Eat Local KC

USDA Approves Planting of Drug-Producing Rice in Kanas

From the Center for Food Safety:

USDA Approval of Drug-Producing Rice in Kansas Poses Threat to Food Safety, Say Food Safety & Farming Groups
   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      May 17, 2007

Contacts:  Dan Nagengast, Kansas Rural Center, 785-748-0959; Bill Freese, Center for Food Safety, 202-547-9359 x14; Bill Wenzel, Farmer to Farmer Campaign on Genetic Engineering, 608-444-0292
 
20,000 Citizens, Scientists, Farming and Rice Organizations In Opposition

May 17, 2007 The Center for Food Safety, Kansas Rural Center and Farmer to Farmer Campaign on Genetic Engineering object to USDA's May 16th approval of drug-producing rice cultivation in Kansas, charging that it poses needless risks to the safety of the American food supply.  USDA's approval permits cultivation in the Junction City area of up to 3,200 acres of rice genetically engineered to produce pharmaceutical compounds that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to approve.  FDA approval is not required for planting to proceed.

The groups note that the decision comes just a week after tornadoes in the Kansas River Valley and heavy rains caused severe flooding in east-central Kansas, including floodwaters on the Smoky Hill River, which passes just a mile from one of the proposed planting sites.  USDA had earlier dismissed concerns raised by the groups that floodwaters could carry the pharmaceutical rice into surrounding cropland and contaminate farmers crops with drugs unapproved by the FDA.  USDA concluded in its environmental assessment that: Extreme weather events are rare and unlikely to occur in the area of the field trial.

You can read more on this issue at the Center for Food Safety Website.

 

The Local Croissant

While the chef and owner at Artisan Français is from France, the flour in the amazing pastries and authentically European breads is local, sourced from Heartland Mills in   Marienthal, Kansas (www.heartlandmill.com). Owners  Sebastien and Brianna Saint-Ouen say that buying local is important to them in order to support the community in which they live and work.

The couple worked with Heartland Mill to find just the right flour to attain the best flavor and texture for the baked goods. The commitment to quality, flavor and buying local pays off.

Artisan Français contact information:

Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday 7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Telephone: 913-345-1699

FAX: 913-345-1718

Bakery Location: 6759 W. 119th Street, Overland Park, KS 66209

E-mail:General Information: [email protected], Orders: [email protected]

A Mixed Bag of Greens

We had a rough spring with that loathed cold snap. It hurt all the farmers. Our CSA is starting nearly a month late. We see the grower at the market selling a few things he does have, that are not enough yet to fill the CSA bags for a week.

I bought some chard and kale from him. But as we walked away, he ran after us.

“Hey, you forgot your onions and radishes, oh, and some of these.” he said, running off before I could protest.

The bag contained a large bunch of green onions, radishes, three small heads of bok choy, and a pound of fresh baby arugula, and a small greenhouse grown cucumber. He would not take any money for them.

Sunday night, I contemplated the market bounty. I needed to use it, but did not have time to make many different things. Then, I thought, what about a stir fry kind of thing? Can you mix all these and have it work? The end result has lots of flavor and texture with the mix of spring vegetables. It turned out way better than I thought it would.

Honey-Lemon Spring Vegetable Saute
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbs olive oil
zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 tsp. Red pepper flakes
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
black pepper to taste (couple grinds)
3 small heads bok choy, sliced (about 2-1/2 cups)
1 small bunch kale chopped (about 1 cup packed)
1 small bunch chard, chopped tough stems removed (about 1 cup packed)
2 large green onions, sliced thinly (about 1/3 cup)
1 cup asparagus tips

Steam the asparagus tips in a steamer for 7 minutes. Heat oil in large dutch oven. Saute garlic and sliced green onions until just golden. Add honey, zest, juice, salt and pepper flakes. Stir. Add the chard, kale, and bok choy. Toss to heat through, just until it starts to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add black pepper to taste. Add the asparagus tips, still hot, and toss with the greens to mix. Serve immediately. It’s still good the next day, but it’s really good with all that texture. Much better than a mushy pile of greens.

Urban Farm Tour

Do you love the taste of fresh veggies grown close to home? Would you like to see real-life examples of the beauty and community that urban farms can bring to our neighborhoods? If so, don’t miss the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture’s Second Biennial Urban Farms Tour!

The tour takes place Sunday, June 24, from noon to 5. Eleven unique farms from all over the metro area are featured, along with great music and kids’ activities. Tickets are $5 per person or $12 for families and may be purchased at the Brookside, 39th Street, City Market, Minor Park or KCK farmers markets or at the tour the day of. For more information and a description of the farms, see www.kccua.org or call 913-831-2444. Or, view a flyer on the tour with more details.

Kansas City Adopts 100 Mile Diet: Guide to Local Food inspires Local Eating

In Spring 2006, eight enthusiastic eaters banded together to eat local food grown or raised within 100 miles of Kansas City. As the KC 100 Mile Diet team, they wrote a ten-month series of articles published in PresentMagazine.com that described their discovery of abundant and numerous sources of local foods. The team compiled their research onto a CD and created a “Users Guide to Local Food” that is available for sale to Kansas Citians interested in eating more food from local sources. In addition to the PresentMagazine.com articles, the CD also includes favorite recipes featuring local ingredients, the KC Food Circle’s 2007 Directory of Local Organic and Free Range Food Producers, and an extensive list of websites and publications about local, organic foods.

Off to the Market this Weekend?

There should be plenty of happenings at the local Farmers Markets this weekend! While the Brookside market is already going for the season, this weekend is also the Brookside Art Fair so you can get art and artfully grown produce all at the same place!

Overland Park's Farmers Market will feature a T'ai Chi demonstration and a band. Look for more vendors and more produce as spring has finally arrived.

Other Markets are opening soon:

KC Organics and Natural Farmers Market opens tomorrow, 5/5.

39th Street opens on 5/9.

Troostwood Youth Garden Market opens 5/19 with their Green Neighborhood Festival

You can map your local Food-Finding route at the KC Food Circle site: http://www.KCFoodCircle.org/findfood/findfood.php

Have a wonderful spring weekend!

Must Have Been The Weather

I am pretty disappointed that we could not do the Pennywise Eat Local Challenge here. We were having this great early spring, it all looked just right for fresh produce, early in the season. Then out of nowhere, well, the Northwest actually, came this freeze with three days of lows in the teens. Brutal. So many lost plants and replanting. I woke up to the first open day of farmers markets to snow on the ground. The Midwest is a hard place to be a farmer indeed.

Here is it May, and the past weekend at the farmers market yielded little in variety for vegetables. I did find all my herbs and plants, but otherwise, the early spring lettuces were nowhere to be found unless you count the greenhouse-grown plants for sale. I did find two large plants of leaf lettuce for $2.00 each. The grower said I should get about four cuttings, making my investment $4.00 for eight heads of lettuce. Not bad.

The other items we found, much to my relief, were scallions, and green and purple asparagus. The purple asparagus is a treat, milder and sweeter, and only to be had for these first weeks of the season. I was worried that it was lost for the year.

As we head into May, the produce we should have had in April will start to show up. Lettuces, Chard, Kale, Radishes, Beets and more Asparagus. I had posted my spring greens recipes in anticipation for April. Looks like I will just now get to make these recipes with local produce.

Here are just a few of my seasonal recipes that can be made with the early season bounty:

Basic Viniagrette for Fresh Greens

Ham, Asparagus, Onion and Goat Cheese Tart

Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus, Ham, Peas and Tortellini with Parmesan Herb Sauce

Braised Red Cabbage with Blueberries and Goat Cheese

Sauteed Red Chard with Clementine Sections, Feta, and Balsamic Reduction

Crispy Kale

Garlicky White Beans and Kale

Chard Tart with Grana Padano and Goat Cheese

Hashbrown, Chard, Tomato and Ham Frittata

Roasted Beets with Mixed Herbs and Shallot