I had the pleasure of attending the Michigan Organic Food and Farming Conference last weekend and was inspired by the vision and integrity of farmers I met who’ve built successful businesses, as well new farmers who are just starting out. Highlights included an intergenerational panel that addressed needs and resources for incubating new farmers, a session on creative strategies for farmland acquisition, and a panel about Michigan Thumb Organics (MTO).
MTO is a cooperative of experienced farmers whose individual members sell organic commodities crops like soy and corn. They’ve come together to expand and diversify sustainable local food production. Check out Chris Bedford’s video for their story.
I ordered 5 dozen ears of corn last week from Valley Family Farm in Milan, Michigan. I usually get 3 dozen ears to freeze for the winter. But farmers Patricia and Ken grow super sweet corn that barely needs cooking, and at $15 it was pretty hard to pass up the very heavy burlap bag of 60 ears they had waiting for me.
So I had to figure out what to do with it all – quickly. I froze some (blanched for a minute and then cut it off the cobs). Gave some away. Roasted some (in an open pan, slathered in olive oil and sea salt). Boiled some. And still had more corn. Big ears of corn.
Which lead to an experimental corn chowder pulled together from whatever I had in the house, mashing up recipes from a half dozen cook books and web sites. It was a successful experiment by all accounts – not least because the corn was so good.
I was talking to a new gardener who’s dealing with a healthy crop of tomatoes right now and doesn’t have time to can or cook them. She’s been giving the extras to friends and family, but wants to save some for the winter.
The quickest solution: wash and dry the tomatoes, put them in a freezer bag and stash them in the freezer until you’re ready to cook them. When you take them out of the bag, run the tomatoes under warm water and the skins will fall right off.
Whether you’re growing your own food or shopping the farmers markets, August and September are months of abundance, and you can easily freeze local produce to enjoy through the winter. My five core freezer foods are blueberries, tomatoes, basil, corn and winter squash. They freeze well and easily last until the next year’s harvest. read on for how to’s and recipes…
I was talking to a new gardener who’s dealing with a healthy crop of tomatoes right now and doesn’t have time to can or cook them. She’s been giving the extras to friends and family, but wants to save some for the winter.
