edible COLUMBUS | Summer 2012| Issue No. 10

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edible Columbus

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Issue No. 10

Celebrating Local Foods, Season by Season

Summer 2012

The Blueberry Patch Farmhouse Vacations A Brazilian Barbecue • Sweet Thing The Farm Bill • Story Book Farm Branstool Orchards • Young Farmers

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Summer contents 2012

Departments 4 6 7 9 14 16 18 20 24 29 32 37 46 59 63 64

Letter from the Publisher Letter from the Editor Edible Events Delicious Collaborations Local and In Season From the Kitchen Young Palates Edible Traditions Worth the Trip A Taste of Home Edible Entrepreneur Notes on Agriculture A Home Cook’s Diary Edible Nation Advertiser Directory Last Seed

Features 41

Her Colorful Nest Leslie Rector’s creative homesteading at Story Book Farm

By Marta Madigan • Photography by Jessica Opremcak

48

Peachy Perfection Timing, attention to detail yield sweet results at Branstool Orchards

By Mary Lou Shaw • Photography by Catherine Murray

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Young & Farming Facing challenges and rewards, young farmers sow the seeds for a career in farming By Colleen Leonardi • Photography by Jessica Opremcak

PHOTO BY © CATHERINE MURRAY, PHOTOKICTHEN.NET

RECIPES

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14 16 18 31 34 44 47

Grilled Greek Salad with Blue Jacket Feta Cheese Tricia’s Favorite Summer Recipes Cabbage-Shelled Tacos A Brazilian Barbecue with Picanha, Vinaigrette, Farofa & Caipirinhas Grilled Chicken Satays with Peanut Sauce & Spicy Jam Peach Upside Down Cake Basil Orzo Salad with Corn, Chickpeas, Feta & Summer Vegetables

About the cover: Photographer Catherine Murray of Photo Kitchen visited the Branstool Orchards with us. The cover photo captures a moment among the peach trees. We all had so much fun in their beautiful orchards. To learn more about Catherine and view her portfolio visit photokitchen.net.

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letter from the Publisher

edible Food ties us to so many important issues, beyond what we consume.

Columbus Publisher & Editor in Chief

Tricia Wheeler Editor

Colleen Leonardi Copy Editor

Doug Adrianson Editorial Interns

Colleen Arnett Claire Hoppens Culinary Intern

Audra Sedluk

Sometimes, though, it can be difficult trying to imagine how you will use that perfectly ripe ingredient you glimpse at the market, or how much you should buy so you can freeze or preserve at the height of the season. In this issue, I share my kitchen notes on flavors, ideas and plans for what to do with the best of our summer bounty.

I’m also excited to announce that this summer we are inviting readers to share their best recipes and flavor combinations from their kitchens. We will feature one of our favorites each week on our Edible Columbus website

home page. Please submit your recipe and photo at recipes@ediblecolumbus.com. And at the end of the summer, we are going to host a very special dinner honoring our best submissions. I can’t wait to learn from you!

Food ties us to so many important issues, beyond what we consume. For many people and families, simply obtaining food at all is a constant struggle.

Matt Habash of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank tells us in this issue how we have a long way to go before there is access and food security for all. For those of us in a position to give back a little extra, Local Matters and the Mid-Ohio Foodbank could both use your donations to keep up their visionary work in this area.

This summer I plan to thank the farmers who work so hard to bring us flavor, nutrition and beauty in every fruit and vegetable they grow.

Happily, I hand over my money each week knowing this is the real cost of food.

Many thanks,

Design

Melissa Petersen Business Development

Tammi Gourley • Shelly Strange WEB DEVELOPMENT

András Rátonyi Contributors

Janine Aquino • Carole Amber Troy Amber • Colleen Arnett Matt Habash • Molly Hays Claire Hoppens • Dan Imhoff Colleen Leonardi • Marta Madigan Nancy McKibben • Catherine Murray Jessica Opremcak • Francesca Preston Genevieve Reiner • Madeline Scherer Mary Lou Shaw • Megan Shroy Charmaine Sutton • Carole Topalian Tamara Mann Tweel • Brian Williams Contact Us

P.O. Box 21-8376 Columbus, Ohio 43221 info@ediblecolumbus.com ediblecolumbus.com Edible Columbus @ediblecbus

Tricia Wheeler Advertising Inquiries

tricia@ediblecolumbus.com Edible Columbus is published quarterly and distributed throughout Central Ohio. Subscription rate is $25 annually. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission from the publisher. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our sincere apologies and notify us. Thank you.

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PHOTO BY © CATHERINE MURRAY, PHOTOKITCHEN.NET

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or me, shopping at a farmers market is pure happiness. Everything about the experience charms me: seeing the farmers and artisans I have grown to know and love, the anticipation of what new things will appear, my excitement when I glimpse my first squash blossom of the season and the family routine we enjoy each week selecting our food and planning our meals. I embrace all of it.

A delicious Treat for New edible Columbus Subscribers...

Our good friends at Backroom Coffee Roasters are giving you a bag of their locally roasted beans with each new subscription!

I want to become a subscriber of Edible Columbus. I have filled out the form below and am sending it, along with a check in the amount of $25 (for four quarterly issues) payable to Edible Columbus, to: Edible Columbus PO Box 21-8376 Columbus, OH 43221

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A

t the Edible Communities conference in March, Brian Halweil, editor of Edible East End on New York’s Long Island and co-publisher of Edible Brooklyn and Edible Manhattan magazines, shared this thought with all of us: “The future of farmers will depend more and more on creative collaborations with us.” He talked about how the future of sustainable agriculture is a “shared burden between the farmer and the eater”—one we must all take to heart and act on together with each meal we make.

...let’s not forget the realities of what farmers face, and what we face, in turn.

I couldn’t agree more. The future of farming is uncertain in many ways. In 1910, America was home to over 6 million farmers. Today, the numbers suggest just over 2 million Americans make their living farming. The average age of those farming is 57, with one young farmer under 35 for every six farmers over 65.

The 2012 US Farm Bill is deemed by some to be the “worst ever” Farm Bill in our history.

Land prices continue to rise, making it nearly impossible for young farmers to invest in land.

I could go on, but I won’t.

Because I believe the only constant is change, the uncertainty of sustainable farming does not leave me frozen. Where my certainty resides is in my commitment to the farmers.

While creating this issue, Adam Welly of Wayward Seed Farm reminded me that “farming is a craft.” It requires sacrifice and a deep devotion. It’s a practice that calls on those who come to it to hone their skills and sharpen their technique each and every day.

And I’m sure any farmer will tell you, there are very real consequences if you don’t.

As an artist myself, I have a profound respect for not just the technique required of craftsmen, but the ingenuity and sense of stewardship that’s essential to continue to both grow with and honor Mother Earth amidst the swift changes such as we’re seeing in the 21st century. In this way, farming is also a business—a very necessary business to the health and prosperity of our country. There is a certain romance to farming, for it is a very joyful practice. But let’s not forget the realities of what farmers face, and what we face, in turn.

Know that when you buy those sweetest of peaches from Branstool Orchards, your desire for a peach on a summer afternoon is part of a much larger collaboration happening here in Central Ohio, an emerging alliance of eaters, growers, farmers and businesses who know one thing: Future summers should yield as much joy and rigor, as much good food for our children, as summer will this season.

Know that the farmer’s happiness is your happiness, and together we can do so much more than we will ever achieve on our own.

Now, let’s step out and honor both our responsibility to and delight in another abundant Ohio summer.

With joy and gratitude,

Colleen Leonardi

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PHOTO BY © SARAH WARDA

letter from the editor

edible Columbus

Summer Events & Cooking Series June

25 July

18 July

25 July

28 1 August

August

15 August

PHOTO BY © CATHERINE MURRAY, PHOTOKITCHEN.NET

26 September

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September

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For details and registration, please visit ediblecolumbus.com

Summer Entertaining & Small Plates Dinner Noon–1:30pm & 6–7:30pm This class is all about charm. We will concentrate on pretty presentations of small plates to use throughout the summer season. On the menu: vegetable tartlets, colorful crudité cups, vichyssoise, salad bouquets, wild mushroom ragout crostini with Gorgonzola cream, and to finish—berry sorbet with crystalized mint leaves. $35 | The MI Homes Demo Kitchen at Easton, 4047 Gramercy St., Columbus.

Chadwick Arboretum Garden Tour & Summer Salad Dinner 6–7:30pm Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens at OSU is home to a maze of beautiful native plant gardens and herbs. A master gardener from Chadwick will give us a walking tour of the gardens with a special emphasis on herb education. We will end the evening with a dinner of three summer salads prepared by Tricia. $35 | Meet at OSU, Howlett Hall, 2001 Fyffe Court, Columbus.

All About Brambles & Brussels Sprouts Noon–1:30pm & 6–7:30pm Special guest Ann Trudel from Ann’s Raspberry Farm will tell us all about growing berries and Brussels sprouts and how they have turned their specialty crops into award-winning products. Tricia will cook both savory and sweet dishes featuring Brussels sprouts and raspberries brought to us straight from the farm! $35 | The MI Homes Demo Kitchen at Easton, 4047 Gramercy St., Columbus.

A Five-Course Peach Dinner at Branstool Orchards See page 51 for details on our Edible Columbus farm dinner!

The Best of Ohio Summer Flavors Noon–1:30pm & 6–7:30pm This class will celebrate the best of Ohio’s summer fruits and vegetables. Everything will be sourced from local farmers markets. On the menu: heirloom succotash, sweet corn salad, squash with crispy stuffing and other dishes based on what we find at the market. $35 | The MI Homes Demo Kitchen at Easton, 4047 Gramercy St., Columbus.

Third Annual Heirloom Tomato Tasting Noon–1:30pm & 6–7:30pm Join us for our Third Annual Heirloom Tomato Tasting featuring Northridge Organics. Mike and Laura grow over 60 varieties of tomatoes on their farm. We will taste and compare 12 of this season’s favorites. Tricia will be cooking up two other heirloom tomato inspired dishes. This class fills up quickly, so sign up today! $35 | The MI Homes Demo Kitchen at Easton, 4047 Gramercy St., Columbus.

Story Book Farm High Tea and Garden Tour 1–3pm After visiting Story Book Farm for our article on page 41, we could not resist the opportunity to create a special afternoon for our readers at this magical place. Leslie will lead a garden and house tour while Tricia prepares a traditional high tea of savory and sweets featuring the tea created at the farm and scones from the Cambridge Tea House. $40 | 6644 Coonpath Rd., NE, Lancaster, Ohio

Jam Morning, Noon and Night Noon–1:30pm & 6–7:30pm Kyla Touris, the wonderful proprietress of Sweet Thing Gourmet, will be our special guest for this class about jam and how it can be used morning, noon and night. Tricia will cook up three courses of savory and sweet dishes featuring different Sweet Thing jam flavors as Kyla talks about jam making and how she creates her signature flavors. We will end the class with a vertical jam tasting. $35 | The MI Homes Demo Kitchen at Easton, 4047 Gramercy St., Columbus.

September 19: Brunch with Betty Rosbottom!

Noon–1:30pm & 6–7:30pm Betty will make a special appearance to talk to us about her new book—Sunday Brunch. Tricia will cook brunch from Betty’s book while Betty delights us with a talk about her culinary career. She will also sign books; a copy of Sunday Brunch is included in the price. $55 | The MI Homes Demo Kitchen at Easton, 4047 Gramercy St., Columbus.

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delicious Collaborations

Casey Hoy and the Agricultural Ecosystems Management program at OSU

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ountywide food councils in Ohio try to back up a few steps to figure out how farms and food businesses fit together into a local food system.

Casey Hoy steps back a bit further. He likens it to looking out an airplane window to see how all those local systems fit together with each other and with the landscape, the economy and the broader society. If that sounds like a lot to take in, Hoy has a title that reflects the scope of his vision: KelloggEndowed Chair in Agricultural Ecosystems Management.

“Agroecosystems include both the people and the land, and they play out over large scales,” Hoy said. “It’s not what any individual does— it’s what whole communities do. Agroecosystems management is about getting communities to work together—not just farmers, but people who eat.”

The Agroecosystems program has a statewide reach, but some of its most visible work is focused on Northeast Ohio. A consortium of foundations in the region formed the Fund for Our Economic Future, which in turn funds an effort to link all of the region’s agricultural assets, from diverse farms to processing, distribution and retailing infrastructure.

Hoy, whose background is in systems analysis and quantitative ecology, is based at Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. He was at OSU for 20 years before his work came under the Kellogg Foundation endowment in 2006 as the first of seven current (and up to five more) Kellogg-endowed agroecosystems programs around the country.

The program is multidisciplinary, with dozens of researchers and professors throughout OSU participating in some of its efforts, and thousands more people outside the university receiving and sharing information in efforts to reach the program’s goals.

“The network extends throughout the state.”

Hoy said. “My hope is that we are creating models that can quickly be translated to other parts of the state. Neighborhood scales all the way up to community, municipality, up to surrounding county or counties, then regions that can cross state lines.” That larger perspective leads to “[a] better ability to view where the opportunities are. We expect [to continue] connecting local to regional food systems.” —Brian Williams

The Local Food Systems website (localfoodsystems.org) has nearly 2,000 people registered for its Main Group—one of 70 group discussion boards for people throughout Ohio and parts of Michigan and Pennsylvania to share information, collaborate on research and even forge business partnerships.

As with efforts in Central Ohio, the goal is to link supply and demand, to enable entrepreneurs to cooperate on sourcing, distribution and mutually effective business arrangements in Northeast Ohio. The region also is part of a new grant proposal to find ways to finance local-food systems through local resources.

...with dozens of researchers and professors throughout OSU participating in some of its efforts, and thousands more people outside the university receiving and sharing information in efforts to reach the program’s goals. edible COLUMBUS.com

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delicious Collaborations

EAT

Local. LOVE Art.

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hat’s the concept behind Ella, New Albany’s newest restaurant and bar serving up contemporary American cuisine. The restaurant, which is attached to New Albany’s awardwinning Hayley Gallery, features artwork from over 50 local artists. Hayley Savage, founder of Hayley Gallery, and Amy Schottenstein, general manager of Ella, came together to create the exciting restaurant concept.

“Amy was passionate about food. She talked about reducing her carbon footprint, sourcing from local farmers and serving creative, chef-inspired dishes,” said Savage.

“Soon Ella was born.”

According to Savage, local art and local food may not appear to go hand in hand, but they really do. “Many art buyers I come across are shocked to discover the caliber of art being produced right here in Ohio,” she said.

Schottenstein drew the parallel to local sourcing, recognizing that consumers wanting to eat local are also looking to learn more about local art. The concept has come a long way. Not only are Schottenstein and Savage working directly with local producers to source ingredients, but they collaborate with artists to bring local works into the restaurant.

Executive Chef Travis Hyde was brought into the picture after Savage met his wife at a local art benefit. Formally with Z Cucina in Grandview, Travis describes his style of cooking as a cross between “Italian cuisine and American homeboy.” Capitalizing on the highly sustainable local food trend, Hyde has created unique menu choices such as Ella’s Beet Salad, Pan-Roasted Local Amish Chicken, Pan-Seared Lake Erie Walleye and Sherry Molasses Pork Wings.

consumers wanting to eat local are also looking to learn more about local art.

According to Savage, you’ll know what’s fresh and in season based on Ella’s menu specials.

“Seeing Amy buy off the truck and work with the local farmers is inspiring,” Savage said.

“We truly are farm-to-table. “ Diners at Ella are encouraged to stroll through the gallery before or after dinner, while enjoying a favorite beverage. “The idea is to put art from the gallery in the restaurant—not only for atmosphere but to drive the ‘local’ concept home,” said Savage. “We want people eating in the restaurant to visit the gallery and people visiting the gallery to stop by Ella for a meal.”— Megan Shroy

Ella Restaurant

“I’m a pork fanatic. Anything pork on the menu is me—pork wings, chops, cut in house, anything I can throw bacon on,” Hyde said.

266 E. Main St. (Rt. 62), New Albany, OH 43054; 614-855-4600; ella-restaurant.com

One taste of the Creole-Spiced Pork Loin and you’ll share in his passion. The pork, which is sourced from the OSU Agricultural Department, is rubbed in Creole spices, served with roasted garlic whipped potatoes, blue crab sautéed green beans and a spicy hollandaise.

“Amy gives me room to be creative, to put my spin on things,” he said.

Chef Travis Hyde’s artful tattoo

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY © JESSICA OPREMCAK

Dessert at Ella

PHOTOGRAPHY BY © JESSICA OPREMCAK

HARVEST PIZZERIA

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izza, ubiquitous yet universally loved, is elevated to a whole new level of beauty and taste thanks to Chris Crader and Bethany Lowell of Harvest Pizzeria in German Village. Only a year into operation, they are receiving enthusiastic reviews for their handcrafted, oven-fired pizzas topped with inventive combinations of ingredients.

What truly sets them apart, however, is their dedication to working with local purveyors on everything from mushrooms to dining tables.

Left to right: Chris Crader of Harvest Pizzeria; the specials for the day; fresh, oven-fired pizza from Harvest

For Chris and Bethany, access to local ingredients is essential to making a product that connects the eater to the farmer who grows the veggies that top their pizzas. “It’s about knowing who grows what,” Chris explains. “We talk directly to our farmers.”

Purchasing local also means making connections that lead to great seasonal finds. A conversation with Colleen Yuhn from the Greener Grocer led them to Jenny Blackburn of Fresh Harvest Farms in Athens County, where Harvest purchases an exotic array of mushrooms for their pizzas. Many of their beverage offerings are local as well, as they pour beers from the Elevator and Rockmill Breweries, and serve up cocktails made from Middle West and Watershed spirits.

Chris grows many of the vegetables for his pizza himself, especially the herbs and tomatoes. He constructs his pies based on what is seasonal and local, and understands that while everyone loves a good pepperoni pizza, he can add a twist of flavor with some homegrown Sicilian fennel pollen.

The pizza crust—chewy and rich on the edges, thinner and crispy in the middle—is created from Chris’ own dough recipe. But due to space constraints in his restaurant, he sources its production to Omega Bakery at the North Market. Desserts are also created close to home: his mother bakes delectable fruit-laden pies with seasonal ingredients; displayed on a shelf in the dining room, they tempt diners to go ahead and splurge on dessert.

For Chris and Bethany, the dedication to local isn’t only about the food. The tables in the restaurant are made from Ohio ash by a craftsman in Northeast Ohio, and the large tables on their newly expanded patio are made from a friend’s reclaimed barn siding. When Harvest was in the original planning stages, Chris worked with the Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI), a local nonprofit that helps small businesses and entrepreneurs in Central Ohio, to secure a loan to start the business. Even the blueprints and plans were sourced locally from Key Blueprints, just a few blocks east of Harvest.

Chris believes that these collaborations are essential to the creation of thriving local businesses, and are not something that will go out of style. “Local is not a fad. It only makes sense that people will embrace that sense of community. Besides, it just tastes better.”— Genevieve Rainer

Harvest Pizzeria 495 S. Fourth St., Columbus, OH 43206; 614-824-1769; harvestpizzeria.com This May, Harvest doubled their seating and bar area with a new addition called Curio at Harvest.

Located in the building directly adjacent to their current space, the cocktail lounge features a selection of drinks (“Curious Concoctions”) created

by Travis Owens using fresh herbs and inventive bitters, with names like “Mole” and “Hellfire.” It’s the perfect place to sip a cocktail and wait for a Harvest pizza.

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PHOTO BY © CAROLE TOPALIAN

Jandy’s Garlic Festival

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ver since Jan Dawson and Andy Reinhart married in 1988, growing and selling their own produce has become a way of life for these two vegetarians. Jan and Andy combined their names (before it was the cool thing to do), and named their Bellefontaine farm Jandy’s. The couple grows an assortment of vegetables, but their specialty is garlic. In Dawson’s words, “We grow primarily what we like to eat because if it doesn’t sell we’ll freeze it and can it!”

The couple decided to start growing garlic because Jan uses it a lot, and Andy is always looking for something else to grow. Now they’ve expanded to more specific types, and grow more than 12 varieties of garlic. In 2008, Jandy’s had a lot of harvested garlic and no idea how to get rid of it all, so they started their own local Garlic Festival.

This year, the fifth annual Garlic Festival will be held on August 12 from 1 to 5pm. Local Logan County vendors sell a variety of products at the festival, but the highlight of the day is the local music and book signing by Ohio author and contrary farmer Gene Logsdon. According to Dawson, “We don’t charge any of the vendors to set up, but we trade them garlic for their time. Probably not a really fair trade for all they give us!”

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In addition to the Garlic Festival, Jan and Andy also started the Logan County farmers market. Originally, they were selling their produce at the North Market, but were getting a little tired of the long drive. After doing some research, and collaborating with other people who were selling their produce in the Bellefontaine area, they opened the Logan County farmers market. It began in 1997 in a local parking lot with only about six or seven other vendors, but has grown substantially since then.

In 2009 the farmers market moved to the Downtown Bellefontaine City Parking Lot location and has seen a great increase in participation, both from vendors and customers. The Logan County farmers market will be open from May through October. It is held every Saturday from 8:30am to noon. “It was the dedication of those first few vendors who stuck it out on some pretty slow days … and the faithful customers … that made it all work,” said Dawson.

For more information about the Logan County farmers market and the Garlic Festival visit Jandy’s Local Harvest website page at localharvest.org/jandys-M8484.

—Colleen Arnett

1 bottle 1 cup 2

Sauvignon Blanc or Dry White Wine St-Germain Fresh Peaches*

5-6

Fresh Strawberries*

6

Fresh Raspberries*

1 small bunch

Fresh White Grapes*

Stir ingredients in a pitcher or carafe. Allow fruit to soak in the mixture for 15 minutes (or longer, if desired). Serve in an ice-filled glass, then telephone your physician and regale him with stories of your exemplary fruit consumption. *Merely suggestions - be creative!

local and in Season

Grilled Greek Salad with Blue Jacket Feta Cheese

By Tricia Wheeler Serves 6 This is a great salad to make when tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are abundant and flavorful at the farmers market or in your garden. Pair with salty Blue Jacket Feta and grilled Lucky Cat bread and you have the perfect summer meal.

Ingredients: 1 green pepper, cut into chunks 1 red pepper, cut into chunks ¼ of a red onion, sliced 1 tablespoon olive oil 2–3 large tomatoes, cut into chunks 1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, cut into chunks Handful of fresh oregano Handful of fresh mint leaves 4-ounce chunk of feta cheese Bread for grilling

June

Fruits: Black, Purple and Red Raspberries; Strawberries; Gooseberries Vegetables: Broccoli, Green Peas, Asparagus, Lettuces and Greens, Rhubarb

Peak Harvest:

July to August

Edible Flowers Fruits: Black, Purple and Red Raspberries; Everbearing Strawberries; Blackberries; Gooseberries; Peaches; Currants; Tomatoes; Cantaloupe Vegetables: Green Peas; Sweet Corn; Bell, Hot and Sweet Peppers; Cucumbers; Eggplant; Carrots; Garlic; Leeks; Okra; Lettuces and Greens; Potatoes

Late Harvest:

August to early September

Edible Flowers Fruits: Apples; Everbearing Strawberries; Fall Raspberries; Blackberries; Peaches; Grapes; Tomatoes; Cataloupe; Watermelons Vegetables: Sweet Corn; Bell, Hot and Sweet Peppers; Eggplant; Carrots; Garlic; Leeks; Okra; Lettuces and Greens; Potatoes

Directions: Toss green pepper, red pepper and red onion with olive oil. Brush bread with olive oil—put on grill with grate and grill for a few minutes. You want vegetables to just have slight grill marks but still maintain their crunch. Toss grilled vegetables with raw tomatoes and cucumbers, top with feta and herbs, add dressing and toss again.

Serve with grilled bread.

Dressing Ingredients: 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar Juice of 1 lemon 1 garlic clove, minced Pinch of sugar Salt and freshly ground pepper Shake all ingredients together in a Mason jar.

Wine paring: A nice, light bodied, but fruity (some light cherry flavor) Pinot Noir from Chile, France, Oregon, Washington.

— Janine Aquino

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PHOTO BY © CATHERINE MURRAY, PHOTOKITCHEN.NET

Early Harvest:

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from the kitchen

A Farmers Market

Smorgasbord

By Tricia Wheeler Photography by Catherine Murray

W

hen I shop at the weekly farmers market, I try to buy food for at least four dinners, plus Sunday breakfast and maybe enough for a mid-week lunch or two. I also try to buy extra fruits and vegetables that freeze well. Since the offerings at the market have been locally grown and freshly picked at the height of their season, it’s a great time to put some aside for later use. For freezing, I use the zippered bags that allow you to remove air with a little pump. Some of my favorite things to freeze are berries, sliced peaches, green beans, corn, peppers and pesto. I am always happy later in the year when I reach for my frozen Ohio sweet corn! Preserving food by freezing can be done quickly and efficiently, if you plan ahead.

Here I share some of my favorite ways to enjoy the best of the season.

In mid-June, at the height of strawberry season, I buy a few extra quarts that I turn into strawberry freezer jam. The recipe can be found at ediblecolumbus.com.

An unusual salad combination that I always love is fresh sliced watermelon, feta cheese, thinly sliced red onion and fresh mint leaves topped with a dressing made with local honey and fresh squeezed limes.

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An easy lunch or dinner following a market trip is a fried local egg sandwich with a slice of tomato, lettuce and a schmear of basil mayonnaise. (To make basil mayonnaise, add a squeeze of lemon juice and a handful of fresh basil leaves to mayonnaise and pulse quickly in a food processor; season with salt). Make deviled eggs or frittatas with any leftover eggs you have on hand.

I love to eat corn on the cob, and corn that has been scraped off the cob into a delicious summer salad. Good fresh sweet corn needs only to be cooked in boiling water for 2–3 minutes. I love the flavor combination of mixing corn scraped off the cob with a diced jalapeño pepper, some scallions, a diced red pepper, fresh cilantro, salt, pepper, a drizzle of white wine vinegar and a little olive oil.

Fresh Romaine lettuce is great grilled! Add Caesar dressing, grilled bread, corn fresh off the cob and grilled chicken and the salad becomes dinner. I love Jan Kish’s Caesar Dressing: Mix, in a food processor, 1 hard boiled egg, a squeeze of anchovy paste, juice of one lemon, two tablespoons balsamic vinegar, one tablespoon regular vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Voilà!

Making roasted vegetable gratins in little casserole dishes is quick, easy and cute! I like fresh sliced zucchini, squash, fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese. Take them right from the oven to the plate.

When heirloom tomatoes appear, I make bruschetta. I grill bread rubbed with a garlic clove and the juice of a just-sliced tomato. To top the grilled bread, I finely dice a variety of heirloom tomatoes and then I mix them with fresh chives, basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt. I love to make heirloom tomato bruschetta and serve it with a grilled piece of Blue Jacket Gretna Grilling Cheese. Perfection!

One meal of the week is always a veggie plate, where I take what I have left from the week and make several vegetable dishes for dinner— perhaps roasted carrots with honey and thyme leaves; mini baked potatoes with cheese, chives and sour cream; a cucumber and tomato salad with olive oil and oregano; and sautéed onions and peppers mixed with farro. The variety of small vegetable dishes makes for a wonderful dinner.

For dessert: Leftover fruit from the week always turns into a warm crumble served with ice cream!

Pick up local grass-fed beef for burgers, or Luna Veggie Burgers. Top with caramelized rosemary onions, or roasted red peppers and spicy arugula.

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young Palates

I Dream of Farming

By Madeline Scherer

That’s one of the first questions that people always ask me when we meet.

When I was very little, I wanted to become a teacher. Then, I started thinking about becoming a farmer. I’ve decided to combine the two and become a farmer who teaches!

I first started contemplating about farming when I was about 6 years old. My mom would take me to the farmers markets in town and I was inspired by all the fresh, tasty fruits and veggies. One of my favorite things to pick out are the towering sunflowers. They are so enormous that they cover my entire face when I hold them in front of me. I love filling my bags with real food, organic food that has been picked only hours before. It smells fresh, like my garden.

I have also been inspired by our trips to Stratford Ecological Center. Participating in Family Chore Day is absolutely my favorite! Feeding the chickens and caring for them while I look for their eggs makes me feel elated. I take the eggs, wash them and then take them home with me. I always cook with them the same day. It’s hard to believe how yellow their yolks are. You can’t get more fresh than that!

I adore having my garden, but having a farm someday will let me have a garden as big as a field and I can have a flock of animals, also—cows, horses, chickens, llamas, sheep and many more. It would be hard for me to earn a profit from my small garden (mainly because we eat it all ourselves!). But on my farm someday, I will earn a profit selling my organic food at my farm stand and holding classes on my farm to educate others. Some of my classes will be: • • • •

How to Make Organic Gardening Fun! Why Have a Garden?

Eat REAL Food!

Should I Drink Green Smoothies?

I’ve already started writing my class Eat REAL Food.

I’ve convinced some of my family members to join me on my farm.

Both of my sisters want to work with me but I’m not so sure about my brothers since they are still so little. I’m hoping my parents will come live on my farm someday instead of heading to a retirement home. My dad is really good at weeding!

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I plan to cook all kinds of foods on my farm. My dairy and meat will come from my cows, my sweetener will come from my bees and, most important, all of my produce will come from my fields. With all these foods, I can make anything I can dream of.

One of things I enjoy making the most right now are cabbage-shelled tacos.

You can make this recipe with all the foods from around the farm. Here’s my recipe:

Cabbage-Shelled Tacos Brown 1 pound of grass-fed, organic beef Dice fresh tomatoes, onion, lettuce and avocados Shred some farmer’s cheese Spoon ingredients into a large cabbage leaf and then wrap the leaf.

Hold it tight and enjoy!

My farm will help me make a difference in the world by teaching people about organic farming and educating them about what they should eat.

I dream of spending all day outdoors and hanging with my family. I can hardly wait to plant my first crop!

Visit the Stratford Ecological Center at 3083 Liberty Rd. in Delaware, OH 43015; 740-363-2548; stratfordecologicalcenter.org. They are open to the public Monday–Friday 9am–5pm, Saturday 9am–1pm; closed Sunday and holidays.

About me: My name is Madeline Scherer and I am 11 years old. I have a big family—seven of us. Mommy, Daddy, me and I have two sisters and two brothers—all younger than me. I am homeschooled—or alternatively schooled, as my mom likes to say. I take classes all over the city! My favorite things to do are practice the piano and violin, read books and go to my Uncle Tom’s farm. I absolutely love to cook and started cooking as soon as I could read recipes, at least that’s what I remember. I make a great guacamole and a pretty good hummus, too. Someday I want to become a farmer and cook all foods from my farm.

PHOTO BY © CAROLE TOPALIAN

What would you like to be when you grow up?

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edible traditions

Blueberries The Virtues of

The Blueberry Patch teaches responsibility, hard work and pride in achievement

PHOTO BY © CAROLE TOPALIAN

By Nancy McKibben

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t is Saturday morning, and Andrew and Grant Beilstein, ages 21 and 17, are flogging blueberries at the Olde Worthington farmers market, joking with customers and praising the virtues of blueberries to the uninitiated.

Steve Beilstein among the farm’s 27,000 blueberry bushes

The berries, sold fresh in season and quick-frozen out of season, are harvested with loving care from 27,000 bushes at the Blueberry Patch, a Mansfield farm owned by parents Steve and Lisa. The boys are vital cogs in the family machinery, not only transporting, setting up and selling on their own, but also savvy about the horticultural and financial sides of the business.

Three of the Beilsteins’ four sons still work on the farm. Andrew, 21, a senior at Ohio State University, manages accounts, delivers blueberries from his campus apartment and sells at the market on Saturday mornings when his peers are still abed. Grant, 17, and Ben, 14, live at home and work after school, on weekends and on school breaks when the blueberries demand it.

Work Ethic “I really like working with the kids,” Steve says of his sons. “They do it all. There are no complaints, ever. Work is a given.”

That work includes propagation of the 27 blueberry varieties from sixinch cuttings; potting out the new plants; clearing the fields for planting: planting the 2-year-old bushes; pruning the field stock; fertilizing and weeding the bushes; and harvesting in July and August (and maybe even in June this year because of the early spring).

Andrew and Grant are undaunted.

PHOTOS BY © CATHERINE MURRAY, PHOTOKITCHEN.NET

“It gives me something to do. I never get bored,” Grant says. “And I’m not just being given money, I earn it.” He admits that summer berry picking can be hot work, but “when Andrew comes home to work, I get to spend a lot of time with him.”

“It’s not a big deal to me to get up early and work,” Andrew says. “I enjoy working outside and meeting people.”

In addition to the physical labor, the farm offers more people-centered tasks like directing customers through the thriving U-pick business.

Andrew also displays an aptitude for the business side, capturing the Juice 2 juice bar account at the OSU Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC) on his own initiative.

Down on the Farm Steve, who still runs his own architectural firm, was working in Columbus and living in his hometown of Mansfield when he and his brother bought a 65-acre farm in 1981. Steve envisioned apples; the OSU Extension Office recommended blueberries.

The Blueberry Patch provides all you need to pick your own berries

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It was a harsh initiation. “I started with 1,500 plants, Bluerays, and killed 750 through ignorance.” Today Steve is an expert who figures to plant 9,000 plants and lose fewer than 50.

A few years after that first planting, Lisa and Steve met and married, and farm and family became inseparably entwined. Lisa recalls working in the greenhouses with the boys nearby in swings or playpens. Steve chuckles over the memory of Andrew fast asleep in the bulldozer cab as his dad cleared a field.

“That’s been the best thing,” says Lisa, “being able to raise the family on our farm and have them with me at work.”

Grant remembers doing “little jobs” with his dad from the time he himself was little. The farm grew as the boys grew, with additional greenhouses for flowers, a nursery, Lisa’s flourishing gift shop and her Blossoms Café, which serves teas and lunches—featuring blueberries, of course.

Out and About The Beilsteins sell blueberries at the farmers markets at Easton, New Albany, Jefferson Township, Clintonville and Worthington. Lisa finds that customers especially enjoy buying from the boys.

“It helps them see how integrated farming families are in the whole growing and marketing process. The boys like to predict what quantities of each product we should take to each market—it’s always guesswork!

They’ve learned the variables that influence what will sell at a market: weather, traffic, time of year, what products are available, even what football games are being played that day.”

“Doing the market pays my bills and rent,” says Andrew. “And I like to talk to customers about our product and ask them if they’ve ever been at the farm. I want them to know that we’re friendly like a small business and really enjoy their support.”

The Fruits of Their Labors “I love my life,” Steve says. “At times it’s very demanding, but I couldn’t be happier. I love the blueberries.” He clearly loves his family, too, and describes Lisa as “beyond supportive.”

But as much as the Beilsteins love the farm, they don’t press their sons to follow them.

“I never told the kids that I expect them to come back and run the farm,” Steve says. “I told them ‘Go and find a job you’re happy at.’ The farm was my dream.”

Andrew, a strategic communications major, is eager to “go and see what’s out there” after graduation, although neither he nor Grant entirely rules out the possibility that they might someday be interested in the farm.

Whether or not that happens, Steve and Lisa feel that farm life has produced its own harvest. “The boys are well-rounded, and their eyes are open to the world,” says Lisa.

Steve agrees. “We filled their lives with responsibilities and work, but we also gave them great time off and substantial rewards. They got their first paycheck at age 12.”

Lisa sums up. “Most of all I think it has instilled a sense of pride that together we have grown our farm from a hobby to a full-fledged business, and that they have played a significant role in that growth.”

This philosophy explains why for the Beilsteins, the defining event of March 17, 2012, was neither the St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown nor the advance of the OSU basketball team to the Sweet Sixteen. Instead they celebrated their 5-year-old grandson’s first farm chore: tying labels on the blueberry bushes.

Mason was not enthusiastic at first, but Grandpa Steve soon set him straight. “I told him, ‘Yes, we’re going to work. That’s what we do.’”

Nancy McKibben has been writing and eating for years, and is happy to combine those loves with the opportunity to advocate for local food in the pages of Edible Columbus. Her novel The Chaos Protocol was a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award for Fiction in 2000, and she was the winner of the Thurber House Essay Contest in 2003. She is also a lyricist and journalist, the mother of six, and the wife of one. View her work at leader.com/nancymckibben; contact her at nmckibben@leader.com.

The Blueberry Patch: 1285 W. Hanley Rd., Mansfield, OH 44904; 419-884-1797; theblueberrypatch.org; info@theblueberrypatch.org. Visit the website for detailed information about purchasing blueberries and bushes, and for hours of operation for gift shop, café, greenhouses and nursery and U-pick.

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worth the Trip

A Farmhouse Vacation Manchester Hill offers tempting taste of farm-stay trend

By Carole Amber

C

ock-a-doodle-doos, a freshly laid blue-egg omelet and an intimate look at your local farm. These experiences fuel a growing phenomenon across the United States known as farm stays. Farm stays—or staying overnight on a working farm—are quickly becoming a popular locavore vacation option. They offer you the chance to observe working farms in action, develop lasting relationships with local farmers and take your relationship with food to a new level.

As a form of agritourism, the farm stay movement caught fire in Europe, specifically Italy, in the 1980s. Farmers saw opportunity in bringing vacationers to their farms to help preserve the traditions of small-scale farming while expanding farm income. Spotting this trend among food lovers in the United States, Oregon farmer Scottie Jones launched Farm Stay U.S. in 2010. “To fit our criteria,” he says, “our farm or ranch partners must be working operations growing livestock and/or produce for sale to the public.” With over 1,000 farms represented in its first year of operation, Farm Stay U.S. connects farmers with guests through their interactive website (see below) where you can search for farms near you, or in a region you’d like to visit.

To experience a farm stay in Central Ohio, we visited Manchester Hill in Circleville. We learned about this farm from the Clintonville Farmers Market and as Local Matters Veggie Van’s egg supplier. Located 35 miles southeast of Columbus, this four-acre property does a little bit of everything. In addition to supplying eggs and pesticide-free fruits and vegetables to farmers markets and co-ops, Manchester Hill raises hogs and ducks as well as hand-crafts, maple syrup, spice rubs, barbecue sauce, jellies, marmalades and wine. This one-stop shop provides a true taste of Ohio.

As we enter the grounds, owners Jenie and Patrick McGrath welcome us into their home with peach iced tea garnished with a sprig of mint.

We feel like family.

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“We wanted to raise our kids on the farm,” Jenie says, explaining why she and her husband started Manchester Hill. “It all started with two goats. Next we bought three chickens on the side of the road. A couple of hundred chickens later, here we are.”

Jenie’s background includes a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University, working as kitchen manager at Denison University, catering for the corporate offices of Limited Brands and serving as a health inspector for the City of Columbus. Her husband, Patrick, holds an environmental science degree from Columbia University and works for the City of Columbus Health Department. Together they operate this farm, winery and bed & breakfast.

After we enjoy our iced teas, we head out to the farm to get our feet dirty.

The first stop is the cottage where farm stays are hosted. This cottage features wood from the property’s original barn, a comfortable bed for two, a nice bath and a patio to enjoy your morning breakfast.

Next we meet the family animals. Frankie the peacock and his wife, Ofilia, cleverly escape the chasing ducks by perching on the 61-year-old farm truck. All poultry is pastured and free to roam anywhere on the farm, for as long as they like. As we approach 12 Khaki Campbell egglaying ducks, we learn that the farm Muscovy ducks walk in formation and the male duck Charlie has five wives. Lastly we meet the farm “superstars”: two Nigerian Dwarf goat brothers that give us a headbutting show for 10 minutes. “They always play to the crowd,” Patrick and Jenie tell us. You can join the fun by bringing bread to feed these personable goats and other farm animals.

Just before dinner, we are led to the lettuce garden, greenhouse and vegetable rows to gather kale and cabbage raab for dinner. These flowering buds are the epitome of farm-to-table. Farm stay guests are welcome to pick their own vegetables prior to dinner being prepared.

Blackberry sage sorbet fresh from the kitchen at Manchester Hill

One of the Nigerian Dwarf goats at Manchester Hill

Jenie and Patrick’s cozy guest cabin

PHOTOS BY © TROY AMBER, EGG PHOTO BY © CAROLE TOPALIAN

Fresh eggs from the farm

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As Jenie and Patrick serve us dinner, we learn about Manchester Hill’s quarterly paired dinners. Guests are served a five-course meal paired with Manchester Hill wine. Just a 10-minute drive from Hocking Hills, this dinner is worth the trip. We are served a farm salad with Manchester Hill Zinfandel vinaigrette, blackberry sage sorbet, grilled smoked duck from the property, vegetables just trimmed from the garden and a seasonal dessert. Each course is adorned with local herbs and sauces or vinegars made on-site.

For overnight guests, Jenie brings breakfast to the cottage each morning.

Choices include a summer herb omelet made with fresh eggs, homemade scones served with Manchester Hill marmalade and a seasonal fruit cup; or caramel apple pancakes made with Manchester Hill syrup, breakfast potatoes and sausage and seasonal fruit. It doesn’t get more local than this.

Bring the Farm to You If visiting a farm this growing season isn’t for you, but you’d still like to experience farm life, don’t despair. There is a new organization in town that literally brings the farm to you.

After serving as the education director at Stratford Ecological Center in Delaware, Ohio, for 15 years, Christa Hein was ready to start something new. Bring the Farm to You is her invention, providing schools, corporations, family and public events, libraries, child-care centers and more with the real-world experiences of farm life. “There is something for everybody for people interested in farming,” she says. Participants have a chance to meet her sheep, rabbits, goats and chickens with her animal program, or experience the wonderful world of wool, spinning and felting in her fibers progam. Other programs allow people to practice growing and tending their own food. And this fall, Christa aims to offer new programs like how to build a cider press and how to make maple syrup.

Still in her first year of business, the demand for her programs is growing. “The living component is what makes it so intruguing,” she says when discussing the appeal of her programs. Serving all of Ohio, we think it’s a great way to get a taste of farm life. Learn more about Christa’s programs and how you can bring the farm to you at bringthefarmtoyou.com. —Colleen Leonardi

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The beauty of Manchester Hill is the array of products produced on this farm. In one breakfast, you can sample eggs laid, pork raised, fruit and vegetables grown and syrup tapped within mere feet of where you are sitting. The love that Jenie and Patrick have for this farm is obvious in every bite.

To plan your own farm stay in Ohio or elsewhere in the United States, visit Farm Stay U.S. at farmstayus.com. And to plan a trip at Manchester Hill Farm, visit manchesterhill.com, or call Jenie at 614-571-0750.

Carole M. Amber is a foodie and writer who adores whole, fresh and delicious food. Her background includes marketing experience at Nike, creating/selling a gourmet dining company in Chicago and an international MBA. She currently sinks her teeth into a food website called ChopSizzlePop! with her husband Troy. Together they hunt down expert restaurant recommendations and recipes, interviews with chefs like Jacques Pépin and Rick Bayless and behind the scenes footage of age-old food traditions at chopsizzlepop.com.

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Leah and Joao Simoes in front of the grill

Hardwood charcoal ready for the churrasco

Couve a mineira, Brazilian-style collard greens

The first slice of picanha

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a taste of home

Caipirinhas and Churrasco A perfect summer afternoon with the foods of Brazil

By Tamara Mann Tweel and Charmaine Sutton • Photography by Jessica Opremcak

Friends and family gather near, enjoying the day and delicious food

I

t was a modest beginning, with an indulgent end. With the exception of yucca and cachaça (Brazilian sugar cane rum), the grocery list was quotidian: beef, green peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, limes and those inveterate staples, black beans and rice. The result: a sonorous spread, feijao com arroz, macaxeira frita, caipirinhas and churrasco—all to be savored outside, on a luscious afternoon with old friends, new friends and family.

Leah and Joao Simoes treated us to this traditional Brazilian barbecue, a full-day affair filled with the aromas of grilled beef, the rhythmic lilt of forro Brazilian country music and the joyous squeals of children running between relatives. Portuguese endearments peppered the air, as old friends, who arrived in Columbus as immigrants, shared stories, recent spouses and even more recent progeny. It was a celebration designed to evoke a languid summer afternoon in Joao’s hometown of Recife in northeastern Brazil.

Leah and Joao Leah and Joao met on Latin Night at a steamy nightclub called Global in 2004. Leah, a student at Ohio University who had just returned from a semester in Spain, was eager to find other Spanish-speaking communities at home. Joao had a less predictable story. He had left Recife for the United States a few years back, landing in Florida ready to find work. A friend mentioned Columbus, which seemed, he recalled, “like a real American town.”

He gave the Midwest a shot in 2002. He moved into a small apartment with other Brazilians near Capital University in Bexley, got a car, took a job laying floors and ate a lot of junk. The night he met Leah, he had arrived home from a construction job in California and then wandered solo into Global to dance. He opened the door, surveyed the room and spotted her, “the best-looking one there.” After an evening filled with dancing and talking and dancing, Joao called Leah the next day. “There is no 48 hour rule in Brazil,” he gleams.

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From that day on, the two were a pair. Leah learned to cook feijao com arroz (black beans and rice), and Joao followed his beloved to Washington, D.C., where she had procured a job. Five years later, the duo began plotting their return to Columbus. “When I left Ohio,” Joao relates, “I had nothing. I lived in an apartment with $400 rent, I felt like I hadn’t accomplished anything in America yet.” Joao, whose determination resides beneath an easygoing, effortlessly kind demeanor, knew that he had to come back—he had “something to show to Columbus.”

With a cigar and caipirinha in hand, Joao lights the charcoal. As the flames wane, spettos of picanha are generously sprinkled with rock salt and balanced on the ledge of the open fireplace. Joao turns the skewers until all sides are browned. He then takes the dripping meat off the flame, slices off the crispy exterior and puts the spetto back on the flame. Family and friends flock to the fire, helping Joao, grabbing the first pieces of meat and enjoying the timeless day, whose end is marked only by the last piece of churrasco.

The couple settled on a business venture: selling airplane parts overseas.

Although it was a risky enterprise, both “believed we could do it.” Within years, the company succeeded, building a client base first in Portuguesespeaking Angola and from there spreading across Africa, South America and the States. Joao and Leah purchased a home, had two daughters and settled as a family in Columbus. Today, they bring the spirit, the music and, of course, the food of Brazil to their neighbors, family, friends and Brazilian transplants.

Brazilians enjoy churrasco with a spoonful of fresh tomato vinaigrette and a sprinkling of toasty farofa. Each bite is a progression of textures; as the salty fire-crisped fat of the picanha melts it is cut by the acidity of the tart vinaigrette and then overcome by the tender slow-cooked meat and crunchy farofa.

Brazilians have been arriving in Columbus for the past two decades.

Many came during the building boom of the ’90s and early 2000s to work construction and stayed despite the bust. Recent estimates put the community at over 2,000. There are now Brazilian music venues, churches and even a grocery store within the city’s borders.

Columbus has also demonstrated continued interest in Brazil. The Wexner Center for the Arts and Ohio State are currently in the midst of a four-year programming initiative on the arts and culture of Brazil, and two Brazilian steakhouses are slated to open. This summer, Columbusites can effortlessly immerse themselves in the heady scents of Brazilian cuisine, learn about the nation’s expanding economy and rock to the sensual rhythms of forro. To begin, purchase a bottle of cachaça, invite some friends over and host a barbecue, Recife style.

The Brazilian Barbecue The fete begins early, even before the guests arrive. While Leah warms the feijao on the stove, Joao toasts farofa, a Brazilian staple of crunchy toasted yucca flour that tops the meat (see sidebar). Fried yucca sticks appear piled high on a large white serving plate near crisp bowl of fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro and red wine vinegar that will complement the farofa. This is a tasting, rather than a measuring kitchen. Leah moves quickly, splashing acids, sprinkling sugar and chopping spices till she declares each dish perfect.

Then comes the meat. Joao skewers the hunks of picanha (the cullotte muscle of the cow) onto large swords known as spetto, letting it rest at room temperature while he goes out into the garden to prepare the grill, a stone outdoor fireplace from the 1950s. The smell and color of wood charcoal whets the appetite as early arrivals pile in with couve a mineira (sautéed collards), pao de quejo (cheese bread made with tapioca flour) and even more cachaça. Leah rounds up a couple of friends to prepare what seems like an appropriately endless supply of citrusy sharp caipirinhas, an icy mixture of limes, sugar and cachaça.

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As the day moves on, the sun changes position, the caipirinhas almost run out, the final cuts of meat dangle and the children lounge in their parents arms. Joao and Leah, through effort, joy and generosity, have captured a piece of Recife.

“It’s not me,” Joao mentions tenderly as he looks at his wife. “It’s Leah.

She does a very good job.”

Tamara Mann Tweel is a freelance writer and PhD candidate in American history at Columbia University. Born and raised in New York City, Tamara comes from a boisterous clan of exploratory eaters with two passions: family and food. She is excited to bring this spirit to Columbus and discover the many world traditions that are being recreated within our city. Her culinary writing has appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, Icons of American Cooking and Museum.

Charmaine Sutton is a designer with an obsession for all things food-related.

With a background in magazines and architecture, she spends her days honing her skills as a marketer of architecture. As a recent transplant to Columbus, she enjoys exploring town with her husband in search of the perfect bowl of noodles.

Where to Shop Most of the ingredients for this meal can be found at your regular grocery store. For less familiar items such as manioc flour, visit Estilo Brazil or La Michoana.

La Michoana Market Nine 5431 Roberts Rd., Hilliard, OH 43026

Estilo Brazil 4738 Cleveland Ave., Columbus, OH 43231

How to Cook...

Farofa

Picanha To serve 25 people

Farofa is a Brazilian staple. Toasted yucca flour (also known as manioc flour) is served with everything from stews to barbecued meats. Joao’s farofa is cooked with bacon, butter, salt and raisins for a hint of sweetness.

Picanha is the cullotte muscle that sits on top of the top sirloin butt roast (see diagram). This triangular cut of beef is capped with a thick layer of fat, which adds moisture and flavor to the meat. If you call in advance, Riffe’s Market can butcher the meat to your specifications. A rotisserie attachment for the grill works perfectly for cooking picanha.

1 (24-ounce) bag of manioc flour (Farinha de Mandioca) 6 slices of thick-cut bacon, cooked and cut into ¼-inch pieces 2 tablespoons butter ½ cup raisins, chopped

Ingredients: 3 cuts of picanha Rock salt

Cook bacon slices until all fat has been rendered and bacon is crisp.

Remove bacon and let cool. Add butter to the pan with bacon fat. When butter has melted, add manioc flour and cook until golden brown, folding from bottom to top frequently. When flour is toasted, add raisins and cut bacon back into pan and stir thoroughly. Remove from heat and serve.

Method: Fold the picanha in half, fat side out and skewer onto sword (spetto), large kebab skewer or barbecue rotisserie. Let the meat rest at room temperature for an hour.

While meat is resting, set up the grill with wood charcoal, light it and let the flames die down. When the charcoal becomes white, you can begin cooking the meat. Place the meat at least a foot away from the flame, sprinkle generously with rock salt. Turn the meat every five to 10 minutes to evenly brown it. Once the meat is browned, take off the flame and slice.

Vinaigrette Vinaigrette is a Brazilian salsa made to accompany the churrasco.

5 vine-ripened tomatoes, finely diced ¼ large red onion, finely diced ½ bunch of cilantro, finely chopped ½ cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar Salt to taste

After slicing, place the meat back over the flames and sprinkle more rock salt over it. Repeat until meat is devoured.

A diagram of the cullotte muscle of the cow for the picanha Mix all ingredients together and serve.

Caipirinha

1 lime, cut into quarters 2 tablespoons superfine sugar 2 shots of cachaça 1 shot water Ice Place lime and sugar in cup, muddle with pestle. Add cachaça and water. Top off with ice. Serve.

ILLUSTRATION BY CHARMAINE SUTTON

To fill an 8-ounce glass

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edible entrepreneur

Sweet T hing Gourmet Can-do couple do can—just about everything

By Claire Hoppens • Photography by Catherine Murray

Kyla and Mark Touris in their kitchen making jam

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Kyla and Mark Touris are preservers.

Each day in their Bexley home kitchen, the pair selects, simmers, sweetens and jars the best and brightest in Ohio produce. And each day as Kyla hand-stirs her jams, she continues traditions instilled in an upbringing where bountiful gardens and hard work sustained the household.

When she created Sweet Thing Gourmet in 2003 to help supplement the family income, Kyla ran a small, seasonal jam business dependent on the fresh produce she picked strictly by hand. This, she jokes, back when Sweet Thing churned out only a few thousand jars a year.

In that inaugural summer, Kyla was welcomed into the Olde Worthington farmers market, one of just a few at the time, where she would begin to form lasting partnerships and devoted customers. From there, business blossomed. So, too, did the burgeoning food community in Columbus, which saw increasing support for locally produced food and markets to distribute it.

“We got in on the ground level of the local movement,” Mark says. Trained as a sculptor, Mark left his post as creative director at an advertising firm in 2009 to assist Kyla with Sweet Thing Gourmet full-time.

“Sculptor, English major… we never thought we’d find ourselves here,” says Kyla, speaking candidly about her journey to entrepreneurship. She credits diligent parents who made everything the family ate in-house, including ground wheat for homemade bread and ketchup from garden tomatoes.

“My parents put away everything that we grew. My mother did a whole lot of canning and made jam and froze stuff. So I learned from her,” says Kyla. “Now I find myself wanting to get back to that and I’m thrilled that other people are.”

Though their three children are active in school and sports, Kyla and Mark have immersed them in the family business, particularly the summer markets, from the very beginning of Sweet Thing Gourmet. Twin daughters Lauren and Zoe, 11, accompany their mom to the Olde Worthington and Bexley markets almost every week, where they assist in setting up, counting payments and communicating with customers.

“I get to visit so many people and re-visit the ones I already know,” said Lauren. Her sister Zoe loves “being there and meeting new people and vendors,” though her favorite part is “buying new farm-fresh products.”

Over time, Lauren and Zoe’s faces have become as familiar as Kyla’s, who is happy to be connecting her children with the community.

Today, Sweet Thing Gourmet is fueled by true passion for creating with ingredients at the height of their season and with peak flavor.

Kyla and Mark channel their creative energy and love of cooking toward Sweet Thing Gourmet’s ever-expanding varieties of jam.

Though core flavors are familiar, combinations tend to be more original, paired intentionally and often boldly for a unique eating experience.

“We both love to cook, too, so it goes from whether you’re just cooking a nice dinner to using a palette of different flavors. It’s kind of the same with jams. We haven’t had too many that haven’t been successful,” says Mark.

state. Herbs are picked fresh right out of the Touris’ backyard garden.

Those who have plucked a tart, shining apple from a tree or gathered berries between their fingers under a July sun know the splendor it brings. There is inspiration in a ripe peach and a handful of garden mint, but there is vast untapped potential in the ways such fruits, honeys, herbs and spices can be melded and matched together. Sweet Thing’s artfully blended jams, of which there are well over 30 flavors, aim to induce a very similar satisfaction.

Though summer is peak time for produce, Kyla and Mark churn out preserves throughout the year. Autumn favorites include caramel apple butter and apple cider jelly.

Highly seasonal apricots are transformed once they become available in late spring—some into straightforward apricot jam, others infused with spices of Chai tea and the remainder paired with brandy.

Some flavors pack an unsuspecting punch, like Mark’s go-to, a Hot Chili Cherry and Raspberry Jalapeño jam, which graces the menu at Shadowbox Live’s Backstage Bistro downtown.

“We do 20 farmers markets a month, so we can pick up the ingredients right at the farmers markets,” says Mark. Established relationships with area vendors creates less environmental impact and moves fruit directly from harvest to Kyla and Mark’s hands.

“I’ve found that the more we play with flavors the more confident we get,” adds Kyla.

“We’re trying to keep it local and support them, and their fruit is a good product that other people enjoy,” he adds.

At the very heart of Sweet Thing Gourmet is this succulent, seasonal fruit, sourced locally whenever possible. Pears, apricots and apples are harvested at Gillogly Orchard in Albany, while blueberries come from Mansfield’s Blueberry Patch. Kyla and Mark regularly source fruit from Branstool Orchards in Utica, along with Circle S, Rhodes Farms and others across the

Time and time again, Kyla and Mark return to the farmers markets where their business found its footing, and discuss the impact the markets have had on their livelihoods and expanding network of supporters. It is not always so simple, the couple mentions, to introduce their jams into grocery stores or restaurants. But it’s clear they feel grateful

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Grilled Chicken Satays with Peanut Sauce & Spicy Jam Recipe by Kyla Touris Serves 4–6

Ingredients: 1½ pounds chicken tenders, or breast cut into strips 1 garlic clove, finely minced ¾ inch fresh grated ginger ½ cup coconut milk, unsweetened 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice ½ teaspoon sesame oil

Cut each chicken tender in half lengthwise and place in 9- by 13-inch baking dish in a single layer. Mix together the next five ingredients. Pour over chicken and mix well to coat. Cover and marinate 30 minutes.

While marinating, soak bamboo skewers in water and make the peanut sauce.

Peanut Sauce Ingredients: Whisk together peanut butter and oil until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Set aside ¼ 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter 3 tablespoons canola oil, or sunflower oil 2½ tablespoons sugar 2½ tablespoons soy sauce ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper ¾ teaspoon sesame oil 2 tablespoons minced green onion

for grilling. Pour remaining sauce in small bowl.

Mix cup Sweet Thing Gourmet Jam with 2 tablespoons white wine. We especially love Hot Chili Cherry, Cherry Cognac, Hot Pepper Peach or Ginger Peach.

Heat grill to medium heat (we love a charcoal grill for this recipe)! Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto skewers. Discard marinade. Grill chicken over direct heat for 2–3 minutes, brushing with peanut sauce.

Arrange skewers on serving platter. Serve with peanut sauce and drizzles of jam mixture on top.

Editor’s Note: This recipe will please a crowd of adults and kids. Keep the sauces on the side; a spicy jam for the adults and a mild one for the kids is a perfect combination. I also added a little coconut milk to the peanut sauce. You could broil the chicken, if a grill is not handy.—Tricia Wheeler

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when regulars stop by their booth on a Saturday morning, even just to say hello.

“That’s the cool thing about the markets. You see customers. You grow with them,” says Kyla. “You see families become families, you see their kids grow up,” she adds.

Inspired by the markets that launched Sweet Thing into the hearts and homes of locals, Kyla and Mark continue to expand their product line, which currently includes freshbaked biscotti, with an eye toward the future.

“There is so much that is yet untapped for us within the state of Ohio,” says Kyla.

For now, Kyla and Mark continue to churn biscotti and jam out of their single-oven household. Plans for a brick-and-mortar space are kicked around frequently, one that could accommodate all the growing Sweet Thing Gourmet has in store. Mark believes the

business could easily double its jam production and triple that of its biscotti, were a larger workspace attained. Though jam lends itself to a breakfast atmosphere, Kyla and Mark haven’t ruled out any dining venture entirely.

“If we were to move to a storefront with a larger stove, there’s a lot more that we could do with that but still maintain the quality that we get from producing it the way we do, and that’s very important,” says Kyla.

Kyla and Mark look ahead with shared enthusiasm for a community that continues to challenge and support them, farmland that continues to provide and opportunities that regularly blossom.

“It’s a little intimidating just thinking about the changes but it’s fun,” says Kyla, stealing a glance at Mark. “There’s just so much potential still here. We’re just trying to figure it all out.”

Raised in a family of corporate gypsies, Claire Hoppens has called eight states home and visited countless others. She recently earned her degree in magazine journalism from the Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. When she isn’t writing, Claire keeps up social media for local business The Swanky Abode, acts as a Snowville Creamery representative and works for Northstar Café. Claire is inspired by the city of Columbus and hopes to put down some sturdier roots here.

For a while, at least!

Sweet Thing Gourmet: 479 N. Stanbery Ave., Bexley, OH 43209; 614-252-1830; sweetthinggourmet.com. Visit selected farmers markets this summer to savor Kyla and Mark’s Signature line of jams. Go to our website to learn more: ediblecolumbus.com.

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notes on Agriculture

Food Fight

The Farm Bill

By Dan Imhoff

uch has changed since the Farm Bill was last reauthorized in 2008, as it is every five years. The current bill is due for renewal by September 30, 2012, under the specter of severe spending cuts. This means there will most likely be a smaller Farm Bill pie to appease the growing list of people who view food and agriculture policy as vitally important.

M

•

In the last Farm Bill, Congress approved an additional $10 billion to devote to important reform priorities: expanded nutrition programs; “specialty crop” assistance for growers of fruits, nuts and vegetables; an organic program; increased conservation support; loans and grants for local processing facilities. These are all USDA spending categories with very tangible public benefits.

Cities Getting Mobilized

There is a groundswell of popular support for helping family farmers (rather than wealthy agribusinesses), creating jobs through local and regional food production, increasing access to healthy foods like fruits and vegetables and restoring watersheds that have been inundated by agrochemicals and animal wastes. Unfortunately, 37 such programs have no baseline budgets. If they are to continue in the next Farm Bill, the money has to come from somewhere.

Right now the Farm Bill is heavily slanted toward growing animal feed for factory farms rather than foods for human consumption. Corn, soybeans and cottonseed are, by and large, livestock feed—and a questionable substitute for grass, perennial forage crops and other animal food sources.

Hundreds of millions of Farm Bill “conservation” dollars every Farm Bill cycle also pay for the horrendous waste problems that are endemic to concentrated poultry, dairy, beef and hog operations. Subsidized crops that do end up in the food supply are routinely processed into industrial ingredients beforehand.

A few issues that have changed since the previous Farm Bill was passed: •

•

Food Stamp and other nutrition programs now consume over 75 cents of every farm dollar spent (up from 50 cents in 2006); on the plus side, every Food Stamp (SNAP) dollar spent generates over $1.70 in the local economy; In 2010 the World Trade Organization ruled in favor of Brazil in its case against US export subsidies for cotton; the United States is paying Brazilian cotton farmers $147 million per year in compensation;

•

Nearly 40% of the US corn crop was distilled into ethanol to replace just 8% of liquid fuels in 2010; a 1.1-mile-per-gallon increase in fleet efficiency would replace the same amount of fuel; USDA conservation programs have been heavily ChIMPed (Changes in Mandatory Program Spending) in the past two years to the tune of minus $500 million in 2011 and minus $1 billion in 2012.

One of the surprising new voices coming to the Farm Bill debates are urban coalitions that view food and farming policies as vital solutions to problems they face: epidemic obesity, lack of access to healthy food, the need for jobs, loss of natural beauty and open space, fear of potential food shortages due to extreme weather events or escalating fuel prices.

At the local level, dynamic food and farming movements are changing the way we look at the intersection between urban and rural populations. People are raising food in cities. Rural residents are finding important new markets with urban consumers. This will impact future discussions about how our food is produced and where Farm Bill dollars should be directed.

In 2011, the City of Seattle drafted and ratified its own Farm Bill Principles; these were later adopted by the National League of Cities. These principles call for Farm Bill programs that promote environmentally sustainable, socially just and healthy food production. It is easy to imagine hundreds of cities around the country adopting similar principles and working with their representatives to see that programs that support regional and environmentally responsible food production—and help beginning farmers and ranchers—gain rather than lose ground.

Who Gets the Money One issue seems to be what to do with $5 billion in direct payments that provide guaranteed income to landowners whose property has been designated as historic “base acreage.” Most people are convinced that this program that started in 1996 and was formalized in 2002 will be done away with. The question is, what happens to the money?

Budget cutters want to pay down the deficit. Commodity groups want it transferred to federally subsidized crop insurance, which they refer to as the “farm safety net.” But they are asking for up to 90% of guaranteed

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income every year with a strict refusal to accept any conservation requirements in return. Reformers would rather see a sizable chunk of direct payments invested in programs that attract and train young farmers and ranchers, incentivize conservation in the form of green payments and rebuild the infrastructure for local and regional food production, including small-scale slaughter plants.

consist of servings of fruits and vegetables. Right now, fruits and vegetables get little support relative to their nutritional importance. Some argue that Farm Bill priorities should do more to address what is becoming a worldwide epidemic.

Another key battle might center on eligibility issues. What income level is appropriate for subsidies so that we support family farmers rather than agribusinesses and absentee landowners? Should there be caps for individual subsidy recipients? What level of on-farm engagement is appropriate for someone to be considered a farmer? What social obligation do taxpayers get in return for subsidization—i.e., conservation requirements that erodible lands or remnant prairies are not plowed up or wetlands drained? How can we reward greater diversity in the farming system rather than the monocrop farming complex the Farm Bill has invested in over the past 40 years?

The Farm Bill is a tremendous opportunity: Used correctly, it can incentivize an agriculture and food system that remedies rather than perpetuates many of today’s problems. Right now, public opinion is racing far ahead of leadership. When we learn to dig in politically and vote with our forks, this all-important food fight might one day become a fair fight.

Public Health The obesity crisis is yet another critical problem affecting all ages and all sectors of our population. The health costs of treating these epidemics are threatening to overwhelm local, state and federal governments. Military leaders are alarmed by the rising numbers of potential recruits now rejected because of weight problems. USDA issued its latest 2010 US Dietary Recommendations that suggest that half of our plates should

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Voting with Our Forks

Dan Imhoff is the author of Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to the Next

Food and Farm Bill, completely revised and updated for the 2012 Farm Bill debate. See foodfight2012.org.

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Leslie Rector of Story Book Farm

Inside the historic Story Book home built in 1839 A friendly rooster on the farm

A view of the cornfield next to Leslie and Richard’s farm

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magine a lush green carpet of herbs gently dotted with flowers. While fragrant plants and well-manicured boxwood topiaries soothe your soul, a turkey gobbles its way through the garden. A happy menagerie of geese, chickens and goats frolics in the barn. A bluebird takes you to the pond where a family of ducks paddles around.

A soft breeze caresses an orchard’s leaves and fields of golden wheat. And an artist picks poppies and daisies for your summer bouquet.

Is it Claude Monet?

Undoubtedly, the father of French Impressionism would have found this Ohioan rural landscape worthy of his talent. So did Leslie Rector, who began creating her beautiful oasis two decades ago near Lancaster, Ohio.

Leslie grew up in the country, met her future husband, Richard, and moved to Granville.

Then came their four children. Raising two boys and two girls might overwhelm the average person, yet Leslie found energy within her to pursue her passion for food, nature and art.

Her Colorful Nest Leslie Rector’s creative homesteading at Story Book Farm

By Marta Madigan Photography by Jessica Opremcak

Family meals became culinary creations.

Flowers arranged by Leslie to decorate the house ascended to the realm of floral design.

She taught herself how to paint, and paint beautifully. Since oil painting takes too much time for drying, Leslie decided to go with watercolor. “It seemed more practical because of small children,” she says. Only later, when she studied at the Columbus College of Art and Design, did she realize it was a much more difficult technique to master.

The original chestnut plank flooring and real fireplaces—additional sources of heat—accentuate the vintage character of the house. Leslie likes to light her oil lamps and even considers restoring the open-fire kitchen. “We have all the wood we need for the rest of our lives. Half of the place is covered by trees,” she explains.

The Rectors also have free access to excellentquality spring water. They don’t have to worry about their bills when watering several garden plots during hot summer months. And the water from the well tastes delicious. Their true treasure, however, is rich soil. Previous landowners ran a dairy farm, which made the land fertile. Leslie and Richard don’t have cows but they keep enriching their dirt with compost and chicken and goat manure. “We are all-organic here and try to have a little selfsufficiency going,” says Leslie proudly.

On the Fly Although calm and happy, life on the farm gets pretty active. When Leslie and Richard moved to their green acres, little did they know about the work ahead of them. Outfitting the barn for animals and transforming a water hole into a pond was merely the beginning.

Soon her first clients knocked at the door. Leslie sold paintings, dried flower arrangements and wreaths made of herbs from her garden. After this initial success, she was ready to flourish— where to find a bigger and quieter place?

Leslie Spreads Her Wings “It is never too late to make your dreams come true,” Leslie believes. “Living off the land has always been my dream.” For Leslie and Richard, the time was right when he retired and their children flew the coop. After a couple of years of searching for a farm all over Ohio, they finally saw it.

Nestled in Fairfield County, Story Book Farm occupies 18 acres of peaceful land, including three old barns, a silo and a two-story farmhouse. When the Rectors bought the property 20 years ago, they researched its history. According to the town’s records, the house dates back to 1839. While renovating the bathroom on the second floor Richard discovered under a tile an inscription with the builder’s name and the date. “It read: Pinkerton, 1825,” he recalls.

One of Leslie’s botanical watercolors

With help of Leslie’s father, an unattractive cement block woodshed metamorphosed into an adorable wooden floral shop. Leslie painted it pastel pink and filled it with flowers and herbs with names like love-in-a-mist and silver dollars, which she grew for drying.

When she opened the cottage and the gardens to the public, things got really busy.

For several years dried flower arrangements drew many visitors to the farm. Leslie gradually expanded her business to eggs, fruits,

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veggies and seedlings. In a tiny greenhouse that her father built from window frames, Leslie still plants her heirloom seeds. She saves the seeds from year to year and in the spring produces potted seedlings for sale.

“You don’t have to have a lot of money to do things,” Leslie concludes.

She does everything on a shoestring, using her imagination and help of family and friends.

Between gardening, farming, cooking, canning, painting and arranging flowers, Leslie somehow finds time and energy to learn new skills. A selftaught homesteader, she is a walking encyclopedia of the pioneer lifestyle. She knows how to pluck the chicken, till the soil or which flowers—fuzzy catkins of pussy willow—are the first source of food for bees in early spring. “I learned everything from books or from my dad,” she says. “There is this long line of love for gardens and nature on my father’s side.”

On the distaff side of Leslie’s family, women enjoyed making tasty and beautiful things with their hands. Her great-grandmother, who came to Ohio from France, was a fantastic baker. Leslie’s mother continued that culinary tradition by baking breads and sweet rolls on Saturdays. She

was famous for her peach upside-down cake. (See sidebar for recipe.)

In her spare time, she made delicate lace, crewel embroidery and hooked rugs. Leslie inherited her mother’s creativity, spinning wool, knitting, quilting, sewing and other Old World crafts. She used to keep sheep, but lately shifted her focus to goats and their healthy milk. She uses it for making ice cream, soft cheeses and soap.

Herbs and Beauty When dried flowers went out of style Leslie came up with a new business idea. Although successful at selling her artwork through art festivals and shows, plus commissions to paint, she wanted to try her luck in herbal products. “I’ve always loved herbs,” Leslie confesses.

At Story Book Farm herbs grow all over the place, both planted and wild.

There is yarrow, mint, nettle, comfrey, sorrel, dandelion, chamomile, fennel, marjoram, thyme, sage, rosemary—Leslie once counted over 50 kinds. Carefully selected herbs are infused in olive oil then mixed with beeswax harvested from an on-site beehive and other natural ingredients.

One of Leslie’s watercolors

Teatime with Lulu and Max Based on herbs, fruits and antique roses from Story Book Farm, “Lulu and Max” teas are fresher than your typical store-bought kind.

Hand-picked by Leslie, this unique medley of dried goodies tastes ambrosial. Max came up with the idea of adding a pinch of black organic tea to make the infusion darker and give it a little boost.

Maddie, Leslie’s granddaughter, who calls her grandma “Lulu,” suggested some of the tea names.

How to enjoy them best? Select your tea: Blackberry Pie: blackberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, lavender, stevia, vanilla

Mermaid Currants: black currants, apples, strawberries, lemon verbena, strawberry leaf, blackberry leaf

Peachy Keen: peaches, chamomile flowers, catnip, red clover, roses Raspberry Mojito: raspberries, spearmint, peppermint, fennel seeds, apple mint, lemon balm, strawberries

Rosy Posy: roses, hibiscus, jasmine, chamomile, strawberries Strawberries & Cream: strawberries, sweet woodruff, vanilla For each cup, pour boiling water over a teaspoon of herbal mix. Brew for 5 minutes, then strain. Serve hot or iced, in which case adding sugar is recommended.

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Leslie’s salve smells like Ohio’s wild meadows at sunset—healing burns, rashes and the mind.

Leslie continues to deepen her knowledge of plants, fascinated by the way they restore the human body. Recently, she began taking a correspondence course about herbalism at Sage Mountain. Result: herbal remedies, teas, soaps and creams that she makes and sells at farmers markets and through health food stores. “We love Story Book Farm,” says Heidi Maybruck, manager of the Easton farmers market. “Leslie and Richard are sincere, salt-of-the-earth people.”

This summer Leslie also plans putting her products on the shelves of Celebrate Local store. “You can eat it if you had to,” she laughs about her new skin line. It includes three kinds of facial moisturizing creams— lavender, citrus and rose—and many varieties of goat milk soaps, all of which she makes by hand. Leslie experiments with an egg yolk shampoo but is not yet fully satisfied with the outcome. One of her biggest sellers is a bug spray made of essential oils. It not only keeps mosquitoes away, but also has a pleasant fragrance and is good for the skin.

A new selection of herbal and black tea blends (see sidebar for details) is about to appear next to tisanes that Leslie created from the bounty of her garden. Max, Leslie’s youngest daughter, is an avid tea drinker. “Mom enjoys making herbal teas and I like flavorful black teas,” says Max. “We decided to combine the two; that way the teas have the benefit of good health and great taste.”

The mother-daughter collaboration is also creating a logo, unifying the look of new products and putting them online. To design the logo, Leslie looked for inspiration in her own backyard. At her farm several feeders and waterers attract all kinds of colorful songbirds. When Leslie walks through her garden, they sing for her. She studies birds.

Now an egg trio fills a nest to represent “Lulu and Max”—a new product line for Story Book Farm. In the future, maybe Leslie’s three other children will start branching out from their parent’s business, too.

Who knows what will hatch from those eggs.

To find out more about Story Book Farm and their products visit storybookfarm.us • etsy.com/shop/StoryBookFarms

Marta Madigan is a Polish freelance travel and food writer who, as an editor and contributor, helped begin the Polish edition of National Geographic magazine. Of her many NG stories she covered a variety of food related topics such as Spanish tapas, French cuisine, Polish Christmas traditions and Sonoma and Napa Valley wines. After she moved from Warsaw to Atlanta, she wrote a chapter on Southern cooking for a collective book on international cuisines published in 2008 in Poland. She has contributed to Edible Columbus since the Winter issue of 2010. At Story Book Farm, she learned that the Araucana hens lay blue eggs.

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Peach Upside Down Cake Based on a recipe by Leslie Rector, adapted by Tricia Wheeler Serves 6–8 This is an easy cake to make and it’s moist and delicious. I think it’s best with juicy peaches from Branstool Orchards and fresh whipped Snowville cream.

Ingredients: 2 large egg whites, room temperature 1 ⁄3 cup butter, room temperature 1 ⁄3 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ cup heavy whipping cream ¼ cup brown sugar 2 cups sliced, peeled peaches, fresh (frozen or preserved peaches will also work) Extra granulated sugar

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°.

Place egg whites in perfectly clean mixing bowl, mix on high speed until whites reach soft peak stage; set aside.

Place butter, sugar, whole egg and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat 2 minutes or until mixture thickens.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. With a wooden spoon, lightly mix half of flour mixture into beaten egg and sugar. Pour in cream and mix by hand until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Softly fold in beaten egg whites until no trace of white can be seen; set aside.

Sprinkle brown sugar over bottom of prepared cake pan, then cover with sliced peaches in a circular pattern.

Pour batter over peaches and bake 45–60 minutes in middle of oven, or until cake tests done. When done, remove from oven and let cool in pan.

Before serving, turn cake over onto an ovenproof serving platter and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. Place in oven, 6 inches from broiler, and broil 3–4 minutes until sugar browns. Slice and serve topped with ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

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a home cook’s diary

For a Gardener Buried in Basil, It’s Time to Think

Beyond Pesto Story and Photography by Molly Hays

Basil and I had a standoff last summer.

It was earliest August, when the days are hot, the air is heavy and the basil goes to bed a plant and wakes up a small tree. We’d welcomed this look, anticipated it mightily, after a long, barren, basil-less winter and spring.

All July, we’d enjoyed the usual basil suspects.

There were plates of Caprese, with the first Sweet 100s, milky nubs of mozzarella and eloquent balsamic. There were homemade pizza Margheritas, edible Italian flags, topped with the same red-white-green holy trinity. And of course there was pesto. Lots of pesto. Cups, pints, quarts, batches and batches of pesto.

Genovese pesto. Lemon basil pesto. Pesto with pine nuts. With almonds. With walnuts. With no nuts. Lots of pesto. Too much pesto.

Or so I told the basil, as I stared it down that muggy morning, and dared it to come up with something—anything—different by dinner.

After all, it was early yet in basil season. And we were already drowning. And we were only just beginning.

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Such is the local-seasonal way: feast, famine, glut, rut, flap about madly, feast again. I’d brick-walled it that morning, slammed into stage four, realized I had a serious case of eater’s block. So I turned off auto-pilot, turned on the A/C and plunked myself down in a pile of cookbooks. Then read through exactly two recipes, before my mind began twinkling with past basil-scented meals.

I recalled how well basil works as a green, whole or slivered and slipped into salads, en masse. In a good year, the last strawberries and first twee basil leaves overlap, and I reach for giant handfuls of both. Mixed with fresh lettuces and salted macadamias, stippled with blue cheese, spiked with vinaigrette, berries and basil make one knockout side salad.

When strawberries expire, plums take their place. Or peaches. Or pluots. Basil loves summer’s fruit.

Herbal salads brought to mind another standby, a knife-and-fork affair we turn to when it swelters. Equal parts basil and romaine are julienned, then tossed with heaps of lovely, hearty minced bits: red peppers, tomatoes,

chickpeas, provolone, smoked turkey, red onion, good salami. The whole mess is amply salted and peppered, then dressed generously in olive oil and red wine vinegar. It’s magnificent.

It also uses the better part of a week’s harvest.

Things were looking up.

I remembered fried basil. Have you ever fried basil? Settled handfuls of washed, well-dried leaves into shimmering oil, until vivid, transparent, shattery, a few seconds? Sprinkled them with sea salt, flung them over grilled veg, or munched their brittle, sweet-savory bling alongside cocktails? Or thin air? Potato chips pale by comparison.

Applying heat reminded me of all the ways basil brightens cooked dishes. Strewn throughout a zucchini ricotta frittata, basil makes bold an otherwise mild-mannered egg pie. An entire bouquet of the purple-stemmed variety, added at the end of Thai basil chicken, lifts the quick, garlicky, fish-sauce-soused stir-fry firmly into heady territory. Shredded into a bowl of raw tomato sauce—chopped Caprese, essentially, amped up on garlic and extra oil—the basil’s the thing that speaks loudest when hot pasta

hits. And oh, what a come-hither speech it is. I was on a roll. And picking up speed.

Compound butter came back to me, and I wondered how I’d ever lost it. There are probably recipes, though I tend toward ratios, the one I prefer running something like this: Place equal parts butter and sliced basil in a food processor, plus perhaps garlic and absolutely lemon zest, then blitz until palest jade.

Inhale. Grin. Basil butter turns broiled salmon into an event. Corn on the cob likes it very, very much. A late summer succotash of beans, corn and whatever is infinitely bettered by a dollop or three. Don’t get me started on baguettes, sliced and slathered, re-assembled in foil, gently warmed until maddening. Salad and wine may be superfluous. More basil notions were, anyway. I was set, and then some.

Oh, dinner that night? A simple pasta salad, one of the two recipes I’d unearthed that morning, an ordinary-sounding sort of which I expected little. (Silly me.) There was sparkle and crunch from fresh corn and red pepper, plus the soft savory slip of tiny orzo. Zucchini and green beans, just-tender, summer sweet, played beautifully off nutty chickpeas and creamy-sassy feta. It helped the whole thing was punch-drunk on the dressing of freshly squeezed lime and ample olive oil. But it was the basil, fragrant, abundant, that pulled the salad together and taught it to sing. I granted it permanent residency in my repertoire, instantly.

Then I surveyed my basil, in all its August excess, and wondered whether I’d planted enough.

Basil Orzo Salad with Corn, Chickpeas, Feta and Summer Vegetables adapted from Jerry Traunfeld, The Herbal Kitchen This is one of those clever, hard-working recipes: You chop while the water boils, cook the vegetables with the pasta and have dinner made in 20 minutes. It also makes ideal picnic fare, as it holds beautifully, is mayonnaise-free and tastes best at room temperature.

Adapt the vegetables to whatever is good and fresh; only the corn is essential. Lemon basil is fantastic here, if you’ve got it; sweet basil is equally, differently wonderful.

2 teaspoons salt ¾ teaspoons freshly ground pepper ¼ cup white wine vinegar 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1–2 limes) ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 5 ears fresh corn 3 small zucchini, cut into ¼-inch coins (optional) 2 cups greens beans, topped, tailed, and cut into ½-inch bits (optional) 1 sweet red pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch dice 8 ounces orzo pasta 1 bunch (6) scallions, white and pale green ends sliced 1 (15-ounce) tin chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 1½ packed cups sweet or lemon basil, washed and well dried 1 heaping cup feta, crumbled Set a large stockpot of well-salted water to boil.

In a lidded jar, combine vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper. Swirl to dissolve salt. Add olive oil, replace lid and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside.

Stand shucked ears of corn upright in a wide, shallow bowl, and cut off kernels with a sharp knife, just to the cob. Set aside. Slice zucchini and green beans if using, and set aside together, separately from the corn. (These vegetables will be added to the pasta water in two stages: first the zucchini and green beans, then the corn.)

In a large serving bowl, combine diced red pepper, sliced scallions, slivered basil and of feta, and set aside.

When pasta water comes to the boil, add orzo and set timer to 5 minutes fewer than final cooking time (mine took 10; I set the timer to 5). When orzo is 5 minutes from done, add the zucchini and

Molly Hays graduated from the University of Washington with two degrees, one Mellon Fellowship and no idea when to buy a melon. Since moving to Ohio in early 2009, Molly and her family of five have been getting to know Columbus one ice cream scoop at a time. Molly writes about food and life at remedialeating.com.

green beans, if using. Stir, and return to the boil for 4 minutes. One minute from orzo’s final cooking time (test one; orzo should be al dente), add corn, return just to the boil, then drain orzo and vegetables into a colander.

Return hot pasta and cooked vegetables to the stockpot, and toss with all the dressing, plus the chickpeas, while still warm. Let sit 10 minutes, to cool slightly. While cooling, sliver basil: Stack a dozen leaves, then roll them and slice them crosswise with a sharp chef’s knife, repeating until done. When pasta is no longer steaming, toss gently with the red pepper, scallions, basil and feta. Top with remaining feta, and eat immediately, or leave out up to 4 hours. Salad is best served at room temperature. Leftovers are marvelous the next day.

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Peachy Perfection Timing, attention to detail yield sweet results at Branstool Orchards

By Mary Lou Shaw • Photography by Catherine Murray

T

here is an orchard just east of Columbus that produces such wonderful peaches that eating one is a whole new experience. Imagine a large peach with a big, red blush on its side that is still warm from the sun. There is a slight “give” to the pressure of your thumb under its fuzzy skin. When you sink your teeth into it, a wonderful sweet-tart juice runs down your arm.

These are the peaches produced by Marshall and Edna Branstool. Their incredible flavor attracts long lines at farmers markets as well as a steady stream of customers to their Utica orchards.

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Clockwise from top left: Peaches after a morning’s work; Marshall Branstool picking peaches; Edna Branstool at their Farm Market; some of the Branstools’ freshly picked apples; the peach orchard

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The perfect Branstool peach ripening on the tree

I first met the Branstools on an early March day as we sat and talked at their kitchen table. Although the sky was dark, light flooded the kitchen from the large windows and we were able to look out at the still-bare fruit trees that surround their home. It was delightful to hear the history of their orchards and see how these two caring, enthusiastic “perfectionists” complement each other in achieving such superior fruit.

Long Road to Ripeness

A Branstool Orchards Peach Flavor Profile (listed by ripening dates) There are over 2,000 varieties of peaches and the Branstool Orchards grows 25 of these. When looking for what might be your favorite, “juicy” often means a peach that is ready to eat right away. “Firm flesh” is a peach that would be good for canning.

Mid-July • •

Flamin’ Fury #1: good flavor, quality flesh Early Red Haven: juicy, sweet, fine-grained

Late July • • • • • •

Sweet Scarlet: old-fashioned, traditional peach flavor Red Haven*: firm flesh, smooth texture, sweet Raritan Rose: almost crisp, creamy-white flesh Flamin’ Fury #12: flavorful, sweet, juicy Blazingstar: delicious, firm, non-browning, yellow flesh Redstar: medium-yellow flesh, wonderful flavor

Early August • • • •

Starfire: firm, yellow flesh John Boy: large size, good flavor Jim Dandee: very good flavor Allstar: firm, clear, non-browning fruit

Mid-August • • • •

Contender*: sweet, full-flavor Coral Star: firm, clear flesh with wonderful sweet flavor Flamin’ Fury #23: excellent color and firmness Madison: fine texture, rich flavor

Late-August • • • • •

Autumn Star: firm Glowing Star: firm, yellow, non-browning fruit Summer Pearl (white): excellent fruit quality, large Harcrest: flavorful Biscoe*: yellow-orange flesh, good flavor

Mid-September • •

Encore: firm Laurol: attractive red skin with firm yellow flesh

*These three are the favorites at Branstool.

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It is certainly not by chance that their peaches are exceptional—the Branstools have been developing their orchards for a long time. Marshall was raised with fruit trees on a farm just down the road from their current orchards. He always knew that he wanted to farm, but farmland is expensive. To begin, in 1980 the couple rented 11 acres, on which they planted 1,500 fruit trees. When the peaches started to produce, they and their two young sons sold their produce on a wagon out by the road. During those years, Marshall worked nights as a machinist.

More land was bought and more fruit trees planted, but in 1994 a frost killed their entire crop. Rather than a setback, the Branstools now view that disaster as helping them toward their goals. Edna entered nursing school to gain more financial security for the family, and when she got her degree, Marshall was able to commit to full-time work in the orchards.

Marshall thrives on being “outside all the time,” and loves the challenge of growing great fruit. Even watching the peaches and apples grow excites him. The biggest payoff, however, according to Marshall, is when returning customers talk about how much they enjoyed the experience of eating a Branstool peach.

Since the orchard’s inception, 2,000 fruit trees have been added to their current 75 acres. The couple recollects making do with used tools and few assets during those early years. However, the gradual growth of the orchards has allowed them to progressively improve the soil as they continue to increase their knowledge. Marshall makes use of his membership in the International Fruit Tree Association to attend conferences as close as Michigan and as distant as Italy. Some of the espaliered trees you see in their orchards have a definite Italian influence!

The Secret of Perfection When I hear Marshall talk about why their fruit has such exceptional taste, the secret seems to be much more about their work ethic and commitment to excellence than what he’s learned from books or conferences. Most important to an excellent peach, according to Marshall, is picking it when it is fully ripe. As certain varieties get close to ripeness, each fruit is watched carefully both for appearance and firmness. Marshall describes the red blush that appears on the cheeks of the peach as the green background color becomes yellow. This bicolor peach develops a “little bit of softness” and then is ready to pick. It is so ripe and perfect at this point that even the half-hour trip from the orchard can result in bruising, and so Edna inspects each peach. It’s obvious that such perfect, fully ripe peaches can’t be shipped a distance. It’s only with a local orchard that we can experience such flavorful fruit.

Perfection comes at a cost, however. There is much more labor when picking an individual peach when it is fully ripe. Each tree must be picked six or seven times over two weeks, though each picking may only result in a half-peck of fruit per tree. Peaches are picked the same morning as they sell at the farm market, and if it rains the night before,

some of the ripest peaches will be damaged. Marshall says bluntly, “That’s the chance we’ll have to take.” And as a lover of such an excellent peach, I am grateful!

The beauty of the Branstool orchards may belie the amount of work that goes into producing excellent fruit for the markets. Marshall keeps busy year-round with projects for the orchards. If winter provides a quiet time, that is the time he repairs equipment. He is able to prune the apple trees by himself during the cold days of January and February.

When the peach trees are ready for pruning at the end of March, six additional workers assist in this extensive labor. Working mainly off of stepladders and using hand tools, the 5,000 peach trees are pruned in early spring. No sooner is pruning done than the excess young peaches are meticulously hand-picked so that the fruit for market will be large.

Edna’s work with the orchards commences annually as the harvest begins. Although working full-time as a registered nurse, she is the enthusiastic sorter of each peach as well as director of their farm market. “I love my job!” she says, as she tells of being the first one to touch and box each peach as it is brought from the orchard. While going through thousands of peaches and sorting out imperfections, she relishes those that are still warm from the sun and have “a big red blush on their sides.”

She enjoys the feel of their fuzzy skins and the “little bit of give” to their flesh. She arranges those that still have leaves on their stems to make the displays beautiful, but the most beautiful of all becomes her reward— “Because that’s the one I bite into!” she says with a grin.

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A Delightful Farm Market Edna’s biggest joy, however, comes from interacting with the customers at their farm market. “We get such great experiences—that’s really why we do it,” she says. She tells of customers caring enough to write down the varieties they especially enjoyed and sharing what they did with their peaches. Edna recollects the mother who told her of the peach jam that her 5-year-old daughter requested for her birthday and the peach chutney another person made for a parents’ wedding anniversary. “They are involving us in building their memories, and it is such a great experience for us.”

Edna is also touched that people are making their Utica farm market a destination for family outings. She enjoys watching the children wander the orchards with their parents and have the experience of picking an apple right off the ground and biting into it before throwing it down and trying another. “They can’t get enough of sampling apples—it’s like candy!” Edna exclaims. She notes that after buying fruit, the family outing often includes a trip down the road to the Velvet Ice Cream factory to complete the family’s delightful day.

This emphasis on quality, as well as Edna’s eye for beauty, is apparent when going inside the Branstool Orchards farm market. Here the cleanliness of the market enhances the beauty and warm aromas of the treeripened peaches. Don’t worry if you don’t know what a “peck” is; Edna is there to explain and help you find the perfect peach. There’s homemade apple cider to complement the fresh fruit, and just-picked sweet corn, vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh onions to round out your dinner menu with robust local produce. Even though your eyes and nose may be already happily saturated, freshly baked cinnamon and pumpkin rolls, fruit pies and soft cookies are added to the display as autumn approaches.

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You don’t need to drive to Utica to buy Branstool peaches and apples.

They are also sold through farmers markets in Clintonville, New Albany, Newark, Westerville and Granville. You can trust their market vendors to help you choose among the varieties of peaches as to which require eating right away versus which can accompany you on vacation. There are larger quantities of fruit available for canning and preserving.

Although the lines at the farmers markets are long, and the fruit supplies typically sell out, it is not the Branstools’ goal to enlarge their business.

The emphasis that Marshall and Edna put on the quality of their produce is reflected in their economic projections; they simply don’t want their operation to get any bigger. They stress that’s it’s important to them to be the ones actually doing the work of planting, pruning and selling.

Edna and Marshall admit to being physically and mentally exhausted at the end of each season, but still tend to understate their hard work and the superior taste of their peaches and apples. Marshall does say, however: “We’re not trying to set new production records. We just want to grow the best possible peach.”

It’s certainly fortunate for us in Central Ohio that the Branstool Orchards are dedicated to quality when producing this delectable local fruit.

Branstool Orchards: 5895 Johnstown Utica Rd., Utica, OH 43080; 740892-3989; branstoolorchards.com

Mary Lou Shaw and her husband have a small farm south of Columbus, Ohio. They grow most of the food they eat while attempting to preserve old breeds of farm animals. Mary Lou is also a retired physician and enjoys writing articles on the health benefits of local foods.

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Young & Farming Facing challenges and rewards, young farmers sow the seeds for a career in farming

By Colleen Leonardi • Photography by Jessica Opremcak

E

rin Harvey of the Kale Yard stands in a corner of the greenhouse at Bird’s Haven Farm, patiently distributing seeds into planters, each bead of a seed rolling down into soil to find its home and root for the summer. Erin doesn’t have a greenhouse of her own, nor land of her own on which to farm. Bryn Bird and her brother, Lee, along with their family, do. So they share some space with Erin the way a gardener might share a corner of their garden with a friend so they, too, can grow some tomatoes for the summer.

Erin, Bryn and Lee, all under 35, are some of the young farmers making a career of farming in Central Ohio. When I visited with them to talk about the challenges they face, it was inspiring to find them working in this way, continuing to invest not simply in their own business but their colleague’s business to support our growing local food system.

It was also somewhat of a relief. Statistics and reports show that the average age of principal farmers in the United States since 1950 has gone up, meaning those who are farming will retire soon with fewer young farmers to fill their shoes. A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that in 2007 there were only 118, 613 U.S. farmers under the age of 36, and current numbers suggest that the “farming population will continue to decrease.” For many, this is cause for deep concern about the future of farming, for it makes young farmers look like an endangered species.

Yet, share these concerns with farmers like Erin, Bryn and Lee and they are aware, but no less determined. They have a hope and focus that goes beyond a fledging drive to farm. They have plans. They have purpose.

And they’re not giving up.

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The Value of Land Bird’s Haven Farm is a family farm in Granville owned by Tom and Ann Bird, parents of Bryn and Lee. In its 16th season, Bryn and Lee have every intention of continuing the traditions of farming passed on by their parents. Lee is a graduate of the agriculture program at the Ohio State University, and started managing the farm in 2005. Bryn’s path to farming was a bit more circuitous. After college, she worked in Washington, D.C., at a nonprofit before returning to Ohio to join her brother on the farm.

Together, Bryn and Lee have a strong business partnership. Lee uses his expert knowledge as a farmer to continue refining and innovating their produce each season, from tending micro-greens in one greenhouse to monitoring his tomato plants in another. Bryn oversees the management of the farm, from running their CSA program and farmers market sales to finding workers and new restaurant accounts.

The value of their land is not lost on them. Not only will they inherit the farm, they know they can continue to invest in its good soil, purchase more quality machinery and build business relationships in the community and beyond with the surrounding institutions like Denison University.

For Erin, leasing land is her only option. She rents one acre from a nearby farm, using two separate greenhouses to get her plants started.

She plans to sell at the Granville farmers market and the Going Green Store this season, but she doesn’t know where she’ll be next year.

When she put the call out to find some land on which to farm, she was amazed by the response. Many people either had some extra land or

For most young farmers, buying land isn’t an option. To start afresh requires a large capital investment. And to inherit the family farm might not be an option either, as families look to sell their land to larger farms to survive.

knew of someone who was willing to rent it to her for a season. Her plight is common. “I have so many friends who are young farmers who, for them, that’s part of the story,” she says when I ask her about the realities of renting land for the short-term. “That’s part of the territory, if you’re not ready to buy a farm.”

For most young farmers, buying land isn’t an option. To start afresh requires a large capital investment. And to inherit the family farm might not be an option either, as families look to sell their land to larger farms to survive.

Not having land isn’t the end of it, however. Statistics from the report Building a Future with Farmers published by the National Young Farmers’ Coalition in 2011 show that 78% of young farmers farming today were not raised on a farm. So with or without a background in agriculture, working and mentoring with other farms is recommended for any young farmer. “If I lived somewhere else, I probably would have applied for farm manager jobs with a nonprofit farm,” Erin explains. “There are a few of those in Ohio, and I hope Ohio can get to a place where there are more opportunities like that, where there are more cooperative farming scenarios where people are leasing and sharing equipment.”

Advice for Young Farmers Young farmers face many challenges when they start, from not knowing what to grow and sell at the markets to not knowing what kind of machinery they need for their crops. Bryn, Patricia and Adam shared some advice for beginning farmers, included below.

•

Have a capital investment and health care options, and build a business plan. Be sure you are financially stable to truly start to farm.

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Have a weed control and tillage plan that you know works and takes advantage of materials you can obtain easily and cheaply.

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Invest in quality machinery that will last and have a plan for how you will use it five years from now (don’t buy cheap machinery for the short-term investment). You have to be mechanized to make a profit.

•

You can farm part-time—if you feel like you have what it takes, start small and build your way up.

Erin sees opportunity in Ohio for models like this to emerge. She’s also practical. As she looks to the future, she continues to ask herself: “How much do I want to invest myself emotionally and financially in farming?”

And while she knows she always wants to have farming in her life, the question of how much she’ll be able to actually invest in it as a full-time career remains a question.

Above, left to right: Erin Harvey of the Kale Yard, at Bird’s Haven Farm; Erin planting seedlings for the season; inside the Bird’s Haven greenhouse; Lee Bird on his farm; Bird’s Haven Farm and its greenhouses and hoop houses.

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A Need for Capital Patricia Mumme of Garden Patch Produce in Alexandria cites Erin’s situation as a classic example of the problems with farming for the next generation. She explains how Erin has strong skills and real-life experience to lend to a long-term career in farming, but she has neither the land nor capital to truly put down roots in Central Ohio. Patricia owns three acres of land and grows on one acre. Since 1999, she has worked with interns to give them the real-life experience they need to consider a life in farming. Erin interned with Patricia in 2001, and now uses one of her greenhouses.

“There is a lot of interest from the younger generation in sustainable farming and organics,” Patricia says. “And they know they need experience… But in the garden business, it’s not about how well you can grow stuff but about whether you can make money at it, and efficiency has a lot to do with that.”

For Patricia, efficiency means having a sense of scale when you decide to buy land and farm. What works for the one-acre farm will not work for the three-acre farm, nor the 10- or 50-acre farm. Mentorship experiences, working on other farms in and outside of the state, are key to gaining a sense of scale. Patricia recommends aspiring farmers spend at least a year to two working with other farmers to get over their learning curve and adapt a scale and business plan that works for them.

Ian Schwartz has that business plan. He and his wife recently invested in 50 acres near his family’s 450-acre grain farm in Carroll, but only after he first started farming on his father’s land. He’ll continue to grow between the two farms until his father sells the 450 acres, land that has been in the

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family for 50 years. Growing up on a traditional grain farm, Ian was encouraged to pursue a more lucrative life outside of farming. When he returned to the farm after years of racing in BMX bike competitions, he saw how he could grow grain the way he wanted to and make a living doing it.

“It’s exciting to figure out my own path to take with it,” he says.

His plan includes producing grain in a sustainable way on a much smaller scale. He’s purchased a stone burr mill to grind grains like wheat, corn, rye, barley and buckwheat. He aims to farm with a “different mentality” from his father, even though he credits his father for teaching him a lot of what he needed to get started. When asked if he has hopes of his children carrying on the traditions of farming passed down to him, he doesn’t hesitate.

“That’s a big part of it. Because of learning from my experience with our family and our family farm, we’re very motivated to give that possibility of farming back to our kids. Starting that up again, that system of passing it along and giving your kids that ability to farm and not have to start from scratch like we did… we want to give that to them.”

The Business of Farming Adam Welly of Wayward Seed Farm has one piece of advice for young farmers: “Look for and seek land that is excellent for growing vegetables.” As a farmer, Adam believes the ecology and geography of where you farm is everything. When I ask him if owning land is a concern of his, he asks: “Why not rent land?” As a tenant farmer himself, he sees an opportunity in leasing land—the chance to build strong relationships in the community, relationships that he sees as necessary to building a resilient local food system in Central Ohio.

Adam and his partner, Jaime Moore, mentor young farmers on their 40acre certified organic vegetable farm in Marysville, cultivating their skills by making sure they experience all of the aspects of agriculture, including weed control, marketing, farm harvesting and running machinery. What he emphasizes with all of it is the business of farming.

“Farming,” he says, “is an economic activity.” One has to make the personal commitment to making the economy of one’s farm work. Similar to Patricia, Adam speaks of efficiency on the farm and the need to think systematically, almost “engineering” best practices for their farm’s scale and economy. And that requires young farmers to fully consider what the personal price of farming is for them.

“You have to ask: Can this be the only thing that drives you? You have to be very focused on what it’s going to cost you…” he says, as we talk about the future of young farmers. He stresses the seven-days-a-week schedule, the measured approach one needs to make the scale of the farm lucrative, how we need more farms in Central Ohio that can model success and help young farmers build a career and how we all need to imagine what’s possible, not lacking, in the future of farming.

It’s that sense of passion and innovation—a pioneer spirit—present in Adam, Ian, Bryn, Lee, Erin and other young farmers that seems to be a defining element of the future of agriculture in the United States.

“Farming is a craft,” Adam says. “You’re humbled all the time, and you just keep getting better.”

Colleen Leonardi is a writer, choreographer and editor of Edible Columbus.

She loves to make blueberry pie and fresh mint iced tea in the summertime.

Learn more at colleenleonardi.com.

Resources for Young Farmers Interested in a career in farming? Check out some of these local and national resources to help get you started.

Local The Ohio Ecological Food & Farming Association (OEFFA) Contact Michelle Gregg to learn more at michelle@oeffa.org

Begin Farming Ohio beginfarmingohio.org Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association opgma.org Ohio Farmers Union ohfarmersunion.org

National The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service attra.ncat.org The National Young Farmers’ Coalition youngfarmers.org Start 2 Farm Start2Farm.gov

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edible Nation

Eating & Writing A defense of manual labor

By Francesca Preston

Amidst old plantings of olives and grapes, Francesca and her father, Lou Preston, dig wild dandelion, to write about and cook.

PHOTO BY © MAGGIE PRESTON, 2010

Before I learned how to form my letters, I had my mother make them for me. She was my scribe, if you will. I would lie on the ground and draw the most essential things I knew (goose, egg, tin can) and she would write the captions as I spoke them. These translated pictographs would be promptly sent to her mother—my first love-vessel—in the mail. “A beautiful carrot,” my mother writes diligently in quotes, underneath a frenetic, hairy, rather remarkable drawing of a carrot. Because my grandmother lived far away, and because it was wildly important that I get certain messages to her, I realized at a very young age that established symbols were good things. Slowly, I learned to write my name.

Mastering this first word (the caption that will accompany me for the rest of my life) took time, and a very physical effort. This was not a matter of memorization so much as training, struggle; my hand bent like a beak toward an all-mighty line. And in the way that all languages, all scripts, evolve, I can witness in my own ragged archives the evolution of a single letter: lowercase a unfolding out of itself like a hungry snail; the tail of e rising, first cotyledon, from a germinating seed.

Before long it felt like my words had weight, a gravity. I took to writing secret notes and burying them in little holes in the ground, with a few rocks bundled on top, to make a mound. I wasn’t sure who was going to find these notes, but that seemed part of the point; I would never know.

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My writing always wanted deepness, a burrow, to live in and wait for the right conditions. I was about 8.

I remember learning, in school, the word Mesopotamia—a lumpy, oddly ravishing word—which I have since associated with the nebulous beginnings of important things: writing, agriculture, domesticated grains. The cradle, as they say, of civilization. It is obvious that I (and we) owe lovely Mesopotamia a great debt. But what I’m trying to figure out today is the relationship that writing has to the cultivation of things to eat, and why these two labors seem so far apart now. It’s as if they have forgotten they are relatives, and once played together in the mud.

So I’ve done some sleuthing, and I thought you might like to hear what I found. I’ve deduced that we learned to write in the furrows, some time after we learned to tame the seed. It was about 6,000 years ago, more or less, and wild wheat had given us the hard kernel of her heart. She was ours. We didn’t have to move around any more, but we did have to save seed, and nurse it from the ground with our bare hands. Animals helped us, whether they liked it or not, and we began to stockpile edible objects.

This abundance made certain demands. It wanted to be recorded. After all, how do you keep track of the bundles of grain you’ve stored away?

How do you give a receipt to the messenger who will carry your goods to trade? How do you make an IOU? And so we began to use the implements of farming, and the environment of farming, to teach ourselves to write. We turned, naturally, to the thick mud from the overflowing rivers that sustained us, and we pressed our sticks in the mud as it dried.

And then we argued about what the marks meant.

I’m speaking for these people, the ancient Sumerians, now—I hope they will not take offense. It seems that what they did next was take the impressionable wads of mud and bake them for safekeeping and travel. These tablets, clay loaves woven with symbol, are our first records of writing.

In the years before I was born my parents were just beginning to farm.

My mother would become a painter, and my father a baker, but they did not know that yet. I, like a poem, was just an idea. In the photographs from that time, the land (seen over my father’s shoulder, as he maneuvers a small tractor) is bare, and desert-like, and brown. It does not reveal its future fertility, the grapes and olives and staffs of wheat that will rise there, every year, for decades. They are still rising now.

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As the family business began to develop, my sister and I were happy to remain on the fringes, dabbling in the dirt between the rows. There are many pictures of us with the palms of our hands displayed confidently to the camera, covered with mud. I told people that when I grew up I would be a worm girl. And this has proven true: I am always trying to go to the origins of things, to the primordial ooze where the first earthworms cavorted. If I could send a letter in a clay envelope I would.

So I am intrigued that today we argue whether gardens and schools, farming and learning, ought to be mixed—that the idea of desegregating them is considered revolutionary. I worry we have forgotten what Walt Whitman once declared, that “the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn all machinery.” I do believe that the fingernails of the first writer were filled with dirt. Writing is like laying out the row for seeds to be planted, and reading is harvesting what someone else has sown. A book is a fruit, an enormous seed packet.

I had an epiphany when I first learned that not all people read and write left to right. Many scripts are written right to left, or top to bottom, and in various ancient cultures, as with the Greek and the Egyptians, writing could travel down the line in one direction, and then wrap back the other way: right to left, left to right, right to left. This was called boustrophedon, which means “as the ox plows.” The words would move back and forth, as an ox moved through the earth that humans were preparing for food.

But several thousand years have gone by, and we are a forward-looking people—compelled, it seems, always in one direction. Most of us do not farm, and many of us barely write. Mistreatment of the soil has hurt both our foods and our words, and we are beginning to realize this.

What I sense, now, is a great turning: a change about to happen. It is as if we have reached the end of a line, a certain way of being, and we are preparing to turn around and go back the way we came.

Francesca Preston is an artist, poet, essayist and editor; she lives in Petaluma, California, with her husband-to-be and step-son. Her family's farm, Preston of Dry Creek, is a much-loved part of the community at large; a visit may turn you into extended family.

To learn more visit prestonofdryceek.com and francescapreston.com.

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last Seed

A call to heal hunger with fresh fruits and vegetables this summer

By Matt Habash

O

ne in six Americans—and tragically, one in four children— are food insecure. And yet, it’s estimated that between 3 and 6 billion pounds of fresh produce goes to waste in our country every year—that’s “billion” with a “B.” Go figure.

Last year, Mid-Ohio Foodbank—whose vision is to build and sustain a community that makes food accessible to all people—distributed more than 41 million pounds of food through our network of 550 food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and other nonprofit feeding sites. That’s enough for about 27,740,000 meals. However, as the recession lingers and the economy idles, the need in communities across the Foodbank’s 20-county footprint in Central and Eastern Ohio continues to increase.

In the meantime, health issues such as diabetes and obesity have exploded across the country and here at home. Many of our hungry neighbors can’t afford healthy, fresh food and often must settle for cheap, processed foods high in sodium, sugar and fat.

Because of all these issues, Feeding America—a national association of more than 200 food banks—has asked me to lead an effort to source and distribute an additional 1 billion pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables per year for food banks throughout the country. Food banks were designed to capture food waste and surplus, and get it to people who are hungry. The best opportunity we have now for food that’s going to waste is fresh produce.

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This summer, volunteer in the Foodbank’s garden, take your surplus veggies to a neighborhood pantry or plant an extra row in your garden and dedicate it to a family who is hungry.

However, fresh foods come with their own set of unique challenges. Our current network wasn’t designed to handle the majority of fresh food.

Unlike most of our shelf-stable products, produce can’t sit on a warehouse shelf. We’ve got to get it out to folks fast and frequently.

Last spring, we hosted more than 250 people from the food banking, produce and distribution industries at a three-day appreciative inquiry gathering. At the end of our time together, we had collaborated on 15 prototypes, capturing everyone’s passion around getting wholesome, nutritious food from the farm to the forks of hungry people around the country.

To that end, in 2011 we distributed over 11.5 million pounds of fresh produce—increasing the percentage of our inventory dedicated to fresh produce from 20% to 30%. To date in FY 2012, we’ve increased that even more—35% of our inventory is now fresh fruits and vegetables.

Even after families who are hungry receive the food, we want to make sure that they are able to use it. In the queue is client education, including nutrition and cooking classes, to help folks know what to do with the produce they receive.

This summer, volunteer in the Foodbank’s garden, take your surplus veggies to a neighborhood pantry or plant an extra row in your garden and dedicate it to a family who is hungry.

And join the conversation. Visit midohiofoodbank.org to learn more about how you can get involved in making sure that no one in our community goes hungry.

My job is to feed the hungry—my dream is to go out of business.

Matt Habash became executive director of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank in 1984.

Matt was also a member of Columbus City Council from 1993 to 2006, serving as president from 1999 to 2006. Matt has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the John van Hengel Fellowship in 2011.

Learn more about Matt’s work and the Mid-Ohio Foodbank at midohiofoodbank.org.

PHOTO BY © CAROLE TOPALIAN

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