Source: https://thevalleylocavore.blogspot.com/2015/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 00:27:14+00:00

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and can be discovered out in the wild or in permaculture gardens that are semi-wild. Like pears, quince ripens from the inside out. Look for firm quince and smell before buying. If they have a nice fragrance, they’ll be ok for poaching. What quince has going for it is a lemony flavor and a wonderful scent redolent of expensive perfume. Use quince to add brightness such as in this Julia Child's recipe for Stewed Red Cabbage Salad. Biting directly into this fruit might give one pause but when in the right company, quince can really get the party started.
This recipe for stewed red cabbage is adapted from Julia Child’s How to Cook, adding some quince and honey to the traditional apples.
Cook the onion in olive oil and butter slowly in an ovenproof pan for 10 minutes without browning. Stir in the cabbage leaves and when well covered with the butter and vegetables, cook slowly for 10 minutes. Add all additional ingredients. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover and cook slowly for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
This year marks the 11th anniversary of the event under the trees in Greenfield that is completely free to all who attend. The brainchild of Juanita Nelson survives and you are invited to attend August 23 on Sunday from 4:30 to 6:30. Please spread the word and if you know chefs and farmers, invite them to contribute. For more info, visit Free Harvest Supper website quoted below.
The Free Harvest Supper is an annual community event celebrating local food, farms, and community. Additionally, donations collected support the Farmers’ Market Coupon Program established by the Center for Self-Reliance in Amherst.
The supper features a bountiful free meal of locally grown food prepared by locally based chefs, as well as live music, children’s activities, educational displays, and the hugely successful “Really, Really Free Market” where all are welcome to bring home produce from the season’s overflow donated by farmers and gardeners. Diners can enjoy passed fresh appetizers and learn from informational displays while they wait for their meal.
1. Combine ingredients (green part of green onion/scallions only) into food processor and pulse until creamy.
2. Serve immediately with salad or cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Mix before serving.
2. Once you've added the oil, sample the mayo and add more salt or lemon juice to taste. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Stir before spreading.
Greetings Auburn Public Library Patrons! I've been rooting around for local food in your region. Was it just last week that we met in Auburn on that rainy night at the Public Library?
In Granby MA this farm features a summer, fall, winter, spring, flower, and bread share for people interested in joining the CSA, Community Sponsored Agriculture. Its too late to join Red Fire Farm the summer of '15 share but the farm does deliver to the town of Worcester, so keep it in mind for fall, winter and next summer. To sample the delights of this very established farm that delivers from Granby in western MA to Boston, check out their farm store some weekday or weekend in Granby or visit the website at www.redfirefarm.com.
At 96 Eight Lots Road, Sutton Mass, New Lands Farm is a farmer collective offers an international variety of food from places like the Congo, Burmundi and Bhutan as well as typical New England Summer fare such as corn, tomatoes, eggplant and so forth. There is a farm store as well as the opportunity to join the farm with a share in their CSA, Community Sponsored Agriculture option at the beginning of summer. They can be contacted at 508-754-1121.
The Davenport Hotel is known for: Crab Louis Salad named for founder Louis Davenport; first hotel in the country to have air conditioning; hotel staff was at one time required to wash, dry and press dollar bills before handing change to customers.
Today a lobby bathed in light from a glass atrium includes original statuary. Furniture is arranged in conversation under a Mission and Spanish style coffered ceiling. The Starbucks coffee station maintains a respectful distance.
At 10:08 a.m., there are twelve copies of USA Today in a neat pile on a marble counter in the lobby. A woman at the Business Center ducks into a small alcove to wash her hands three times when asked to mail some postcards for a guest.
for the erstwhile Pedal People who use human labor instead of fossil fuels to transport items from point A to point B. Weighing in at 180 pounds and 6’6", 31-year-old Will Berney hauls 350 lbs of trash through the streets of Northampton with his bike. He took a moment to speak with ValleyLocavore after his shift.
V. Do you own a car?
W. Yes, a ’96 Honda Accord. It’s the first car I ever owned. I bought it from a woman in Northampton.
V. What is the strangest thing you have hauled?
W. I hauled a queen mattress and boxspring – the widest thing I’ve ever hauled although usually furniture is a lot lighter than garbage so that’s good although its more challenging to get it on to the trailer.
V. What does a job like that cost?
W. From Leeds to the dump about $50.
V. Do you have to work out to stay in the shape for this job of hauling sometimes 100 lbs for hours at a time or does the work naturally keep you in shape?
W. Lots of time somebody starts the job it might take them a few months or weeks to get into better shape and be able to take on more work. I do some exercises, like core strengthening stuff or yoga people do, to maintain the body. The work isn’t just the biking but its also lifting heavy things. Doing core strength work has helped. It makes my body work better. When I started, I didn’t do any of that. I was 22 then. I was pretty cavalier about lot so aspects. I didn’t have winter clothing or a good bike. After a while all those little things make a difference and make it more sustainable.
W. Oh yeah, we always make it.
W. Trash, recycling, compost pick up and delivery to dump plus other deliveries such as food for Valley Green Feast. Also we do yard work.
W. Valley Recycling on Rt. 10 and Northampton Transfer Center on Locust St.
V. How long have you been with the co-op known as Pedal People?
W. Since 2006 then hiatus then back so a total of between four and five years. I did a year with Pedal People then went to college in Washington State.
V. Is this a fulltime job for you?
W. For me it is. Other people have other jobs but not me. I do about 20-25 hours a week. I’m on the high end of the spectrum here.
V. And a typical workday for you?
W. I live in Northampton on Bates Street near the Coke factory. The bike and trailer are at my home. There is no central location at work. On the days when I am picking up, I have a list of customers. I pick up at each location, usually four and then continue on to the transfer station on Locust St and drop everything off. I usually pick up around 20 customers on a work day, which would be 2 or 3 trips to the transfer center.
V. Does traffic make way for you?
W. They totally make way and we get cheers for the most part. Hardly ever jeers.
V. Advice for regular people trying to ride a bike in traffic?
W. Take as much room as you need in the lane.
V. What is it like working for a co-op?
W. We share administrative duties as well as hauling. This interview for example is an administrative duty.
V. So you’re being paid for this?
V. How long does that take?
V. So if part of what the Pedal People do is yard work, then folks with gardens can hire you when they go on vacation?
W. Yeah. We could handle that no problem.
V. What kind of individual does it take to be a Pedal Person?
W. You have to be excited to do the physical work. As long as you’re able bodied and have the desire. It’s hard but not as insanely impossible seeming. It keeps you in shape.
For more information about Pedal People’s hauling services (which are approx. $34 per month for weekly pick-ups for Northampton residents) including yard work, check out the website at www.pedalpeople.coop.
Why local? Why not food from afar? I feel like I am going to spend more time and gas driving all over the place picking up food from farms and farm stores to get the stuff. Most local food isn’t sold at normal stores.
Reason #A, local food tastes better because it grows here where we have some of the best soil in the state due to the geological make up of this region. Say the word “loam” to yourself and keep saying it. “Loam” means perfect soil. Perfect soil is an ideal combination of clay, silt and sand. Drive along Route 47 if you ever want to see loam in action. That’s where the river takes a turn and the soil is very, very rich in nutrients and loam. That soil makes for the tastiest food.
Reason #2, local business needs your support. Just the words ‘box stores’ say it all. Who wants to eat stuff in a box? You want to eat food that is planted, cared for and harvested by loving hands that produce food without chemicals that could endanger life. Not only should the people with those loving hands be supported, they should be thanked. There isn’t a lot of profit margin in the farming business.
Reason #C, most food travels an average of 2500 miles to get from the source to your plate. Why go all that way when most of that food is growing right here? Save fossil fuels and buy locally. Even better, ride your bike if you're up for it. But maybe not on the day when you have to buy lots and lots.
The scene inside Mezze Bistro + Bar in Williamstown, Massachusetts at 9:45 p.m. is a lively one. Inside the high-ceilinged room where everybody seems to know one another, a woman with an air of Kim Gordon cool offers wine to a couple camped out in a corner banquette......continue at Take Magazine.
Nancy Thomas and Bo Peabody, who pioneered farm-to-table dining in the Berkshires nearly 20 years ago, at a Mezze Restaurant Group dinner at the James Beard House March 9. Photo by Clay Williams.
Are you a wine snob or are you a sommelier?
I'm a sommelier because I love exploring the different wines, foods and cultures of the world.
VL: Where did you learn to drink wine?
Nancy: My dad always grew up drinking Napa Valley Cabs and so he's definitely the first person to introduce me to high quality wine!
VL: Where did you get your training?
Nancy: I trained under Master Sommelier Alpana Singh in Chicago, which was my first introduction to the world of wine. After that, I worked with sommelier Richard Reich at Brix Wine Bar in Sunset Beach. I also studied at Boston University's Elizabeth Bishop School of Wine under the tutelage of William Nesto and Sandy Block, who are both Masters of Wine through the Institute of Masters of Wine.
VL: Brix....as in Bricks and Morter?
Nancy: A measure, the sugar content of an aqueous solution.
VL: Of course....what’s new in South Deerfield home of MRKT?
Nancy: South Deerfield is in the heart of so many great farms and beautiful scenery. We are so lucky to be able to work with talented farmers and people who truly care about creating great food and preserving the natural world for generations to come.
VL: Will all these bottles go to waste?
VL: How do you pair wine with local food?
Nancy: I like to think of pairing wine with food just like adding ingredients in cooking. If you have a salty, fatty dish what would you add to cut the fattiness? A squeeze of lemon juice? If you treat wine like just another ingredient, you can merge the wine seamlessly with the food. At MRKT, we use so many beautiful, delicate local ingredients that it's important to use the wine as a highlighter to really bring out the quality of the local produce.
VL: What is your favorite thing on the menu?
Nancy: Our menu changes seasonally but right now it's definitely the Crispy Pork Belly. It's like the best breakfast ever!
VL: What’s the most you ever paid for a bottle of wine?
Nancy: Hmm... Honestly? I really don't pay that much for wine.
Nancy: I'm much more focused on trying to find a high-quality bottle at an everyday price! Now, the most expensive bottle that I've ever tasted? Probably, the 1992 Screaming Eagle, Cabernet Sauvignon.
VL: What’s the best glass of wine you ever drunk? I mean drank?
Nancy: Ah, the best glass of wine I've ever drank was a glass of 2001 Fattoria de Terrazze "Visions of J" Rosso Conero. I had it with my dad when he came to visit me in Chicago when I first moved there.

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