Peak Oil and Peak Food

In 1964 M. King Hubert predicted that oil production would peak around the year 2000 and then decline. Well folks after much hand wringing by governments and environmentalists, peak oil just didn't happen. Due to new technologies North Dakota is now competing with Saudi Arabia for world oil dominance. The US has become a net exporter of oil in the last five years. This has slowed the massive transfer of wealth to empires in the middle east, I'd much rather contribute my petroleum dollars to the good old boys in North Dakota.

So why was the peak oil demand so far off?

Are American's Lazy

Are Americans lazy?

I heard a speaker pose this question a while back. His assertion was that as a society we were not as productive as other cultures around the world and it was because we had become lazy.

Well maybe his definition was different than mine, but I don't think we are lazy and here is why.

The Supper Table

As a father and a farmer I have learned that the supper table isn't just for eating it is also for leading. Many examples, values, and instructions are transmitted at the table. This won't happen if you are watching TV or talking on the phone. You need to pay attention and be intentional.

Here are five principle of "The Table".

A Little Love for Chocolate Mint - Guest Post by Jenna Petersen

Hello, VegetableFreak community! I hope to be able to give you some tips for incorporating fresh herbs into your cooking, since my Dad affectionately calls me the “herb expert” of the family. I wasn’t always such a foliage specialist, but I do remember the day that I wandered over to Dad and found him picking something green and incredibly fragrant in the field. I quickly learned that this was an herb called basil, and that if I wanted to join him in picking it, I needed to carefully pinch off the leaves to avoid bruising them. This was the beginning of a long relationship of herb cultivation that has only flourished in recent years. While basil remains a staple in our garden and at our Farmer’s Market booth, we have added a variety of other culinary plants. These include parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and many others, one being mint. We sell seven (!) varieties of it as plants: Spearmint, Peppermint, Mint Julep, Mojito Mint, Orange Mint, Chocolate Mint, and Pineapple Mint. Of these, my favorite by far is Chocolate Mint. It has a unique taste, beautiful purple stem, and smooth leaves. Compared to the typical spearmint, I think it has a cooler, stronger taste. It also grows vigorously, a stereotypical trait of most mints. Chocolate mint is amazing, and I have a few suggestions for using this tasty plant.

10 Ways to Maximize Your Food Dollar

Produce at the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market is one of the best ways to maximize your food dollar.

1. Local farmers have a better selection of produce
2. Local vegetables are fresher
3. Fresher means vegetables will keep longer
4. Longer shelf life means less waste due to spoilage
5. Fresher means vegetables have better nutrition
6. Local produce is more sustainable (less miles from farm to table).
7. Get to know your farmer so you know how your produce is grown.
8. Local purchase dollars stay in the community
9. Local produce supports local farmers and families
10. Local vegetables are far less likely to be genetically modified.

Baby Patty Pan, Zucchini and Kale White Sauce

I made a delightful white sauce with very small Patty Pan and Zucchini squash, Baby Kale and Sweet Onions last weekend. We will have all of these at our market stand this week. I used Ricotta cheese as the base for the sauce. You can get hand made pasta at the Farmer's Market, or use any pasta you wish. I used bow tie pasta as I had that on hand.

It was very good, give it a whirl.

Ingredients:

1 box of patty pan squash (Petersen's)
1 box of baby zucchini squash, tips and stems remove and sliced into bite sized pieces (Petersen's)
Large bag of baby kale (Petersen's)
Large Sweet Onion, diced (Petersen's)
8 oz of Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
1 cups of low fat milk
white pepper to taste
salt to taste
pinch of cayenne or chipotle pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced (Petersen's)
1 tsp of arrow root starch or corn starch dissolved in a small amount of cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound pasta of your choice (bow tie, spiral, penne)

Directions:

Prepare pasta of choice and drain while finishing sauce (most pastas take 8-10 minutes to cook)

Saute onion with olive oil and garlic. When on)ion is starting to soften add patty pan and zucchini. Cook about 2 minutes (don't over cook squash). Stir in Ricotta cheese and milk, salt, pepper and cayenne. Warm up to where it just starts to bubble, add arrow root starch to thicken. Bring back to a simmer and add kale. Wilt kale and gentle stir into the sauce. Serve over pasta.

Kick It Up:

Serve Over Potatoes (Petersen's)
Serve Over Saffron Rice
Serve Over Seafood like scallops or shrimp
Add a little more cayenne.
Add some fresh Rosemary (Petersen's)
Add some fresh Basil instead of Kale, price is the same at our stall (Petersen's)
Add some fresh Thyme (Petersen's)
Add more garlic or several shallots. (Petersen's)

Nicole Arpin Essay - A Guest Post

This guest post is what Nicole Arpin wrote as a college entrance essay, in answer to the question "Write about a memorable meal". Nicole was a graduating senior in the class of 2013. She worked with our family on our farm for 5 years and attended Schaffer Academy with our children. We enjoyed having her as a part of our extended farm family.  She is an excellent student, hard worker, and role model for other young women. One of Nicole's interests is writing. 

*****

I bent over in a field of tomatoes, my knees dusty with black Minnesota dirt.  Turning my head in the general direction of my coworkers, I hollered, “What time is it?” “One thirty!” they shouted back. “Come on in for lunch!”   As we trudged up the well-worn hill toward the house, someone asked, “So, what’s on the menu today?” “Subs, of course,” was the bemused reply.  “What else?”