Ode to the Rutabaga!

As we near the New Year, I urge this: please try a new vegetable in the year ahead. There are many not yet popular vegetables that are totally delicious. Celeriac sales are limited to the most adventurous few shoppers. And though sweet and said to prevent cancer, the long, white daikon radishes sit untouched on market tables. Sadly the rutabaga, one of our favorite vegetables, all too often falls into this category as well.

The first time I ate rutabaga was probably only five years ago, when I moved to Vermont. I grew up in Kansas, and though our dinner plates always had vegetables, they were more standard fare from the grocery store, like carrots and broccoli. I’ve grown to like rutabaga so much that this year, upon hearing that our planting of rutabaga was less than we’d hoped, friends at Evening Song Farm gave me a bag of it for my birthday.

Rutabagas are believed to have originated in the 1600s, much more recently than spinach, for example, which has been cultivated for about 2,000 years. The rutabaga began as the result of the chance cross-pollination of a turnip and a wild cabbage. The rest is history.

It’s sweet root is tasty a variety of ways, and can be stored through the winter in a root cellar or refrigerator. The leaves are edible and similar to those of its popular relative, kale. Rutabagas are low in calories but off the charts in vitamins and minerals like calcium and potassium. These minerals are essential for healthy cell function in our bodies.

When you venture to the farmers’ market or co-op to buy a locally grown rutabaga, look for one that is firm and feels dense. Size is less important. We rarely peel the rutabagas we grow, and generally wouldn’t peel most organic produce. If you want the greens, you may have to make a special request at the market next fall when rutabagas are harvested again, or try growing a few in your own garden.

Here are a few recipes geared toward both the traditional and the adventurous:

Mashed Rutabaga

My fiancé’s family has served this dish at Christmas for as long as he can remember and probably longer, though it is referred to as “mashed turnip” instead. Now that we bring this dish, there’s no sugar in the recipe because the rutabagas we grow at Alchemy Gardens are plenty sweet. If you have a sweet tooth, you can add maple syrup or sugar, but we recommending trying it beforehand.

• 2-3 lb. rutabaga, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 2-6 T. butter
• salt and pepper, to taste

Put chopped rutabaga into a pot and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender. Drain rutabaga and then mash, incorporating butter to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Mexican Rutabaga and Sweet Potato

This is one of our go-to vegetarian meals. We roast the rutabaga and sweet potatoes, sauté some onions and kale or rutabaga greens, and throw it all into a tortilla with some beans on the side. Yum!

• 2 large rutabaga
• 2 sweet potatoes
• Olive, Sunflower or Canola oil
• Cumin, to taste
• Chili powder, to taste
• Pinch of oregano

Cube sweet potatoes and rutabaga into similar sized pieces. Place together in baking dish. Coat with oil, salt and pepper, and spices. Bake in 375˚ oven for about 45 min or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Rutabaga Fries

These oven-baked fries are divine. It’s not likely that you’ll have leftovers…no matter how many you cook!

• Rutabagas
• Sunflower Oil (or other high heat oil)
• Salt

Preheat oven to 425˚. Cut rutabaga into strips (fries). Drizzle with enough oil to barely coat all fries. Season with salt, and/or other spices. Spread onto baking sheet. Bake 20-40 min. or until tender (baking time will depend on size of fries). Flip fries halfway through.

Lindsay Arbuckle & Scott Courcelle own Alchemy Gardens, a farm business growing vegetables and herbs in West Rutland. You can reach her at alchemygardens@gmail.com.

Restaurant Fundraiser Supports Local Food Pantry

Three Tomatoes Photo

By Steve Peters

For the past fourteen years, Three Tomatoes in Rutland has been helping make a significant difference in providing food for people in need. Through an effort that spans the first three Wednesdays of each December, the restaurant generously holds the Rutland Community Cupboard’s largest fundraising event. In 2011, that effort totaled over $45,000 – helping to feed the more than 500 families that visit the Columbian Avenue facility each month.

At this time of year, non-profit organizations such as ours, the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link, are working full force to achieve our fundraising goals. And there are plenty of other efforts in our community also raising money for good cases, such as the WSYB Christmas Fund. However, none are quite like that at Three Tomatoes.

The way it works is that dinner service on the three December evenings is served by a wait staff composed of local celebrities. With the expert assistance of Tomatoes’ usual staff, they serve their friends and family who they have personally invited to attend. At the end of the night, all of their tips go directly to the Cupboard.

When Allen Frey, owner of the Rutland branch of the restaurant, sat down years ago to see what he could do to give back to the community, he didn’t realize how large the event would become. “It just sounded like a good cause,” Frey says.

During the first round this year, our own executive director, Tara Kelly, was one of the guest servers.

“It’s a great night. Having everyone there and having fun, all for the right reason, is just a great idea,” Kelly says. “The combination of having people come to support both the server and the charity really makes this work,” she explains.

At RAFFL, we help support the Cupboard through our Grow a Row program, where we organize fresh food donations from farmers throughout the growing season. But it is just as easy for individuals to contribute to feeding those in need. Whether it is through volunteering one’s time or making a donation of some kind – it all adds up.

“What I love about getting involved with the Cupboard is that they only have one employee. Since the money we raise goes directly to them, rather than a corporation, 99% is going where it should – there’s no fat,” Frey says.

When I attended the event myself last Wednesday, it was clearly another successful evening. The restaurant was packed with folks looking to eat good food and have fun. In the process, they were helping others to eat as well.

My server for the evening, Katye Munger, one of the organizers of Restoring Rutland, raised $1400 in tips for the evening. And she didn’t even spill anything on me, either.

Although the thousands of dollars raised at Three Tomatoes will go a long way to help restock the Cupboard’s shelves, it won’t last long. Keeping the Cupboard well stocked is an ongoing effort. This year alone, there will be a total of 260,000 items distributed to 6,697 families in need.

This Wednesday, December 19, is the third and final evening of the 2012 Three Tomatoes fundraiser. Be sure to make a reservation if you can and contribute to this worthy cause. Consider the many families out there that during the holiday season, and throughout the year, might not be able to eat as well as the rest of us.

To make a donation or volunteer your time, call the Rutland Community Cupboard at 802-747-6119 or visit their facility at 191 Columbian Avenue in Rutland.

Steve Peters is the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link’s Food Education Specialist. Contact him at steve[at]rutlandfarmandfood.org.

Farm Fresh

by Elizabeth Theriault

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of joining John Pollard at Red Wing Farm in Shrewsbury, along with fifteen others, for a raw cheese making class. The class, taught by cheese maker Connie Youngstrom, was co-sponsored by the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link and Rural Vermont, a nonprofit advocacy group whose mission is economic justice for farmers.

It was a sunny afternoon, a rarity for a November day in Vermont, and combined with Red Wing farm’s picturesque rolling fields and lovely sugar maple groves, proved to be a lovely day.

John has 19 well loved, pasture fed Jersey Cows that Connie uses milk from to make a large variety of cheeses. They make cultured mozzarella with a great, rich flavor; plain ricotta and ricotta with garlic and herbs; yogurt from a Bulgarian strain of acidophilus, a bacteria known for its mildness and health benefits; a range of hard cheeses; and of course, milk. Is your mouth watering yet?

Our day consisted of learning how to make Camembert, mozzarella, and butter all from John’s fresh, organic, full fat, luxurious milk. It truly did seem like an act of alchemy to watch Connie whip around the kitchen with multiple pots steaming on the oven. And then she would dip her flat ladle into a pot and pull up a thick glistening string of mozzarella where just moments before had only been milk.

Connie talked us through, step by step, of what cheese making tools we would need. It’s not much more than a timer, thermometer, two good quality stainless steel pots, a ladle and strainer. She also demonstrated each step of the process and we were able to literally get our hands dirty by stretching and pulling mozzarella into thick long strands and then rolling them into smooth round balls – which of course we then ate. The flavors we so rich and delicious, I honestly had never tasted such flavorful mozzarella in my life!

Connie explained that because of the cultures present in raw milk, the cheese takes on more intense and expansive flavors. It was fun to stand back and watch other people try it for the first time and see the pure pleasure spread across their faces. Who knew mozzarella could be so exciting?

Then it was time for lunch, where Connie had prepared an incredible spread of her cheeses, homemade soup and bread. Over lunch we had a chance to meet others in the class and talk shop a little. Andrea Stander, executive director of Rural Vermont, shared with us some updates on what was happening legislatively in the state of Vermont around raw dairy issues.

Following our conversation, I felt very lucky to have attended, not only because it was such a beautiful setting, with knowledgeable people and wonderful food, but because up until May 2011 it was actually illegal to teach raw milk cheese classes in the state of Vermont. That is right – only a couple of years ago this magical afternoon would have been under the veil of illegal activity.

Did you know that raw milk is actually quite a contentious topic and some of the arguments, such as that from the FDA, would have you believe that raw dairy is inherently dangerous? Each side of the debate has such differing opinions and their own facts, which can be overwhelming when trying to make sense of it all. However, the middle of the roaders tend to acknowledge raw dairy as a historic staple in our diets, and pasteurization has only very recently come into the picture. The danger primarily comes from industrial milk production, which dramatically increases the potential for contaminants such as fecal matter and others.

More than twenty years ago, the FDA banned the interstate sale of raw dairy products, leaving it up to individual states to regulate. States have taken different stances on how to respond to the demand for raw milk from the public and that demand is in fact growing. In states such as Pennsylvania, you can purchase raw dairy right in shops, while in Vermont, you can only purchase raw milk directly from a farm or raw cheese from a shop if it has been aged 60 days.

A 2009 New York Times article stated, “In Pennsylvania, 122 dairy farms hold raw milk permits, the most of any state. The number has tripled over the last three years, and state officials say another 40 permits are pending.”

The rules and regulations differentiate so much between states it does make you wonder how much validity there is in the “inherent danger” of farm fresh milk. But I will leave that up to you to decide. What I can tell you is Red Wing farm sure knows how to make cheese.

Also check out Rural Vermont http://www.ruralvermont.org/ and Rutland Area Farm and Food Link http://www.rutlandfarmandfood.org/events/ to learn more about our informative workshops.

Rural Economy Makes Headway

By Tara Kelly

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job at RAFFL is sharing information with new organizations, especially those with similar efforts in supporting the local farm and food system. Friday turned out to be one of those days.

A few months back I was invited to be a guest speaker for a lunchtime seminar at a small college in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.  I had been recommended by a colleague from southern Vermont who is familiar with RAFFL’s work.  Sometimes I will accept an invitation like this, trusting the instincts of the person who connected me, even though I have no idea what to expect. As the date approached, I realized I had never found out why they invited me and worried that it might not be worthwhile. Regardless, I printed off a set of directions on Wednesday, updated my presentation materials on Thursday, and headed down Route 7 on Friday morning.

As I passed through Bennington I recalled the different times over the past couple of years that I’ve spoken with various community development groups.   Those memories bolstered my confidence as I crossed the border and pulled into my destination.  Armed with Locally Grown Guides and the prerequisite PowerPoint presentation, I was ready to go.

As the room filled up, I had a chance to meet the professor who had invited me.  Sarah Gardner, as it turns out, is totally immersed in her community and concerned about the future of farming in her part of the world.  She has been guiding her students to think deeply about the role of farming in their area and why locally-controlled, independent farms are critical to the future of food and our communities.  Her class has been conducting hands-on research to examine the dynamics of agriculture as it is now and how to influence its future for the better. That data will then be submitted to the area’s regional planning commission and other relevant groups.  It all became clear – this was why I had been invited – good call Donald C. (the connector).

I quickly realized the significance of sharing the work we’ve done in the Rutland region, as well as throughout Vermont, to this particular group. I excitedly talked about RAFFL, how we came to be, the work we do, the supportive partners we have locally, and how we connect to statewide efforts. And I had the chance to reflect on how much things have changed in our region over the past eight years.  Our region, and the rest of Vermont, is making headway.  The work being done by farms, food enterprises, educational institutions, food system related trade associations, co-ops, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, private funders, and community groups are each a piece of the puzzle.

When I speak to groups outside of Vermont, the piece that fascinates folks is another critical layer of activity: the Vermont Farm to Plate Network.  As local initiatives like RAFFL sprouted up in communities all over Vermont, it became clear that better coordination and communication would be helpful to all.  The Farm to Plate Network provides structure for learning and coordinated action among food system stakeholders playing a role to advance the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan.

If you are interested in farm and food issues, you will want to check out this plan. It is chock-full of data, analyses, and strategic actions.  The power of having this comprehensive plan is immense and should be put into use by many types of people.  This plan is critical to helping legislators and private funders better understand the issues and guide investments.  RAFFL heavily relies on this resource to supplement our own local understanding of farm and food issues as we set priorities that will have the greatest long-term impact.  And, private farms and other food enterprises can find useful data to inform their own business decisions.

Groups like the folks I spoke to in Williamstown yearn for the level of support available from statewide networks like Farm to Plate and the state’s Agency of Agriculture.  Talking with them about it helped me to remember and appreciate that together we are making headway toward shaping the future of our state’s rural economy.

Tara Kelly is Executive Director of Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL). 

Find information about the Farm to Plate Network and the plan at: www.vsjf.org