Admission to all the workshops, music, and marketplace, plus a take-home jar of fermented veggies *Beverage garden additional tariff: Includes "General Admission" plus tTen tasters of beer, wine and mead in the "Ambrosia Garden" (21+ Only)



Coastal Roots Farm
450 Quail Gardens Dr., Encinitas, 92024





Saturday, July 11, 2015

Au bout du champ


In this July 2, 2015 photo, delivery man Michael Luminau puts greens in automat
boxes in Paris, France. Joseph Petit employs no staff at his two Paris stores.
Both called Au Bout du Champ - "at the end of the field" - the small spaces are
stacked with metal lockers containing just-picked strawberries, hours-old eggs,
 and neat bunches of carrots or spring onions, depending on the season.
Customers simply choose the box that contains the produce they want to buy,
then pay at the console to open the automat's bin door.   

In this July 2, 2015 photo, delivery man Michael Luminau puts greens in automat boxes in Paris, France. Joseph Petit employs no staff at his two Paris stores. Both called Au Bout du Champ - "at the end of the field" - the small spaces are stacked with metal lockers containing just-picked strawberries, hours-old eggs, and neat bunches of carrots or spring onions, depending on the season. Customers simply choose the box that contains the food they want to buy, then pay at a console to open the door.


AP Photo/Michel Eule

PARIS – Diners in Paris are flashing back — and forward — to the era of the automat, but this time with a nod to organic farming.

Joseph Petit employs no staff at his two Paris stores. Both called Au Bout du Champ — “at the end of the field” — the small spaces are stacked with metal cubbies containing just-picked strawberries, hours-old eggs, and neat bunches of carrots or spring onions, depending on the season. Customers simply choose the box that contains the food they want to buy, then pay at a console which then opens the appropriate door. 



A precursor to the era of fast food, automat eateries served hundreds of thousands of customers a day throughout the mid-20th century, allowing on-the-go diners to pick hot dishes from coin-operated metal lockers.




Today, entrepreneurs in France and Scotland are appropriating the concept that once symbolized modernity to help customers get back to the land. Their automats offer not burgers and fries, but fresh and local produce and other ingredients.


It’s a system, Petit said, that brings fresh food to urban areas where few other options exist, while also supporting local, small-scale agriculture.
“We have some of the best farmers in the world,” the 31-year old Parisian said outside one of his two shops. “But unfortunately, we consume many of our products from abroad. They aren’t necessarily the best, they aren’t necessarily fresh, and we don’t really know who cultivated them.”

Petit maintains direct relationships with the half-dozen or so producers he buys from; the suppliers vary according to the season. The farmers cultivate a variety of vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and herbs, in addition to eggs and juice. All of them work within 100 kilometres of Paris, and Petit and his colleagues go to collect the fresh harvest every day for delivery.

To the north, Peter Grewar is embracing a similar strategy. A third-generation farmer, he developed a similar concept after people driving by his 1,300-acre potato farm in Perthshire, Scotland, would stop and ask if they could buy directly from him.
His metal boxes come from Germany, logical considering the first automat opened in Berlin in 1897. His colleague down the road originally imported the boxes to keep his eggs fresh. The two began selling their products from the boxes, soon bringing in neighbouring farmers who offered products, including broccoli, cauliflower and berries.
The only rule? “It has to be Scottish produce and it has to be seasonal,” Grewar said.
For Grewar, the model allows him to build closer relationships with his customers and better gauge product demand. That useful connection, he said, is “really powerful, and it may well lead our business down a different path. We’re already producing 5 to 6 acres of different vegetables we didn’t think we’d be growing even six months ago. One or two of them may take off.”

So far, he said, the boxes are turning a profit. They’ve now installed sets in four locations, including one in a shopping centre in Dundee. The farm is now dedicating about six acres to crops it plans to sell in the boxes.
Back in Paris, Petit said he maintains competitive prices by employing no staff, instead relying on customers to operate the automats themselves. The 31-year-old Parisian said it also allows him to keep his shops open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m., a novelty in a city where commerce generally closes down before sunset.
“We’re trying to adapt to the new lifestyle of people — who might get up early, might stay up late — but don’t necessarily have the time to go to the market,” Petit said. “We need this to stay accessible to everybody.”
Petit opened his first store in the northwest Paris suburb Levallois in July 2013, unveiling the second in the city’s Clichy neighbourhood one year later. The stores each serve approximately 100 customers a day, and perhaps double on weekends, Petit estimates.


Marine Clappier, 28, counts among them, frequenting the store since she moved to the neighbourhood nearly a year ago. She said it’s certainly not a one-stop shop, but she likes the convenience factor.

“The advantage for me is I always pass by,” she said. “If I’m missing something in my fridge, instead of buying a pizza or a burger, I prefer to come by and buy something to make a soup.”

Clappier said she especially appreciates that the store stocks only what’s seasonal and fresh, which remains one of Petit’s core goals. “You have to get people again used to the fact that we don’t have salad from October until April, and that’s normal,” he said.

Petit said he makes deliveries every day to ensure flavour. “They rediscover taste,” he said of his patrons. “Our strawberries are picked in the morning and put in the locker in the afternoon, so people find the strawberries the same way the farmer gave them to us.”
Though ecological principles ground his business, Petit said he wants to avoid taking on a heavy activist role. He fears that would alienate people who enjoy access to fresh groceries, but don’t have time for or interest in the politics surrounding the food industry.
By the end of this year Petit hopes to open two or three more stores in Paris, and add an additional five in 2016. “It’s a model that really makes sense to me,” he said. “It’s honest.”

au bout du champ.com
Lori Hinnant contributed to this report.
© The Canadian Press, 2015

Friday, July 3, 2015

Happy Independance Day!

Strawberries from the garden make this one a treasure! 

Rocket pop, anyone? 






Strawberry Lemon Blueberry Pops

  1. In a blender, puree strawberries with 1 Tbsp of honey and ¾ cup grape juice, set aside. 
  2. Clean blender, then puree ½ lemon and Tsp zest with 1 Tbsp of honey and ¾ cup white grape juice, set aside. 
  3. Clean blender, then puree blueberries with 1 Tbsp of honey and ¾ cup grape juice, set aside. 
  4. Layer the popsicles as follows; strawberry puree, lemon then grape. Gently tap molds on the countertop to remove any air bubbles. 
  5. Insert the popsicle sticks, then freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight.


What says, "Summer", better than watermelon!



Savory/sweet; spicy watermelon relief this way!



Watermelon salad! {With cilantro, ginger and chili} Dig in!


Adding fresh herbs, ginger and chilies to this juicy fruit creates a delectable balance of spicy sweetness.

Recipe:
Ingredients
½ medium seedless watermelon (about 2 ¼ pounds or 1 kilogram)1 lemon
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small fresh red chili, such as cherry bomb or red jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 Tsp fresh ginger, grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 handful fresh cilantro or mint leaves, coarsely chopped


Method:

Peel the watermelon, cut into large cubes and put in a large bowl.

Add the finely grated lemon zest and juice, olive oil, chili, ginger, a big pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Mix gently to coat the watermelon in the marinade. Set aside for at least 20 minutes to marinate before serving (the salad can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours before serving).

Strain off some of the marinade, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the watermelon in a large shallow bowl topped with the cilantro or mint.

Serves 4

 

Watermelon- Jalapeño Ice Pops!




Recipe: 

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh red or yellow watermelon cubes, chilled
2 Tbsps honey or agave
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 large Jalapeño pepper, halved and seeded
2 Tsp grated lime rind
(optional: 1 Tbsp liquid pectin)


Method:

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a blender, and process until pureed.
2. Stir in lime rind.
3. Pour into 8 (3-ounce) ice pop molds.
4. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.
5. Enjoy! ...Oh yeah! Yummmmm!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Join The Growing Discussion About Food

Food Assembly
San Diego Peeps| What is a People's Assembly and how does it relate to food?

With special guests via skype

Gustavo Esteva (Universidad de la Tierra en Oaxaca) 
Roberto Flores (East LA Cafe) 

Join The Growing Discussion About Food