Taste testing homemade horse treats

Posted on March 20, 2012 by hautepasture

My sister visited from North Carolina last weekend, and she brought a couple bags of homemade horse treats from her friend at Carolina Pet Treats-N-Toys to undergo some rigorous scientific testing.

Seven horses and one dog analyzed and compared the horse crumbles and the horse cubes, and the result was: both were a hit!

The treats are all natural, with ingredients like oatmeal, carrot, sugar, molasses, and Cheerios. There was not a clear winner between the two types of treat; when offered both a cube and a crumble at the same time, one in each hand, the horses did not exhibit a distinct preference.

The horses paid close attention to the flavors, and carefully analyzed each treat. They all requested multiple samples to ensure they could give a complete report.

I rounded out my research with a dog’s point of view: two paws up!

Summary: all the horses (and the dog) loved these treats, and I was happier feeding these natural, homemade treats than the processed, commercial treats from the feed store.

For more information on the horse treats, or treats for your non-equine pets, contact Jamie Baldwin of Carolina Pet Treats-N-Toys, at 336-338-3186, or buttonrabbit4@yahoo.com.

Random happy-farming news

Posted on March 5, 2012 by hautepasture

I have a zillion articles waiting to be read! Here are a few blurbs I’ve enjoyed as I work through my pile of mail:

From Heifer International‘s WorldArk magazine: Urban farming, in the form of windowbox gardens and backyard chickens, is on the rise in the US.

Also in WorldArk, scientists are experimenting with growing meat from stem cells, hoping for a cleaner process for mass-producing meat.

From the JW Townsend, a landscape contractor in Charlottesville, VA, newsletter, a blurb about Gotham Greens. Gotham Greens grows produce in rooftop greenhouses in Brooklyn, and supplies NYC markets and restaurants with local, sustainable food.

From Reader’s Digest, Feb 2012: an article called “The 20 Tips Health Pros Beg You Not to Skip.” Number 19, from a psychiatrist, is “switch to grass-fed beef,” for the health benefits.

From Mary Jane’s Farm, Aug-Sept 2011 issue, good news that Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is switching to cage-free eggs. That’s 2.4 million eggs fewer per year coming from battery cages.

And finally, from the same Mary Janes Farm issue (yes, a bit outdated, but still an interesting read), a paragraph about Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg’s personal mission to learn more about sustainable farming and meat animals. The only meat he ate last year was from animals he killed himself.

That was the easy stuff. I have a stack of Foreign Affairs magazines staring me down. I’m halfway through The Globalization of Animal Welfare; comments to come soon!

Book Review: “Depletion and Abundance” by Sharon Astyk

Posted on February 27, 2012 by hautepasture

Guest post from Buzzy! Thanks, Buzzy!

For HP readers who loved Omnivore’s Dilemma, get ready to take your enlightenment to the next level! I just finished reading “Depletion and Abundance” by Sharon Astyk, and not since Omnivore’s has my worldview shifted so dramatically.

Astyk starts with the forces of Peak Oil and Climate Change, and clearly explains why we are heading for a drastically different low-energy lifestyle. She delves into many associated topics, like over-population, water shortages, food insecurity, unemployment, etc. But, this is NOT a Doom And Gloom book, far from it.

She asks three fundamental questions:

What is your fair share of the world’s resources?
What can you do now to help postpone the “long emergency”?
What can you do now to plan for your family’s success during the “long emergency”?

From there she paints a colorful picture of what low-energy lives can look like. Why we need to go back to the concept of Victory Gardens, and why we need to go forward towards a more considered and fair use of resources.

It’s hard to do justice to all the eye-opening ideas she introduces over a huge range of topics, so I will just close and urge you to go read it. Now. Seriously, nothing you have planned for today is as important as getting a copy of this book. My plan for today? Starting seeds.

Special thanks to my cousin T (who championed local food at least 15 years before the rest of us caught on!) for the book recommendation!

BUY THE BOOK:

(image credits: book cover, post-apocalypse, victory gardeners)

Cheenius in Missoula: The Good Food Store

Posted on February 22, 2012 by hautepasture

Special guest post from Cheenius! Thanks, Cheenius!

Cheenius recently found herself in Missoula, MT and was curious to learn the ways of the Northwestern Locavore. This rare species, while quite common in cities like Portland, is seldom glimpsed in the wilds of Montana. Luckily, Cheenius got a tip that they might congregate at The Good Food Store; so, armed with a camera and a shopping cart, she went hunting.

Lots of bulk foods! Cheenius was happy that Montanans are trying to reduce their packaging use.

Local eggs, eggcellent. Well, 78 miles away isn’t exactly local, but it’s better than Iowa.

The prices are pretty high, but c’mon! It’s BUFFALO, how unique is that?? And, you gotta love the “Buffalo Gals” label. The song connection is probably lost on some of the younger locavores, but still, points for cleverness.

Speaking of buffalo: Silent Creations Buffalo Jerky, a local company which works with ranchers to ensure the “majestic animals are treated properly throughout their lives, with plenty of room to roam and never subjected to hormones, steroids or antibiotics.”

Cheenius gets a little scared of new things, so it was nice to see lots of Lara Bar choices (which she first learned about from HP, thanks!). They’re made in Colorado, so while not exactly local, buying them in Montana felt slightly better than buying them in Virginia.

So, if you find yourself in Missoula, just saddle up and head on over to the good people at The Good Food Store for first-rate locavoring.

NYC Coffee Break

Posted on February 6, 2012 by hautepasture

Our friends took us to Jack’s Coffee near their apartment to get fueled up for a day of exploring. What a lovely surprise to be greeted by this sign!

My delicious latte was made with milk from family farms in the Hudson Valley. Love this quote from the site:

Hudson Valley Fresh is indebted to Jack’s Coffee. Jack’s was the first coffee shop in New York City to serve our milk and promote our mission of high quality and sustainable dairy farming. Jack has shown his conviction by bringing his baristas to the farm and educating his customers. He is passionate about sustainability and continues to be our best advocate by encouraging customers and competitors to use our milk.
– Dr. Sam Simon, President of Hudson Valley Fresh

Kudos to Jack’s Stir Brew Coffee! It really was a delightful latte. Must have been the fresh, local milk. If you’re in NYC and see a Jack’s, go there!

More random news from the interwebs

Posted on January 23, 2012 by hautepasture

Here’s what I’m reading while working on my next real posts:

The latest Edible Blue Ridge, featuring an article about our favorite fancy local-food restaurant, Brookville. Also exciting: a blurb about a new book called Reclaiming Our Food: How the Grassroots Food Movement Is Changing the Way We Eat, by UVA professor Tanya Denckla Cobb.
We’re Eating Less Meat. Why?, a NYT blog post by Mark Bittman, which examines the reasons that Americans are eating less meat, despite federal subsidies, lax environmental regulations, and lack of support for smaller farms in competition with the giant factory farms, all of which aid the meat industry.
Five Easy Ways to Eat Local: Tips on finding and incorporating into your diet more local foods, and a nice description of the health and flavor advantages of local, seasonal food.
The end of ethanol subsidies? Demand for the corn product will remain high as the government increases the required percentage of ethanol in gasoline.

Wowed by WV, Part 1b

Posted on January 16, 2012 by hautepasture

After wandering the cute, artsy downtown area of Berkeley Springs, WV, we headed to the local Food Lion to pick up some supplies. Food Lion is not known for local, organic food, so I headed straight to the egg shelf to how bad a Food Lion in WV would be. I was surprised to see Cool Thing #5:

Happier-than-average eggs! And organic eggs! Farmhouse Eggs and Eggland’s Best eggs come from hens who are free roaming indoors (it’s unclear how much room they get for their roaming), and fed vegetarian diets without hormones or antibiotics. Of course, local pastured eggs would be ideal, but nice job Food Lion.

Cool Thing #6 is a menu for a restaurant that was sadly closed while I was in town:

Panorama at the Peak is an environmentally-conscious restaurant a few miles from Berkeley Springs offering local, seasonal food with an amazing view. Most of their partner farms are within 65 miles, and most of the food they serve is organic. They are careful recyclers and composters, and closely monitor their power and water use. I hope when I go back the stuffed acorn squash is still on the menu!

Wowed by WV, Part 1

Posted on January 12, 2012 by hautepasture

I have always loved West Virginia, but I have never thought of WV as a local food destination, nor has any dish I’ve had there really excited me (other than the Treehugger burrito at Hellbender Burritos in Davis). So imagine my surprise upon visiting Berkeley Springs for the first time and eating some really good food and finding great support for local farmers! Unfortunately, the place I really wanted to try was closed while I was there, but I’ll share the menu anyway since they serve local food.

Cool Thing #1: CGM (Community Garden Market) Natural & Organic Foods

While browsing around the market, saw Cool Thing #2: an ad for a local farm directory.

You can get the Morgan County Farm Directory here to help you find local produce, meat, plants, and agricultural supplies in Morgan County. The page also lists a couple restaurants in the county that serve local food.

Next to that flyer was Cool Thing #3: an ad for the Berkeley Springs farmers market.

The market runs Thursdays and Sundays through much of the year; unfortunately that doesn’t include December, which is when I was there. Local farmers and business people sell produce, dairy products, eggs, plants, herbs, baked goods, sauces, jams, honey, and more.

Cool Thing #4 spotted while browsing the art galleries in town. Another flyer, cool because it’s raising awareness of local issues, but not cool for the content:

What is fracking, and why is it important to the citizens of Morgan County? Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the injection of highly-pressurized water into rock to create new cracks and channels to ease extraction of fossil fuels. Environmental concerns around fracking include air pollution, groundwater contamination, and earthquakes. The web site frackban.org seeks to ban fracking in Morgan County by educating residents and linking the local movement to other anti-fracking groups across the state.

To be continued…

Brooklyn Commune

Posted on December 18, 2011 by hautepasture

Tired of dealing with Christmas lists and wrappings (bah humbug), I took a lunch break and turned on Chopped. One of the contestants on this episode is the co-owner and executive chef of Brooklyn Commune, Chris Scott. My ears perked up as Chef Chris described what his restaurant/market/catering operation is all about: connecting people with local, sustainable food. Clips of the chef working in an urban garden were shown while he talked about how he’d put the $10,000 prize money back into the local food scene. How could I not root for Chef Chris?

Spoiler alert: he didn’t win. But I googled around to learn more about his enterprise, and found some impressive stuff about Brooklyn Commune and about local produce in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Commune’s mission is “to help develop a personal connection between people and the food they eat.” They support local farms, CSAs, bakers, cheesemakers, and other local businesses in their quest to spread the gospel of sustainability, teach classes, and they even have plans to host field trips. (Maybe they already do, it’s an old article!) They serve as a pickup point for a couple CSAs, and right now they’re hosting a Charlie Brown Christmas tree sale. Love it! The activity on their Facebook page is a good illustration of their interest in their local community, and their importance to their neighborhood.

I was also interested to read about Prospect Farm in Brooklyn, an urban farm on a formerly vacant lot. Their objectives are “diversity in food production and membership… [and] creating healthy soil through our community composting project and farm without chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.” Members and Friends can purchase food from the farm: members commit 52 hours of work and $25 per year, and get a 50% discount on farm food; Friends donate $100 a year for the ability to purchase farm food at regular prices.

Brooklynites are lucky to have resources like Brooklyn Commune and Prospect Farm providing local products. Please try to do business with local food sources like these! We’re lucky to have citizens among us who care enough to make livelihoods out of producing local foods, and the best way to pay them back is to patronize the establishments they support.

Local snack: CCNO Bars

Posted on November 20, 2011 by hautepasture

I am embarrassed by, and sorry for the poor quality of this picture:

I walked around my office trying to find some decent lighting for my old iPhone’s camera, to no avail. Fortunately, this blog has a lovely photo of a CCNO Bar.

I needed an afternoon snack, and my favorite workday food shop doesn’t carry my usual quickie bite, Lara Bars. I like Lara Bars because they’re just fruit and nuts smashed together, without chemicals and additives and preservatives like Clif, etc. So I was very happy to find the box of CCNO Bars by the register. They’re along the same lines as Lara Bars, but made locally, and with an extra kick of flavor from cononut oil. They’re vegan, gluten free, and all-natural. And LOCAL. And REAL FOOD. Give them a try, if you can find them!

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