Tag: food

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Opinions

Farmer’s Markets Will Heal The Divide

By Collin Zehr ‘22

Whatever political affiliations you may associate yourself with, we can all agree on one thing: Farmer’s Markets.

An establishment that predates The United States of America by 46 years, farmer’s markets are an essential part of North American culture. The origins of the first farmer’s market is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1730, city planners set aside a 120-square foot plot in the center of the city which gave birth to the Lancaster Central Market. Since its inception, farmer’s markets have spread across the north east to small towns and cities alike. 

You might ask, “how could a farmer’s market ‘heal the divide’ we feel in our over politicised culture?” The answer is simple. Farmer’s markets are a place where people from all walks of life can come together to enjoy buying and selling artisan goods and fresh produce. Whether you are a business person in New York City, or a school teacher in a rural community, you can find the same joy and pleasure in perusing items being sold by local vendors. 

Farmer’s markets are unique from most other ways of buying and selling. At a market, vendors sell their products directly to the customer and get to establish a face to face connection with someone they would probably never have come into contact with. In the electronic world we live in, run by social media addiction, people have become accustomed to meeting others through a screen. As more and more connections are being made online, dehumanization grows. With no in-person consequences to our actions, online arguments and bullying have become a passtime for many social media users. The way that social media algorithms are designed, individuals continue to see more and more things they agree with online, regardless of factual validity. Research has shown that mass shootings and hate crimes are possible extreme results of misinformation spread on social media, as well as the consequence of divisive attitudes and a feeling of disconnect. This has resulted in an inability to understand the legitimacy of arguments being made by someone who we disagree with. Not only are people missing facts, but the dehumanizing effects of social media eliminate any type of nuance or empathy in conversation, especially on political topics. In order to reverse these effects, face to face interaction must grow.

Farmer’s markets have a unique opportunity to encourage the direct interaction of people who might feel as if they have nothing in common. In my own experience, I have never been disappointed in the quality of items I have found at farmer’s markets, and I often have found items that I would not have thought of that have given me a lot of joy. One of the most magnetic features of farmer’s markets from a buyer’s perspective is the ability to meet the creator or cultivator of the products. When you get to look someone in the eye and discuss the process undergone to create their products, the buyer has an assurance that what they will receive will be high quality and worth whatever price they might pay. By establishing humanity in another person, we can better recognize their value. 

Though this may not be the only method to unite a divided culture, farmer’s markets are a historically significant establishment that have the potential to act as a bridge that transcends political platforms. The ability to empathize with others is essential to redeem any hope of unity. Why not improve your empathy while partaking in the mutual benefit that accompanies the buying and selling processes of farmer’s markets?

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News

Sodexo Opts for Local Food Suppliers

Courtesy of sodexoeducation.com

Sodexo has recently made an effort to use locally- and regionally-produced and grown foods.  Within the last school year, over 23% of the produce served in the dining hall, from potatoes to lettuce, was grown within 250 miles of Houghton. Despite a decrease in students, there has been a steady increase in the local and regional produce being served.

However, there is a limit to the local places from which Sodexo make make purchases. For instance, there are guidelines that prevent Sodexo from purchasing food from farms that have not gone through a process of meeting safety regulations. These regulations help companies track the source of contaminated foods as well as other routine safety measures that benefit consumers’ health. Tina Powers, general manager, stressed that Sodexo loves the small farmer and small businesses. These are the places that are making new things and doing it with quality. A large company like Sodexo has the means to purchase large amounts of product that can greatly benefit a local economy.

Many of the gluten-free products available in the dining hall comes from a shop in Ithaca, NY. All of the dairy products used by Sodexo at Houghton are from a local company. Sodexo is also willing to work with any small farm that wants to make the transition to become a Sodexo supplier.  For example, Powers shared an anecdote of a sunflower farmer who wanted to sell his sunflower oil to Houghton and they helped him make connections with the people who could help him be inspected and regulated. However, when safe, sometimes Sodexo finds ways to work around the strict guidelines. During homecoming, Powers went out and purchased bags of potatoes from a local farmer to make the dining hall’s salt potatoes.

Two students who have worked for Sodexo for multiple years expressed the significance of local foods and in-house processed foods in the dining hall’s offerings. Emily Raczelowski, junior, sees the value value of using more local products in its reduced cost and reduced environmental impact because of transportation. Jonathan Hardy, senior, said, “Over the last four years I noticed a gradual increase in quality and variety of offerings.  This year is, of course, the largest change yet.”

This semester, the dining hall made a change to serving more foods that have been processed in-house. The rationale behind this was that the food had to be processed somewhere and that food is the best quality when it is processed as close as possible to the time it is served. Raczelowski said that “the benefit of processing whole foods in-house is that as an employee I can see firsthand what is being done to my food.” Most of the salad bar as well as ingredients in the soup and other areas are now all prepared in the kitchen. This is of nutritional and other health benefits. Powers mentioned the shredded carrots on the salad bar. They are not as good when they have been pre-shredded and packaged and have added ingredients to keep them fresh. One might have also noticed the lettuce on the salad bar is not the same lettuce that comes mixed with carrots and cabbage in a bag.  Powers discussed the fact that the salad is now often browning on the salad bar. This is because it is fresh and has not been treated to prevent browning.

Cafeteria workers have also been trying to find ways to process whole foods as close to the serving time as possible. The drawback to this new policy is that, even though they save on money on produce because they are not paying someone else to process it, they have had to increase labor and pay for more waste removal. Powers feels that the benefits strongly outweigh the increased cost.

Things to Eat: Salsa

For those who know me well, it is no secret that I love Mexican food.  I was raised in Southern California, where you could usually find one or more small taco shops on every commercial block.
I also grew up with my grandfather, who was born in Baja California and spent all of his life between Ensenada, San Diego, and Los Angeles.  He was famous for his taco parties and we usually had some sort of Mexican fare when we gathered for holidays as a family.  

Courtesy of Gabe Jacobsen
Courtesy of Gabe Jacobsen

While it is almost impossible to tell that I am of Mexican descent from looking at me (the other three-quarters of my lineage is Norwegian and a mix of Western European roots), the food that I ate growing up has become a strong part of the way that I connect to my sense of home and family while living so far from my birthplace.  I have a penchant for acquiring Mexican and Latin cookbooks (we have over 40 at home at the moment!) and have invested a lot of time in my kitchen in pursuit of learning how to make some of my favorite dishes.

One of my favorite aspects of Mexican cooking is making salsas.  There are endless varieties.  They can be simple or highly involved in preparation, can range from mild to devastatingly hot, and serve to give anything routine from beans and rice to more substantial fare like tamales or chilaquiles (one of my favorite ways to use leftover tortillas) an extra level of nuance, contrast and complexity. Changing the type of salsa you add to a dish can vastly change its flavor and gives the cook a limitless variety of options in changing the flavor profile of your food.

Below is one of my favorite salsas that I make on a regular basis at home.  It also happens to be one of the easiest. If you would like to try the salsa before making it, samples will be available while supplies last in the Student Life office on Monday. Do remember that the quality of your ingredients will always directly affect the way your salsa turns out.  Make sure everything is fresh, if you can help it!

Ingredients:
8 oz. (1/2 pound) fresh tomatillos, quartered.  They look like green tomatoes, have a papery husk around them, and can be found in many grocery stores (Wegmans, the Cuba Giant, Tops are all local options—even the Co-op had them over the summer).
2 tbs white onion
1 clove garlic
1 ½ tsp course kosher salt or ¾ teaspoons table salt
Pinch of fresh ground pepper (pre-ground, if you must)
½ cup fresh cilantro
¼ to 1 whole habanero pepper, depending on your tolerance for heat.  Jalapenos are easier to find and can be substituted, but do change the flavor of the final salsa quite a bit.
Juice from ¼ of a lime (optional)
2 whole allspice berries

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender (tomatillos should be placed at the bottom) and blend until smooth.  The tomatillos may take a moment or two to catch in the blades, but don’t add water!  Just wait until everything is blended together.  Pour into a bowl and enjoy with chips or on some good Mexican food!

Categories
Arts

Things to Eat: Ajvar

Ajvar (pronounced “eye-var”) is a roasted red pepper and eggplant relish commonly found across the Balkans. I first discovered ajvar when I was in the Balkans for the semester last fall. The best way to describe it is as a variant of salsa, only less spicy and more savory and tangy. Ajvar can be used as a dip for grilled meats (quite commonly with cevapi, a type of kebab) as well as used in pasta or as a spread on bread. As the semester progressed, one of my mealtime mainstays became ajvar with feta cheese and olives on a slice of freshly baked bread.

Courtesy of http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/
Courtesy of http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/

I have missed ajvar very much since returning to the United States and so, a few weeks ago, I attempted to make a batch of it myself. The process of making ajvar requires much labor. Not only do you have to cut and roast the vegetables, you must also peel the skins off the hot peppers (quite a mess that stains your hands), scoop out the flesh of the eggplant and pick out the larger seeds, mince the garlic, and mix it all together with vinegar to taste. And it requires extra work without a food processor. However, for me the results were quite satisfying – even though it was prepared by the clumsy hands of a non-Balkans native. My craving for ajvar was appeased. The work was worth it.

A key thing to remember in making ajvar is to not be afraid of blackening the skins of the peppers as you roast them in the oven. Part of what makes ajvar so tasty is its texture; it is silkily smooth. Achieving this is only possible by being sure that the peppers are roasted long enough that their skins are black and they are cooked all the way through.

Ingredients
-6 medium red bell peppers
-1 small eggplant
-Minced garlic
-Vinegar
-Olive oil

Recipe
1)   Preheat the oven to broil.
Halve the peppers, seed them, and place on baking sheets. (Older baking sheets, if you can.)
3)   Cut the eggplant in half, place it on baking sheet, score it with a knife, and sprinkle with salt and olive oil.
4)   Put the peppers and eggplant in the oven to roast, about 15 minutes or until the pepper skins are blackened.
5)   Take the peppers and eggplant out of the oven when they are finished. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover with a dishcloth to cool. The steam will help their skins to loosen.
6)   While the peppers cool, scoop the eggplant flesh with a spoon and make sure to take out the larger seeds.
7)   When the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel the skins and place in separate bowl.
8)   If you don’t have a food processor, use a pastry cutter or two knives to mix together the minced garlic and eggplant.
9)   Add the peeled peppers to the garlic and eggplant mix and continue to either use the food processor or the pastry cutter.
10) After you have a relish-like consistency, add vinegar to taste. It helps to balance the strong garlic flavor. Add some parsley or chili flakes.
11) Congratulations! You’ve made ajvar!

Categories
Arts

Hunting Locally

Hunting Locally
Hunting Locally

Hunting is important for many reasons, many of which I will not be able to fully explore.  One is to control the herd, and if you noticed, the herd in this area around Houghton is very large. Especially in areas where the nutrition is high, deer reproduction is very high.  What people tend to overlook is that if we don’t reduce numbers from the herd, there can become too many animals and not enough resources, such as food and water, to sustain all of them.  Herd management is the responsible approach contributing to the sustainability of both the deer population and the natural resources at stake.

Herd management is much deeper for me though, because I don’t look at deer as numbers.   Deer management is an art in my mind. Myself and several friends put forth significant efforts in providing the deer on our property with the nutrition in the form of food plots. We provide the deer with the nutrition and help create ideal habitats on the property through proper forestry practices. We have a management plan for our property which basically means that the senior members of our party are only allowed to shoot bucks with six points or more or any doe they wish.

So why do I hunt? I am not out for blood, and that would be a serious misconception of hunters.  I care more about taking care of deer and the land than any pencil pushing PETA member will ever do by protesting hunting. The act of killing is not always fun, but killing is only a part of the  overall whole.  When you have the larger whole of a hunting group (as close as a family) together, the fellowship and the bonds created between people by the activity of the hunt are nearly indestructible.

Here in  New York, deer hunting is rooted deeply in the culture especially in the area we find ourselves attending college. Did you know that in 1939 Calvin Roosevelt Lucky killed the state record buck that stood for over 70 years right in Fillmore? The deer sported over 200 inches of antler on its head. Even for anyone not particularly familiar with deer, you have to admit, having over 200 inches of bone sticking out of the top of an animal’s head is a lot.

Ways to prepare venison.

1) Jerky- The key to jerky is how you prepare it.  First step is to make sure you cut it into thin strips that can dry  thoroughly, and also remember with jerky that you are not cooking the meat, but are drying it. Second, you want to make up  the spices you wish to cure the meat in.  Many quality jerky cure kits can be bought at any sporting goods store.  Let the meat sit for several days in a cool area to really let the cure do its job.  The drying part of the job can be done in an oven, but I prefer to use my dehydrator at home.  If you are going to use an oven, heat the oven between 150 and 200 degrees, and I tend to let it dry for 12 or more hours.

2) Venison stew in a crockpot. What I do is take a few nice haunches of venison, chopped vegetables like peppers, onions, potatoes, and carrots  throw them into the crockpot with gravy seasoning packet and slow cook it all day.

3) Grilling- If you have the opportunity to grill your venison, I would suggest finding a marinade that you prefer and pre-soak it. Keep a close eye on your steaks; take my word for it especially if you want to eat your venison off the grill medium rare, trust me.  And sautédvegetables to go with your venison steak is always an excellent choice.

I don’t know how many times I’ve eaten at the dining hall with a hollow appreciation for my food, and I am sure that you have felt the same.  Every time I eat a piece of venison I can still feel that same joy and thankfulness for the animal as the same moment I knelt by its side and praised God.